"Bang!"
Dodoria's fist smashed into Elder Moori's face.
Moori toppled backward and crashed to the ground, blood pouring from his nostrils.
"You… didn't you just say… if I handed over the Dragon Balls, you wouldn't kill us?" Moori demanded hoarsely, unwilling to accept it.
"But what's the point if we can't gather all seven Dragon Balls?" Frieza sneered. "You destroyed our scouters. If you don't tell us where the other two Dragon Balls are, how are we supposed to find them?"
"I said it already. Even if I die, I will never sell out my friends!" Moori gritted his teeth and pushed himself up from the ground.
"Then I'll grant your wish and let you die." Frieza snorted.
"Frieza-sama, without our scouters, can we really find the Dragon Balls?" Zarbon asked from the side.
"There are only two Dragon Balls left. As long as we find the remaining villages or any Namekians, it won't be a problem." Frieza said carelessly, then gave the order. "Kill all three of them."
"Yes!" Dodoria stepped forward, a hideous grin spreading across his face.
"This is despicable!" Krillin couldn't take it anymore.
"Run!" Moori shouted to the two children behind him.
Dende and the other child nodded frantically.
"I'll show you the fury of Planet Namek!" Moori spread his arms to shield the children and shouted up at Frieza.
A sharp beam of light shot from Frieza's fingertip and slammed straight into one of the children.
Smoke rose from the child's body. He died on the spot.
"Cargo!" Dende cried in shock. His legs shook uncontrollably; he didn't even have the strength to run anymore.
"You bastards!" Gohan finally snapped.
"Heh."
Dodoria stepped forward, hooked an arm around Moori's neck, and gave it a vicious twist.
Crack.
Moori's neck snapped out of place and his body went limp, collapsing to the ground.
"Heh-heh-heh, you didn't even get to 'show your fury' before I killed you." Dodoria curled his lip in disdain.
"Gohan, hold it in! Even if we go out there to help, we can't do anything!" Krillin said quickly, trying to calm him down.
"A-ah…" Dende trembled violently, completely overwhelmed by helpless terror.
"Waaaah…"
The next moment, Dende broke and bolted.
Dodoria didn't rush. He lazily took off after the boy, swooped down in front of him, and spread his arms wide, blocking his path with a toothy grin.
"Heh-heh-heh, killing a little runt like you is boring," Dodoria said with a mocking smile, raising his hand high, ready to swat Dende to death.
"Stop right there!" Gohan roared. He could no longer endure it. He leapt out from their hiding place.
Krillin went pale.
This reckless kid!
Gohan's sudden appearance stunned Frieza and the others for a moment.
None of them had imagined someone was hiding there.
"Who's that? A companion? Where is he?" Dodoria spun around, searching for Gohan.
But Dodoria's body was bulky and clumsy. For a moment, he didn't spot Gohan's position.
Gohan shot in close, and before Dodoria could react, he drove a fierce kick straight into Dodoria's fat face.
Dodoria's face twisted grotesquely from the impact as he flew backward headfirst into a nearby house, his skull smashing through the wall.
"Idiot… this reckless kid!" Krillin cursed through gritted teeth and rushed forward.
If I don't jump in now, Gohan is going to die.
Dodoria quickly dragged himself out of the ruins, his pride burning. He glared at Gohan and shouted, "Who the hell are you?"
"You fat pig, I'm here to take you down!" Gohan shouted back angrily.
"You dare insult me?! You're dead!" Dodoria snarled coldly and lunged toward Gohan to attack.
Suddenly, Krillin dropped out of the sky, both feet slamming into Dodoria's face.
Dodoria went tumbling to the ground again.
"Krillin!" Gohan blinked in surprise.
Dende was also completely stunned.
"Idiot, what are you standing around for? Run!" Krillin yelled at Gohan, then ran over and scooped Dende into his arms.
Gohan snapped back to his senses.
The two of them didn't hesitate for a second. They shot up into the sky and bolted away at full speed.
"They're not Namekians." Frieza narrowed his eyes, watching them go.
"Those two little beasts… I won't forgive them!" Dodoria felt humiliated to his core. He rubbed his head, got up off the ground, and roared with rage, bloodshot eyes burning.
"Dodoria, hurry up and chase them down. You must capture them!" Frieza ordered sharply.
"Arrrgh!" Dodoria let out a series of furious howls, then blasted off at full speed after the three fleeing figures.
"Gohan, we have to fly as fast as we can. If we get caught, it's all over. Got it?" Krillin warned.
"Got it." Gohan nodded immediately.
Krillin flew in front, still carrying Dende, with Gohan close at his side.
Dodoria was insanely fast. In less than a minute, he had already spotted the three of them up ahead and quickly closed the distance.
"Not good, he's faster than we are!" Krillin's face grew more and more tense. "He's going to catch up any second!"
"We're already going all out. Maybe we should drop to the ground and fight him there," Gohan suggested.
"We're no match for him. We should keep running!" Krillin shook his head.
Behind them, Dodoria let out a string of crazed laughs.
You two little brats actually kicked me… I'll show you what I can do.
