Mount Paozu.
After returning to Earth, Gohan settled back into a normal life.
Right now, he was hunched over his desk, doing homework.
The poor kid was only six and he was already buried in schoolwork.
After a while, Gohan started missing his father.
It's been a year… why hasn't Dad come back?
In the next instant, he sensed a terrifying ki racing in from the distant stars.
He knew that ki too well.
Frieza.
And there was another ki with it—just as strong, just as evil.
Gohan went rigid.
The phone on the desk suddenly rang.
Gohan snatched it up.
"Krillin-san!" Gohan recognized the voice immediately.
"Gohan." Krillin's voice was low. "You felt it, right? That massive ki."
"Yeah." Gohan swallowed. "It's Frieza. He's getting closer."
"And there's another evil ki about as strong as him…" Krillin sounded grim. "This is bad. Goku still not back?"
"No… Dad hasn't come back," Gohan said.
"What about Ken? Have you guys been in contact? Is Broly on Earth?" Krillin asked quickly.
"We haven't talked in a long time," Gohan admitted.
"We're done for…" Krillin sounded like he was about to cry.
I don't even have a girlfriend yet. I don't want to die again.
Last time was already tragic enough.
…
Emily's house.
Vegeta put his bowl down and shot into the yard.
"Vegeta, what's wrong?" Emily ran after him. "What happened?"
"Damn it… Kakarot, you idiot." Vegeta's teeth clenched. "You didn't finish the job!"
I saw Frieza get blasted into that crater and die.
How is he alive again?
"Kakarot… who's that?" Emily asked, confused.
"Ken's not going to help." Vegeta ignored the question, voice sharp. "He's dumping this on us again!"
"What are you talking about?" Emily didn't understand.
"Emily." Vegeta's voice dropped. "This is it. Earth's finished."
"W-what?" Emily went stiff. "Finished…?"
"But I won't let him get what he wants!" Vegeta's fist tightened. "This time, I'm wiping Frieza out!"
He shot upward and became a streak of light, racing into the distance.
…
Universe 7, deep space.
Frieza's spaceship tore through the Milky Way toward the blue planet.
Inside, Frieza—rebuilt as a cyborg—wore a smug smile.
"That's Earth, Father." Frieza pointed at the distant blue sphere. "That Super Saiyan killed Cooler and nearly got me too. I'll reach Earth before him. That Broly is a trainee God of Destruction appointed by the Grand Priest—we can't touch someone like that. But this Super Saiyan called Son Goku? No matter what, we're wiping him out."
"The planet is small." King Cold's eyes were cold. "Destroy it."
Just as Frieza said, they couldn't afford to provoke a trainee God of Destruction like Broly.
Broly had the Grand Priest behind him.
That wasn't someone to mess with.
But Son Goku had no backing like that.
And Frieza believed the gap between him and Goku wasn't that huge.
Compared to Broly, though, it was night and day.
There was another reason, too.
Goku had family living on a planet called Earth.
That was why Frieza came looking for trouble.
Broly didn't have a fixed home.
A while back, the moment Frieza's ship entered the World of Void, they completely lost their sense of direction.
Luckily, Frieza reacted fast and ordered an immediate retreat, avoiding getting truly lost in that nothingness.
"Blowing the planet up is too easy for them." Frieza's smile sharpened. "Our scouters say his ship is also heading toward Earth. I'm going to prove I'm stronger than you."
"Frieza-sama, we scanned Earth remotely just now." Salza stepped forward and bowed. "This planet is dead."
"I already know." Frieza waved it off. "Universe 6's Earth and Universe 7's Earth swapped. I heard Universe 7's Earth has a passage that leads straight to Universe 6's Earth."
…
Universe 7, Earth.
Just minutes before Frieza's ship arrived—
A strange machine appeared out of thin air in the sky.
It descended slowly.
The transparent canopy opened.
A blue-haired teen with a long sword on his back flew out.
He scanned the planet—and the moment he saw a world of total silence, his mouth fell open.
"What…?" His voice came out rough. "The date… it's right. I really did jump back three years."
He checked the year on the Time Machine again, more confused than ever.
What happened to Earth?
Why does it look like this?
Did the Androids activate way earlier than they were supposed to?
That doesn't make sense…
He flew a wide circle around the planet, then sealed the Time Machine into a capsule.
After that, he kept searching.
The more he looked, the more wrong it seemed.
Why is this world nothing like the one I know?
He checked his watch again. Same coordinates.
Different buildings.
"I'm sure this coordinate should be West City…" he muttered. "But all I see are endless mountains."
How is that possible?
Then he caught sight of a vortex in the sky.
"What is that?" Curiosity tugged him forward, and he flew toward it.
As soon as he neared the vortex, he sensed two ki signatures racing in from deep space.
"Frieza's ki…" he said under breath. "And his father's too. I don't remember his name, but this confirms it—my timing wasn't wrong."
Before the words finished leaving his mouth, the vortex yanked at him with a powerful pull.
