Chapter 9

Within a secluded area of the wasteland, two figures were standing off. Both were of incredible height, but one was a giant of a man. The shorter of the two had green skin and donned a purple gi, a white cape, and turban on his head. The giant wore brown and white armor, along with similarly colored combat boots and arm guards.

Nappa smirks at his opponent, his arms crossed. He was confident in his abilities to take down the namekian in front of him. He was second only to Vegeta in saiyan power.

Piccolo on the other hand was much more analytical of his opponent. He was taking in everything from Nappa's expression, his strength from physical appearance and energy, and even his body posture. Everything with Nappa screamed overconfident, but not for no good reason. The man was a monster in terms of power, and his energy pools were almost as large. Even so, Piccolo could discern the man was slower and used to physical fighting, not energy fights.

The namekian's eyes narrow as he says "Let's get this started. I've waited long enough." With that, Piccolo throws off his weighted cape and turban, both making a small crater in the ground.

Nappa whistles as he sees that. "Impressive! Never seen a namekian with so much weight on their clothing. You may actually pose a challenge!" Nappa's smirk reappears as he lowers into his own fighting stance.

Piccolo's eye twitches as he hears the term namekian. He heard Kami talk about them, but he never paid much attention. He preferred being a demon, not a slug man.

The green man pushes the thoughts aside, lowering into his own stance. He had to focus on his battle, no distractions. His eyes sharpen to incredible heights, nothing in his mind but how to react to his opponent and what he believed would be a good attack.

Wind blows across their battlefield, before they move at once with an unspoken signal. Piccolo dodges an attack from Nappa, his eyes widening as he sees the power in the attack. He could only take a few hits at best.

Piccolo quickly jumps back, pelting Nappa with ki blasts to cover his escape. The massive saiyan roars in irritation, waving his hand to remove the dust that formed. He clears the cloud, and finds Piccolo missing. He looks around, wondering where the namekian went to.

Behind a rock formation, Piccolo was eyeing Nappa wearily. Really, he was eyeing the device over Nappa's eye. "Those scouters let them see where power levels are. Without it, they must be as blind as a bat in those fields. I need to remove it quickly."

Nappa looks around the rocks all around him, get frustrated from his fruitless search. He growls, then says "Where are you little slug man? Did I scare you off?"

All he got in response was a ki blast to his back. He stumbles forwards, then snaps his head around to look for the source. He sees nothing, when a ki blast hits him from the side. He once again looks, but all he sees is a faint green blur before it disappears.

Another ki blast hits him, and Nappa looks. Nothing. Another ki blast, but still no results. Nappa growls in irritation as more ki blasts hit him. The things weren't lethal, but they HURT.

After another ki blast, Nappa roars and screams "THAT'S IT! I'M TAKING THIS WHOLE PLACE DOWN!"

Nappa crouches down, screaming loudly as he forces his energy into his hands. He forms it, condensing it and spreading some into the ground. He goes to stand... and then his scouter explodes.

All of his concentration is lost and he stumbles back in shock, gripping his face where the scouter once was. Only then did Piccolo decide to show up. Nappa growls and says "How the hell were you moving like that?!"

Piccolo eyes him, then chuckles to himself. "It's amazing how good a sparring partner a saiyan is. Goku beats me in almost every field in combat, other than planning. I realized that if I wanted to beat him, I needed something to pass by that incredible strength and adaptability of his. Speed."

Piccolo kicks his foot on the ground, then stands straight again. "As I trained my body, I forced myself to find new ways to move fast. Eventually, I found out that I could use my energy in an interesting way. If I send it out in small bursts from my body, I can dash a short distance, moving dozens of times faster than normal."

Nappa eyes the namekian warily, then stands up straight. "But you can't use it well in battle." A twitch in Piccolo's face was all he needed. Despite his massive size and brawler style, Nappa was still a mentor for the Prince. He was a genius with battle tactics and easily discerned this ability's weakness.

Nappa smirks and says "In that case…" He suddenly rockets forwards, his fist pulled back. Piccolo dashes back, but that was what Nappa wanted. His smirk widens as his fist opens, revealing a ki blast within the fist. Piccolo's eyes widen as Nappa sends the blast forwards. Piccolo was able to cross his arms to guard, but he couldn't dodge. The blast hits, and a cloud of dust is kicked up.

Piccolo uncrosses his arms, only for his danger senses to scream at him to move. He quickly dashes to the side, just as Nappa plows through the dust his attack formed. Nappa stumbles a bit, and Piccolo spies his opportunity.

