They decided they had to find the Grand Elder first. If Vegeta had already taken the Dragon Ball from the village that was attacked earlier, then there would only be one Dragon Ball left.
Frieza didn't have a scouter, so there was no way for him to find the Grand Elder's location. But Vegeta was different—he'd learned how to sense ki on Earth, so he would definitely track the Grand Elder down and snatch the last Dragon Ball from him.
Whether it was Frieza or Vegeta, if either of them obtained eternal life, the consequences would be unimaginable.
After Dende's repeated pleading, they decided to have Bulma and Gohan stay here, while Creed and Goku went to search for the Grand Elder.
While they were flying, Goku suddenly heard King Kai's voice in his ear. King Kai told him that Krillin and Piccolo had already made it through Snake Way and reached him. They were training right now.
After exchanging greetings, Goku told King Kai what was happening on Namek.
"It's not as simple as you think," Goku said while flying. "There are some unknown guys who also want the Dragon Balls. And they're dressed really strangely—wearing outfits similar to Vegeta's. Most importantly, there's one of them whose ki is several times stronger than Vegeta's!"
"What?!" King Kai was startled. He knew how extreme the power gaps were in this world. If someone was only a few hundred or a thousand stronger, you might still win through strategy or willpower—but if they were several times stronger, you'd only get crushed.
King Kai thought to himself: If that person is Frieza, then this is going to be a huge problem.
"Goku, I'll help you investigate what's going on over there on Namek—"
"No need…" Creed suddenly said. "That person is Frieza."
Creed had originally assumed Goku hadn't noticed Frieza's presence, but it turned out he'd underestimated Goku's sensing ability. Since Goku had already felt Frieza's ki, there was no point hiding it anymore. Telling him now would at least let him prepare.
Hearing that name, King Kai nearly collapsed, his whole body trembling. He took a deep breath and said slowly, "Goku… this enemy is far too strong. Do not confront him head-on. He's not someone you can handle. Listen carefully—you need to get back on the spaceship and escape immediately, understand?!"
"Why?" Goku didn't understand.
King Kai spoke with a seriousness he rarely used. "I'm not saying this just for you. This is for Earth, for Namek, and for all the other planets out there. If you provoke him with insufficient strength, you'll only anger him—and then the consequences won't be something you can clean up…"
Before he could finish, Piccolo patted his shoulder and said quietly, "Goku, no matter what, you have to find the Dragon Balls and revive us. We'll train here and become stronger, then go to Namek to help you. Together, we can defeat that guy called Frieza."
"Don't joke around!" King Kai shouted. "You don't understand how terrifying Frieza is!"
Goku didn't know what to say. But Creed said calmly, "If they all lose… then I'll handle the enemy myself."
Hearing Creed's voice, King Kai could only sigh. He had seen Creed's strength before, but he still wasn't confident.
At the same time, Vegeta—who was also searching for villages—ran into Zarbon.
Both of them were flying at high speed. Vegeta deliberately rammed into him, and the two split apart the instant they made contact.
"Long time no see, Zarbon." Vegeta sneered. "I heard Dodoria got taken care of. Next up is you."
Without a scouter, Zarbon didn't know Dodoria was already dead. After the initial shock, he grit his teeth and said, "You killed Dodoria?"
Vegeta shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe he fell into the water and drowned."
Zarbon frowned. "I knew it. With your strength, you couldn't have killed him."
Vegeta's lips curled into a thin, icy smile. "Then why don't you test me? Once you do, you'll learn to fear the power of the Saiyan Prince."
Zarbon said, "Vegeta… why did you betray Lord Frieza?"
"The answer's simple." Vegeta replied without hesitation. "I've hated him for a long time. Back then, I was weaker than him, so I had no choice but to obey. But now I know there's a way to obtain an immortal life. How could I let him get the Dragon Balls? Once I gain eternal life, defeating Frieza will only be a matter of time."
"Idiot!" Zarbon snapped. "You think eternal life means you can defeat Lord Frieza? Lord Frieza's power is beyond anything you can understand. You're far too arrogant. The one thing Lord Frieza fears is a united Saiyan race—he doesn't care about you alone at all."
"Not necessarily."
As soon as Vegeta finished speaking, his figure vanished from Zarbon's sight.
But Zarbon reacted quickly. He spun around and threw a punch—only for Vegeta to catch it in his hand.
The grip was so strong Zarbon couldn't pull his fist back. He tried to break free with a knee strike, but his vision spun—Vegeta had already hurled him away.
Luckily, their battle powers weren't that far apart. Zarbon stabilized himself in midair, but Vegeta was already chasing him down.
Zarbon had no choice but to flash away again, widening the distance. Before Vegeta could close in, Zarbon raised his arm and fired a brilliant golden energy blast straight at him.
After all, Zarbon was a super warrior with a battle power of 20,000—stronger than Dodoria. A full-power blast like that was something very few dared to take head-on.
But what happened next completely shocked him.
Vegeta didn't even counter with an energy wave.
He simply swung his arm—like brushing aside a curtain of mist—and knocked Zarbon's blast away.
Boom!
A massive explosion erupted in the distant mountains. Fire shot into the sky like a meteor impact. The ground trembled violently as thick smoke rolled upward, boulders and shattered walls being flung into the air before crashing back down.
"Damn it… he actually deflected it!"
The scale of that explosion alerted Goku and Creed, who were on their way to the Grand Elder.
Goku turned his head toward the oval-shaped white glow in the distance and exclaimed, "So strong… that's ki clashing with ki. They really are powerful!"
Creed patted his shoulder and said softly, "Vegeta's probably fighting someone. Let's hurry. While they're occupied, we'll reach the Grand Elder first."
(End of Chapter)
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