As they flew, Krillin happened to glance up and saw the blazing sun hanging in the sky. An idea flashed through his mind.
"Gohan, you take the kid." Krillin said, immediately tossing Dende toward him.
Gohan hurriedly caught Dende in his arms.
"Gohan, whatever happens, don't look into my eyes. Understand?" Krillin instructed.
"Uh, o-okay." Gohan nodded.
Krillin slowly turned around in midair to face the rapidly approaching Dodoria, lifting his hands to either side of his face.
Dodoria hesitated for a second, confused about what Krillin was trying to do.
"Taiyoken!"
A blinding flash of light burst out from Krillin's head, exploding outward like a miniature sun.
Dodoria was completely caught off guard. His pupils went pure white and everything vanished from his sight.
"Ahhh! My eyes!" Dodoria screamed, clutching at his face.
"Kienzan!"
Krillin thrust his right hand into the air, forming a razor-sharp energy disc, and hurled it straight at Dodoria.
He didn't even stay to watch the result. As soon as he let fly, Krillin grabbed Gohan and dropped down toward the mountains below to hide.
The Kienzan sliced through the air, homing in on Dodoria.
Dodoria suddenly felt a strange, chilling sense of danger creep up his spine. His face went white.
Instinctively, he whipped his body to the side.
"Aaahhh!"
A heart-piercing scream tore out of his throat as the Kienzan sliced through his arm as easily as tofu.
"Damn… it only took off one arm!" Krillin hissed between his teeth. "If I'd had a little more time, I could have thrown a few more Kienzan. I might've actually killed him."
"Krillin-san, you're amazing… You almost took out someone way stronger than you again." Gohan looked at Krillin with pure admiration.
"Heh-heh, didn't Ken say it himself? Planet Namek is my stage." Krillin chuckled.
…
Universe 6, God of Destruction's realm.
Ken was still holding his staff, watching the events on Planet Namek through the crystal orb at its tip.
When he saw Krillin nearly slice Dodoria to death with that combo of Taiyoken and Kienzan, even Ken couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion.
I never thought one casual sentence from me would push Krillin to perform this well.
Ken leaned in for a closer look.
Dodoria, now missing an arm, was screaming like a slaughtered pig as he thrashed in midair from the pain.
But before long, Dodoria managed to calm himself, grinding his teeth so hard they almost shattered, his eyes burning with murderous rage.
"That little bastard… I won't let him get away with this!" Dodoria snarled, face twisted and gloomy as he scoured the area for any sign of Krillin and the others.
"Krillin-san, that guy's already lost an arm. If we both go at him together, I'm sure we can beat him," Gohan suggested.
"Forget it. Even with one arm, we're still no match for him." Krillin shook his head. "Try sensing his ki properly. Even like this, he could wipe us out easily."
"Then what do we do now?" Gohan asked.
"If he can't find us, he'll give up and head back." Krillin grinned.
"Why don't we use that move from before again?" Gohan said, a lightbulb going off in his head.
"Gohan, the same trick doesn't always work twice on the same person. He'll be on guard this time." Krillin said gravely, shaking his head. "We're just lucky he doesn't have a scouter now. Otherwise he could locate us in seconds."
High in the sky, Dodoria flew in circles, searching for a long time without any luck.
The throbbing agony from his missing arm only made him more hysterical.
"I'll level this whole area! I'm so pissed I could explode! I'm going to kill you all!" Dodoria roared with hatred, shooting up even higher into the sky.
"Is he… leaving?" Gohan blinked.
"Something feels off," Krillin muttered, a bad feeling rising in his gut.
"You little brats! Just die already!" Dodoria bellowed. Energy surged from his remaining hand, swelling into a massive sphere that he hurled down toward the ground.
"Danger!" Krillin shouted.
The three of them immediately rocketed upward.
A deafening explosion shook the planet as the small island they had been hiding on was reduced to open ocean in an instant.
The surrounding seawater rushed in, waves surging as whitewater roared endlessly.
"Hahahaha! You're dead for sure this time!" Dodoria burst out laughing. "I really wanted to take my time torturing you, but dying cleanly like this can count as good luck for you. Too bad, though—Frieza-sama ordered me to bring you back alive, and now I can't even find your corpses. Just what the hell were you, anyway? And that little bald guy's move… infuriating! Because of him, I lost an arm!"
Dodoria rubbed the stump of his severed arm, his face growing darker and darker.
Like this… Zarbon is going to laugh his head off at me when I get back.
Grumbling to himself, Dodoria turned and flew off into the distance.
Watching Dodoria's silhouette slowly disappear, both Gohan and Krillin finally let out a small breath of relief.
"By my count, it's been almost an hour. Let's head back to the cave and wait for Goku and Piccolo," Krillin suggested.
"Okay." Gohan nodded.
"Can you fly?" Krillin asked Dende.
"Yes. I can," Dende replied.
Only then did Krillin relax and set him down.
Dende hovered in midair and quickly bowed his thanks.
"You should be thanking Gohan. I was too scared to move at first, so I didn't dare jump out to save you," Krillin said with a laugh.
