As a different side of Vegeta has come to light in Dragon Ball Super as he’s done things he might never have considered before, like coaching the universe six Saiyan Cabba in how to obtain Super Saiyan status. But Vegeta’s reasons for doing this aren’t just the result of raising a family on Earth—it actually ties back to the family he lost when the Saiyan homeworld of Planet Vegeta was destroyed.

Vegeta has long been one of the Dragon Ball franchise’s most interesting characters, largely as a result of the character development he’s received over the years. Starting out as a ruthless villain, Vegeta suffered setbacks and embarrassment through defeat, but eventually came to develop a respect for Goku, and later many of the other Z fighters. While Vegeta hates feeling like he’s always a step behind Goku, he’s come to understand that this rivalry has pushed both Saiyans to new levels. And yet, Goku and Vegeta were, for a very long time, the only surviving Saiyans, creating a bond that can’t be broken even if they wanted to. Others who survived the planet’s destruction at one point included Goku’s forgotten brother Raditz, Raditz and Vegeta’s partner Nappa, and Broly and his father, although Broly is the only of these other Saiyan who’s still alive. In some non-canonical anime movies, there were other surviving Saiyans, including a long lost brother for Vegeta, too: the polite but scrawny Saiyan Tarble, first revealed in 2008.

When Dragon Ball Super introduced the concept of Saiyans from Universe 6, the first shown is Cabba, who hails from a very different kind of Saiyan culture. After so long of Goku and the half-Saiyan children being the only others around, Vegeta latches on to the opportunity to talk to and face off against another Saiyan. However, Cabba doesn’t look very much like Goku and Vegeta, or even all that much like the half-Saiyans such as Gohan and Trunks. He’s got a thin build rather than a muscular one, and he’s polite, well-mannered, and kindhearted, not aggressive or domineering. In fact, even in flashbacks such as those from the Dragon Ball Super:Broly movie and its corresponding Dragon Ball Minus manga chapter, there are very few full Saiyans shown who aren’t as beefy as Goku. There is one notable exception from those non-canonical entries though, and that’s Tarble.

Tarble is in a weird spot as far as Dragon Ball canon goes; he’s relatively new, but still pre-Super. Broly was similarly non-canonical before the recent film, which redefined his character while keeping core aspects intact. The new Broly film even gives Tarble a nod by having Nappa ask Vegeta about whether he thinks his brother survived the homeworld’s destruction, but Vegeta answers that he doesn’t care since he was weak. While this doesn’t mean Tarble survived as he did in the specials, it does mean that Tarble canonically existed—Vegeta really did have a brother. Cabba’s resemblance to Tarble may be what’s caused Vegeta to develop a bit of a soft spot towards him. Maybe Vegeta feels guilty for dismissing his brother’s apparent death back then, especially now that he’s had the chance to build a family of his own and find out what that means. Cabba himself represents a second chance for Vegeta, not just the existence of Universe 6 Saiyans in general.

While Vegeta’s internal motivations are often difficult to discern, it’s no stretch to think the similarities between Cabba and his lost brother might be behind his willingness to mentor him. It was a good sign for his furthered character development in Dragon Ball Super, and even if Tarble never returns, the character’s existence offers one more complex facet to Vegeta.