Namek—bathed in the mild light of several gentle suns.
No bustling cities, no roaring civilization. Only endless green plains and scattered lakes.
The Namekians needed no food, living only on water and sunlight. Peaceful by nature, free of conflict, their simple society was quiet as a forgotten paradise.
But that peace—lasting countless ages—was shattered today.
Screams and explosions replaced serenity. Black smoke rose from villages in the distance.
The wails and smoke scarred the beautiful emerald planet.
And the root of it all was the rumored wish-granting miracle—
the Dragon Balls.
"Hey! Brat!"
Recoome—huge, muscular, wearing a Frieza Force battle suit and sporting a ridiculous hairstyle—loomed over a young Namekian.
"Got any orange-yellow balls with stars in 'em? If you do, hand 'em over to Great Recoome! If I kill you and still don't get a Dragon Ball, Captain Ginyu will chew me out!"
The child trembled, tears pooling in frightened eyes.
"I… I don't have any… I don't know…"
"Oh, you don't."
Recoome tilted his head as if he completely believed that.
Then without warning, he raised a hand and fired an energy blast.
The tiny figure was swallowed by the explosion.
Recoome scratched his odd hair, looking puzzled in an almost innocent way.
"Why haven't we found a single Dragon Ball after hitting so many villages? Did Burter or Jeice get to them first? Man, what a headache…"
He tapped his scouter. Another energy signature blinked.
"Next one's that way!"
He launched into the sky, continuing his "collection."
Elsewhere on the planet—
"Hey, Guldo! That side still has life readings in a village!"
Jeice called down to the squat, pudgy Guldo.
"Lord Frieza's arriving soon! No slacking! Get moving and collect Dragon Balls!"
Jeice shot off like a red comet toward another target.
Guldo clicked his tongue but, cowed by Jeice's pressure, flew toward the village.
The Ginyu Force rampaged across Namek like rabid hounds.
They weren't just hunting to obey orders.
They wanted to gather all seven first—before Frieza arrived—and claim the glory for themselves.
And that meant massacring and interrogating Namekians without mercy.
On high rocky ground, fierce combat raged.
Nail—the strongest warrior-type Namekian—was locked in a brutal fight with Burter, the so-called fastest in the universe.
They clashed at high speed in midair, each impact booming like thunder.
Ki blasts screamed between them, gouging the earth into craters.
Nail fought with everything he had. His attacks were sharp and relentless, and for a moment he even pressured Burter.
Below, behind a giant boulder, the young Dende peeked out anxiously, hands clenched at his chest as he prayed for Nail.
"Hmph. You've got some skill, Namekian."
Burter steadied himself in the air, wiping blood from his lip, eyes sharpening.
"But this ends now! Witness the true speed of the universe's fastest! Blue Hurricane!"
Burter's body blurred.
In an instant, afterimages exploded across the sky.
"What?!"
Nail's pupils shrank. He couldn't see Burter's movements at all now.
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!
Blows rained from every direction.
Nail barely had time to react, forced to rely on instinct to endure.
His wounds multiplied. Green blood spilled from his mouth.
Seeing this, Dende's heart clenched.
He cried out without thinking.
That cry gave him away.
Burter's motion paused for a hair's breadth. His red eyes snapped to the boulder.
"There's another brat hiding there?! Hah! Then you're useless now! I'll just get Dragon Ball info from the kid! Die—Comet Strike Flash Fist!"
Burter vanished.
The next moment he appeared right in front of Nail, fist glowing with savage ki, too fast for Nail to track.
If that punch landed, Nail was finished.
Nail's eyes widened. With no time to dodge, he crossed his arms before his chest and unleashed all his remaining power to block.
BOOOOM—!!!
The impact detonated.
Nail felt bones crack in his arms. His ki barrier shredded like paper.
He was blasted away like a meteor had smashed him head-on, green blood spraying from his mouth.
"Ahh! Nail!!"
Dende dashed out from behind the rock, short legs pumping as he ran toward where Nail fell.
Nail slammed into the ground and rolled several times before stopping.
Pain wrecked his body. His ki faded fast.
"Nail! Nail, are you okay?!"
Dende knelt beside him, face trembling with fear.
Still, he pressed his hands to Nail's mangled chest.
"Hold on! I'll heal you!"
A gentle white glow bloomed from Dende's palms, warm life-energy flowing into Nail. Pain eased. Wounds began to close.
"Dende… thank you…"
Hope barely rose—
Then shadow swallowed them.
"Oh? The kid… has rapid healing?"
A cold, mocking voice sounded overhead.
"Interesting. You're my prisoner now, Great Burter says so! You'll serve the Ginyu Force from now on!"
Nail snapped his head up, fury flaring.
He forced himself upright, pulling Dende behind him.
He couldn't let them take Dende.
With a roar, he charged Burter to fight to the death.
He'd adapted to that speed—
Just a little more—
His thoughts were ripped away by a sudden agony.
"Gah—!!"
Nail froze, eyes wide, looking down.
His abdomen had been pierced clean through.
A massive hole gushed green blood—his life spilling out.
A purple-skinned fist withdrew from his body.
"Hey, Burter. You're too slow."
A proud, commanding voice followed.
Captain Ginyu—purple skin, twin horns, battle suit—stood there casually wiping blood from his handkerchief.
"Lord Frieza arrives in under an hour. How many Dragon Balls have you collected?"
"C-Captain Ginyu…"
Burter gulped, shrinking back.
"Sorry, Captain. This Namekian was tougher than expected… I only managed to find one Dragon Ball."
