"Don't rush." Vegeta's lips curled into a smile. "I have some questions for them."
"What questions?" Nappa asked, perplexed.
He scratched his bald head and furrowed his brows.
What was there to talk about with a bunch of little nobodies?
Krillin and Piccolo stayed silent, growing more and more certain that things were going badly.
They exchanged a glance and saw the same thought in each other's eyes.
The tall one was already very strong.
But the short one looked even stronger than him.
Otherwise, the tall one wouldn't be so obedient.
"The Son Goku you mentioned—is he Kakarot?" Vegeta asked with a grin, his hands on his hips.
"Yes!" Krillin gritted his teeth and answered honestly. "So what?"
"Just as I heard through the Scouter." Vegeta wagged his index finger. "He was brought back to life with the Dragon Balls, is that right?"
Then he burst into manic laughter.
"Ha ha ha! So Kakarot's the savior you've been counting on!"
Neither Krillin nor Piccolo said a word.
Krillin clenched his fist until his nails dug into his palm.
Piccolo watched Vegeta's every move with a dark expression.
"A loser who couldn't even beat Raditz." Vegeta sneered. "What good would he be, even if he came?"
"Goku's not the same as before!" Krillin shouted, holding his left fist in front of him. His voice trembled slightly with excitement. "He's definitely become even stronger!"
"You can't beat Son Goku!" Piccolo growled in a low voice.
"Ha ha ha!" Nappa let out a cold laugh. "Then why doesn't he come and try? He's probably too scared and ran off a long time ago, right?"
"He'll come!" Son Gohan gritted his teeth, poked half his body out from behind Piccolo, and mustered his courage to shout, "My dad will definitely come! He'll come and take care of you!"
"Heh heh heh." Vegeta was amused, and a radiant smile spread across his face. "Interesting."
He tilted his head and let his gaze sweep over Krillin, Piccolo, and Son Gohan.
"Fine. We'll wait until he gets here!"
"What?" Nappa protested anxiously. "Vegeta! Are you kidding? That guy isn't coming!"
He clenched his fists, his aura surging around him.
"Stop doing something stupid!" Nappa roared. "Just let me finish them off!"
"We'll wait three hours." Vegeta slowly held up three fingers and chuckled. "No waiting after that."
"Three hours?" Nappa grew even more irritated and roared, "What are we supposed to do for three hours? We've been sleeping all day, and I'm itching for a fight! Waiting is pointless!"
As he spoke, Nappa shifted into an attack stance.
He kicked off into the air, leaned forward, and drew his arms back.
A violent surge of energy gathered in his palm.
"You idiots are beyond stupid," Nappa growled. "I'm going to have some fun!"
Ignoring Vegeta, Nappa prepared to deal the three of them a fatal blow.
"Nappa!" Vegeta suddenly raised his voice and snapped, "Are you disobeying me?"
Nappa's body stiffened abruptly.
"Ah..."
Nappa suddenly realized what was happening and slammed on the brakes midair again.
This time he stopped even more sharply than before, and the air burst into a visible ring of ripples in front of him.
Nappa's face turned deathly pale.
Piccolo below was startled too, his pupils shrinking.
He felt the pressure radiating from Vegeta.
It wasn't directed at them; Vegeta had just said it casually.
Yet that pressure alone had terrified Nappa.
"I-I'm sorry!" Nappa hurriedly apologized to Vegeta, cold sweat beading on his forehead. "I couldn't quite control myself!"
"Leave it at that." Vegeta turned his gaze back to Krillin and the others, the corner of his mouth lifting into a smile. "I've extended your lives. You should thank me."
Krillin didn't say anything. He just glared at Vegeta.
Thank him?
What a joke.
The battle between the two sides was suspended for the time being.
Vegeta also found a rock and slowly sat down.
He crossed one leg over the other, folded his arms, and leaned back against the rock. Then he narrowed his eyes and patiently waited for Son Goku to arrive.
Nappa also dropped from the air and stood beside Vegeta, arms folded and glaring at the three across from him with an unhappy expression.
Piccolo, Krillin, and Son Gohan gathered together, temporarily relieved.
"I'm sorry," Son Gohan stammered, lowering his head and not daring to look at Piccolo. "I was scared, so I didn't..."
"Get lost!" Piccolo scolded him irritably. "What good are you, you coward? You've let me down!"
"Don't say that, Piccolo," Krillin hurriedly urged. "It's Gohan's first time fighting, after all."
Piccolo snorted, turned his head away, and said nothing more.
"Hey, Vegeta," Nappa asked in a lowered voice, scratching his bald head. "Why wait for Kakarot?"
"Because he's a traitor to our Saiyan race." As he spoke, Vegeta casually picked up the Scouter from the ground and put it on his ear.
The Scouter beeped, and several lines of data appeared on its screen.
Vegeta glanced at it and chuckled. "That traitor has to be eliminated."
He paused, and his smile turned cold.
"First, we'll kill his son and companions right in front of him."
"Then we'll deal with him slowly, leave him helpless, and make him struggle in agony."
"In three or four hours, we'll be able to put on a little hell show!"
"Oh, I see!" Nappa rubbed his hands together, getting more and more excited. "That's great, Vegeta!"
"Within three hours," Vegeta said with a smile, "if he comes, that's what we'll do."
"You can have Kakarot." Nappa licked his lips and turned his gaze toward Krillin and the other two in the distance. "I'll give the other three a good beating."
"Suit yourself." Vegeta snorted. "But don't forget to make that Namekian spit out the Dragon Balls."
"Don't worry." Nappa patted his chest, his anticipation growing. "It'll be great if Kakarot comes."
As he said this, he scratched his head and suddenly thought of something.
"But come to think of it, Vegeta," Nappa mused, "speaking of Saiyans, haven't we forgotten someone else?"
"Who?" Vegeta raised an eyebrow.
"Soro," Nappa said with a smile. "The low-class warrior like Kakarot."
"Oh?" Vegeta chuckled and narrowed his eyes. "I'd forgotten about him until you mentioned it."
He stretched and spoke casually.
"Once we've taken care of things on Earth, we can stop by..."
Vegeta couldn't quite remember the name of the planet where Soro was. He furrowed his brows and thought for a moment.
"I think it was called Atlantis Planet," Nappa replied after thinking it over.
Before you continue