Meanwhile, when Bardock learned that the long-haired Latiliss was Raditz's reincarnation, his expression turned complicated.
"Gine… I didn't tell you the truth about Raditz's death back then because I didn't want you to be heartbroken." Bardock let out a heavy sigh. "But now I have to tell you what really happened."
Gine's eyes sharpened. "What did Raditz do?"
After Bardock explained what Raditz had once done to his own little brother and nephew, Gine's fury ignited instantly.
Just mentioning Raditz made Bardock's blood boil. "What a disgrace to the family!"
Gine glared at Latiliss too, brows drawn tight.
"That unfilial brat! He actually used our grandson to threaten Kakarot? Doing something that vile… absolutely unforgivable!"
"Exactly!" Bardock snapped. "When I heard about it, I wanted to beat him senseless on the spot!"
Two pairs of eyes locked onto Latiliss at the same time the girl who'd been timidly watching them from the side.
Latiliss shivered. Her shoulders hunched as she shrank back.
For some reason, that couple seemed to have a natural bloodline pressure over her. Just meeting their gaze made her legs go weak.
"Unfilial brat! I'll break your legs!" Bardock flashed forward, elbow already swinging toward her.
Smack!
Goku caught the elbow strike.
"Kakarot, what are you doing?!" Bardock's brows knitted. "That brat nearly got you and Gohan killed back then!"
Goku stayed calm. "Dad… that was a past life. Right now, she's Latiliss not Raditz."
Bardock's stare slid past Goku and landed on the girl with hair down to her waist, trembling like a frightened animal.
Latiliss nearly lost her soul. Under that murderous look, she almost dropped to her knees.
Gine had been furious too, but after hearing Kakarot's words, she gradually cooled down.
Then she looked at Latiliss properly at the way the girl trembled, tears pooling in her eyes and without realizing it, most of Gine's anger faded away.
She hurried forward and grabbed Bardock.
"Bardock… in this life, she's just a pitiful little girl."
Bardock snapped back to himself.
A bottom-tier half-blood grunt like her was nothing more than a disposable product bred in the Saiyan Empire's incubation facilities.
No parents. No family.
From childhood they were uniformly managed and drilled. Once grown, they were assigned to armies and sent on missions.
Their entire lives were controlled by Paragus, destined to become cannon fodder.
Only the few "lucky" ones like Bajitena and Latiliss noticed by Tarble had slightly better circumstances.
Bardock looked at Latiliss, and his gaze slowly softened.
This kid… was actually kind of cute.
She didn't look anything like that bastard Raditz.
"Hmph. Guess that unfilial brat reincarnated into a good life," Bardock muttered.
But the more Gine looked, the more her heart ached. The girl was too thin like someone who'd suffered a lot.
"Bardock… what if…" Gine turned, seeking his opinion. "We take her back to Earth and raise her? I've always wanted a daughter. Then our family would be… whole again."
Bardock froze.
Latiliss froze too.
Raise… her?
Her mind went blank as she stared at the unfamiliar couple.
Trunks hurried over to explain. "Miss Latiliss Mr. Bardock and Mrs. Gine are… Raditz's parents in your past life. And Mr. Goku is your little brother."
"What?!" Latiliss cried out.
She stared at Bardock and Gine, then at Goku beside them.
These people… were her parents and brother from her past life?
She had been born in the Saiyan Empire's breeding facility. As far back as she could remember, she'd lived between cold incubation pods and brutal training grounds.
No parents. No warmth.
Only instructors barking orders like machines.
They were like products off an assembly line disposable tools whose only value was fighting and dying.
The word "parents" was distant to her. Almost unreal.
And now Trunks was telling her… she had them. She even had a little brother.
And that little brother…
He was the monster who could punch Bajitena into tears.
A strange feeling rose inside Latiliss something she'd never felt before until her eyes stung and blurred.
The moment Gine saw her crying, her heart squeezed painfully. She pulled Latiliss into her arms.
"Silly girl… you've suffered enough. From now on, no one will ever bully you again."
"M-mother…" Latiliss buried her face in Gine's embrace, sobbing uncontrollably.
She wasn't crying because of her pain.
