As Goku stared me down, his finger pointing at my chest, I couldn't help but let my lips curve up into an excited grin.
This crazy bastard. And, as I took in his energy levels, I realized something. Where he had been at a mere eight thousand upon arrival originally, right now, he was now sitting at a casual fifteen thousand - and that wasn't even his full power.
The Z-Fighters on Earth had been training hard in preparation to fight the Saiyans, but Goku, this fight-crazy bastard, had been training to fight me.
Not that he was anywhere close to being able to take me on, but his suppressed power was still nearly double what his power should've been at this point. He had definitely been taking his training to a whole different level with King Kai, and the results were clear.
Honestly, I didn't think he'd struggle much with Vegeta this time. Aside from when Vegeta transformed into his Ozaru, Goku would be in the driver's seat for the entire fight.
"I respect your boldness," I hummed, smirking as Goku stared into my eyes, and then vanished in a split second, "But you're aiming a bit too high."
Goku inhaled sharply as he spun around, suddenly shirtless as I casually ripped off the top of his Gi. I looked down, glancing over King Kai's symbol of it.
"You think I don't know that?" I blinked as Goku just continued to grin, glancing over my shoulder as his eyes were still lit up with excitement, "But, when I see someone as strong as you, how can I not want to fight?"
I couldn't help but respect the balls - he knew he couldn't beat me, but he just wanted to fight anyway.
"Even if you'll die?" I asked ominously, but his grin didn't drop.
"You won't kill me. You can act as evil as you want, but you're not that bad of a guy," He countered, and I was genuinely surprised by his words.
Was Goku always this smart? He was reading between the lines this much?
"You know I kidnapped your friend, right?" I asked curiously, nodding over at Bulma.
"You brought her back," He countered again.
"I'm forcing your friends to fight for their lives," I countered his counter, making a good point, as I wasn't quite sure how Goku had deduced my genuine non-terrible intentions despite my actions.
"They're all alive, aren't they?" Goku just continued grinning, and I looked at him blankly. I glanced over sideways at Yamcha's curled-up corpse, which was only a couple of dozen feet away from us, and then back to Goku.
Hey, if Yamcha was so forgettable that even Goku wasn't going to mention he died, then who was I to bring it up?
"...Defeat them, and I'll fight you," I finally decided, heading back towards my chair next to Bulma as I left Goku to fight his two fellow Saiyans.
I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised at his request - this was Goku, after all. The same Goku who loved fighting strong opponents so much that he spared Vegeta despite the Saiyan Prince trying to destroy Earth, and who had challenged Beerus the second he saw him - and got pretty much one-shot for his troubles.
I hadn't planned on fighting him during this trip to Earth, but seeing just how outmatched he was would definitely light a fire in the Saiyan. My overall plan with the Earthlings was to nurture their growth in the background as I focused on gaining my own power and improving my empire, so a small fight to make Goku significantly stronger was definitely worth it.
"Got it! You look strong, too!" Goku turned to the Saiyans, staring down Vegeta with a grin on his face, before he called over to Piccolo and Tien, "You guys did great, but I'll take them both from here, alright?"
"W-What?" Piccolo stuttered out, staring at him like he was an idiot, which he soon put into words, "Are you really that much of an idiot?! All of us together could barely stall out the weaker one, and you intend to take them both on?!"
"He's right, Goku," Tien agreed, looking over at his once-enemy with narrowed eyes, "I know you're not one to be prideful, so there's no need to fight them alone. It's not just your life at stake in this - it's all of ours, and even the entire planet's!"
"I know," Goku answered simply, not looking away from Vegeta for a second, "But this guy… something about him just makes me want to fight him! Almost as much as Freezer!"
Really? He's going to do some detective-level deductions about how I really wanted to improve the Z-Fighters, and that I wasn't a bad guy, and then call me 'Freezer?'
"Hah! That's what we call 'Saiyan Pride,' Kakarot!" Vegeta shot back, the shorter man smirking widely, "We are the last of a warrior race! Our kind are soldiers who fight for all their lives, and who can't resist the thrill of battle! When faced with a fellow warrior, our bodies can't help but want to fight!"
"Hah… I didn't want to believe that I really was something other than a human, but you're right," Goku sighed, looking almost a bit relieved as he shifted into his fighting stance, "Right now, I want to fight this guy so damn bad!"
