The seven Dragon Balls glowed like captive suns on the barren island.
Vegeta stood alone, arms folded, wind whipping his cape.
Above him, Porunga towered: thirty meters of green muscle, red eyes burning like twin furnaces, fangs long enough to skewer spaceships.
The pressure rolled off the dragon in waves.
Even Super Saiyan Vegeta felt it press against his skin like gravity turned up another notch.
Porunga's voice boomed across the empty sea.
"Speak your three wishes, summoner. Any desire within my power shall be granted."
Vegeta didn't flinch.
He didn't hesitate.
He spoke in perfect, fluent Namekian, voice calm, almost bored.
"First wish."
He raised one finger.
"Make me completely immortal. No aging. No disease. I can still be killed in battle, but nothing else touches me. Ever."
Porunga's eyes flashed crimson.
"It is done."
A wave of warm, golden-green energy slammed into Vegeta's chest.
It sank through armor, through skin, through bone.
Every cell ignited.
He felt the change instantly.
Time no longer had teeth.
He flexed his fingers.
Still the same golden fire dancing across his knuckles.
But now eternal.
Vegeta allowed himself one small, satisfied smirk.
Perfect.
Far away, every Namekian felt the wish go through like a earthquake in their souls.
Krillin's face went white.
Gohan's eyes widened.
Bulma actually whimpered.
"Immortality…" Krillin whispered. "He just wished for immortality…"
Nail's fists clenched so hard his knuckles cracked.
The Grand Elder, inside his home, simply closed his eyes and nodded once.
He had known.
He had allowed it.
Back on the island.
Vegeta raised a second finger.
"Second wish."
His voice never wavered.
"Teleport every surviving Namekian who wants to leave this planet to Earth. Safe. Instant. With all the Dragon Balls."
Porunga's eyes flashed again.
"It is done."
A pillar of light exploded upward from the island, splitting into hundreds of smaller beams that streaked across Namek like golden comets.
Every Namekian who had lost their home, every child who had watched parents die, every warrior who had fought and failed
They vanished.
Reappeared on a quiet green hill outside West City, Earth, blinking in real, honest-to-God night for the first time in their lives.
Dende looked around, eyes huge.
Krillin and Gohan materialized beside him, mouths open.
Bulma appeared last, clutching the radar like a lifeline.
They were home.
Safe.
The Dragon Balls sat in a neat pile at their feet, glowing softly under real moonlight.
Krillin stared at the balls.
Then at the sky.
Then at nothing.
Because Vegeta had just saved them.
Again.
Without asking for thanks.
Without even being there to see their faces.
Back on the empty island.
Only Vegeta and Porunga remained.
The dragon's massive head lowered slightly.
"Your third wish, summoner."
Vegeta looked up at the god he had just outlived.
And smiled.
The kind of smile that promised entire civilizations would burn if they got in his way.
But for now…
"No third wish."
Porunga's eyes widened, just a fraction.
Vegeta turned his back on the dragon.
"The balls turn to stone for 130 days, right? Good."
He cracked his neck.
"That gives me four months to decide exactly how I want to break the universe."
Porunga stared for a long moment.
Then, slowly, bowed his massive head.
"It shall be as you command… Super Vegeta."
The dragon dissolved into light.
The Dragon Balls went dark.
And across the planet, every warrior felt the exact same chill.
The wishes were over.
The game had changed.
And the golden prince had just played it perfectly.
Empty-handed?
No.
He had walked away with everything.
Immortality.
An empire.
A future with no limits.
And three very confused, very grateful people on Earth who now owed him their lives.
Vegeta looked up at the stars.
Golden aura flared once, bright enough to cast shadows on the dark side of the planet.
"See you soon, Kakarot."
He shot into the sky.
The age of Frieza was dead.
The age of Vegeta had just begun.
~~~~~~
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