Chapter Seven

Author's Note: I've added a bit of a TFS reference in this chapter just to spice things up. Tell me what you guys think of it and if I should add other, subtle hints in the story.

"I'll show you weak!" Yamcha, the Desert Bandit, shouted as he grasped his unsheathed Azure Dragon Sword in his firm hands, now charging towards the young Saiyan. Within seconds, the bandit was within striking distance of Raditz and was already on the offensive, frantically swinging the sharp blade at Raditz, attempting to slash and slice the Saiyan to pieces.

"Alright, I guess I'll use my Power Pole!" Raditz smirked, taking the split second that Yamcha managed to give him in between slashes to take a hold of the long, red wooden staff that lied in the sheath on his back. Another second later, the Saiyan had evened up the playing field, using Gohan's previous, legendary staff to block the onslaught of slashes and slices that Yamcha was steadily sending his way.

I know that from anywhere… that's the mystical Power Pole, whose last known wielder was the martial artist Gohan. How did you manage to steal such a treasured artifact from a master martial artist such as Gohan?" Yamcha questioned his opponent, stalling the fight for a bit once his eyes caught sight of the Power Pole, witnessing the alien before him currently wielding the legendary staff. Although he had never witnessed it being used before in person, Yamcha had heard of legends speaking of one of the world's greatest martial artists, Gohan, wielding the mystical artifact in battle numerous amounts of time.

"Why would I steal something from my grandfather? Gohan just so happened to pass this down to a worthy wielder… me." Raditz replied, half lying as he twirled the magical staff about in his right hand, hoping to strike some fear into this Yamcha guy's heart.

"So… you're his grandson?" Yamcha asked, still not completely believing Raditz's story. Last he had checked, Gohan's wife had died years ago and the martial arts master had never been bared a son, yet alone a grandson. Though, his opponent… this Raditz person… did seem to know of Gohan and somehow managed to get the Power Pole, so maybe he wasn't completely fibbing.

"I just told you that," Raditz harshly responded, wanting to get on with their fight instead of just talking about Gohan. "But if you want to get technical… I'm actually his adoptive grandson." The Saiyan added, getting into his fighting stance.

"I see," The long-haired Human responded as he got back into his own fighting stance. "But let's forget about that for now… we have an important match to finish in the meantime!" Yamcha finished before his mind returned to the fight, charging towards his opponent with a mighty sword.

"Finally, it's about time something smart comes out of your mouth." Raditz said, thrusting his Power Pole directly in the path of Yamcha's charge. "Power Pole extend," The Saiyan then barked, commanding his weapon to perform its unique ability. As if command, the mystical bo staff that the long-haired Saiyan had been wielding suddenly extended to a length measuring nearly twenty feet of magical wood, with the end of its wooden structure smashing straight into the gut of the charging Earthling, Yamcha. Yamcha fell to the ground on impact, gasping for any air that could muster its way into his lungs after being winded by the blow. After coughing up a bit of blood-mixed saliva, the Human began to pick himself off of the ground.

*Yamcha Owned Count: 1

"Yamcha!" Puar sadly cried upon witnessing his Earthling friend coughing up some saliva with a few hints of blood mixed into it. He hovered over to where Yamcha was and looked at the damaged body of his friend, hoping that Yamcha was still feeling alright.

"It's alright Puar… I'm fine." Yamcha told his friend as he arose to his feet, cracking his necks to loosen himself up. "Just back up some… I'd hate for you to get caught in the crossfire and harmed."

Once Puar had flown out of harm's way, the Desert Bandit let out a fierce battle cry before charging towards his opponent once again, holding his sword above his hand to show that he was going to attempt to strike his Saiyan foe with a heavy, ax handle blow directly to the shoulder.

