Chapter Twenty

Three days came and went quickly without much incident since Raditz, Bulma, and Krillin had arrived in the sacred land of Korin. Neither Krillin or Yamcha had shown signs of returning just yet, but there was no cause of concern about it with Raditz still helping out. Each day, some fleet of Red Ribbon soldiers tried to secure the Dragon Ball, not knowing that their fates were decided when they tested the mights of not only Bora but a Saiyan warrior. Regardless of what happened though, Upa and his father stuck to their regular lives coming to and from their village. Bulma had been hard at work in the portable home she'd brought along, tweaking out some of the plans of the Gravity Chamber she'd brought with her along with some other ideas of inventions. Raditz enjoyed his time in the wilderness, being reminded of his childhood days living with Gohan in the foresty Mount Paozu. He spent most of the days training or relaxing with Bulma.

After a hunting session with Bora and Upa, Raditz returned from the forest with the body of a lifeless deer in hands. Following behind the Saiyan were the two Karingans, both harboring their own quarries, some foxes and a small rabbit. Bulma turned her head in disgust as the group grew closer and kept to herself through the sounds of the hunters using their hunting blades, or in Raditz's case, a ki blade, to skin their prey. She wasn't much of an outside type of girl but she knew that Raditz was enjoying himself, that made her happy.

Some more hours passed by after lunch, Raditz calmly walking over to a peaceful spot in the calm meadows to meditate. Bulma silently watched him do this, her pencil never leaving the sketchpad she was scribbling on. It was nice being away from the city once again, West City had a lot going on for him. Just the breaking winds brought back nostalgic feelings of life with Gohan and the first time he had met Bulma and began their quest for the Dragon Balls. The Saiyan made a mental note to himself: hunting the Dragon Balls would be something they'd have to get back together and do again once all this worked itself out. Hell, even Krillin and Mai could tag along this time!

Very soon after, the peaceful day that the teenage Saiyan was enjoying was interrupted as the thundering sound of something smashing into the ground echoed through the sky. Raditz's eyes shot over to the dust cloud that came from the display of force, piercing as the silhouette of a skinny yet tall man appeared. As the dust faded, he could see that the newcomer was elderly, his beady eyes and long nose pointed downward as the frown on her face. He kept his greased hair in a braid ponytail and wore a pink colored chang pao, the kanji for kill and the words 'KILL YOU' stenciled on the back of his robes. The man's small eyes scanned his surroundings, staying in place to glare daggers at the long haired boy before him before carrying on with his scan.

The pink clad man stepped off the pillar that had been shot into the ground, ignoring the glares he got from Raditz. Turning away from him, he advanced towards the teepee that Upa and his father were watching them from. Grunting, Bora met the man outside in an effort to protect his son. He read the kanji on the man's gi and his hands clenched on the spear in his hand as he met the visitor face-to-face.

"What business do you have in these lands?" The village chief questioned his visitor with a harsh scowl. His spear was gripped tightly in his hands at his side. Whoever this man was or where he'd come from, Bora was not going to allow any harm to come whatsoever to either his village, his guests, and definitely not to his own son, Upa.

"I am a hitman," The man plainly answered. He twirled at his pencil stache before impatiently crossing his arms in front of his chest. "You people do know what that is, do you?"

"A hitman?" Bora repeated with a grunt, his grip on the spear becoming so much firmer. "Well, I'd suggest you go back to wherever or whomever sent you here. The Red Ribbon's behind this right? Couldn't finish their own fight so they send some sick fuck? Your kind isn't welcomed on these sacred lands!"

Bora looked over to his son as he backed from the man. Of course the Red Ribbon Army had sent a hitman for this Dragon Ball. He wished he had thrown it in the river when he'd had that fateful encounter with it. Then he and his people would be free of this war he was fighting in. No beauty was worth the lives of his family or the rest of his tribe.

"I won't be staying long," The man responded, his voice snarky but emotionless. "The Red Ribbon's sent me to tie up their loose ends and take away this Dragon Ball your boy found. Please call me Mercenary Tao… nice to kill you."

"No way in hell!" Bora growled, falling into a fighting stance with his spear in both hands. "If your plan was to take it, I'm afraid that's no longer an option my friend. You're going to have to get through me first!"

