The two of them hid behind a tree, peeking out at the group, not daring to make a sound.
Four strange-looking people appeared in Bardock's line of sight. They wore matching uniforms and moved with a secretive, predatory air.
It was the Heeters!
"It's the Heeters!" Bardock hissed through gritted teeth. A flash of ruthlessness crossed his eyes as he clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white.
"Who are they? They don't look friendly," Monaito whispered, his body tensing as he watched the four strangers warily.
"They're the ones who scout out planets for Frieza to invade. They're the ones who found this planet in the first place," Bardock explained in a low, angry voice.
"What do they think other people's homes are? Just playthings they can trample on at will?" Monaito said, his tone full of resentment and condemnation.
"Hey, is someone over there? What are they saying?" Muesli leaned forward, her curiosity getting the better of her. She carefully poked her head out, trying to get a better look.
Monaito hurriedly gestured for her to be quiet, his long antennae twitching nervously for fear of being discovered.
Bardock also listened intently to the Heeters' conversation, holding his breath and straining to catch every word.
From their dialogue, he learned that the Heeters were planning to betray Frieza, strike out on their own, and seize the resources of this planet for themselves.
It was a complex web of conspiracy, one thing leading to another in a way that made his skin crawl.
These people were despicable and shameless, willing to do anything for profit.
However, just then, the young Granolah, who had just woken up, stumbled out of the room. Rubbing his sleepy eyes, he suddenly spotted the tail behind Bardock.
That furry tail was unmistakable in the moonlight.
"A Saiyan!" Granolah cried out. It wasn't a loud shout, but in the silence of the night, it was startlingly clear.
That single cry immediately alerted the four Heeters. They stopped talking and turned warily toward the source of the sound.
Monaito acted on the spot. He waved his hands through the air, and a soft green light enveloped Granolah, instantly putting him back into a deep sleep.
"You little brat! Why'd you have to yell so loud!" Bardock muttered, his voice full of frustration. He felt like slapping the kid.
"Someone's over there! Behind the trees!" one of the Heeters shouted, pointing toward their hiding spot.
Led by Elec, the four of them approached Bardock and the others, fanning out in a semicircle to surround them, their eyes filled with cold scrutiny.
In the shadows of the night, Bardock reached out toward Muesli and Monaito, who was holding the child, making it look as though he were about to attack them.
Seeing this, Elec and the others paused, looks of confusion crossing their faces.
"A Namekian and two Cerealians," Elec said, looking at Bardock with a playful smirk. "And who are you? One of Frieza's men?"
"Just some stragglers I found. I was just about to finish them off when you showed up," Bardock said flatly, his voice calm as he tried to hide his inner tension.
"Is that so? If you're with the Frieza Force, then get on with it. Don't waste our time," Elec said with a chuckle, a hint of calculation gleaming in his eyes.
Bardock didn't move. He was stalling for time, his mind racing for a way to get them out of this.
"What's the matter? Why are you hesitating? Don't tell me you're planning to let them go?" Elec asked with a mockingly sweet smile.
"I just remembered... that Namekian used a strange power earlier. It might be better to investigate him before we kill him. He might be useful to Lord Frieza," Bardock said, trying to make his lie sound as natural as possible.
Bang!
Elec didn't bother with pleasantries. He suddenly pulled out a gun and pulled the trigger without hesitation. The bullet whistled through the air and struck Muesli right through the heart.
Muesli spat out a mouthful of blood. Her body swayed before she collapsed to the ground, her eyes wide and her life force rapidly fading. She stole one last look at the child in her arms, her eyes full of a mother's lingering love.
"I see. Then keep the Namekian and deal with the brat quickly. Don't let them hold us up," Elec sneered, his voice devoid of any pity.
Bardock exploded in a fit of rage. He couldn't hold back any longer. With a graceful spin, a titanic surge of energy erupted from his body. He fired a massive blast of energy that roared toward Elec and the others like a fiery dragon.
Flash!
Gas, one of the Heeters, immediately stepped forward. He spread his hands and projected a golden barrier, firmly blocking the incoming blast as ripples spread across the shield's surface.
By the time the smoke cleared, Bardock and the others had already retreated, vanishing into the night and leaving only the scorched earth behind.
The group hid in a gully surrounded by thick trees, providing some cover.
Monaito's hands glowed with a green healing light as he desperately tried to save Muesli.
However, Monaito's healing skills were mediocre at best. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't bring her back. The green light flickered over her body, but it couldn't stop her life from slipping away.
