The Ultimate Way

Ridlay, who had remained seated while observing the scene that had just unfolded before him, couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. He hadn't expected them to start fighting out of nowhere. He couldn't hear what they were talking about before because he was too far away, and now they had started a fight.

From what he could see, the fight was far from even. The power difference between this Nappa guy and the other three was obvious, though he had to admit that their strategy for attacking Nappa's tail was rather clever. Unfortunately for them, it seemed that, like him, these Saiyans had already worked out their weak points. Now the strongest of the three was unconscious. Leaving the kid and the bald guy against Nappa, the situation was clearly not in their favor.

While he was analyzing what was happening, his gaze was caught by something. He squinted to try to get a better look at what was in the distance until he saw it. A crater with what appeared to be the body of a man dressed in the same orange outfit as the bald man in the middle. Then, a little further away, he saw another man dead against a rock with an arm missing.

"...What the hell is going on here?"

*****

Gohan was still standing next to Piccolo, trying his best to wake him up when Nappa approached him.

"Now, it's the brat's turn. You're Kakarot's offspring, right? Which means you're also a Saiyan... So show me what you're capable of!"

Before Gohan could do anything, a violent kick from Nappa landed in his stomach, sending him flying against a rock. The little boy clutched his stomach in pain but found the strength to get up by leaning against the rock. He wiped the drool that flowed from his mouth after the blow he had just received while giving Nappa a dark look.

"Very good! That's what I want to see!" Nappa exclaimed before charging at Gohan.

Seeing this, Ruby couldn't stay still any longer and fired behind her with Cresent Rose to propel herself towards Nappa.

"RUBY WAIT!!!" Weiss tried to stop her, but it was already too late; she was already launched.

Nappa was about to reach Gohan when Ruby arrived at full speed and kicked him right in the face, but Nappa turned his head towards her while still having Ruby's foot pressed against his face.

"You call that an attack? Don't make me laugh!"

He raised his fist and slammed it down on Ruby, but when he thought he'd hit her, several rose petals floated in front of his face. He then looked behind him to see Ruby reappear, aiming at him with the barrel of her scythe. She then fired several bullets right into his chest, but none of the bullets did anything.

"Hehehe... what was that? Are you taking this fight seriously or are you just being silly?"

"What, how did..."

"Don't tell me you thought that was going to do anything to me?"

Did this guy have some kind of aura to protect him like on Remnant, or is he just insanely powerful? After all, he was an alien, according to what Krillin and the others had explained to her, and from an extremely powerful race, but she hadn't imagined him to be this powerful.

Seeing Ruby distracted by her thoughts, Nappa took the opportunity to charge her.

"Distracted during a fight? Big mistake!"

When Ruby regained her focus, it was already too late to do anything because the Saiyan was already in front of her. She closed her eyes, anticipating the blow she was about to receive, but before Nappa could touch her, Krillin intervened at the last minute, punching Nappa in the face, who was propelled further away. He didn't stop there and chased after him before landing a kick in his chest.

Nappa was quick to land on his feet, an annoyed expression visible on his face.

"You're really starting to piss me off, you bugs!"

He began to accumulate energy in his right hand, but at the same time, a ki blast struck him from behind, leaving a burn mark on his back. He turned around to see Piccolo breathing heavily while holding the hand he had just used to launch the attack.

"I'm not finished yet..."

"Piccolo!!!"

Gohan couldn't contain his joy when he saw Piccolo back on his feet.

"THIS IS IT!!!" Now I'm really pissed off!"

Nappa turned towards Krillin and sent a wave of energy straight at him.

"Watch out, Krillin!!!" Piccolo yelled, but Nappa's attack was too fast for Krillin, who took it head-on, creating a huge explosion. A cloud of dust formed from the impact of the attack, and Krillin was swept out of the cloud, his clothes partially torn and several wounds on his body before crashing a few meters away.

"Now it's the brat's turn!"

Nappa started running towards Gohan, pursued by Piccolo, who tried to stop him.

"Gohan! Piccolo called out to Gohan as he saw Nappa approaching him. He was shaking with a scared expression on his face until it changed into a determined and focused look. When Nappa reached him, Gohan jumped into the air and kicked him right in the face, sending him flying backwards. Piccolo had to jump to the side to avoid Nappa, who crashed into a rock formation.

Piccolo and Krillin couldn't believe what they had just seen. Since the beginning of the fight against the Saiyans, he had been hanging back and scared, but now he had just successfully delivered a blow to Nappa.

At the same time, everyone, except Ruby and Weiss, felt something, a power in the air getting closer.

"What...what is this?" asked Gohan, puzzled.

"Could it be..." replied Piccolo.

