North Galaxy, on a desolate planet with a harsh environment, covered in reddish rocks and dust.
Night had just fallen, and a biting cold wind howled, carrying sand with it.
A campfire burned stubbornly under the shelter of a rock wall, becoming the only source of heat on this barren planet.
An oddly shaped alien creature was being roasted over the fire, sizzling and dripping with fat. The rich aroma of meat slowly drifted on the cold wind.
Sitting around the campfire were three members of the warrior race, the Saiyans: Vegeta, Nappa, and Raditz.
Raditz stared at the leaping flames, his face filled with unease and fear. He swallowed hard, his voice trembling as he once again confirmed:
"P-Prince Vegeta, are you really... going to make a move against Lord Frieza? This... this is too risky!"
Nappa, beside him, immediately shot him a disdainful look and chided in a gruff voice:
"Raditz! You coward! Are you backing down already? You don't dare to raise your fist against your enemy, and you call yourself a Saiyan?!"
"I..."
Startled by the yell, Raditz shrank back, wanting to defend himself but not knowing where to begin.
Vegeta suddenly raised a hand, stopping Nappa from continuing his attack.
He slowly turned his head, his sharp eyes looking exceptionally deep in the firelight.
He looked at Raditz, his tone cold and carrying an unquestionable pressure.
"Raditz, I remember... you seem to have a younger brother who was sent to another planet before Planet Vegeta was destroyed? Is that right?"
Raditz's heart tightened. He thought Vegeta was going to punish him for his fear. Hearing that it was this question, he breathed a small sigh of relief and quickly nodded.
"Y-yes, Prince Vegeta. My father, Bardock, sent my younger brother, Kakarot, away in a small pod before the planet exploded. If I remember correctly, he was supposed to have been sent to a low-level planet called 'Earth'."
"Earth... is it?"
Vegeta repeated the name in a low voice, his eyes narrowing slightly, his thoughts seeming to drift far away.
He remembered many years ago, the first time he left Planet Vegeta to conquer a planet called "Sofu."
That mission itself went very smoothly. The people of Sofu were powerless to resist.
But it was also there that he lost an elite warrior named Whitley, who had once defeated him, Vegeta!
That guy's power level at the time was clearly far below his own, and his combat experience and skills seemed mediocre. But it was that very person who had easily, even playfully, defeated the proud him!
The humiliation of that defeat was still clearly branded in Vegeta's heart.
Later, when he shot down the ornate spaceship belonging to the King of Sofu that was trying to escape, the king seemed to have muttered something like "...that long-tailed one... in the direction of Earth..." before he died.
"Heh..."
A cold and cruel smile appeared on Vegeta's lips.
"Whitley... back then, you must have fled in panic to that remote planet because you were afraid of my, the great Vegeta's, revenge! How laughable!"
He shot to his feet, the firelight stretching his short but powerful figure into a long shadow.
He gave a decisive order to Nappa and Raditz:
"I've decided! Forget that Frieza guy! We're leaving now, for Earth!"
"To Earth? Now?!"
Raditz was aghast. Forgetting his fear, he quickly tried to dissuade him.
"Prince Vegeta! The Frieza Force's reconnaissance ships must still be searching for us in the outer star systems! If we start our spaceship now, the energy fluctuations will definitely be detected by them! If Frieza himself comes then... the three of us will definitely die!"
Before he could finish, he saw Vegeta slowly turn his head, his eyes already filled with a cold killing intent.
"Raditz..."
Vegeta's voice was terrifyingly low.
"If you don't even have the courage to break through, then you, this piece of trash... have no value in continuing to live."
He turned his back and walked straight towards the circular, single-person spaceship parked not far away.
As he reached the hatch, he didn't stop, just coldly tossed out an order:
"Nappa, take care of him."
Nappa's burly body trembled slightly, a hint of hesitation on his face.
He looked at the ashen-faced, trembling Raditz and opened his mouth:
"P-Prince Vegeta, the Saiyan race is almost extinct. Raditz is a Saiyan, after all. I..."
Vegeta whirled around, the terrifying aura on his body erupting, pressing down on Nappa like a physical weight.
"Nappa, do you want to die too?"
The cold killing intent instantly silenced Nappa. All his pleas were stuck in his throat.
He gritted his teeth, a look of struggle on his face, but in the end, he hardened his heart and raised his thick arm, his palm aimed at the despairing Raditz.
"S-sorry, Raditz," Nappa said in a low voice.
A scorching ki blast shot out from Nappa's hand, heading straight for Raditz, who stood there as if he had already given up.
The dazzling energy light instantly swallowed Raditz's figure. A huge explosion sounded, and the shockwave sent the surrounding sand and rocks flying!
"Am I... going to die?"
In the last moment before the energy hit him, Raditz's mind went blank.