Upon seeing that the monstrous, sharpened blade was being swung his way once again, Raditz sidestepped about a foot to the right, managing to dodge the blow intended to leave a nasty gash spewing an ocean of blood from his left shoulder. The warrior then took the split second that Yamcha had left himself open to strike his opponent with a right handed hook, planting his muscular fist firmly in the Human's cheek, bruising the fellow's cheekbone a bit in the process. Not letting up for a single second, Raditz followed up his stunning strike with another one of his blows, this one a dangerously powerful, ki enhanced kick sent directly to Yamcha's arm. Yamcha hissed in a bit of pain as the damage from the blow quickly flooded his body. He knew that if the kick had been fired with just a tad bit more force, his entire arm would have been writhing in unrealistic pain, shattered into dozens, if not hundreds, of pieces from just the sheer power that could be invested into the warrior's armored foot.

Yamcha was sent flying across the sand, his feet barely grazing the peaceful dunes of sand as he did so. After another second, Yamcha's eyes shot open as he rebounded himself, planting his feet safely in the sand. The Desert Bandit twirled his now-damaged arm around a bit before he quickly shot back at his Saiyan opponent once again; wanting to issue a bit of payback to the Saiyan for the amount of pain he was feeling. As the two martial artists neared one another, flurries of blows were thrown by both of them and each warrior also sustained some kind of damage from the other's strikes. However, to anyone who managed to keep up with the pace that the two warriors were facing off against one another with, it would appear that Raditz clearly had the advantage over Yamcha this time around, evident by the fact that he was happening to dodge more of the bandit's strikes as well as send out more of his own hits to the Human's throbbing body. After a few minutes filled with exchanging punches, the two fighters backed away, moving a solid fifteen feet away from the other.

"I did not picture myself using this attack today… but you just had to bring this upon yourself!" Yamcha confidently started, positioning himself into a strange stance much different than the one that he had begun the fight with. "I'm just going to have to show the might of my unblockable Wolf Fang Fist!"

"Bring it on then," Raditz assuredly smirked, changing his fighting stance into that of his best defensive position. "Let's see this unblockable attack I've heard so much about."

"WOLF FANG FIST!" Yamcha screamed as he quickly dashed towards Raditz, lessening the distance between the two with each passing second. As he approached the Saiyan, the crimson colored aura engulfing his body began to change its form, shaping into more of a wolf-like form. Reaching Raditz, the long-haired martial artist instantly began shooting his fists into the Saiyan's body, his hands moving in a complicated motion similar to that of a wolf's fierce fangs snapping on their prey. The combo of claws and punches that were delivered onto Raditz managed to inflict a decent amount of damage to the warrior's body, a smirk easing upon Yamcha's face as he prepared himself to finish off the flurry of blows. Hoping to finish his assault off strong, Yamcha quickly sent out a double palmed strike directly at the Saiyan's face, only for Raditz to react quick enough to meet the attempted blow with a sturdy forearm packed with chiseled muscle, neglecting the damage originally intended for him.

"That actually wasn't all as pathetic as I would have thought. If you were just a tad bit stronger and a wee bit faster, that probably would've defeated me." Raditz laughed, unleashing a small kiai blast with more than enough force needed to push Yamcha back, a few feet away from the Saiyan that he was facing off against. "Better luck next time." The Saiyan added, brushing off the bit of dust that had been collected on his armor's spaulders.

*Yamcha Own Count: 2

"I'd hate to admit it… but you're actually pretty good. It pains me quite a bit to be forced to put an end to the life of a fellow martial artist, but you've brought this upon yourself." Yamcha remarked, charging towards the superior martial artist yet once again.

"What's going on?" Bulma asked, awakening from the nap she had decided to take in the midst of Raditz and Yamcha's match, interrupting the two fighters.

"A-Ah… a g-girl!" Yamcha cried out, stopping directly in his tracks at the sight of Bulma. Before another second could pass by, the Desert Bandit and his shapeshifting comrade had already hopped back into their hovercraft, driving off from the site of his match with Raditz at a speed rivaling the fastest of jets. The Desert bandit continued driving until he was well out of the sight of Raditz and his friends, making his way back towards his secret lair, located deep in the scorching hot desert.

"What exactly was all that about?" Bulma questioned, a confused look appearing on her face as she continued watching the long-haired bandit that was Yamcha continue to haul ass away from the area once she had awoken from her rest.

