The Great Elder Who Saw into Hearts

"Dragon Balls?"

Rhode's words did not surprise the Great Elder much.

After Planet Namek had gone through its previous disaster, the world had changed drastically. Its current technology was quite primitive, and its culture was rather archaic. Moreover, the Namekians now living on this planet were kind-hearted and gentle by nature, living largely peaceful, isolated lives.

Under such circumstances, few would be interested in a place like this aside from planet traders.

Therefore, even without Rhode and Aila saying anything, the Great Elder could roughly guess why they had come to Planet Namek.

After all, the only thing on Planet Namek that could arouse covetousness was the Dragon Balls.

However, very few people knew about the Dragon Balls. The Great Elder was puzzled as to how they had learned of them. Could it have been from the Cosmic Sage?

Though the Great Elder was puzzled, he did not ask. His gaze swept over the two of them before he slowly nodded. "No problem. You may borrow the Dragon Balls."

He had agreed so readily not because he feared Rhode and Aila's strength, but because, just as Rhode had said, he could sense that they truly harbored no ill intent.

In fact, the Great Elder's perception of them ran even deeper.

In his senses, although Rhode's displayed aura was not strong, his true power far surpassed Aila's. Even the Great Elder himself was no match for him.

Not only that, the Great Elder could sense that quite a few lives had perished at their hands. Yet what puzzled him was that the killing intent on them had already faded considerably and was still continuing to fade.

Rhode in particular carried such faint killing intent that, if one were not as wise as the Great Elder, it would have been difficult to detect.

Compared with Aila's violent and cold aura, Rhode's aura felt calm and gentle to the Great Elder, deeply concealed beneath the surface.

The two gave the Great Elder a strange impression. Evil Energy existed within them, yet it was steadily diminishing and disappearing.

It was as though the young Saiyan man and woman before him were walking a path of reform.

The Great Elder could sense the changes taking place within them. They were subtle changes, ones that even the two of them had not noticed.

It was precisely because he could sense that there was virtually no evil in their hearts, especially Rhode's, that the Great Elder had agreed to lend them the Dragon Balls.

If Rhode knew what the Great Elder was thinking, he would certainly have agreed.

Before his memories awakened, he truly had not been a good person. The number of lives that had died by his hand was merely lower than that of other Saiyans.

However, after his memories awakened and the two sets of memories merged, change was only natural now that his past life memories held the lead.

Though his past self had not been some benevolent saint, he had obeyed the law and never committed any petty crimes, let alone killed anyone.

Therefore, it was only natural that the Great Elder could sense him gradually walking the path of reform.

As for Aila, while she did not have Rhode's reason of awakened memories, her life in Earth's peaceful environment, coupled with Rhode's restrictions on her, had naturally made her less cold-blooded and wantonly murderous than before.

Leaving aside the Great Elder's inner assessment of Rhode and Aila after sensing them, Rhode was somewhat surprised when he heard the Great Elder agree so readily.

But then he remembered that this Great Elder had given birth to every Namekian currently living on this planet. His power and abilities were far beyond those of ordinary people, so being able to see into hearts was only to be expected.

"Thank you, Great Elder!"

Since he could save himself some words and effort, Rhode was naturally happy to accept. At most, he would owe the Great Elder this favor and find a chance to repay it later.

"That easily?"

Unlike Rhode, who understood the Great Elder and could accept it calmly, Aila could not help showing a trace of suspicion when she saw him agree so easily. She stared at the Great Elder warily.

While remaining vigilant toward the Great Elder, Aila sent Rhode a telepathic message. "Rhode, this Namekian is very strong. Can you handle him?"

Facing Aila's secret message, Rhode glanced at her, then at the Great Elder, before replying telepathically, "Don't worry. Everything is under control!"

The Great Elder truly was considerably stronger than expected, but he was not a combat-type Namekian.

Thus, despite having existed for so long, Rhode could sense that the Great Elder's aura was only somewhat stronger than his own. It should have been above forty thousand, but below fifty thousand.

"Oh?"

Hearing Rhode's reply, Aila gave him a deep look.

In Aila's senses, the Great Elder before her was incredibly powerful, utterly beyond her ability to contend with. Yet Rhode claimed he had everything under control. Just how much had this guy been hiding?

Hm?

Just as Aila was secretly communicating with Rhode while remaining wary of the Great Elder, she suddenly saw the Great Elder smile gently at her.

Though the Great Elder said nothing, that smile explained everything.

Clearly, a simple technique of manipulating aura like voice transmission could not be concealed before the Great Elder, who had lived for untold ages.

Realizing that her telepathic message had been completely exposed before this Namekian, Aila was instantly mortified and said nothing further.

"Nail, I'll have to trouble you with a trip."

The Great Elder did not mind Aila's telepathic message. He merely smiled it off, then turned to Nail at his side and instructed, "Notify the elders of every village, then bring the Dragon Balls here."

"Great Elder, this..."

Hearing the Great Elder's order, the injured Nail grew anxious and looked toward Rhode and Aila.

His meaning was obvious. He was deeply uneasy about these two outsiders.

In the face of Nail's concerns, the Great Elder smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'll be fine. Go without concern!"

"This..."

Seeing the Great Elder insist, Nail wavered. The Great Elder was an excellent judge of character, but as a guard, what kind of guard would he be if he left the person he was meant to protect?

"Go on!"

The Great Elder spoke gently once more.

Seeing this, Nail finally obeyed the Great Elder's instruction. "Yes, Great Elder!"

"Wait."

However, just as Nail was about to release his aura and leave, Rhode's voice rang out at the right moment. When Nail looked over, Rhode raised his hand and tossed him a Senzu Bean. "Eat this."

If others showed him respect, he returned it tenfold.

Since the Great Elder had so readily agreed to lend them the Dragon Balls, Rhode naturally returned the favor.

After all, Nail's injuries had been caused by Aila. Though the Great Elder had wanted to temper him, Rhode's side bore some responsibility as well.

Reacting instinctively, Nail caught the Senzu Bean. Seeing that it was a plant seed, a puzzled expression crossed his face. "What is this?"

As he questioned Rhode, he also looked toward the Great Elder to seek his opinion, only to see the Great Elder nod.

When Aila saw Rhode give Nail a Senzu Bean, only for this guy to keep asking questions, she immediately became rather annoyed. "Why so much nonsense? Such a good thing, and it's wasted on you!"

"Mm!"

Ignoring Aila's displeasure, Nail no longer doubted it after seeing the Great Elder nod. He directly tossed the Senzu Bean into his mouth.