Chapter 5 - chapter 2 part2

# 🌌 **Saiyan of the Red Dawn**

## **Chapter 2 – First Test**

*(Part 2)*

---

Nappa's grin returned, wider and more savage. He braced himself, knees bending, as Kael lowered his center of gravity.

A pulse of crimson energy rippled outward, whipping the guards' hair and rattling the observation deck.

Kael exploded forward.

In the instant before impact, Nappa managed to cross his forearms in a block. Kael's fist crashed into his guard with a thunderclap that rattled the reinforced walls.

The scouters trying to measure the strike's force all overloaded at once.

Nappa skidded back—two meters, then five, then ten—gouging furrows in the arena floor. His boots smoked when he finally stopped.

For a moment, they simply stared at each other. The general's arms trembled.

*He's holding back,* Nappa realized, fury and awe colliding in his mind. *A child…holding back.*

A hush fell over the observation deck.

King Vegeta's gloved hand tightened on the railing.

---

Kael exhaled, steam drifting from his shoulders. He felt alive in a way he hadn't since before his rebirth—every nerve singing with the thrill of resistance.

"You're stronger than the others," he said, voice calm, "but not enough."

Nappa's eye twitched. "We're just getting started."

He roared, surging forward in a blur of motion. At the last instant, he split into two afterimages—one high, one low. It was an elite tactic designed to confuse even veteran warriors.

But Kael's golden gaze tracked both images unerringly.

He pivoted, heel whipping upward. His foot connected with the real Nappa's midsection.

The general's breath exploded from his lungs. He flew backward, slammed into the containment barrier, and collapsed in a heap.

Silence swallowed the arena.

From the observation deck, King Vegeta's scouter pinged over and over, struggling to reconcile the readings.

One of the guards stepped forward, trembling. "General—are you—"

"Stay back," Nappa snarled, forcing himself upright.

Blood dripped from his lip onto the floor.

He met Kael's gaze, and despite the pain—despite the humiliation—his mouth curved in a slow, fierce grin.

"Good," he rasped. "Finally…someone worth fighting."

Kael inclined his head, as though acknowledging an equal.

"Again?" he asked.

Nappa wiped the blood from his chin. "Again."

---

**They fought for hours.**

The observation deck filled with stunned spectators—elite commanders, royal advisors, and eventually King Vegeta himself.

No matter how many strikes Nappa landed, the child rose again, stronger, faster, his technique sharpening in real time.

It was impossible. It was exhilarating.

By the time the alarms signaled that the containment barrier was at critical overload, Nappa could barely stand. His armor hung in ragged scraps, hair scorched from repeated ki detonations.

Kael, breathing hard, was still ready for more.

And in that moment, something shifted in the king's heart.

Fear, yes—but also a realization he could no longer deny.

This boy was not a liability. He was a weapon.

And if King Vegeta could not control him, he would *shape* him.

---

When the medics finally separated them, Nappa was laughing—low, exhausted chuckles that sounded almost deranged.

He waved away the stretchers, limping forward to stand before Kael.

"You're a monster," he rasped. "But you're my kind of monster."

Kael studied him, head tilted. "You were strong."

Nappa barked a laugh that ended in a cough. "Then remember this—Saiyans fight until they drop. If you ever stop, even for a second…you lose everything."

Kael's eyes narrowed, thoughtful.

"I won't stop," he said softly.

Nappa clapped a massive hand on his shoulder. "Good. Then you're a Saiyan, no matter what the others whisper."

---

The chamber doors hissed open again. This time, King Vegeta himself stepped onto the arena floor, cape billowing behind him.

Nappa straightened, wincing as bruised muscles protested.

"Sire," he grunted.

The king ignored him. His gaze locked onto Kael.

"You were born a threat," King Vegeta said, voice low and measured. "But perhaps…you can become something more."

He gestured, and two medics approached with a case of nutrient injectors.

"Your training begins today."

Kael's chest rose and fell, a slow, steady rhythm.

He did not smile. He simply nodded once.

And in that nod, King Vegeta saw the truth he had feared from the beginning:

This child would never be controlled.

Only respected.

Or destroyed