He seemed to see a vague and tall figure standing in front of him, the back of which slowly overlapped with the unclear image of his father in his memory.
He subconsciously opened his mouth and let out a barely audible whisper:
"Is that you... Father."
BOOM—!!!
The ki blast exploded squarely, and smoke and energy filled the air.
However, as the shockwave of the explosion subsided and the surrounding smoke gradually cleared, both Nappa and Vegeta were stunned.
Raditz was still standing there, completely unharmed, not even a corner of his clothes was torn!
It was as if the ki blast, which was powerful enough to level a small mountain, had been just their imagination!
"What?! H-how is this possible?!"
Nappa's eyes widened in disbelief at the scene that defied all logic.
Vegeta also frowned, a hint of surprise in his eyes.
He waved his hand, creating a strong gust of wind that instantly blew away the remaining smoke and energy.
Only then did they see clearly that someone else had appeared in front of Raditz!
A young man in a black battle suit, with black hair and black eyes, and a playful smile on his face, was standing there casually, as if he had been there all along.
"Who are you?!"
Nappa shouted in surprise and uncertainty, instinctively assuming a fighting stance.
And the moment Vegeta saw that face clearly, his pupils contracted sharply!
A mixture of extreme shock, disbelief, and a monstrous rage surged in his heart!
He squeezed out the name that had left such a deep impression on him, word by word, from between his teeth:
"WHI—TLEY—!!!"
"Yo, long time no see, Prince Vegeta."
Whitley smiled and greeted Vegeta as if nothing had happened.
His gaze swept over the stunned Nappa, finally landing on Raditz, who hadn't yet figured out what was going on and was staring blankly at his back.
He gave Raditz a teasing smile and said mockingly:
"I say, Raditz, it's been a while. How come your tastes have gotten so unique? You've started calling the person who saved you 'Father'?"
Only then did Raditz snap back to reality and realize what had just happened.
He saw the newcomer's face clearly, and his own face instantly turned beet red. Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, he jumped up and retorted loudly:
"N-no! I was mistaken! I was mistaken! You bastard, Whitley! What are you doing here?!"
Seeing Raditz's flustered state, the smile on Whitley's face grew even wider.
He deliberately dragged out his words and said with a grin:
"Oh my? So you were mistaken~ Alright, I believe you."
He paused and added, in a very punchable tone, to Raditz:
"But, you can fool your friends, but don't fool yourself, huh~"
"You...!"
The veins on Raditz's forehead bulged, and he was so angry he almost couldn't breathe.
"Die, Whitley! HAAA!!!"
Beside them, Vegeta could no longer contain his explosive rage! His aura instantly erupted from his body.
He roared and, like a cannonball, charged at Whitley, his fist, containing a terrifying power, aimed straight at Whitley's face!
"You bastard! How dare you show your face in front of me, Vegeta, again! Go to hell!!!"
Facing Vegeta's all-out attack, which was fueled by anger, Whitley just casually raised a hand and swatted it away like a fly.
Slap!
A soft sound.
Vegeta was sent flying back even faster than he had charged, tumbling over a dozen times on the ground like a rolling gourd before finally coming to a stop, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Pwah!"
Vegeta spat out a mouthful of bile, a churning pain in his chest, his face filled with horror and disbelief.
Whitley shook his hand, an exaggerated look of surprise on his face as he said in a slightly over-the-top tone:
"Wow! How terrifying, Prince Vegeta! That punch just now almost finished me off! As expected of the noble Saiyan Prince, you're a little scarily strong!"
These words, dripping with sarcasm, were like adding fuel to the fire!
Vegeta struggled to climb up from the ground, his eyes bloodshot with anger.
He stared deadly at Whitley, his voice trembling with extreme unwillingness and shock.
"How... how dare you! How did you get so strong?! How can you possibly be stronger than me, Vegeta-sama?! I don't believe it! This is absolutely impossible!!!"
"HAAA!!!"
Vegeta erupted again, his aura even more violent. The white aura instantly turned a pale gold, his hair stood on end, and his ki was a whole level higher than before!
"Hmph! You think I, the great Vegeta, am no match for you? You're wrong, Whitley!"
Vegeta extended his right hand, his thumb pointing straight at himself, a look of fanaticism and confidence on his face.
"I am now, Super Vegeta!"
And then...
A confident Vegeta charged forward again!
Vegeta was once again swatted away by Whitley's casual hand and sent flying like a kite with its string cut.
Vegeta struggled to climb out of the pile of rubble and fell silent.
He began to unconsciously mutter nonsense:
"How can this be... I am Vegeta... the noble Saiyan Prince... how can I be no match for you, a mere elite warrior... this must be an illusion... yes, this is all an illusion..."
Looking at Vegeta, who seemed to be starting to doubt his existence while lying on the ground, Whitley shook his head and couldn't be bothered with the pitiful prince anymore.