Ginyu clicked his tongue and looked at Nail collapsing.
Nail hit the ground. His vision dulled, the sky fading gray.
Strength drained from him. Death's cold touch crept in.
Am I… going to die…?
He stared at the orange-tinged sky as consciousness drifted.
He remembered—over a year ago—a stranger called Vitri had come to Namek.
Powerful, but unexpectedly gentle and respectful.
They had sparred. Vitri had nearly killed him by accident—then healed him instantly with a strange bean.
If… if that lord were here…
A spark flickered in his dying mind.
If he were here… Namek… my people… would be safe…
Vitri had promised him:
"If Namek ever faces an enemy you cannot resist, call out loudly… I will be notified."
Call out… what?
Right—that name.
In a last burst of strength, Nail dragged in breath and screamed to the sky with the final power of his life:
"WHI—S!!!"
The light in his eyes went out. His arm fell limp.
Ginyu stared at the corpse with a raised brow and theatrical ridicule.
"Shouting some nonsense before dying? You really think calling a name brings salvation? How laughable—"
He stopped.
Because a young man's amused voice spoke behind him out of nowhere.
"Oh? And how do you know no one can save him?"
Ginyu reflexively answered without thinking:
"Because Captain Ginyu is here! Who would dare—"
Halfway through, realization slammed into him.
He whipped around.
Four figures stood silently on the open ground behind him.
At the front: a black-haired young man in a black battle suit, wearing a lazy smile.
Beside him: another black-haired youth with clear, curious eyes.
Behind them: Vegeta—wanted by Frieza himself.
And last: a silver-haired man with a broom-like 'do, a staff in hand, smiling placidly.
The one who had spoken was the front black-haired youth.
"Vegeta! You dare show your face again?!"
Ginyu's heart lurched.
Vegeta had escaped Frieza once before—his power had risen so violently that scouters across the army had exploded.
Ginyu forced down shock and barked:
"Do you not know Namek is under Lord Frieza's total blockade?! Vegeta, you filthy monkey—bringing these idiots here to die?!"
Vegeta ignored him entirely.
Vitri glanced at Nail's body and waved casually at Goku and Vegeta.
"The Frieza Force trash is yours. Be quick. If you drag this out, Namekian casualties will be too high."
"Yes! Finally we get to move!"
Goku had been itching to fight. He bent his neck, eyes blazing at Ginyu.
Vegeta snorted, red eyes flashing with savage delight.
"Hmph. That piece of garbage is yours. The others—and Frieza—are mine! Don't you dare steal my prey!!!"
His aura exploded. He became a streak of light and shot toward the densest cluster of Frieza soldiers.
He needed slaughter to vent years of humiliation.
"Hey, Vegeta! I promised King Kai I'd kill Frieza!"
Goku yelled after him—but Vegeta was already gone.
Goku turned back to Ginyu.
"Guess I'll finish you fast, then!"
Ginyu's veins bulged under the utter disregard.
"Bastards! You two dare look down on Captain Ginyu?! You'll regret this!"
Vitri walked to Nail, crouched, checked his breath and pulse.
"Good. Not dead yet."
He looked toward a huge rock in the distance.
"Kid over there. Stop hiding. Can you heal him? If not, I will."
Dende peeked out, trembling. He looked at Nail, then at Vitri's calm face.
He swallowed his fear and ran forward, placing his hands over Nail's wound and pouring out healing energy.
Vitri rose, scanning the burning green world.
He glanced at Goku, who was fighting Ginyu with his usual playful restraint, more like enjoying a game than ending a war.
Vitri sighed.
"This is such a pain…"
A wickedly efficient thought surfaced.
"Should I just go toss a 'Destruction' at Frieza's location and clean house?"
Whis, as if reading his mind, tapped his staff lightly, smiling.
"Now, now Vitri-san. You should work a little harder best to resolve this within three minutes. By the way…"
He leaned in with a bright, eager grin.
"Can I contact Bulma-san now and pre-order the meal? Even I'm getting a bit hungry after flying so far."
"Yeah right."
Vitri muttered, abandoning the idea.
"Fine, fine… Whis, where're your snacks? Toss me something before I lose it."
Whis's face went solemn, as if deeply offended.
"Vitri-san, that's improper. Namek is suffering under calamity. Countless Namekians are in agony. How can you think about snacks now? It damages the dignity of a candidate God of Destruction!"
Vitri gave him a look of pure contempt.
"Then what are you doing?"
At some point, Whis had already conjured a refined tea table with chairs.
Steam curled from a teapot. Plates of Earth pastries sat beside it.
Whis sat elegantly, poured himself tea, and took a sip with a satisfied sigh.
Then he looked at Vitri, dead serious.
"Hohoho~ I'm merely a humble attendant, you see. I don't have to maintain the image of a great God of Destruction like Vitri-san. So enjoying a proper afternoon tea after strenuous travel is perfectly reasonable."
Vitri: "…"
His eye twitched.
And Nail—just pulled back from death—opened his eyes to this utterly surreal scene.
His mouth opened, but words failed him.
The powerful, gentle, respectful Lord Vitri from my memories… why is he…
He began to suspect his brain had been damaged.
Should he greet them? They were his planet's saviors.
But the absurdity was beyond comprehension.
Whis lifted his cup toward him, smiling warmly.
"Ah—you're awake, Namekian fellow. Care for some tea? Freshly brewed."
Whis's inner thought, however, was simple:
Better he drinks it than Vitri.
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