Frieza's Order

As the dust cleared, the land lay in shambles. There was no one left alive among the Lainar; only that irritable Great Ape remained after the earlier bombardment.

But under Rhode's indiscriminate attacks, the Great Ape was already covered in wounds. Its Power Level had dropped drastically. Though it remained violent, it was at the end of its strength, swaying unsteadily and incapable of causing any more trouble.

Seeing this, Rhode opened his mouth and prepared to fire an energy blast at the Great Ape, knocking it down and knocking it out for good.

However, in the next moment, the Great Ape's body rapidly changed. In a breath, it became a long-tailed, unconscious little girl lying on the ground, dressed in a Frieza Force Battle Suit, with a valiant yet cold and proud face.

At this sight, Rhode could not help turning to look at the sky, only to find that the illusory full moon had vanished.

As the Great Ape changed, Rhode did as well. Within moments, he had returned to the form of a seven-year-old child.

After returning to normal, Rhode panted heavily. The aftereffects of recklessly firing energy blasts in his Great Ape form had hit him.

Still, there was no one left on Planet Rhyner with a Power Level over one thousand. Even though he had exhausted a great deal of stamina, there was nothing to worry about.

After resting for a while and steadying his Aura, Rhode walked over to the little girl, lifted her with one hand, then leaped into the air. After scanning the distance, he flew toward a mountain range.

After venturing deep into the mountains and finding a hidden cave, Rhode tossed the little girl inside and left.

When he returned, Rhode was carrying two creatures more than ten meters long, somewhat resembling crocodiles. Having continuously fired energy blasts earlier and drained much of his stamina, he intended to roast them to replenish his strength.

In the clearing before the cave, he cleaned the two enormous beasts and set them over a rack. Only then did Rhode suddenly realize a problem: he did not have a lighter.

"Seems like Aura can be used to start a fire too?"

Though he did not have a lighter, he recalled Gohan using Aura to grill food. He could give it a try as well.

He acted immediately. Rhode gathered some firewood, then mobilized his Aura and began firing energy blasts.

Bang!

The energy blast shot out, and the wood instantly turned to ash. He had clearly used too much.

Rhode was not discouraged. He gathered more wood and continued trying, but this time he released too little Aura and failed to ignite the wood at all.

After several attempts, he finally found the right amount to make the wood burn normally. He then started a fire and set the two huge beasts over it to roast.

Before long, the fragrance of roasted meat filled the air. Rhode, already starving, salivated at the smell. Ignoring the heat, he rushed to the rack and began devouring the meat.

The two beasts, each more than ten meters long, were completely eaten by Rhode in less than an hour. The fullness spreading through his body gave him an unprecedented sense of satisfaction.

The Dragon Ball World, and I even became a Saiyan. This is really something to look forward to!

Lying in the clearing before the cave, Rhode gazed at the deep night sky. Countless stars dotted the heavens. He wondered which one belonged to Earth. Thinking of the people from the story, Rhode was filled with anticipation for the future.

After eating and drinking his fill, Rhode saw that the little girl had yet to wake up and did not bother with her. He went alone to a secluded spot atop the mountain and carefully sensed the Aura within his body.

Saiyans were naturally strong, but their use of Aura was extremely crude and straightforward. It was hard to imagine that Vegeta, with a Power Level of eighteen thousand, had not even known how to sense Aura before going to Earth.

It was incredible.

Calming his mind, closing his eyes, and emptying his thoughts, Rhode began meditating. Before long, he sensed an Aura in his mind. Though it was significantly weaker than his own, it was still quite powerful.

He opened his eyes and looked toward the source of the Aura he had sensed. It was the cave where the Saiyan little girl named Aila was resting. Clearly, the Aura belonged to her.

Was it really that easy?

Rhode had sensed Aila's Aura so effortlessly that he found it unbelievable. He had merely made a casual attempt, yet succeeded without any difficulty.

Was it because of his talent as a High-Class Warrior?

Or had awakening his memories given him extraordinary Comprehension Ability?

After considering it, Rhode felt that it might be both. Rather than dwell on it, he closed his eyes again, focused, and extended his perception farther away.

For a time, he caught every faint Aura, large and small, throughout the endless mountain range. As he expanded his perception farther out, he sensed the Auras of many Lainar.

However, the Auras of these Lainar were very weak. Judging by the Lainar with Power Levels in the thousands from before, all of these people had Power Levels below one thousand, and the vast majority were even below one hundred.

His perception continued expanding until it enveloped all of Planet Rhyner and even stretched into space. Yet after penetrating only a short distance into the universe, it reached its limit. He could not sense the life Auras of other planets.

Was this the limit of a Power Level of twenty-five hundred?

Thinking of how Goku could sense life Auras throughout the universe and use Instant Transmission, Rhode could not help marveling at his strength.

Most Saiyans were arrogant, cold-blooded, and looked down on everyone else. They had no real concept of training, and few elders taught them from experience, so their Power Levels were generally improved through actual combat.

