Zarbon and Dodoria turned pale, dropped to their knees, and started bowing their heads to the ground in a hurry.
The underlings who had come with them to Namek scrambled to kneel as well.
They had watched every second of the battle that just took place.
Lord Frieza had been completely demolished.
So this... this is what a Super Saiyan really looks like?
Of course, what Zarbon, Dodoria, and the rest didn't know was that Goku's transformation wasn't the legendary Super Saiyan they'd heard of in stories — it was just a regular Super Saiyan.
An ordinary Super Saiyan 3.
No big deal.
"Didn't I tell you?" Goku said sternly, facing Zarbon and Dodoria. "Don't come to Namek."
"We did tell Lord Frieza — I mean, we did tell Frieza," Zarbon said quickly, choosing his words with great care. "He just wouldn't listen! And there's nothing we can do against him."
"That's right, that's right! Both Zarbon and I told him multiple times!" Dodoria chimed in immediately.
"Alright, I believe you," Goku nodded. He took them at their word and turned his gaze to the underlings lined up behind them.
Those underlings were shaking in their boots.
One of the more faint-hearted among them couldn't take the pressure. The moment Goku's eyes landed on him, the sheer weight of that gaze shattered his courage — and he spat up a mouthful of blood and keeled over, dead on the spot.
Goku: "..."
Goku blinked, and scratched his head awkwardly.
"If you're sick, you shouldn't have come out," Goku said, genuinely at a loss.
Zarbon: "..."
Dodoria: "..."
He wasn't sick. You scared him to death.
Your presence is terrifying.
You're scarier than Lord Frieza.
"I hope you'll all think twice before doing anything bad from here on out. Got that?" Goku said again, his tone firm.
Zarbon and the others nodded furiously, terrified that a slow response might earn them a smack.
"One more thing — when Frieza wakes up, tell him: stay away from Earth." Goku issued his final warning. His expression cooled. "This is his last chance. Next time, I won't be holding back."
"Yes! Yes, yes, yes!" Zarbon and Dodoria felt a small, private wave of relief.
If this Super Saiyan is saying that, it means he's willing to let us go.
Whoosh!
With his message delivered, Goku immediately used Instant Transmission and appeared beside Piccolo.
Piccolo: "..."
Piccolo looked Goku up and down, feeling like he was staring at a complete stranger.
In that moment, Piccolo felt an impulse — to fuse with Kami.
If I don't fuse with Kami, I'll never catch up to Goku.
"Come on, Piccolo, let's head back," Goku said, holding out his hand.
Piccolo broke into a cold sweat, deeply uneasy, and made no move to take the offered hand.
A brief silence.
"So," Piccolo said, with a flat look on his face, "you brought me all the way to Namek just to have me watch?"
"Ha ha, well... I didn't know Frieza would get this strong!" Goku rubbed the back of his head. "It's strange — Frieza shouldn't have been able to get this powerful at this stage."
Piccolo: "..."
I feel like you're somehow complimenting yourself.
You just said how shockingly strong Frieza had gotten — and then you went ahead and beat him easily. If that's not bragging, I don't know what is.
"I originally brought Piccolo and Krillin here to get some proper training in on Namek," Goku mused, pressing a finger to his chin in thought. "I didn't expect things to go like this. Frieza being this strong is beyond anything I anticipated." He thought for a moment. "Let's head back and ask Old Kai about it — maybe he knows what's going on."
Piccolo had nothing more to say. Honestly, the sheer amazement he felt left little room for words. He placed his hand on Goku's shoulder.
Whoosh!
Goku activated Instant Transmission, and in a single instant, carried Piccolo back to the Sacred World of the Kai.
"Dad!" Gohan launched himself at Goku the moment he appeared.
Goku laughed, and easily hoisted Gohan up onto his shoulders.
"Goku! You were incredible!" Krillin greeted him with a grin.
"I can't believe how strong you've gotten," Yamcha said with admiration.
"That last transformation of yours, Goku — with the long hair — that was so cool!" Chiaotzu heaped on the praise.
"You beat the Emperor of the Universe — does that make you number one in the cosmos now?" Tien asked with a smile.
"Goku, thank you so much — it's you who saved Namek!" Grand Elder Guru expressed his deep, heartfelt gratitude.
All the Namekians present bowed in unison toward Goku.
Grand Elder Guru had already foreseen it — without Goku, every last Namekian could have faced death this day. The Namekian race itself might well have been pushed to the brink of extinction.
Goku had pulled them back from the edge of the abyss.
"Don't mention it," Goku laughed warmly, then looked around at all the Namekians gathered there.
"As you can see, Namek can no longer be called home," Grand Elder Guru said with a sigh. "Even if we went back, there would always be those who would set their sights on it."
"Grand Elder is right. Even if Goku-san destroys Frieza, what's left of the Frieza Force is still out there, and they could come after Namek again," Moori agreed with a nod.
"You're both right — that's true," Goku said.
"So, I would like to summon Porunga, and ask him to find us a suitable new planet to live on. We can't impose on the two Supreme Kais forever," Grand Elder Guru said with a gentle smile. "Besides, the Namekian Dragon Balls came with us... what I'm really asking is — is there anything on your side that you'd like to wish for? Namek's dragon can grant three wishes, and we only need one."
"Well... we should be able to find a suitable planet without going through Porunga, shouldn't we?" Goku said, scratching his head.
Truthfully, Goku was still a little haunted by what had happened with the Shadow Dragons.
The image of negative energy accumulating from overuse of the Dragon Balls — a memory from his time in the GT timeline — surfaced in his mind again.
Though Old Kai had said that no matter how many times the Dragon Balls in this timeline were used, Shadow Dragons could never appear.
But Goku still didn't feel comfortable using the Dragon Balls lightly just to make wishes happen.
Besides, finding a new planet for the Namekians was something Goku knew perfectly well how to handle.
After all, he had been to New Namek several times.
SMACK!
Right in the middle of the conversation, Old Kai smacked Supreme Kai on the back of the head again.
Supreme Kai, completely dazed, rubbed his head and looked at Old Kai with a pitiful, wounded expression.
"Old one, why did you hit me again?" Supreme Kai looked like he was about to cry.
"You fool — why are you just standing there daydreaming? You're the Supreme Kai! Finding a habitable planet and relocating the homeless — isn't that your job?" Old Kai scolded him sharply.
Supreme Kai: "..."
Supreme Kai pointed to his own nose, spread his hands wide, and just stood there — dumbfounded.
Is... is that actually my job?
To be continued…
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