Muesli finally drew her last breath.
"I'm sorry... my healing isn't enough to save her! I'm too weak!" Monaito hung his head, his voice thick with self-reproach and sorrow, his long antennae drooping lifelessly.
"Damn it! What was I thinking?" Bardock muttered, frustratedly rubbing his forehead. His face was a mask of regret.
I must have had a lapse in judgment. Why did I even try to save them?
Now I've picked a fight with the Heeters, and I've only made things worse.
"What do you plan to do now? They won't just let us go," Monaito asked, clutching the unconscious Granolah as he looked at Bardock with worry.
"They'll never let this go. We have to get out of here as quickly as possible and find a safe place to hide," Bardock said, warily scanning the surroundings for any sign of the Heeters.
...
Present Day
Hearing Monaito's story, Granolah felt his head spinning. He clutched his head in pain and asked in a raspy voice, "How can this be? Elec was the one who killed my mother... and I never even knew!"
Goku and the two Vegetas remained silent.
"If you knew all along, why didn't you stop me from working for the Heeters! Why did you keep it from me!" Granolah lunged forward and grabbed Monaito by the collar, lifting him up. His eyes were blood-red with rage, his voice full of accusation.
"I hope you can understand... that was the only way we could survive. Under the Heeters' watchful eyes, we had no power to resist," Monaito answered. He didn't struggle, his eyes full of helplessness and guilt.
"Granolah, stop it! Let him finish!" Goku hurriedly stepped in to pull them apart, prying Granolah's hands away.
"I knew nothing... and I've been slaving away for them for decades like a fool. I'm such an idiot!" Granolah fell to his knees, his hands braced against the ground. His shoulders shook violently as he wept, his voice full of despair and self-loathing.
"And then what? Did he win?" Ultra Ego Vegeta asked, looking at Monaito with a hint of anticipation.
Everyone was caught off guard. They hadn't expected him to ask that so suddenly.
"Did Bardock win? Did he defeat that guy named Gas?" Ultra Ego Vegeta asked again.
"He won. That's why we're still alive," Monaito nodded, a small, relieved smile touching his lips.
"Wow, he was really something," Goku mused.
"As far as I know, Bardock was just a low-class warrior. His power level couldn't have been that high," the other Vegeta added in a low voice. "I guess that Gas guy must have been pretty weak if he couldn't even beat a low-class warrior."
"No, Gas was strong. His power level was far beyond an ordinary Frieza Force soldier," Monaito said solemnly, shaking his head. "However..."
Just as he said that, the sky suddenly turned pitch black, as if a massive dark cloth had been draped over the world. The light around them faded rapidly.
"What's going on? Why did it turn dark? It was fine just a second ago," Ultra Ego Vegeta said, looking up at the sky with a deep frown, his mind full of questions.
"This... it feels just like when Shenron appears. That pressure... and the way the sky changes," Goku muttered, recalling the scenes of summoning the Dragon. His expression turned grave.
"Could it be... the Dragon Balls? Has someone summoned the Dragon?" Monaito suddenly had a bad feeling, his face turning pale.
Granolah's expression shifted rapidly as a wave of intense unease washed over him.
In less than a minute, the sky returned to its normal brightness, and sunlight once again bathed the earth, but the air felt different.
In the next heartbeat, Goku and the two Vegetas all sensed a massive power level appearing. It swept toward them like a tidal wave, making it hard to breathe.
This power level was extraordinary—so strong it was almost unimaginable, far beyond any enemy they had encountered before.
Vegeta, in particular, was so shocked that he couldn't help but cry out, "Is that Kakarot coming?"
Goku: "????"
Goku looked completely lost, pointing at himself with a confused expression.
"He's heading right this way! And he's fast!" Goku said solemnly, his expression turning serious as his muscles tensed.
"What is it? Is something coming?" Monaito asked, looking around in bewilderment.
"This... this feeling is..." Granolah's sense of dread only intensified, and his body began to tremble.
Flash!
A moment later, on top of a high hill, the space distorted slightly, and two figures slowly appeared. They stood at the peak, looking down at everyone with cold superiority.
It was Macki and Oil of the Heeters, wearing eerie smiles on their faces.
"Hi there! Everyone's here, what a coincidence," Macki said with a wave and a smile. Her tone was light, but her eyes were cold as ice.
"It's you!" Goku growled, pointing at Macki and Oil. "We know everything you've done! What are you still doing here?"
"The preparations are complete. We're just here to sweep you all away so you don't get in our way," Macki giggled.