She was crying because of the sudden happiness crashing into her like a wave.
So this… was what it felt like to have family backing you up.
Bardock stood nearby, wearing an awkward, almost embarrassed smile.
He'd cursed that "unfilial brat" plenty, but something soft inside him still got touched.
Goku looked at Latiliss too, a little lost, not sure what he was supposed to call this girl.
"Kakarot," Gine said, instantly seeing his dilemma. "Call her 'big sister.' From now on, we're her family in this life."
"B-big sister?" Goku scratched his head.
Once Goku said it, Gohan and Goten had no choice but to step forward obediently as well.
"A-auntie…"
Watching the Son family reunite like this, Levos hesitated, unsure whether he should still help Latiliss recover her past-life memories.
Over on the other side, Bajitena who'd been punched into tears finally stopped crying.
With a swollen fist-print still on her face, she stole a glance at Latiliss being "adopted."
Then she shot Goku a vicious glare.
That guy… was too strong.
So strong it made no sense.
"Hey. You're called Kakarot, right?" Bajitena lifted her chin and marched up to Goku.
"I'm Son Goku!" Goku corrected cheerfully.
"Whatever your name is!" Bajitena snapped. "I only lost because I was careless. Once I recover my past-life memories, I'll definitely beat you!"
"Sure!" Goku answered seriously, eyes sparkling with anticipation. "I'll be waiting, Vegeta."
That pure, earnest gaze irritated Bajitena for no reason at all.
She snorted hard and stormed off to one side to lecture Nanaba.
"A Saiyan who can't move has no value who taught you to say that?"
"I don't need a subordinate like you! I'll beat the coward out of you!"
While Bajitena was busy beating Nanaba senseless, a confidence Latiliss had never known before began to rise in her chest.
Just you wait, Saiyan Empire trash who looked down on everyone…
I, Latiliss, have backing now!
My dad is Bardock.
My brother is Kakarot.
From now on, anyone who dares bully me
I'll have my little brother punch you into tears!
Thinking of that, Latiliss couldn't help the smug curve of her lips.
With family this strong… she could probably walk sideways through the Empire now, couldn't she?
Then suddenly, she felt something change inside her body.
A warm current surged from her heart, spreading through her limbs as if an invisible shackle had quietly snapped open.
The stamina she'd spent fighting recovered rapidly, and her ki felt denser purer more refined than before.
"Huh?" Latiliss blinked, confused. She could clearly feel it her strength had jumped up noticeably in that single moment.
"What…? My power just got stronger."
"It's because you started to feel a sense of belonging to Earth," Piccolo said at the right time. He'd been observing her. "The moment you accepted Bardock and the others as your family, Levos's wish began taking effect on you."
He paused, then explained further.
"Put simply, you're half an Earthling now. The Dragon Balls' power is optimizing your bloodline, making it purer. And since you already have Saiyan blood, this optimization boosts your potential far more than it does for Earthlings like us who didn't originally have Saiyan lineage."
Latiliss's eyes widened as her heartbeat sped up.
A purer bloodline… a higher potential ceiling…
Wasn't that exactly what she and every bottom-tier Saiyan Empire soldier had dreamed of?
In the Empire, bloodline purity decided almost everything.
And now, just by acknowledging family…
She'd stepped into a realm others could never reach even after a lifetime of struggle.
Latiliss felt dizzy with joy.
"Hah… hahaha… HAHAHAHA!" She burst into laughter, a powerful confidence swelling inside her.
Her first thought was to see Bajitena's reaction when she found out Latiliss had gained the purest Saiyan blood.
"Bajitena!" Latiliss flew over and planted herself in front of Nanaba, who was bruised and miserable.
Bajitena frowned. "What?"
"My bloodline… got purer," Latiliss said, chest lifted. "They said I'm basically an Earthling now. My body's been altered by the Dragon Balls' wish I've gained the purest Saiyan bloodline, and my potential ceiling has skyrocketed!"
The anger on Bajitena's face froze solid.
Looking closely, she could feel it. Latiliss really was stronger than before.
And worse
Standing in front of Latiliss, Bajitena felt an instinctive pressure, as if her own bloodline was being suppressed.
