There was nothing Vegeta could do about the unfairness of fate, but one thing was certain: he wasn't about to give up.
He had already gotten a glimpse of how to become a Super Saiyan. If he could just become one, what would Kakarot matter?
Vegeta and Son Goku exchanged a look. Both saw the same defiant fighting spirit in the other's eyes.
Their auras erupted skyward, and Son Goku and Vegeta charged toward Slug once more, one after the other.
Far from the spaceship, Son Gohan and Krillin flew after the direction in which Son Goku had vanished, tears in their eyes.
Slug had no desire whatsoever to fight these two insects.
He was grieving for Zarbon, the subordinate he had almost managed to recruit.
In this universe, anyone with a battle power above 20,000 was already a force to be reckoned with.
Take Cui, for example. Although he hadn't reached 20,000, he was still a decent subordinate—let alone Zarbon, whose battle power was 29,000.
The likes of the Cold Force and the Ginyu Force could already dominate a region, if not for freaks like King Cold and Frieza.
He also regretted letting that Saiyan who'd planted the Tree of Might escape back then. The man would have made an excellent subordinate.
Wait, those two idiots who'd dared attack him just now seemed even more suited to becoming his subordinates.
They were both far stronger than the Ginyu Force. Why had he sent them flying with a single slap?
But they probably weren't dead. Should he go take a look? If he treated them, perhaps he could recruit them for his own use!
Once he'd thought of it, he decided to do it. Slug didn't dare openly defy Frieza, who was far too powerful, but surely he could recruit a subordinate to serve him.
After all, he was known as a great king, too!
But just as he was about to get up and check on them, the two he'd slapped away returned. They didn't look injured at all; in fact, they seemed full of energy.
What the heck?
They looked even stronger now!
Was this some kind of Saiyan talent?
At that moment, Slug felt threatened—and intensely so!
When the orange-clad one with the crab-shaped hair had turned red with his aura, his strength had increased fifteenfold!
He was still an ant, but this ant was growing at an astonishing rate!
As before, Vegeta was the first to attack. Slug didn't take a mere two million battle power seriously.
But what was that golden light that kept flashing into view?!
Whenever it appeared, every hair on Slug's body stood on end, as if some ancient beast were lurking within that golden glow.
Son Goku watched Vegeta use those intermittent flashes of golden light to hold his own against Slug, and he began to understand.
The dust kicked up by the battle didn't affect Frieza and Bulma. Frieza was eating his steak with a knife and fork, taking his time as he reminisced.
When Frieza saw Vegeta and Son Goku return, a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. He could sense the power hidden within Son Goku.
A battle power of 90,000 suddenly jumping to two million—Akira Toriyama wouldn't dare write something like that!
And yet, it had happened!
With the twentyfold Kaio-ken, Son Goku now had a battle power of 40 million.
Son Goku also had incredible battle instincts. Once he started fighting Slug, and with the battle power boost Saiyans got when enraged, Slug might not be able to hold out. Looks like he'd have to go giant.
Sigh. He should've known better than to kill King Cold so early. King Cold and the others would've made excellent stepping stones for Son Goku and his friends.
What a shame~
But he didn't regret it!
He wouldn't have felt at ease with King Cold alive!
If Son Goku was able to contend with Slug thanks to Kaio-ken, then Vegeta's current form was rather interesting.
It was hard to call it Super Saiyan when it was so unstable, but when the golden light flashed, his battle power had already reached 40 million!
That boost wasn't as great as turning into a Super Saiyan, but it was still terrifying.
"Ah~~ Hyaaah!!"
"You vermin! Vermin! Vermin!"
The longer Vegeta fought, the more fired up he got. Slug cursed him as he gradually unleashed more of his own battle power.
Boom!
Whoosh~~!
After their fists collided once more, Vegeta's state changed. A ring of golden light appeared around the outside of his white aura, and this golden aura was steady—unlike the intermittent flashes before.
But his hair and eyes hadn't changed.
Frieza chewed his tough, chewy steak and marveled.
"Vegeta really has talent. Without any extreme emotional trigger, he's managed to imitate a Super Saiyan transformation, and his battle power's stabilized at 40 million! Not bad, not bad!"
Bulma stared anxiously at the battle projected on the screen.
She didn't know what a Pseudo Super Saiyan was, but she could tell Vegeta was still at a disadvantage.
That was right. Vegeta was indeed losing ground. Once Slug went all out and unleashed a battle power of 65 million, Vegeta just couldn't take it anymore.
What's more, a Pseudo Super Saiyan transformation drained stamina almost as fast as Kaio-ken. Vegeta couldn't maintain this form for long.
"What a pity. He still hasn't mastered the real transformation. Looks like Vegeta's going to lose."
Frieza shook his head and ate the last bit of steak.
"Come on, let's go watch from the battlefield. Doesn't your neck hurt from looking up like that?"
Ignoring Bulma's glare once again, Frieza headed toward the battlefield first, flying at a leisurely pace as if he were out for a stroll.
Bam~ Bam! Bam~ Bam!
Boom~ Boom! Boom~ Boom!
Vegeta was still doing his best to hold on, trading punches, driving in his knees, and whipping out kicks. He fought Slug head-on with wide, powerful movements.
The golden flames around him were certainly dazzling, but battle power was what mattered. Slug wasn't some amateur either; he'd earned his strength through countless fights.
With a gap of 25 million between them, the scales of victory quickly tipped toward Slug.
And Slug still hadn't even used his giant form. He had this fight in the bag!
"Ah!! Hyaaahyaaah~!"
After clashing head-on with Slug once more, Vegeta used the recoil to shoot quickly into the sky.
The Prince Style was here!
Before this, Vegeta had either killed his opponents instantly or been killed instantly himself, so he'd never had a chance to use the Prince Style. He'd been fuming about it ever since.
Energy blasts shot from Vegeta's hands as if they cost nothing, flying far faster than a Gatling gun. Krillin and Son Gohan couldn't even follow them with their eyes.
They could only feel terrifying waves of energy raining down from the sky, illuminating Krillin's bald head until it shone brilliantly.
Bulma had only just gotten a little closer when she felt like she was about to die. There was no way she could keep flying.
And the worst part was, she suddenly had to pee really badly again.
"Galick Gun!!!"
After unleashing blasts for a full half-minute, Vegeta gave a final shout and used his ultimate attack: an energy wave remarkably similar to the Kamehameha.
As for how powerful the energy wave was, that was beside the point. Vegeta's shout alone was extraordinary enough to scatter the dark clouds overhead.
Son Goku glanced at Vegeta's position and was instantly horrified!
"Vegeta, stop! Are you trying to destroy Planet Namek?!"
Son Goku couldn't imagine the terrifying consequences if Slug stopped holding his ground and dodged out of the way.
"Mouth Blast!!"
Slug's voice rang out from the center of the explosion, followed by an energy beam even thicker than the Galick Gun, which met Vegeta's attack head-on.
Son Goku breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed the other guy didn't want Namek destroyed either.
Wait!
Come to think of it, neither Son Goku nor even Vegeta knew their opponent's name?
What the hell kind of fight was this?!
Oh, well. At least they had someone to fight~~
Huh? Was that Bulma, falling headfirst toward the ground?
Before you continue