It seemed that, detective-level deductions aside, Goku was still Goku.
"Step back, Nappa," Vegeta ordered, also apparently getting a bit excited at the idea of fighting Goku, "I'll handle him!"
"Eh? But I'm a Saiyan, too!" Nappa huffed, glaring over at Goku, "Why isn't Kakarot all excited to fight me also?!"
"Because we want to fight strong warriors, Nappa," Vegeta said coldly, shifting into his fighting stance as he stared down Goku, "Stand back and rest. You can finish off the rest of them once I defeat Kakarot!"
Damn, that was harsh. Even though Nappa was annoying as hell, even I felt a bit bad for him-
"Aww, dang! Hey, Lord Frieza! Can I have a chair too?" Nappa started walking towards me, and that feeling instantly faded away.
"No," I said bluntly, and as his mouth opened again, I narrowed my eyes at him slightly, "If you ask again, I'm going to kill you."
"Aww, really?! Hey, Vegeta! Hey, Vegeta! Can you ask Lord Frieza if I can also have a chair?!" Nappa turned his attention to Vegeta, who just looked at him sideways, a bit exasperated as he was still in his fighting stance.
"If he just said no to you, why the hell would I ask him?" Vegeta said bluntly, causing Nappa to groan as he turned to the woman sitting next to me.
"Hey, Lord Frieza's woman! Can you ask Lord Frieza if I can have a chair, too?" Nappa asked Bulma, and I just stared at him blankly, genuinely in awe of how annoying the bald man could be.
"I-I am not his woman! Don't say that!" Bulma huffed, glancing away with a blush, "J-Just because we share a- w-whatever! No!"
"Aww, dang!" Nappa huffed, then, ever so slowly, his head turned in my direction, and his mouth opened.
So, I took action before he could make another stupid request. I appeared in front of him, one finger held up, and softly poked him in his forehead. Nappa's head snapped back in response, his eyes going dull as he slumped onto the ground unconscious.
Seriously, had he always been this annoying?
"N-No way… it took all of us, and everything we had to keep up with that guy…" Krillin muttered, his eyes wide as I took out Nappa with literally a poke, "A-And he just took him out like that?! He's that strong?!"
"He is. Even if we all tried to fight him together, we wouldn't stand a chance," Piccolo agreed, looking at me wearily, but I turned my full attention to the first speaker.
"Hey, bald one," I pointed at Krillin, causing him to wave his hands frantically and stumble back as he thought he was about to get the Nappa treatment, "I want some popcorn. Go get some for both me and Bulma."
"P-Popcorn?" Krillin stared at me incredulously, not understanding that he was my new Yamcha now that Yamcha was dead, "You want… popcorn?"
He glanced over at Bulma, who just shrugged unhelpfully.
"Popcorn," I confirmed, smirking as I wiggled my finger a bit, causing him to flinch, "Or, would you rather end up like the last guy who refused to get me popcorn?"
Krillin slowly glanced over at that guy, that being Yamcha, as he lay in a crater, and then nodded shakily, "R-Right! I'll be right back!"
Krillin shot up into the air immediately, shooting away in a seemingly random direction as he went to get me some popcorn, and I went back to my seat next to Bulma. It was good to have some henchmen here to get me snacks, even when I didn't have my actual henchmen around.
"Now, it's time for the real show to start," I hummed, grinning lightly as the main event began, and I glanced over at Piccolo and Tien, "Neither of you interrupt, alright? I'll kill you if you do."
I got two quick, shaky nods in response.
As Goku shot forward and Vegeta moved to meet him in the middle, they looked like they were moving in slow motion to me. But that was only to me.
"W-What? I didn't even see them move…" Tien muttered, staring as Goku and Vegeta started to exchange blows, their fists and bodies looking like blurs to the eyes of the Z-Fighters.
"Same here," Piccolo grunted, looking a bit concerned about it, "We used to be even, but… he's this much stronger now, huh? I have some catching up to do if I want to rule this world someday."
Considering I was sitting nearby, he had much more than 'some catching up' to Goku to do. Unless he whipped out his Orange form right now, he would never even close the gap between himself and Goku, much less with me.
