Vegeta leaned in for a look and couldn't help but comment, "This planet's pretty big."
But after speaking, he used his scouter to check Ken's power level—and immediately smacked the device in confusion, a bewildered look on his face.
"What's going on? Why isn't your power level showing up? Is this thing broken?" Vegeta took the scouter off and inspected it closely.
"It's because I don't have any power level anymore," Ken replied with a faint smile.
"You... what? You don't have a power level anymore? What's that supposed to mean?" Vegeta was stunned.
"Exactly what it sounds like," Ken said.
"You actually seem kind of excited about it," Vegeta muttered, staring at Ken like he was a lunatic.
"It doesn't matter anymore," Ken chuckled.
After ten days of cultivation, Ken had finally purged all the regular energy from his body.
Now, the only thing left within him was divine power.
And with that purification, his Divine ki's purity had surged from level 1 to level 5.
Clearly, the previous energy he cultivated had been holding back the refinement of his Divine ki.
Now that it had reached level 5…
From this point on, Ken would focus wholeheartedly on cultivating Divine ki alone.
With nothing left to interfere, he could channel his divine strength with complete clarity.
"Remember, be polite when we meet the Namekians. Got it?" Ken said, gazing at the green planet in the distance as he reminded Vegeta again.
"Hmph, are you lecturing me now?" Vegeta huffed, visibly annoyed.
"Let's go. We'll land on Namek now," Ken didn't argue. He guided the spaceship down gently, settling near a village.
Once the ship came to a stop, the hatch opened.
Ken and Vegeta flew out of the ship and landed in the middle of the village.
At this time of day, most of the village's adults were out working, leaving only three elderly Namekians basking in the sun.
They had clearly noticed the arrival of the spaceship and rose from their seats with serious expressions.
When they saw Ken and Vegeta approach, the elder's face darkened with caution.
"Who are you? What brings you to Namek?" the village elder asked warily.
Ken glanced over and quickly recognized one of the Namekians.
It was Elder Moori.
After the passing of the Grand Elder, Moori would become the next Grand Elder of Namek.
As for the other two elders, Ken noticed that one of them seemed particularly frail.
When he stood up earlier, he nearly collapsed and had to be supported by the other.
"Let me see… power levels are 300, 400, and 500," Vegeta pressed a button on his scouter and quickly read off their numbers.
"Greetings. We're Saiyans. We came here to…" Ken began.
But before he could finish, Vegeta cut him off.
"Hmph! We're here to make a wish. Hand over those wish-granting Dragon Balls. Let this prince take a look at them," Vegeta said bluntly.
Ken: "…"
"What did I say earlier?" Ken scolded him.
"Hmph, I do what I want. I don't need anyone telling me how to act!" Vegeta snorted.
Whoosh!
Ken vanished in a flash and reappeared behind Vegeta before the Saiyan prince could react.
Whack!
Ken chopped Vegeta on the back of the neck.
Vegeta collapsed limply to the ground, his consciousness rapidly fading.
And under the stunned gazes of the three Namekian elders, he passed out cold.
"My apologies. My companion was extremely rude," Ken sighed.
"Uh…" Elder Moori was momentarily at a loss.
This kid… really didn't hesitate.
He just knocked out his own partner without a second thought.
"I can sense it—your companion has a strong evil aura," Moori said after a brief silence, glancing warily at the unconscious Vegeta.
"And what about me?" Ken smiled.
Moori looked at Ken again, a faint sense of confusion crossing his face.
Why did this young man give off such a uniquely compelling presence?
He felt… worthy of admiration.
Just who was this boy?
Moori soon noticed the tail behind Ken and quickly realized—he was also a Saiyan.
A Saiyan… with this kind of aura?
"Do I have a sunny and warm face?" Ken grinned wide, flashing his clean white teeth.
Moori: "…"
The other two elders: "…"
This kid really knows how to talk…
"What are you here for?" Moori asked Ken.
"I'm here on vacation," Ken replied.
Moori quietly wiped some sweat from his brow.
Your companion literally said you came for the Dragon Balls…
Thud!
As they were speaking, the frail elder from earlier suddenly collapsed to the ground, his body convulsing violently.
"Delta!" the other elder cried out in alarm.
"Delta, what's wrong?!" Moori rushed over, clearly worried.
"It's that Negative Energy Syndrome again…" the old man sighed heavily.
"When did he start showing symptoms?" Moori asked in a low voice.
"He's been acting a bit off for a while now, but he insisted he was fine…" the elder shook his head. "I'm afraid… it may already be too late."
He didn't finish the sentence, but the meaning was clear.
This elder named Delta likely didn't have long to live.
"Negative Energy Syndrome?" Ken stepped forward, eyeing the collapsed elder with interest.
He saw black streaks wrapping around the old man's body.
His face was shrouded in a dark mist.
Moori and the other elder glanced at Ken, then turned their attention back to Delta.
"It's as if he's been invaded by some kind of dark, evil energy," Ken muttered thoughtfully.
"You're not wrong, young man," Moori sighed. "The environment on our planet has deteriorated, and negative energy—what you just described as evil energy—has begun to run rampant…"
"Many Namekians have shown similar symptoms, and the more serious cases have even died. We call this illness Negative Energy Syndrome."
(End of Chapter)