How was that possible?
A reincarnation of Raditz low-class warrior her subordinate the pathetic Latiliss how could her bloodline purity exceed mine?
I'm the reincarnation of Prince Vegeta!
Bajitena's eyes turned red with jealousy.
No. Absolutely not.
She could not tolerate some lackey having "nobler blood" than her.
Her mind started racing.
Belonging… Earthling…
So… as long as she got Earth citizenship, she could enjoy the same treatment?
But how was she supposed to become an Earthling?
She wasn't born on Earth. She hadn't lived there
Then her gaze landed on Trunks, who was talking with Bulma not far away.
A bold thought shameful enough to burn struck her like lightning.
Trunks…
In her past life, he'd been her child.
If… if she acknowledged him as her son, could she "naturally" count as an Earthling too?
The moment that thought appeared, Bajitena's cheeks ignited.
What a joke!
I'm the Saiyan Prince. Even if I'm a girl now
How could I… how could I acknowledge a man older than me as my son?!
If word got out, where would she put her face?
But the moment she pictured Latiliss's smug, triumphant look and the promise of purer blood and greater power her resolve began to shake violently.
Dignity and strength waged a brutal war in her mind.
In the end, her hunger for power crushed everything else.
She inhaled deeply as if making a life-or-death decision, clenched her fists, and walked toward Trunks with stiff, awkward steps.
"H-hey… Trunks." Bajitena's voice came out dry, her eyes darting everywhere except his face.
Trunks blinked. "Miss Bajitena? What is it?"
Miss Bajitena?
Damn it why isn't he calling me Dad?!
"You… tell me…" Bajitena forced the words through clenched teeth. "In my past life… what kind of person was I?"
Asking that nearly drained all her strength. Her face was red all the way to the tips of her ears.
Before Trunks could answer, a few troublemakers who lived for chaos leaned in immediately.
"Oh?" Krillin spoke first, dead serious. "You want to know about your past? We know plenty."
"Yeah, yeah!" Yamcha piled on, dramatically waving his hands. "The first time you came to Earth, you didn't even talk you just had your lackey your past-life Nanaba blow up a whole city!"
"What?!" Nanaba shuddered beside them.
"And then," Yamcha continued, pointing like a prosecutor, "you watched that Nanaba get crippled by Kakarot. He begged you for help, and you didn't even blink. You killed him with your own hands." He even glanced at Nanaba for extra effect.
Bajitena's eyes bulged. "That's impossible! I'm not the kind of person who abandons a comrade!"
"Absolutely true!" Yamcha said confidently. "You even said something like 'a Saiyan who can't move has no value.'"
More Earthlings immediately stepped forward as witnesses.
"We were all there!"
"You can't deny it!"
Nanaba's face flushed red with rage. "Damn it, Bajitena! So you were even worse than me!"
Bajitena bit her lip, wanting to slap Nanaba a few more times out of pure spite.
"Anyway, you did a lot of evil on Earth," Piccolo exposed mercilessly. "Later on Namek, you got beaten half to death by Zarbon, then Frieza beat you senseless. In the end you cried and begged Son Goku to avenge you… honestly, that part was kind of touching."
"I… I cried and begged Kakarot to avenge me?" Bajitena's voice trembled.
How could she do something that humiliating? Her past life was the proud prince!
"Yes." Goku nodded with full sincerity. "And I buried you myself."
"I died like that…?"
"Then you were revived by the Dragon Balls," Bulma added, strolling over to pinch Bajitena's cheek. "When you first came to Earth, you lived at my house eating and drinking for free every day. And your temper? Absolutely awful. Stubborn as a rock."
"ENOUGH! All of you shut up!"
Bajitena finally couldn't take it anymore and screamed.
Her past life…
Was she really that arrogant, cruel, constantly losing then crying and making scenes?
It was beyond humiliating.
She felt her worldview and pride being crushed over and over in a single day until there wasn't even dust left.
Nothing but black history.
If that was what "recovering her past memories" meant…
Then she didn't want it.
Not even a little.
Bajitena made up her mind on the spot.
To hell with the memories of some "Saiyan Prince." She wasn't getting them back!
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