Half a day passed in the blink of an eye.
Inside Frieza's spaceship, the mood was tense.
Because the battle power detectors had all been destroyed, Frieza's forces could no longer accurately pinpoint the locations of the Namekians on Planet Namek.
As a result, Frieza could only wait for news from his subordinates.
Five Dragon Balls were already in his possession.
If things had gone as planned, the last two should have been found within the next few hours.
But to his utter disbelief, a damned Namekian had seized an opening and destroyed every single detector when they least expected it.
Worse yet, there were no spare detectors on this mission, and the non-combat personnel aboard the ship weren't equipped with any.
As for the reconnaissance teams sent out earlier—some were killed, others vanished completely. It was clear none of them had survived.
This incident taught Frieza a painful lesson: he must never allow himself to be so careless again.
"How much time has passed?" Frieza asked inside the cockpit's lounge, his expression dark.
The octopus-headed attendant trembled as he answered, "Lord Frieza, it has been over six hours since your return."
"Six hours, hm? We agreed on three." Frieza narrowed his eyes.
"Dodoria and Zarbon are likely in grave danger. With the Namekians' strength, it would be difficult for them to kill those two…"
A malicious grin curled across his lips.
"Heh heh… Vegeta, oh Vegeta. Only you could have eliminated Dodoria and Zarbon, couldn't you? Perhaps the last two Dragon Balls are already in your hands."
Frieza guided his hovering pod to the edge of the cabin and stared out through the observation window.
When he first arrived, Planet Namek had seemed interesting—no night cycle, constant daylight.
But now, that novelty had long worn off; he found himself resenting this planet more by the minute.
"Since things have come to this, I'll wait for you to come to me. And even if you don't… you can't escape Planet Namek." His voice chilled.
"In five days, the Ginyu Force will arrive. With their newest model detectors, you won't escape this king's grasp."
His sinister expression twisted into a cunning smile.
A low, eerie laugh followed, sending chills through the already-frightened attendant.
The poor creature felt his head throb, as if one wrong word could lead to instant death.
Meanwhile, on the other side of Planet Namek…
After rescuing Dende, Krillin and Gohan had brought him back to their hiding place and hadn't dared to leave again.
Having only barely escaped Dodoria's pursuit, neither of them was willing to risk stepping into danger again, even after several hours had passed.
Simply put, they had already shown incredible courage.
Originally, they only wanted to observe the Frieza Force's movements.
But those people attacked at the slightest provocation—and didn't even spare children.
Gohan couldn't stand it and jumped in. Krillin had no choice but to follow.
Thankfully, Planet Namek had no nighttime cycle, which boosted the effectiveness of Krillin's Solar Flare and allowed them to escape without severe injuries.
Thinking back, it was almost unbelievable.
Even without Vegeta stepping in to kill Dodoria, they still managed to survive.
Gohan couldn't tell if it was fate—meaning Dodoria was never destined to kill them—or if some unknown force was correcting the timeline.
Either way, they were terrified. The power gap had been overwhelming. Dodoria's sheer strength alone was enough to suffocate them.
Their original plan was to stay hidden until Goku arrived on Namek.
But moments ago, Dende had received a telepathic message from the Grand Elder and spoken with him briefly.
According to the Grand Elder, Dende was to bring Krillin and Gohan to meet him.
"If you two go, what about me?" Bulma demanded, panic in her voice. "You're not leaving me here alone again, right?"
Namek was unfamiliar, primitive, and full of dangers.
Even with her portable dome house and various high-tech Earth gadgets, being alone was terrifying.
Krillin hesitated. "Actually, staying here is safer for you. This place is hidden, and your ki is extremely faint. Even if the Frieza Force can sense ki, they won't detect you, Bulma."
The reassurance helped… but loneliness was another matter entirely.
"So you are leaving me behind. I knew it. I'm just a tool—useful one moment, discarded the next." Bulma's eyes filled with tears, leaving Krillin and Gohan awkwardly speechless.
"How about we bring Aunt Bulma with us?" Gohan suggested.
"Dende said the surviving Namekians are gathering in one place. Maybe it'll be safer there."
He looked at Krillin for confirmation.
After everything, Krillin had become someone Gohan deeply trusted—calm, mature, and capable of thinking things through.
"That works too." Krillin nodded.
"If things go south, we can use the spaceship, take all the Namekians and the two Dragon Balls, and leave Planet Namek entirely. That way, neither Frieza's plan nor Vegeta's will succeed."
Dende added, "Then let's not waste time. Even flying from here will take a while."
Walking was far too slow.
Without detectors, they no longer had to worry about being sensed, so flying was possible—though they still planned to keep their ki suppressed.
Bulma suddenly crossed her arms smugly.
"Did you forget? A spaceship isn't just for leaving the planet. I can pilot it to take us there. Way faster than you three flying."
The realization struck them instantly.
"Right, we can do that!" Krillin slapped his forehead. "Then we'll leave it to you, Bulma."
Earlier, they had focused so much on hiding the spaceship that they completely forgot to use it for travel.
"Hmph! See? My genius saves the day again. Bringing me along is obviously more convenient." Bulma huffed proudly before rushing inside to pack her things.
Soon, everyone boarded the ship.
Under Bulma's control, the spaceship lifted off and soared across the green sky, heading—guided by Dende—toward the Grand Elder's location in the central region of Planet Namek.
...
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