Just a Bad Feeling

Piccolo's mouth twitched, and he fell silent.

His lips pressed into a thin line as his gaze swept over Soro's face twice.

Your battle power before... It looked like only 1,000 on the surface, but your true battle power was 50,000.

And now you want to lower it to 3,000 to fight me?

Do you expect me to believe that?

I'd be no King Piccolo if I believed a word you said.

Piccolo lifted his chin slightly, his expression blank.

"Sorry," Piccolo said coolly. "I'm busy."

"Do you know what happens when you refuse someone who used the Flash Technique to blind Vegeta?" Soro asked with a teasing smile, tilting his head as he looked at Piccolo.

Piccolo's face stiffened, and his expression turned dreadful in an instant.

His pupils shrank, and he swallowed audibly.

I almost forgot something that important.

Piccolo looked away from Soro and toward the distant horizon.

Then he turned back.

"Then... I'd be happy to oblige," Piccolo said, hastily changing his tune. His voice was a little lower than before.

He pushed off the rocks with both feet, sprang backward, and landed in an open clearing.

Soro followed and took his place opposite him.

They stood about 15 meters apart.

The wind swept through the valley between them, stirring up a cloud of dust.

The fight was about to begin.

"Masenko!"

"Special Beam Cannon!"

"Ah—!"

As Piccolo cried out again and again,

Soro finally kicked him in the chest.

Piccolo flew backward, smashed through two rocks, and crashed heavily to the ground.

Soro was panting hard now, his chest heaving as wave after wave of fatigue washed over him.

In this fight, without activating [Battle Power ×50], Soro had nearly exhausted his energy.

He had also suffered minor injuries.

After all, fighting Piccolo, whose battle power was close to 4,000, while holding his own at 3,000 had been dangerous.

Soro didn't hesitate any longer. He immediately pressed the [Battle Power ×50] skill button.

His strength surged instantly, and his fatigue vanished.

Piccolo wasn't completely good yet. He hadn't been through the baptism of death.

If he took advantage of Soro's weakness and suddenly turned the tables...

As the [Battle Power ×50] skill button lit up, Soro immediately felt safe, and the muscles in his back relaxed.

He straightened up and brushed the dust off himself.

"Not bad, Piccolo." Soro praised him, giving him a thumbs-up. "You really are impressive."

Piccolo: "..."

Piccolo lay on the ground with his limbs spread out, his chest still aching.

He didn't want to talk. He turned his gaze to the sky and watched the white clouds drift by.

"You're still only the 101st person who's made me feel tired!" Soro gave Piccolo a thumbs-up, a sincere smile on his face.

Piccolo froze for a moment.

"Who were the first 100?" Piccolo asked curiously.

"No comment," Soro replied flatly.

Piccolo looked at Soro intently. His eyes shifted, and his lips moved, but he said nothing.

Piccolo had felt it during the fight, too.

Soro really had lowered his battle power to around 3,000. He hadn't cheated.

The force behind every punch and kick had been precise, never exceeding that level.

What Piccolo couldn't understand was why Soro would do such a thing.

What was the point?

Piccolo furrowed his brow and studied Soro's face for two seconds.

"Train hard!" Soro said with a smile, his tone turning serious. "Namek is nothing like you imagine! If you don't want to die, you'll have to beat me."

"Y-you know something?" Piccolo asked quickly, sitting up and staring intently at Soro.

"I just have a bad feeling." Soro gently shook his head and gazed at the distant sky.

He said no more and immediately took off.

"Whoosh!"

Soro flew away, growing smaller and smaller in the sky until he disappeared behind the clouds.

Piccolo sat on the ground, staring up in the direction Soro had vanished. He remained silent.

Soro returned to Capsule Corp's headquarters.

The first thing he did was review what he had learned from his fight with Piccolo.

He sat on a stone bench in the courtyard with his eyes closed, replaying every detail of the battle in his mind.

Then he plunged straight into the Gravity Training Room and began another round of training.

The next person he would challenge was Son Goku.

Soro stood in front of the main control panel. His finger paused over a button, and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

Frieza Planet 79.

The 18th day since Vegeta had left Earth.

At the planet's base, two aliens were playing chess.

They pinched the pieces between their fingers and moved them across the board.

"Beep! Beep! Beep!"

Just then, the alarm suddenly sounded, and red lights flashed in the hallway.

The two aliens looked up at the same time and turned toward the alarm.

They exchanged glances.

"Who's here?"

"Could it be Lord Frieza?"

"No way. Didn't Lord Frieza just leave?"

"It's a spherical spaceship. A combatant!"

"That signal belongs to Vegeta."

"That's strange. We didn't get word that he was coming back! Something must have happened!"

As they spoke, one of them took out a communicator and immediately sent a message outside. He pressed the call button with his thumb. "This is the administration department. Mr. Vegeta is back. Hurry and go greet him!"

Outside the base, three aliens stood in a row on the spaceship launch platform, their arms hanging at their sides.

They looked up at the sky and waited.

Before long, a spherical shadow appeared on the horizon and grew larger and larger.

"Boom!"

Vegeta's spaceship slammed into the launch base's landing bay. The metal walls shuddered with a dull thud.

The three aliens immediately snapped to attention, standing straight and looking respectful.

But once the spaceship had come to a stop, nothing happened.

The hatch didn't open. They couldn't even hear anyone breathing.

The three of them stared at one another in confusion.

"What's going on?" The alien in the middle tilted his head, frowning. "Why hasn't he come out?"

The alien beside him glanced down at the Scouter on his wrist. Its screen flickered.

His pupils shrank.

"Ah... His life signs are very weak!"

The three of them hurried over to check.

Through the observation window, they saw Vegeta lying in his seat, wearing a breathing mask. Dried blood stained the area around his eyes.

He had already activated his life-support system.

Realizing how serious the situation was, the three hurriedly opened the hatch, carried Vegeta out of the spaceship, and rushed him to a healing chamber.

The lid of the healing chamber closed, and green liquid rose around Vegeta's body.

Bubbles rose from the bottom and churned around him.

"Who could've done this?" A staff member stood outside the healing chamber with his arms crossed, staring at Vegeta floating inside. "Mr. Vegeta's eyes are completely blind!"