Outside the main gate of the Briefs' estate in West City, Earth.
Bulma's pretty face was currently cold.
She stood with her arms crossed, one foot tapping impatiently on the ground. Her beautiful large eyes were filled with displeasure, and she was constantly muttering under her breath, "Whitley, you bastard... you giant bastard! You go traveling to another planet and don't take me! Instead, you take Goku and Vegeta, those two idiots with nothing but muscles in their heads! Who exactly is your official girlfriend?!"
The thought that she had specifically cleared her schedule, waiting with full expectation for Whitley to ask her out, only to be met with Whis's "friendly disclosure"—that he had secretly run off Earth with Goku and the others—made Bulma's teeth itch with anger ever since she found out.
She irritably raised her hand to look at her watch and sighed. An indescribable confusion and a touch of anxiety welled up in her heart.
"Why is it so much trouble just to go on a trip with my own boyfriend? He'd rather take those two gluttons who only know how to fight all day than me, a youthful and beautiful young lady... Could it be..."
A terrible thought suddenly entered her mind, making her shiver.
She subconsciously looked down at her still-impressive figure and fashionable attire.
"Could it be that Whitley... has lost interest in women? And now prefers to hang out with those muscle men?"
The thought sent a chill down her spine.
But she immediately shook her head vigorously, a blush appearing on her face as she decisively dismissed the absurd idea.
"No, impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
She remembered the past few nights, the way Whitley had been so energetic and engrossed with her. That passion didn't seem like an act.
Pah! Just two smelly men, and they think they can steal her husband? Not a chance!
Swoosh!
A rainbow-colored streak of light appeared out of thin air on the empty ground in front of her. After the light dissipated, Whis's elegant figure was revealed.
"Oh my~ Good afternoon, Bulma-san~"
Whis wore his usual gentle smile and gave Bulma a slight nod in greeting.
Bulma breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Whis and began to complain, "You're too slow, Whis."
Whis looked apologetic and held out his palm with a smile. "My, my, I came as fast as I could, Bulma-san. I have arrived as promised. Now then, Bulma-san~ payment is required first~"
Bulma was very straightforward. She immediately took out a special capsule with a food pattern on it from her small bag and placed it briskly in Whis's hand, explaining, "This capsule contains all kinds of delicacies meticulously prepared by ten of Earth's top chefs, personally selected by me. It covers Eastern and Western cuisine, desserts, and snacks, enough for you to eat for a month without repetition. How about it, are you satisfied?"
Whis took the capsule and felt it in his hand, a look of extreme satisfaction on his face. "Ohohoho~ I naturally trust your taste and judgment, Bulma-san, so there's no need to inspect the goods. However..."
His tone shifted, and he looked at Bulma with a slightly mischievous glint in his eyes. "I seem to recall that you promised me two such capsules before, Bulma-san? Why is there... only one now?"
Bulma sighed helplessly and spread her hands in explanation. "I'll make up for the other one when we get back to Earth! Seriously, Whis, do you really think finding top chefs and having them develop new dishes is that simple? Many ingredients need time to be cultivated and transported! Alright, alright, you'll get it when we get back. Let's just go first!"
Whis looked at Bulma's roguish behavior but didn't press the issue, letting out his signature light chuckle. "Ohohoho~ Very well. Then the deal is made. Please hold onto my shoulder, Bulma-san, we're departing now."
Bulma immediately stepped forward and gripped Whis's back tightly.
SWOOSH—!
The next moment, the rainbow-colored streak of light shot up into the sky again, instantly breaking through Earth's atmosphere and disappearing into the vast depths of space at an unimaginable speed, heading straight for Planet Namek.
...
On Planet Namek, it was already approaching noon.
The yellow-green sky added a touch of tragic grandeur to this traumatized land.
Whitley yawned, looking somewhat bored at the center of the field.
