Dragon Ball Z starts off with the scene of a spherical space pod flying towards the earth. Then we are taken to a farm with little pink turkey-like creatures and a tubby little farmer with a Chevy. While muttering to himself, the farmer hears a sound and looks up. To his amazement, he sees the space pod hit the earth and create a giant explosion. After some hesitation, the farmer hops into his truck and drives over to the pod. Carrying his trusty peashooter, he hops out of his truck and slowly makes his way over to the pod. After a couple of seconds, the door of the pod opens, and a giant alien in desperate need of a haircut comes out. The alien hovers out of the crater and lands, saying, "So the creatures of this planet are still alive. Kakkarot has failed us!" The alien then presses a button on the machine covering his ear, and says Farmer Joe (I'm not really sure what his name is, so Farmer Joe is just sort of an anonymous name I gave him) has a power level of 5. The alien takes a step towards Joe, who in turn freaks and fires at the alien. The alien catches the bullet and flicks it back at Joe, which goes right through the farmer and his truck. After humiliating Farmer Joe, the alien again presses the button on his machine and says, "There's a high power level over there. It must be Kakkarot. Prepare yourself Kakkarot, I'm coming!"
Then we are taken into a forest with a house in a clearing. A woman in a purple outfit walks outside and calls for her son, Gohan, to come back inside. Then we are taken into the forest and we see a man in orange jumping through the trees like Tarzan. He lands on the ground in front of a large tree and says, "This one oughta do." He rears back and knocks over the tree in one punch. Chi-chi, the woman in the purple outfit, is still calling for Gohan when Gokou, the guy in the orange clothes, walks up carrying the "firewood". Chi-chi doesn't want Gokou to be late for the reunion, so she tells him to find their son by riding the Flying Nimbus.
The scene again changes to the desert with Piccolo (green guy, purple clothes, white cape & turban) standing on a high cliff. He then turns around and senses a huge ki coming towards him. The alien lands and says he was looking for a man named Kakkarot. After exchanging some disses, Piccolo charges up and blasts the alien and thinks he's dead. To Piccolo's disbelief, the alien is still A-ok. Before the alien can show Piccolo his "Keep Your Eye On The Birdie Attack", the alien's scouter (the thing on his ear) starts beeping again and the alien flies off to find Kakkarot.
The scene yet again changes, as we are taken to the sight of Gokou riding the Flying Nimbus over the forest. We then see a kid, Gohan, hanging onto a tree on the side of a cliff. Gokou calmly floats up to his son, who obviously saves his son.
On a very small island out in the middle of the ocean, we see a small house where a helicopter-like airship lands. Buruma gets out and walks in, handing a gift to Kame Sennin.
Out over the ocean, Gokou and Gohan are flying on Nimbus, not aware of the horrible chain of events about to occur. Gokou and Gohan finally arrive at the island. Kuririn, Kame Sennin, and Buruma all come out and are shocked to learn that Gokou has a son. Buruma asked Gohan if he was going to be a fighter like his dad, but Gohan replied that he was going to be an orthopedist. Gokou then explains how Chi-chi thinks that training is a waste of energy. Gohan notices the sea turtle and goes to play with it while Buruma notices Gohan's tail. Buruma and Kame Sennin ask Gokou if Gohan had ever been out during a full moon, but Gokou said that they always go to bed pretty early.
After some brief reminiscing, Gokou senses an unusually large ki coming their way. Gokou and the others eventually see the alien coming, and stare in shock as he lands. The alien starts referring to Gokou as Kakkarot and asks him why he didn't complete his mission. Kuririn then walks over and tries to escort him off of the island, but gets slammed into the house by the alien's tail.
The alien then asks "Kakkarot" if he had ever suffered a blow to the head. When Gokou replies yes, the alien figures that Gokou must have forgotten his "programming". Kame Sennin then tells Gokou the story of how Grandpa Gohan found Gokou in a pod and cared for him, even though he was a little pain in the ass. One day, Gokou fell into a ravine and severely injured his head. From that day on, Gokou was an average, loving little boy. The alien then tells Gokou that like himself, Gokou was born on the planet Vegeta and is a member of a ruthless race of space pirates known as Saiya-jins. He then introduces himself to the group as Raditz, Gokou's older brother. Raditz explains how Saiya-jins take over planets and sell them, which was why Gokou was sent to earth. Raditz then notices that Gokou no longer has a tail and questions about it. Gokou says he had it removed, and Raditz says that Gokou has lost the ability to transform at the sight of a full moon, which was his "true power".
Raditz asked Gokou if he wished to join him as two of the only four remaining Saiya-jins (he had already explained how Planet Vegeta was destroyed 3 years ago by a meteor) to take over a premium planet. Gokou declines, and Raditz decides to take Gohan instead. After giving Gokou a quick knee to the gut, the alien grabs Gohan.
