"Not as easy as I hoped… I'm still far too weak."
Vegeta exhaled slowly, letting the restless ki inside him settle back into calm.
Moments earlier, he had pushed every last drop of power to the center of his back, exactly the way Cabba had once described.
At first, it felt like trying to force water through a sealed pipe nothing moved, nothing condensed.
With iron focus and finer control, he finally shattered that invisible barrier.
Only to discover the real problem.
The spot behind his spine wasn't a gate. It was a black hole.
No matter how much ki he poured in, it vanished without a ripple, like the void could never be filled.
After wasting an hour on the attempt, Vegeta finally accepted the hard truth: at his current level, Super Saiyan was impossible.
He needed raw, overwhelming power first. Only then could he flood that abyss and force the breakthrough.
He had no idea how much energy it would actually take, or whether filling it would even trigger the transformation. But the original timeline had never lied to him before he wasn't groping completely in the dark.
Enough brooding.
Vegeta turned and strode back toward the base.
Every soldier he passed snapped to attention, eyes wide with fear and respect. Absolute strength commanded absolute obedience.
From Zack the dinosaur-like medic who had overseen his recovery Vegeta learned that Quincy Yates's death was already common knowledge inside the base.
For now, the commanders had sealed the information and hadn't reported it up the chain to Frieza.
Vegeta didn't care if they did.
Even if the news reached Frieza tomorrow so what?
The tyrant had only just left for Namek. The promise of immortality was a drug far stronger than rage over one dead underling. Frieza wasn't turning that ship around for Quincy Yates.
In fact, immortality probably wasn't even his top wish anymore.
The lizard had admitted it himself later: all he really wanted was to grow five centimeters taller.
Vegeta snorted at the memory.
The original prince never cared about height. But John Max, currently trapped in a 164 cm body?
Pure suffering.
…
Back in the command section, Zack stood rigid in front of Vegeta, scales glistening with nervous sweat.
"I know exactly what you're doing," Vegeta said flatly. "You leak this information, hoping I'll clean house for you, remove your rivals, solidify your little power base, and then you pin the blame on me when the higher-ups come asking. Clever. Not bad for a lizard."
Zack's entire body shook. "N-no, Lord Vegeta! You misunderstand! I only wanted to keep you informed! Those others… they're disloyal! Who knows what kind of lies they'll spread behind your back?"
Even he didn't believe his own words.
Vegeta gave a short, mocking laugh. "You're full of schemes, Zack. But never mistake me for an idiot. I'll give you one chance to make this worth my time. So tell me why should I help a schemer like you? A few gossip scraps aren't payment."
Zack swallowed hard, throat clicking.
He was ambitious, yes. The only reason he'd dared approach the prince today was because he'd been on the medical team that healed him he thought that bought him a sliver of goodwill.
"Then… what does Lord Vegeta want from me?"
Vegeta's eyes narrowed, sharp as blades.
"Prove you're useful."