"Enough, Nail. Return.
You are no match for him, and he truly harbors no killing intent toward us. Bring him inside."
The Grand Elder's ancient voice rang directly in Nail's mind, heavy as judgment.
Nail's fists shook. Veins stood out on his forearms.
"Great Elder… he's too dangerous. I can still "
"No."
One word, soft as a sigh, yet it crushed the last of Nail's defiance.
Vegeta heard everything, of course. Superhuman senses had their perks.
He floated down lazily, arms folded, a thin smirk playing on his lips.
"Finally, someone with a brain opens their mouth."
Inside, he was seething.
Typical. They try to kill you the second you land, then call it off the moment they realize they're outclassed.
If he'd been any weaker, Nail would've torn him apart without a second thought.
Would the old man have stopped it then?
Doubtful.
All that righteous fury, all that talk of justice; it evaporated the instant raw power entered the equation.
This was the law of the universe, plain and brutal:
Strength is the only vote that counts.
Everything else is noise.
Nail landed hard, boots cracking the stone. His glare could have melted steel.
"If you so much as breathe wrong in there, I'll rip you apart; slowly."
Vegeta snorted. "You're welcome to try. Again."
He brushed past the fuming Namekian like he was a child throwing a tantrum.
Nail followed a step behind, radiating barely-contained violence.
Vegeta ignored him and strode straight into the dwelling.
The interior was vast, carved from living rock, empty of anything that wasn't strictly necessary. No tech. No ornaments. Just age and silence.
At the center sat the Grand Elder.
A mountain of green flesh draped in white robes, ancient eyes half-lidded, breathing slow and labored. The chair beneath him looked more like a throne built for a dying god.
Their gazes locked.
"Welcome, traveler from afar," the Grand Elder said aloud, voice soft yet carrying the weight of centuries.
At the same moment, an invisible pressure brushed across Vegeta's mind; gentle, probing, impossibly deep.
Spiritual sensing. Not ki. Something older.
Vegeta allowed it.
He had nothing to hide that the old man could weaponize, and everything to gain by appearing cooperative.
For now.
The Grand Elder's tired eyes widened slightly, just a fraction.
"…Remarkable. Two souls reside within one body… yet they have fused into something new. A warrior of royal blood, stained by countless sins… and a wanderer from another world entirely."
He paused, studying Vegeta with something close to pity.
"And within you both burns a hatred for Frieza that rivals even our own."
Vegeta's smirk faded into something colder.
"Get to the point, old man. I didn't come here to have my fortune read."
The Grand Elder closed his eyes.
"Very well. You seek the power sleeping inside you. The power I can awaken."
He raised one massive, trembling hand.
"Come closer, Prince of Saiyans.
Let us see just how bright your star can truly burn."
Outside, Nail stood guard at the door, fists still clenched, every muscle screaming that this was a mistake.
Inside, Vegeta stepped forward without hesitation.
Because in the end, it didn't matter if Nail hated him.
It didn't matter if the Grand Elder pitied him.
Only one thing mattered:
Power.
And he was about to claim a mountain of it.