Our heroes have reached their sixth month of training! The gravity is now set at 30g, our heroes are all wearing weighted clothing that equates to 200lbs, and Son Goku is now on par with Vegeta! But this does not mean their training is complete…the hardest part of it is just beginning!

Tale 189: Clash of the Titans!

"Look at them go! It's amazin' that Goku and Gohan can keep up with Vegeta now!" Kuririn gasped in awe while he, Yamcha, Tenshinhan, and Raditz were watching Goku and Gohan take on Vegeta. Raditz smiled proudly as he watched on.

"You all have come a long way," he turned and regarded the three men at his side with a small smile, "We may have a chance against Nappa…we may be able to avenge my race from his treachery…!"

"I hope that we can," Tenshihan replied solemnly, "I would hate it if this was all in vain."

"It won't be!" Yamcha piped in with determination, "It's all of us versus one guy. It will be a breeze!"

Raditz swirled and glared at Yamcha, "It's that type of cockiness that may be our downfall."

"Eh?" Yamcha blinked and stared dumbfounded back at Radtiz, "I…I was only…"

"Freeza is "one guy" who blew up an entire planet. Freeza is "one guy" who makes Nappa's strength look miniscule," Raditz then lunged at Yamcha, "…and I am "one guy" who is about to teach you a valuable lesson!"

SLAMMO!

Yamcha was sent flying through the air. Raditz dashed after him with blinding speed. The commotion caused Goku, Gohan, and Vegeta to pause their fight to see what was happening.

"Uh…why is uncle attacking Yamcha?" Gohan asked nervously. Goku turned to look at Vegeta.

"Yeah…that doesn't look like some light sparrin'…" Goku remarked while turning back to watch Yamcha struggle to deflect the angry blows by Raditz.

"Your friend is not too wise, Kakarrot. It appears that he said something foolish to cause Raditz's rage."

"U-uncle Raditz isn't going to kill Yamcha, is he?" Gohan squeaked. Vegeta frowned and scoffed at Gohan's question in annoyance.

"Don't be foolish, boy. He's not going to kill him. He is teaching him a lesson." Vegeta turned to Goku, "Your friend has a history of being cocky, I assume?"

"Yeah, you could say that!" Goku chuckled, "It has landed him in hot water before." Goku turned to Gohan, who still looked uneasy, "Ease up, Squirt! Yamcha will be fine! This won't be th' first time he's had his bum handed to 'im! Trust me, kiddo, I have had the honor a few times myself!"

"You have?" Gohan asked. Goku nodded with a cheeky grin.

"Aw, yeah! Y'see, Yamcha and I used to be enemies back when I was a boy. He was a desert bandit and he was tryin' to steal th' Dragon Balls from me, Oolong, and Bulma! So, we had a few scuffles! He did almost beat me once, but that was only 'cos I was hungry." Goku chuckled at the memory, "But we didn't stay enemies fer long. He helped us out a couple of times afterwards and then became a friend!"

"Just like you and Mr. Piccolo?" Gohan asked with a smile. Goku smiled at Gohan and knelt down to his son's level.

"Yeah, jus' like me and Piccolo," he then whispered into Gohan's ear, "Jus' don't say that in front of Piccolo unless you want 'im to do to you what your uncle is doin' to Yamcha now!"

Gohan made a face, "Okay. I just don't get why he can't admit that he likes you…"

"Your father killed Piccolo's father," Vegeta spoke up, "That's why he can't admit to it."

Gohan stared at his father, "…you killed Mr. Piccolo's dad?"

Goku looked bothered by his son's tone but he nodded nonetheless, "Yeah, I did. Y'see, Piccolo's father was not at all like him. He was pure evil, a demon even!"

"A demon?" Both Vegeta and Gohan asked at the same time.

"Yeah. When Kami-Sama expelled the evil within himself to become God, that evil manifested into a demon, later to be known as Demon King Piccolo. This Piccolo had no empathy in him at all. He had no problem killin' anyone who got in his way. Muten-Roshi's master was th' one who sealed him away ages ago. He got released back upon th' world, though, eight years ago after the 22nd Tenka'ichi Budokai. He killed Kuririn and other martial artists just because they were martial artists. His ultimate goal was to gain eternal youth and rule the Earth in complete chaos."

Vegeta made a slight face, "This Demon King you speak of reminds me of Freeza."