He walked up to the still-dumbfounded Raditz, reached out, and helped close his jaw, which had been hanging open in shock, before teasing with a smile:
"So? Do you regret it now? I told you back then that with your brain, you'd have a brighter future as a researcher than a combatant. See, you didn't listen, and now you're paying the price, right?"
Raditz slowly recovered from his immense shock. Hearing Whitley's words, a complex, wry smile appeared on his face.
He was silent for a moment before saying in a low voice:
"If I had really listened to you and become a researcher back then... I probably would have been finished along with Planet Vegeta when it exploded. As a combatant, at least... I could go on missions with the prince, which has allowed me to live until now."
"Ahem..."
Whitley awkwardly rubbed his nose and said with a smile:
"Uh... well, don't worry about the details."
He quickly changed the subject and looked at Nappa, who was so nervous his bald head was sweating.
"And you, Nappa, how have you been lately? Long time no see, you seem to have gotten taller?"
Nappa nervously rubbed his smooth head.
Looking at the unfathomable "old acquaintance" before him, who could effortlessly thrash Prince Vegeta, he was at a loss for words for a moment and could only force a smile that was uglier than crying.
At that moment, Vegeta had finally recovered a little from his self-doubt.
He fought through the pain that felt like his whole body was falling apart and struggled to walk up to Whitley.
Although he had been thoroughly defeated, his eyes were still filled with an unyielding stubbornness and pride.
He opened his mouth, and the familiar, face-saving arrogance came out:
"Damn it! You bastard... how did you do it?!"
Whitley smiled at him and deliberately played dumb.
"Do what?"
Vegeta's face turned the color of a pig's liver, and he almost shouted:
"Of course, your ridiculous strength right now! How did you train to get it?! I am Super Saiyan Vegeta! And yet... I can't even take a single casual hit from you! This is completely unrealistic!"
Whitley looked at his "can't-play-but-loves-to-play-and-is-a-sore-loser" state and sighed helplessly.
He suddenly reached out, pinched Vegeta's cheek, and, under his disbelieving gaze, kneaded it a little like dough, even carefully feeling the texture.
"Tsk!" Whitley pursed his lips and came to a conclusion.
"Doesn't feel as good as Kakarot's."
"You... how dare you!!!"
Vegeta was stunned for a moment, then instantly filled with shock and anger!
A great humiliation! This was a great humiliation!
In his agitation, the pale golden aura on his body flared up uncontrollably again!
"Alright, alright, I know you're a pseudo-Super Saiyan. You're very strong, very strong. Don't get so excited."
Whitley waved his hand casually, as if placating a child, before finally answering seriously.
"Didn't you already know how I got stronger? Why are you asking me?"
Vegeta didn't believe this at all and retorted angrily:
"Don't try to fool me with the gravity room! I can now completely adapt to an environment of thirty times the gravity of Planet Vegeta! I don't believe that you, who was known for being lazy and cunning back then, could have done better than me in gravity training!"
Whitley shook his head helplessly and suddenly rapped Vegeta on the head with his fist.
"You brute, you only saw me go into the gravity room? Let me ask you, is there a possibility, I'm just saying, a possibility that sometimes, 'slacking off' is more important than just blindly training hard?"
Hearing this, Vegeta was stunned for a moment, then looked as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world.
He waved his hand and denied it firmly.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! How can slacking off make you stronger! I don't believe your nonsense! If you don't want to say it, then don't!"
After saying this angrily, he deliberately turned his head and refused to look at Whitley.
He turned to Raditz, who was cautiously observing him, and said in a commanding tone:
"Raditz!"
"Yes! Prince Vegeta!"
Raditz quickly stood at attention.
"Since Whitley saved your life, I'll spare you today."
Vegeta said, crossing his arms, his tone cold.
"From today on, you are no longer a combatant in our squad! Your new identity is a researcher under my, Vegeta's, command! You're in charge of... in charge of researching... whatever! Nappa!"
"Here! Prince Vegeta!" Nappa immediately answered.
"From now on, your mission is to protect Raditz! Let him research whatever he wants!"
Vegeta commanded.
Both Nappa and Raditz were stunned for a moment, then immediately knelt on one knee and replied respectfully:
"Yes! As you command, Prince Vegeta!"
They understood that this was perhaps Vegeta's awkward way of giving Whitley face.
Whitley couldn't help but smile at this scene.
He looked at Vegeta, who probably already had some other ideas in his mind but was still deliberately putting on a proud front and refusing to look at him, and asked:
"You guys said just now that you wanted to go to Earth?"
Vegeta snorted, his chin held even higher.
"So what if we did! As the prince of the Saiyan race, do I need to report to you when I'm searching for my subjects who are scattered across the universe?!"
His tone was still very aggressive.
Whitley wasn't angry, just said slowly:
"But I live on Earth right now."
