Under the yellow-green sky of Planet Namek, the flames of war and chaos continued to spread.
The massive fleet, like a dark cloud suspended overhead, cast a suffocating shadow.
Countless landing craft and battle pods scattered like locusts. The sounds of energy blasts and soldiers' war cries rose and fell, shattering the planet's former tranquility in an instant.
Whitley, having just cleared out a large swath of minions, landed lightly on the ground with Bulma in his arms. He happened to see a green streak of light fly over at high speed and land with a "thud" not far away, kicking up a large cloud of dust.
The newcomer was Nail, who had gone and returned.
His face was anxious and a little weary, and his body still seemed to bear the marks of previous battles.
Whitley was a bit puzzled. He let go of Bulma and walked forward to ask, "Why are you back again? Didn't you go back to protect your Grand Elder? Is everything alright over there now?"
Nail didn't answer immediately. Instead, he quickly untied the bundle that was tightly strapped to his body and carefully placed it on the ground.
As the cloth was unfolded, it revealed the seven Namekian Dragon Balls that Whitley had used before!
"Lord Whitley!" Nail looked up with a solemn expression. "The Grand Elder sensed the situation here. He said you might need the power of the Dragon Balls and ordered me to deliver them to you as quickly as possible."
Whitley looked at the seven balls on the ground, at a loss for whether to laugh or cry.
Do I need this stuff? It seems... not really.
With his current power, it seemed impossible for any accidents to happen while quickly dealing with Frieza's family.
It would be better to let Nail and the others use them to revive their fallen people.
As he was thinking this and preparing to refuse, he suddenly noticed the fleeting sadness in Nail's eyes when he mentioned the Grand Elder.
"As for the Grand Elder, he..." Nail's voice trailed off, and he shook his head slightly without continuing. But his unfinished words and heavy expression said it all.
The Grand Elder had made a choice. Between his own life and the future of his people, he had chosen the latter without hesitation.
Seeing this, Whitley understood.
He put away his lazy expression and nodded with rare seriousness. "Alright, I understand. I'll take the Dragon Balls for now. Your Grand Elder... was a respectable elder. Don't worry, leave this to me."
His comfort wasn't particularly eloquent, but Nail could feel the heavy promise within it.
He bowed solemnly to Whitley and said in a heavy tone, "I'm entrusting everything to you, Lord Whitley!"
Just then, Dende, who had been hiding behind Whis, immediately ran over with a "patter-patter" sound upon seeing the familiar Nail.
He grabbed the corner of Nail's clothes, his small face full of dependence and worry.
The grim look on Nail's face instantly softened. He crouched down, patted Dende's small head, and comforted him in a low voice.
A smile appeared on Dende's tense little face, thanks to Nail's reassurance.
However, moments of warmth on the battlefield are always brief.
Cooler and King Cold in the sky noticed the Dragon Balls on the ground almost simultaneously!
In their eyes, that alluring glow was more brilliant than any treasure!
"The Dragon Balls!" A flash of greed crossed Cooler's eyes, and he ordered without hesitation, "All forces, listen up! Target—those glowing spheres! You must seize them for me!"
Although King Cold didn't speak immediately, the glint in his eyes also revealed his intentions.
In an instant, the joint forces, having received a clear command, became even more frenzied, as if injected with adrenaline!
Countless low-level commanders led their soldiers in a tide-like rush towards Whitley's position!
A dense barrage of energy blasts rained down like a storm, instantly covering the entire area!
"Waaah! Again?!"
Although Bulma had been excited watching the show earlier, she screamed in terror in the face of this indiscriminate saturation attack, subconsciously clinging tightly to Whitley's arm.
"Scared now, are you? What were you thinking earlier!" Whitley complained, but his actions were not slow at all.
He swept Bulma up by the waist, and his figure shot into the air in an instant!
"Eeeek—!" Bulma's sharp scream pierced the sky.