"I don't know… but you should've seen the fight! Our boy Raditz here sure did show Yamcha a thing or two!" Oolong laughed, praising the Saiyan for his combat skills. "Without him, I would've been bacon!"

"It's a shame he had to leave, seeing as I was just about to go all-out!" Raditz sighed, somewhat disappointed by his opponent's strange, early departure. The Saiyan then turned to face the astonished look on the face of the shapeshifter, Oolong and said to the pig, "So Oolong, what was that you were saying earlier about his Dog Tooth Punch or whatever the damned move is called?"


"Damn it Puar! I need to get over this fear… and fast!" Yamcha harshly mumbled, taking a sip from the Styrofoam drinking cup filled with some alcohol that he had stored in the cupboard of his lair. Usually the bandit would hardly drink alcohol, nevertheless an entire cupful of it. But today was different. Today, he had walked into a fight that he just could not win. His Wolf Fang Fist had failed for like the first time… ever. And to add on this, his fight had been interrupted just because of his paranoia of interacting with girls. Sometimes… no all the time it really did suck to be a Caligynephobic.

"Yeah, I'm almost positive that you could've beaten that long-haired guy if only you'd never freaked out over the chick with that… strange blue hair." Puar responded, attempting to cheer up his lifelong bandit friend. "I just never got to get my revenge on Oolong and make that fat pig suffer for bullying me."

"Possibly… though he was awfully strong. But nevertheless, I will certainly have my revenge on all of them, I just have to find a way to stall the girl and make sure that she doesn't interrupt our fight once more. And don't worry my friend, because I'll make sure that you have your revenge… just count on it." Yamcha explained, throwing the depleted cup of alcohol to the ground.

"We should follow them and come up with a plan!" Puar suggested.

"That is an excellent plan Puar. Then, after finding out a few things, I will finally be able to face off against that Raditz… and finally have my revenge." Yamcha smirked, intrigued of the idea that his friend and second-in-command had presented to him. "I'll teach him about rocking long hair… that's a Yamcha thing!" The warrior added, clenching his fist at the thought of defeat by the Saiyan.

"Yeah… but you have to admit, his hair is much spikier and awesome looking." Puar mumbled, a bit lower than his usual statements.

*Yamcha Owned Count: 3

"Puar, I heard what you just said! That hair of his does nothing but makes him look like an overgrown porcupine. Plus, last time I checked, spiky hair doesn't look very good on a lifeless corpse." Yamcha finished as he abruptly arose from the chair he was sitting in. The bandit then walked towards the door, grabbing his sheathed broadsword before walking out of his hideout, with Puar following directly behind the Desert Bandit that was his lifelong friend, Yamcha.


Meanwhile Raditz and his two companions sat on the couch located in Oolong's double-decker motorhome… or plainly RV. After the confrontation with Yamcha a few hours earlier, Oolong had suddenly remembered that he had brought along a capsule to use in tight situations and emergencies. After receiving a decent, slight beating courtesy of Bulma, which she stated was for making her walk in the blazing Sun and getting her sweaty, the RV was set up by the shapeshifting pig.

"So, what exactly do these Dragon Ball things do anyway?" Oolong asked, wanting to find out the truth about the mystical somewhat legendary orbs that Bulma happened to be cuddling in her lap for the third time in the past hour.

"Well, if you manage to gather all seven of them, you'll be able to get a single wish granted by the Eternal Dragon, Shenron." Bulma squealed, snuggling the Dragon Balls to secure them from any type of harm that would come to them, as if they were her own children.

"Alright, now that's what I'm talking about!" Oolong laughed, rubbing the palms of his porky hands together in excitement. A free wish… nothing could be better than that! He could wish for anything in the world… money, power… or even better, the most comfortable pair of women's underwear! "What are we wishing for then?" The pig added, questioning the bluenette woman.

"Don't you mean what am I going to wish for?" Bulma harshly corrected the pig. "I'm going to wish for either a lifetime supply of the juiciest, plumpest strawberries or the world's most perfect boyfriend."

