During the Battle

"Hmph. One. Two. Three. Six people total... All the high-level combatants on this planet are gathered here. Perfect, we can wipe them out in one go and save ourselves the trouble."

Nappa looked down from above at Piccolo and the others standing in the wilderness below and burst into loud laughter. Beside him, Vegeta tapped his scouter, swept a glance, and just smirked disdainfully. Then the two slowly descended to the ground.

He eyed Krillin and the others with contempt, noting that aside from Son Gohan, none of them seemed tense at all.

"That guy's appearance... looks like a Namekian."

Vegeta caught a close glimpse of Piccolo and suddenly found him somewhat familiar... He muttered thoughtfully to himself.

"Hey, you lot better be smart and hand over the Dragon Balls. If you do, I'll let you die a quick death."

Nappa stepped forward before Vegeta could speak, his towering frame exuding a sense of pressure as he spoke in a threatening tone.

"Hmph... You want the Dragon Balls? You're not strong enough for that."

Piccolo let out a cold, disdainful laugh, then spoke.

"Oh? You're pretty cocky, aren't you? Speaking of which, I don't see Kakarot around. Did he run away?"

Nappa wasn't provoked by that. For him, this trip to Earth required a level head—he couldn't let personal feelings cause a disaster. After all, this was about eternal, immortal life. Even as a hothead, he understood the stakes. Especially after Vegeta had warned him once, he wasn't about to just blow everything up on a whim.

"Dad didn't run away!! He'll definitely beat you guys!"

Son Gohan shouted back in defiance.

"Is that so? Hahaha!! How ridiculous. What can a low-class warrior possibly accomplish?"

Nappa burst into wild laughter. Vegeta just chuckled on the side, looking unconcerned. As far as he was concerned, Nappa was enough to handle these people—he didn't need to lift a finger.

Son Gohan clenched his fists tightly, glaring angrily at Nappa. Piccolo and the others remained expressionless, their gazes fixed on Nappa.

"Hey, Vegeta, want to let the Saibamen have some fun with them?"

Nappa suddenly remembered something and turned to ask Vegeta behind him.

"Don't waste time on pointless things... The Saibamen aren't even as strong as they are. Even with numbers, they'd only manage to take down one or two. A waste of resources. You'd be better off handling it yourself—beat them up and force out the location of the Dragon Balls."

Vegeta thought for a moment, then spoke.

"Fair enough... Alright then, I'll deal with you myself. Come at me all at once, and I'll teach you a proper lesson."

Nappa took a few more steps forward with an arrogant air, then declared.

"What a conceited jerk!"

Yamcha spat in annoyance, then said.

"Conceit is good. The more arrogant they are, the faster they die!"

Piccolo said with a cold laugh. Krillin, Tien Shinhan, and Chiaotzu nodded in agreement... Son Gohan watched the situation nervously, trying to stay calm. But with the fight about to start, Piccolo couldn't look after him anymore—he'd have to rely on himself.

Vegeta walked over to a rock on the side and sat down, his face expressionless.

"Take this!"

"Spirit Ball!"

"Tri-Beam!"

Tien Shinhan and Yamcha struck first, both unleashing their signature techniques toward Nappa.

"What?!"

Nappa sneered at the incoming Spirit Ball. To him, a blast that slow couldn't possibly hit anyone. He simply leaned left to dodge it. But when Tien Shinhan's Tri-Beam followed right after, Nappa was genuinely shocked.

Though the Tri-Beam wasn't as powerful as it would be against Cell, it still packed enough punch to hurt Nappa as he was now.

Nappa felt like his body had been hammered by something, and his massive frame was forced back dozens of meters.

Just as Nappa was about to speak, Vegeta's arrogant voice rang out.

"Idiot, where are you looking? Watch your back!"

Nappa was startled. He turned around and saw that the blast he'd dodged earlier was flying back at him. He immediately pushed off the ground with both feet and leaped.

"Hmph, don't think you'll dodge that easily!"

Yamcha smirked slightly, then pressed his index and middle fingers together and flicked them. The Spirit Ball curved and slammed straight into Nappa's chest midair. The sudden change caught Nappa off guard, and he couldn't avoid it.

"Boom!!"

An explosion echoed from the sky, and a black smoke cloud appeared, obscuring everyone's view.

Piccolo and the others watched calmly. They knew full well that this kind of attack couldn't kill him... It was just a test—part of their plan for murder. No, their battle plan.

Vegeta frowned slightly at Nappa getting hit, feeling embarrassed. For a Saiyan to be struck by such a technique was disgraceful... That was his thought.

"Tch... You guys are pretty good at curveballs, huh."

Nappa burst out of the smoke cloud, roaring in anger. The armor on his chest was shattered, revealing a round hole and his dark, exposed abs. He was furious—his armor had been broken right at the start. What an insult. Especially since they were all much weaker than him.

"Here he comes!"

Piccolo tensed up and shouted a warning. Everyone went on alert as Nappa charged straight at them. Despite his massive size, his speed was anything but slow.

Piccolo and the others flared their ki slightly and scattered.

"These guys can boost their combat power!!"

Vegeta, who had been watching from the sidelines, narrowed his eyes sharply. He suddenly noticed that the numbers on his scouter had changed drastically. More precisely, they had risen.

"Impossible! The lowest combat power among these guys is actually 2000... the others are around 3000... and that Namekian has a combat power of 4000. No wonder that waste Raditz died miserably here. The data on this planet is just as Nappa said—completely erroneous!"

Vegeta's expression shifted slightly as he observed the situation on the field, then murmured to himself inwardly.

(It'll probably be around chapter 50 before Son Goku makes an appearance... As for the next chapter, hmm... someone's going to die. Who is it? Take a guess. Heh heh...)

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