Goku and Vegeta were once again tangled in a "clanging" fight. The aura from their power-ups and the fierce sounds of their clashes were the only background noise.
"Those guys, Cooler and King Cold... aren't they a bit too slow?" Whitley thought with a sense of ennui. "According to my senses, it'll be at least several more hours before they reach the vicinity of Namek. Am I just supposed to sit here and watch these two chickens peck at each other for the next few hours?"
He was even starting to consider whether he should join in for a "one-on-two guidance battle" or something, just to pass the long and boring waiting time.
Just as he was pondering how to find some fun for himself, a familiar rainbow-colored streak of light shot through Namek's atmosphere like a comet, heading precisely towards his location.
"Hmm? Whis is back?"
Whitley glanced at it but didn't pay it much mind.
But soon, his powerful perception detected something was amiss.
"Wait... this ki... why does it seem like there's another person? The ki is very weak, but it seems familiar... Could it be that Beerus woke up and came to join the fun?"
Curiously, Whitley raised his head, his gaze following the approaching streak of light.
The light abruptly decelerated not far in front of him and then silently dissipated.
Whis's figure appeared first, still wearing his serene smile.
But the person standing next to him made Whitley's eyes widen in an instant, his jaw nearly hitting the floor!
"B-Bulma?!!"
Whitley cried out in shock, jolting up from his chair. "What are you doing here?!"
This was completely beyond his expectations!
Although Bulma did come to Namek in the original story, the plot of the current Dragon Ball world had long been completely altered by the flapping of his "butterfly" wings!
Frieza's early arrival, the Ginyu Force's premature annihilation, Vegeta and Goku becoming Super Saiyans ahead of schedule...
It had never even crossed his mind that Bulma would appear on this dangerous, final battlefield!
When Bulma saw Whitley, the slightly reserved expression she had maintained vanished, replaced by a deep sense of grievance and dissatisfaction.
Without a word, she rushed forward, threw herself into Whitley's arms, wrapped her hands tightly around his waist, and buried her face deep in his chest.
Whitley staggered from the impact and instinctively held her.
Bulma nuzzled in Whitley's arms for a good while, fully enjoying the long-awaited embrace and sense of security, before she finally lifted her head with a huff and lightly punched his chest. "Why can't I be here?! You bastard! You clearly promised to go on an interstellar trip with me for our honeymoon! And what happens? You secretly run off to a place like Namek without telling me! You only remembered to call Goku and Vegeta, those two idiots! In your heart, am I less important than those two?!"
Whitley looked at his pouting girlfriend, at a loss for whether to laugh or cry.
He reached out his hands and habitually pinched Bulma's soft cheeks, gently pulling them to the sides. "What are you on about now? My little fool! Look at the situation here! Namek is about to become a battlefield. Frieza and his old man and brother are about to come kill everyone! This isn't the time to pick for a vacation! It's too dangerous!"
"Mmph... let go!" Bulma whimpered, breaking free from his hands, but then she hugged him tightly again, her head pressed against his chest as she said in a muffled voice, "I don't care about all that! Aren't you here? Would you let me get hurt? You're a candidate God of Destruction! Can't you even protect your own girlfriend?"
Hearing Bulma's words, filled with absolute trust and a hint of coquettishness, Whitley's heart instantly softened.
Right, when it comes down to it... I was in the wrong.
He was always running around the universe, training, fighting, and dealing with all sorts of messes. The time he actually spent with her was very little.
After returning to Earth together last time, he had stayed home for less than a week before taking Goku to King Kai's place. When he came back, Vegeta had joined the group, and he had left her alone at home to deal with a mountain of company affairs...
Thinking of this, the little bit of blame he felt towards her instantly vanished, replaced by a deep sense of apology.
He sighed, gently stroking Bulma's short blue hair, his tone softening. "Alright, alright, you're here now... But you have to promise me, you absolutely cannot act on your own! You absolutely cannot run off without a word! Especially when the fighting starts later, you must not leave my side, understand?"
