Namekian Dero

Seeing the Namekian emerge from the cave with two young Namekians behind him, Turles was initially surprised. But it didn't take long for him to figure out why. This place was probably a slave-trading post, and the adult Namekian's target had been those two children.

Speaking of slave trading, it seemed to be an unavoidable part of every civilization. And the trade in slaves across the universe was even more brazen. After all, Turles himself had once helped Frieza conquer planets and sell their inhabitants into slavery. He had seen far too much of that in his memories.

Still, Turles hadn't sensed anyone inside the cave before. There was probably equipment at this base that could hide power levels. It seemed these people were no ordinary outfit.

Besides, Obsidian Planet was protected by three factions. It was hard to believe that all three knew nothing about a slave-trading post operating here. From what he could see, the Galactic Patrol wasn't quite as righteous as it claimed to be.

Then again, how could any faction stay as pure as the driven snow? Even a lotus grew out of the mud.

As these thoughts passed through his mind, Turles didn't forget why he was here. When the Namekian started to leave, Turles quickly signaled Broly to follow.

After following for a while, Turles saw that the Namekian was heading toward the spaceport. He stopped hiding, burst forward, and raced ahead of the three Namekians.

The Namekian, who had been on high alert the whole way, immediately pulled the two children behind him and warily watched Turles, who had suddenly appeared in front of them.

When he noticed the tail at Turles's waist, the Namekian's pupils contracted. His expression changed, and he shouted, "Saiyan!" Then he took up a fighting stance.

Turles paid no mind to the Namekian's attitude. Saiyans had a terrible reputation across the universe.

Looking at the Namekian, who bore a strong resemblance to Piccolo, Turles felt a flicker of kinship. He spoke up.

"Relax, Namekian. I'm not a bad guy!" After saying that, Turles blinked, suddenly feeling that something was off.

The Namekian didn't believe a word Turles said. He remained in his fighting stance, watching him warily.

Seeing that the Namekian still didn't trust him, Turles sighed and continued, "I'm Turles. I want to ask you something."

Turles seemed friendly enough. Though Dero was still wary of him, he eventually lowered his guard and said coldly, "Dero."

"Hello, Dero!" Turles greeted him. He also nodded to the two little ones peeking out from behind Dero, frightening them into hiding behind him again.

Turles awkwardly rubbed his nose.

Dero, who had been watching coldly, softened his attitude toward Turles a little.

"Go on, Saiyan. What do you want to ask me?"

"Well, I heard the Namekians have seven magical orbs that can grant any wish. Have you ever heard of them?" Turles stated his purpose.

"Hm?" At Turles's words, Dero grew wary again. "Where did you hear that? It's just a legend!"

The legend had circulated throughout the universe for ages, but many people didn't believe it, dismissing it as nothing more than a Namekian myth. Many races had similarly exaggerated legends. Since Turles had come straight to him, though, he must have heard the Dragon Ball legend somewhere.

"Hm?"

Turles hadn't expected Dero to react so strongly. He had only meant to test the waters, but judging by Dero's reaction, he wasn't entirely ignorant of the Dragon Balls.

Dero knew that Turles was a Namekian, and he also knew about the Dragon Balls. His background was probably not so simple. At the very least, his people had preserved some of their heritage—unlike Kami on Earth, who could create Dragon Balls but knew nothing about his own origins.

"You know about the Dragon Balls?" Turles suppressed his excitement and tried to keep his voice calm.

Dero fell silent.

Turles knew he still hadn't earned the Namekian's trust, so he began to spin a tale.

"There's a legend in the North Galaxy about Namek: if you gather all seven Dragon Balls, you can ask Porunga for three wishes." He paused, but Dero remained unmoved, so he continued. "I was planning to go to Namek. I heard the Grand Elder is still alive. But because of Frieza's persecution, a few of us Saiyans had to leave the North Galaxy and come to the center of the galaxy. I never expected to run into a Namekian here."

"You mean... the Grand Elder of Namek is still... alive?" Dero's voice trembled.

