"Finally here!"
Standing by the porthole, Rhode stared at the rapidly enlarging blue planet. Even from space, Earth's beauty stirred a wave of excitement in his heart.
"Is this the Earth you mentioned?" Aira asked as she looked out beside him. She tilted her head, nodding slightly. "This planet isn't big… but it's beautiful."
"It's not just beautiful," Rhode replied, unable to hide the excitement in his voice. "This is the center of the entire universe."
"The center? But isn't Earth on the edge of the North Galaxy? That should be pretty remote."
Aira only knew Earth's position on a map. She couldn't possibly understand what "center of the universe" meant in Rhode's eyes.
"The food here is amazing. I'll take you to try it later."
Thinking of Saiyan cuisine… then the meals he'd endured over the past few months… and then Earth's food—Rhode felt a sudden urge to cry tears of joy.
After leaving Laina Star, he had swapped ships repeatedly on several advanced planets, making sure to erase all traces before flying straight toward Earth. Along the way, he collected a large amount of advanced technology. Now that they had arrived, he could finally put his plans into motion.
The spaceship slipped through the atmosphere in a blaze of red friction and descended into a barren landscape. After landing and stabilizing, the hatch opened, and the two stepped out onto Earth's soil.
Rhode took a deep breath, savoring Earth's air. Under the low gravity—barely a tenth of Planet Vegeta's—his body felt impossibly light.
"Beep, beep, beep…"
While Rhode was appreciating the environment, Aira immediately activated the Scouter she had reacquired on a mid-level planet. She scanned the entire Earth for lifeforms.
"Combat power five."
"Combat power three."
"Combat power two."
"Combat power one."
"Combat power five…"
More data streamed in. Aira's eyebrows twitched.
"The natives on this planet are unbelievably weak!" she exclaimed. "Rhode, are you sure there's anything here that can make us stronger?"
"Don't worry," Rhode said confidently. "I'm certain."
"Oh?" Aira's tone suddenly changed. "There's a native in the south with combat power over one hundred."
"Beep, beep, beep."
More data gathered, and she found several more above the hundred mark. "There are a few others above a hundred, but… they're still extremely weak. Not even a fraction of our strength."
"Hm?"
Aira suddenly snapped her gaze skyward. "There's a native in the sky over there—combat power 1030. The strongest on this planet!"
"1030, huh?"
Rhode immediately knew who she meant. That should be Mr. Popo from the Lookout.
Unlike Aira, who relied on her Scouter, Rhode expanded his senses the moment he stepped out of the spaceship. He detected all the stronger auras on Earth, easily matching them to Aira's readings.
What surprised him—though it made sense after thinking it through—was that he didn't sense Kakarot anywhere on Earth.
Frieza's order for all Saiyans to return… depending on how far different squads were from Planet Vegeta, the return time should take at least half a year, maybe more for distant teams. Considering that, he understood why Kakarot wasn't here yet.
It seems Planet Vegeta still has some time before Frieza destroys it…
With that thought in mind, Rhode returned to the spaceship to retrieve the technology he'd collected. But when he came back out, he found Aira glaring at him with a dark expression.
"What's wrong?" he asked, confused.
"Rhode… you've gotten weaker again."
Aira stared at the Scouter in her hand. The display showed a reading of five.
Her face twisted with disbelief.
Along the journey, she had repeatedly noticed Rhode's bizarre trend—his combat power kept dropping. On Laina Star it had been 300… and she distinctly remembered that a month ago, it was still 100.
Yet now, after another month…
Her voice trembled with frustration.
"You've dropped even lower?!"
Over several months, Aira had learned a simple truth: the lower the combat power Rhode displayed, the stronger he actually was. His ability to suppress his aura reflected just how much control he had gained—and how terrifying the power he could unleash truly was.
She had secretly tried to do the same, attempting to force down her own outward combat power, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't suppress it to the extreme degree Rhode managed. At best, she had brought her displayed power down to around 1500.
"There has been some improvement," Rhode admitted with an easy smile, completely unfazed by Aira's displeasure.
In truth, after months of trial and error, he had finally worked out a rudimentary cultivation method a month earlier, which was precisely why he could now suppress his combat power to five. Once he grasped the basics, the progress came rapidly. Every day, he felt himself growing stronger, sharper, steadier.
Not long ago, his real combat power had been around 2500. Now, based on his own assessment, he was confident the actual number had surpassed 3000.
"Hmph!" Aira snorted, though anticipation flickered in her eyes. "Then let's go find the people who can make us stronger!"
"Exactly," Rhode replied. Becoming stronger was the whole reason they had come to Earth.
This world was crawling with gods and monsters—divine beings from the higher universes, and villains capable of destroying planets, lives, even timelines without a second thought. And above all of them stood that supreme existence who could erase entire universes with a casual gesture.
In a world like this, Rhode felt no sense of safety. So he intended to rise—higher, further, beyond anything. He wanted strength that crushed all threats, strength that left him unchallenged, unrivaled, untouchable.
"Follow me," he said.
Rhode shot into the sky, locking onto the largest cluster of life signatures. With his direction confirmed, he sped straight toward West City. He had already planned everything during the journey and prepared extensively for what was to come. His first destination was clear: West City, where he needed to find Dr. Brief.
With both of them possessing real combat power above 2500, their full-speed flight brought them to the sky above the sprawling metropolis in no time.
"Rhode, are you sure we're in the right place?" Aira frowned, staring at her detector's readings. "Everyone here is a combat-power-five weakling!"
"Stop complaining and follow me," Rhode muttered, slightly irritated. Things had to proceed step by step—no one reached the peak in a single bound.
Scanning the ground below, Rhode soon spotted the iconic Capsule Corporation emblem. With a burst of aura, he descended directly onto the company grounds. After questioning a few employees about Dr. Brief's location, he flew toward the man's residence without delay.
A quarter of an hour later, Rhode and Aira stood before the famed scientist himself.
"Dr. Brief," Rhode said straightforwardly, "my name is Rhode, and I'd like to make a deal with you."