"Oh… how funny. Did you believe I was going to ask kindly?" The mercenary questioned hysterically. He was a hitman, it wasn't his job to be kind. It was his job to get rid of folks for other folks who weren't man enough to smile in their victim's face. He cackled at the thought of an extra couple million Zeni, glaring at the small boy blowing raspberries in the tent. Maybe he'd knock him off after his old man, just for the giggles. "I'm going to enjoy prying it from your son's lifeless body. Get ready little kid… daddy's going to be leaving in a short moment."

Without saying another word, Mercenary Tao shot forward as soon as he had finished speaking. He launched a foot into the chief's gut, following up with a vicious right-handed hook to Bora's face to add onto the amount of blood mixed saliva that spat out of the man's mouth. The amount of force Tao put behind his strikes were much more than needed to swoop Bora off of his feet and down to his back several meters away. Raditz's eyes widened at the man's speed and ruthlessness. He knew Bora stood no chance… he wasn't going to allow him to fight a useless fight like this. Upa needed his father. Flashbacks of the thought of his father's sacrifice resurfaced to his mind. He had needed his father.

Raditz growled to himself as he shot to his face, positioning himself into a fighting stance behind the mercenary.

"Back off," The Saiyan hissed through clenched teeth. Hoping to gain the mercenary's attention with his outburst, Raditz's pride was singed when he was put off as nothing when he was the real threat. Oh well, he'd just teach him what unacknowledged him led to! "You're not going to kill another person as long as I have a say in it, Tao!" Raditz added spitefully. Bora's power level was only 136, Tao had clocked in at a bizarre 317.

"N-No," Bora let out, coughing as blood as he slowly pulled himself back to his feet. This guy was faster and hit harder than he'd planned for but still, he couldn't allow Raditz to take on Tao. These were his lands, it was his duty to protect them from the likes of the mercenary. "He's come here for me… I cannot allow you to fight for me or I risk growing complacent in my role as chief. He will have to deal with me before I fork over this ball." He bellowed, pointing his spear at the menace that was Tao.

"One does not deal with pathetic insects like your kind," the mercenary interjected, smirking at the spear as he took another step closer. He was a killer and very proud of it. "One simply crushes them under his boots."

"Bora," Raditz started, meeting the man's eyes from where he stood. He couldn't allow Upa to see what could happen. "You don't understand… you don't stand a chance of beating him on your own. I can't just sit and let Upa watch this."

"See what, a man protecting his family?" Bora proudly shot back with a laugh. His eyes left Raditz and turned to flare at Tao once again. "Upa's grandfather defended these lands proudly, I plan on dying to defend these lands…" He continued, turning to his son. "Upa will one day be the chief and since he was a baby, he knows that he will have to give his all to protect his mother, future wife and children in any way that I wasn't able to. Just watch over him, wolves hunt in the tall grass." He laughed before he let out a breath. With ill intent, he then lunged at the assassin, wildly slashing and hacking at the trained hitman. Even though Raditz suspected that he was charging to his death, he respected Bora for her fearless display of courage and dedication to his people.

Unfazed by the incoming spear tip slashing its way to him, Tao leaned slightly to his right, his eyes following the spear as it sped inches away from his ear. At the last second, the killer reached his arm out, grabbing a hold of the titan's spear. Establishing his grip on it, the mercenary used an ounce of his strength to lift Bora three feet off of the ground. Aiming his thin finger at Bora's chest so close that his nail was grazing the man's beating heart, Tao let out a single word. "Dodonpa!" He snickered, a smirk painted on his face as he focused his energy on the digit.

A thin beam of yellow coated energy shot from the man's fingertip as he did this, rocketing forward until it pierced straight through Bora's skin and into the man;s bulky chest. Bora let out a painful scream as a glob of blood spat out of his mouth in a cough. Not stopping there, the ray of ki followed its path through his heart and through his back, sending Bora flying into the base of Korin Tower. As he struck the pillar and laid there, another jet of blood gushed from the wound he'd just sustained.

Raditz watched in sheer horror as the helpless body of muscle that was Bora shot through the air. He couldn't move a muscle, not to even check on Bora as his scouter beeped frantically as the rapidly dropping power level registered in it. Even if he hadn't died on impact with the point-blank energy blast, the large amount of blood he was losing would do that. The Saiyan hit himself in his mind. Had he known Tao could use energy attacks, he wouldn't have even let Bora attack him head on like that.