As a High-Class Warrior, Rhode had been instilled with much knowledge after birth, most of it combat techniques. He had been assigned to a squad at the age of five, and only after nearly two years and several missions had he gained his current Power Level of twenty-five hundred.

If he had combined actual combat with training, Rhode felt that his Power Level should be at least over five thousand by now, perhaps even higher.

With that thought, Rhode began recalling the training methods used on Dragon Ball's Earth, intending to give them a try and see whether he could figure something out.

Training, training. Aside from tempering the body, there was cultivation of the mind, as well as sparring through actual combat.

Actual combat went without saying. The body could be tempered through weighted training, a Gravity Chamber, special breathing techniques, and so on. As for the mind, the meditation methods found on Earth were quite good.

Still, while he could think of these things, actually practicing them was not so easy.

Whether it was specific breathing techniques or meditative cultivation, figuring them out alone without anyone to teach him was practically the same as creating an entire training system. It was not something he could accomplish in a short time.

He could try weighted and gravity training, but he was currently on an alien planet. It was not safe, nor was there a suitable training ground. After some thought, Rhode turned his attention to finely controlling his Aura.

He already knew how to control the Aura inside his body, but in the past he had only released it crudely and had never controlled it precisely. Now was a good time to try.

For example, he could lower the Power Level he displayed outwardly, improve his control over Aura, and use the smallest amount of Aura to produce the greatest power.

He acted as soon as he thought of it. With a thought, Rhode tried controlling the Aura throughout his body and making it lie dormant. The process was not difficult at all; it happened in one smooth motion. He accomplished it easily.

As expected, my Comprehension Ability is extraordinary!

After repeatedly stabilizing his control over his own Aura, Rhode began changing the way he had used Aura before. He drew out a ball of Aura and held it in his hand. Rather than firing it, he tried manipulating it in various ways.

Expanding it, compressing it, reshaping it, making it move—he tried everything he could think of. The process was not smooth, but it was not as difficult as he had imagined either.

"As expected, my Comprehension Ability is very strong now!"

After testing it out, Rhode realized that his Comprehension Ability was far stronger than before. He had succeeded in precisely controlling Aura without expending much effort.

"Rhode, where are the others?"

As Rhode improved his precise control over Aura, a fluctuation in Aura approached. Then the cold and proud little girl Aila, dressed in a Battle Suit, appeared before him.

"Dead."

Faced with Aila's question, Rhode answered flatly, without much emotion.

"Dead?"

Hearing that her teammates had died, Aila froze for a moment. Then she did not dwell on it and turned her attention to the mission. "Did you kill all the natives?"

Saiyans were cold-blooded and battle-hungry. Even among teammates, there was little emotional attachment. If someone died in battle, it was because they lacked strength and had no one else to blame. Rhode had not killed the teammates who held him back and had even saved someone, which already made him an abnormal Saiyan like Bardock.

Therefore, in Aila's eyes, her teammates were not even as important as the mission. Besides, she did not think Rhode had saved her. She only assumed that she had still been alive when the battle ended, so Rhode had brought her here.

"No."

Many people were still alive on Planet Rhyner. But those remaining posed no threat to him. As long as they did not come looking for trouble, Rhode naturally would not slaughter them indiscriminately.

"No?"

The moment she heard that Rhode had not killed all the natives of Planet Rhyner, Aila was deeply dissatisfied. "The sooner we kill all the natives and complete the mission, the sooner we can go back. Rhode, what are you doing?"

"Nothing. There are no threats left on this planet. There's no need to kill them."

Facing Aila's dissatisfaction, Rhode remained calm and replied flatly.

To Aila, Rhode's words sounded like something utterly unbelievable. Her mind went blank for a moment. After staring in disbelief, she scrutinized Rhode strangely. "Haven't we always done things this way? Have you gone crazy? Are you trying to imitate Bardock?"

"Forget it. Maybe something's wrong with your head. Get yourself treated properly after we return. Once I recover, I'll go wipe out the remaining natives!"

Unable to understand Rhode's thoughts, Aila did not think deeply about them. She stuck to her own beliefs, then leaped into the air and looked at Rhode. "Let's return to the spaceship and recover first!"

The spaceship?

Rhode naturally knew it was a medium-sized spaceship and the shared property of the entire squad.

Though Aila's injuries were serious, she was not in a Near-death state. She had merely collapsed from exhaustion. Even if her Power Level increased after fully recovering, it would be difficult for her to surpass his.

Moreover, after training his precise Aura control, Rhode's actual combat strength had risen another level. Aila posed no threat to him at all. With that in mind, Rhode followed after her.

After flying for a while, the two soon found the spaceship. But just as they entered the cabin, the communicator aboard began ringing.

"Beep beep beep..."

The communicator kept ringing. Just as Aila was about to step forward, Rhode beat her to it and answered.

"Hello, hello. This is the control center. By order of King Frieza, all squads are to return to Planet Vegeta immediately after completing their missions!"