This sentence was like a clap of thunder, and Vegeta's expression instantly changed!
He whirled his head around and glared at Whitley, as if he had found an outlet for his anger.
"I knew it! Back on Planet Sofu, that trash king was spouting nonsense before he died, saying you went in the direction of Earth. I scoffed at it at the time! I never thought you, you bastard, really ran off to a backwater place like Earth to hide! You..."
Seeing that Vegeta was starting to go into a rage mode again, Whitley had to interrupt him and placate him.
"Alright, alright, calm down. I went to Earth back then to find an opportunity and a method to get stronger. What are you getting so excited about?"
He paused, and seeing that Vegeta's expression had softened a little, he continued:
"I never said I wouldn't tell you how to get stronger, or that I wouldn't let you go to Earth."
Vegeta snorted again, his face full of "disbelief."
"Hmph! Trying to trick me into slacking off during training again? You're still as cunning and treacherous as you were back then!"
Whitley couldn't be bothered to waste any more words on him.
He reached out and grabbed the collar of Vegeta's battle suit, while beckoning to Nappa and Raditz.
"Come closer."
After the two had approached, Whitley's expression became serious.
His gaze swept over the three of them, and he said in a deep voice:
"Let me make this clear first. I can take you to Earth, but! When we get there, if you can't control your tempers and go around killing people and causing destruction, or doing evil things..."
Before his voice had faded, an indescribably terrifying aura suddenly erupted from his body!
In the face of this aura, the faces of Vegeta, Nappa, and Raditz instantly turned pale!
Vegeta could barely stand, but his body had already begun to tremble uncontrollably, and fine beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.
Nappa's legs went weak, and he almost knelt.
And Raditz, the weakest of them, was directly pressed to the ground by this invisible pressure with a "thud," and even breathing became extremely difficult!
"...I will make sure you die without a burial place!"
Whitley's cold voice, like a final judgment, clearly entered their ears.
"Do you all understand?"
The powerful pressure receded like a tide.
The three of them immediately gasped for air, their eyes filled with an unprecedented fear and reverence.
Seeing that all three had stiffly nodded, Whitley's expression returned to its usual relaxed state.
He grabbed the collars of Vegeta and Nappa with each hand, then lifted a foot and stepped on the back of Raditz, who was still lying on the ground, not yet recovered.
"Let's go!"
Swish—!
The next moment, the four of them vanished from the desolate planet without a trace, leaving only the still-burning campfire and the slightly charred roast on the spit.
...
Some time later, several strangely shaped single-person pods, trailing flames, landed on the desolate planet.
The hatches opened, and a few bizarre figures emerged.
They quickly assembled after disembarking and then, in unison, struck an extremely embarrassing and cringe-worthy, bizarre pose!
"We are! The Ginyu Force!!!" x5
After striking their pose, a few of them immediately dispersed according to orders, turning into several streaks of light as they shot off to different corners of the planet to search, their movements swift and professional.
Only Captain Ginyu was left. He walked over to the circular spaceships that Vegeta and the others had left behind, pressed the scouter on his ear, and reported the situation in a respectful tone:
"Reporting to Lord Frieza, we have only found the abandoned spaceships of Vegeta's squad on this planet. The three of them are nowhere to be found. I have already had Jeice and Burter search the surrounding area thoroughly. We will not miss a single corner of this planet!"
There was a moment of silence from the other end of the scouter before Frieza's polite but murderous voice came through.
"Ho ho ho~~! Thank you for your hard work, Captain Ginyu. Please be sure to find where those Saiyan rats are hiding. When you find them, do not alert them. Contact me immediately. At that time, I will come personally."
"Yes!! Lord Frieza!"
Ginyu immediately replied, but after a moment of hesitation, he added:
"But Lord Frieza, dealing with a traitorous squad like Vegeta's is more than enough for my Ginyu Force! Why trouble yourself to come personally?"
Frieza sneered on the other end of the communicator and said, in a seemingly placating but unquestionable tone:
"I know Captain Ginyu wants to share my burden~ How thoughtful. But there's no need. I must personally crush these damned Saiyan monkeys to be at ease! Please don't forget, Captain Ginyu. When you find them, you must! notify me 'at the first opportunity'~"
The deliberate emphasis on "at the first opportunity" made Ginyu's heart tremble slightly. He immediately bowed his head respectfully and accepted the order.
"Yes! I understand! I will absolutely obey your command, Lord Frieza!"
While the Ginyu Force was still searching everywhere.
At this moment, on Earth, the first thing Vegeta and the others were brought to do by Whitley was...
Eat!
Looking at the mountain of plates and the robots that were all smoking and about to short-circuit because the food was being served too quickly.
Dr. Brief adjusted his glasses and subconsciously remarked:
"As expected of the friends Whitley brought. They can eat just as much as he can."
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300 Power Stones = 1 Bônus Chapter