Feeling the wind whistling past her ears and the continuous explosions of energy blasts below, she was so scared that she squeezed her eyes shut and buried her face tightly in Whitley's chest.
Whitley held her and nimbly dodged and weaved through the air. He didn't even use his other hand, simply raising one palm casually.
Pew! Pew! Pew!
Countless tiny ki blasts shot from his hand. Each one, as if it had eyes of its own, accurately hit a flight pod or a cluster of soldiers.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions bloomed continuously in the sky. The ferocious cosmic soldiers screamed like mosquitoes being zapped by a bug zapper, falling from the sky in droves, black smoke trailing from their bodies.
"Regretting it yet?" Whitley looked down and couldn't help but tease the still-trembling Bulma in his arms. "I told you not to come on your own whim. Now you see how serious it is, right? If we were really going on a trip, how could I not bring you? Honestly..."
As he spoke, he looked down, thinking to see if Bulma was crying from fear, but he was met with a pair of large eyes shining with extreme excitement!
Bulma had opened her eyes at some point, her fear long since replaced by thrill and excitement!
After the initial adjustment, she was completely hyped!
"This is so exciting!!" she shouted, her arms wrapped around Whitley's neck, not scared at all, but yelling with excitement. "Left, left! Hubby, watch out! Wow! You hit it! So cool! Here comes another one from the right! Quick, shoot, shoot!"
Whitley: "..."
Well, so much for being worried.
How on earth is this tigress's nervous system wired? He shook his head helplessly.
But despite his inner monologue, his hands never stopped.
With a casual wave, an even thicker ki blast whistled out, directly blasting a large battle cruiser in the distance into pieces. The soldiers inside screamed as they fell like dumplings.
"Hahaha! You're so amazing, hubby!" Bulma was ecstatic, treating this like a real-life interstellar shooting game.
On the ground, Nail had pushed Dende back to Whis's side and looked at the attacking enemies with a resolute expression. "Dende, stay with Mr. Whis, don't run around!"
After speaking, he let out a low shout, instantly powered up, and shot into the sky, proactively engaging the minions who had been knocked down by Whitley but had survived and were reorganizing to charge for the Dragon Balls.
"The Dragon Balls are behind that Namekian! Let's get them!" a frog-faced squad leader roared, the greed for promotion and wealth driving them to ignore the power gap between them.
Nail's face was cold. As he fought with his fists and feet, countless green ki blasts shot out, repelling the minions one after another.
Although he couldn't handle top-tier experts like Frieza, cleaning up these small fry was more than manageable.
The battle fell into a temporary stalemate.
Whitley was having the time of his life "playing" in the air, with Bulma's cheers and commands ringing out endlessly;
Nail formed a defensive line on the ground, preventing the minions from getting close to the Dragon Balls and Dende;
And Whis... he was still sitting calmly in his chair, leisurely sipping his black tea, as if the surrounding explosions and war cries were just irrelevant background noise.
But soon, a new problem arose.
A squad, clearly more elite than the minions, suddenly broke through Whitley's casually constructed-firepower net and appeared before Nail.
They wore uniform armor, and their leader had golden hair similar to a Super Saiyan, his expression ferocious and cruel.
"It's Lord Cooler's Armored Squadron!" one of the minions recognized them and shouted in alarm.
The golden-haired leader—Captain Salza—sneered coldly, his gaze bypassing the struggling Nail and locking directly onto the pile of sparkling Dragon Balls behind him.
"Neiz, Dore!" Salza commanded. "One of you take care of this Namekian, the other clean up that annoying broom-head and the kid next to him. I'll get the Dragon Balls!"
Neiz and Dore, standing behind him, exchanged a look, their faces instantly darkening.
Of course, they had their own ideas about the Dragon Balls too!
But after a moment's hesitation, they didn't dare to defy their captain's orders and could only reply respectfully, "Yes, Captain Salza!"
The moment they finished speaking, they struck!