As Gohan cries hysterically, Raditz tells Goku that he must kill one hundred humans in 24 hours or he will never see his son again. With that, he flys away. Goku angrily strikes the beach with his fists and calls for Nimbus. Master Roshi and the others try to hold him back as he struggles to his feet to chase after his son's captor. Krillin finally convinces him that there is nothing he could do if he followed him right away. Bulma agrees, saying that Raditz won't hurt Gohan since he is his bait. Exasperated, Goku sits on the porch.
Suddenly Goku has an idea! When Goku was a child and someone grabbed his tail, he was paralized. This same phenomenon could be used to their advantage in a battle with Raditz. Reluctantly, Krillin and Master Roshi volunteer for the job. Goku decides that their only hope is an immediate surprise attack. Since Gohan has a Dragon Ball on his hat, they use the Dragon Radar to pinpoint his location. Just as they are about to leave, a voice booms from above: "You'll never succeed. You're too weak!"
Piccolo lands in front of them. He suggests that even though he and Goku are enemies and have their own reasons for wanting to defeat this villain, they should team up to beat him. Seeing no other choice, Piccolo and Goku make a temporary truce and fly off after Raditz.
Meanwhile, Raditz has placed Gohan inside his space pod to muffle his incessant crying. But while walking away, his scout reads a power level of 710 emmanating from the pod. Thinking it to be a malfunction, he goes and gets a bite to eat. Suddenly his scout registers two high power levels coming towards him; one is 320 and the other is 330. Raditz assumes this to be another malfunction, even though he knows that Goku's power level is 330. To his surprise, Piccolo and Goku swoop down for a surprise attack. After taking off their weighted clothing, each warrior's power level raises about 70 points!
The battle ensues. Raditz is much faster and more powerful than our duo, but they are persistent and continue the attack. Raditz raises in the air, spreads both arms out, and fires two ki blasts down at his attackers. Goku dodges, but Piccolo's left arm is blasted off! Upon landing, Goku doesn't see Raditz anywhere. That's when he is kicked in the back, and slides on his face across the ground. Things don't look good.
Goku is shocked to see that Piccolo's arm is missing! Piccolo says that he's been better, but he'll be okay. What can they do now? Apparently, Piccolo has a new attack that he has been saving to use on Goku, but he is willing to try it out on Raditz if Goku can distract him long enough for him to power up. With that, Goku flies into action. A flurry of quick punches leaves Raditz at the advantage, but Goku flies up into the air and starts to power up a KameHameHa. Raditz is shocked to see Goku's power level rising dramatically as he concentrates his power into a fireball! Then he notices Piccolo powering up the Special Beam Cannon attack. Piccolo's level is over 1300 and rising! Raditz realizes that he has underestimated his opponents. Goku fires his KameHameHa at Raditz, who quickly starts to run away. Seeing that it is no use, he turns and blocks it with his hand. The attack only mildly stuns him, much to Goku's amazement. Raditz retaliates with a blast that knocks Goku out of the sky.
Before Raditz can finish Goku off, Piccolo readies his Special Beam Cannon attack and fires! When the smoke clears, a huge hole has been punched through a distant mountain, but Raditz has dodged! Only the shoulder of his armor has been hit! Raditz prepares a fireball attack and charges the stunned Piccolo. Suddenly he freezes, and his fireball disappears. Goku has grabbed his tail! Paralized, Raditz falls to the ground. Goku tells Piccolo to start preparing another Special Beam Cannon, and Piccolo complies.
"You're not going to go through with this, are you?" says Raditz. "I'm your brother! I was never going to harm you or your son. We weren't going to destroy the creatures on this world. I would say anything to get you to join us. If I couldn't convince you, I was just going to leave, I promise!"
In spite of Piccolo's warnings, Goku (who has always been too trusting) lets him go. Immediately, Raditz smacks Goku in the face and steps on his chest. "You're too soft to be a Saiyan warrior, anyway!" laughs Raditz. Goku screams out in pain. Then it happens...
There is a huge explosion from the space pod! Everyone turns to see Gohan bursting up through the pod's hull and landing on the ground beside the crater! "Daddy can't get up right now," says Goku. "Run away, Gohan! Now!"
Raditz and Piccolo are shocked. Gohan's power level is 1370 and rising! "Leave my daddy ALONE!!" shouts Gohan as he rockets through the air and rams Raditz in the stomach, cracking his armor and leaving him weak and out of breath. Gohan falls to the ground and snaps out of his rage, unaware of what he has done.