"So… you two aren't together?" Oolong inquired, scratching his head in confusion while his large eyeballs began looking at the two Humanoids that sat before them, switching between a blushing, obviously embarrassed Bulma and a wide-eyed Raditz who seemed to be trying his hardest to hide any signs of emotion or embarrassment.

"What no!" Bulma repeatedly cried out, her pale face growing redder by the second. "I mean… we're just traveling together, that's all! You stupid pig!" The heiress of Capsule Corporations finished, taking the time to send her backhand smashing into the back of Oolong's skull.

"Tell me this then," Oolong snickered, a smirk beginning to form on the shapeshifter's face. "Why are you continually blushing if you're just traveling together? You're redder than Yamcha's face after that beating Raditz put on him!"

*Yamcha Owned Count: 4

"SHUT UP BEFORE I CUT YOU!" Bulma screamed out, threatening the babbling swine with the large cleaver knife grasped tightly in her hands, which she had somehow managed to find in one of the cabinets of Oolong's kitchen onboard the recreational vehicle.

"Both of you should quiet down before I get upset. First off, Oolong… the two of us are only traveling together, no romantic feelings whatsoever. I'm just on this journey so that I may grow stronger and meet a few decent challengers, at the least." Raditz said, half lying about the first part of the statement as he decided to enter the duo's conversation. "Though I have to admit… Bulma that would be a terribly dumb wish."

"I know right Radz, we should use that wish on something that could prove beneficial to us all. Like… like… a bazillion Zeni, each!" Oolong laughed out, patting himself on the back for the stupendous idea that he had come up with.

"I have no need for such a worthless thing as the Earthling currency… I've survived this far without much of it and I don't see why I would need it anytime soon." Raditz shot back, his arms crossing his chest just as they would do ninety percent of the time that the Saiyan was not using them in a fight. "A true warrior lives by only his strength 'and food'… so that is all that matters. Everything else, including but not limited to, money is second in my life."

"So… you would want to use the wish to get stronger?" Oolong confusingly questioned, unsure of what exactly the Saiyan teenager meant by his display of words.

"What no! Strength that is obtained through any means except for dedication for training or an inconsiderably large amount of hard work is never truly yours and would gravely go against the honor of a Saiyan Warrior. As one of these Saiyans, my honor would be downright stripped from me and destroyed if I even thought of making a stupid wish such as that." Raditz added, gagging in disgust over the shapeshifter's suggestion over using strange, unknown powers to wish for the strength that could easily be obtained through his second favorite thing after fighting of course, the extensive and intensive amount of training he did.

"So… what would you wish for?" Bulma asked the long-haired martial artist.

"I haven't given it much thought… but I guess that I would wish that my father and younger brother, Kakarot, could be returned back to life along with the rest of my race. But as you explained to me before, they have all been dead for far too long. I could also wish for my mentor, Gohan, to be returned to life but because he told me that he was growing old, close to dying already and he was incredibly ill in his last few weeks… so that would probably be a waste of a wish. Plus, I'd hate to disrupt his reunion with his beloved wife in the Afterlife." Raditz briefly explained, shrugging a bit. "I only came along for the ride to protect you and now Oolong as well from any threats, as well as to find a strong fighter to challenge to an all-out fight. So… if I was forced to make a wish, I would use it on summoning some sort of strong fighter to spar with me."

"I'm sorry about your family Raditz," Bulma stated in a comforting tone, watching as the Saiyan put his head down to stare at the tiled floor of the RV and get a few things off of his mind.

"It's fine Blue… emotions are only for the weak and powerless." Raditz sighed.

"So… find anyone strong?" Oolong said, hoping that he would get a bit of a standing ovation for the nearly one minute long fight that he had managed to put up against the Saiyan… although he had not inflicted any damage upon the boy and the fact that at least one third of the match was used just for talking.

