A tiny speck vanished from sight.
Frieza's sharp eyes had caught it. He could tell that the one flying away was Vegeta.
With a mere one million in battle power, Vegeta had actually dared to attack Slug. He clearly had no idea what death looked like.
If Frieza hadn't given the order, Slug would never have held back his power as much as he had. Vegeta might well have been slapped into a meaty pulp.
Bulma's eyesight wasn't nearly as good, and she had no idea what had happened. She had only seen a blurry figure disappear in the blink of an eye.
"Mr. Frieza? That thing that just disappeared—was it a person?"
Frieza slapped his tail against the ground, took a big gulp of his drink, and burped.
"Why, yes. The one who flew off was Vegeta."
Frieza looked in the direction Vegeta had disappeared, his eyes lighting up.
Something interesting was happening.
The battle on Planet Namek had already been changed beyond recognition by his arrival.
Nail was in a bind. He had only wanted to protect the Grand Elder, but the Grand Elder had scolded him for it.
So, at the Grand Elder's request, he had no choice but to take Dende with him and fly toward the battlefield.
He brought Dende because Dende knew the Healing Technique—and was exceptionally good at it, too.
It wasn't as fast as a Senzu Bean, but there was no shortage of them to worry about.
Nail and Dende were heading toward the spaceship when a black speck suddenly appeared in the distance. Nail froze.
The speck quickly grew larger, and he could make out the person hurtling straight toward him.
It was Vegeta!
"Dende, move!"
Nail shouted and shoved Dende aside. In an instant, he unleashed his full power of 350,000, and waves of energy surged out around him.
Grrk—grrk—
Nail's arms began to swell until they were more than twice their former size!
His energy rose rapidly, too, surging from 350,000 to 500,000!
It was just like Future Trunks's power-focused Super Saiyan form: he sacrificed speed to increase his strength.
Nail had no choice. Vegeta was coming at him far too fast, with unstoppable momentum. If Nail didn't do this, they might all be killed in the collision.
Of course, he could have dodged. But the Grand Elder was behind them, in the direction they had come from. If he didn't stop Vegeta from crashing onward, the Grand Elder would surely be caught in the impact.
The Grand Elder's body couldn't possibly withstand a collision from that distance.
Nail had no other choice!
"Haah! Stop right there!"
Thud!!
A thin line of blood appeared at the corner of Nail's mouth. Several blood vessels in his hands had burst under the immense pressure.
Still, he had managed to catch Vegeta.
Nail had never imagined that the first time he unleashed his full power after getting stronger would be to stop a human missile!
It left him feeling a little dejected.
Vegeta had a battle power of 300,000. How had he gotten beaten this badly?
Nail didn't know that this was already the second time Vegeta had been beaten to a pulp—and that his battle power had now risen to one million!
In less than half an hour since parting ways with Nail and the others, his battle power had tripled!
Horrifying!
"Dende, come heal this guy! He's barely hanging on!"
Vegeta really was having a rough time. In less than ten minutes, he had nearly died twice.
Dende didn't hesitate. The Grand Elder had sent him along as a medic, and saving lives was his specialty.
"Purin, purin, purin, purin!"
Humming Jigglypuff's famous song, Dende made a green glow appear in his hands.
Five seconds later, Dende spread his hands, swept them around in a circle, then lowered both palms to his stomach and let out a deep breath.
It looked just like a martial arts master finishing a session after passing on his inner energy.
If Frieza had seen it, he would have cried out: You've gotta be from another world, too, haven't you? Was it Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils or Dragon Babu? It definitely couldn't have been The Deer and the Cauldron—those good-for-nothings couldn't do this!
Watching Dende show off with such gusto, Nail said irritably,
"Don't rush to rest. I'm pretty badly hurt, too!"
Dende trotted over to Nail on his little legs.
After another flashy display, Nail's hands were as good as new.
Nail hadn't been through a major battle, but his battle power had still gone up a little. Not by much—just enough to reach 400,000.
That really wasn't much!
Vegeta, on the other hand, was different. When he opened his eyes again, a flash of golden light flickered and vanished.
Vegeta stood up and looked first at Nail, then at Dende. He knew Dende had saved him.
He wanted to say thanks, but his pride wouldn't let him.
After testing his strength, Vegeta didn't burst into a maniacal laugh, as expected. Instead, he fell silent for a moment.
His battle power had now soared to two million. The increase wasn't as great as before, but he was undeniably close to the minimum three million needed to become a Super Saiyan.
That fleeting flash of golden light showed that Vegeta had already touched the threshold of becoming a Super Saiyan.
Just then, another black speck flew toward them. When it came close enough to make out, they saw that it was a person.
His clothes were in tatters, and his crab-shaped hair had turned into bangs, blown forward by the wind. Who else could it be but Son Goku?
"Kakarot! With that pathetic battle power, you still dared to act tough? Were you looking to get yourself killed?"
With Vegeta—a powerhouse with two million battle power—there to catch him, Son Goku was caught with ease. Seeing Son Goku unconscious, Vegeta looked utterly disgusted.
He flicked his hand and tossed Son Goku right in front of Dende.
To punish him for the injuries he'd caused Vegeta on Earth, Vegeta had even made him skid along the ground for a while.
By the time Son Goku reached Dende, a deep furrow had been carved into the ground.
"This man is Son Gohan's biological father. Whether you save him is up to you!"
Even Vegeta, proud as he was, now understood how powerful Slug was. Even with his current battle power of two million, he had no chance against Slug.
Unless he could figure out where that golden light had come from. Perhaps that was a trait of the Legendary Super Saiyan.
Vegeta truly was a fighting genius. He didn't understand the difference between an ordinary Super Saiyan and the Legendary Super Saiyan.
But that didn't stop him from thinking in the right direction.
Dende felt a little tired. The Healing Technique didn't affect his body, but putting on a show took it out of him.
In no time at all, he had done it three times!
And it hadn't even been ten minutes since he left the Grand Elder!
Dende had a feeling he'd work himself sick today!
Green light appeared as Dende once again finished up and gathered his breath.
Before long, Son Goku woke up, feeling better than ever.
He let out a mighty shout!
"Ha!!"
Whoosh—whoosh—
White waves of energy swirled around Son Goku. His aura was even stronger than Vegeta's had been moments ago.
Vegeta's face instantly darkened. What the hell—who was supposed to be the prince of the Saiyan warrior race here?
On Earth, Goku had surpassed him too. (The moment Son Goku activated Kaio-ken x4, his battle power really had surpassed Vegeta's!)
Now, after surviving death twice, Vegeta had barely reached two million, while Kakarot, that cheating bastard, had only had to go through it once to soar straight to two million!
It was simply absurd!
Damn you, heavens! Are you blind?
Don't you know who the real fighting genius is?
Meanwhile, Nail was already grumbling to himself. A whole ten thousand mud horses were galloping through his mind, back and forth!
Before you continue