Raditz composes himself and returns the favor, smacking Gohan across the face and knocking him unconscious. In honor of his strength, Raditz prepares to destroy Gohan with a point blank fireball. Just as he is about to fire, Goku grabs him from behind in a full nelson. If Piccolo fires his Special Beam Cannon attack now, he will eliminate two of his enemies in one blow. Laughing loudly, Piccolo begins to concentrate, and a spark forms between his fingers.
"My ribs are broken!" yells Goku as he holds Raditz from behind. "Hurry up, Piccolo!" Piccolo lets loose his Special Beam Cannon into Raditz' Chest! The blast drills through Raditz and Goku both, knocking them to the ground.
As he lay on the ground in pain, Raditz calls Goku a fool for throwing away his life. Piccolo laughs, and says that Goku's friends will just get together the Dragon Balls and wish him back to life soon, and Goku will get the last laugh. "You're wrong," says Raditz, his strength leaving him. "My scout is also a radio transmitter, and my fellow Saiyans have heard every word you said. They'll want to come here and make a wish. I'll get the last laugh!"
"How long will it take them to get here," groans the dying Goku.
"One year. And the funny thing is...they're much stronger than me!"
After hearing this, Piccolo finishes Raditz off. At that very moment, having just finished destroying all life on a far off planet, the two Saiyans Nappa and Vegita discuss the situation over a meal. They decide to leave for earth immediately to make a wish with the Dragon Balls. Nappa asks if they will wish for Raditz to come back to life. "No," says Vegita. "That would be a wasted wish. How would you like to be immortal, my friend, and fight forever?"
"Now that's something that I could live with for the rest of my life," replies Nappa, "even if it was for an eternity!"
The two climb into their space pods and start their one year journey.
Just then, Bulma, Master Roshi, and Krillin arrive to find only Piccolo left standing. Krillin rushes to his old friend Goku's side. After he reasures his friends that he will be back soon and asks them to take care of his son, Goku smiles at them and dies. Everyone is shocked to see his body disappear! Piccolo says that Kami, the guardian of the earth, must have taken him personally to the next dimension in his human form. He must have special plans for him.
Piccolo is right. Kami and Goku are at the gates of Heaven, petitioning King Yemma to let Goku travel down Snake Way in order to reach King Kai for special training. After hearing that King Yemma had wrestled Raditz down earlier when he arrived at the gate, Goku asks if he could just train under Yemma. Kami whispers that Kai is much more powerful than Yemma, and Yemma hears it! Seeing that his service record shows his fighting prowess, King Yemma agrees to let Goku travel the dangerous road, and Goku is off. Kami leaves as well, after a serious reprimand from Yemma about his behavior.
Back on Earth, Bulma and Krillin take the Scout eyepiece off of Raditz' body. Bulma, genius inventor that she is, decides to modify the scope to show power levels in readable numbers.
Everyone freaks out when they turn to see Piccolo growling and straining as if he is preparing to kill them all! Suddenly a new arm pops into place on Piccolo's body. "Wow, that's handy," says Krillin.
Piccolo says that Gohan is probably the strongest person in the world, but he is so pampered that he has no idea how to use his powers. He informs the others that he is taking Gohan to the wilderness in an attempt to train him, so that he might be of some assistance when the other Saiyans arrive. "When you wish him back with the Dragon Balls, tell Goku he can look forward to seeing his son one year from now. I only hope Gohan is not too young."
Piccolo levitates Gohan out of Master Roshi's hands and flies away with him, leaving the others stunned.
Goku is riding in a tiny car with a very feminine male driver on his way to Snake Way. The driver informs Goku that only one other person has ever suceeded in traveling down snake way, which is supposedly 10,000 miles long, and that person was King Yemma. If Goku falls off the road there will be no coming back. As they arrive at Snake Way, Goku sees how it earned it's name. At the start of the road is a huge stone snake's head, followed by a winding road that disappears over the horizon. "Well, here I go," shouts Goku, and he flies off down the road.
Meanwhile, Piccolo arrives in the wilderness with the unconscious Gohan under his arm. He throws the boy face first into the river. Gohan surfaces, crying. "Do you remember your power?" asks Piccolo.
"What power?"
"Here, I'll show you!"
Piccolo grabs Gohan by the head and throws him towards a distant mountain. Gohan's helpless body flies toward it as he screams in fear. Suddenly, a scowl of determination forms on his face, and he fires a powerful blast ahead of him, destroying the mountain entirely! Gohan falls to the ground, once again unaware of the power he displayed. Piccolo explains that Gohan has great power for a boy of his age, and that they need him to learn how to use it, since the Saiyans on their way are much more powerful than them all.
In heaven, Goku is already getting tired on his journey down Snake Way. After resting for a moment, he continues to travel down the seemingly neverending road.
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