"It's not Kakarot... this power level is even stronger than his. Who exactly is it?" Vegeta muttered, his frown deepening as his wariness grew.
Ultra Ego Vegeta glanced at his other self but said nothing, though his expression was equally grave.
"Granolah, you've really worked hard all this time, doing so much for us," Macki said with a smirk, her tone laced with mockery.
"You brought the Saiyans here just to kill me, didn't you? You planned the whole thing!" Granolah roared, standing up as a surge of energy erupted from his body.
"Well, you did cheat your way into being the strongest in the universe, didn't you? We couldn't just let you be the only one to have your wish granted. That wouldn't be fair," Macki said with a calculating smile.
"Wish? what wish? What are you talking about?" Goku blinked, scratching his head as he looked at Granolah in confusion.
"And now, please welcome the true strongest warrior in the universe—Mr. Gas!" Macki said with a smile, gesturing grandly behind her.
Oil followed suit with a triumphant grin.
"What? Another 'strongest in the universe'? How many 'strongest in the universe' can there be in one day?" Ultra Ego Vegeta's mouth twitched, feeling utterly speechless.
Gas slowly walked up the hill from below. Each step felt like it was crushing their hearts, and the overwhelming pressure grew more intense with his appearance.
Gas was tall, with a cold gaze and an aura that seemed to look down on everything in existence.
"It's Gas!" Granolah's pupils shrank as he stared at Gas, his eyes full of fear and rage. "How... how did you get this strong?"
"I knew it. They used the Dragon Balls! They must have made a wish to the Dragon to make Gas the strongest in the universe!" Monaito said in a low voice, his face turning even paler.
"What? There are Dragon Balls on this planet too? How did I not know about this?" Ultra Ego Vegeta gasped, looking at Monaito in shock.
Goku's eyes also went wide. He hadn't expected there to be Dragon Balls on this planet either.
"I also became the strongest in the universe through the Dragon Balls. I made a wish to the Dragon to become the number one in the universe," Granolah said in a low voice, explaining the source of his power with a hint of helplessness.
Vegeta: "..."
Vegeta was truly speechless, rolling his eyes in exasperation.
No wonder a mere Cerealian could become so powerful!
He used the Dragon Balls to cheat his way to the top!
"That's just playing dirty," Vegeta muttered.
He had actually thought the man had reached this level through his own hard work and training. What a total letdown.
"How could the power of the Dragon Balls possibly make you the strongest in the universe? That shouldn't be possible," Vegeta said, his brow furrowed in disbelief. "As far as I know, the Dragon can only draw out your latent potential at most. It can't possibly make you surpass your own natural limits."
Vegeta said this because he was thinking of Piccolo.
Piccolo had used the Dragon to trigger his latent potential, which had allowed him to reach his Orange form.
But that was power Piccolo already possessed deep inside; it had just been brought to the surface.
In contrast, Granolah—and this guy named Gas—shouldn't have been capable of possessing this much raw energy.
Moreover, at this very moment, Vegeta could feel that Gas's energy intensity was almost on par with Kakarot's Super Saiyan 5.
At first, Vegeta had even thought that Kakarot had crossed over through the space-time rift as well.
"It was my lifespan! I traded my future years for this power. I only have three years left to live!" Granolah said, hanging his head as his voice filled with bitterness. "That is the price of becoming the strongest in the universe. It's a brilliant but short-lived flame."
Vegeta's eyes widened in realization. So that was it.
There's a side effect!
Trading your life for power... that was the ultimate self-destructive gamble.
He knew the Dragon wouldn't just hand over the title of "strongest in the universe" so easily. It made sense that there was a steep price to pay.
Wait a minute...
If the Dragon here is that powerful, maybe he could send me back to my own timeline? I wonder what that would cost me.
While Vegeta was lost in thought, Gas casually raised his hand. With a slight flick of his fingers, a beam of pale purple light shot out. It moved like a razor-sharp blade, slicing through the air from a distance and cutting through everything in its path like a hot knife through butter, passing right between Goku and Vegeta.
Crack!
The flight craft parked nearby was sliced clean in half. Parts scattered everywhere, letting out a series of sharp, metallic clangs.
Goku and the others scrambled to get out of the way, barely managing to avoid the lethal beam.
"M-My ship!" Granolah cried out, looking at his bisected vessel in heartbreak.
Gas raised his hand again, and a large, three-pronged fork materialized in his grip, its metal glinting with a cold, sharp light.
Whoosh!
The fork flew toward Granolah at blinding speed, leaving a blur in the air. It was so fast that no one had time to react.
