The Soul and The Flesh Part XXVIIII "If you won't give us information on the Dragonballs we'll just have to beat it out of you." Vegeta warned. At this, all four of the defenders dropped into their defensive stances. Immediately Nappa's scouter ran numbers on them for him.

"Let's see, the Kid is 981...Namek is 1220...Girlie is 2000...2000! And Baldy is 1083..." Nappa seemed startled by the figures, especially Raimi's, as was Piccolo, judging by his face. "Fools! D'you think you can challenge us with power levels like those? Even you Girlie, that's not even close to me!" Raimi raised an eyebrow at his bragging.

"Nappa, take off your scouter." Vegeta said amiably.
"What?" Nappa turned and looked down at the shorter man.

"Those numbers are worthless. These slugs vary their powers to suit the battle." Vegeta explained as he pulled off his own scouter. He dropped it on the ground and watched the four of them thoughtfully.

"That's right! That weakling Raditz was beaten because he relied on those numbers, and they were wrong all along." Nappa laughed, pleased with himself for figuring it out on his own.

"Raditz, a weakling?" Piccolo gasped, feeling cold.
"Isn't he the guy who nearly clobbered both you and Goku?" Kurilin asked Piccolo.
"Yes, he WAS." Raimi nodded, reminding them that Raditz HAD been beaten, after all. The Saiyans smiled at their distress.

"Weakling, huh?" Kurilin chuckled ruefully. Vegeta was looking at them, and then smiled a frosty smile that made Gohan shiver.

"Why don't we see what they can really do? Then we'll ask them about the Dragonballs again..." Vegeta said so quietly that only Nappa and Raimi's sensitive Saiyan ears could hear him at all. "Hey, Nappa, weren't there six Saibaimen seeds left?" Raimi's eyes narrowed at this, and Kurilin, who had long ago realized that she was an excellent indicator of things to come, swallowed nervously.

"Heh Heh Heh, you like to play games, don't you, Vegeta?" Nappa laughed.
"Saibaimen? What..." Kurilin hissed.
"What are those?" Gohan finished as Nappa dug around in his armor, finally locating a small vial.

"Nasty, that's what they are." Raimi murmured, as Nappa poked six holes into the ground. He dropped one seed into each hole, covered them, and watered the seeds with fluid from the vial. He stepped back, tossed the vial over his shoulder, and sighed.

"There now," He said and winked at Vegeta, who turned to the defenders. All eyes were on the six tiny piles of dirt. In the crushing silence, everyone heard the small sounds as the earth pushed up where the seeds had been planted. All four of the defenders gasped as six things freed themselves from the soil. Vaguely humanoid in appearance, they were obviously plants, but without roots. They were ugly, smelly and looked evil.

"Yech! I don't like the looks of these guys!" Kurilin said. Raimi grimaced, remembering her own training sessions with them, and Kakarrot's laughter at her exclamations of disgust at the way they smelled. He'd made her keep going until it took a dozen Saibaimen to slow her down. These six weren't even a challenge anymore.

"Those four, they are your targets." Vegeta said to the six green men, his voice sharp with command.
"This could be harder than we thought." Kurilin sighed.

"I'd say so..." Piccolo agreed. All four of the defenders paused and looked up, just as Tien and Chauzu arrived, followed immediately by Yamcha.

"Sorry I'm late!" Yamcha smiled warmly at Raimi and looked curiously at Gohan, who looked startlingly like Goku had when Yamcha had first met him. Raimi smiled and nodded.
"I'm glad you made it." She said. Yamcha gave her half a grin and turned to face the opponents.

"They do keep coming, don't they?" Vegeta laughed.
"Like a swarm of gnats..." Nappa agreed. The Saibaimen looked up at Vegeta for more orders.

"Uh, weren't there supposed to only be two Saiyans?" Tien asked rhetorically.
"Why don't you file a complaint?" Kurilin laughed.

"I propose a game. How about if all of you fight, one at a time. For sport?" Vegeta offered. Piccolo growled and stepped forward.
"A game? Absurd! Let's get this over with!" he roared, angry at the superior attitude that Vegeta was displaying towards them.

"No! This could work out for us, since Goku is not here yet!" Kurilin told the angry Namek. Piccolo stared at him, then looked at Raimi, who nodded. He relaxed, and nodded. She was the expert on these guys after all, so he'd listen to her, when he felt like it of course.

"Fine! I'll go first." Tien volunteered.
"The Saibaimen will surprise that little man, I think!" Nappa laughed uproariously. However, Vegeta did not seem so certain of that.

"You, take him. And give him everything." Vegeta pointed to one of the creatures.
"Good luck!" Chauzu called as Tien strode forward. The Saibaiman leapt toward Tien and was easily repelled. Tien jumped into a counter attack, but the creature landed on its feet and leaned forward. Its head cracked open and some strange fluid shot out at Tien. He moved aside easily, and the stuff nearly landed on Kurilin instead. The others all stared as the liquid ate the ground where it had landed, leaving a furrow twelve feet long and two feet deep in the ground.

"Yikes! Ugh!" Kurilin gulped, staring at the steaming gouge where he had been standing.

"Of course, Yokaieki...very nasty ability...it must be impatient," Raimi murmured as Tien struck the Saibaiman a hard blow to its head. It flew a short distance and lay on the ground, apparently spent.

"It can't be!" Nappa was stunned.
"That's Tien for you!" Kurilin bragged as Tien took a deep breath and relaxed slightly.

"Hmm, looks like they will be able to entertain us after all!" Vegeta commented his eyes on the fallen Saibaiman. "It's impossible. The Saibaimen's power is over 1200 points, equal to Raditz, everyone of them!" Nappa exclaimed. He seemed shaken by this turn of events.

"Ergo, that fellows power is greater still." Vegeta explained, unconcerned. He sounded as if he was soothing a frightened child.
"But our data never showed..." Nappa insisted as the fallen Saibaiman began to rise. It stood quivering with frustration, looking vengeful.

"Tien, it's getting back up!" Chauzu called to his guardian. However, Vegeta lowered his head and used a Shogekiha on it, which made it explode into an ugly pile of plant guts. Everyone, including Nappa and the other Saibaimen stared at him baffled. Only Raimi, who had known his father so well, understood what a statement Vegeta was making. One, Vegeta didn't tolerate failure from his warriors. Two, he was showing a small example of just how strong he really was. A very small example.