Chapter 38

The True Warrior Class

In the Room of Spirit and Time several months have passed and by now the two alien warriors within have long since fully adjusted to the chamber. Now the two warriors have engaged in yet another sparring session. They have long since lost count of how many victories each combatant achieved in these sessions. Both combatants' respective Gi's are in bad shape. Only Kakarot's lower half was still intact. His orange top was now in pieces, and he had since discarded his weighted wrist cuffs and blue undershirt.

Piccolo's Gi had lost half of his top splitting from his right shoulder down to his left side. This left his left shoulder exposed along with that half of his torso. His lower half was slightly ripped just like Kakarot's lower half. They dashed around the battlefield having short clashes of strength. They appeared in the middle of the white field with Kakarot throwing a straight punch which Piccolo blocked with his left forearm.

Both warriors immediately disappear and reappear several meters away. This time Piccolo is on the offensive; he throws out a knee strike which Kakarot blocks with his own knee. Kakarot immediately throws a right hook which Piccolo catches with his left hand. Immediately after catching Kakarot's fist, Piccolo throws his only free arm which Kakarot in turn catches. They freeze in place as they attempt to overpower each other. They stare into each other's eyes and after a few seconds of their stalemate they break away and disappear again.

Suddenly the whole battlefield is quickly covered in craters made from the two warriors' battle. They moved at supersonic speeds, making contact and breaking away from each other at such speeds that lesser warriors wouldn't even be able to register their movements. At this point they had ceased caring about their personal grievances with the other. All they saw before them was a rival they wanted to overcome.

Kakarot threw a flying kick which Piccolo dodged causing him to fly past him. Piccolo delivered his own roundhouse kick aiming for Kakarot's back. The second Kakarot's kick touched the ground he used the impact to jump over Piccolo's kick, backwards. Now that he was right behind Piccolo, he clamped both of his hands together and reeled in a double ax handle. Just before he threw it a thought crossed his mind, "This is more like it, I haven't felt like this since… since..."

Kakarot felt his arms falter which is when Piccolo spun around and landed a punch to Kakarot's left cheek, sending him flying. Piccolo dashed forward while firing a barrage of Ki Blasts at Kakarot who made no effort to defend against. Piccolo kept the barrage coming as he closed in on Kakarot until he was right over him, preparing a double axe handle. Kakarot looked up at the strike and with wide, desperate eyes, Kakarot instantly kicked the ground under him and delivered a gut punch.

Piccolo gasped for air having the wind knocked out of him. He clutched his stomach and fell to the ground falling to a kneeling position. He looked up to see Kakarot standing above him, he expected to see a smile, but Kakarot's expression bewildered him. What's more Kakarot began a pattern of repeatedly clenching his right fist but then unclenching it. An uncharacteristic look of hesitation and regret was plastered all over his face. Piccolo had no idea why, but the mere fact Kakarot was hesitating at all was infuriating to him.

Piccolo gritted his teeth and let out an angry growl before standing up and punching Kakarot's right cheek. Kakarot was pushed back by two steps. Piccolo angrily said, "What are you doing!?"

Piccolo took two steps forward and delivered another punch to Kakarot's face, forcing him back by another two steps. "Why are you hesitating!? What's with that stupid look on your face?"

Piccolo continued with an elbow strike to his chest which pushed him back by another foot. Piccolo took a step forward and grabbed Kakarot by his neck and said, "Are you pitying me? Are you unsatisfied with my level!?"

Piccolo then picked him up by his neck and then choke slammed him, creating a small crater around them. Kakarot was grabbing his arm as he gasped for air. Piccolo then said in an even more raised tone, "Don't insult me with your pity!"

He then slightly lowered his voice and said, "I'm a warrior, same as you. You can suppress yourself all you want, but I won't stand for this insult!"

Kakarot, his voice raspy due to speaking only after his second breath, "I-it's not y-you! I felt like I did back then, when my thrills came from slaughtering planets and killing innocents."

This answer did not quell Piccolo's agitation, in fact Kakarot growled angrily again after hearing this. He blurted out, "Moron!"

Piccolo stomped down on Kakarot's chest causing him to flinch and dust to go flying thanks to the force of the kick. Piccolo then spoke with agitation in his voice, "Civilians? Planets? Why are you letting such pointless distractions restrain you?!"

