The radar showed the next location as a pile of scattered rocks. According to Leichi's introduction, these were ancient meteorites with a five-thousand-year history—and the Dragon Ball was within a five-meter radius.
Creed found a staircase in the middle of the rock pile that led underground. As they went deeper, the radar's signal grew stronger and stronger. They turned on their flashlights and walked down.
At the very bottom was a sealed space, filled with cobwebs and coffins. Bulma was about to open a coffin based on the radar's direction, but Creed stopped her, pushed her behind him, and opened it himself.
Inside was a skeleton—and in its mouth was the Dragon Ball they needed.
The light was too dim, and Bulma couldn't see what was inside the coffin. If she saw a skeleton, she'd probably have nightmares. Creed tossed the Dragon Ball to her and quickly shut the coffin.
After that, they headed to the next location. Bulma sat in the back and muttered, "That ojisan is really energetic."
Gohan said, "Ojisan is really kind. He's done so much for us even though we're strangers."
Bulma lowered her voice. "That's exactly why I think he's suspicious. We should be careful. Maybe he has some hidden agenda—waiting until we gather all the Dragon Balls, then snatching them."
Hearing that, Creed smiled. "Then don't you think I'm suspicious too? To you guys, I'm a stranger as well, right?"
Bulma froze. To be honest, she hadn't doubted Creed from start to finish. She couldn't sense any malice from him at all. Now she could only laugh awkwardly. "Probably… not."
When they landed, the radar showed the Dragon Ball's position was moving—which meant someone had gotten there first, taken the Dragon Ball, and was running off with it.
That only further confirmed Bulma's suspicion, but under Creed's urging, they chased after it anyway.
The Dragon Ball wasn't moving very fast. When Bulma finally caught up, she froze in place, terrified—because the one holding the Dragon Ball was a gigantic dinosaur.
Seeing them close in, the dinosaur acted like it knew something. It tossed the Dragon Ball into its mouth and swallowed it.
Creed frowned slightly. He lifted his hand—then lowered it again. If he killed the dinosaur with one strike, who knew where the Dragon Ball would end up lodged inside. And since the Dragon Ball had existed for so long, it clearly couldn't be digested. It was better to chase it and see if it would spit the Dragon Ball back up because it was too hard.
Just as they were about to pursue it, Leichi stopped them and warned them that going any further would put their lives at risk. Watching the dinosaur vanish into the distance, they had no choice but to retreat, board the ship, and pursue it from above.
Where the dinosaur had passed, trees lay toppled everywhere. But the dinosaur itself was nowhere to be seen—as if it had disappeared into thin air.
Flying farther ahead, they reached a green swamp that gave off waves of heat. Slowly, a dinosaur rose up from below—but what surfaced wasn't its body. It was its enormous skeleton, the flesh on it looking as if it had been melted away.
Leichi reminded them, "This swamp is terrifying. If anything touches the swamp water—no matter what it is—it'll be melted away. And humans? If you inhale the swamp's gas, you'll drop dead on the spot in under ten seconds."
"So that's why you wouldn't let us advance earlier," Bulma said. "I'm really sorry. I kept suspecting you."
Gohan said, "But now we're in trouble. The dinosaur died down there, which means the Dragon Ball is in the swamp too. How are we supposed to retrieve it?"
"I think you should give up," Leichi said. "I've got special anti-melting protective suits, but even if you dive to the bottom, you can only last ten seconds. If you exceed ten seconds, not only will the suit melt—so will the person inside."
Creed shrugged. "Let me do it. Ten seconds is fine."
Bulma nodded. They really needed the Dragon Balls. If they couldn't find them, it wasn't just the god—it meant even Krillin couldn't be revived. She could only say, "Then… let's try."
Following the radar's response, they moved directly above the target point. Bulma was just about to warn Creed about something when he jumped down.
At the bottom, he found the Dragon Ball, picked it up, and didn't hesitate. He fired a Shockwave straight beneath his feet, using the pressure to launch himself out of the water.
The moment he broke the surface, only six seconds had passed.
Over the next two days, they gathered six Dragon Balls. But when they went searching for the seventh, an unexpected accident happened.
While they searched, Vegeta's injuries had already healed. Only his tail couldn't be restored—he could only wait for it to grow back little by little. Inside his room, a black-skinned warrior said, "I never imagined an enemy would exist that even Vegeta-sama couldn't handle. And they even destroyed this super protective suit into that state… The fact you came back alive is already a miracle. What kind of person is on Earth, anyway?"
Thinking about it made Vegeta furious. If Creed hadn't suddenly interfered, he would've succeeded long ago. After putting on his clothes, he gritted his teeth and said, "Is Lord Frieza at the base?"
The warrior said, "He went out. He hasn't been back for many days."
Vegeta snorted coldly. "Looks like he's already sick of this planet."
"Right," the warrior added. "Cui-sama said that once your treatment ended, he had something to tell you. He told you to go meet him in the training room."
Vegeta waved him off and sneered. "Tell him I'm not interested in talking to him."
After saying that, he tossed his scouter aside and walked out. Deep down, he decided: once he was fully rested, he would head to Earth immediately and slaughter them until not even armor scraps remained.
He just didn't know that Creed and the others had already come here—and their target wasn't him.
While he was thinking, a taunting voice sounded from ahead.
"Yo, isn't this Vegeta? I heard you came back in miserable defeat. Your companions died, and you ran off like a dog with your tail between your legs. For you—the invincible Saiyan prince—to get crushed like that… just who is this 'great figure,' anyway?"
Vegeta lifted his head. It was that irritating Cui. He replied with a cold face, "Get lost. I don't have time to waste on your nonsense."
As they brushed past each other, Cui grabbed his shoulder and laughed. "Listen. Lord Frieza heard you acted on your own, and he's furious."
Vegeta sneered. "He's not even here right now, so who cares. Now take your filthy hand off me—or I'll twist it off."
Hearing that, Cui trembled with rage, but he still forced out, "But Lord Frieza seems to have forgiven you—because you discovered something very good."
(End of Chapter)
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