Five years have passed since the final climactic battle of Son Goku and Piccolo Daimao in the 23rd Tenkaichibudokai. A great peace has settled over the Earth. Goku, his wife Chichi, and their young child, Son Gohan, are happily enjoying a life of tranquility and bliss. That peace is shattered by a powerful intruder from outer space. His name is Raditz, and he claims that Goku is his brother. Both he and Goku, he says, are Saiya-jin, a ruthless race of planet conquerors from the planet Vegeta, and that Goku has forgotten his origins due to a childhood head injury.
Now, Raditz expects Goku to fulfill his original mission: to destroy the planet Earth. Goku has no choice but to team up with PIccolo, his greatest enemy, to battle Raditz. Goku ends up sacrificing his own life in order to stop his evil brother. But while Raditz lies dying, he
reveals that two incredibly powerful Saiya-jin, Nappa and Vegeta, are on their way to Earth.
In his life-after-death, Goku learns that he must cross the furthest reaches of Heaven in order to be trained by a divine martial arts master named Kaiou. Meanwhile, Gohan faces some intense survival and martial arts training from Piccolo, and Goku's friends Yamucha, Chaozu, Tenshinhan, Yajirobe, and Kuririn hone their skills with Kami, the Guardian of the Earth.
One year after Goku's death, the two Saiya-jin arrive, and the battle begins. It is a hopeless cause, and leaves nearly all of Goku's friends dead. However, The Great Dragon Sheng Long has granted the wish for Goku to return to the physical plane, and Goku arrives at the battle site just in time. His training with Kaiou has dramatically increased his
power, and he proves to be too much for Nappa. Goku is ultimately pitted in a one-on-one decisive match against Vegeta. The battle is intense and debilitating, reducing them both to helpless, crawling, heaps on the ground. Vegeta signals his space pod in order to escape, but Kuririn catches him and is about to deliver the final blow with a sword.
Goku begs his friend to show mercy, and Kuririn reluctantly agrees. Vegeta crawls into his pod and blasts off, leaving the weary survivors with a hard-won, bittersweet victory.