Back at Capsule Corp, the mood was one of shocked disorientation. Vegeta and the still-unconscious Nappa were confined in a specialized gravity containment field that Bulma had hastily set up in the main lab.
The immediate problem wasn't Frieza; it was Vegeta.
"We can't just hold them prisoner, Kaito," Goku insisted, his voice heavy with moral struggle. "They're defeated. We should let them go."
"No," Kaito countered, his voice sharp and absolute. "Vegeta is our only source of information and our only leverage. He is our map to Frieza. He stays here until we are ready to leave. He is a criminal, not a defeated warrior, Goku."
Piccolo, still reeling from the shock of his Namekian heritage, sided with Kaito. "He killed an innocent man. He stays confined. His survival is our tactical advantage."
Kaito addressed the group. "Frieza will notice their disappearance. He will send someone else, likely stronger, to investigate. Our only chance is to strike first. We need a ship that can get seven people to the other side of the galaxy and back. That ship needs to be built now."
Bulma, her initial terror replaced by scientific frenzy, was already hunched over the smoking remains of the two Saiyan pods.
"I can't believe I get to work on alien tech!" she exclaimed, pulling out a complex diagnostic tool. "These pods are crude, but the propulsion system is incredible. If I can reverse-engineer the power capacitor, I can apply it to one of my deep-space research vessels. But it will take time, and these aren't exactly blueprints."
"Time is what we don't have," Kaito stated. "We have months, maybe less, before Frieza notices. Your mission is clear: build a ship for six, plus Gohan. I will handle security, training, and our prisoners."
Bulma looked up, her expression suddenly serious. "You trust me to build a starship?"
"I trust your genius," Kaito confirmed. "You are the smartest person on this planet. Now get to work."
Before the team could split, Vegeta—who had been monitoring the argument—let out a challenging sneer from his containment field.
"You fools think you can defeat Frieza? You are all children playing dress-up!" Vegeta spat. "And you, Namekian, and you, Kakarot—you may be strong, but you bow to him! The white-eyed idiot! He hides his power because he's weak!"
Kaito turned, a slow, calm smile spreading across his face. This was the opening he needed.
"Piccolo, Goku, Krillin, Tien, Yamcha. Gohan, stand over there," Kaito ordered. He pointed toward a section of the huge training yard that was slightly away from the labs. "You want to know why I command the operation? You want to know why I can beat Frieza? You all are going to attack me. Right now."
Goku's eyes lit up with excitement. "A real fight? Awesome!"
Piccolo hesitated, but the need to test the mysterious Earthling was overwhelming. The five Z-Fighters, plus Vegeta watching in disbelief, took up combat positions.
"Goku, Piccolo, do not hold back," Kaito commanded. "Attack with your absolute maximum power. Gohan, watch and learn."
Kaito dropped his suppressed ki level completely. The world's strongest warriors launched themselves at Kaito simultaneously.
Krillin, Tien, and Yamcha attacked first, firing rapid-fire ki blasts designed to stun and separate. Kaito didn't move. The blasts hit him and instantly dissipated, vanishing into the fabric of his suppressed form as harmless light.
Goku and Piccolo arrived moments later in a devastating combined assault. Piccolo launched a full-power, wide-beam Special Beam Cannon, while Goku charged his fist with a massive, focused burst of ki, aiming for Kaito's chest.
Kaito smiled. He allowed the white energy of the Special Beam Cannon to wash over him, letting the beam push him back one single, intentional step. As Goku's ki-charged fist arrived, Kaito gently extended his own index finger.
He intercepted Goku's fist with his fingertip.
The resulting shockwave didn't destroy the backyard; Kaito's suppressed power absorbed the kinetic force, redirecting it harmlessly up and out of the atmosphere. The impact simply created a dome of pressurized, humming air that knocked all the other fighters backward.
Goku screamed as his entire body protested the resistance. The ki was being perfectly deflected, contained, and neutralized by a single fingertip. Goku pulled back, his hand stinging as if he'd punched a black hole.
Kaito stepped out of the dissipating smoke, entirely unharmed, without even a wrinkle in his uniform.
"I am not playing with you, Goku," Kaito said, his voice now thunderous and all-encompassing. "I am showing you the difference between strength and absolute dominance."
He extended his palm toward the sky. "You are strong enough to end these Saiyan dogs. You are strong enough to protect this planet. But only I am strong enough to end Frieza."
Vegeta, watching from his cell, was gasping for air, clutching the containment field bars. 'Impossible. He's not strong. He is everything. A monster,' the Prince thought, finally understanding the true hierarchy of terror.