Neiz's figure flashed, charging directly towards the tea-drinking Whis and the trembling Dende. He simultaneously gathered a large energy ball in his hand, clearly intending to kill them in one blow.
Dore let out a roar, a powerful punch slamming towards Nail, who was dealing with other minions!
"Mr. Whis, watch out!" Nail sensed the danger and quickly warned Whis. He himself barely managed to raise his arm to block Dore's heavy punch, but the aftershock sent his ki into turmoil, and he was immediately at a disadvantage.
On the other side, Neiz's energy ball was already whistling towards Whis!
"N-no! Whis-san! Run!" Dende screamed in terror with his eyes shut, his stunned little face filled with despair.
He could already see the scene of himself and Whis being blown to smithereens.
However, faced with this sudden attack, Whis just let out his signature light chuckle. "Ohohoho~ Honestly, I'm just an innocent bystander~"
He didn't even glance up at the deadly energy ball, only pausing the hand that held his teacup slightly.
What happened next left Dende, who had peeked through his fingers, completely stunned.
Just a moment before the energy ball was about to hit Whis! That elite soldier named Neiz, and Captain Salza who was streaking towards the Dragon Balls, both of them vanished as if they had been erased from the world with a "swoosh," completely without warning!
No explosion, no sound, not even a ripple of energy was left behind.
The energy ball aimed at Whis also quietly annihilated in mid-air, as if it had never existed.
A light breeze gently lifted Whis's silver-white hair. He remained sitting elegantly in his chair, slowly sipping his black tea.
It was as if nothing had happened.
Dende's mouth hung open, his eyes wide as saucers, unable to utter a single word for a long time.
He looked at the empty space in front of him, then at the calm Whis, his brain completely shutting down.
"Rest assured," Whis finally put down his teacup and gave the dumbfounded Dende a gentle smile. "After all, I did promise Whitley-san and Bulma-san that I would protect you a little."
Dende swallowed hard and finally found his voice. He stammered, "S-so amazing, Whis-san! W-where did those two people... g-go just now?"
Whis picked up a small pastry, his tone as calm as if he were discussing the weather. "I just sent them to a nearby star to cool down a bit. After all... the temperature there is more suitable for... contemplating life?"
After speaking, he paid no more attention to the shocked Dende and continued to leisurely enjoy his afternoon tea.
Dore, who was fighting fiercely with Nail, also noticed the abnormality over here.
He had been beating Nail up, constantly taunting him, "Give it up, Namekian! See that? Our captain is already on his way to get the Dragon Balls! You'd better not resist and let me kill you obediently... huh?"
His words stopped abruptly!
Because he found that not only had Neiz disappeared, but Captain Salza had also vanished without a trace!
This bizarre scene made his hair stand on end. His attack faltered, and he looked at Whis with suspicion and fear.
Nail, already covered in wounds and panting, took advantage of his distraction to force him back a step, then followed his gaze.
He had expected to see the tragic sight of Whis and Dende being harmed and had shouted in despair, "Dende! Whis-san...?"
However, what met his eyes was Whis still leisurely drinking tea, while Dende was excitedly waving his little fists and cheering for him, "Go, Nail!"
Nail: "???"
He blinked in confusion, then looked at the bewildered and suspicious Dore opposite him and subconsciously asked, "You... were you just messing with me?"
Were all those words just made up to disrupt my focus?
Dore: "..."
Mess with your head?! My teammates and my captain are gone! I'm panicking right now!
High above, King Cold and Cooler, who had been watching the battle, naturally witnessed this bizarre scene as well.
King Cold's brow furrowed, and he gave Cooler a suspicious glance. The look clearly said, 'You, Cooler. You talk about cooperation, but you secretly send your elites to snatch the Dragon Balls? Are you trying to take them all for yourself?'
Cooler's expression was even uglier at this moment!
Not only was he annoyed that his father had caught his subordinates in the act, but he was also shocked and furious at the strange disappearance of Salza's team!
