Without further delay, they arrived at the place where the Grand Elder lived. This wasn't a village, but a higher mountain range. A white house stood on the mountainside, with two floors, and on the very top was a strange, dish-like device.
The moment Creed touched down, the door in front of them opened automatically. Shortly after, a young Namekian walked out. Looking closely, he actually looked exactly like Piccolo.
When Dende saw him, he smiled happily. "Nail-niisan, you're safe! That's great!"
The young Namekian named Nail said, "Perfect timing, Dende. The Grand Elder already knows the gist of what's happened. Come in—he's been waiting for you."
Creed nodded. Since the Grand Elder already knew, that saved them a lot of trouble. They could state their purpose directly, have him bring out the Dragon Ball, and let them safeguard it.
And Creed could also sense it—this young Namekian's ki was several times stronger than the other Namekians.
Dende asked, "If the Grand Elder already knows about this, why won't he leave this place?"
Nail said, "The Grand Elder is extremely old. He's long been aware that his death is near. We can't persuade him. So all I can do is stay nearby and protect him in secret. There's no other way."
They entered the house and went up to the second floor. The space upstairs was huge, but there was only a single chair in the center. The aged Grand Elder sat on it, and the Dragon Ball rested against the back of the chair.
The green on his body had dulled, and his eyes could barely open.
After Nail reported their arrival, the Grand Elder spoke slowly. "I'm very glad you were able to come here. You are Earthlings, yes? First, I must thank you. Thank you for saving my child, Dende."
Creed looked at him and sighed softly. From the way he looked, it felt like he could pass away at any moment.
After speaking, the Grand Elder went silent for a long time, his eyes never opening—like he had fallen asleep. Only after a long while did his finger twitch, and then he continued:
"Nearly all of my children on this planet have been slaughtered by those villains. I… cannot accept it."
As he spoke, he coughed weakly—so weakly even the cough sounded lifeless. "Their target should be the Dragon Balls. I never imagined the Hope Orbs—the symbol of Namekian wisdom and power—would bring such disaster."
Creed said, "Let's not talk about that for now. The reason we came here is to take the Dragon Balls. The one on your chair—can you lend it to us for a while?"
The Grand Elder said, "So you are collecting the Dragon Balls as well."
"Yes," Goku said. "We want to use the Dragon Balls to revive our companions who died."
Dende said too, "Grand Elder, I'm asking you as well. If their friends come here, they can definitely help us defeat those bad guys!"
Even so, the Grand Elder still didn't show any intention of handing the Dragon Ball over.
Creed had already decided: if the Grand Elder still refused, he would take it by force. There was no time to waste—who knew when Frieza would find this place?
The Grand Elder asked slowly, "How do you know about the Dragon Balls?"
Goku said, "Because Earth also has Dragon Balls. Long ago, when your planet faced a crisis, a Namekian escaped to Earth. He's the one who created Earth's Dragon Balls."
"I see," the Grand Elder said. "Then it must have been Katatz's son… I never expected that child would safely reach Earth. He was a genius—able to create Dragon Balls at such a young age."
Creed said in a low voice, "He's dead too—killed by the Saiyan Vegeta. And you're still unmoved?"
The Grand Elder tilted his head back as if sighing. "Saiyans truly are frightening… That Saiyan… could he be a Super Saiyan?"
Goku froze. He still didn't know what a Super Saiyan was, and had no such concept—he only knew he had to keep getting stronger.
Creed stepped forward. "Then you can give us the Dragon Ball now, right?"
"…Fine." The Grand Elder took down the Dragon Ball. "Since you are not using them for evil, and I admire the courage you showed in coming here, I will give you this Dragon Ball."
"But your wish may not be able to be fulfilled. Regrettably, I doubt my life can last more than a few days. Can you reclaim the Dragon Balls from those villains before I die? I think it will be difficult. Once I die, the Dragon Balls will disappear."
Creed said calmly, "Just hold on for a few days. You need to survive."
Now that they had the Dragon Ball, there was no reason to linger. After a brief farewell, Creed and Goku flew back toward the mountains where Bulma was staying.
Meanwhile, Zarbon also returned to the spaceship. Frieza had already been waiting.
When he saw Zarbon return, he stepped forward and asked, "Did you find the village?"
Zarbon shook his head. "No. I didn't discover any villages. But I defeated Vegeta."
Even though he hadn't found a village, Vegeta being defeated was still good news for Frieza. Frieza clapped his hands. "I see. You must have used the transformation you haven't used in a long time. Then—did Vegeta die?"
"I don't know," Zarbon said. "I didn't confirm the corpse. But even if he isn't dead, he's definitely severely injured. His body never floated back up."
Frieza scolded him. "Then you should've dived into the water to look! You must have hated getting wet, so you didn't confirm it. And besides—killing him the moment you see him is far too reckless. What if Vegeta hid the Dragon Balls somewhere? What are you going to do then?"
Zarbon's pupils shrank. He hadn't considered that at all. Just as he was about to go back and confirm, the low-level soldier who had been searching for villages returned and reported:
"Lord Frieza, I found a village. But everyone in it was already dead. I think Vegeta did it. I also found one villager still alive, so I dealt with him immediately."
As soon as Frieza heard that, his expression turned icy. He stared at the soldier and said slowly, "So you killed the only witness. Is that correct?"
Before the low-level soldier could answer—
Bang!
His body exploded, bursting into pieces. Blood splattered across the ground.
Seeing him killed, Zarbon also panicked a little.
Frieza said coldly, "I hate idiots who act without thinking. If Vegeta is dead, you'd better be prepared. Go—bring Vegeta to me immediately."
(End of Chapter)
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