Piccolo crouched down and said to his face, "When you fight a warrior, the last thing on your mind should be past sins or regrets!"

Piccolo grabbed Kakarot by his neck and as he stood to his feet, he pulled Kakarot into a standing position. He then gave a slight shove, pushing Kakarot back by half a step. As Kakarot rubbed his neck, Piccolo said, "Do not think about what you did as a warrior of the Saiyans!"

Piccolo put a hand on his own chest and raised his voice even more, "I'm a warrior in more than lineage."

Piccolo then took that hand and pointed a finger at Kakarot, "You're the same, were you not trained alongside the strongest humans on this planet? Were you not trained by my other half, a Namekian, the god of Earth!?"

Piccolo then crossed his arms and shifted his body to the right while keeping his eyes on Kakarot. He then said in a low voice, "I may not give a damn about them, but at least give them the same level of respect they give to you."

Kakarot's eyes widened in astonishment, his jaw was left ajar. It was as if he realized something that should have been obvious to him from the beginning. Images passed through his mind, first his former Saiyan comrades, then the Turtle School Students sparring with him and lastly Piccolo who stood in front of him. Kakarot closed his mouth, scowled and then looked down at the ground and thought to himself, "What a fool I've been… I already accepted that my race was rotten, that being a Saiyan Warrior wasn't something I was proud of. I began to hate the feeling of exhilaration I got from battle but…"

Kakarot then thought back to his new human companions, he thought to himself, "...But that just makes it clear I'm attaching what a warrior is to my race. I've regarded my new comrades as something less than warriors!"

Kakarot grew visibly angry at this realization. He may no longer care for his species but the new bonds he has started to make with his new allies were important to him. He can't stand the fact his overfocus on what he used to be, has caused him to unknowingly disrespect his new allies. The anger boiled to the surface as his aura burst forth, causing Piccolo to take a step back in surprise. Kakarot's muscles bulged as he looked at Piccolo and said, "You're right, they deserve more respect than that."

Kakarot clenched his fists and said, "I won't make this mistake again!"

Kakarot's aura disappeared as he took a fighting stance, Piccolo smiled at his posture and did the same. Kakarot said, "I won't hesitate anymore."

Piccolo chuckled and said, "You better not, I won't hold back if I catch you getting soft like I did a moment ago."

They both smiled at each other and resumed their sparring session, no longer restrained by personal feelings or regrets.

Back with the Dragon Team, in the present, the Neo-Tri Beam successfully hit Raditz who didn't even make an attempt to dodge the blast. Smoke and debris clouded the blast zone, Tien's body was beginning to feel numb from overexerting himself. This particular technique can output power far exceeding the capability of its user. The downside is it uses this power by draining the literal life force of the user. Beyond Ki, it drains your core, the youthful energy emanating much closer to your soul than the energy that surrounds it. Tien knew if he took this technique too far it would kill him, but the risk was worth it.

If Raditz kept up the pressure, then one of them would die before Kakarot and Piccolo arrived. Tien only barely manages to stay in the air despite his body's condition. Right when Tien's thoughts began to drift to what they were going to do to stall the other Saiyans, he felt a sudden gust of wind pick up from the center of the smoke cloud. It blew the smoke and dust away, revealing something horrifying. Tien's jaw was left ajar as grunts of surprise and astonishment escaped his lips.

Tien froze upon seeing Raditz emerge from the dust cloud unscathed. Even his armor survived, not even taking visible damage from the attack. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Raditz had his arms spread wide, upwards, having apparently blocked the attack. He was now at ground level, but he was virtually unscathed. He was stunned into silence by the discovery. Raditz was still looking up at Tien, he muttered with a smirk, "That one had some real kick to it. Kakarot would probably get excited if he had seen it himself."

Raditz then chuckled and slightly tilted his head to the left, "Considering the time he spent here, maybe he already did."

Raditz then frowned, straightened his head and muttered, "But I'm not my brother. When I see a threat, I take care of it…"

Raditz put one hand to his side and raised the other one above his head. A pink Ki blast forms in his hands, sparking with red electricity which soon lit up the battlefield. Tien attempted to move but floating was all he could do to stay stationary, anything beyond that and he'd fall. Raditz added, "...Quickly."