"Only the incredibly old, yet powerful Turtle Hermit, who had agreed to allow me to train under him once this should I say… quest, is finished and over with." Raditz responded, crushing the shapeshifter's hopes with just that sentence. "I would go to his island and train with him right now… but Kami knows that the two of you wouldn't stand a chance out here in the real world without my strength. Bulma isn't much of a skilled fighter… yet… and Oolong, you nearly wet your pants when we saw Yamcha approaching us."

"How about me or Yamcha? Are you saying that we weren't as strong as you anticipated?" Oolong replied, curious to at least get a bit of a shout out from the Saiyan, even if it was only for something like being brave enough to face off against the menacing long-haired warrior that was Raditz.

"I've fought training dummies that hit harder than you Oolong but that Yamcha guy… he was pretty decent, not too shabby for a first fight. I think that he has a bit of potential to be somewhat of a challenge to me someday. Just a little bit more training and he should be able to become a nice opponent to me." Raditz admitted, playfully punching a slightly annoyed Oolong in the arm.

"Sooo nice," Oolong sarcastically replied, slightly irritated by the Saiyan's choice of words.

"Just speaking the truth," Raditz shrugged as a smirk grew in place of the emotionless mouth on his face. Not even a second after replying, Raditz's eyes widened as his scouter began to emit a low-pitched buzzing sound that managed to echo into the young Saiyan's sensitive ear. 'So, come back for yet another ass kicking I see.' The Saiyan mumbled slightly under his breath as he arose from his seat on the comfy, fabric couch.


"Did you hear that my friend?" Yamcha asked Puar as they continued to eavesdrop on the conversation that Raditz and his two friends had managed to partake in from outside of the vehicle's opened window. "We've hit the jackpot this time indeed! Now… once we snatch those precious Dragon Balls from the clutches of that Raditz guy, we will be able to wish for anything our heart desires!"

"What would you use the wish for?" The cat-like creature questioned his lifelong superior and friend.

"What else Puar? I'd wish to never be nervous around women ever again or more importantly, the power to best Raditz!" The long-haired bandit replied, snickering as he thought of what it would be like to beat the martial artist that had managed to best him hours earlier to a pulp, finally proving himself as the stronger, more skilled fighter once and for all.

"But one question… how do you suspect we steal the Dragon Balls?" Puar inquired. "I mean… if these things are that important, I'm willing to bet that they won't leave them lying around somewhere."

"They don't call me the Desert Bandit for anything other than knowing foolproof ways to successfully take whatever I please. Firstly, we're going to have to find a way to lead them all out of the RV… but that'll be easy with your shapeshifting abilities." Yamcha smirked, before he suddenly felt a warm muscular finger nudging aggressively into his shoulder blade.

"Puar, what do you want?" The bandit asked, only to find out that the assailant was not Puar, made evident by the deep, bellowing coughing sound that the voice created. Yamcha then turned around to see Raditz awaiting him, his head shaking in disbelief as his arms were still positioned crossed across his muscular pecs.

"And what specifically did you plan on doing after you accomplished that? Just for your understanding, I would have known something was up the second you tried any funny business I'm afraid." Raditz exclaimed, revealing himself to be listening in on the two bandits' conversation for the last twenty seconds. "My scouter happened to pick up your pathetic power level before you even began eavesdropping and also, if you did not already know, I have a great sense of hearing that is superior to any Human's. I suggest that you check to see if the window's closed next time you decide to try something like that again."

Yamcha let out a bit of a snicker as he hopped into the air, coming down firmly positioned in a protective, defensive stance that was deemed ready to take on Raditz's brutal, offensive strength. The bandit slowly eased his muscular right hand towards the leathery hilt of his sword, hoping to unsheathe the weapon and attack Raditz before the Saiyan could even realize what hit him. "Should've known you would be on your guard after our earlier encounter… but I'm pretty pleased to inform you that you won't be walking away from this round with a victory. I don't even think you'll be walking away from this match at all." The long-haired self-proclaimed Ruler of the Diablo Desert, managed to say before quickly being interrupted by his Saiyan foe.