"He almost got his wish. He had used th' Dragon Balls to gain eternal youth and then he destroyed Shenlong so th' Dragon Balls could never be used again."

"Hold on Kakarrot," Vegeta interrupted, "What are these Dragon Balls that you speak of? And who is Shenlong?"

"Th' Dragon Balls are seven special orbs that summon the Dragon God known as Shenlong when they are all gathered together. When summoned, Shenlong will grant you any wish that you desire, but only one wish. When th' wish is granted, the Dragon Balls go flying off to th ends of the Earth, needing a full year to recharge before they can be used again," Goku explained, "After I had killed Demon King Piccolo, I sought out Kami-Sama and he had Mr. Popo fix up Shenlong so that Kuririn and the other victims of Piccolo could be brought back t' life."

"…these Dragon Balls can bring back the dead…?" Vegeta asked softly. Before Goku could say anything else, though, Yamcha flew in between the three of them and crashed into an already banged-up tree.

"Err…" Yamcha struggled to get up. He looked ahead to see that Raditz was steadily walking towards him. He braced himself and got into a pose. Raditz stopped and regarded the man before him.

"If you can't handle me, then you are still not ready for Nappa. I hope this fight was an eye-opener for you."

"Eh…? Y'mean, you're not going to attack me s'more?" Yamcha asked weakly.

"No unless you still insist that our fight against Nappa will still be "a breeze"," Raditz spat. Knowing that Raditz was obviously still angry, Yamcha knew it would be wise to not poke at the hornets' nest any further. He bowed his head and went to walk off, only to find himself being lifted up in Raditz's strong arms, "Don't be foolish, you're in no shape to be walking about! You need to have one of those senzus."

Vegeta chuckled as he watched Raditz walk off with the flabbergasted, yet embarrassed Yamcha in his arms.

"He's always been a very caring Saiyan, that one. If your friend had angered me like that, you would not see me carrying him off to get him healed!"

"Yamcha meant no harm," Goku remarked, "He doesn't think before he speaks, that's all!"

"Um…should we resume our fight now?" Gohan asked while getting into a fighting pose. Vegeta smirked.

"I thought it would never be asked!"

The day of intense sparring resumed with no more interruptions, for the most part. Now that the day was almost spent, our fighters all met up at the Son quarters for their usual feast. It had become part of the norm for their life inside the Gravity Room.

"Are you sure you can sit at the table with us, Yamcha? You can lie down and we can bring the food to you!" Chi-Chi asked in concern as Yamcha gingerly got into his chair.

"I'll be fine," he snapped. They were currently out of senzu beans, hence why Yamcha was still banged up from Raditz's "lesson". Raditz, of course, looked pretty remorseful.

"I am sorry, if I had known that those beans were all spent…"

"Kami will have Yajirobe bring more when they are grown," Piccolo interrupted, "…but be warned, this will be the last batch we will get before Nappa's arrival. We will need to use them sparingly."

The others stared at Piccolo in a solemn silence. Their time with the Earth being peaceful is nearing its end and they all knew it.

"…I would recommend that in a month's time, we get weighted clothing and armor that is double the weight we have on now," Raditz said after a while. The others nodded in agreement.

"When I meditate this evening, I will connect with Kami and ask him to have Mr. Popo craft more," Piccolo replied before taking a sip of his sake. Gohan beamed at him but didn't say anything. Goku, of course, noticed Gohan's shine for Piccolo. It made him happy that Gohan had someone to look up to aside from himself, Chi-Chi, and his brother. Chi-Chi wasn't too thrilled at first, but as time has gone by, she along with the others have been taking a shine to Piccolo as well. He was no longer seen as an outsider or a threat, but as a formidable ally.

"If you could, ask him how long it will be before more of the senzus are grown," Raditz piped in nervously. Yamcha turned red in the face.

"I said I am fine," he stressed through gritted teeth. Vegeta glared angrily at the man, causing him to shrink in his seat.

"We need you to be at 100% as soon as possible. You can not train in the pathetic state that you are currently in! And you would not be in that state to begin with if you hadn't gone off and ran your cocky mouth!" Vegeta barked. Yamcha was taken aback and the rest of the table stared at Vegeta in a stunned silence. Radtiz shot Yamcha an apologetic look before turning to Vegeta.

"Lord Vegeta, please…" Raditz tried to calm Vegeta down but the prince was having none of it.