Raditz then threw the pink Ki blast Tien's way, launching the attack at him. All Tien could do was attempt to block the attack, but it was in vain. Once the attack hit him, it expanded in size and exploded lighting up the battlefield again before returning back to its normal colors. Tien's body helplessly fell to the ground but before it hit the ground, it suddenly stopped. An exhausted and injured Chiaotzu arrived just in time to stop his drop with telekinesis, dropping him on the ground without hurting him more.

Krillin and Chichi arrive at his position to check on their condition. Chiaotzu is conscious but Tien is unconscious but at least he's alive. Krillin tells Chiaotzu, "Take care of Tien, Chichi and I will keep the guy busy until Kakarot gets here."

Chiaotzu gives them a nod after which Krillin turns to Chichi and says, "Yamcha is still recovering, and the others are down. We only need to buy a little more time, I'm sure Kakarot and Piccolo will be out of the chamber soon."

Chichi gave Krillin a stern look and nodded. He returned the nod and they both dashed towards the alien warrior. Raditz gave them an overconfident smirk as they closed in on him. While running the two of them charged up a Kamehameha wave. They charged towards his front but partway to him they stopped and circled around him on opposite ends. Krillin flanked left and Chichi dashed right; when both fighters were to his right flank and left flank they stopped and fired their Kamehameha Waves in unison.

Raditz glanced at the two attacks but then let out a wry chuckle, "How pointless…"

He aimed his arms out towards the two separate attacks. He didn't falter for even a second when he caught both attacks with his bare hands. He then made a forward crossing motion throwing the beams into the air, going over the two earthlings' heads by three meters. The blasts landed several meters away causing a huge explosion far behind Krillin and Chichi. He immediately let out a maniacal laugh while yelling, "Numbers won't help you here!"

Raditz then, with his arms still extended towards the two warriors, fired off two purple Ki waves from his open palms. "Have fun with this, Double Sunday!"

The separate Ki Waves barreled headfirst towards the two fighters. Chichi managed to leap into the air, dodging the beam. Krillin however dodges to the right but the blast grazes his shoulder, destroying the top right half of his top. Krillin grabbed his now wounded shoulder which was now a deep red. Chichi saw this and let out an angry grunt.

She prepared a counterattack in response; she landed and kicked the ground launching herself at him. The only thought in her head was to keep him busy for just a few more minutes. Krillin on the other hand yelled, "No, Chichi!"

He leaped forward to help despite his injured shoulder but was hit with a quick one-handed Ki wave which pushed him back and took him out of the fight for the moment.

Raditz muttered under his breath, "No, I'd like to see what she can do."

Raditz turned to her, right when she reached him, he blocked the series of spear hand strikes and lightning-fast kicks she threw at him. Her attacks had no effect, no matter how many she threw or how fast she threw them, her opponent's defenses were too formidable.

She did succeed in mildly impressing him, "Very impressive, you might be weak but at least you have spirit!"

He lets out a hearty laugh causing her to growl angrily at him. He then caught a roundhouse kick and said, "I wonder how you'll respond to this."

He quickly aimed an open palm toward Yamcha who was currently struggling to his feet after seeing Krillin get injured. Chichi's eyes widened upon realizing what Raditz was trying to do. She quickly aimed a dropkick towards his arm, but Raditz had already fired a single large Ki blast. Chichi screamed, "No!"

She abandoned her assault and charged toward the blast hoping to push it out of the way. She didn't get two steps forward before she felt a sharp pain in the middle of her back. Her body hit the ground hard, momentarily being pinned by Raditz's elbow. He then lifted it up before stepping where his elbow used to be. He then applied pressure to keep her pinned causing her to let out a pain filled groan. Raditz remarked, "Bad move."

Chichi looks forward and watches helplessly as Raditz's Ki blast reaches Yamcha. She yells out of anguish, but her eyes widen even more when Tien suddenly appears in front of the blast. He quickly grasps both of his hands together but sticks both of his index fingers and thumbs upwards. Right when the blast reaches him, he yells out with all of his might. The blast is then launched back at Raditz who, without giving a noteworthy expression, swats the blast to his right. It lands several meters away creating an explosion two times larger than the ones the Kamehameha waves caused a moment ago.