His expression changed instantly, and he fought to resist.
It didn't matter.
Against that vortex, he was nothing.
His body got dragged straight in and vanished.
Not long after, he broke into Universe 6's Earth—tumbling through the air and slamming into the ground.
He hissed through his teeth and pushed himself up, eyes snapping to the sky.
Nothing.
The vortex was gone.
He looked around.
A lush green jungle.
"Where… am I?" he murmured, even more lost. "That Earth just now… there wasn't a single human presence anywhere. But here… I can sense ki. A lot of it. And some of them are huge."
His eyes flickered with confusion.
…
Universe 7, Earth.
Frieza's spaceship descended and landed on the planet's barren ground.
The hatch opened, and Frieza flew out first.
King Cold followed, scanning the area.
"This planet is clearly dead," King Cold said.
"Yes, Father." Frieza nodded, then ordered his men, "Find the vortex. It's in the sky. You can't miss it."
"Yes!" Salza and the others bowed.
"So this planet originally belonged to Universe 6?" King Cold asked.
"Universe 7's Earth and Universe 6's Earth swapped." Frieza nodded. "There's a passage that leads straight to the other Earth. And that Son Goku lives there."
"Then going there is the right move." King Cold's eyes narrowed. "If we can't kill him, we'll destroy the planet. Even if he survives, the pain will be unbearable."
"Exactly." Frieza's lips curled.
The passage was easy to find.
Salza and the others quickly located the massive vortex.
Frieza and his group boarded the ship and entered it.
…
Universe 6, Earth.
Vegeta had been waiting near the vortex for a while.
Not long after Vegeta arrived, Yamcha showed up and landed beside him.
Vegeta gave him a sideways glance and said nothing.
Yamcha stayed quiet too.
A helicopter raced in from the distance.
It landed, and Ken and Bulma stepped out.
"Been a while since I rode a helicopter," Ken said. "Feels kind of nice."
"Ken? Bulma?" Yamcha blinked.
Vegeta looked over, then marched straight up.
"Ken!" Vegeta clenched his teeth. "You said after dinner with Emily, you'd teach me!"
"Vegeta, you still can't go Super Saiyan?" Ken asked.
Vegeta went silent.
"Should I be able to?" he snapped.
"You've got a calm heart now." Ken smiled. "If your emotions spike hard enough, turning Super Saiyan won't be a problem."
"W-what?" Vegeta's eyes widened. "So my S-Cells…"
"Yeah." Ken nodded. "They've grown enough."
Happiness hit Vegeta like a truck.
"So if my emotions swing hard enough, I can transform?" Vegeta's voice shook with excitement.
"Figure out the trigger yourself." Ken nodded once. "If you really can't, I'll give you a push."
Ken flicked his staff, and an image projected into the air.
Emily's house.
Vegeta recognized it instantly.
"If you crush Emily to death," Ken said casually, pointing at the image, "your chances of transforming should skyrocket."
"Stop!" Vegeta panicked. "I know how to do it! This has nothing to do with her!"
"Alright." Ken dismissed the image. "Then we're good."
Vegeta exhaled, drenched in cold sweat.
"Seriously, Ken…" Bulma murmured. "I didn't expect Vegeta to care that much about Emily."
"Told you." Ken shrugged. "I was just scaring him."
Yamcha stood there, completely lost.
Then irritation bubbled up.
Broly isn't here.
And I'm not even picking a fight with Ken.
I just wanted to make sure Bulma's okay.
"Bulma, what are you doing here?" Yamcha snapped. "This is insane!"
"Huh?" Bulma blinked.
"It's dangerous here!" Yamcha raised his voice.
"I came to see Frieza." Bulma stayed calm. "I want to see what the 'Emperor of the Universe' looks like."
"You came to see Frieza?" Yamcha's voice rose again. "Do you have any idea how dangerous this is? Even Vegeta—Frieza killed him on Namek!"
Vegeta's eye twitched.
A thousand screaming voices ran through his head.
Really?
Is getting killed on Namek something we need to bring up again right now?
Vegeta kicked Yamcha hard.
Yamcha yelped, rolled across the ground, and nearly blacked out.
"Hmph. Lucky you didn't die." Vegeta crossed his arms.
Bulma wiped her forehead.
Emily staying alive is a miracle.
If Vegeta gets mad, is he going to slap her into dust?
"Hey, Vegeta." Bulma pointed a warning finger at him. "Treat my best friend properly."
Vegeta just grunted.
Bulma leaned closer to Ken and lowered her voice. "Ken… are we sure setting Emily and Vegeta up was a good idea?"
"For me, it's fine." Ken shook his head. "For you… never mind."
Bulma stared.
He did it again—half a sentence and nothing else.
Right then, Tien and Chiaotzu dropped from the sky and landed nearby.
"Vegeta, you're still on Earth?" Tien asked, expression tight, then glanced at Ken. "Ken's here too…"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ken frowned.
