Sinister Soldiers or Sad Seedlings?
Saibamen (also known as Cultivars)...the vicious green imp creatures used by the Saiyans as pawns for battle. They have been eliminated by the young Prince Vegeta for a practice round, planted by Nappa, and then ordered to fight the Z Fighters. Though one of them killed Yamcha, the rest were killed by Krillin and Piccolo. The Saibamen even returned in GT from Hell, attacking humans, destroying cars, and wrecking the city… only to be killed and sent back.
But what if there were more to these creatures than first thought?
Saibamen lived on another planet long ago before the events of Dragon Ball Z. Fast and furious, they were expert hunters and fierce enemies. It was tradition for a Sabiaman to be named after a plant or weed (and they often used plant-terms in their speech). Several of their special moves included shooting deadly white acid from their heads that could melt rock, stone, metal...and flesh. Often, the sacrificing ones would wrap themselves tightly around an enemy and blow themselves up with them. Saibamen reproduce similar to plants and, like weeds, they grow abnormally fast and feed off their surroundings. Back in Dragon Ball Z, six Saibamen eggs were in a capsule of fertilizer and water, in which Nappa had planted them soon after. Harvesting their bulbs is difficult and the untamed Saibamen would often attack their handlers. A Saiyan scientist used biotechnology to make them obedient soldiers for the Saiyans to use when invading other planets for Frieza.
Little did the creatures know, they would soon be reduced to mindless servants for the Saiyans and the Frieza Force later. They were programmed to follow orders due to an injection of an "inhibitor" gene into their green eggs. Throughout the events, they have been eliminated by the young Prince Vegeta for a practice round, planted by Nappa, and then ordered to fight the Z Fighters. Though one of them killed Yamcha, the rest were killed by Krillin and Piccolo. They were strong in the battle of Tradick, according to Nappa, but Vegeta had killed off one of the Saibamen for not defeating Tien. The Saibamen even returned in GT from Hell, only to be killed and sent back. In one alternative universe, Yamcha went on a rampage, killing several Saibamen in revenge. One of the Saibaman, Saibaking, called him a "low-life weed" and led an attack against him as king of the Sabiaman. However, they, too were defeated.
Other Saibamen:
Saibaking (Male, a combination of fused Saibamen)
Saiba-king: “a top grade Saibaman born from multiple Saibamen who fused together.” A king of the Saibamen, he led his people and protected them from Yamcha, and Tekka. He eventually joined Tekka’s team as an ally.
Saiba-king’s quote to Yamcha: “You lowlife weed! You cut down my friends! Time for you to see the fruits of my wrath! Keekee! Prepare to wither and die!”
Dandel (Male)
Amaranth (Male)
Plantian (Male)
Pursane (Female)
Thistle (Female)
Ivy (Female)
Homeworld: Planet Saiba (eventually destroyed by Vegeta and Nappa after capturing them and recruiting them)
On Planet Saiba, the creatures would feed off insects, birds, and often absorb sunlight for energy. They lived in dirt caves and other areas underground. The strongest Saibaman would become the group leader. Saibamen are small and light green, with demonic red eyes, sharp claws, and fangs. Their heads are wrinkly and large, like elongated brains. Flexible arms and legs allow them to jump, fly, and shoot blasts from their hands.
What already occurred
Training with Vegeta
Five green Saibamen were marched one by one down a hall, being supervised by two of Frieza’s soldiers. They had just been planted about an hour ago in a small containment garden-like area full of dirt. The two soldiers, Chill, and Ice, had stored green seeds in small vials filled with fast growing fertilizer liquid. After the seeds were dropped into the dirt, they were soon covered. Then several drops of the growing solution were poured where the seeds were. After a brief silence, the ground rumbled. Several green heads emerged from the dirt and the creatures burst free. One demonstration of power by one of the soldiers was enough to quiet down the antsy creatures, who were already itching to fight. Being led by one soldier and followed by another, the Saibamen were led down the metallic hall and into a dark enclosed room. A red light cast an eerie glow on the tile floor.
King Vegeta stood in the center of the chamber, wearing a dark blue uniform, his hair spiky and black. He glared at the surrounding Saibamen who were snickering as they surrounded their new prey.
However, the young Saiyan prince was far from being prey. Two Saibamen swiped at him, but he effortlessly dodged their attacks. Observing from the outside were Nappa and a blue lizard soldier.