Yamcha immediately looks up at Tien and says with a smile, "Thanks man!"

Tien falls to a crawling position before straining to reply, "Don't mention it."

Yamcha then falls back into a sitting position clearly not having the stamina to get up. Chichi briefly looks relieved but flinches when she feels the pain in her back return. She glares back at Raditz who has begun to grind his boot into her back. Raditz suddenly said, "You are not used to real battle are you, human?"

Chichi blurts out in agitation, "W-what?"

Raditz immediately said, "I saw you freeze up when Vegeta killed that Saibaman. Obviously, you aren't used to seeing death on the battlefield."

He then thought to himself, "That means she isn't a student he took on. Even with how he's changed, Kakarot would have made sure anyone he trained would be prepared for that eventuality. I had thought her ferocious fighting style was a result of training with a Saiyan… It would appear that isn't the case."

Chichi frowned upon being reminded of her reaction to the dead Saibaman. She doesn't give an immediate response, unsure how to defend her freezing up like that. Raditz scoffs and states, "You're out of your depth."

Chichi grinds her teeth in irritation and barks back, "I'm prepared to put up with anything if it means protecting the earth. I'll die for it if that's what it takes."

The Saiyan lets out a humorless chuckle and says, "That's admirable…and stupid."

Raditz lifts his arms in an exaggerated motion and says, "What's the point? You're all out of your league, you might as well lie down and die."

Chichi shoots him a sharp glare but doesn't tell him what she really wants to say. There wasn't a point, so she just gritted her teeth in agitation. Raditz frowns and pauses for a moment before shrugging. He decided to get down to what he really wanted to ask her, "How do you know my brother?"

Chichi is confused by the question; she guessed that he was just curious what Kakarot has been up to since settling on earth. She speaks frankly, "We're friends."

Raditz doesn't look satisfied by the answer, so he moves on to another question, "You were present when Kakarot made his wish. I need to know why my brother chose that wish."

Chichi paused for a moment before speaking with mild contempt, "I doubt you could understand his reasoning… but…"

Her tone shifts to be calmer with a hint of fondness in her voice, "Your brother felt guilty over all the people he and your group killed. He used his wish to undo the damage he and you lot caused."

Raditz didn't need to hear anything else, anger was painted over Raditz's face, he shot Chichi a scornful glare and said, "He… he's gone soft. This must be you and those other fools' fault!"

Raditz wanted to believe he was acting in order to appease the earthlings who were allowing him to stay. That was evidently not the case, Chichi didn't flinch at Raditz's angry words, "You can call him soft or naive all you want. It won't change the fact Kakarot is an earthling now. He's proud to be called a warrior of earth!"

Raditz glared even sharper at her, "You moron, this isn't about pride for me. You've set Kakarot on a path that only ends in pain and suffering!"

He stomps down harder on her while continuing, "He won't get away with an apology or a mere beating. He's tried to kill him for less and now I can't do anything for him… he's…my enemy now. I-I can't protect him this time."

Chichi's face becomes stern as she confidently says, "You don't need to worry for your brother. When he gets here, you'll understand what I mean."

Raditz leans down and grabs Chichi by the back of her neck and pulls her up while removing his foot. Her feet hovered over the ground. Chichi grabs at the hand holding her in the air but no matter how hard she pulls or viciously she scratches at it, his grip wouldn't loosen. Raditz then turned toward Vegeta and pointed her in their direction.

Raditz said, "It doesn't matter how strong he becomes. Vegeta's a wall none of us have a hope of toppling."

Chichi peered back at him with a stern expression, Raditz said with an unflinching gaze, "The path you and your friends have set him on… you've doomed him."

Chichi continued to stare and for the briefest of moments her expression fell before it hardened again. "If you really care for your brother, then you should be standing by his side, you should help him fight Vegeta if he's such a threat."

Raditz's scowl deepened into a hate filled glare, Chichi felt his grip tighten around her head causing her to wince. Raditz angrily said, "Don't speak to me about "care". I stood by his side when the rest called him Low Class trash. I was there when he surpassed, growing so strong they had no choice but to acknowledge him. For a low-class warrior that's an honor in its own right."

