Chapter 63: Turles's Power Increase
"By the way, how can you all see that far? All I can make out are two black shadows flashing around."
Bulma rubbed her sore neck, looking at Raditz and the others who were still craning their heads upward.
Raditz glanced at Bulma. He initially didn't want to respond, but after thinking it over, he answered, "It's an application of ki. If you don't understand ki, you can't imagine what's possible."
"Ki! Ki! Ki! What even is ki? Does this mystical concept actually exist?" Bulma muttered irritably under her breath after hearing Raditz's explanation.
Raditz said nothing more, focusing his attention back on the battle between Turles and Vegeta.
Raditz knew Vegeta possessed exceptional talent—otherwise King Vegeta wouldn't have praised him as the most likely Super Saiyan candidate. But he hadn't imagined Vegeta's potential was this extraordinary. Just the Grand Elder's unlock had brought him nearly to Turles's current level.
Still, Raditz had complete faith in Turles. With battle power alone, Vegeta was no match for him.
'I wonder how much my power will increase?' Lost in thought, Raditz's gaze drifted toward the Grand Elder, who Deru was protecting. His eyes gleamed with anticipation.
When the smoke cleared, Vegeta found no trace of Turles. Seeing this, he burst into laughter. "Turles! You never expected this, did you? You brought me to Namek, gave me this massive power boost, and got yourself killed in the process! Tell me, are you an idiot or what? HAHAHAHA!"
"Is that so? So I'm just an idiot to you?"
Turles's voice suddenly rang out behind Vegeta, making cold sweat pour down his face. His laughter caught in his throat.
Vegeta slowly turned his head in horror. Sure enough, Turles floated behind him, a smile on his face.
Though Turles smiled, the coldness in his eyes nearly froze Vegeta's blood.
Under Vegeta's terrified gaze, Turles slowly raised his right index finger. Then he extended it and gently pressed it against Vegeta's forehead.
The moment Turles touched him, Vegeta's expression froze. His eyes went dull, and his body began falling toward the ground.
Turles watched Vegeta's accelerating descent with calm detachment. Finally, just before impact, he flashed downward and caught Vegeta by one leg, holding him up with a single hand.
Seeing the fight end, Raditz and Nappa exchanged glances before slowly flying over to Turles.
After sensing Vegeta's energy signature, Raditz hesitated before asking, "Turles, did you... kill Vegeta?"
Turles slowly turned his head, looking at the two with calm eyes.
This was the first time Raditz had seen Turles this tranquil, and it made him uneasy.
Not until both felt thoroughly unnerved did Turles finally speak in a measured tone. "No. He's just asleep. Though when he'll wake up, I couldn't say."
Hearing this, Raditz and Nappa exchanged confused looks, unsure what that meant.
Turles ignored them, tossing Vegeta to Nappa before walking toward the Grand Elder.
By now Nail stood before the Grand Elder, seven basketball-sized Dragon Balls arranged behind him, glowing with red light. He glared at the approaching Turles with furious eyes.
Ignoring Nail's angry stare, Turles stepped up to the Grand Elder. Just as he was about to apologize, the Grand Elder chuckled and stopped him.
"It seems you're even more powerful than I imagined, Turles." The Grand Elder's praise carried deeper meaning.
Turles smiled but said nothing.
At that moment, Raditz also approached, looking at Turles with an expression that seemed to want to say something but held back.
Turles gave him a meaningful look, gesturing for Raditz to step forward. Raditz immediately brightened, quickly walking to stand before the Grand Elder.
The Grand Elder extended his hand again, placing it atop Raditz's head. Raditz's voluminous hair nearly left the Grand Elder nowhere to place his palm.
However, something unexpected happened. The moment the Grand Elder's hand touched Raditz's head—less than three seconds later—he withdrew it, looking at Raditz with confusion. "Strange. Your body has no latent potential whatsoever. Given your current battle power, this shouldn't be possible."
"What?"
Like a bolt from the blue, Raditz couldn't believe it. His body involuntarily took a step backward.
Raditz never imagined he might be the weakest of the four Saiyans—that he didn't even have a trace of potential left. Was he really that pathetic?
"Pfft! Hahaha! Raditz, looks like you're still as worthless as ever!" Nappa couldn't help but mock him, drawing Raditz's furious glare.
Turles was also somewhat surprised. He stroked his chin, pondering for a moment before theorizing, "Could it be that when you recovered from your near-death experience last time, you exhausted all your accumulated potential? That's why it looks like you have nothing left to unlock now."
"Is that it?" Raditz looked at Turles with hopeful eyes.
"Saiyans have this ability?" The Grand Elder seemed amazed. He truly hadn't known Saiyans possessed a physiology that increased power after recovering from critical injuries.
Turles considered briefly before explaining the special nature of Saiyan biology to the Grand Elder.
"I see. Then what you suggested is likely the case!" After listening, the Grand Elder understood completely and sighed. "Saiyans truly live up to their reputation as a warrior race!"
Knowing his potential wasn't completely gone, Raditz still felt disappointed but stepped aside—though his eyes held ill intent as they fell on Nappa.
After Raditz withdrew, Turles thought for a moment before waving Bulma forward.
Bulma pointed at herself uncertainly. "Me?"
Seeing Turles nod, Bulma hesitantly stepped before the Grand Elder, looking at Turles with confusion.
The Grand Elder smiled kindly as he placed his hand on Bulma's head, using his ability once more.
As an ordinary human, though the Brief family possessed anti-aging genes, Bulma's potential was ultimately limited. Plus she'd never trained in martial arts, so her battle power only increased to 150. Still, this excited her greatly—she could finally fly!
Everyone had received their upgrades. Finally, it was Turles's turn.
When the Grand Elder placed his hand on his head, Turles immediately felt a gentle energy flowing through his body. He couldn't help but use his exceptional mental power to carefully sense this gentle force.
The moment he made contact, Turles felt an intense surge of life energy. His body became completely active—every cell like sharks smelling blood, beginning to devour greedily.
Outside, the Grand Elder's eyes had opened at some point, his expression unusually grave.
"ROAAAAR!"
The Grand Elder seemed to hear a giant ape's roar. His face changed dramatically, and blood began trickling from the corner of his mouth.
"Grand Elder!" Nail and Deru, who'd been standing guard, started forward but were forced back by the powerful aura erupting from Turles. They couldn't advance even half a step!