The spaceship that burst out of the atmosphere could no longer be chased, so Raditz gave up and used his energy to signal his location to the others.
The most urgent task now was to stop the Tree of Might's expansion, and the only thing that could do this was the Dragon Balls!
"Bulma, give me the Dragon Radar!"
"Eh?"
"I need to find all the Dragon Balls as soon as possible. Hurry!" Raditz urged.
Bulma broke into a cold sweat, pointing to the crashed plane. "It might be broken..."
"It's not broken. I have it right here." Master Roshi took out the Dragon Radar, wisdom flashing behind his sunglasses. "I anticipated we might need the Dragon Balls, so I kept the radar safe so we wouldn't waste time looking for it later."
"As expected of Master Roshi!" Raditz was overjoyed.
"That... I don't know if I saw correctly, but that guy who looked like Goku took something from me," Bulma said, her voice growing quieter, as if she had realized something terrible.
"What?"
"It looked like Gohan's... hat."
"It's just a hat..." Raditz waved his hand dismissively, then suddenly froze. "Is there a Dragon Ball on Gohan's hat?"
Master Roshi was also shocked. "That's right! After making that wish last time, I found the Four-Star Ball and put it on the hat! I was going to return it to Gohan, but I kept forgetting. I just happened to bring it today!"
During their earlier conversation, Goku had inadvertently revealed the existence of the Dragon Balls. Although Turles had never seen them before, he would certainly recognize their unique appearance. If that was the case, they were in serious trouble!
By this time, everyone had gathered together, breathing sighs of relief when they saw the fragments of the exploded spaceship and that their friends were safe.
"Where's Turles?" Vegeta asked first.
"He escaped."
"You let him get away?!"
"He also took a Dragon Ball," Master Roshi added.
In an instant, everyone's faces turned ashen as they stood frozen in shock. The Tree of Might was absorbing energy too quickly. Without the Dragon Balls, they couldn't stop this disaster—the whole Earth would be destroyed!
They had defeated Turles but might lose the Earth? That wasn't worth it!
It didn't matter much to Vegeta and Nappa, but to Goku and the others, Earth was their home.
"Let's go see Kami. Maybe he has a solution," Goku suggested. After a moment, he suddenly shouted in surprise, "Look! It's Mr. Popo!"
Following his pointing finger, they saw a dark-skinned figure approaching on a flying carpet in the distance, holding an ornate pot in his hands.
"Mr. Popo! Did Kami send you here?"
"Goku!" Popo stopped his magic carpet. "Kami has been watching from the Lookout. This is the 'Ultra Divine Water' he asked me to bring you. If you sprinkle it onto the roots of the Tree of Might, it should stop its spread."
"Ultra Divine Water? Isn't that for drinking?" Goku remembered using the power of the Ultra Divine Water when he fought against Piccolo.
"The Ultra Divine Water is highly poisonous, but it also has purifying properties. It might be effective against the Tree of Might. Since the Tree of Might produces fruit eaten by gods, Kami thought this might work."
Popo handed the pot to Goku.
Ultra Divine Water? Goku was doubtful, but at this point, they had to try anything. Holding the pot, he flew toward the Tree of Might, sprinkled the water all over its roots, and didn't return until every drop was used.
The effect was immediate—the Tree of Might's expansion stopped. However, the damage the Earth had already suffered couldn't be undone. Almost a quarter of the planet had fallen into a state of biological extinction.
They still needed to find the Dragon Balls!
To accomplish this goal, they needed to improve their strength, modify a spaceship, and locate the Dragon Ball that Turles had taken. Everyone agreed to take a short rest before beginning their next mission.
During this time, Bulma would develop a Space Dragon Ball Radar, and Raditz planned to ask Bulma's father, Dr. Brief, to build a gravity training room.
...
For half a month, violent incidents occurred everywhere on Earth as the chaos continued. Cities and villages, large and small, scrambled for the remaining resources, and some armed groups even waged wars for the chance of survival.
The King deployed troops for rescue and peacekeeping operations, doing his best to stabilize the situation. Natural disasters and human conflicts gradually eroded what peace remained.
Raditz floated high above, where he could see a port and the sea connected to it. The blue ocean was the last piece of purity left on Earth. Rays of sunlight broke through the scattered clouds, creating shifting patterns on the water's surface. The city he once lived in was also a coastal city, where countless ships entered and left the port daily, their whistles sounding like soldiers heading to battle.
When he was young, he often skipped going home after school to visit the sea alone. The vastness of the ocean always calmed him. After a busy day, it was always a pleasure to stand by the seaside and watch the distant scenery under the last golden rays of the sun.
Thinking about it, he hadn't seen the sea in a long time, and even this color was rare. Most of the worlds he'd visited were predominantly green.
"Raditz, how long are you going to stand here watching? Vegeta says the gravity chamber is finished and wants you to start training," Nappa said, placing a hand on Raditz's shoulder.
"Earth is a nice place, isn't it?"
"Huh?"
"Look at this scenery. You can't see this on other planets!"
Nappa was a bit surprised as he looked at the endless clear sea. The sparkling waves were dazzling where the sky and ocean met, blending into soft tones. Seagulls flew high in the breeze, the waves whispered below, and the air was filled with a cool, fresh scent.
"Right?"
"Um... yes," Nappa hesitated. "But Vegeta said—"
"Let him wait."
"But—"
"Are you more afraid of him than me?" Raditz asked coldly.
"..."
Nappa couldn't argue with that, so he remained silent. At this point, Raditz was indeed much stronger than him—even Vegeta had admitted it. What more could he say?
"Appreciate the good moments in life. Times like these don't come often," Raditz said.
During the past two weeks, Nappa had also found Earth quite comfortable. His militant personality had found an outlet in the planet's most advanced gaming consoles, and he'd become skilled at all kinds of fighting games. Though he repeatedly lost to Raditz in real duels, his enthusiasm for games hadn't diminished at all.
Besides actual fighting, his greatest pleasure was playing fighting games.
Vegeta had competed against Goku once and lost, so he'd become determined to surpass both Goku and Raditz, thinking about it day and night.
In the evenings, the group would dine together. Saiyans always competed over food intake, and though Vegeta had lost in battle, he refused to be outdone in eating.
Gohan often trained with Piccolo and occasionally played with Icarus.
On Turtle Island, palm trees swayed in the breeze. Under the sun, Master Roshi wore his sunglasses while lounging on a deck chair, surrounded by beauty magazines giving off a pleasant scent...
"Let's go. The gravity training room should be ready by now."
Raditz turned and took one last look at the sea before flying away.
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