Six years ago—
In a stinking, filthy heap of garbage, a tailless Saiyan infant was buried inside.
That infant was none other than Yuujin, who had recently been reborn!
"Am I going to die..."
His body had long since been unable to move. Although he had managed to hang on for several days, Yuujin could feel that he was approaching his limit.
He was going to die here!
Rustle… Rustle, rustle...
The garbage piled on top of Yuujin seemed to be lifted by someone, and then a figure appeared before his blurry vision.
Through the haze, Yuujin could barely make out the silhouette of a woman—
"Tch, still not dead yet? What a lucky brat!"
Memories from the past surged in Yuujin's mind, but he quickly returned to the present.
Click...
As the bathroom door opened, a woman stepped out, draped in a towel.
She was a young female Saiyan, not very tall, with short hair that just reached her eyebrows.
Though her face was quite pretty, she constantly exuded an icy, ferocious aura.
She was the woman who had picked Yuujin up from the trash heap, a low-ranking female Saiyan warrior—
Seripa!(Also known as Fasha)
The very same female Saiyan from the Bardock Squad in the original Dragon Ball, the one led by Goku's father, Bardock!
"I'm hungry. Go make me something to eat."
Seripa cast a casual glance at Yuujin and ordered in a commanding tone.
Long used to her attitude, Yuujin said nothing. He fetched some ingredients from the fridge and headed to the kitchen.
Though this woman had picked him up and they barely counted as family, their relationship wasn't as good as one might think.
Six years ago, 19-year-old Seripa was just a rookie warrior with a power level barely over a thousand. She, Yuujin's parents, and a few other Saiyans had been sent on a mission to invade a planet of another race. However, the intelligence was wrong, and several powerful creatures were hidden on that planet. Even after transforming into Great Apes, they were no match for the enemies.
Saiyans usually exterminated the species but left the planet intact. But with their lives on the line, they couldn't care about that. The battle was fierce, reportedly leaving half of the planet in ruins.
As the weakest in the group, Seripa was relatively ignored by the enemy. However, as the battle dragged on, one Saiyan after another fell, and it seemed like they were about to be wiped out.
It was then that Yuujin's parents, mortally wounded, chose to self-destruct, taking their enemies with them. Seripa, the last survivor, seized her chance and escaped the planet.
Though Saiyans are typically cold and ruthless, Seripa felt indebted to Yuujin's parents. Upon learning they had a useless son who had been tossed into a garbage heap, she felt compelled to at least look for him.
If he were dead, she could have let the matter go. But to Seripa's surprise, Yuujin was still miraculously alive.
Though it felt like a burden, Seripa had already found him. She washed him up and casually tossed him some food.
She had no intention of acting as a nurse, feeding him or changing his diapers. If he was going to die, so be it.
If it had been a normal infant, he would have certainly died under such circumstances. But Yuujin's infant body housed a mature soul, and through sheer will to survive, he managed to eat the food and stay alive.
Aside from occasionally tossing him some food when he was young, Seripa almost never took care of Yuujin. He practically raised himself. When she was away on missions for months at a time, Yuujin scavenged for food, found odd jobs, and even taught himself to read and write—all the skills necessary for survival.
When pushed to the brink, any creature can unleash tremendous potential, and Saiyans, a warrior race, are no exception. Using his wits and perseverance, Yuujin managed to survive on this harsh planet!
Before long, Yuujin had prepared a lavish meal. The two sat down and ate without exchanging a word.
Though a woman, Seripa had none of the dainty manners one might expect. Her eating habits were more like a ravenous wolf's.
Of course, most Saiyans were the same. Constantly fighting, they had enormous appetites and needed to consume large amounts of high-energy food.
With memories from a previous life, Yuujin's cooking skills were decent. On a planet where combat was the only culture, his food was considered top-tier. It was probably the one thing Seripa appreciated about him.
No one had taught him these skills, and Seripa was curious about where Yuujin had learned them. But she never asked.
She didn't care about such things. As long as Yuujin prepared delicious meals when she returned, she had no interest in the rest.
"How was this mission?"
While eating, Yuujin casually asked.
Seripa was surprised. Even at home, they rarely spoke, and Yuujin never asked her about such things. Why today, of all days?
"This mission went well. We wiped out the scum on Planet Kanassa. But Bardock got careless and was injured by a survivor. He's still in the healing chamber."
"Why are you asking about this?"
In a surprisingly good mood, Seripa answered but looked at Yuujin suspiciously.
"Nothing. Just asking."
Yuujin replied indifferently and brought more food from the kitchen.
Although Seripa had given a simple response, Yuujin had already learned what he wanted.
Just like in the original Dragon Ball, Bardock had been wounded by a Kanassan warrior's psychic attack. Once he recovered, he would gain the ability to see the future and discover that Frieza planned to destroy Planet Vegeta.
In the original story, Bardock tried to unite the Saiyans to fight Frieza, but no one believed him. Frustrated, he went alone to stop Frieza, only to be killed by a single energy blast, along with Planet Vegeta.
In the OVA, there was even a plot where Bardock traveled back in time and became a Super Saiyan, defeating Frieza's ancestor, Chilled. But those weren't things Yuujin cared about…
To be continued...