Tien gasped, "That ki… it's incredible! It's practically on par with Goku's!"
Vegeta snorted. The golden aura around him slowly retracted as he said coldly, "Didn't you say we're going to Namek? Stop wasting time."
Goku laughed. "Alright! Then let's move!"
The spaceship rose steadily, pierced the clouds, and finally became a streak of light that vanished into the sky.
Krillin watched it disappear and sighed. "I hope everything goes smoothly…"
Tien patted his shoulder. "Relax. With two Super Saiyans—Goku and Vegeta—nothing can go wrong."
Inside the ship, Vegeta sat with his arms folded, eyes closed, conserving energy.
Goku, on the other hand, was enthusiastically poking at the control panel. "Bulma, this ship is way faster than the last one!"
Bulma grinned smugly. "Of course it is. You think I've been sitting around while you train?
This is my newest superluminal engine—three days to Namek!"
Vegeta's eyes snapped open. "Kakarot. Once we get to Namek, don't get in my way."
Goku tilted his head. "You're going to help stop King Cold… as atonement for the village you slaughtered?"
"Atonement?" Vegeta scoffed, thumb jerking toward himself. "You think I'm you, Kakarot? Hmph. I'm going to rip King Cold apart with my own hands. I'm not doing it to atone for anything!"
Just then, Goku sniffed the air and looked Vegeta up and down.
"Hey, Vegeta… that smell on you…"
Vegeta's brow twitched. "What?"
"It's perfume. A woman's perfume. That girl… the one at the hospital—are you dating the girl who took care of you?"
Vegeta's fist clenched so hard his knuckles popped. Veins bulged on his forehead.
"Kakarot… are you trying to die?"
Bulma burst out laughing. "Wow~ So even the noble Saiyan Prince can fall for a fragile Earth woman. That's a rare sight!"
"Shut up!" Vegeta roared, his golden aura nearly flaring again.
Goku quickly cut in before Vegeta detonated. "Right, Vegeta—if you're bored, go train. This ship has a gravity chamber too… just be careful. Don't break it."
"There's a gravity chamber?" Vegeta's eyes narrowed.
Goku nodded. "Yeah. I thought we'd be flying seven days, so I installed one in advance."
Vegeta folded his arms again. "Then the gravity chamber belongs to me for the next few days."
With that, he turned and strode off.
Bulma stuck her tongue out at his back. "That guy's temper is so bad it's like everyone owes him money. Seriously unbearable."
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
Bulma adjusted the landing parameters and glanced at her radar. "We'll land around here!"
Then she tapped the scouter on her face—and her eyes widened.
"Goku… there are more than ten energy readings coming straight toward us!"
Vegeta walked out of the gravity chamber in long strides, his battle suit still stained with training sweat.
"So? Where's King Cold?"
Goku said immediately, "Relax. Those are Namekians coming to greet us.
This ship is faster, so we arrived early. King Cold isn't here yet!"
The ship landed.
When the hatch opened, Nail stood at the front, accompanied by more than ten Namekians.
"Son Goku… the Grand Elder said you would arrive soon, so he asked us to welcome you—"
Then Nail's gaze landed on Vegeta, and his voice stopped dead.
The Namekians around him instantly flared with hatred.
"I remember him. He's the butcher who slaughtered our people—and he still dares set foot on this soil?!"
Vegeta sneered, arms folded. "What? You want revenge? With you insects?"
"Vegeta!" Goku barked, cutting him off. Then he turned to Nail. "Sorry, Nail. He's our ally now.
King Cold is coming to attack Namek. He's here to help."
"Ally?"
One Namekian stepped forward, pointing at Vegeta with trembling rage. "It was him! He killed an entire village!"
Vegeta narrowed his eyes and looked at them with a cruel smile. "Hmph. I admit I did it.
So what? What are you weak Namekians going to do about it?"
A killing intent seeped out of him.
Nail and the others instantly tensed.
Goku's ki surged. The ground beneath his feet cracked like a spiderweb as he roared, "Vegeta—apologize to them!"
Vegeta froze. "Kakarot… what did you just say?"
"I said apologize." Goku repeated, voice iron.
Vegeta's eyes sharpened. "Are you insane? You want me to apologize to them?"
"Yes."
Then—
SMACK!
A crisp slap shattered the standoff.
A bright red handprint bloomed across Vegeta's face.
Vegeta's head snapped sideways in shock.
Bulma stood there, hands on her hips, staring him down. Goku beside her had his arm muscles taut, ki held tight like a coiled spring.
Bulma scolded, voice sharp as a blade:
"Vegeta, don't forget—you were revived by the Dragon Balls.
If the Namekians hadn't created Dragon Balls, you'd still be a corpse right now.
