King Vegeta showed little reaction. He merely sat quietly on his throne, a faint glint of coldness in his eyes as he looked at Saigo.
Instead, the guard standing to one side at the foot of the stairs immediately roared, "Insolence! How dare you defy King Vegeta's orders?!"
"Quiet!" Saigo glanced at the four guards and said softly.
The next instant, to everyone's astonishment, he appeared right in front of them.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Four rapid, muffled thumps rang out, and the guards collapsed one after another.
"What?!"
Tarble and King Vegeta stared in shock. They hadn't expected Saigo to attack without warning. Seeing the strength and speed he displayed, they realized his battle power was formidable.
King Vegeta felt mostly fear. He shot to his feet and demanded, "Saigo, are you trying to rebel?"
It had to be said that King Vegeta was fairly clever.
Realizing he might not be a match for Saigo, he simply shouted, hoping to attract the attention of others outside the Royal Palace.
King Vegeta had wanted to attack, but when he considered that his strength was roughly equal to that of his personal guards, he forcibly suppressed the urge.
"Saigo, what are you doing? Stop at once!" Tarble shouted in alarm when he came to his senses.
He thought Saigo was courting death.
Saigo replied calmly, "King Vegeta, if you keep shouting nonsense, I'll kill you and your son right now. I'm sure you can see that killing all of you would be easy for me!"
As he spoke, he climbed the stairs one step at a time. He reached the top and came to a stop before the throne. Under Tarble's stunned gaze and King Vegeta's furious glare, he plopped down on it.
Looking at King Vegeta, who was suppressing his anger so fiercely that veins bulged on his forehead, Saigo drawled, "Want to know why I'm so strong?"
"Want to know how much battle power I have now?"
It wasn't that Saigo insisted on persuading King Vegeta this way. In his previous simulations, the gentler approach had taken too much effort, and he'd still had to resort to force to reach an agreement.
So this time, he was cutting straight to the chase and sparing himself a lot of wasted effort.
King Vegeta still cared about Tarble. While Saigo was speaking, he flashed to his son's side and shielded him. Four expressions—fear, astonishment, confusion, and curiosity—flickered across his face in turn.
At last, he asked gravely, "Saigo, what exactly are you after? You might as well tell me. I... will do everything in my power to satisfy you!"
He was interested in Saigo's battle power, but he couldn't figure out Saigo's intentions. With Saigo so powerful, staying alive had to come first.
At the same time, King Vegeta was already sentencing the nursery attendant to death in his heart:
You bastard!
You reported that his battle power was only a little over a thousand!
Then how was he stronger than me now?
Execute him!
He must be executed!
Worthless trash!
Saigo knew that rulers were usually shrewd, and he recognized King Vegeta's stalling tactic.
He wasn't afraid of being outnumbered. He simply wanted to settle the matter of King Vegeta stepping down and yielding the throne as quickly as possible, so he could get back to training.
His current strength was enough to sweep across the entire Planet Vegeta, but against the truly powerful warriors of the universe, it was nowhere near enough!
"King Vegeta, don't bother playing games with me. No matter how many people you call in, they won't be able to beat me.
"My battle power is beyond anything you can imagine. The Scouters you use now, which can only measure up to ten thousand, can't detect my true strength!"
King Vegeta broke into a cold sweat, but still refused to back down. "Impossible! You can't have a battle power over ten thousand!
"Hmph!
"Stop playing these tricks and tell me what you're after! Don't think you can scare me with lies!"
"Whether I'm lying or not, why don't you find out for yourself?" Saigo looked down at King Vegeta from above, a smile tugging at his lips. "If you beat me, I'll let you do whatever you want with me. But if you lose..."
He deliberately paused. King Vegeta clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, glaring up at Saigo. In an instant, he made his decision.
He cut in, "If I lose, you can do whatever you want with me too. You can even become the King of Saiyans. But Tarble has nothing to do with this. Let him go!"
A fight to the death.
That was quite common among Saiyans.
When two Saiyans had a grudge, they could settle it in a duel. The winner lived; the loser died.
The strong preyed on the weak, and might made right. That was the truth Saiyans lived by.
Saigo shook his head. "No! Tarble has nothing to do with this in the first place. Whatever happens, he won't be involved!"
As he spoke, Saigo flew down and hovered opposite King Vegeta.
"Come on. We'll just fight hand to hand. With the strength I have now, I'm sure you wouldn't want me using energy attacks anyway!"
King Vegeta's expression was grave. Without even turning around, he said, "Tarble, go outside! And don't let anyone in!"
He deliberately emphasized the last part.
"Huh? Yes, Father!" Tarble answered woodenly, then turned and walked out.
It was unclear whether he understood what King Vegeta meant.
Once Tarble had left, a tense atmosphere hung between King Vegeta and Saigo as they faced one another.
"Haah—"
Boom!
King Vegeta roared, and a powerful aura burst from his body. The intense energy formed invisible blades of wind that lashed out in every direction. He was confident that, at full power, he could overwhelm the ignorant upstart before him.
As he powered up, King Vegeta watched Saigo's expression, only to find it completely unchanged. That made his anger burn even hotter!
"Don't underestimate me!"
"I am King Vegeta!"
"Die!"
King Vegeta attacked in a flash. His fists and feet came down like a storm, every strike aimed at a vital point.
But Saigo dodged every attack with ease.
As time passed, King Vegeta's attacks grew increasingly haphazard.
It was obvious that he was panicking after spending so long hitting nothing but air!
Saigo effortlessly dodged each attack and even found time to taunt him.
"This is all the King of Saiyans can do? You've disappointed me! The Saiyan blood in your veins is a disgrace to the Saiyans!"
Saigo's words drove King Vegeta into an even greater rage. "Shut up!"
"Dodging is all you can do? If you've got the guts, hit me back!"
In two lifetimes, this was the first time anyone had ever made such a request.
"Heh."
Saigo chuckled as he dodged another attack, then replied, "I've always liked helping people get what they want. I'll grant your request!"
Before the words had even left his mouth—
Thud!
A muffled, crisp sound rang out!
Before you continue