Thwack!
Before Granolah could even blink, the fork impaled his legs and arms, pinning him directly to the wreckage of his ship. Blood immediately began to pour out, staining the metal scraps red.
"Aaaaaahhhhhhh!"
Granolah let out a series of agonizing screams, his voice high and shrill with pain. His body shook violently from the sheer shock of the injury.
"Granolah!" Goku shouted in alarm.
Gas stepped down from the hill, walking slowly toward his victim. He looked coldly at the pinned Cerealian and let out a light laugh. "I've never liked you! You're a thorn in my side. With me around, the Heeters' combat power is more than enough! There was never any need for you to exist!"
Granolah's screams continued, his eyes full of agony and rage, but he was utterly helpless.
"I can finally kill you out in the open. I've wanted to do this for so many years," Gas snorted. He reached out his hand, aiming it at Granolah as energy began to gather in his palm.
"Stop it!" Goku roared, lunging forward with a burst of speed.
Snap!
Gas simply snapped his fingers at Goku.
Suddenly, four massive, heavy lead weights materialized around Goku's arms and legs.
Thud!
Goku plummeted from the sky instantly, pinned to the ground and unable to move a muscle.
"So, you're that Saiyan's son?" Gas asked, looking down at Goku with a cold gaze.
"That's him. He said so himself just now; we all heard it," Oil added with a nod.
"No wonder you're the spitting image of him. You really are that Saiyan's son." The hatred in Gas's eyes burned even hotter, as if he wanted to incinerate Goku where he lay. He stared intensely at Goku and asked, "Is that man still alive?"
"The Saiyans of that generation were all killed by Frieza. We're the only survivors left. Bardock didn't make it out, either," Ultra Ego Vegeta said flatly, his voice calm.
"Is that so?" Gas said, a small hint of disappointment in his voice.
"Well, since we didn't get to clean up all the trash back then, we'll just have to finish the job now. It'll save us a lot of trouble later," Macki giggled. She crossed her arms, her tone dripping with cruelty and disdain.
Ultra Ego Vegeta clenched his fists tight, his knuckles turning white from the strain. Sparks of anger flickered in his eyes, but he forced himself to stay still.
The other Vegeta also fell silent, his head lowered as he looked deep in thought, though he said nothing.
"Wait... why do you want to kill us? We have no grudge against you!" Goku asked, sounding genuinely confused. He scratched his head as he looked up at Gas and Macki.
"Just like Granolah, anyone who gets in the way of our plans will be wiped out! Not a single one of you will be left alive!" Gas snorted. He raised a hand, and a razor-sharp axe materialized in his grip. It glinted coldly as he swung it down toward Goku's head with lightning speed.
Boom!
Suddenly, an explosion erupted right behind Gas, letting out a deafening roar. The shockwave was powerful enough to make Gas stumble.
Gas's grip loosened, and the axe fell right next to Goku, thudding into the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust. Goku broke out in a cold sweat at the near miss.
The one who had attacked was Granolah. Somehow, he had torn himself free from the fork's restraint. His eyes were full of defiance and rage, his body still covered in blood.
Clutching his wounds, Granolah stood his ground, his face a mask of stubborn pride. "I am the strongest in the universe!"
Gas looked at Granolah with pure mockery in his eyes. He instantly materialized a massive hammer and swung it with a violent force. The hammer whistled through the air before slamming heavily into Granolah's head.
Granolah was sent flying backward, a spray of blood erupting from his mouth as he spiraled through the air.
Gas didn't stop there. He lunged forward and began a brutal assault, his hammer raining blows down on Granolah.
Granolah was no match for him. He was suspended in the air by the sheer force of the beating, tossed around like a ragdoll. He didn't even have the chance to scream, only able to let out muffled groans of pain.
"Are you an idiot? Gas became the strongest in the universe after you, which makes him even more powerful. Did you really think you still had a chance to win?" Macki laughed contemptuously. She shouted over to Gas, "Gas, give him a real lesson!"
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Gas's assault on Granolah continued. Each impact let out a dull, heavy thud that was enough to make anyone's skin crawl.
Whoosh!
Granolah was sent hurtling through the air, crashing heavily into the ground in the distance and creating a massive crater. The earth itself seemed to tremble from the impact.
"Even though Elec praised your power, I never saw what the big deal was. As far as I'm concerned, you're weak as a kitten," Gas chuckled. He clapped his hands together, and the hammer vanished. A triumphant smile played across his face.
To be continued…
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