According to his scouter, besides Nail, who had a respectable battle power of over a hundred thousand, that little brat Dende had a battle power of less than ten, and that broom-head who was always sitting and drinking tea had a battle power reading of zero!
If he weren't still drinking tea, his scouter would have thought he was a corpse!
Against three targets with such "low" battle power, his most elite Armored Squadron had lost two members in a single encounter, and the captain was missing?
This was like rubbing his face in the dirt!
"A bunch of useless trash!" Cooler cursed under his breath, a flash of shame and anger in his eyes.
Feeling his father King Cold's increasingly suspicious and cold gaze, he knew he couldn't wait any longer.
While King Cold's attention was still drawn to the "two-on-one" battle on Frieza's side, a vicious light flashed in Cooler's eyes, and his figure dived down without warning, heading straight for the Dragon Balls on the ground!
King Cold, who had been keeping an eye on him, was shocked and his face instantly filled with anger. "Cooler! You dare!"
He also immediately powered up and chased after him at an even faster speed!
Seeing Cooler's hand about to touch the Dragon Balls, King Cold didn't hesitate to raise his hand and fire his own ultimate technique—the Supernova!
A thick purple energy beam shot straight at Cooler's back!
"Hmm?!"
Feeling the terrifying energy coming from behind, Cooler had to give up on the Dragon Balls and spun around, crossing his arms to block.
BOOM!!
A violent explosion erupted in the sky. Cooler was sent flying back a hundred meters by the sudden attack before he stabilized himself, and small cracks appeared on the skin of his arms.
He slowly lowered his arms, his eyes gloomy as he looked at the approaching King Cold. His facade was instantly torn away, leaving only a cold killing intent. "Heh! What is the meaning of this, Father?! To think you would sneak-attack your own son from behind?"
King Cold hovered in mid-air, blocking the path between him and the Dragon Balls.
The anger on his face quickly subsided, returning to a seemingly amiable but false smile. "Cooler, my good son, don't misunderstand. Father was just worried about you. A magical treasure that can grant any wish is dangerous for you. You are still too young, you can't handle it, and you could easily lose yourself. It's better to let your father keep it for you for now."
He spoke with righteous grandeur, his tone as if he was thinking only of his son's well-being.
"Keep it for me?" Cooler laughed as if he had heard the world's greatest joke, a cold sneer escaping his lips. "Hehehe... Father, do you take me for an idiot like Frieza? Would you ever spit out meat that's already in your mouth?"
King Cold's smile faded slightly, his eyes becoming sharp. "Cooler, watch your tone."
"My tone?!" The ferocity on Cooler's face grew. "I think it is you, Father, who has grown senile, still thinking you can control us like when we were children! These Dragon Balls, I will have them today!"
Before his words finished, Cooler's aura exploded!
He wasted no more words and lunged directly at King Cold! His first move was a killing blow!
King Cold's face darkened, and he no longer pretended, roaring in anger, "You insolent son!"
He also instantly powered up and met the attack head-on!
The father and son of the Frost Demon clan instantly turned against each other over the temptation of the Dragon Balls, starting a fierce civil war in the skies of Planet Namek!
The roar of their energy clashes began to echo across the sky!
On the other side, Frieza, who was being "toyed with" by the combined forces of Goku and Vegeta and was struggling to defend himself, saw that his father and brother were not only not helping him but had started fighting each other over the Dragon Balls. He was so angry he almost spat out a mouthful of blood!
"Those two idiots!!!" Frieza roared inwardly, a great sense of humiliation and anxiety welling up in his heart.
If this continued, forget about his wish to grow taller; he probably wouldn't even get a glimpse of the Dragon Balls and would be worn down to death by these two Saiyans!
He looked at Goku and Vegeta, whose attacks were growing fiercer, especially Vegeta, who had already become a Super Saiyan with unfathomable battle power. He finally made up his mind.
"You two despicable wild monkeys!"