"Ha, you're pretty hilarious," Raditz began, flicking his scouter off with the push of a button. "If only your battle power was half as good as your trash talking… then you would actually be able to damage me. But remember a few hours ago… when I barely had access to forty percent of my power throughout the match but still managed to hand you the worst beating of your life."

*Yamcha Owned Count: 5

"We'll see who is left laughing after this fight!" Yamcha growled as a faint, flaming aura of brawling crimson and white flames dueled out one another, both flaring brilliantly around the bandit's muscular body. "I'm going to go all-out this time around! Bring it on!"

"Just as I would like it," Raditz smirked as his own, signature aura of fiery purple flames began radiating across his entirely engulfed body. Veins popped out on the teenager's tensed muscles as the flames sparked much more vigorous with the Saiyan's significant growth in strength.

Yamcha immediately began the battle, finally grasping the hilt of his sword and pulling the blade out of its sheath, attempting to immediately strike Raditz with a heavy blow. However, to the warrior's surprise, his opponent did not bother to move a single muscle out of the path of the thrusted sharpened plate of metal at all, instead placing both of his muscular hands on either side of the sword, holding the weapon completely in place without much effort at all. The Saiyan, taking advantage of the situation that he was currently in, followed up with a fierce knee shot directly into the Desert Bandit's chin, loaded with much more force than actually needed to launch the Earthling's head backwards while he stumbled back a few feet from the dazing aftereffect the blow had on him.

"Come on, I know you can do better than that!" Raditz laughed, pretending to grow bored of the battle by fake yawning, as well as mocking his damaged opponent just as the latter arose from the ground. "Didn't you tell me that you were going to go all-out on me?"

*Yamcha Owned Count: 6

Yamcha, who was beginning to grow angrier and angrier with each word that spat out of the Saiyan's mouth, got into a mighty fighting stance, wanting to take over the offensive load that Raditz was unleashing onto him. This guy… no freak, was probably one… two years older than him at the greatest (Yamcha is four years older than Goku while Raditz is six years older) and was still managing to outdo him, making a complete mockery out of the bandit despite the miniscule difference in age. Yamcha quickly shifted to the offensive, unleashing a flurry of claws and punches aimed strictly at his opponent, only at a much furious and ferocious pace than his earlier blows. On the receiving end of Yamcha's blows however, his Saiyan opponent, Raditz, seemed to be staying ahead of a majority of the Desert Bandit's propelling fists, dodging the strikes without much of a struggle at all. Although Yamcha was currently facing off against the lad, he had to admit that this guy's speed was incredible, much faster than anything he had seen before in his life.

Suddenly, a powerful jab to the face gained contact with Raditz, connecting firmly into the Saiyan's nose. Yamcha, seeing a bit of blood reveal itself from the tailed martial artist's left nostril, grinned a little as he flipped backwards, wanting to create a few extra feet of sand between himself and the steamed Saiyan Warrior before Raditz could recover from the blow.

"I think it's Wolf Fang Fist time!" Yamcha smirked as he charged the young Saiyan once again. The bandit's aura viciously sparked and cackled, taking the form of a snapping gray wolf as Yamcha unleashed his signature combo of claws and punches aimed at the perfectly chiseled body of the warrior from Planet Vegeta. Due to the Saiyan's speed, many of the blows swipe straight pass the alien from Earth, missing their target by mere inches.

"Did you actually think that you would do any kind of harm to me with that attack the second time around?" Raditz growled, snickering at the obvious ignorance that Yamcha was currently displaying. "It's a miracle that one of those blows even did so much as connected with me… although it still did little damage at all. Now, allow me to show you the might of true strength."

