Arriving on Namek

Krillin swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing.

"Well... could you introduce me to a few?" Krillin asked eagerly, wringing his hands in front of him. There was a pleading look in his eyes.

Soro's expression instantly stiffened. His smile vanished, and his gaze turned sharp.

Krillin's body went rigid, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.

"N-no... I was just joking!" Krillin panicked, hurriedly waving his hands. "Please don't take it seriously. I really was just joking."

"There are so many women on Earth, and not one of them has taken a liking to you. Now you want to go looking on Atlantis Planet?" Soro snorted, his gaze cutting into Krillin like a knife. "If you ever have that kind of idea again, believe me, I'll make you a eunuch!"

Krillin shrank his neck and recoiled, instinctively shielding himself with his hands.

He didn't dare say another word. He lowered his head and even tried to breathe quietly.

Son Gohan stood nearby, tilting his head as he looked from Krillin to Soro, a puzzled expression on his little face.

Son Goku and Piccolo trained for several hours before finally coming upstairs.

Their clothes were soaked with sweat and clung to their bodies.

Son Goku's hair was dripping wet, and a large patch of Piccolo's cape was soaked, too.

But their eyes were bright, and they looked full of energy.

Krillin went over to them and immediately gave Son Goku and Piccolo a brief account of Frieza.

"One hundred million in battle power?" Son Goku asked in disbelief. "That's terrifying!"

Cold sweat poured down Piccolo's face, and droplets ran from his forehead and dripped off his nose.

He couldn't say a word, his gaze fixed on the window.

"Um... hahahaha." Krillin laughed, the sound dry and forced. "But we probably won't be that unlucky, right? There's no way Frieza would go to Namek!"

"I'd actually like to test myself against Frieza with one hundred million in battle power." Son Goku rubbed his hands together, his eyes shining. A hint of anticipation crossed his face. "I want to see just how strong he is."

"Goku, you absolutely can't think like that!" Krillin cried, his voice rising as he frantically waved his hands. "How much battle power do you have right now? It'd be impressive if you had twenty thousand, wouldn't it?"

"That's why I need to train even harder!" Son Goku took a deep breath, his chest swelling, then slowly exhaled. He turned to Soro, his gaze resolute. "Soro, I'm going to pick up the pace. I want to adapt to fifty times gravity as soon as possible."

Soro gave a slight nod, a faint smile on his lips.

The days passed one by one.

The spaceship traveled smoothly through the starry skies, the stars beyond the windows motionless.

The lights in the Gravity Training Room stayed on from morning until night.

Son Goku's training progressed rapidly. He went from twenty times gravity to thirty, then from thirty to forty, surpassing his limits every day.

Piccolo gritted his teeth and kept up. Although his progress wasn't as fast as Son Goku's, he was steadily improving.

Krillin and Son Gohan sat upstairs and practiced their ki. Every now and then, they went down to try training under low gravity, only to scurry back upstairs in embarrassment.

Six days later.

Soro's spaceship appeared above Namek.

Beyond the porthole, a verdant planet slowly rotated through space.

Blue-green vegetation covered its surface, and lakes gleamed like jewels set into the land. Three suns appeared in the sky as three spheres of different sizes, casting their light over the beautiful planet.

"Is that Namek?" Krillin exclaimed, pressing himself against the porthole, eyes wide with excitement.

"What a beautiful planet!" Son Goku said in admiration, joining him by the window.

Piccolo, however, remained silent. He stood behind the others with his arms crossed, gazing through the porthole at the planet.

A rare flicker of emotion appeared in his eyes. His lips moved slightly, then pressed together again.

He felt the unease of returning to his homeland.

"Whoosh!"

The spaceship pierced the planet's atmosphere, glowing a searing red.

It plunged from the sky like a meteor, leaving a long white trail behind it.

As it neared the ground, blue flames suddenly burst from the rear of the ship. It slowed, then slowed further, and further still.

Four struts extended from its underside, holding it firmly above the ground.

"Clunk!"

The spaceship landed safely on Namek.

It was a beautiful planet carpeted with blue grass.

The grass was soft, like a carpet beneath their feet.

Green lakes flowed quietly, dividing the land into countless islands.

Namek had three suns, each hanging in a different part of the sky. They varied in size and brightness.

As a result, there was no night here. The sky was always bright; only the angle and color of the light changed as the three suns shifted relative to one another.

"We've finally made it to Namek!" Son Goku exclaimed, rubbing his hands together as he paced back and forth in front of the hatch.

Soro opened the spaceship's hatch and stepped outside, his feet touching the blue grass.

Son Goku, Son Gohan, Piccolo, and Krillin followed him out.

Son Goku and the others looked around as curiously as a bunch of little kids.

"This place is a lot like where Uncle Piccolo and I trained." Son Gohan looked up at Piccolo, his eyes brightening.

He had spent a long time in the wilderness when he was little, and its landscape really did resemble this place in some ways.

Piccolo took a deep breath, his chest swelling.

The air on Namek carried the faint scent of grass, mixed with the dampness of the lakes.

He took in the familiar scent of his homeland, closed his eyes, then opened them again, remaining silent for a moment.

"Right, the Dragon Balls!" Son Goku suddenly remembered them and hurriedly took out the Dragon Radar Bulma had prepared.

It was a palm-sized, round device with rings of ripples on its screen.

Son Goku pressed the button on top.

Dots of light immediately appeared on the screen.

One, two, three... seven in all.

Seven bright dots were scattered across different locations on the screen. Some were clustered together, while others lay far away.

"Well, Goku?" Krillin asked excitedly, leaning over so close that he nearly bumped into Son Goku's shoulder.

"Great!" Son Goku exclaimed, both surprised and delighted. A huge grin spread across his face. "The Dragon Balls are definitely here!"

"Then let's hurry up and look for them!" Piccolo suggested, crossing his arms as he scanned the distant hills and lakes.

"Dad, Uncle Piccolo, Uncle Krillin, Uncle Soro..." Son Gohan suddenly turned to look in another direction and raised his little hand to point into the distance. "There's a powerful presence over there!"

"Really?" Krillin said, startled. He followed the direction Son Gohan was pointing and narrowed his eyes. "Is it a Namekian?"

"No." Son Gohan shook his head, his brows furrowing slightly. A wary look crossed his little face. "It feels evil."

"Isn't that normal?" Krillin laughed, glancing at Piccolo. "Piccolo used to want to rule the whole Earth!"

Piccolo's face darkened. The corner of his mouth twitched as he glared at Krillin and snorted. "Do you think you're funny?"