After Cui was blown into fragments, Zarbon's scouter also exploded. The unexpected development made him freeze for a moment.
"What is it, Zarbon?" Dodoria asked.
"It's nothing." Zarbon shook his head and said softly, "Probably a machine malfunction. Just now, the scouter showed Vegeta's battle power had already exceeded twenty-five thousand."
Dodoria laughed. "Twenty-five thousand? That's definitely a malfunction. Your scouter's already old—you should replace it. Use mine to check the real number."
He turned on his scouter, and when he saw the value displayed, he suddenly couldn't speak.
Twenty-eight thousand.
That meant Vegeta's current battle power had already surpassed them.
Dodoria had assumed it was a malfunction because before going to Earth, Vegeta's battle power had stayed at eighteen thousand.
Frieza, however, said, "The scouter probably isn't wrong. Vegeta's been fighting on the front lines—maybe he learned some new techniques on Earth or elsewhere. But it's only twenty-eight thousand. If you two join forces, you can still beat him. I think Vegeta's reason for wanting the Dragon Balls is probably the same as mine—eternal life. Otherwise, he'll never defeat me."
After wiping out Cui, Vegeta knew his actions had already been seen through by Frieza's group. Even if he could get close and take down Zarbon and Dodoria, he still had no way to defeat Frieza.
But he also knew something else: without all seven Dragon Balls, the Dragon Balls were meaningless.
In that case, as long as he could find even one Dragon Ball, he could block Frieza.
Compared to them, Creed's side had it a bit rough.
With the spaceship destroyed and no other transportation, they could only travel on foot. And Bulma walked slowly with poor stamina—finding Dragon Balls like this was like marching ten thousand miles. Worse, they couldn't fly, because if they exposed their ki, Frieza's army would find them immediately.
When they reached a cave ahead, Bulma was just about to sit down and rest when Creed pulled her inside and said, "Get in—hurry. Someone's coming."
Bulma froze, looking around. "I've always wondered… how can you guys tell someone's coming?"
The moment she finished speaking, dozens of warriors flew past outside the cave, moving at incredible speed, like meteors streaking across the sky. Bulma immediately held her breath and squeezed her eyes shut.
After a long while, Creed patted her shoulder. Only then did she relax, clutching her chest.
"Looks like they weren't looking for us… but then what are they doing?" she whispered.
Creed turned back. Goku was fine, but Gohan was drenched in cold sweat and still panting.
Creed said softly, "Bulma, didn't you see four Dragon Balls clustered together on the Dragon Ball Radar earlier? Check their position again."
Bulma took out the Dragon Ball Radar. The four Dragon Balls were moving together—so it wasn't hard to guess. All four were in that group's hands.
Goku clenched his fists, looking like he couldn't wait to fight. But Gohan looked like he'd been scared senseless.
Just now, he'd clearly felt how terrifyingly strong the two people flying in front were. And the person in the middle… the moment that guy noticed him, Gohan's body had gone stiff and unable to move.
That person's aura was stronger than Vegeta's—by far. Not just a little stronger, but more than ten times stronger.
At that moment, the radar showed the four Dragon Balls heading toward the location of another Dragon Ball.
It was only twenty kilometers ahead.
Creed could also sense it—there was a Namekian presence there.
In this situation, they couldn't bring Bulma along anymore. So they left Bulma in the cave while they chased after them to investigate.
Following the ki of Frieza's army, they arrived at a high cliff and looked down.
Below was something like a village—five or six white houses. Frieza's men were searching through each house, while Frieza himself sat calmly on a chair in the middle.
Even without moving, the suffocating pressure radiating from him was terrifying.
Goku wanted to jump straight down and start fighting, but Creed stopped him and made them all hide their ki.
Starting a battle here wasn't wise.
With his current strength, forget fighting Frieza—he'd be defeated even if he fought Zarbon and Dodoria. It was better to watch from above and wait to see when Vegeta would arrive.
After searching the houses, the group dragged out five Namekians—three elderly men and two children—shoving and yanking them around.
When an old man saw the Dragon Ball being carried by Frieza's subordinates, his teeth clenched tight in fury.
"I am Frieza," Frieza said. "You can see what I'm doing—I'm collecting your so-called Dragon Balls. I'll keep it simple. Where did the others go? According to my investigation, there should be more than ten of you. If you don't tell me anything, I'll kill you."
As he spoke, purple light gathered at his fingertip.
Facing death, the old man shielded the children behind him and gritted his teeth. "The others went farming. Only us old people and children are left."
Frieza withdrew the light and smiled. "Very good. Keep answering. There should be another Dragon Ball here, right?"
The old man didn't speak. He just stared at Frieza, rage burning in his eyes.
Frieza didn't mind. He turned and said, "Dodoria, didn't the third Namekian we killed tell us something very interesting? The Dragon Balls can only be given to the strong. That man was stubborn, so we killed one Namekian… and then guess what happened? He immediately told us a lot of things."
Hearing that, the old man's forehead was already soaked in sweat as he held the children tighter.
Frieza continued, "He said the one who made the Dragon Balls is the Grand Elder. There are seven Dragon Balls total, each kept by seven elders. If you want a Dragon Ball, you have to compete in wisdom and strength and earn the elders' recognition. That elder wanted me to follow his rules, so I accidentally killed him… and that's why we had to spend quite a bit of effort."
The more Goku and Gohan listened, the angrier they became.
If Creed hadn't been holding him back up here, Goku would've already rushed down to fight Frieza.
Gohan, at least, stayed calm enough to know his current power couldn't hurt them at all. He could only clench his fists and stare with gritted teeth.
After Frieza finished speaking, Zarbon suddenly rushed forward, And kicked the old man standing at the back, sending him flying.
(End of Chapter)
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