Just as Goku was about to finish Vegeta off, the Great Ape suddenly reverted back to normal—and the sky darkened noticeably.
The sudden change startled everyone.
Raditz saw that Vegeta's transformation had been undone and looked up in surprise. He and Nappa could both keep their sanity even while transformed, so they weren't afraid of staring at the full moon.
It was just that neither of them—transformed or not—would've been able to affect the battle anyway. They would've only gotten in the way, so they hadn't bothered looking at the moon earlier.
Sometime without anyone noticing, countless branches had spread across the sky. The moon had been completely blocked by thick foliage.
Everyone stared, stunned.
"What the hell is this?"
"Where did that giant tree come from?!"
Krillin followed the branches with his eyes, all the way until they disappeared beyond his field of view, and still couldn't make sense of it.
"This is insane… Where could a tree that big even grow from?"
Bulma looked just as confused. "Yeah! It's huge—there's no edge to it!"
Goku frowned. "Don't tell me… that's the Tree of Might?"
He scanned the branches that covered the sky, then closed his eyes and carefully felt for other presences.
Finally—through the dense leaves—he found several sinister ki signatures.
It had to be Turles and his crew.
But their timing still caught Goku off guard.
"Strange… What are the odds?
Turles shows up on the exact same day Vegeta arrives on Earth!"
Still, once the surprise passed, Goku felt a wave of relief.
Good thing he hadn't left Earth before Turles came.
If he'd gone, there would've been no one on Earth who could handle Turles. By the time he returned from Namek, there might not even be a home to come back to—Earth could've already become a desert planet. That loss would be catastrophic.
Goku glanced at Piccolo, who was still studying the Tree of Might, then at Raditz and Krillin. None of the three were strong enough.
Finally, Goku looked down at Vegeta lying on the ground.
If Goku wasn't around… the only one who might be able to hold off future invaders—
was probably Vegeta.
Even if he was a proud idiot who looked down on training.
Goku still wanted to see Vegeta become the one who would slowly start to resemble an Earthling more and more.
He took a deep breath.
Maybe he should give him one more chance.
If, after the trip to Namek, Vegeta still hadn't changed at all… then killing him later wouldn't be too late.
Krillin kept looking around and muttered, "Where did this tree even come from? It's so huge it covered everything in an instant!"
Raditz snorted. "So what if it's big? It's still just a tree. Blow it up!"
As he spoke, Raditz raised a finger toward a mass of thick branches.
An energy blast shot out.
BOOM!
Dust and smoke billowed.
But when it cleared, everyone's eyes widened.
"No way… the branches don't even look damaged!"
Raditz stared at his own hand, stunned. "Damn it… I can't even destroy a tree?"
Right then, Krillin raised his palm and formed a spinning disc of ki.
"Destructo Disc!"
SHHHK!
The Destructo Disc was as deadly as ever—cleanly slicing through the branch in an instant.
Krillin lit up. "It worked!"
But after cutting through several branches, the attack lost momentum, broke apart into specks of light, and vanished.
And the severed branches… started growing again, crazily fast.
Krillin's mouth twitched. "This tree is already massive, and it's still growing?! That's just cheating!"
Goku spoke sharply, "Don't waste your energy, Krillin.
The enemy's here—focus on the fight!"
At Goku's words, everyone snapped into alertness and looked up.
From within the dense web of branches, several figures flew down.
They wore arrogant expressions, staring at the people below like they already owned the outcome.
Raditz narrowed his eyes. "Hmph. I thought it'd be someone dangerous. Looks like it's just a bunch of small fry…"
Before anyone could even speak, Raditz charged in—attacking without asking a single question.
Seeing him already going in, the others raised their ki and joined the battle.
Piccolo ripped off his cape and fired an energy blast at one of them.
But instead of being injured, that enemy was split into two by the blast—making Piccolo's eyes widen.
The guy wasn't very bright… and clearly loved showing off.
The moment he became two, the pair immediately struck synchronized poses—dancing with a flamboyance that rivaled the Ginyu Force.
"Hahaha! Surprised?! We're twins!"
Piccolo's expression tightened. "Twins…"
Tien refused to be outdone. He pressed two fingers to his temples and unleashed the Crane School's signature technique.
"Solar Flare!"
A blinding flash hit the twins dead-on, leaving them shrieking and clutching their eyes.
At the same time, Krillin brought the Destructo Disc out again.
But a burly brute with absurdly thick biceps didn't dodge at all.
Instead, he unleashed a tornado-like technique—deflecting the Destructo Disc the moment it came close.
Yamcha didn't hesitate. He pulled out his own signature move and launched it straight at one of the most flamboyantly posing enemies.
"Spirit Ball!"