He dashes forward, his fist cocked back. He reappears next to Nappa, and the saiyan's eyes widen. Piccolo sends his speed enhanced punch into brute's side, making him gag as he is sent backwards.

Nappa grits his teeth as he reanalyzed his opponent. Obviously his assumption of that 'dashing' ability was misplaced. It couldn't be used frequently in battle, but it certainly could be used. He needed to be careful… very careful.

Piccolo's eyes dart over his opponents posture. He could tell that Nappa just thought of something important, but what, he couldn't discern what it was. Even so, he knew his plan was in motion. The scouter was off. Time for step two.

Nappa, deciding that he's had enough, charges down his opponent. Piccolo prepares to defend, when Nappa's body seems to spark dangerously. Suddenly, Nappa's body is covered in a bursting white aura, electricity flowing across his body. Just as he processes this, a fist suddenly slams into Piccolo's stomach.

Piccolo is launched off of his feet, sent into the sky. The namekian stops himself mid air, breathing heavily from the blow he was just dealt. What the hell just happened?!

Nappa chuckles as he raises into the air. "If this is a battle of speed, then I am very happy to commit to it. This is my lightning aura, a special technique I made to boost my speed and strength. Now we can truly see who is faster."

Piccolo grits his teeth as he eyes his opponent. Nappa was obviously telling the truth. Once that aura was around him, Nappa's speed increased dramatically. Not enough to match Piccolo's dashing, but certainly fast enough to beat Piccolo at his normal speeds.

Piccolo wipes his blood from his face, an odd sensation building in his stomach. He knew what it was. After battling with Goku, training with him, he picked up a little of the saiyan's habits. Now, the namekian relished a good fight, and this was getting him excited.

The namekian smirks slightly, saying "This certainly will be interesting. I'm actually getting excited, despite my better judgement."

Nappa just chuckles as he prepares himself for his or his opponent's next attack. "No surprise there. The battle lust consumes saiyans and martial artists completely. I can see it in your eyes, you are no different. At least it doesn't impair our judgement."

Piccolo just nods, finding some slight comfort in this casual conversation. Nappa was an enemy, a bloodthirsty one, but he was a fellow planner. They were alike in ways, and they respected each other for it.

Suddenly, Nappa's body tenses, and he bolts forwards. Piccolo's eyes widen as he is snapped out of his thoughts. He quickly dashes upwards, avoiding the attack. Nappa barrels past his previous spot, quickly turning around to come at him again.

Piccolo quickly avoids the attack once more, going a good distance to the side of Nappa. Nappa eyes Piccolo, and his eyes suddenly flash. Piccolo frowns, then gasps in surprise as Nappa disappears. The giant saiyan reappears in front of Piccolo, then slams his super-charged fist into Piccolo's neck.

Piccolo chocks, then is sent flying. He once again stops himself mid air, but his breath was coming in short. He coughs, blood flying out. He then looks at Nappa and says "T-That was my dashing technique… H-How?"

Nappa just flexes his hand and says "Adaptability. All saiyans have it, and I happen to be good with it in terms of techniques. In a battle of pure speed and strength, I can't keep up with my superiors, but in terms of techniques… there are none beyond my reach."

Piccolo eyes his opponent, then stands up straight. "Is that so? Well, sorry to inform you, but I need to up my game. This next technique you may learn, but you will not be able to counter." And with that, Piccolo disappears.

Nappa looks around warily, using any sense he had to find his opponent. Then, Piccolo reappears. Nappa frowns as another joins it, then another. "Copies? No, the energy is wrong. Something is familiar here… but it isn't the same… wait."

Piccolo chuckles as he sees his opponent figure out what he is doing. "I am combining the afterimage technique with my dashing. Any figure you see here is intangible, but able to hit you. This is not something easily avoided."

Nappa looks around, seeing at least seven flickering figures around him. His opponent wasn't bluffing, he could tell that much. He needed to figure out how to counter this, and fast.

Before he can think of a plan, a ki blast hits him. He stumbles, and then another hits. Soon, the massive barrage of ki blasts from seven spots begin to slam into the saiyan, knocking him around.

Nappa was nothing more than a ragdoll, hidden in the smoke. He grits his teeth, trying to form a plan, but he was getting angry. Anger clouded his judgement, something he couldn't afford here. He needed… to… think!

He cracks an eye open, looking at the white smoke around him. He grins slightly as a plan formulates in his head. He waits for a lapse in the blasts, biding his time. His body tenses as he feels a lapse. He quickly blasts downwards, using a sloppy imitation of the dashing technique to descend to the ground.

Piccolo stops his technique, then descends as well. Nappa looks at him, then chuckles. "Let's see you try that technique when you can't see!"

