Departure

A month passed quickly, and the time set with Bels was almost upon them.

That day, Turles was training Raditz in the Gravity Chamber. After a month of grueling training, Raditz had not only mastered Ki Sensing but was also gradually learning how to control his ki. His displayed battle power was now only 1,000, far below his true strength.

Suddenly, the two of them looked up almost at the same time. Turles seemed to realize something, and immediately led Raditz out of the Training Room.

As soon as they stepped outside, Turles's gaze was drawn to a huge spaceship hovering in midair.

The ship looked like a giant rectangular box, plain and unremarkable. Nothing about it suggested it could travel through hyperspace.

The ship's door opened, and Bels stepped out.

"Turles, my friend, how have you been?"

The moment they met, Bels greeted Turles warmly, as if they had been friends for years.

Bels's enthusiasm caught Turles off guard, but he quickly recovered and replied just as warmly, "Of course, my friend! You have no idea how much I've been looking forward to seeing you!"

"Really? I'm honored!" Bels naturally didn't believe Turles's pleasantries, but he owed his promotion entirely to him. At this point, he treated Turles almost like his own father.

Turles had no idea that recruiting a powerhouse like him had earned Bels a promotion from the Mercenary Alliance. All he wanted was to see whether this really was the hyperspace spaceship Bels had told him about.

As if he'd guessed what Turles was thinking, Bels skipped the small talk and led him straight into the ship.

Its exterior was unimpressive, but the interior had everything they could need. It was fully equipped with all kinds of supplies, from living quarters to training areas.

"Mr. Turles, this is the hyperspace spaceship from the Mercenary Alliance headquarters. As you requested, we looked into the Earth you mentioned. It's on the edge of the North Galaxy, but at this ship's speed, it'll take only about half a month to get there."

"We also invited the Namekian you wanted to bring along. He agreed to travel with you, so we can make a stop at Muhua Planet on the way."

"Muhua Planet? Is that the name of Dero's home planet?" Turles cut in abruptly.

Bels glanced at Turles in surprise and asked, puzzled, "You didn't know?"

Turles nodded. Bels still looked confused, but continued, "Muhua Planet is a huge world about the same size as Red Stone Planet, located in the northern part of the Galactic Center. It's under the jurisdiction of the Galactic Patrol. The Namekians have many powerful fighters, including quite a few whose battle power exceeds 100,000, so they're well known in the Galactic Center."

"Then how did you dare to let the Space Pirates attack Muhua Planet and abduct its people?" Turles asked curiously. If the Namekians were so strong, why had they thought it wise to provoke them?

Bels gave a bitter smile. "Would you believe me if I said I didn't know about any of it?"

Turles gave Bels a disdainful look that said, You can figure that out for yourself.

Bels had no choice. In the end, he told Turles what had really happened.

It turned out that the Space Pirates hadn't been sent by Bels at all. The person behind it was the son of a senior executive at the Mercenary Alliance headquarters. Relying on his father's position, the man had secretly controlled several pirate crews, dealing in planets and slaves. Word was that even Frieza had done business with him.

Until then, he'd only targeted weaker races. Who'd have thought he would set his sights on the Namekians this time? That was how Turles had happened to meet Dero while he was out searching for his people.

Even Bels had been shocked by the man's audacity. Still, this time he had to thank him—otherwise, Turles's connection wouldn't have helped him get promoted so quickly.

Turles hadn't expected there to be so much more to the story. No matter where you went, there was always someone who'd make their father's life difficult.

But Turles didn't believe everything Bels told him. Claiming Bels had known nothing at all would be an insult to his intelligence. At the very least, Bels had chosen to turn a blind eye. Otherwise, Dero wouldn't have had to fight ten battles in the Mercenary Arena.

And Bels wouldn't have rushed over right after Turles dealt with that slave-trading outpost. If Turles's strength hadn't intimidated him, things might have ended very differently!

Turles had been prepared for all this. This was a world where the strong preyed on the weak, after all. Wasn't that why he trained so desperately—to make sure he never became one of the "weak"?

Having thought it through, Turles looked at Bels's harmless smile and returned a meaningful one of his own.

After that, the two tacitly dropped the subject and continued inspecting the hyperspace spaceship.

Once they'd finished, Turles nodded in satisfaction.

There was no Gravity Chamber, but the ship had everything else they needed. It had even been built from the hardest metal in the universe—Thundersteel.

The thought that he'd reach Earth in a little over half a month filled Turles with excitement. And with Dero along, he could also stop by Namek. Whether it was the Dragon Balls or the Grand Elder's potential unlocking, his strength was bound to increase significantly in the time ahead.

An hour later, Turles and Bels had inspected the entire ship from top to bottom. After confirming everything was in order, Turles was given use of the hyperspace spaceship for the next two months.

Bels had made a special request for him. It was partly to thank him and win him over, and partly because he hoped Turles would put in a good word for him with Dero.

Bels wasn't afraid of the Namekians, but they could still be a serious nuisance. And now that Turles—a fighter with a battle power of over 800,000—was involved, Bels had no choice but to reconsider his stance toward them.

Turles readily agreed. He still needed to maintain his relationship with Bels, and he also planned to take Dero to Namek to find the Grand Elder. He was sure Dero's people would grant him that favor.

At last, Turles and Bels left the ship. Turles needed to prepare supplies for the half-month journey, while Bels was dragged away by Paragus, who'd heard the news and wanted to discuss the search for surviving Saiyans.

The next day, Turles boarded the ship with Raditz, Carl, and the others and set off for the North Galaxy. At last, he was going to meet the protagonist of the Dragon Ball World—Son Goku!