He looked at the fearless "tigress" in his arms and couldn't help but nag and remind her over and over, afraid of even the slightest mishap.
After speaking, he turned his head uneasily to Whis, who had resumed his leisurely tea time. "Whis, remember to keep an eye over here later. You don't want to miss out on Earth's delicacies in the future, do you?"
Whis took a light sip of tea and looked at the rarely seen worried expression on Whitley's face, assuring him with a smile, "Rest assured, Whitley-san. If worse comes to worst, I can always rewind time. As long as it's not more than three minutes, everything can be undone."
Whitley quickly waved his hands. "It won't come to that! It's not so serious that we need to use a time rewind!"
He just hoped Whis would pay a little more attention.
Listening to Whitley's nagging, which was full of care and concern, Bulma's heart felt as sweet as honey.
She held Whitley's hand tightly, a familiar, radiant smile finally appearing on her face.
Back on Earth, she had been overwhelmed with work related to the interstellar shipping. Now that she could finally cast aside that work for a while and have an exciting "extraterrestrial honeymoon adventure" with Whitley, she was very much looking forward to it.
Her gaze swept over Goku and Vegeta, who were still fighting fiercely nearby, and then to Whis, who had sat down again to elegantly sip his tea. She silently added a thought, "Although this honeymoon trip... seems to have a few too many third wheels, and the environment is a bit terrible."
...
Time trickled by in waiting, and the sky of Namek gradually darkened.
Suddenly, Whitley, who was speaking in a low voice with Bulma, shot his head up, his gaze sharp as he looked into the depths of the sky.
"They're here," he said softly.
Bulma followed his gaze but only saw a yellowish sky. "Hmm? What's here?"
"Frieza, and the backup he called, Cooler and King Cold," Whitley explained. "Their ships just entered the periphery of Namek and have now rendezvoused with Frieza's main fleet. In a few minutes at most, they will enter the atmosphere."
He turned his head, about to remind Goku and Vegeta to prepare for battle, only to find it was completely unnecessary.
The two who had been fighting fiercely in the field had stopped at some point. Both were looking up at the sky, their eyes burning with distinctly different yet equally fiery battle intent—Goku's pure excitement for a fight and Vegeta's long-suppressed hatred and desire for destruction.
Their powerful senses had obviously also caught the three undisguised, powerful, and evil auras that were rapidly approaching!
"They're here!" Goku also let out a low shout, his expression becoming serious and focused.
Vegeta said nothing, just snorted coldly, his aura flaring up again as he stared deadly at the sky.
WHOOOM—!!!
The massive roar of a mothership's engine descended from high above like rolling thunder!
Following that, a fleet of colossal, UFO-like warships brutally tore through Namek's atmosphere, beginning their slow descent with a suffocating sense of oppression!
Surrounding them were dense formations of battle pods and landing craft, like a plague of locusts.
Their numbers were so great that they nearly blotted out the entire sky! The shadow they cast instantly enveloped a large area, as if doomsday was descending.
The entire sky was occupied by the fleet of Frieza's family!
...
Just as Frieza's army was landing, at the mountain peak where the Grand Elder of Namek resided.
Nail looked at the fleet that covered the horizon with a grave expression, his heart feeling as if it were being squeezed by an invisible hand.
Such a massive military force was far more oppressive than what the Ginyu Force had brought! This was simply not something that could be resisted by manpower!
In his mind, even if that Lord Whitley possessed unfathomable power, in the face of such a large-scale cosmic fleet, he would probably...
A deep sense of despair involuntarily spread from the bottom of Nail's heart.
"Nail."
The Grand Elder's old and slightly weak voice came from the room.
Nail immediately collected himself, walked quickly into the room, and bowed respectfully. "Grand Elder, what are your orders?"
