Vegeta vs. Frieza

Frieza's taunts dealt a serious blow to Vegeta's pride.

"Unforgivable! Aah!! Frieza, prepare to die!"

A Super Saiyan surrounded by golden energy was on a whole different level. No Pseudo Super Saiyan or dozens of times Kaio-ken could compare.

The fight was dazzling—and brutal!

But no matter how Vegeta attacked, Frieza kept smiling. He simply raised one hand and blocked every strike.

At a glance, Vegeta and Frieza's battle didn't seem as spectacular as Son Goku and Slug's.

But if you knew how badly the surrounding area had been devastated, you'd understand how destructive Vegeta was as a Super Saiyan.

Sometimes, when Frieza didn't feel like blocking, he simply dodged to the side.

Then the power Vegeta unleashed would blast into something else—a mountainside, the ground, or the water.

A blast hit the mountains, and they crumbled!

A blast hit the ground, and it split apart!

A blast struck the water, sending up waves hundreds of meters high. At their center, the riverbed was visible, and countless fish and shrimp were obliterated.

The longer the fight went on, the more agitated Vegeta became. The more agitated he got, the more furiously he fought.

Before long, Vegeta was breathing hard, and his movements had lost the fluidity they'd had at the start.

"Vegeta's no match for Frieza. This Frieza is even stronger than Slug!"

Son Goku's eyes were shining. The battle before him had fired him up, and he was incredibly excited!

Unfortunately, he still hadn't mastered the transformation into a Super Saiyan. He'd gotten close, but he still couldn't transform successfully.

Son Goku was confident he could manage a Pseudo Super Saiyan transformation, but that wouldn't give him anywhere near the power Vegeta had now.

Maybe!

It was worth a try!

The battle between Vegeta and Frieza continued, but anyone could see that Frieza was toying with him.

Frieza hadn't even tried to counterattack. He just kept dodging and blocking with one hand.

Even so, Vegeta was already wearing himself out!

"Why! Why! Why!"

"Aah!! Aah!! Why can't I beat Frieza even after becoming a Super Saiyan?! I won't accept this!!"

Whoom!!

They said that in the Dragon Ball World, battle power came from shouting—and this was proof!

Overwhelmed by his resentment, Vegeta broke through his limits once more, and his battle power instantly shot up to 200 million!

In the original story, Son Goku only reached a battle power of 250 million after spending a long time training on Planet Yardrat, following the battle on Namek.

That was 50 million higher than Vegeta's current level, but Son Goku had needed more than a year of grueling training to reach it.

That showed just how furious Vegeta was!

Whoom~~ Whoom~!!

The golden aura swelled again. Vegeta put some distance between himself and Frieza, his energy wavering as he gasped for breath.

"Frieza!! If you've got any guts, stop dodging and take this attack!"

"Galick Gun!!"

Vegeta pressed the backs of his hands together and held both arms at his side, twisting his body as he shouted at Frieza.

He was worried Frieza would shamelessly dodge. Once he fired the full force of his Galick Gun, he wouldn't be able to change its direction.

If Namek exploded, there'd be no saving him.

Vegeta knew perfectly well that Frieza could survive in space. Saiyans couldn't do that!

"Gohan! Krillin! Bulma! Hurry and go with Nail and Dende to summon Shenron. If the planet explodes, we're all doomed!"

Watching the crazed Vegeta, Son Goku felt a faint sense of unease.

He could ignore everything else for the sake of a fight, but he couldn't put his son and friends in danger.

Given his brainpower, the fact that he'd thought to use Shenron to move everyone to safety was already a miracle Chi-Chi deserved credit for.

Vegeta's Galick Gun wasn't going to wait while Son Goku and the others summoned Shenron.

Krillin carried a one-star Dragon Ball, and Gohan ran off with the Dragon Radar to search for the remaining six Dragon Balls scattered in the wreckage of the spaceship.

They had only just started moving when the enormous Galick Gun in Vegeta's hands, glowing pale yellow, shot straight toward Frieza.

It streaked forward like a fired rocket, its power terrifying. Slug, left to fend for himself, turned even greener with fright.

Poof!

Using the little energy he'd managed to recover, Slug performed the Body Extension Technique. His missing left arm grew back, and then he took off after Gohan and the others as they searched for the Dragon Balls.

Immortality was Slug's greatest wish. He'd already grown old once, and he was absolutely terrified of death.

As long as there was even a glimmer of hope, Slug wouldn't give up on that wish.

The advantage of a blast was that it could unleash two or even three times the power of the person firing it.

Vegeta's battle power was now 200 million. Frieza could toy with him because his own battle power was 50 million higher.

Now the Galick Gun had reached a power of 500 million. If Frieza didn't take some kind of action, he was bound to get hurt.

"Star Storm!"

Frieza shouted as well. He thrust both hands forward and leaned his body back slightly. A purple energy wave appeared, then rapidly collided with Vegeta's Galick Gun.

"Aah~ Aah~ Aah!!!"

"Go to hell!!"

Vegeta roared like a madman. There was no denying that Saiyans had powerful voices.

Fortunately, Frieza's body was built differently from an ordinary person's, and his voice wasn't far behind Vegeta's.

"Oh ho ho ho ho! Let's cool you off in space!"

Vegeta put more power into his attack, and so did Frieza.

That was when the difference in their battle power became clear. The purple Star Storm was visibly thicker than the pale yellow Galick Gun.

Victory's scales tipped toward Frieza—and quickly.

In the blink of an eye, the Star Storm had reached Vegeta. His Galick Gun was already almost invisible.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!!"

Whoosh~~!

At the last possible moment, Vegeta dodged the deadly energy wave once again.

The purple Star Storm only grazed his arm and the side of his face, leaving a few minor injuries.

But Star Storm wasn't just a fancy name. Its defining trait was that it could travel through space without losing much energy.

It might not be useful for much else, but it could certainly destroy a planet.

Frieza had once worked for the God of Destruction, Beerus. He'd developed Star Storm to destroy as many planets as possible.

"Oh ho ho ho! Mr. Vegeta, you don't seem to be a match for me! Shall I let Mr. Son Goku take over? Or you could all come at me together!"

Seeing that Vegeta had lost his Super Saiyan form, Frieza let out his trademark laugh once more.

When Son Goku saw that Vegeta had been defeated, he rushed in front of Frieza.

Son Goku might not be able to beat Frieza, but he couldn't let Frieza interrupt Gohan and the others while they summoned Shenron.

As for Slug, Son Goku had completely forgotten about him!

"Now, please allow me to fight you!"

So far, Son Goku hadn't seen Frieza hurt anyone, and he just couldn't bring himself to hate him.

That was why he'd added the word "please" to his request!