Frieza suddenly retreated a great distance, temporarily disengaging from the battle, his expression incomparably ferocious due to extreme anger!
"You don't really think I, the great Lord Frieza, am no match for you, do you?! Ohohoho... now! I will show you my true, one hundred percent power!!!"
Along with his crazed and shrill laughter, Frieza's body, which was already in its final form, underwent another subtle change!
An even larger purple aura shot into the sky. The muscles all over his body swelled like a balloon, veins popping, and his physique seemed to have grown a size larger, exuding an even more terrifying and tyrannical aura than before!
"OHOHOHOHO!!! THIS IS MY ONE HUNDRED PERCENT STATE! MY BATTLE POWER IS NOW A WHOPPING ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY MILLION!!! JUST TWO SAIYANS, DO YOU REALLY THINK YOU CAN WIN?!!! ARE YOU READY TO DIE IN DESPAIR?! OHOHOHOHO!!!"
The powerful aura formed a shockwave that spread outwards, even causing Cooler and King Cold, who were fighting in the distance, to subconsciously glance over.
It was the first time Goku had heard someone mention the term "battle power." He couldn't help but look at Vegeta curiously. "Hey, Vegeta, what's battle power? Is one hundred and twenty million a lot?"
Hearing this, Vegeta let out a disdainful sneer, not even bothering to answer this idiot Kakarot who had stolen his kill.
His turquoise eyes stared deadly at the powered-up Frieza, and he said arrogantly, "Hmph! You dare to be arrogant in front of the great Vegeta with a mere one hundred and twenty million battle power? Listen up, Frieza! My current battle power is a whopping two hundred million!!! HAH!!!!!"
To prove his words, Vegeta's golden aura surged again, its light becoming even more brilliant. The powerful energy fluctuations even distorted the clouds in the sky!
With a great roar, he once again charged at the 100% power Frieza. The golden and purple auras clashed violently again, and the battle instantly reached a fever pitch!
"T-two hundred million?!" Frieza's arrogant laughter stopped abruptly as he felt Vegeta's power, which was just as real, not at all inferior, and even slightly overpowering his own.
For the first time, a look of disbelief and a hint of panic appeared on his face! How is this possible!!! How could this guy have gotten so strong?!
Goku scratched his head. Seeing Vegeta and Frieza fighting so intensely, he felt like he couldn't get a word in edgewise again.
He looked around boredly and was soon attracted to the even more "lively" battlefield on the other side—
Cooler and King Cold were fighting inextricably, energy blasts flying everywhere. It looked even more interesting than Frieza's side!
"Oh? It looks more fun over there!"
Goku's eyes lit up, and he instantly forgot about Frieza.
His figure flashed, and he excitedly flew towards Cooler and King Cold's battle. "Hey! You two look really strong. Fight me too!"
And so, a comical scene unfolded.
Goku's entry did not stop Cooler and King Cold's fight. Instead, it made the father-son civil war even more chaotic and bizarre.
At first, Cooler and King Cold tried to team up to take out this interfering Saiyan, but they were wary of each other, afraid of being stabbed in the back.
As the fight went on, it often turned into King Cold trying to "help" Goku fight Cooler, or Cooler trying to "help" Goku fight King Cold. Both sides wanted to use a borrowed knife to kill, to eliminate their own father/son first!
Goku was left dizzy and frustrated by their "enthusiastic" "help."
He just wanted a good fight with a strong opponent! What was wrong with these two? Did they even want to fight properly anymore?
...
The tens of thousands of minions in the sky had been mostly cleared out by Whitley.
Basically, he would just wave his hand, and a huge ki blast would sweep through a large area like a broom.
After a dozen or so sweeps, the once dark sky had become much clearer, with only a few scattered remnants who were lucky or had hidden well.
"Tsk, tsk, King Yemma is probably going to be working overtime until he pukes blood over there," Whitley said, landing slowly with Bulma in his arms and looking at the now much "cleaner" sky.