"Oh what is that? Want this primitive weapon back?" Raditz's focus shot back to Tao as the assassin snickered at his fallen opponent. The next instant, Tao used all his strength to hurl the javelin back at its original wielder. Moving at supersonic speeds, Raditz closed his eyes as the stomach-turning sound of the spear shot through Bora's body again and plunged into the stone pillar behind the lifeless corpse. "There it is," Tao said at the sight of the blood leaking onto the blades of grass Bora had breathed his final breath.

Raditz's eyes shot open in fury, the gruesome scene never leaving his mind despite not having his eyes open to witness it. To his side, the Saiyan's fist clenched shut and his fingers dug into the palm of his hand, drawing some blood. Raditz's blood boiled violently through his veins as he anger spiked past its limit, realizing what had just happened and what had to happen next. He was going to make sure this mercenary paid for the blood he had shed. His lips curled into a frown as he watched Upa and Bulma rush over to the unresponsive corpse, the bluenette searching for a pulse.

"I-I can't believe it…" Bulma winced, a frown of her own on her face as tears began building in her eyes as she looked up to an uneasy Raditz. "He's dead… I can see the hole in his heart!"

"Father, NO!" Upa cried, screaming at the top of his lungs as his head slammed into the lifeless body of his father. His hands clenched onto the grassy field below as his tears dewed the grass. Turning to his father's murderer, the son of Bora angrily pointed a small finger at the man. "You! You killed him! I-I'll kill you!" The child spat out through gritted teeth and wet eyes.

"Let me tell you something," Tao chuckled, raising a finger aimed where Bulma and Upa were confronting the useless corpse. "Your father was a job! You and the bitch… this will be for fun. Tell the bastard that the spear works wonders when you see him in hell, why don't you!" The mercenary carried on, the same golden aura from before cloaking his stretched index finger.

"I don't think so, Tao," Raditz harshly snapped, suddenly appearing just inches in front of his deadly foe. The ground around him shattered beneath, giving in as the fiery aura of energy dazzled around the Saiyan. Shooting forward with unreal speed, before Tao could even fathom what was happening, his Dodan Ray had faded from his finger as Raditz's hand squeezed his whole hand. Upa's cries rang through the Saiyan's ears as he remembered the feeling of loneliness he knew the boy was going through. "No fucking more. You've hurt far too many people already…" He added, strengthening his grip further.

"H-How are you so fast?" The famed mercenary questioned his foe, wincing in pain as his feeling in his hand faded as it was crushed. Was his vision failing him or was this insolent child actually that fast to begin with? And this pain… What kind of freak was this kid? "I-I-I didn't even see you move! What happened? Did Gero get to you too?"

"I'm not going to stand here and let you murder any more innocent people, Tao you bastard!" Raditz angrily responded, slowly crushing the man's wrist to powder. Just one more squeeze and his wrist would begin protruding from his skin and boy, would it hurt. Disregarding both what the man had said and the winces, Raditz looked up to Bulma and Upa. "Get away from here you two… I'd hate myself even more if either of you got caught in the crossfire that's about to ensue."

The two ran for safety behind Korin Tower, ducking away and confident that Raditz would keep Tao away from them. Halfway through the run, Upa turned to face Raditz with the same expression on his face. "Raditz… make him suffer, for Dad." The boy coldly exclaimed, glaring daggers at the mercenary.

"So, you're the twat who won the World Tournament," Tao spat out, his wrist still in the Saiyan's grip.

"You're outmatched. There's no way in hell that you're leaving here," Raditz sternly spat at the man as he shoved him to the ground after loosening his grip. He was ready to fight. "One warning, don't ever think to call my Bulma a bitch ever again, you bastard!"

"I can do as I please, you insolent child!" The mercenary spitefully countered, pushing himself to his feet. So the boy wanted to fight huh? This would be thrilling. "One less pest out of the way, I'm sure Red will pay me handsomely for your head!"

"No, your bloodbath ends here," Raditz replied, staring fiercely at Tao. "You're going down for every single life you've ever taken. This is to give them the peace they deserve in death."

"You twat!" Tao crazily screamed, a maniacal grin cloaking his face. Another second later, the sinister martial artist charged his opponent.

Closing the distance between himself and Raditz, Tao threw a barrage of nearly twenty strikes at his tailed opponent. The same smirk that came to his face faded as he witnessed Raditz effortlessly avoid every punch, leaving behind only afterimages in his place with his great speed.

