Go on Maternity Leave, Krillin!

"No one's over there." Soro pointed to a corner of the cliff, then opened his palm toward it. "I'll keep watch."

Krillin couldn't worry about anything else. Cradling his round belly with both hands, he hurried over, stumbling and nearly tripping on the grass.

He hid behind the cliff, vanishing into the shadows of the rocks.

About ten seconds later.

"Ah—!"

Soro heard Krillin let out a heart-wrenching scream. It echoed between the cliffs, lingering for a long time.

His voice was filled with pain, shock, and a complicated emotion that was hard to put into words.

Another dozen or so seconds passed.

Soro saw Krillin slowly crawl out from behind the cliff on all fours, like a reptile.

He was still holding an egg in his arms.

Soro took a closer look, and his pupils shrank slightly.

The egg was much bigger than the one beneath the Stone.

Its shell was milky white and smooth, with a full, rounded oval shape.

It seemed even larger than an ostrich egg. It was so heavy that Krillin was struggling to hold it with both hands.

It was hard to imagine how Krillin had managed to lay such a huge ostrich egg.

Soro's mouth twitched as he glanced at Krillin's belly.

Well, his stomach was flat again.

Soro looked at the egg in Krillin's hands.

"Krillin." Soro gazed at him in silence, his voice calm. "Did you lay this egg?"

Krillin: "..."

Krillin's face flushed bright red, from his neck to the tips of his ears, before slowly turning an ashen blue.

He turned to look at the egg he'd laid. Krillin wanted to die. His lips trembled, and his eyes grew red again.

What was going on?

He'd only just arrived on Namek, and he was already pregnant—and had laid an egg?

Krillin's mind went blank, as if someone had hit him with a hammer.

Sniffling despite having no runny nose, he let two streams of hot tears spill from his eyes. They slid down his cheeks and dripped onto the eggshell.

The strongest man on Earth had gotten pregnant and laid an egg on Namek.

Krillin lowered his head and looked at the enormous egg in his hands. His distorted face was reflected in its shell.

"Krillin." Soro fought back a laugh, his voice tinged with barely suppressed amusement. He pointed behind the cliff. "You've just given birth, so you need to take it easy, right? This spot looks pretty good to me. Why don't you rest here for a while? You can come out and move around once you're done recovering!"

Krillin: "..."

Krillin's mouth twitched again, and even his shoulders were shaking.

"Go on, go on," Soro said, turning to walk over to the spaceship.

He bent down and pressed a square button on the spaceship.

The button was red, with a Capsule icon on it.

"Click!"

The spaceship instantly turned into a Capsule and dropped into Soro's palm, small and exquisitely made.

Soro tossed the Capsule to Krillin.

Krillin released one hand from the egg to catch it, then closed his fist around it.

"Stay here." Soro patted Krillin twice on the shoulder. "Hatch the kid soon. I'm going to check on Goku and the others."

With that, Soro shot up into the sky, his feet leaving the ground as his body rocketed upward.

Krillin rubbed his eyes, pressing his fingers against his eyelids, and wiped away his tears. Then he crawled back behind the cliff.

He found a flat rock to sit on and carefully placed the egg on his lap, shielding its sides with both hands.

Looking down at the egg, which was about the size of an ostrich egg, Krillin fell into deep doubt about his life.

His brows furrowed, and his gaze lingered on the shell for several seconds.

I really was pregnant?

And I laid an egg?

Krillin's mind began replaying everything that had just happened.

I remember now!

His eyes suddenly lit up.

I heard Tien Shinhan say that King Piccolo had kids by spitting out eggs.

Krillin tapped his chin twice with his fingers.

So... I came to Namek... laying an egg doesn't seem that strange, does it?

His mouth twitched as he looked at the egg on his lap again.

I wonder what it'll look like when it hatches.

Will it be my son?

An image appeared in Krillin's mind.

A bald baby, dressed in a tiny Turtle School uniform, crawling toward him.

Thinking that it might be his own son, Krillin felt his maternal instincts flare. A warm feeling welled up in his chest.

His expression softened. He gently stroked the eggshell, which felt warm and smooth.

Should I hatch this egg?

Krillin lowered his head and drew the egg closer to his chest. Leaning forward slightly, he warmed the shell with his body heat.

Far away.

Across the vast wasteland, bare rocks jutted from the ground, and blue grass grew sparsely in the cracks.

Vegeta had already stepped out of the spaceship. With his arms crossed, he stood atop a towering cliff.

His gaze swept across the scenery, and the corners of his mouth dipped slightly.

He had only been out for a short while.

Whoosh!

Another spherical spaceship descended from the sky, trailing a bright flame behind it.

The ship tore through the atmosphere with a sharp whine and landed near Vegeta's spaceship.

The hatch opened, and white vapor billowed out through the gap.

Cui sprang out of the ship and shot into the air, hovering several meters above the ground.

He raised his hand and immediately pressed a button on his Scouter, jabbing it with his index finger.

Several sets of data appeared on the Scouter's screen.

Cui glanced down at the screen and chuckled. "Vegeta, you can't escape! I, Cui, am here to take care of you!"

His lips spread into a cruel grin, and he followed the Scouter's directions with his gaze.

A dot blinked on the Scouter's screen.

"Found you, Vegeta!" Cui sneered, his voice brimming with smugness. "Hahaha! I'll carry out Lord Frieza's orders! Do you hear me, Vegeta? I'm going to kill you with my own hands!"

"Don't make me laugh, Cui." Vegeta stood on a cliff with his arms crossed, giving a cold sneer. His voice came through the Scouter, full of disdain. "Do you really think you can kill me?"

He raised his chin slightly, his lips curling in contempt.

"I'm right here waiting for you. Hurry up and come over!"

"Hahaha!" Cui laughed maniacally, his voice echoing across the open wasteland. "Are you blind, Vegeta? Take a good look at your Scouter! My power level is much higher than yours!"

He kicked off into the air and shot forward, flying toward Vegeta so fast that a streak of afterimages trailed behind him.

Vegeta's lips lifted into a faint smile, his expression growing even more amused.

He stood in the wind with his arms crossed, letting it ruffle his pointed hair.