On Namek, in a certain village.
Flames were devouring the circular houses.
Thick black smoke rolled upward, blocking out the light of the three suns and making the land feel even more hopeless.
"Hand over the Dragon Ball! Or I'll crush this kid's head!"
Dodoria's massive pink body stood in the center of the village square. One foot was pressing down on a young Namekian boy's back.
The boy struggled in agony, green blood staining the ground beneath him.
Around them lay more than a dozen Namekian warriors' corpses.
Their proud techniques, like the Special Beam Cannon and their regeneration ability, were as fragile as paper toys before this pink monster.
Elder Mori, the village leader, shielded the only two remaining children behind him, Dende and Kargo, his entire body trembling.
In his arms, he tightly held a large orange Dragon Ball glowing with four stars.
"Demons… you monsters!" Elder Mori roared in grief and fury.
"Even if you get the Dragon Balls, Shenron will never grant your wish!"
"Enough nonsense, old man!"
Dodoria pressed down harder, and the sound of bones cracking could clearly be heard.
"Aaaah!"
The boy under his foot let out a piercing scream.
"Stop!"
Elder Mori felt his heart tearing apart.
"I'll give it! I'll give it to you!"
"That's more like it. If you had cooperated earlier, none of these useless bugs would have had to die."
Dodoria grinned, revealing a mouth full of sharp teeth.
He reached out his spiked hand, greedily grabbing toward the Dragon Ball.
The moment his fingertips were about to touch it.
Boom!
A massive impact shook the ground as if a meteor had fallen directly into the village square.
Dust exploded into the air.
Dodoria only had time to see a blur before an overwhelming force slammed down onto his head.
"What…"
He had no time to react before he was forcibly stomped into the ground.
The solid rock surface instantly cracked and collapsed, forming a crater more than ten meters wide.
As the dust settled.
Elder Mori and Dende stared in shock.
The terrifying pink monster was gone.
In its place stood a bald Earthling.
He was standing on one leg, casually pressing his foot on Dodoria's head.
Krillin looked down at what was under his foot, then glanced around at the devastation. Finally, his eyes landed on Dende.
"So this is a Namekian? Kinda cute. Completely different from how Piccolo looked as a kid."
"You… you bastard!"
A muffled roar came from beneath the dirt.
Dodoria was, after all, an elite warrior of Frieza's army with a battle power of over 22,000.
He erupted with all his energy. A pink shockwave exploded outward, trying to throw Krillin off.
But Krillin stood like an immovable mountain.
"Hey," Krillin said lightly.
He pressed down slightly with his foot, as if snuffing out a cigarette.
"Is your face always this ridiculous? Pink skin, covered in spikes. Are you some kind of spiky mutant fruit? Or a radioactive pig or something?"
"I'm going to kill you!!!"
Dodoria completely snapped.
He pushed himself out of the ground and threw a heavy punch toward Krillin's knee.
Bang!
A dull impact echoed.
Krillin didn't dodge.
He didn't even bother to defend with ki.
Dodoria felt like he had just punched the hardest alloy in the universe.
A sharp pain shot through his wrist, and the recoil cracked his arm bone.
"How is this possible?!"
Dodoria staggered back and hurriedly checked his scouter.
Beep beep beep…
The number jumped rapidly before settling.
"5000?"
He froze for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter, his fat shaking violently.
"What a joke! I thought you were some kind of monster! Turns out you're just a 5,000 power level trash!"
His fear instantly turned into cruelty and disdain.
"Even if I don't know what cheap trick you used to ambush me, 5,000 means nothing in front of me, Dodoria!"
"Die, low-class scum!"
Dodoria opened his mouth, gathering terrifying energy. His signature attack, the high-energy blast, began to form.
"Watch out!" Elder Mori shouted.
Krillin sighed and shook his head.
"Why are villains always so obsessed with those little scouter numbers?"
He raised his right hand, not clenched into a fist, just casually swatted like he was brushing away a fly.
The slap looked light and effortless.
But the moment it landed.
SMACK!!!
A crisp sound echoed through the sky.
Time seemed to stop.
Dodoria's half-charged energy blast was slapped apart and turned into a wisp of smoke.
Then his entire face collapsed inward as if crushed by a hydraulic press.
Dozens of sharp teeth mixed with blood shot out like shrapnel.
His massive body spun in the air, rolled across the ground, smashed through three stone houses, and finally came to a stop.
"Ugh… urgh…"
Dodoria struggled to stand from the ruins.
Half his face was swollen beyond recognition, and his scouter was completely shattered.
"You… you…"
He pointed at Krillin, disbelief filling his eyes.
"Five thousand… impossible… that's impossible!"
Krillin dusted off his hands and walked forward step by step.
[Ding! Target mental defense has collapsed.]
[Status: severely injured, fear, confusion.]
"Numbers are dead. People are alive," Krillin said calmly.
"And who told you I'm only at 5,000?"
He slightly released the suppression on his ki.
Boom!
A crimson gold aura erupted instantly around him.
It wasn't just energy. It was overwhelming pressure.
The air screamed under the weight. The ground trembled. Rocks floated upward.
Dodoria felt as if he was standing naked on the surface of a star.
He had only felt this kind of pressure from two beings before.
Ginyu.
And Frieza.
"You… monster…"
Dodoria finally understood.
This man was no weakling. He was a monster wearing human skin.
Run.
That was all he could think of.
Dodoria turned and exploded upward at full speed.
"Trying to run?"
Krillin bent slightly, then jumped.
Whoosh.
In an instant, he appeared above Dodoria, arms crossed, looking down at him upside down.
"Go down."
Krillin tapped lightly with his heel.
Boom!
Dodoria's spine nearly shattered as he was smashed back into the ground like a meteor, creating another crater.
This time, he could not get up.
"P-please don't kill me!"
Dodoria cried, tears and mucus running down his ugly face.
"I know secrets! About the Saiyans! About the destruction of Planet Vegeta!"
"It was all Frieza's plan! Prince Vegeta was kept in the dark!"
"If you spare me, I'll tell you everything!"
Krillin paused and tilted his head.
"Oh? You mean that meteor was actually thrown by Frieza?"
Dodoria's eyes lit up.
"Yes! That's right! If you spare me, I can testify…"
"Not interested."
Krillin cut him off coldly.
"I already knew that old story."
"And honestly, what does Saiyan destruction have to do with me? I'm just an Earthling."
"I'm not concerned about Prince Vegeta's emotional damage."
He raised his right hand, palm aimed at Dodoria's head.
"Compared to gossip, I'm more interested in the energy inside you."