As I watched, I was impressed as Goku kept up with Vegeta effortlessly and was even pushing the pace of the fight. Even without the Kaio-Ken, both of the men were pretty equal as they exchanged blows, each one landing a blow every once and a while. Bruises started to accumulate as Krillin finally got back with my popcorn, and they both got serious.
"Grah! I can't believe a low-class bastard like you is keeping up with me, the Prince of all Saiyans!" Vegeta roared, his power spiking upwards as his Ki flared up around him.
Considering he thought there were only three living Saiyans - four if you count Gohan - he really didn't need to say 'of all Saiyans' every time. But, I didn't interrupt as Goku's Kaio-Ken flared up around him, and the fight continued.
From there, it went about how I expected it to. They exchanged blows, Vegeta powered up to his maximum power level of eighteen thousand, and Goku used Kaio-Ken to stay in control of the fight. Eventually, the all-fabled 'Kamehameha vs Gallick Gun' beam struggle happened, in which Goku didn't even need Kaio-Ken x4 to overpower Vegeta, instead increasing to Kaio-Ken x3 and launching him up into the atmosphere.
Then, Vegeta transformed into his Ozaru form using the artificial moon, and started beating the shit out of Goku. I was concerned for a minute that Goku might actually die, as even with Kaio-Ken x4 he was getting his ass kicked, and there was no Yajirobe to come in clutch. The fat man never even showed up - likely because he was too terrified to with me around - and the other Z-Fighters knew I didn't want them to interfere.
Luckily, just as I was about to step in and cut off Vegeta's tail with an excuse to 'keep it entertaining,' Piccolo stepped forward. He cut off Vegeta's tail with a Ki-beam from behind, then turned to me with a far too serious face as Vegeta returned back to normal.
"If you're going to kill me, then do it," He said simply, not backing down as he defended his actions, "I did that knowing the consequences."
It was, admittedly, a pretty badass moment, as the other Z-Fighters were staring at Piccolo in awe for throwing away his own life to save Goku's, but I just smirked at him.
"Just watch the fight," I waved him off, silently glad he cut off Vegeta's tail, even if I wouldn't show it. He would get his punishment for going against my words soon anyway.
That was where the fight deviated a bit - Goku wasn't as damaged from Ozaru-Vegeta, as Piccolo had stepped in much quicker than Yajirobe did, and he was still in good shape as he used Kaio-Ken x4. He dominated the fight, and even with his body being covered in blood and bruises, and more than a few of his bones being broken, he came victorious.
"I-I… I can't believe it…" Vegeta stuttered, his eyes wide as he lay flat on his stomach, his body betraying him as he couldn't move anymore, "I seriously… I lost to a… low-class bastard?!"
"It was a good fight, Vegeta," Goku, ever the nice guy, grinned down at Vegeta, panting as he was hunched over from the intense fight, "But… now it's time for you to keep up your end of the deal!"
Goku grinned, turning to look at me, and I simply nodded. I raised my hand, casually flicking the Senzu Bean over to him as I stood from my seat.
"There's your bean back. But, you should eat it yourself," I hummed, my lips curling into a cruel smirk, "After all, none of your friends will need it anymore."
The situation had spiraled out of my expectations a bit, but it had actually ended up in a better position than I could've hoped for. I had assumed that Piccolo, Tien, and Chiaotzu would die before Goku arrived, but Goku was stronger and thus got here faster, while the other three were also stronger and could hold their own against Nappa as a result.
In the end, they still needed to die. If they didn't train with King Kai, then their growth would be stunted greatly, and I'd have to change my strategy entirely - perhaps leaving a Zarbon behind instead to train them. But, I wouldn't do that. I had an opportunity sitting in front of me on a silver platter, and I was going to take it.
"What do you…" Goku started, but he inhaled sharply, his eyes going wide with horror as I vanished - disappearing in the blink of an eye, and appearing directly behind Krillin.
My finger pressed into the back of his bald head, glowing lightly, and I almost felt bad for what I was about to do. He had done such a good job in getting me popcorn, after all.
"Unless I'm mistaken, dead men can't eat."
But, as a Ki-beam shot from my finger through Krillin's head, pierced his brain, and killed him instantly, I couldn't bring myself to feel bad.
It was pretty tasty popcorn, but not tasty enough to miss turning Goku into a Super Saiyan.
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AN: Thank you for reading! The next chapter will be posted in a few days!
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