When Raditz woke up it was the next day.
Instead of his usual alarm he was awakened from his slumber because of a sharp pain in his chest, which subsided as quickly as it came due to the pain killers pumped into his healing fluid.
'Sigh.. It's affecting me even now, I shouldn't feel anything from the pain killers yet it hurts.'
Which meant whatever was causing his condition had worsened considerably, this was bad news.
Raditz wasn't sure how long he could hold on, for all he knew he would drop dead the next second, but still, he wasn't completely without hope.
Future Goku might not have gotten the Dragon's help due to him being in his home and nobody knowing he would actually die until it was too late.
But Raditz was Bulma's husband, they always had the Dragonballs in their room and he knew Bulma was summoning the Dragon right now.
Sure Dragon can't revive people dying of natural causes and maybe it might even have some restriction on curing diseases that he didn't know of, but the Dragon could still tell them a cure can't he.
And that was exactly what Bulma was trying to do right now, if the Dragon can't heal Raditz, she would ask for a cure that can.
*Whooom*
'It has started.'
Thought Raditz as he felt the Dragon's ki signature appear, although he was looking forward to a cure he still wasn't completely sure what was wrong with him, he had some doubts about his situation right now.
Currently he was leaning towards Goku's heart disease catching him first but somehow that didn't feel right to him, he felt as if his condition was different, as if he was becoming.. stronger?
Not ki wise, no, his ki reserves were infact dwindling as his life force declined, but his body itself was becoming.. tougher..? Denser..?
He didn't know what was happening to him, if this was just his Saiyan biology attempting to fight the heart disease using zenkais or something.
But Raditz was certain of one thing, something was very wrong with his situation, his gut told him his condition was different from Goku's, who was still training in Yadrat right now.
As Raditz floated in his healing tank and waited for the Dragon's wish, Bulma, Nappa and Pie pie stood before the dragon.
"State your wish but there can be only one!"
A booming voice rang throughout the capsule corporation, Shenron was summoned and he was ready to grant a wish.
Bulma didn't wait too long for her wish, she had already articulated what she wanted before summoning Shenron.
"Shenron! Can you cure Raditz?"
Eternal Dragon's eyes narrowed after hearing the wish and after three seconds he spoke.
"Sorry, I cannot fullfill that wish."
Before Bulma and the rest questioned him on why, Shenron gave the reason himself.
"There is nothing wrong with the man named Raditz, he is not sick."
Nappa looked angrily at the eternal Dragon and barked.
"What nonsense!"
Pie pie also clenched her fist in frustration and turned towards Bulma, she figured they will think of something together.
But curiously Bulma was frowning and thinking instead of looking lost.
'She knows something.'
Concluded Pie pie, she knew Bulma well enough to recognise this behaviour.
Bulma herself ignored the eyes of Pie pie and Nappa, she was thinking that the test results indeed made sense if Raditz wasn't sick.
"Hey Shenron! Can you tell me what's wrong with him?"
The eternal Dragon paused for a second and asked.
"Is that your wish?"
Clicking her tongue Bulma looked upset, she figured she could trick the Dragonballs into giving the information for free and then ask for a cure.
But now that didn't look possible, so before she made a decision she needed a confirmation.
"He is not going to die midway is he?"
Shenron growled in a throaty voice and lowered his head.
"No, he will recover on his own, after one week on 3:52 am his body will fully complete it's changes."
Nodding her head as if she knew what Shenron was talking about, Bulma confirmed her wish.
"Alright Shenron, then tell me what's wrong with Raditz, no wait, just give me a report on the matter, it'll be easier to tally later on."
Shenron's eyes started glowing red as soon as the wish was confirmed, Bulma's reports shot out of her hands and flew to the air.
*Flip*
*Flip*
*Flip*
Pages began flipping and words were printed on the pages magically, and after a few short seconds Shenron was done.
"Your wish has been fulfilled, farewell."
*Woooom*
The Dragonballs shone and rushed towards the sky then quickly scattered across the entire world the next second, taking the weather phenomenon with it.
*Thup*
The magically printed notes landed before Bulma on the grassy ground, she picked up the report and started reading it.
Pie pie and Nappa looked at each other and then at Bulma, although she was concentrating on the report Pie pie also wanted to know.
"Out with it then..! What is it??"
Asked Pie pie with her hands folded, this was something she picked up from Raditz along the way.
Looking up from the document Bulma gave an apologetic look.
"Sorry, I was confirming something, Raditz isn't sick the dragon is right."
Nappa looked confused at his Queen's words.
"But the king, he is in pain."
Bulma looked down at the reports and took out a pen, then opened it with her teeth and marked a line on the report.
"It's because his body is changing."
Without looking up from her papers she asked Nappa.
"Did his pain start when he tried to transform into a great ape?"
Remembering that day a week ago, Nappa looked confused for a while then patted his bald head.
"Yeah! I remember now, the king wanted to transform but his chest started hurting so he stopped."
When a Saiyan went great ape, the first thing that happened was their heart starts beating powerfully.
It's a constant powerful heartbeat which then fills the Saiyan's body with enough energy to trigger their transformation.
That was about how far Raditz went before collapsing.
"Could something be wrong with the King's heart then?"
Shaking her head at Nappa's words, Bulma looked serious and explained.
"No, nothing's wrong, it's just that Raditz trained on the way back from Namek, he almost pushed himself the limit back then."
"He is about as strong as he possibly could be in 'base' as you guys call it, although you lot can still become stronger using transformations."
The last part Bulma murmured with a low voice, Bulma didn't know right now but through pure science she had reached a conclusion that Goku took years to reach.
Goku even after the entirety of z was incapable of beating Namek arc Freeza in his base, according to Berrus that is, unless god ki is gained or Ikari is used the Saiyan's base limit resides there.
Nappa and Pie pie listened while Bulma continued with her explanations after dumbing it down considerably.
"Listen, If Raditz transformed into a Super Saiyan like Gohan it wouldn't be a problem, but now that he has reached a limit in base yet he attempted to go Oozaru, a problem has emerged."
"You see Ooazru is also your base form, it is not an energy amplifier like Super Saiyan is, that's your real body becoming bigger and stronger."
Bulma told Nappa while pointing towards his tail.
Nappa asked in a confused voice.
"Then what's the problem? The king has broken the limit of his base, he is now stronger?"
Twitching her lips Bulma shook her head at the dumb martial arts meatheads.
"It's not that simple, he has reached a mitochondrial limit! A genetic limit, that is a normal Saiyan's proper limit! You don't get past that by training normally!"
"You would have to change the nature of the energy itself or compress it along the way, but that's besides the point."
Shaking her head again Bulma folded the sheet up, then began walking towards Raditz's room.
"Because Raditz has pushed the limits of his base without changing the energy density itself, the body's zenkai property has started reacting."
"He's for the lack of a better term, evolving, his body is pushing itself past a 'normal' Saiyan, he is mutating right now."
Nappa and Pie pie followed along with a confused expression but Bulma didn't elaborate further, she'll explain everything when Raditz recovers and she gets to do some more tests.
Working on doctor Gero's android gave her a lot of experience regarding energy and Ki, this was now helping her understand what was happening to Raditz.
If nothing else, after his body finishes adjusting itself he will be in a different class compared to normal Saiyans, a true monster of his species.
Advanced chapters ahead on patréon
www.patréon.com/ImagineMaker