Finishing his statement, Raditz immediately charged his opponent. Once entering striking distance of the long-haired Earthling bandit, Raditz instantly began throwing bone-shattering punch after punch directly to the ribs of his foe, managing to introduce Yamcha to a completely new world of pain. As each fist collided with his already bruised ribs, Yamcha mentally howled in pain… not knowing if there was a word to describe the incredibly horrible amount of pain that he was currently feeling. Ounces of blood were shown to be slowly spewed out of the bandit's mouth with each strike that dared to collide with his body. Not letting up for even a single second, Raditz suddenly attacked the bandit once again, this time unleashing a knee spiraling upwards into the man's chin once again, sending the lifelong friend of Puar hurling at least eight feet into the air. With each additional blow, Yamcha felt as if his entire body could give way at any second, from just the unreal amount of damage that it had already suffered from. After pursuing after his target, the Earth raised Saiyan cocked his arm back, launching his fist straight at Yamcha's jaw, possessing the strength to cause the Human to stumble back as he happened to be dazed by the pure power of the blow. Once his meteor of attacks had been completed, Raditz wasted no time at all to throw his opponent away from him, recreating the twelve feet of sand that separated the two.

"Y-YAMCHA!" Puar screamed, tears beginning to form in his eyes as he witnessed his lifelong best friend being beaten like he never had been before directly in front of the creature's own eyes. Never in the two years or so that he had been harassing travelers, stealing any possessions that they happened to be carrying, along with Yamcha, the rabbit-eared animal had never before seen his role model lose to anybody they had the pleasure to come across… definitely not to the point where it seemed that he would most likely be hospitalized for weeks or months for a numerous amount of broken bones.

"Atta boy Raditz!" Oolong cheered on his Saiyan friend, screaming from the window of his double-decker, in which he had been witnessing the entire match between the two martial artists throughout their whole fight.

Raditz, deciding to take this fight as more of a traditional training session, took the time that Yamcha was giving him while laying hurtfully on the ground to charge up a small blast of energy. Gathering up his energy, the Saiyan began to bring out his inner ki, forming the moderate ball of ki into a small sphere planted firmly in his palms. Concentrating directly on his target, Raditz flung his arm forward, unleashing the energy attack onto the bandit, who was slowly beginning to pick himself up off of the ground. However, due to Raditz's inexperience and minor lack of concentration, the beam had traveled in a weird path, managing to completely miss striking Yamcha. The Desert Bandit took the time invested into the missed energy attempt to pull himself off of the ground, scurrying away from the spot where the blast touched down on with seconds to spare. Raditz mentally cursed himself for his failure, his golden tipped boots grinding deeper into the thick dune of sand under the Saiyan Warrior.

Yamcha, feeling a bit better than when he was writhing in agony and pain a minute earlier, charged fiercely towards the fatigued Raditz, throwing a volley of punches directly at the Saiyan's unprotected body. Despite being incredibly winded by the use of a tremendous amount of ki, Raditz managed to block most of the Human's blows with his beefy forearm, avoiding some of the intended damage to be inflicted onto him.

The Saiyan then took the time to counter his opponent's sloppy, exhausting punches with the tailed warrior that was Raditz shooting a foot directly into Yamcha's completely exposed stomach, his foot leaving the gritty ground at a speed much quicker than lightning. The long-haired Earthling male had but a split second to raise a knee the air, voluntarily taking the blow to his appendage rather than his severely damaged gut. Once the powerful mighty knee of the Saiyan Warrior surged into Yamcha, the two warriors let out a final battle cry filled with exertion and exhaustion. A second later, the two appeared as nothing more than blurs to their spectators, charging one another for the final time as they began trading blows at an unremarkable speed, left and right.

After nearly thirty seconds of both throwing out and taking in a number of blows, the two fighters separated, both evidently winded and nearing exhaustion. Raditz, a bit exerted from the battle looked up to face the bruised and sweat cloaked bandit that was his opponent, Yamcha. The Earthling had managed to please Raditz quite a bit, performing much better than the Saiyan had expected him to. He had managed to inflict decent damage to the warrior, something that not many people had ever lived long enough to do. Though it wouldn't hurt for him to work on improving his defense, Yamcha was a decent opponent to the alien warrior overall. Disregarding this to finish off the fight, Raditz caught a split opening that Yamcha had created, slacking a bit on defense to sustain his much-needed energy. The Saiyan aimed a roundhouse kick perfectly at the opening, sending his foot soaring into the Earthling's bruised and nearly snapped arm. As the armored footwear came in contact with Yamcha's body, a river of pain surged through the man's body, blinding him in intolerable pain. Able to withstand the amount of pain he was feeling no longer, the King of the Desert subsequently fell to his knees, heavily panting for air as smelly drops of sweat dripped from his battle worn face onto the disturbed sand.