"Hehehe, there's no doubt about it, it can only be him!" affirmed Krillin, who was lying on the ground unable to move after the attack he had received.

Vegeta, who had remained calm and composed since the beginning, couldn't help but frown when he felt this power in the air.

"He's finally on his way..."

Ridlay turned his head in the direction of this new energy that had just appeared. Whoever it was, this guy was far from weak.

While everyone was focused on what they had just felt, Nappa emerged from the wreckage, blood trickling from his forehead and breathing heavily.

"Damn... he's still standing," said Krillin, seeing the colossus emerge from the rubble.

Nappa stomped heavily until he faced Gohan and Piccolo, his face contorted with rage and his eyes bloodshot, the veins bulging on his skull.

*Growl* "You'll pay for what you did... I'll tear you to shreds."

His gaze then fell on Gohan, and he began to scream. The ground began to tremble, and the surrounding rocks levitated as his power level increased drastically.

Piccolo and Gohan were shaken by the amount of energy he was accumulating. He then raised his right arm, in which he accumulated a large amount of ki.

"DIE!!!"

He then launched a wave of energy straight at Gohan, who put his arms out in front of him, desperately trying to protect himself. But just as the attack was about to hit, Piccolo stepped in and stood in front of Gohan, where he absorbed the attack with his body.

Everyone was dazzled by the bright flash of the attack; the only thing that could be heard were the screams. Piccolo's agony as he tanked the energy wave.

When the attack faded, the smoke disappeared, revealing Piccolo still standing, covered in blood, twitching and breathing raggedly. The ground beneath him and Gohan was completely destroyed by the attack, leaving a gigantic trail behind them.

Piccolo collapsed to the ground while Gohan rushed towards him with tears in his eyes.

"Piccolo, why! Why did you interfere?!" "

"I'm sorry... Gohan... you know... the year I spent training you... wasn't so bad."

Tears rolled down Gohan's cheeks with each word Piccolo spoke.

"Please... Gohan... don't die!" Piccolo then closed his eyes and let out a final sigh.

Gohan then let out a cry of rage and sadness that echoed through the mountains.

"Im... impossible, this can't be true... it's a real nightmare!" said Krillin, completely stunned by what had just happened.

Ruby and Weiss also couldn't believe what had just happened. That someone had just died in front of them... even if they didn't know him, the fact that it had happened without them being able to do anything to prevent it. Because of their lack of clear power against such an opponent.

"Tsk... I didn't expect that idiot to get in the way of my attack..." Nappa then turned to Vegeta.

"Sorry, Vegeta, I didn't want to kill him now, you wanted to ask him about those Dragon Balls..."

"It's not a big deal!"

"Huh?"

"He was the one who created those Dragon Balls, but now that he's dead, they're of no use to us... However, he's a Namekian! Which means there's probably an equivalent to those Dragon Balls on the Namekians' home planet!"

"Oh, I see! You're right!"

"Now hurry up and finish them off!"

"Hehe...yes, I'll take care of it right away."

Nappa walked towards Gohan with a sadistic smile on his lips.

Hearing him approach, Gohan raised his head, his eyes filled with tears and rage.

"What's wrong? Are you going to challenge me? Hahaha..."

Gohan then raised his hands in the air and gathered an impressive amount of energy.

"MASENKO!!!"

A beam of energy shot out from Gohan's hands straight towards Nappa. When he saw the attack coming, he was surprised at first, but with a powerful backhand strike, he deflected the attack, which went crashing further away.

"Hehehe, nice try, kiddo! You made my hand a little numb!"

Gohan couldn't believe it. He had put everything he had into that attack, but it was swept away like nothing had happened. He fell to his knees, devastated by the situation.

Nappa arrived in front of Gohan, chuckling. The sight of the young Saiyan completely psychologically broken delighted him. He raised his fist, ready to deliver the final blow.

"Damn it... come on!!!!" Krillin tried with all his being to move to save Gohan, but his body wouldn't budge.

"Die..."

Nappa slammed his fist toward Gohan, but his punch stopped a few inches from the young boy's head, unable to go any further.

"What!... what the..."

He turned his head to see Ridlay right next to him, holding his wrist, preventing him from finishing his attack.

"You!... What do you think you're doing?!"

Where did he come from? How could he not have felt him coming? Several questions crossed Nappa's mind, even Vegeta was surprised and hadn't seen him move.

While holding Nappa's wrist, Ridlay struck him with a violent knee to the abdomen, sending him flying into a rock again.

"Acting all powerful in front of a desperate kid and considering yourself an elite warrior... don't make me laugh! It's time someone gave you a good beating to wake you up, you old bastard."