"Enough, Raditz! Stop feeling bad for him! It was his own stupidity that got him in his current state! You are supposed to be a Saiyan Warrior! Yet, here you are, coddling the very moron who rightfully had his ass handed to him by your own hand!"

"What are you, a child?" Piccolo interrupted in an annoyed fashion, causing Raditz and Vegeta to stare at him in shock.

"What's done is done. There is no sense in yelling at Yamcha and Raditz over something so trivial! Yes, Yamcha was being foolish. Does it mean he deserved what happened to him? No. It was an honest mistake. And stop yelling at your brethren for feeling bad for his actions. He has his right to feel bad, for he was also being foolish. Does that mean he should be shamed for it? No! You are supposedly the "Prince of all Saiyans". Yet, you act like a spoiled child who isn't getting his way! We will not win against Nappa if this attitude of yours continues!" There was a stunned silence that followed. Piccolo, completely unfazed, resumed eating his meal. Vegeta rose from his seat as he glared at Piccolo from across the table.

"You do know that I could end you right here and right now for that insult?" Vegeta growled menacingly. Piccolo chuckled before taking another sip of sake.

"I hardly would call speaking the truth to be an insult, Vegeta. You really need to grow up and learn to take some criticism," he then looked up to meet Vegeta's gaze, "…or are you really going to kill me over something so trivial and be short of one person to fight against Nappa with?"

Vegeta blinked and slowly sat back down. For once in his life, he was humbled. Piccolo was right, he was being extremely childish, "…no. I am sorry."

"And you've been forgiven," Piccolo replied with a short nod, "Now, let's continue to eat this fantastic meal without any more trivial interruptions."

Chi-Chi blushed slightly and smiled at Piccolo's compliment before she resumed eating. The others followed suit shortly after.

Later on, inside of Piccolo and Kuririn's quarters…

"Were you able to talk to Kami-Sama?" Kuririn asked as Piccolo emerged from his room. Piccolo nodded as he grabbed a book from the bookshelf and sat down.

"Yes, he told me that the last batch of senzus will be ready by the end of the week. As for the weighted clothes and armor, Mr. Popo will start on crafting those tomorrow. He then said they should be ready in a couple of days."

"That's good!" Kuririn said in an awkwardly cheerful fashion, "So…erm…is it awkward to psychically connect with Kami-Sama?"

"It can be, considering our past…but he seems to have finally accepted that I am not my father," Piccolo replied softly. Kuririn was silent, not sure of what else to say, and awkwardly stared at his cup of tea, "…I am sorry that my father had you killed, just so you know."

"I-it's okay," Kuririn squeaked in shock, "It wasn't like it was you or anythin'…"

"It might as well have been," Piccolo spat bitterly, "My father plagued me with his memories. He was hoping to be reborn, hence why I bear his memories. But when a demon has passed on, it cannot be reborn."

"What?" Kuririn asked, confused.

Piccolo sighed and turned to Kuririn, "I was never meant to exist. When my father spawned me, he was hoping that he would cheat death and that his spirit would re-emerge from the egg that he spawned. He had placed his memories within that egg so that he would remember the boy who ended him, Son Goku. But when the egg hatched, I came to be with his memories. As a demon, he should've known that he could not cheat death but he was cocky, after all…"

"Oh…I think I get it…"

"At first, I was driven by those memories to seek vengeance for my father's behalf. I wanted to fulfill his dream of ruling the Earth and to take out the one threat to that dream becoming a reality, Son Goku. But as time has passed, however, those memories have been a plague to me. I don't know if training with you all has softened me, but I do not wish for the same world that my father wanted to rule. I imagine that if he were to somehow come back from the dead, he would want me dead as much as he wants Son Goku to be dead."

"…does…does this mean that you do not want to kill Goku anymore…?" Kuririn asked softly, not sure if he was going to regret asking that question or not. Piccolo stared at him blankly for a moment before smiling genuinely.

"No. I do not wish to kill him. If I am to be honest, I never did," he then frowned and glared at Kuririn, "…but don't you dare tell him that!"

Kuririn was taken aback and sheepishly grinned, "Your secret is safe with me!"

What a shocking(not) turn of events! Goku officially has won over Piccolo's heart(Aww!)! But that does not mean the looming fight with Nappa will be any easier! Up Next: The final leg of training!