"H-How are you so fast!" Tao gulped. He was the Pink Bullet. Nobody was faster than him! "Nobody has ever dodged one of my killing blows!"

"So you're slow and weak," Raditz taunted, a sarcasm laced laugh escaping his mouth as he drove his fist firmly into the coldblooded assassin's exposed gut. The Saiyan laughed again as he doubled his opponent over in pain. "What? Never fought somebody that hits back?"

"Shut up child, you will suffer and then die," Tao spewed out, his teeth clenched as he aimed his stretched finger at the Saiyan before him. "Try blocking this, you insolent bug! DODONPA!" The mercenary yelled, his voice consumed with rage as the very same beam of light that had stripped Bora's life shot from his finger and charged towards Raditz.

Raditz saw this and quickly crossed his arms across his chest, preparing to brace for the blunt of Tao's oncoming energy attack. The yellow beam of energy that was the mercenary's Dodon Ray attack smashed into the Saiyan although instead of exploding immediately, it attempted to burrow into his skin. Raditz spiked his ki as soon as he felt the blast touch him, causing it to blow up prematurely and covering most of the area around him in smoke.

"Not so tough now, are you?" The pink clad mercenary snickered, watching the fireworks die down. He had put everything into the Dodon Ray, the brat couldn't have survived that. Now, only two witnesses were left to slain. "Now to make that runt tell me where his decaying daddy put that Dragon Ball."

"Hey," Raditz's voice grumbled as he leapt from the cloud of dust, practically unharmed from the attack. Before Tao could even turn to face the Saiyan again, he was knocked onto the ground by the ferocious warrior. Arising and pulling Tao up by his collar, Raditz took another glance over to Bora's corpse. 'This is for you my friend,' The Saiyan thought to himself as he spiked his energy again, a magnificent display of purple flames flaring around his body. He felt his strength pulsate through his muscles as the infernos wildly raged on.

"How'd you survive that!" Tao cried out, astonished by the warrior's unfazed presence. He spat out a wad of blood and a few teeth and looked into his hand, also shocked at how much blood had been drawn in the single strike. Whoever this child was… no such warrior should have existed. He saw the Turtle stance he moved with… the old baboon couldn't have trained him, could he?

"Like I said, no more," Raditz replied, drawing the sword he had from his sheath. Without another word, he was back on the offensive, landing a barrage of kicks and sword slashes to Tao. His opponent screamed as the blade hacked through skin and bloodied his pink suit but not letting up, Raditz finished off his combo by driving the sword directly into the mercenary's shoulder and about a foot deep into the side of Tao's body. "I'm ending this here and now!" The turtle student firmly stated as he uppercutted the assassin into the air.

"Try bastard," Tao winced, internally screaming at the pain he was in. He grasped his nearly cut cleanoff climb and his focus shifted back to Raditz, who was charging a large sphere of energy in his right palm. The man's eyes widened as his cold heart dropped, realizing that the end had come -karma had finally managed to catch up with him in this race. If only the dear doctor could have done more. He had failed and his reign of terror had finally reached its conclusion.

"Saturday Crush!" Raditz screamed into the heavens, thrusting his signature violet colored blast of energy soaring towards the mercenary. The energy wave smashed into Tao, breaking through layers of skin and muscle as what little remained of the skilled mercenary was sent scattered into the wind. Afterwards, Raditz collapsed to his knees as he panted heavily, wrangling in some air into his lungs after such use of his energy.

"I put my all into that attack, it has to be over." Raditz said, climbing to his feet as he tried to walk forward, falling into Bulma's arms. He mentally kicked himself in the arse, knowing that not intervening earlier had cost Upa the life of his father.

"It's okay Raditz, we'll just have to search for the Dragon Balls and wish him back." Bulma exclaimed, trying to comfort the mourning Saiyan. The Red Ribbon Army had a hand in Bora's death so it was only right they took the Dragon Balls and returned the favor. Still she was proud of Raditz for dealing with Tao, she knew he was going through it right now. "You avenged him though, now nobody else will ever be harmed by that psycho."

"Yeah, once Krillin and Yamcha come back, we'll go take them no matter what it takes." Raditz sighed to himself, knowing the bloodshed that he was walking himself into. Soon his grief would be over and Upa would have his father, Bora, back.

Power Levels

Raditz: 394

Bulma: 52

Tao: 317

Bora: 136

Upa: 34