Saga Summaries: Saiyan Saga
The Saiyans have come. Can the earth survive?
The Saiyans are a savage, warrior race where victory in battle is the only virtue. After centuries of ruthless, high-energy warfare, their planet was destroyed in a giant blast, dooming the race forever.
Or did it?
A few Saiyans did survive the blast. Goku, a Saiyan child, was sent to earth by his father to grow up and conquer the earth. His father programmed his son's brain to train him to become the savage warrior he aspired him to be. But fortunately, fate had other plans. Goku suffers a near fatal head injury as a child, scrambling the programming and leaving Goku with the greatest of all treasures-- a pure heart.
Other Saiyans also survived, like Goku's brother Raditz who journeyed to earth after his planet's destruction in hopes of finding his brother. Expecting to find destruction everywhere, and a Saiyan reigning as lord and master of earth, Raditz is disgusted to find the planet intact, and a brother who is weak and pitiful by Saiyan standards. Raditz gives Goku an ultimatum - destroy earth or die! Goku refuses and Raditz easily incapacitates Goku with one strike, and kidnaps Gohan (Goku's son) thinking he can mend the childs twisted thinking and convert him into becoming a true Saiyan.
Can Anyone Defeat Raditz?
Goku is baffled at what to do when the unthinkable happens. Goku's arch enemy, Piccolo, appears and offers to join forces with Goku to fight for the safety of earth.
In the fiercest battle ever seen to date, our heroes use every technique they know against the mighty Raditz. Piccolo hurls his energy blast. Goku harnesses the power of light and releases the renown Kamehameha energy blast. But Raditz stops all these mountain toppling blasts with his bare hands!
Raditz is unstoppable. But at the point of Piccolo's certain doom Raditz's power vanishes! Goku has grabbed Raditz's only weak point-- his tail. Goku tells Piccolo to fire his blast again and finish off Raditz.
Knowing that he has been defeated, Raditz exploits Goku's goodness. Raditz declares a change of heart and a desire to reform. Piccolo warns vehemently that it's a trick, but Goku believes Raditz and lets go of his tail. Raditz's power immediately returns, and he turns on his brother Goku.
The Ultimate Sacrifice
As all is surely lost, Gohan arrives after breaking free of the space capsule where Raditz imprisoned him. With remarkable courage, Gohan powers up and blasts Raditz with everything he has. Raditz is hit hard, allowing Goku to grab Raditz in a bear hug. This gives Piccolo enough time to summon an extra powerful blast to finish off Raditz.
The only problem is that Goku will perish with Raditz since Piccolo's blast will hit both of them, but Goku urges Piccolo to fire anyway-- it's earth's only hope.
Raditz meets his end, as does Goku. But as Raditz is passing on, he reveals terrible news. Two more Saiyan warriors, even greater than Raditz will arrive in one year. Earth is their next target for death and mass destruction. And Goku is... gone?
Can Earth Prepare for More Saiyans?
The remaining Z Warriors disperse in a frantic attempt to prepare for the coming Saiyans. Some try to collect the seven Dragon Balls to revive Goku. Piccolo takes Gohan to a deserted wasteland to develop the incredible potential Gohan has within.
As for Goku, he's in the Other World where he has the chance to receive superior instruction from King Kai, in the hope of being brought back to earth via the Dragon Balls to fight the coming Saiyans. But King Kai doesn't train just anyone. Goku must prove he is worthy of instruction. First he is instructed to catch Kai's pet, Bubbles-- no easy task since the Other World has 10 times earth's gravity and Bubbles is fast! Next, Goku must chase Gregory, a fast, insect-like creature and try to swat him with a huge sledgehammer. Kai is pleased that Goku is such an excellent student and proceeds to teach him the legendary Kai techniques. So intent are they on the training, they forget that it will take Goku two whole days to run back down Snake Way to the real world. He is going to be late for the fight of the century!
Nappa and Vegeta Have Landed
As the sky darkens, the two Saiyans make their approach. Nappa and Vegeta take a reading on the planet's warriors and scoff at the weak power ratings that register on their Scouters. They plant six seeds which quickly grow into Saibaimen and order them to attack.
Krillin, Piccolo, Tien, Gohan, Chiaotzu, and Yamcha prepare to defend earth against the Saibaimen. The ensuing battle destroys Yamcha, but the two sides seem evenly matched. Vegeta grows bored and kills the remaining Cybermen, and then instructs Nappa to attack the others.
Our heroes attack with massive energy beams that have no effect. In desperation, Chiaotzu initiates a suicide attack in hopes of destroying Nappa, but Nappa is barely affected by the explosive attack. Piccolo devises a plan which requires Gohan to harness the power of light which lies deep within Gohan for a single blast. But at the crucial moment, Gohan loses his nerve and lets the Z Warriors down. Nappa attacks Gohan, but Piccolo leaps in front of Nappa's energy beam to save Gohan's life sacrificing himself. Nappa decides he's had enough fun and goes in for the end. Just as things turn grim for our remaining heroes, Goku sweeps in to rescue Gohan.
The Saiyans can't believe it, Goku has a power level of 5000! Everyone is awed by Goku's power and a critical battle begins between Goku and Nappa. Goku is so fast he can't even be seen! Goku unleashes the Kaio-ken maneuver and defeats Nappa. Vegeta is enraged by Nappa's loss, and mercilessly destroys him for his failure to defeat Goku.
The battle moves to another location as Goku and Vegeta face off. Soon, the greatest battle on earth resonates across the countryside. Each opponent powers up to levels higher than each can imagine, but Vegeta gains the upper hand. As Goku is about to be defeated, Krillin and Gohan arrive and distract Vegeta, giving Goku enough time to take the last energy remaining in him and transfer it to Krillin who, along with Gohan's help, uses it to smash Vegeta. Vegeta is badly damaged but manages to escape in his space capsule.