Bulma hadn't seen the specific details, only that her husband looked incredibly cool, wiping out enemies with a wave of his hand.
Her initial excitement was slowly fading, and she was starting to think about her honeymoon trip with Whitley again.
She hugged Whitley's arm and said coquettishly in a low voice, "Hubby~ carry me and let's go for a walk~ Look up there, Goku and Vegeta can handle it, and Whis is here too, it's very safe!"
Whitley glanced at the battle in the sky and hesitated for a moment, thinking that there really wasn't much need for him to step in.
So he rubbed Bulma's hair and nodded, saying dotingly, "Alright, we're just standing around anyway. Let's go down and say hi to Whis, and while we're at it, let's ask Nail if he wants us to take Dende somewhere else. It's still not very safe here, after all."
Bulma was delighted that Whitley had agreed. She stood on her tiptoes and planted a "smack" of a kiss on Whitley's cheek, saying in a sweet, girly voice, "Thanks, hubby~ You're the best, hubby~"
Whitley shivered all over from her deliberately high-pitched voice and quickly waved his hands. "No, no, no! Just talk in your normal voice. That high pitch is giving me goosebumps, I can't handle it!"
Bulma's face changed instantly, her eyebrows shooting up in anger.
She viciously pinched the soft flesh at Whitley's waist and said irritably, "Hmph! You stupid man! I show you a little affection and you get all high and mighty!"
"Hiss—Ouch!"
Whitley actually laughed after being pinched. "Hey, that's it, that's it! That's the stuff! I still like your feisty side. That's the real you."
The two bickered as they landed next to Whis.
Whitley casually fired a ki blast to help the cornered Nail finish off his opponent, then naturally picked up the somewhat cooled cup of black tea on the table and took a sip.
Watching the "fatherly and filial" chaotic battle in the sky, an interested expression appeared on Whitley's face.
Bulma was already curiously asking Whis, pointing at the sky, "Whis, Whis! What's wrong with those two? Aren't they on the same side? Why are they fighting each other? And they're being so vicious!"
Whis was watching with great interest. Hearing Bulma's question, he immediately covered his mouth and let out his "ohohoho" chuckle.
He whispered to Bulma as if sharing some interesting gossip, "Oh my~ Bulma-san, this is something you wouldn't understand~ As they say, 'treasure moves the heart'~"
He explained leisurely, "These two obviously don't think the other is worthy of possessing the Dragon Balls. They both think they are the rightful owner, so... they're just settling the ownership issue internally first~ As for the helpful Goku-san, well, he's probably... a catalyst?"
Bulma's eyes lit up instantly!
This kind of wealthy family feud, father-son betrayal drama was her favorite!
She also became excited, pulled out a bag of sunflower seeds from somewhere, handed a handful to Whitley, and started cracking them herself, commentating as she ate. "Wow! King Cold's move is vicious! He actually used a ki blast while Goku was attacking! Cooler isn't bad either, he actually poked King Cold's eye while he was blocking Goku's attack! Oh my, Goku got kicked in the butt!"
Whitley listened to Whis's explanation and Bulma's live commentary, then looked at the ridiculous battle scene in the sky and couldn't help but laugh, adding his own commentary. "This is so 'filial' I could die. A real family-friendly brawl, isn't it?"
Well, it seems we won't be leaving for a while.
This family ethics martial arts drama is much more interesting than sightseeing on an alien planet.
Whitley was also straightforward. He pulled Bulma into his arms and also began to watch the great show with rapt attention.
The couple, plus an angel, began to leisurely watch the internal strife of the Frost Demon family in the sky, occasionally making comments.
Of course, they had completely forgotten about their earlier plan to send Dende away...
Nail, who was being healed by Dende, looked at the three great figures sitting in a row, eating snacks and watching the show.
Then he looked at the father-son battlefield in the sky, where they were fighting to the death. His head was filled with huge question marks.
These people... they're really strange!
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