"It seems that after countless years of fighting across the universe, the Frost Demon clan's combat experience has been encoded into their very genes," Karnel mused, observing Number One's natural fighting instincts.
The Durastar cloning technology was impressive in its reliability. At least the loyalty programming appeared to be working flawlessly.
"If I'm going to do this, I might as well go all out," Karnel decided. "Let's see how many clones I can create with the remaining blood."
He wasn't concerned about the risks. Even if all the clones somehow rebelled, his current power level was more than sufficient to handle them.
Instructing Number One to stand aside, Karnel began dropping more blood samples into the cloning machine, one by one.
Two... three... four...
By the time the small vial was empty, ten King Cold clones stood before him in perfect formation.
"Not bad," Karnel said with satisfaction, surveying his artificial army. "Even factory-produced chickens don't grow this fast."
He decided to keep the naming system simple, just numbers one through ten in order of creation.
"Listen up, all of you," Karnel said, pacing back and forth like a commanding officer. "First rule: don't call me 'master' anymore. Address me as 'Director.' Is that clear?"
"Yes, Director!" the ten clones responded in unison.
"Did someone anger the Director?" Number Seven stepped forward with a menacing expression. "Let me destroy them!"
Karnel noted with interest how each clone's personality was beginning to emerge. Their inherited instincts were surfacing, making them nearly indistinguishable from the original King Cold in behavior, if not in power.
"No," Karnel said firmly. "I have a different task for you. Your original has a son named Frieza, who currently controls most of the northern galaxy. You're going to find him."
Number One looked puzzled. "Director, do you have a grudge against this Frieza? Why not simply capture and eliminate him?"
Kill him? I considered that option long ago, Karnel thought, a cold glint in his eyes. But when I returned to this time, I changed my mind. I want to play a much more interesting game.
"Don't question my methods," Karnel said aloud. "Just follow orders. Here's what you'll do: approach Frieza in groups, but never reveal yourselves all at once. Act like his real father. Only one of you should make contact at a time while the others remain hidden. And make it convincing."
Number Six flexed his muscles eagerly. "When do we start, Director?"
"Now. Go!"
The ten clones launched into the sky, streaking across space as beams of light toward their distant target.
Karnel packed up the cloning machine and gazed up at the stars with a playful smile. "It's getting late. I've been here for over ten hours, time to head back. Frieza... I'm looking forward to our eventual meeting."
Back at Capsule Corp, Karnel was relaxing on the sofa when Bulma rushed in, phone in hand.
"Karnel! Goku just got himself killed by Master Roshi!" she announced breathlessly, collapsing onto the couch and grabbing a glass of water.
That idiot, Karnel thought. He's really that eager to train with King Kai? I hope he doesn't mention my involvement.
"Did Goku say anything else?" Karnel asked, trying to sound casual. "Like... who might have suggested this idea?"
Bulma's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "That's a strange question. Come to think of it, you did go out with him earlier, and right after he came back, he convinced Chi-Chi to let him do this. Did you put him up to it?"
"Of course not," Karnel said, whistling innocently. "We just had a sparring match. I didn't say anything about dying."
Bulma wasn't buying it. "No, you definitely said something to him. Chi-Chi even called to complain about it."
"How could that be? Didn't Goku explain the situation to Chi-Chi?" Karnel replied without thinking, then immediately realized his mistake.
"Aha! You are behind this!" Bulma exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at him. "You're so terrible! First you tricked him into eating his tail when we were kids, and now you've talked him into getting himself killed!"
"I did it for his own good!" Karnel protested. "This way he can train on King Kai's planet and become much stronger."
Bulma's expression softened slightly. "Well... Chi-Chi was pretty angry about it. But they're giving him a full year before using the Dragon Balls to revive him."
"That's perfect," Karnel said, relieved. "It's getting late anyway. We should get some rest."
As they prepared for bed, Karnel's mind wandered to his clones now traveling through space. Soon, Frieza would have some very interesting visitors, and the real game would begin.