As all the Saibamen launched themselves at Vegeta, he blasted them all back with a golden energy blast. The creatures were sent crashing into the wall, some head-first, others receiving hard impacts to their backs. One stunned Saibaman lay on the ground by Vegeta’s feet. With a single beam from his finger, Vegeta disintegrated the creature and soon eliminated the rest in quick succession.
Attacking the Z Fighters
“I guess they’re not gonna tell us where the Dragon Balls are, Nappa,” Vegeta mentioned.
“You wanna bet?” Nappa asked. “All right,” he called. “Let’s see how strong you really are.”
He pressed a button on his blue scouter and the device beeped while displaying numbers.
The scouter read Gohan’s power. “Kid’s at a thousand.”
Moving to Piccolo… “The Namek’s at fourteen hundred.”
And finally to Krillin… “And the midget is at eleven hundred.”
Nappa grinned. “You fools. Do you really think you can beat us with such puny power levels?”
Just then, Vegeta removed his red tinted scouter. “Hey, Nappa. Take your scouter off.”
“What?” he asked.
“Seems they know how to concentrate their energy into rising their fighting powers. It hides most of their power levels.” He dropped the scouter on the ground.
“Hey, right, good call,” Nappa replied, removing his own. “Now I remember that pathetic loser Raditz let himself be fooled by all of their power ratings.”
Piccolo gasped. “You two be ready for them,” he said to Krillin and Gohan.
“Wait, Piccolo, if they’re stronger than Raditz, and Goku isn’t here, who do you expect to beat them with just us?”
Piccolo seethed, sweat running own his green face as he pondered what to do next.
“Oh well guys, let’s just do it,” said Krillin, raising his arm and getting into an offensive stance.
“Hey Nappa,” said Vegeta with a grin. “I believe it’s time we had a little fun with them. Better yet, get those Saibamen out. There should be six of them left. They’ll do.”
“You’re too much,” Nappa replied with a chuckle. “You really know how to have fun.”
The three Z Fighters gasped.
“Saibamen?” Krillin asked.
“I don’t see any men,” Gohan added.
Nappa rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a small vial with small green seeds in it. “Hmm, you’re right, there are six.”
“Maybe the Saibamen can persuade them to tell us where the Dragon Balls are, huh Nappa?”
Nappa laughed in response and rubbed specks of dirt from his fingers, testing the soil. He them poked two holes in the ground in front of him and then several others nearby.
“Oh, I think they can arrange that.”
From the palm of his hand, he took a seed and dropped it in one of the holes. He then proceeded to drop the five other seeds in their respective holes. He covered each hole with dirt using his hand. He titled a blue jar of the growing fertilizer down, the liquid dropping twice on one of the holes. The substance was quickly absorbed into the ground. He did the same thing to the other holes.
“What is he doing?” Krillin asked fearfully.
“Think we’re about to find out,” Piccolo replied.
“There,” said Nappa, tossing the bottle aside.
The ground rumbled and was pushed upward by an unseen force below. Four holes appeared and rocks were pushed up to the side. Four green heads emerged from the ground, the Saibamen’s arms crossed over their chests protectively. Soon, the six of them climbed out of their holes and opened their eyes, leering at the three fighters.
“At least…they are shorter than I am,” Krillin stuttered.
The Saibamen moved rapidly sideways, facing their enemies. Soon, all of them rapidly surrounded Gohan, Piccolo and Krillin in a circle. Several of them leapt into the air above Gohan’s head and then above Krillin. Krillin and Gohan turned their heads, trying to pinpoint them in mid movement. One of them crashed into a rock pillar, a rubble of rocks falling to the ground and the rest of the structure obliterated by a burst of blue ki. Each of them opened their mouths and let out noises between a laugh, a growl, and a battle cry.
“They’re brainless, crazy monsters!” said Krillin.
“They’re strong too,” warned Piccolo.
“This should be a pretty good matchup,” Vegeta mentioned.
All at once, the Saibamen leapt forward at the trio. They moved so fast, it was hard to tell where they were at one time. Sparks of lightning followed their trails. Piccolo elbowed one Saibaman in the gut. Krillin and another Saibaman held each other’s fists, fighting for the upper hand. Gohan could only glimpse fast blurs in the air as Piccolo moved with the Saibamen. Gohan noticed a Saibaman behind him and slowly turned his head in fear. The creature knocked Gohan to the side, hard, sending him to the ground. Piccolo immediately stood in front of Gohan, glaring at the Saibamen.
“Gohan, believe in yourself,” Piccolo urged.
“I’ll try,” he replied.
“Don’t try, just do it.”
