Chapter 101: Vegeta Shocked

The next day, the team began their full-scale group combat training.

They picked an open-air battlefield over the western ocean, not far from the vacation villa.

Through a quick round of rock-paper-scissors, Tien was chosen as today's "Boss."

He activated his strongest state—10x Kaio-Ken—and the battle began.

The rules: Tien could use enhanced power; everyone else had to fight without Kaio-Ken, relying solely on their base forms and techniques.

Krillin charged first.

"Solar Flare!"

He raised both hands to his forehead, unleashing a blinding burst of light—a move originally Tien's own.

But Krillin knew every quirk of it, exploiting its full disruptive power.

Tien, knowing what was coming, closed his eyes in advance and entered a serene, sky-like state of perception—a technique Mr. Popo had taught them.

In the roar of waves and wind, he listened—felt—a disturbance in the air, a vacuum of motion.

Then came the flash.

Solar Flare… ineffective.

But that was only the setup. While Tien kept his eyes shut, everyone else attacked from behind the light.

Chiaotzu: "Dodon Ray!"

Goku: "Kamehameha!"

Yamcha: "Spirit Ball!"

Chi-Chi: "This might be overkill, but I'll try it anyway…"

As Chi-Chi unleashed a Destructo Disc, she glanced at Bulma, half-expecting a scolding.

Instead, Bulma looked pleased.

This was real combat training. Multiple enemies against a powerful "Boss." No holding back.

Chi-Chi grinned and let the disc fly.

What she didn't realize, however, was that Bulma couldn't truly follow the fight. The pace was too fast—even watching from the sidelines, she could barely see the energy trails, let alone the fighters themselves.

Still, she had seen Chi-Chi charge up. And that was enough.

Szzzt!

A rain of techniques flew toward Tien. He dodged and weaved mid-air, showing mastery in movement.

He avoided everything except the Destructo Disc, which forced a slightly more cautious response.

Other attacks—like the Dodon Ray and Ki blasts—he easily danced around or blocked with energy.

After all, his 10x Kaio-Ken pushed his battle power past a million.

Against a group averaging around 200,000–300,000, he had the clear upper hand.

His only real limitation was stamina.

Thankfully, Bulma had accounted for that.

As the designated Boss, Tien had access to ten Senzu Beans to keep going.

The others threw everything they had at him—blasts, punches, feints, and flying ambushes.

When Goku and Krillin finished their melee assault and needed a breather, Chi-Chi and Yamcha launched ranged attacks again.

This pattern created rotating waves of pressure—a continuous assault that forced Tien to stay on the defensive.

Finally, Tien heard a shout from below:

"Hey, Tien! You just gonna take it? You training endurance or what?"

It was Bulma.

Tien blinked.

"What do you mean?"

Bulma crossed her arms.

"Hurt someone already! Take out a few so you can pick them off one by one!"

Tien was startled.

"You want me to go all out?"

"Just don't kill anyone. They'll live. We've got Senzu Beans and a healing chamber now. Push harder—we're wasting resources otherwise!"

Tien smirked.

"Got it."

He turned his attention to Chi-Chi—who'd tried to sneak in with a Destructo Disc.

"You're first."

"Ki Blast Cannon!"

He began to charge—

—only to get interrupted by Krillin's sudden sneak attack!

Tien grunted, spun around, and counter-kicked Krillin away.

He then began rapid-firing smaller but precise energy blasts. Even without full power charges, his strength at 10x Kaio-Ken was enough to wound anyone in the group.

Soon, the tide turned.

Now he was the one dominating—everyone else scrambling.

But now, something new happened.

When someone was knocked into the ocean, a teammate would dive in and rescue them.

When Tien locked onto someone, another would intercept with a well-timed counterattack.

Their teamwork evolved—battlefield awareness increasing.

It was real training.

And Bulma couldn't stop smiling.

Elsewhere, in the gravity chamber…

Piccolo was adjusting to his first experience with heavy-gravity training.

He wore a weighted gravity bracelet, and the room was set to a high multiplier.

"Ah… so this is how they got so strong."

Earth's warriors had trained like this for years—under Master Roshi, Korin, Mr. Popo, King Kai.

Suddenly, Piccolo understood why he'd been left behind.

"This whole time… I was living in the past."

Even Raditz, adapting in his own gravity chamber, could feel the difference.

