Inside the cramped confines of his spherical spaceship, Vegeta trembled, though not from fear. His grip tightened on the armrest as a surge of adrenaline coursed through him. "Super Saiyan! Could it be that the legend is true? That the golden warrior actually exists?"
To any other race, it was a ghost story, but to the Saiyan Prince, it was the pinnacle of his heritage. A warrior born once every thousand years—a literal god of combat. Most importantly, it was the one thing the tyrant Frieza truly feared. If the Super Saiyan was real, his days of servitude were over.
A arrogant smirk pulled at Vegeta's lips. "If there is a Super Saiyan, who else could it be but me? I am the elite, the Prince of all Saiyans! Surely it couldn't be that low-class trash Kakarot." He leaned closer to the screen, his dark eyes reflecting the flickering glow of the Myriad Worlds Video Network.
If this video revealed the secret to that power, he would surpass everyone. Frieza, the Ginyu Force, and even that shadowy figure Beerus—the one even Frieza spoke of with a trembling voice—would all bow before his royal bloodline.
Deep in the vacuum of space, Frieza sat within his hover pod, swirling a glass of fine wine. He was currently en route to Earth to regroup his forces, his mind usually occupied by thoughts of immortality. He had initially laughed at the previous video about the Great Ape transformation. To him, Saiyans were merely "stinky monkeys" who just got slightly larger and more annoying under a full moon.
However, the title of the new upload by Akira made his hand tighten until the delicate glass shattered, staining his pale skin with purple wine. "Super Saiyan..." he hissed.
The memory of his father, King Cold, echoed in his mind. His father had warned him of only two entities: Majin Buu and the God of Destruction, Beerus. But there was also that pesky family legend—the prophecy of a Saiyan warrior with power beyond comprehension.
It was the very reason he had felt a cold shiver when Beerus ordered him to destroy Planet Vegeta. He had used the order as an excuse to wipe out the entire race, ensuring the legend would die in the vacuum of space.
"Let us see if there is any merit to this," Frieza muttered, his eyes narrowing into cold slits. "If this video shows a future threat, I will simply find them and nip them in the bud. I don't care if the chance is only one percent; no Saiyan will ever stand above me."
Meanwhile, in a realm of purple skies and floating monolithic structures, the God of Destruction Beerus sat upright, distracted from the delicacies Whis had prepared. "Oh? A Super Saiyan? I wonder if that has anything to do with the Super Saiyan God I saw in my dreams."
Akira's video had caused a ripple through the multiverse, awakening the God of Destruction decades earlier than intended. Beerus poked at a piece of exotic fruit, his golden eyes sharp. He wasn't interested in mortal legends, but if this "Super Saiyan" led him to the rival he craved, he would pay close attention.
As the rest of the Myriad Worlds watched in confusion—warriors from the Grand Line to the soul-societies wondering what a "Saiyan" even was—the narrator's voice boomed across the dimensions, clear and authoritative.
"The Super Saiyan is the legendary warrior of the Saiyan race from Universe 7's Planet Vegeta. For eons, it was believed only one would appear every millennium. However, the truth is far more staggering: the Super Saiyan is not a person, but a transformation. Any Saiyan with sufficient power and the right trigger can ascend."
Frieza felt a cold sweat break across his brow. A transformation? If any Saiyan could achieve it, then his genocide had been a tactical necessity. He realized with a start that his decision to go to Earth was more vital than ever. Kakarot, the half-breed brat, Vegeta, and Nappa—they were all converging on that tiny blue planet. "I'll kill them all," Frieza whispered. "I'll turn that planet to ash before a single one of them turns golden."
Across the cosmic divide in Universe 6, the Saiyans of Planet Salad watched the screen with a mixture of jealousy and awe. Unlike their counterparts in Universe 7, they had evolved past their tails and lived as protectors, not conquerors.
On the bullet-comment section of the video, messages began to fly: "The legend of the Super Saiyan? Why haven't we Saiyans from Universe 6 ever heard of this?" Kale typed, her brow furrowed. "@Cabba, have you heard of this? Is our Ki different?" Cabba quickly replied, "I've never heard of it either! But the video says it's a Universe 7 legend. Maybe their biology is different because of their tails?"
The young warriors of Universe 6 felt a sting of frustration. They were the same race, yet Universe 7 seemed to have all the "flashy" secrets. They watched intently, wondering if the path to this golden power was something they could walk as well, or if they were forever destined to be in the shadow of their more chaotic counterparts.