Gohan soon stood back up, ready to fight. “Right.”
“Aw isn’t that cute?” Nappa mocked.
“It warms my heart,” Vegeta taunted.
“Don’t listen to those jerks, Gohan,” Krillin said. “They’ll get what’s coming to them soon enough.”
Tien stood and stared at a Saibaman, who was leering at him. As the Saibaman charged at Tien, the three-eyed warrior yelled and held up two fingers in front of him. The blast of unseen energy sent the creature flying backward. The Saibaman flipped in midair and righted itself on the ground before charging again. The Saibaman laughed as its green head split open, firing a stream of burning white acid at the warriors. Tien dodged the blast, while Piccolo rescued Gohan at the last second. The acid hid the ground, creating a straight line fracture in the ground, with smoke rising from it.
“Thanks,” said Gohan to Piccolo.
Tien yelled again and pummeled the creature hard in the gut.
“What? Impossible!” Nappa declared as the creature fell to the ground, unconscious.
“Way to go, Tien! Great work!” said Krillin, cheering along with Chiaotzu.
“Alright!” cheered Gohan.
“You’re the best, Tien!” said Chiaotzu, his companion.
“Thanks,” he said.
“Looks like you got a hold of a weak batch, Nappa,” chided Vegeta.
“No, they’re all good!” Nappa protested. “These are the same ones who survived that crazy battle on Tradick. They should have won. His power level’s twelve hundred. All these Saibamen have the same fighting power as…”
He paused.
“As who?” Vegeta asked.
“As Raditz,” Nappa finished.
“Now do you see my point?”
“Well, I think so.”
Vegeta laughed softly. “Do you? Well don’t strain yourself. Just leave the thinking to me.”
“Tien, that one’s getting back up!” Chiaotzu warned Tien, whose back was turned. The Saibaman stood back up and Tien turned around. To everyone’s horror, Vegeta held out two fingers, firing a deadly beam at the Saibaman, obliterating it in an instant. The Saibaman screamed and exploded, leaving only two green arms, a head and bits of its body behind in a gruesome pile. Piccolo, Krillin, and Gohan gasped.
“Vegeta, why?” Nappa asked, stunned.
“He wasn’t of any use to us anymore,” he stated, indifferent.
“I know, but, he was…alive.”
Yamcha and another Saibaman fought rapidly across the area, punching and dodging. Yamcha launched a kick at the creature, which did a back flip and got back into position. The Saibaman grabbed hold of Yamcha’s arm, spun him around and launched him into the air. Righting himself, Yamcha fell back to the ground and put out his foot, missing the creature by inches.
“Oh no you don’t,” Yamcha muttered as the Saibaman flew off and landed on top of a small cliff.
The Saibaman leapt into the air, Yamcha disappearing from his spot, then reappearing behind the Saibaman. Conjuring a blast in his hands, Yamcha launched his attack at the Saibaman, the creature screaming in surprise before being pummeled into the ground below.
“Alright!” said Krillin, followed by a “Yay!” from Chiaotzu.
“Wow, great,” breathed Gohan.
The Saibaman lay in a crater with its mouth agape, three plumes of smoke flowing from it.
“That’s two,” said Nappa.
Yamcha turned to the two Saiyans and grinned with confidence. “Well, that was easy. Looks like were a different league altogether from your little green goon squad.”
Nappa raised his fist in anger. “You cocky…”
“Nappa, relax,” said Vegeta.
“Now, what do you say I just take on the other four by myself?”
Back in the pit, the Saibaman’s arm and clawed hand twitched.
“Yamcha, are you nuts?!” cried Krillin.
Vegeta laughed. “Now that I’d like to see. Too bad you won’t get the chance.”
“Oh yeah? Bring it on!” Yamcha declared.
Gohan gasped as the Saibamen leapt at Yamcha and wrapped its arms tightly around his waist. The other Z Fighters gasped in horror.
“Let go!” Yamcha yelled, struggling to escape the Saibaman’s grasp.
The Saibaman grinned and laughed at the helpless Yamcha, while a smirk spread across Vegeta’s face.
“It’s over,” Piccolo stated.
Yamcha screamed as the Saibaman exploded in a blinding flash of light.
“Yamcha,” said Tien.
The smoke cleared, revealing Yamcha, curled up, and motionless in a crater. The Saibaman’s claw was all that was left of the creature.
“Well, I guess it’s a draw,” said Vegeta.
“Kamakazi, no way,” said Piccolo.
