An obscure backstory for the Saiyan people offers an explanation for their incredible power, but the reasons behind it are actually tragic.

The Saiyans of Dragon Ball Super are one of the most powerful races in Universe 7, even considering how few survivors there actually are, yet the reason that these surviving Saiyans like Goku and Vegeta are so powerful dates back to a tragic event which radically altered the course of Saiyan evolution.

Saiyans are known to exist in both Universe 6 and Universe 7, however they are very different in each. The Saiyans of Universe 6 are relatively peaceful people who are looked up to as heroes and protectors of the weak–a stark difference from the reputation of Saiyans in Universe 7, where they were known as warriors and bloodthirsty conquerors, even before Frieza. Cabba explains this to Vegeta during the Universe 6 tournament, and both Saiyans momentarily wonder how their two histories could have diverged so much. As it turns out, there’s an explanation for this, which comes from Dragon Ball Legends, a mobile game whose main character was developed by Toriyama.

A Saiyan Civil War Caused Their History to Split

In Dragon Ball Legends, the main character, Shallot, is established as an Ancient Saiyan who actually lived on the Saiyans’ original homeworld, Planet Sadala, the same world that Universe 6’s Saiyans are from. Shallot’s origins state that he was part of a war against a group of evil Saiyans in that distant past, and that he had hoped to use the Super Saiyan God transformation to put an end to the war for good. It seems that this war between Saiyans was the turning point for Saiyan civilization across the two universes: in Universe 7, the “evil” Saiyans won, and created a culture built on war and battle. In Universe 6, the “good” Saiyans won, and created a culture built on heroism and sacrifice.

One thing that’s immediately apparent comparing Universe 6 and 7 Saiyans is that the Universe 7 Saiyans are radically stronger, as their Universe 6 counterparts hadn’t even heard of the Super Saiyan transformation. It seems that the “evil” Saiyans’ culture of war led to them evolving to be more powerful, as it put them in dangerous situations that caused their abilities to evolve more often. The origin of Goku and Vegeta’s strength is directly tied to the war-like culture of Universe 7’s Saiyans, meaning that their power is only possible because the “good” Saiyans tragically lost the war in the distant past.

While a mobile game might not seem like the best source of information, everything indicated in Dragon Ball Legends is consistent with what was stated about Universe 6’s Saiyans, and a major conflict is known to have occurred that ultimately caused Universe 7’s Saiyans to leave Sadala and settle Planet Vegeta. The fact that Shallot was designed by Toriyama and given this ancient Saiyan backstory suggests that there is reason to believe it’s canonical, or at least the best answer there is at the moment. Hopefully, Dragon Ball Super will one day confirm this information, finally offering an explanation for the brutal culture of the Saiyan people in Universe 7.

Source: Screenrant.com