Nappa's energy flares up, and Piccolo's eyes widen as he feels the lingering energy in the ground connect to him. Suddenly, it all explodes upwards. Not in as an attack, but as a smokescreen. The entire area is covered in a cloud of dirt, masking their sight completely.

Nappa chuckles as he views the dirt cloud. Now that the namekian was blind, he could charge up an Exploding Wave to take him out. But, just as Nappa was about to begin charging, the dirt cloud suddenly moves towards him.

His eyes widen as his vision is suddenly cut off. He looks around in worry, before calming down. If he couldn't see neither could the namekian. He looks around, then tries to fly up. Just as he gets off the ground, an attack hits him back down.

Nappa hits the ground roughly, his eyes widening. "What the hell?" He looks around again, and then a fist slams into his side. He grunts in pain, and a leg suddenly takes his legs out from under him.

The giant falls to the ground, slamming his head into a rock. He roars in pain and rage, quickly standing up. He growls, looking around, ready for the next attack.

It was only pure luck that Nappa was looking in Piccolo's direction as he attacked. Nappa's eyes narrow as he sees the green fist come from the dirt cloud. He grabs the fist, making it unfurl in shock at the sudden resistance.

Nappa roars as he turns around, swinging Piccolo over his shoulder. The green man disperses some of the dirt as he moves, then slams into the ground. His eyes go wide as his breath leaves his body all at once.

Nappa then kicks him away, tired of this game. He growls as he begins shaping his energy into an attack. "I'm tired of this. I'm ending this with my final attack! My strongest move, BOMBER DX!"

Nappa thrusts his hands forwards, sending it at the namekian. Piccolo stands up, eyeing the technique warily. His hand sparks, then ignites with yellow energy. He frowns, then sends his attack forwards wordlessly.

The concentrated beam of yellow energy pierces the red attack with ease, parting the energy around Piccolo harmlessly.

Nappa's eyes widen as he sees the beam of energy pierce his strongest move. He drops his hand and tries to get back, but he was too late. Just as he begins to move, the attack slams into his stomach full force.

The beam explodes on top of Nappa, so violent that it ripped pieces of the ground up into the air. The explosion easily reached the peaks of the rocks around them, creating a massive wave of dust. It was obvious this attack was much stronger than the variant he used in sparring.

Piccolo uncovers his eyes and looks at his opponent. Nappa was laying in a bloody heap, his armor completely torn off. He was breathing sharply, but his entire torso was bloody and discolored. It was a lethal injury.

The namekian walks over to his opponent. Nappa looks at him with one eye, before chuckling raspily. "I-I can't b-believe it. I l-lost to a n-namekian of all t-things."

Piccolo says nothing as Nappa coughs up a lot of blood. "At least m-my last battle, w-was a good one. O-One fight for a-a saiyan's end."

The life drains from Nappa's eyes at this final statement. Piccolo eyes his opponent some more, then grimaces. He grabs his stomach, then coughs violently, blood spewing from his mouth. Now that the battle was over, Piccolo could feel the full extent of his injuries. He did not escape that battle unscathed. It was close, no matter what happened. Maybe in another life, he would've lost.

Piccolo flicks the blood off of his mouth, then ascends into the air. He could feel a massive battle happening, and he knew things would become hectic. His aura ignites, and the namekian flies off.

King Yemma frowns as he looks at the person in front of him. "Took you long enough to get here. I've been waiting for ten minutes."

The person bows, donning a simple black gi. The kanji for 'King Kai' was on the back. "I'm sorry for that King Yemma. I am ready though."

King Yemma nods, then says "Alright. Go right ahead."

The person bows once more before entering a door that materialized next to him. He enters, then reappears on a large, circular area high in the clouds.

An elderly namekian eyes the visitor, then says "The battle already started. I'd advise going quickly."

The figure turns to the elder, then says "I already know this, mortal." With that, Zamasu raises two fingers to his forehead, and disappears.

The book is shut as Chronoa sighs. "That was interesting! I didn't think Nappa was a thinker, but if he mentored the Prince, then of course he was! Either way it was cool…"

She smiles, then waves "Thanks for reading!"

Sorry about the wait. I had trouble thinking of how to continue the Saiyan Saga. I finally believe I have a way to do it though.

Also, I hope you all enjoyed the more tactical battle in this. Pure power isn't always a way to win, and this version of Piccolo is stronger than he was in the normal timeline, since he had Goku to practice with.

If you guys liked this or didn't, be free to tell me your thoughts. I am open to any suggestion, and I am curious to know your thoughts. Thanks!