Cosmic Emperor? Frieza?

"So that's what it means!" Son Goku's eyes lit up, a grin spreading across his face. "That's fantastic! I'll start training right now and do my best to adapt to 50 times gravity as soon as possible."

He clenched his fists in front of him, turned, and walked to the center of the Gravity Training Room. Spreading his feet and bending his knees slightly, he settled into a standing stance.

Soro nodded slightly, then turned and left the Gravity Training Room.

The metal door opened and closed, his footsteps echoing up the stairs until they faded away.

Piccolo gritted his teeth, holding his ground downstairs, his back slightly hunched and beads of sweat seeping from his forehead.

His legs were still trembling, but his gaze remained resolute.

He intended to stay and train alongside Son Goku.

"Piccolo, are you sure you want to stay?" Son Goku asked, turning his head to look at him.

"Of course." Piccolo shot a sidelong glance at Son Goku, the corners of his mouth dipping down as he lifted his chin.

He lowered his hands from his chest to his sides and followed suit, settling into a standing stance.

After Soro reached the upper level, he found that Son Gohan had already changed his clothes.

He and Krillin were sitting face-to-face on the floor of the lounge area, legs crossed, palms resting on their knees, eyes closed in meditation.

Both of their breaths were slow and deep, with fine beads of sweat glistening on their foreheads.

A few minutes later.

"Haa... haa... haa..."

Krillin and Son Gohan opened their eyes simultaneously, gasping for air as their chests heaved violently.

Sweat trickled down from Krillin's scalp, while Son Gohan's bangs were soaked, plastered against his forehead.

Both were exhausted, leaning forward with their hands braced against the floor.

"Gohan, you're really something!" Krillin sighed, turning his head toward Son Gohan with a look of admiration. "It's the Saiyan bloodline, after all, plus Piccolo's special training—your progress is much faster than mine."

"But Uncle Krillin knows so many special techniques; I really admire you!" Son Gohan grinned, wiping the sweat from his forehead and revealing two rows of white teeth.

As they spoke, they inadvertently turned their heads and noticed that Soro had come upstairs. He was leaning against the wall by the stairwell, arms crossed, watching them.

"Oh, Soro's here." Krillin greeted him with a smile and sat up straight. "We couldn't keep up with the training pace downstairs, so we've been training up here instead."

"Suit yourselves." Soro nodded, walked over to the main console, and sat down. He propped his legs up on the console, leaned back, and sank into the chair.

"By the way... Soro." Krillin rubbed his bald head, his fingers scrubbing his scalp as he looked at Soro. "I've always had a question. That guy named Vegeta, where did he go? Didn't your Saiyan planet get destroyed a long time ago?"

"He likely went to some planet under Frieza's command," Soro replied, his tone flat as his gaze rested on the ceiling.

"Frieza?" Krillin paused, leaning forward slightly with a curious expression. "Who is he?"

"An evil guy who calls himself the Emperor of the Universe," Soro remarked, shaking his head.

"Emperor of the Universe?" Krillin's mouth twitched, his pupils constricting slightly as a strained smile appeared on his face. "So, is this guy very strong?"

"Yes, indeed very strong." Soro nodded, shifting his gaze from the ceiling to Krillin. "His combat power seems to be over 100 million."

Krillin's pupils shrank violently, his body stiffening. His mouth fell open, his jaw nearly hitting the floor.

"Y-you... what did you say?" Krillin leaped up from the floor, his body jolting. He stumbled as his feet hit the ground, his pale face etched with absolute terror. "A combat power of over 100 million?"

Son Gohan scrambled up from the floor as well, his small face turning white. Cold sweat poured down his forehead, trickling past his temples.

His lips trembled, and he instinctively took a step back.

A combat power of 100 million?

Krillin and Son Gohan exchanged a look, seeing the same fear reflected in each other's eyes.

"You've got to be joking, Soro!" Krillin felt like crying; his complexion was as white as a sheet, and his lips were quivering. "You're joking, right?"

"I never joke!" Soro replied with a straight face, looking Krillin directly in the eye with a serious expression.

Krillin: "..."

Krillin's mouth twitched violently, his throat bobbing as he swallowed hard.

Son Gohan: "..."

Son Gohan's small hands gripped his pant legs, his mouth opening, but no words came out.

The two stared at each other for several seconds, their gazes meeting in the air before simultaneously looking away.

Their lips moved, then pressed shut.

Terrifying!

It was simply too terrifying!

With such high combat power, was he trying to defy the heavens?

"Combat power of 100 million..." Krillin's mouth twitched sharply, his voice dry as if he were talking to himself. "My current combat power isn't even 10,000, is it? Could he kill me just by passing gas?"

"Pretty much." Soro nodded.

Krillin didn't want to talk anymore.

He lowered his head, bracing his hands on his knees as he stared at the patterns on the floor.

Can we not be so brutally honest?

You could at least try to comfort me.

"Is this galactic emperor named Frieza the boss behind Vegeta?" Krillin looked up and asked another question.

"Not exactly." Soro shook his head, tapping his fingers twice on the main console. "Years ago, when Planet Vegeta still existed, the Saiyans were combatants for the Frieza Force, responsible for wiping out the inhabitants of planets and selling those worlds to other aliens at a high price."

"Saiyans truly are wicked!" Krillin sighed, hands on his hips. As he spoke, he suddenly realized something, quickly waving his hands with a bitter smile. "Soro, I didn't mean you. You're different from those other Saiyans."

"The Saiyans were wiped out because of that." Soro let out a sigh, his gaze turning distant as he looked out at the starry sky beyond the porthole.

Krillin stared blankly at Soro, his lips moving slightly.

He suddenly felt that Soro's words were so profound!

"Soro, did you ever go to conquer the people of other planets in the past?" Krillin asked cautiously, lowering his voice.

"The only planet I ever went to was Atlantis Planet." Soro slowly shook his head, pulling his gaze back to land on Krillin's face. "That planet was essentially my home, and I got along very well with the people there."

"You said last time..." Krillin was suddenly interested, rubbing his hands together with a look of anticipation. "There were 100 cat-eared beauties on that planet, is that for real?"

"Those 100 cat-eared beauties were the top 100 on the planet's beauty ranking." Soro replied with a smile, the corners of his mouth curling up. "I wanted to get a few more, but my energy was simply limited."

Krillin: "..."

Krillin's mouth twitched, his eyes widening as his jaw opened and closed.

100 beauties!

An image surfaced in his mind.

Soro surrounded by one hundred cat-eared beauties, the air filled with their chirping voices and endless laughter.

What were you even thinking?