If I hadn't built that gravity room, you wouldn't have become a Super Saiyan today.
And if Goku hadn't spared you back then, you'd have died a long time ago!
We've given you more chances than you deserve—and you've never once shown gratitude.
So I'm ordering you: apologize. Now."
Vegeta's clenched fist trembled with rage.
But he couldn't refute a single word.
Even ignoring the fact that he'd already died once…
what he'd done after arriving on Earth was enough to justify being executed on the spot.
Yet Kakarot and Piccolo had both given him chances.
Vegeta was arrogant—but deep down, he hated owing anyone.
Images flashed in his mind:
two months of training on Earth,
the Earth girl nursing him while he was injured,
the days he'd spent living among humans…
After a long silence, Vegeta finally lowered his head.
"...I'm sorry."
The words were squeezed out through clenched teeth.
It wasn't nearly enough to atone for what he'd done.
But Goku understood—this was the absolute limit of what Vegeta could manage right now.
Still, the hot-blooded young Namekians weren't satisfied.
That was when Elder Moori stepped forward.
He spoke gently, his voice calm and steady.
"Hatred is a foolish burden.
Hatred only gives birth to new hatred.
We Namekians must not be shackled by it."
The Namekians immediately steadied themselves, recognizing the wisdom in their leader's words, and bowed their heads.
"Yes, Elder Moori."
Seeing Moori choose forgiveness, Goku quickly turned to Vegeta.
"Vegeta, we've still got a few days before King Cold arrives. Go back to the ship and keep training."
Vegeta lifted his chin, snorting. "Kakarot. I apologized because you demanded it.
But in exchange—King Cold is mine. When he arrives, you don't interfere. Understood?"
Goku didn't care who got the kill, but he couldn't help asking, amused, "You apologized just so you could compete with me over King Cold?"
Vegeta clenched his fist. "Since I was born, I've been used by the Frieza Force. Ordered around like a tool.
I hate them more than anything.
Killing Frieza was my dream—"
His voice dropped into something darker.
"But you already killed him.
So tearing King Cold apart will still let me spit out some of that hate!"
Goku scratched his cheek and laughed. "I get it.
But Vegeta—King Cold should be stronger than Frieza. Don't get careless."
Vegeta scoffed. "Hmph. You think I'm still the same Vegeta you beat down like nothing?"
Bulma cut in, unimpressed. "Alright, alright—stop posturing.
Vegeta, if you really want to prove yourself, go train in the gravity chamber. Don't come crawling back here after you get your teeth knocked out."
Vegeta shot her a glare—but for once, he didn't argue.
He turned toward the ship.
Before leaving, he threw one last line over his shoulder.
"Kakarot. Remember your promise. King Cold is mine."
Bulma watched him go and sighed. "That guy is so twisted."
Nail stepped forward and said quietly to Goku, "Mr. Goku… ever since Frieza came to Namek, more people in the universe have learned about the Dragon Balls.
This planet won't be peaceful anymore.
After this crisis, we intend to leave Namek. We've already found a new world…
We only need Porunga to regain his power."
Goku nodded. "Yeah. You should move somewhere remote.
Start packing what you need. I'll protect you."
Nail bowed. "Thank you."
Over the next few days, the Namekians prepared for evacuation.
Vegeta remained in the gravity chamber nonstop, readying himself for the coming battle.
But for Goku, King Cold wasn't much of a battle at all.
Last time on Namek, everything had been chaos—he hadn't even had time to appreciate the scenery.
This time, with nothing urgent to do, Goku treated it like a trip, wandering around with Bulma.
They looked at the landscapes, took photos—surprisingly relaxed.
Time flew.
On the fourth morning, the sky dimmed.
A powerful, sinister ki approached from the distance, making everyone's skin crawl.
The Namekians felt it too—evil, cold, drawing closer.
Vegeta's eyes snapped open.
He shot out of the gravity chamber, lips curling into a vicious smile.
"Finally."
On the far horizon, an enormous circular ship descended.
The hatch opened, and someone stepped out—almost identical to Frieza's second form.
King Cold.
Behind him, Frieza Force soldiers poured out, flooding the skies above a village in moments.
King Cold surveyed the area and sneered.
"Namekians… I hear you have Dragon Balls here.
Hand them over, and I might consider sparing your lives."
Before he could finish—
Vegeta's voice rang out from the sky, sharp as steel.
"King Cold. Your opponent is me."
King Cold paused, then burst into laughter.
"You? Vegeta?
You were nothing but Frieza's dog—barking in my face now?"
Vegeta landed, arms folded, eyes cold.
"King Cold… I'm not the same Vegeta I used to be.
Namek isn't just Frieza's grave.
It'll be yours too."
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