Raditz felt like his lungs were about to explode from anger.
At the same time, fear flooded his body like a tidal wave.
"Not satisfied beating me yet"?!
That wasn't just excessive—it was downright humiliating!
Was he being treated like a human punching bag?
"You only have two choices," Branch said slowly, raising one finger. His green eyes sparkled with malicious amusement.
"W-what choices?" Raditz asked, his heart sinking.
"First option," Branch said, raising one finger.
"You come down here obediently, stand still, and let me beat you up properly."
Then he raised a second finger.
"Second option… I go up there and beat you up."
"How about it? Pretty fair, right?"
Raditz: "..."
Fair?!
Fair my tail!
No matter what he chose, he would still be the one getting beaten!
This was supposed to be the mind of a four-year-old child?!
The humiliation finally broke Raditz's last bit of patience.
"If I'm going to get beaten anyway…"
"I'll fight to the death!"
"You little bastard!" Raditz roared.
All his remaining energy gathered in his right hand.
"Die! Energy Blast!"
A blazing orange energy sphere over three meters wide formed instantly.
It screamed through the air like a falling meteor and smashed toward the golden-haired child below.
BOOOOM—!!!
The blast hit the ground directly where Branch and Gohan stood.
A deafening explosion shook the entire wasteland.
Blinding light swallowed everything.
A violent shockwave spread outward, carving a huge crater in the earth.
Dust and rocks flew into the sky.
Raditz didn't even wait to see the result.
The moment he fired the attack—
He turned and fled at full speed.
His body became a streak of light across the sky.
"Ha! Stupid brat!" Raditz cursed while flying away.
"I'm the fastest flier among Saiyans!"
"Even if that kid is stronger, he can't catch me in a straight flight!"
Soon Raditz disappeared beyond the horizon.
Behind him, the explosion's smoke slowly faded.
At the crater below—
The dust cleared.
A massive burned crater more than twenty meters wide had formed.
The edges of the earth had melted into glass-like rock.
But in the center—
Branch still stood there calmly.
Golden energy flickered around his body.
Every bit of heat, explosion, and debris had been blocked by his aura.
Behind him, Gohan was completely unharmed.
Branch had protected him.
"Hmph," Branch muttered.
"He ran pretty fast."
"Like a scared rabbit."
Gohan slowly lowered his hands.
"Branch… are you okay?"
Branch glanced at him impatiently.
"You crybaby."
"That attack couldn't even scratch me."
Gohan's eyes became red again.
Branch… you were so nice before…
Why are you so mean now…?
"Um… Branch… he ran away," Gohan said softly.
"I know that," Branch snapped.
"Relax."
"Let him run for a while."
"Chasing prey is more fun if it thinks it escaped."
Gohan blinked.
"Let… him run?"
Branch ignored him.
His eyes scanned the crater.
They stopped on Raditz's space pod.
The spherical ship lay nearby in the dust.
In the next moment—
Branch vanished.
He appeared beside the spaceship instantly.
Then he grabbed the hull with one hand.
And—
Lifted the entire spacecraft above his head.
Like it weighed nothing.
Gohan's mouth fell open.
Branch bent his body slightly.
Like an athlete preparing to throw a shot put.
"Go!"
With a casual swing—
WHOOSH—!!!
The space pod shot into the sky like a railgun projectile.
The speed was so terrifying that it left a white air trail behind it.
Far away in the sky—
Raditz was still flying desperately.
He checked his scouter again.
"Good!"
"The signals haven't moved!"
"They're still in the crater!"
He laughed with relief.
"Ha! That kid really is inexperienced!"
"My energy blast must've injured him!"
But suddenly—
A terrible feeling crawled up his spine.
Something was wrong.
Then—
WHOOSH—!!!
A terrifying object approached from behind at unbelievable speed.
Raditz turned around.
His eyes widened in horror.
"That's… my spaceship?!"
BOOM—!!!
The pod slammed directly into his back.
"AAAAARGH—!!!"
Raditz screamed as his spine nearly shattered.
Blood exploded from his mouth.
His body was launched forward like a baseball.
The ship pushed him downward toward a mountain.
CRASH—!!!
Raditz and the ship smashed straight into a massive rock cliff.
The mountain wall cracked like a spiderweb.
His body formed a deep human-shaped crater in the stone.
The space pod wedged behind him, pressing him deeper into the rock.
Raditz coughed blood violently.
His entire body felt broken.
"What… is happening…?"
He looked at the crushed remote control in his hand.
It was destroyed.
Nothing made sense anymore.
With enormous effort, Raditz pushed the ship away and fell to his knees.
He gasped painfully.
But before he could recover—
A cheerful voice came from above him.
"Wow! You finally crawled out!"
"I've been waiting forever!"
Raditz froze.
He slowly looked up.
About ten meters in front of him—
Branch was floating in the air.
Arms crossed.
Golden hair shining in the sunset.
His golden-furred tail swayed lazily behind him.
Raditz's face turned pale.
How… how did he get here so fast?!
"Not bad," Branch said with a grin.
"You survived getting hit by your own turtle shell."
"I like tough punching bags."
"They're more fun."
Raditz forced himself to glare.
"You brat…"
"My companions are far stronger than me!"
"They won't let you get away with this!"
But even he knew the threat sounded weak.
Branch looked bored.
"Too much talking."
"You clearly haven't been hit enough."
Suddenly—
Branch disappeared.
Raditz couldn't even see the movement.
A small hand grabbed the back of his head.
"Let's wake you up."
BOOOOM—!!!
Branch slammed Raditz's head straight into the ground.
His face buried deep into the earth.
Only his limbs remained outside.
"AAAAARGH—!!!"
His muffled scream echoed underground.
Nearby, Gohan finally caught up.
When he saw this brutal scene—
He screamed and jumped backward.
Branch poked Raditz's shoulder.
"You still alive?"
Raditz twitched.
"Good."
Then—
BAM!
Branch punched his ribs.
Blood sprayed everywhere.
Raditz's body arched violently.
Then Branch grabbed one of Raditz's fingers—
And started swinging him around like a ragdoll.
BAM!
CRASH!
THUD!
The sound of bones cracking echoed across the wasteland.
Raditz's screams became weaker and weaker.
"P-please… stop… mercy…"
Gohan watched from behind a rock, terrified.
He gathered courage and whispered,
"Branch… maybe… stop… don't kill him…"
Branch turned and glared.
"Shut up, crybaby."
"Talk again and I'll throw you too."
Gohan instantly covered his mouth with both hands.
Tears filled his eyes.
Branch is so scary after transforming…
Branch continued happily.
Swinging Raditz.
Smashing him into the ground again and again.
Ten minutes later—
Raditz had completely passed out.
Foam dripped from his mouth.
His body hung limp like a broken doll.
But Branch still didn't stop.
He kept smashing him like it was a game.
Then suddenly—
"ACHOO!"
Branch sneezed loudly.
Instantly—
His golden hair turned black again.
The green eyes faded back to normal.
The golden aura disappeared.
His fierce personality vanished.
He returned to his normal four-year-old self.
Branch blinked in confusion.
Then looked at his hand.
He was holding Raditz's bent, bloody finger.
"Ew!"
He quickly dropped it and wiped his hand on his clothes.
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