Every night, Bulma measured his battle power.

And every night, it grew.

It was real progress—visible, measurable.

At first, he'd wanted to give up.

He thought there was no chance to catch up with Goku or the others.

But deep in his Saiyan blood, pride still burned.

And now?

If he kept up this pace… he could surpass Vegeta within the year.

The thought made him giddy.

Vegeta—the self-proclaimed Prince of Saiyans—who had always bossed him around like a servant…

If Raditz could surpass him?

Delicious.

Then something else stunned him.

One day, he pushed too hard in training and got injured.

Bulma gave him a Senzu Bean—and after recovery, he felt stronger.

Even the same gravity setting suddenly felt easier.

He had Bulma retest him.

His battle power had broken 3000.

Just a few steps away from catching up to Nappa.

Raditz was moved to tears.

He now planned to intentionally push himself to injury and use Saiyan recovery to grow stronger.

After all—he still had nine Senzu Beans.

But Bulma caught on quickly.

She warned him that Saiyan healing boosts had limits—a bottleneck would come quickly without proper training.

One Month Later

The group combat training had been in full swing for weeks.

To improve coordination, Krillin learned new charge-type techniques, inspired by the Special Beam Cannon and Destructo Disc.

They even experimented with life-risking team tactics, knowing Dragon Balls and Senzu Beans could save them.

But there was a problem.

The Senzu Beans were getting used too fast.

What was supposed to last a year? Nearly gone in a month.

Bulma had no choice but to halt the simulation training.

Even so, the results were remarkable.

Battle power gains were modest—

—but their combat instincts, reflexes, and coordination skyrocketed.

From now on, they switched to one-on-one matches, modeled after the World Martial Arts Tournament rules.

No killing. KO or surrender ends the match.

Less dangerous, but still productive.

The days passed. Progress continued.

Eleven Months Later

One day, a flaming meteor streaked from the sky and crashed into a mountainside.

A massive impact crater formed.

Onlookers screamed in shock.

"What was that?!"

"Was that a meteor?!"

"It left a crater!"

"Is that… a person?!"

As the smoke cleared, a spherical spaceship was revealed.

The hatch opened.

Vegeta stepped out.

The people gasped.

"He's human…? No… he looks different."

"Is he an alien?"

"Wait… he's kinda short."

"I thought aliens would look more… monkey-like?"

Vegeta ignored them.

"Hmph. So this is Earth?"

"Looks pathetic."

No one came to greet him.

He scowled.

"They invite Prince Vegeta… and don't even come pick me up?"

"Where's Kakarot? Where's Raditz?!"

He grumbled, then activated his scouter.

Though he knew Frieza's forces could track it, he didn't care. Earth's safety was not his concern.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

A wicked grin spread across his face.

"So many strong power levels?"

Just as he was about to scan more closely, a voice interrupted:

"Stop, Vegeta! Don't use that scouter!"

Vegeta turned to see Raditz approaching—towering over him.

"Tch! I told you not to stand so close. You make me look short."

Raditz laughed.

"You're still as grumpy as ever."

Vegeta glared.

"You calling me annoying? Challenging my authority?"

Raditz flinched slightly, old instincts surfacing.

"N-No… I just got used to Earth speech. My bad."

Vegeta cooled off slightly.

"Whatever. Where are the Dragon Balls?"

Raditz scratched his head.

"Only one's been found. We're saving them in case we need to revive someone after the fight with Frieza."

Vegeta exploded.

"Idiots! That's how you use them?!"

"You think a bunch of bugs can beat Frieza by teaming up?!"

Raditz frowned.

"Watch your mouth, Vegeta."

"I've had enough of your barking."

"We're equals now. You're not our commander."

Vegeta was stunned.

Raditz was… defiant?

"Arrogant fool!" he shouted, firing an energy blast.

Raditz smirked.

With a flick of his hand, he sliced through the blast.

Vegeta's eyes widened.

"What?! You deflected it?!"

Raditz chuckled.

"Your control is sloppy. You're weaker than I thought."

"You want to scan me? Go ahead."

He powered up.

Beep… Beep… BOOM!

The scouter exploded.

"What?! My scouter broke!"

Raditz shrugged.

"Oops. Forgot that old models cap out around 20,000."

Vegeta's eyes trembled.

"You mean… your power is over twenty thousand?"