"Yeah!" Turles said firmly, suppressing his "guilt."

Dero was still so naïve. He seemed to have spent quite some time wandering the universe, but Turles's news had still thrown him into confusion.

"No!"

Just as Turles was secretly congratulating himself, Dero suddenly came to his senses and shouted, "You're Saiyans. Why would Frieza persecute you? And if you're evil Saiyans, even the Grand Elder wouldn't let you use the Dragon Balls. You're lying to me!"

"Uh!" Turles was once again at a loss over the Saiyans' reputation. But he quickly retorted, "Don't you know? Planet Vegeta, the Saiyans' home, was destroyed by Frieza. We learned the truth, and when we tried to resist him, he put us on his wanted list. We had no choice but to come to the center of the galaxy and seek the Galactic Patrol's protection. And we want to use the Dragon Balls to find our people as soon as possible. If we don't find them soon, I'm afraid they'll suffer at Frieza's hands too!"

After saying that, Turles couldn't help giving himself a pat on the back.

What Turles had said was mostly true, but he'd left out quite a bit. The Saiyans were exactly the sort of evil race Dero had mentioned. But rather than bring that up, Turles had presented himself as a member of another endangered people, hoping to stir Dero's sympathy.

Sure enough, after hearing Turles's words, Dero felt a flicker of kinship with him. He let go of his reservations and began to explain what had happened to his group of Namekian descendants.

It turned out that the disaster that struck Namek 300 years ago had forced all the Namekians to seek a way out. Some chose to remain on Namek, while a small number escaped aboard spaceships. Among them were the parents of Kami of Earth, as well as Dero's people.

Namekian technology had been highly advanced at the time. Dero's ancestors had flown directly to the center of the galaxy. After landing on a planet very similar to Namek, they settled there and had lived there ever since.

But unlike Kami of Earth, Dero's ancestors included a gifted Namekian much like Kami. They couldn't make Dragon Balls, but they were more fertile. Over the course of more than 300 years, their population gradually recovered. Some unusual Namekians had been born among them, and Dero was a warrior-type Namekian.

As for the two little ones, one was named Kru, and the other Kla. They were both healer-type Namekians.

As for why they had been brought to Obsidian Planet and put up for sale as slaves, it all stemmed from the latest Space Pirate invasion.

Though the Space Pirates had been driven off, Dero's people lived scattered across the planet. Many of them had been captured before help could arrive. Kru and Kla were among them. Dero didn't know why they had been sent to Obsidian Planet.

He had come to Obsidian Planet by spaceship to post a missing-person search mission with the Mercenary Alliance. But then a mysterious alien had approached him with an offer: if Dero defeated ten contestants in a row in the arena, he could take the two Namekians away. Dero had wanted to take them by force, but the stranger was somewhat stronger than him, so in the end he had reluctantly agreed. Today's arena match had been the last one.

After hearing Dero's story, Turles pondered for a moment, then said thoughtfully, "It seems that mysterious person is closely connected to the slave traders. That Mercenary Arena must be playing a pretty shady role in all this!"

"What do you mean?" Dero knew that the mysterious person was connected to the slave traders, but he didn't see how the Mercenary Arena was involved.

"Think about it. Why did that mysterious person insist that you win ten matches in a row before letting you take Kru and Kla? It was obviously to boost the arena's popularity. Fighters as strong as you are rare, and since it was your first time competing, winning ten matches in a row as a newcomer would have been a huge draw. There's no way they wouldn't capitalize on it."

"And I suspect the pirates who attacked your planet were connected to them too!"

"What?" Dero exclaimed.

"It's just a guess," Turles explained. "Your planet was attacked by pirates, and your people were captured. Then you arrived at the arena, and someone approached you, using your people as leverage. It's all far too convenient!"

"Damn it!" After hearing Turles's theory, Dero believed him. He grew furious, and his power began to rise.

Turles immediately realized what Dero was about to do. In a flash, he appeared in front of him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Dero, calm down!" Turles said in a low voice.