"Have we landed in a nest of those sand worms?" Goku frowned as he surveyed the ground, which squirmed with insect life. Insects inspired instinctive disgust—he felt it too.
Without waiting for him to say more, Bulma started the ship and had them lift off immediately.
From a distant ridge, a man with antennae sprouted from his head watched with cold, predatory light in his eyes.
"I didn't expect outsiders to come to this planet… I should inform others."
With that, he streaked away through the sky.
Seeing the intruders depart, the sand worms sank back beneath the dunes and vanished.
---
The spaceship hovered several hundred meters above the surface. Goku looked down at the endless yellow sand and the powerful auras he could sense and found it surprising. "I didn't expect that life could survive in a place as harsh as this—and that it would be so strong."
"A planet full of bugs is the worst. Goku, just go recover the Dragon Ball quickly—we're leaving right after," Bulma said, thrusting the Dragon Radar into his hands. The other women nodded in agreement. Few places were less appealing to them than this one.
"All right. For safety, I'll take you and the ship into my 'world' for now," Goku said.
"Come back quickly!" Shizuka tightened her hold on him and tucked the little Goku into her ample bosom, reluctant to let go.
"Mm." After waving goodbye, Goku opened the airlock and flew out. With a thought, he drew the spaceship into his pocket dimension.
The wind howled and sand whipped around. Only when he stood on the planet did he fully feel its hostility: oxygen was extremely thin and gravity more than ten times Earth's—conditions in which ordinary beings would quickly perish.
"Is it this way…?" Goku followed the blinking dot on the Dragon Radar and shot through the air.
Stone-built pyramids rose from the sand—if one hadn't seen them, it would be hard to believe they were dwellings of an intelligent people. Now those structures were wrecked, walls toppled and the ground pitted—signs of a great battle.
Following the radar, Goku landed beside a ruined pyramid. He spread his soul-sense and swept the area. Something made him pause; he moved toward a collapsed wall.
Using one hand, he flipped up the fallen stonework—and a tiny figure tumbled out.
The little being trembled, curling into itself with eyes shut tight. It did not scream, only shivered in fear.
It was a strange creature: humanoid, with butterfly-like wings, barely a meter tall—like a standing butterfly with human form. Embedded on its forehead was a small, odd strip of material, set with an orb bearing three black stars—the very evil Dragon Ball Goku had come to find.
Fragile, shaking, the childlike figure inspired pity.
"A bug planet and butterflies—what a strange place," Goku murmured, then smiled gently at the creature's forehead jewel. "Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you. Could you give me the Dragon Ball on your forehead? In return, I'll grant you one wish."
"You… won't kill me?" the creature asked timidly (for convenience, we'll call her a 'girl' here). Her large, luminous eyes shone like twin pearls.
"Do I look like a bad guy?" Goku smiled. In his small form, he looked harmless—almost endearing.
"You really don't?" She studied him seriously, nodded, then touched the orb on her brow with a hopeful voice. "You… can really grant one wish?"
"Of course—if it's within my power." Goku smiled. He felt compassion for the trembling child and wanted to help.
"...Kill them… can you kill them?" Her voice hesitated but her eyes burned with hatred. What had driven this timid-looking being to such fury?
She knew the hope was slim, but she was desperate. Meeting someone willing to help was the sliver of chance she clung to—and that small hope might change her planet's fate.
"Kill them?" Goku's expression settled into a knowing look. The lingering metallic tang of blood in the air told him this place had seen a brutal massacre. Several powerful auras pulsed nearby—the likely suspects.
"Tell me the full story. I won't kill for no reason," he said.
"They deserve to die," the girl said, hatred raw in her face. "Our world is called the Insect Star. Everywhere are insects, and we— the Doppla (Butterfly) people—evolved from them. The insects here lay eggs rich in pure energy. If you ingest them, they heal wounds and raise one's combat strength."
"Two years ago those bastards arrived. They seized our planet by force, farming our insect brood to produce eggs to increase their own power. We Doppla resisted, but now—our people are almost wiped out. Please… help us. Kill them all. Even if I must die, I want to avenge my people."
"Do you think killing will wash away everything?" a mocking voice called from above. Three figures streaked down and landed a short distance from Goku and the girl.
"That's them," she gasped and shrank behind Goku, hatred flaring but edged with fear.
The three looked human-like but strange: hairless heads with two flesh-colored antennae, green eyes with malignant light. Their digits were claw-like—sharp and dangerous. Their auras showed they were battle-hardened.
"Didn't expect to find a survivor here. If Kreeza hadn't mentioned alien activity, we'd have missed you," one said.
"I hate wasting words. Kill them. The secret of this planet cannot be allowed to leak. Give me a few years and ruling the universe won't be a dream," another snarled.
"Rule the universe, huh? That's quite a dream. How about you first try to beat me?" Goku said with a calm smile. From the start he'd sensed the three and had been waiting for them to walk into his trap.
"Beat you? Hahaha!" The three erupted in scorn. One sneered,
"Kid, go home and drink your mother's milk."
They clearly looked down on the child before them.
"Kid?" Goku snorted. A terrifying aura burst forth. A massive pit split the ground; in an instant he blurred and reappeared in front of the speaker. A blur, then a fist—carried with force that could shatter planets—fell.
The trio were shocked. As the fist neared, their companion threw up his own punch; the collision rang like thunder. The little Doppla girl was knocked flying and somersaulted across the sand, yet she landed battered but alive—only grazed.
The braggart, however, was blasted backward by Goku's blow, careening through rock and collapsing several stone mounds before stopping buried under rubble. Though his body was small, Goku's power remained immense.
"Grr!" a furious roar erupted as the man burst from the debris.
But Goku's speed was faster; in an instant he was before him. A compact right foot, carrying the energy to shatter a planet, smashed into the man's face.
The man tried to repel the blow with a desperate punch, but with a crisp crack—a bone-shattering sound—the attacker's hand exploded in a spray of blood. The follow-through slammed into his chest with such force the ground quaked. A hundred-meter-deep chasm opened where he'd stood.
The two watchers gaped in disbelief. Tarbu had been the weakest among them, yet he'd been so thoroughly defeated. They had spent two years on this planet, feasting on insect eggs to grow stronger. How could they be no match for this child now? Had they stayed stagnant while he had grown terrifyingly strong?
Blood soaked Tarbu's tunic; he lay in the pit, pupils narrowed, chilled to the core by the shock. Defeat after two years of supplementation was a brutal blow to his pride.
"You think you can rule the universe with this strength? Laughable," Goku said from above the pit, sneering. A few frogs in a well imagining the ocean—the arrogance was laughable.
"You…" Tarbu could not speak. The facts were undeniable.
"What a waste of those insect eggs," the leader said darkly. He flashed above the chasm and extended a hand. A beam of energy condensed at his palm.
"Zornet! You bastard… what are you doing?!" Tarbu cried in horror.
"I don't need trash," Zornet said coldly. The beam fired into the pit.
A thunderous explosion tore through the crater. The ground shook, stone collapsed—chaos. Tarbu vanished in the blinding blast.
Zornet turned to Goku, expression indifferent.
"You've got talent. Join us. With those insect eggs supplementing you and your talent, you could dominate the universe."
"Do you even deserve that? You're not fit to hold my shoes," Goku replied with scorn, contempt plain on his face.
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T/N:
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