The blast went off—
but the enemy wasn't hurt.
He burst out of the smoke and snapped a kick toward Yamcha. Yamcha reacted fast, and the two instantly tangled in close combat.
Just like Raditz said, these guys really were pathetic—pure cannon fodder.
Even Chiaotzu and Yamcha could trade blows with them.
Seeing everyone fighting with decent momentum, Goku didn't step in.
These enemies were weak—perfect for letting the others sharpen their skills.
Goku understood one thing clearly:
Among this group, the only one who could truly fight him was Turles.
So he watched the battle calmly, waiting for Turles to show himself.
But even after a long time… Turles still didn't appear.
Yamcha got beaten badly by a guy wearing half-mechanical armor.
In the end, the armored fighter fired an energy wave downward, completely swallowing Yamcha.
After the explosion's shockwave faded and the smoke cleared, Yamcha lay curled on the ground.
Goku froze when he saw Yamcha's pose—like some infamous "masterpiece" painting. "Did he… die?"
Then Yamcha's hand twitched.
Goku finally let out a breath.
But the enemy clearly understood the concept of finishing the job.
The armored brute seemed to realize Yamcha was still barely alive, and threw an even stronger energy blast at him.
Goku dashed forward immediately—moving so fast it looked like he'd vanished—arriving in front of Yamcha before the blast could reach.
In a flash, he raised his hand and fired an energy wave straight into it.
The enemy's blast was drowned instantly—
and Goku's wave didn't stop. It surged onward, straight at Yamcha's attacker.
BOOOOM!
The armored fighter was reduced to ash.
Goku quickly checked Yamcha. Injured, but still breathing—he needed a Senzu Bean, immediately.
He turned and shouted, "Krillin! Toss me a Senzu Bean!"
Right then, a pineapple-haired guy formed an energy wave and hurled it at Goku.
"You bastard—sneaking attacks?! Let me take you on!"
Goku clicked his tongue in annoyance and swung a knife-hand.
He knocked the energy wave away—
and somehow sent it right back, reversing it toward the attacker.
"What—how is that possible?!"
The guy screamed in shock as his own attack swallowed him whole.
At the same moment, Chiaotzu was getting overwhelmed.
His opponent waved both hands, raining countless energy blasts down on him, forcing Chiaotzu to dart left and right in panic.
Goku glanced at the guy in surprise. The technique was basically pure carpet-bombing—there was something almost "royal" about that kind of relentless barrage.
But Chiaotzu was in real danger. One mistake and he'd be killed.
Goku rushed in and erased the cannon fodder with a single energy wave.
Chiaotzu gasped for breath, then bowed gratefully. "Th-Thank you!"
"No problem. But you've still got training to do, Chiaotzu."
Chiaotzu nodded seriously. "Yeah… I know. I'm going to help Tien!"
"Go."
The fight raged overhead.
But down below, a few people were just watching.
After reverting from Great Ape form, Vegeta stared up at the sky, baffled.
"…Is this why Kakarot got so strong?
Because Earth gets invaded so often?"
Bulma noticed Nappa standing off to the side, watching too.
She shouted, "Hey, you bald guy! You're really just going to stand there and watch?"
Nappa pointed at himself, confused. "Me? You're talking to me?"
Bulma planted her hands on her hips. "Who else would I be talking to?"
Nappa looked at her, realized she was Goku's woman, and nodded. "Fine."
Then he charged at one of the remaining small fries.
But Nappa had always been used to swaggering onto planets with explosions and terror.
Now he was being ordered around by an Earth woman.
It made his blood boil.
So he vented all of that irritation on the enemy.
Cannon fodder stayed cannon fodder.
In no time at all, the invading rabble was wiped out.
And then—
a slow, deliberate round of applause echoed down from above.
"Not bad. You actually killed all of them."
Under everyone's gaze, Turles finally appeared.
He was a little darker-skinned… but his face and hair looked almost exactly like Goku's—only his expression was completely different.
Everyone except Goku was stunned.
Raditz blinked hard. "Kakarot?"
He turned his head toward the side.
The real Kakarot was right there—standing in front of Bulma.
Raditz scratched his head. "This guy actually looks just like Kakarot… just a bit darker.
Don't tell me he's some… womanizing bastard's kid my old man left behind…"
Krillin's eyes went wide, his jaw nearly hitting the ground.
"Goku—what is going on? Why does he look exactly like you?!"
Bulma covered her mouth, staring in disbelief.
"Oh my god… Goku, he looks just like you!
Don't tell me—this is another long-lost brother of yours?!"
Goku's face darkened. "Bulma, don't say stupid things…"
But Bulma kept going, eyes still locked on Turles.
"Still… he looks way scarier than you."
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