The Grand Elder raised a finger with difficulty and pointed to a corner of the room—
There lay seven orange-yellow Dragon Balls, shimmering with a gentle luster, the ones Nail had brought back from the various villages when he left Whitley's group earlier.
"Go... take the Dragon Balls to that Lord Whitley..." The Grand Elder's voice was intermittent, but it carried an unquestionable decisiveness. "They... should need the Dragon Balls' help..."
Nail was stunned and quickly said, "But, Grand Elder! If I leave, there will be no one to guard you! It's so dangerous outside right now..."
The Grand Elder slowly waved his hand, his cloudy eyes shining with wisdom. "It's alright... Go. An old man like me at the end of his life... is nothing to worry about... The people living on Namek... they are the future of this planet..."
After saying these few words, he seemed to have exhausted his strength. He closed his eyes again and fell into a deep sleep, his aura becoming even weaker.
Nail looked at the sleeping Grand Elder, then at the Dragon Balls in the corner, a flicker of struggle on his face.
But in the end, he still bowed deeply to the Grand Elder. "Yes! As you command!"
He no longer hesitated. He carefully wrapped the seven large Dragon Balls in a cloth and tied it securely to his body.
He took one last look at the peacefully sleeping Grand Elder, his eyes gradually becoming determined.
His figure flashed, turning into a rapid streak of light as he flew quickly towards Whitley and the others.
He had to deliver the Dragon Balls as soon as possible! This was perhaps Namek's only hope!
But... if Whitley found out about this, he would probably just feel speechless.
Dragon Balls? For him... are they really necessary?
...
Under the yellow-green sky, the massive joint fleet hovered in mid-air.
The bridge of a huge spaceship was rapidly opening. Frieza, riding his hover-pod, slowly appeared at the forefront, flanked by a host of elite soldiers.
Beside him, to his left and right, stood his father, King Cold, and his brother, Cooler!
King Cold was taller and more imposing, a wicked smile on his face and an air of a superior being about him.
Cooler, on the other hand, was more lean and fierce, a cynical yet cold and cruel smile on his face. The deep blue gem on his forehead showed a subtle difference between him and Frieza.
"OHOHOHOHO!!! Good afternoon, everyone! And... you foolish Saiyans! Your time of death has come!"
Frieza let out a joyous and rampant laugh, his voice broadcast in all directions through a loudspeaker. "Surrender the Dragon Balls obediently now, and I, the great Lord Frieza, may be merciful enough to allow you to serve under me and spare your lives!!!"
He paused, staring at Vegeta and slowly speaking, "Including you, Vegeta. Welcome back to the Frieza Force."
Vegeta couldn't be bothered to respond to him, but Frieza's confidence was now soaring!
The arrival of his father and brother gave him infinite backing!
So what if a Super Saiyan had really appeared below? With the three of them joining forces, who in the universe could stand against them?
Cooler and King Cold stood on either side of Frieza, both wearing relaxed and mocking smiles as they looked down on Whitley's group, who were like ants below.
Cooler made no secret of the disdain in his eyes and said in a low voice to King Cold, "Father, it seems we really made this trip for nothing. The so-called Super Saiyan seems to be just a rumor Frieza used to scare himself. To think he would panic so much over a few Saiyan remnants that he can't even control his own territory. He's truly... a disgrace to our Frost Demon clan."
King Cold did not speak, only nodding slightly.
His eyes were deep, his thoughts unknown.
Below, Vegeta let out a cold snort upon hearing Frieza's arrogant words. "Hmph! Frieza! You think calling two weaklings for backup can defeat me, Super Vegeta?!"
He wasted no time on words. His aura exploded, and his entire body shot up like a cannonball, heading straight for Frieza's trio!
"DON'T YOU DARE! LOOK! DOWN! ON! ME!!!"
Vegeta's voice was filled with savage killing intent! "OPEN YOUR EYES AND SEE CLEARLY! THE NIGHTMARE YOUR FROST DEMON CLAN FEARS MOST—THE SUPER SAIYAN! NOW STANDS BEFORE YOU!!"