Krillin ran over to Yamcha’s body, distraught. He knelt down beside him and sobbed.
“Get over it, little man,” said Nappa. “Don’t you get it? You’re all gonna die in the end!”
“Calm down, Nappa,” said Vegeta. “Give them a moment to clear out this trash.”
Krillin turned around to the Saiyans, clenching his fist, eyes twitching in anger and sadness. “How dare you!”
Krillin called out to his allies. “You guys stay outta this!”
Krillin turned toward the Saibamen and raised his arms. His hands glowed and yellow electricity sparked between them, making a connecting line.
“I’ll take on all four of those goons at once…just like Yamcha was going to do!”
“Attack,” said Vegeta, before the Saibamen rushed at krillin.
“Let’s go, Chiaotzu!” called Tien as both of them flew away from the barrage of golden attacks.
“I don’t know what he’s planning to do,” said Piccolo. “But I know this much. I don’t want to be here when the blasts hits.” He and Gohan fled to safety.
The blast made an upward curve over Nappa and Vegeta. The blast briefly hovered in the air and then turned into five columns of deadly blasts…blasts that impacted three of the Saibamen at once. One of the Saibamen jumped into a crack for cover.
“Way to go!” said Tien.
“Wow, Krillin, nice job!” praised Gohan, after Krillin had taken out several Saibamen.
“That was great!” Tien added.
“Yeah, thank you guys,” he said, tired and shaken.
The final Saibaman leapt from its hiding place and charged at Gohan, who yelled in surprise. The Saibaman jumped from a rock, claw outstretched towards Gohan’s face. Gohan took steps back, but the creature came closer. Just then, a large green hand gripped the Saibaman’s arm tightly. The Saibaman shuddered in fear as Piccolo glared down at the little monster.
“Enough,” said Piccolo, moving the creature’s arm away from Gohan.
The Namekian punched the Saibaman hard in the gut and tossed it into the air. He yelled and fired a large yellow-orange blast from his mouth. It made contact with the Saibaman and the creature let out an ear piercing scream of pain. The green skin melted away, briefly revealing the creature’s skeleton, before, that, too, was consumed by the blast. What was left of the creature was ash that fell to the ground.
Escape from Hell
The Saibamen fell from the black hole portal, and flew around the city, causing havoc. One of them jumped and attacked a human man with brown hair. Several others wrecked a red car and broke the glass. Still more were climbing on buildings, swinging on traffic lights and running around. The creatures were soon defeated with blasts of energy and sent back to Hell.
Saibamen side of the story
Timespace Rift, Age unknown
I have decided to discuss my story and the story of my race while I have a break from a long day of training and obeying orders. Let me introduce myself. I am officially known as Saibaking, the king of my green alien race, the Saibamen. My real name is King Dandel. For the record, my name is pronounced “Saiba-king” not “Sai-baking.” People of many races already make jokes about us killing Yamcha and then having the Saiyans cook us for dinner. Not funny.
My people were originally born on Planet Saiba, a vast planet with grasslands and deserts. How do I know all this? By deep meditation which I have practiced for a while. On Saiba, we hunted for insects, birds, nuts, and other food sources. During resting time, our bodies would absorb sunlight like regular plants do, giving us energy and nutrients. At night and during the winter, we would hibernate underground, waiting for the moment we could rise to the surface once more.
Many Saibamen look like males, but I assure you that there were several female Saibamen as well. During my meditation, I was able to receive some of the names of the Saibamen back then: Amaranth (a headstrong, wild male), Plantian (a Saibaman who enjoyed sleeping way too much), Pursane (a beautiful but vain female Saibaman), Thistle (sharp-witted and determined) and Ivy (peaceful during the day, violent during storms and bad days). These days, no one even knows that Saibamen have/had names. Though we Saibamen look the same (we are very short with big green heads, pointed ears and claws) we are all unique. Our tribe and culture blossomed and bloomed into a great community we called our own.
Of course, this was all before we were “recruited” when the mysterious Saiyan race came to our planet. They were tall and human-like with black spiky hair and long brown tails. The Saibamen, not trusting intruders immediately began to fight them off, albeit barely. Indeed, the Saiyans were more powerful when it came to fighting, but that didn’t mean we would give up that easily. For every Saibaman cut down, another one would arrive and join the battle. Just when it seemed like a draw, the trees turned on us in a not so good way. (Or was it tables? Still trying to figure out sayings). King Vegeta and his boss Frieza arrived and then gave the Saibamen a choice: join or die. Obviously not wanting to die, we surrendered and allowed ourselves to be captured. Apparently, they didn’t want to kill us and instead wanted to use us as targets and battle pawns. We didn’t have a choice in the matter, especially considering that Planet Saiba was blown up by the Saiyan’s king…while the Saibamen got to watch from inside the spaceships.