Those two lines back-to-back weren't aimed at him, but it still sounded like a jab.
Ken glanced around and realized Broly wasn't here, and the absence felt weird.
No muscle.
About a month ago, Ken had sent Broly to travel through different universes to broaden his horizons and lay a better foundation for future growth.
Broly had power, but his experience was thin.
Traveling was the fastest fix.
Broly agreed and left that same day, taking Ai with him.
"I-I didn't mean you!" Tien hurried to explain. "I meant Vegeta."
"T-Tien…" Chiaotzu started to speak.
"Quiet." Tien hissed at him.
Chiaotzu clapped a hand over his mouth and looked toward Yamcha lying there.
"What do you want?" Vegeta looked Tien over, unimpressed.
Wasn't this the three-eyed guy Nappa punched so hard he lost an arm?
Weak.
"I've got a lot to say." Tien gritted his teeth. "Your partner killed me. I don't know how you can—"
"Hold it." Vegeta cut him off. "You used a life-burning technique yourself. Don't blame Nappa for that. Ridiculous."
Tien went speechless.
"T-Tien… even if you don't want me to, I have to say it…" Chiaotzu pointed shakily at Yamcha. "Yamcha looks hurt."
Tien's expression changed instantly. He rushed over with Chiaotzu and helped Yamcha up.
"Yamcha, are you okay?" Tien asked, worried.
"I'm not dead yet," Yamcha said weakly.
"Who did this?" Tien demanded.
Yamcha looked toward Vegeta.
"Vegeta did?" Tien flared.
"Forget it!" Yamcha grabbed him. "We're not his opponents. Don't go looking for pain."
Tien hesitated, then backed off.
"This is serious, isn't it?" Tien forced himself to calm down. "It's Frieza?"
"Yeah." Yamcha nodded. "It's probably Frieza."
Vegeta smiled with confidence. "Hmph. Even if I can't go Super Saiyan yet, my destruction energy has improved."
He lifted his right hand, and a purple-red orb formed above his palm.
This time, it was the size of a mung bean.
Before, it was barely a sesame seed.
Vegeta glanced at Ken, clearly fishing for praise.
Ken gave him two words. "Not bad."
Honestly, to Ken, Vegeta's progress was only average.
But Ken still decided to give him confidence.
Pure discouragement wouldn't forge a proper God of Destruction.
Ken wanted to see a specific scene someday.
Beerus wakes up and comes to Earth—only to discover Earth has been swapped into Universe 6.
Beerus explodes, goes after Goku and Vegeta.
Then Beerus finds out the hard way that Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, and Piccolo have all reached God of Destruction level.
Then the four of them beat Beerus down.
And when Beerus finally goes all-out, Broly shows up.
It was Ken's vision.
Making it real would take work.
But Beerus still had a long time before waking up, and that meant years of training.
"Oh?" Vegeta turned toward Piccolo. "Piccolo, you just standing there catching the breeze?"
Piccolo stood on a rock, staring back at him.
"Namek isn't settled yet," Vegeta said coldly.
"Anytime," Piccolo replied.
"Hmph. After I erase Frieza, you're next." Vegeta flicked his hand and tossed the destruction energy at a nearby rock.
The rock popped like a soap bubble.
Gone.
Vegeta looked even more pleased with himself.
Right then, Gohan and Krillin arrived from the distance and landed near the group.
"Frieza's here!" Piccolo shouted.
The moment he spoke, everyone saw a spaceship appear high in the sky.
Frieza's ship—warping in from Universe 7.
It immediately started spinning wildly, tumbling through the air and nearly breaking apart.
Everyone just stared.
The people inside can't be having a good time.
The ship crashed into a far-off mountain range with a booming roar.
It was built tough, so it didn't break apart.
Even so, everyone onboard was dizzy, eyes full of spinning stars.
Frieza's face ended up pressed against an underling's boot.
Already furious, Frieza slapped the underling dead.
The hatch opened, and Frieza and his men wobbled out, landing on the ground.
Frieza shook his head until the world stopped spinning.
"So this is Earth?" Frieza looked around, smiling. "Not bad."
"That Super Saiyan won't reach Earth for about three hours," King Cold said with a smile. "Frieza, should we wait?"
"Of course, Father." Frieza nodded. "When he arrives, he'll watch me destroy Earth with his own eyes. He'll suffer."
"Before that, we may as well kill the Earthlings," King Cold said, already deciding.
"Good." Frieza turned to his men. "Disperse. Wipe out every Earthling you find. No survivors."
"Yes!" Salza and the others bowed.
A teen stepped forward nearby, calm and cold.
Frieza narrowed his eyes. "Earthling, what do you want?"
"I'm here to kill you." The teen's voice was flat.
Frieza blinked, stunned.
King Cold looked just as confused.
This Earthling's got nerve.
"You want to kill us?" Frieza sneered. "You really don't know your place."
"I know who you are." The teen stared him down. "You're Frieza, right?"
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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