"HAAAAAAAA!!!!!!"
Along with a heaven-shattering roar, the Saiyan blood in Vegeta's body completely boiled!
A dazzling golden aura shot into the sky. His hair instantly turned a brilliant gold and stood on end, his turquoise eyes burning with a cold rage!
Super Saiyan—Vegeta, officially revealed himself before Frieza, Cooler, and King Cold!
His powerful aura swept out like a storm, causing a stir among the minions behind Frieza. Even the disdainful smiles on Cooler and King Cold's faces faded slightly, revealing a hint of surprise.
"Hey! Vegeta! You're trying to hog them all to yourself!" Goku shouted in dissatisfaction from below. He had no intention of missing a chance to fight strong opponents.
He immediately powered up and flew to Vegeta's side, standing shoulder to shoulder with him, directly facing the three Frost Demons.
However, unlike Vegeta, Goku did not transform, remaining in his normal state with black hair and black eyes.
He curiously sized up the three opposite him, his gaze finally landing on the short figure in the hover-pod in the middle, and asked bluntly, "Hey, which one of you three is Frieza?"
Although Frieza was a little surprised by Vegeta's transformation, he still maintained his composure, confident with his strong backup.
He smiled elegantly and replied, "Ohohoho, I am Frieza. How may I help you? Could it be that you've seen the might of the Frieza Force and wish to defect to my side? Very well, I see you have some skill. How about a mid-level officer position? Saiyan~~~"
Goku scratched his head, looking bewildered. "A mid-level officer? Oh! No need to treat me to a meal."
He shook his head very seriously, then pointed at Frieza, his tone simple yet firm. "I'm here to defeat you. Get ready, Frieza!"
The moment his voice fell, Goku's figure blurred and he shot towards Frieza!
His fist was clenched, a smile of excitement at meeting a strong opponent on his face, ready to enjoy the thrill of battle first.
Vegeta was greatly alarmed. He hadn't expected this guy Kakarot to be so dishonorable as to strike first!
"Kakarot! You despicable villain!"
Vegeta cursed loudly and immediately powered up, his golden aura expanding again!
He moved second but arrived first, launching a fierce assault on Frieza. "Frieza is mine!!"
The two of them launched a pincer attack on Frieza from two different directions almost simultaneously! For a moment, fists and feet intertwined, and energy flared!
Although Frieza was powerful, facing two highly skilled Saiyans at the same time, he was caught off guard and could only parry and dodge using his speed and energy.
Cooler and King Cold watched from the side, not immediately intervening.
Cooler even had a smile on his face again, as if watching a good show.
"Heh, let them play for a while. It won't be too late for Father and me to step in when Frieza is about to be overwhelmed," Cooler said with his arms crossed, his tone relaxed. King Cold tacitly agreed.
Below, Whitley had his arm around Bulma. He and Whis had somehow procured another set of tables, chairs, and tea and snacks, fully in a spectator mode.
Whitley would even make a comment from time to time. "Hmm, Goku's angle there is tricky... Vegeta is too impatient, too many openings... Frieza's dodge was not bad..."
Although Bulma was a little nervous, after leaning against Whitley and feeling his steady presence, she slowly relaxed and even began to curiously watch the battle in the sky.
Whis, on the other hand, was elegantly sipping his tea and eating the Earth snacks Bulma had brought, a look of pure enjoyment on his face.
For a moment, the scene was incredibly bizarre and... harmonious?
But this "harmony" did not last long.
A green streak of light was rapidly approaching from the distance. Within it was Nail, rushing over with the Dragon Balls!
Cooler and King Cold, who had just been watching the show, suddenly focused their gazes, sharply looking towards the rapidly approaching Nail, and the alluring glow of the Dragon Balls he held!
Their target—the Dragon Balls—had appeared!
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