A Saiyan scientist altered our natural way of reproducing, manipulating our mentality so that we would always follow orders. Those of us who didn’t were instantly killed. Another quick way toward death was if unfortunate Saibamen happened to be training with a Saiyan and he manages to defeat all of them at once. (Take the event of kid Vegeta killing five of us with finger beams and a forceful attack.) In the world of Planet Vegeta only the strong survive, and this included us. The scientist (I believe his name was Zuchini who worked under Frieza) gathered our green eggs and stored them in vials for instant use. He created a green liquid…a fast-growing fertilizing solution which could create new Saibamen instantly when the seeds were planted in the ground. It wasn’t long before my race lost their previous sense of who they were…soon assimilated into Saiyan culture and what humans would call slavery or servitude.
My people are also called Cultivars or Cultivation Men. Just like how certain plants are selected and modified for desirable traits, we were modified to fit the agendas of the Saiyans.
I briefly witnessed another vision of Saibamen falling down from a portal from Hell. They began causing chaos, attacking humans, and wrecking everything in their path. They were sent back to Hell and defeated by Uub, Goten, and Trunks. Let me assure you, though, that not all of us are mindless evil creatures. Apparently, we all take root, grow, and then return to the dirt from which we came. What others saw as chaotic, we saw as a form of entertainment, and of course, our instincts.
Generation after generation of Saibamen only knowing fighting and obeying orders…until only six were left. (These six had been used by the Saiyans in a “crazy battle on Tradick”.) Nappa had planted them on the planet called Earth, summoning them to fight Piccolo, Gohan, Tien, Yamcha, and Krillin. (I saw the vision during my session and Tekka later mentioned the heroes’ names.) Tien killed the first one of the six Saibamen in battle, but being accustomed to fighting, the Saibaman wasn’t about to give up.
What I saw next instantly broke my heart. For failing to win against his opponent, the Saibaman was killed by the Saiyan Vegeta. Even Vegeta’s comrade, Nappa, was shocked at the sight. Apparently, Vegeta had said that he “was of no use to (them anymore).” Nappa then mentioned that the Saibaman had been alive. If I had been there, I would’ve shot acid into that man’s arrogant face in an instant. I could only imagine how those other Saibamen must have felt, watching one of their own die, yet not being allowed to show any signs of weakness.
One of the Saibaman seemed like he had been defeated by Yamcha, but soon launched himself at him, trapping him in a tight grip. Performing self-destruct, the Saibaman exploded, taking Yamcha with him. (It was apparently this event that led to Yamcha’s reasoning of hunting us down to extinction.) Before long, Krillin killed three more Saibamen out of grief for his friend. The last Saibaman had taken cover in a crack, and was about to attack the boy Gohan, before Piccolo intervened and obliterated him with a mouth blast. I couldn’t watch when the Saibaman’s skeleton was revealed and then consumed by the blast.
More recently, I led my fellow Saibamen in an attack against the Earthling human Yamcha, who was hunting our kind in retaliation for his demise at the hands of one of my kind in a different timeline. I still remember calling him a lowlife weed, almost getting a chance to kill him. I wore my signature red cape and body armor. I used a shielding move to protect one of my men from an enemy’s attack. Tekka then decided to knock me out, forcing me to join him and his team (again, I didn’t really have a choice in the matter).
(Note: we only survived in video games and we are all dead in the show versions of Dragon Ball Z. Call us brainless monsters again…we’ll pull the life out of you and watch you wither.)
Ahem…Break of the 4th wall…moving on.
Rumor has it that there are several forms we can take. People say we can take on the forms of spiders, crabs, and snakes, while still retaining some parts of our Saiba nature. Often times, these alternative forms of us can be seen holding tree branches, weeds, and spiked leaves. While it may be true in another universe, it is not true for us Saibamen. Also, there are no such thing as red, blue, yellow, or pink Saibamen (called Saiba Rangers). We have been green-skinned and always will be. In Age 1000, there are a few of us who have managed to survive on Earth, remaining hostile to any outsiders…for good reason. Sometimes we are hostile to each other, but that’s due to leftover Saiyan behaviors we had observed and emulated.
I hope this answers any questions that may arise about me and the remainder of my race.
King Dandel, Saiba king