"But without you, Krillin-san, we'd both be dead," Gohan said, a little embarrassed.
"Come with us for now. We won't hurt you," Krillin said gently.
Dende didn't refuse.
The three of them flew off toward the cave they had been using before.
Meanwhile, Dodoria was cruising slowly through the sky, heading back to report to Frieza.
Halfway there, something slammed into him out of nowhere.
"Gwah!"
Dodoria dropped out of the sky like a stone.
Boom!
He hit the surface of a lake so hard the water exploded upward in towering waves.
The moment he plunged into the water, the pain from his severed arm flared so intensely it felt like his soul was being torn apart.
But soon, Dodoria clawed his way up onto the shore, gasping for breath. When he finally focused, he saw a familiar figure standing there waiting for him.
"Vegeta!" Dodoria shouted in shock. He dragged himself fully onto the bank and glared at Vegeta, teeth clenched. "What are you doing here?!"
"Long time no see, Dodoria." Vegeta wore a faint smile. "What happened to your arm? Who did that to you?"
"None of your business!" Dodoria snapped. He definitely wasn't about to describe something that humiliating.
"The last time we met was about twenty-five years ago, right?" Vegeta snorted coldly.
Dodoria's eyes blazed. His teeth ground so hard they creaked, his fists clenched so tight his knuckles popped.
"Remember your dear little brother?" Vegeta asked mockingly. "I'm the one who killed him."
"Of course I remember. I've been wanting to settle that score!" Dodoria snarled. "But back then, Frieza-sama still saw a use for you, so I didn't kill you. Since you've come here to die today, don't blame me. You think a cheap sneak attack is enough to beat me? Even with one arm, I can still snap your legs like twigs!"
"Oh? Is that so?" Vegeta snorted, his expression dripping with contempt. "You and Zarbon are always glued to Frieza's side. I've been waiting for one of you to end up alone. Without Frieza around, taking you out is laughably easy."
"Are all Saiyans this arrogant?" Dodoria chuckled darkly. "Still, I'll give you one chance to live. Hand over your scouter, and I'll let you go."
I'm just saying that to trick you. The moment you turn your back, I'll chase you down, beat you half to death, and snap your legs. Perfect plan, right?
That's what you get for messing with me.
"The scouter, huh? No wonder we suddenly stopped getting your readings. I was wondering about that." Vegeta said, as if suddenly enlightened. "When I got close to you just now, you had no idea I was there. You looked like an idiot. So you guys lost your scouters… That's perfect."
As he spoke, Vegeta calmly removed the scouter from his face.
"Going back to the nearest Frieza Planet to get new ones will take you at least a few days. Here, you can have this one." Vegeta said lightly, tossing the scouter down onto the ground.
"Oh? You finally recognize how precious your life is? That's more like it. Now hurry up and bring it over here." Dodoria said with a vicious grin, waving him over. "Don't worry. If I say I'll let you go, I'll let you go. We'll call your sneak attack and my dead brother even."
Crunch.
Without the slightest hesitation, Vegeta stamped down and crushed the scouter to pieces.
Dodoria froze, stunned. His eyes went wide with disbelief. "Vegeta, what are you doing? Why did you destroy the scouter?!"
"I don't need that thing anymore." Vegeta smiled faintly.
"What are you talking about? Aren't you trying to gather the Dragon Balls too?" Dodoria demanded. "Without a scouter, how are you going to find the Namekians?"
"When I went to Earth, I learned that the people there can sense an enemy's strength and location without scouters. The Saiyans on Earth have that ability, so I can do it too." Vegeta snorted. "Once you grasp the trick, it's easy to learn."
Dodoria fell silent.
"And besides, about twenty-five years ago, Ken and I came to Planet Namek once already. I helped him find several Dragon Balls back then." Vegeta went on with a smirk. "It's been more than twenty years, and Planet Namek hasn't changed much. Even if I couldn't sense the Namekians, I could still find a few of the Dragon Balls from memory alone."
"What did you say? You and Ken came to Planet Namek that long ago?" Dodoria suddenly understood. "Did you make a wish back then?"
"Nothing major. Ken just asked for the ability to survive in the vacuum of space." Vegeta felt a sting in his chest the moment he thought about it.
Why didn't I ask for something like that back then?
Wait…
How about I ask for that this time?
No.
I don't want to make the same wish as Ken.
If I get immortality, I'll be able to survive in space anyway.
And I'm the one who came up with the idea. Frieza just copied me.
"So that little brat I was chasing just now was from Earth?" Dodoria pieced it together. "You've joined forces with the Earthlings?"
"Hmph. It's just a temporary alliance." Vegeta snorted.
"That's enough small talk. Next, I'm going to beat you within an inch of your life and drag you back to Frieza-sama." Dodoria said coldly, a cruel smile twisting his face. "You shouldn't have messed with me. With your power level, you couldn't even beat Cui, let alone me."
"In that case… how do you think Cui disappeared?" Vegeta's lips curled into a faint, razor-sharp smile.
[End of Chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
[Check out my Patreon to read 20+ chapters ahead]
[[email protected]/BellAshelia]
[Thanks for your support!]