Raditz, in a bit of pain himself, slowly limped towards the defeated opponent. "Now… you have five seconds to get out of my face… and if I ever hear of you again, I'm going to return here and smash your face in." The Saiyan threatened with a closed, iron fist.

"Wait… maybe I could join and help you and your friends out on your adventures." Yamcha suggested. He still longed for the Dragon Balls, but he knew that there was absolutely no way that he could defeat the Saiyan in a fair fight for them and trying to sneakily take the orbs would prove ineffective as well, because of the help from the metallic device that was always present on the warrior's eye.

"And how do you think you'll help us? I'm pretty sure you're more of a burden than anything else." Raditz replied, looking down to his fallen foe.

*Yamcha Owned Count: 7

"I could help you train… seeing as I'm the only other martial artist here." Yamcha responded, sparking Raditz's interest. "The two of us could spar and you know… I could teach you a few of my techniques and learn from you."

"Your techniques are alright…" Raditz laughed, a bit intrigued over the subject at the mention of a training partner… someone with whom he could spar with whenever he pleased. "But not the best."

"Well, the two of us could be sparring partners… plus, who out there do you think would be able to stop the likes of us when we join together?" Yamcha playfully asked, smirking at the idea of fighting alongside Raditz, an insanely strong warrior.

"Fine… alright then," Raditz said, giving into the Human's words. "But any funny business and I'll make sure your regret it." The Saiyan threatened, showing off his cackling with a bit of energy fist to Yamcha, as a sign of warning.

"Oh yeah, let's get to it then!" Yamcha smiled, putting out one of his muscular fist for Raditz to pump, which the Saiyan purposely did so with a tad bit too much power invested into the gesture.


"Emperor Pilaf, you have informed me that you have just so happened to have found five Dragon Balls gathered together?" Mai asked her boss, a small blue imp-like creature dressed in a royal outfit.

"Yes Mai, I have. It appears that the very warrior who just so happened to help you and Shu fend off that vicious wolf ambush has them all on his hand right at this moment and that he is currently going after the sixth Dragon Ball as we speak. He is traveling with four others… only one of which could also give us trouble. Your mission is quite simple… go with Shu and get that boy's Dragon Balls through any means necessary… even if it means killing them all." Emperor Pilaf commanded his henchman, juggling his lone Dragon Ball in his small, blue hands. "And please… do not even bother to show yourselves back around here if you happen to screw up."

"But Emperor, the kid is completely unbelievable! His strength was on another level and that was days ago! I'm positive that he's gotten even stronger since then so why not just lead him and his little friends into a trap instead… as we have the final Dragon Ball that they will have to track here if they intend on summoning the Dragon. When they arrive, we can ambush them and take their Dragon Balls by surprise!?" Mai responded, not actually liking the idea of killing the innocent travelers. Although she was forced to work for such a sadistic bastard of an emperor, it didn't necessarily mean that she was completely evil.

"Mai, Mai, Mai… that is an outstanding idea… but first, let's try the EMPEROR'S idea shall we? If that idea seems to fail us, we shall attempt your plan… is that acceptable?" Pilaf replied as his lieutenant bowed down to him.

"Yes sir, Emperor Pilaf." Mai applauded before she quickly left the creature's prized throne room, steadily attempting to restrain herself from cursing the daylights out of the imp.

"Yes… soon this world and everything in it shall be mines to control and nobody else's. No one on the face of this planet will be able to challenge me, not even this Raditz fellow." The Emperor snickered, laughing maniacally at the thought of reigning as the undisputed ruler of the entire planet easing its way into his mind.

Power Levels

Raditz: 57 (After using ki)

69 (After fighting Yamcha)

Yamcha: 31 (All-Out)

Pilaf: 22