Raditz's voice turned bitter as words escaped his lips, "Even when he grew sick of my… my cowardice, I stuck by his side."

The pain of his grip grew excruciating as Chichi began to yell out while desperately pulling at his fingers. Suddenly Vegeta yelled out, "Raditz, don't get carried away!"

Raditz immediately loosened his grip and looked over at Vegeta who was scowling. Vegeta continued, "She still has information we need."

Vegeta then gave him a sinister grin and said, "If you can get the information out of her now, then I'll allow it."

Immediately after loosening his grip, Chichi gasped out of relief. Her arms flopped to her sides, exhausted from the attempt to free herself. It was clear that even at full power, she didn't have the strength to escape his grasp. She realized that he wasn't wrong when he said she was out of her depth. Raditz gave her a long stare before saying, "I'll spare you the sight of Vegeta breaking my brother."

Raditz then mentally said, "And spare him the sight of seeing Nappa or Vegeta kill you in front of him."

Raditz then said, "Now tell me how the Dragon Balls work! Don't drag this out, if you really care for him then you won't force me to resort to forcing the information out of you. I'm sure he'd hate the sight of your blood on my hands."

Chichi ignored his plea and instead peered at him and said, "The last thing he'd want is you bastards getting a wish. I can be revived unlike you."

Raditz let out a furious grunt before tossing Chichi thirty feet forward. He disappeared and reappeared in front of her grabbing her by the neck. She instinctively grabbed his arms as he seriously considered breaking her neck. Chichi angrily cursed after which Raditz yelled, "Don't be stubborn! I could leave your interrogation to Nappa or Vegeta, and I promise you this. You're better off with me, compared to those two, I'm a damn priest!"

As Raditz attempted to interrogate Chichi the others stood back helplessly. Krillin was checking on Yamcha seeing how he took a full barrage from Raditz. Yamcha said while fighting through the pain his body was feeling, "W-we need to get her away from him!"

Krillin bit his lip out of frustration, he said, "I know, but we couldn't get close to him even after he tossed you away. If we move carelessly while he's holding her then who knows what he might do to keep us away."

Yamcha spoke under his breath, "We need to surprise him but none of us can move properly. Damn it all!"

Tien, who was near them but on one knee punched the ground in front of him while speaking with gritted teeth, "I feel so useless! What good am I? Even my greatest technique didn't even do anything."

Tien looked over at Raditz and Chichi wondering what they could do to separate them when something caught his attention. "Hmm? What am I feeling?"

Krillin and Yamcha looked around them, having felt the same thing Tien was distracted by. Krillin muttered, "I barely recognize it b-but is that…?"

Chichi refused to speak, biting her lip to keep her mouth shut. She bit down so hard it began to bleed. This is when an unfamiliar Ki caught her attention. Before she could figure out who it belonged to, Raditz's grip disappeared. His body was suddenly launched forward thanks to a surprise kick to the back of his head. Before Chichi could land on the ground this mystery fighter caught her by grabbing her waist and holding her as if she was luggage.

The course of events went along so fast she hadn't had the chance to look up at him until she was moved to her allies and carelessly dropped by them. The second she landed she pulled herself upward to a kneeling position. She turned around and froze upon looking up at a familiar face. She blurted out, "P-piccolo!"

Piccolo stood over them with a smirk on his face, he wore his turban and cloak. He then said, "It's been a long time."

Author's Notes: At last, I finished it. Sorry, this took so long, I began to feel a bit burned out by the story and then Sparking Zero came out so that distracted me for a while. I also started working on a non-fanfiction book I've been trying to write, so that took some time away as well. Luckily that break refreshed my interest in the story, so we'll be continuing like normal. Anyway, I hope everyone likes Piccolo's surprise entrance and Big Damn Hero entrance. I hope I can keep up the momentum for Piccolo. Thanks for reading, if anyone has any thoughts they want to share regarding the story, please leave a review. Anyway, onto the Power Levels.

Power Levels:

Piccolo: REDACTED (Don't want to spoil anyone on who he's stronger or weaker than)

Krillin: 5,450

Tien: 5,400

Chiaotzu: 3,500

Chichi: 5,000

Yamcha: 6,000

Raditz: 6,500

Nappa: REDACTED

Vegeta: 18,000 Max Power