Stay low! I have to be as inconspicuous as water blending into the sea!
By the time Vitelli landed in the vast plaza before the royal palace, it was already packed with people.
Nearly every mid- and high-ranking Saiyan warrior on the planet had gathered there. An oppressive solemnity and faint unease hung in the air.
At the front of the crowd stood King Vegeta. His expression was stern, and deep in his eyes lurked a hint of gravity that was almost impossible to detect.
Vitelli's arrival caught King Vegeta's attention.
Those solemn eyes swept over and lingered on Vitelli for a moment, sizing him up.
Vitelli took a few steps forward and respectfully knelt on one knee. "Vitelli pays his respects to my king!"
King Vegeta narrowed his eyes slightly. His Scouter beeped as it registered Vitelli's steady power level of around 1,900. The corner of his mouth lifted in something that could hardly be called a smile, and his voice carried a note of condescending approval.
"Mm. Rise, Vitelli. You certainly live up to Mete's name. You've been awake only a few months, and your power level is already close to 2,000. You haven't disgraced your father. Good. Keep working hard, and serve Prince Vegeta well in the future."
"Thank you for your praise, my king! Vitelli will do everything in his power!"
Vitelli replied with "excitement," but felt nothing inside.
As if I'd help that perennial runner-up.
"Go stand at the back,"
King Vegeta waved a hand, his tone turning cool again. "King Cold will be arriving shortly. Don't offend our honored guest."
"Yes!"
Vitelli was secretly delighted. This was exactly the spot he'd been hoping for!
He quickly rose, kept his head down, and hurried to the very back of the crowd, where he blended in perfectly and became part of the background.
King Vegeta's seemingly encouraging words were really an attempt to push him away from the center of things—and Vitelli couldn't have been happier!
Time passed amid the oppressive wait.
After who knew how long, someone in the crowd suddenly called out in a hushed voice, "They're here!"
A dense swarm of round spaceships came roaring through the distant sky, bearing down like a plague of locusts and radiating an overwhelming aura of destruction!
They completely disregarded Planet Vegeta's building codes. Their enormous hulls smashed brutally through the towering structures in their path, and explosions mingled with the buildings' cries of destruction.
From below the palace came the faint sounds of civilians shouting and panicking.
Whoosh!
Every Saiyan in the plaza, including King Vegeta at the front, dropped to one knee in unison!
Their movements were perfectly synchronized, carrying an almost humiliating air of submission.
Vitelli immediately followed suit, lowering into a half-kneel and leaning forward, his head bowed as low as possible.
He locked his power level firmly at 2,000, making himself seem like an insignificant rock. He couldn't afford to draw Frieza's attention now.
"Welcome, King Cold!" The deafening roar of their voices surged into the sky, filled with awe and... fear!
King Cold, exceptionally tall and powerfully built, with deep purple skin and two horns on his head, slowly emerged from the largest ship.
Beside him, the disproportionately small white figure of Frieza stood out starkly!
"Ha ha ha! King Vegeta, it's been a long time!"
King Cold's laughter rolled like thunder, making people's eardrums ache.
"Welcome, King Cold! Welcome, Lord Frieza!" King Vegeta was the first to rise, adopting an exceedingly humble posture and speaking with almost obsequious respect.
King Cold slowly descended with Frieza.
Just as their feet were about to touch the ground, the corner of Vitelli's eye caught sight of a group of oddly dressed figures in an open area at the front of the plaza. At some point, the Ginyu Force had appeared!
They were striking their signature poses, so bizarre they could make anyone cringe!
"..." Vitelli's mouth twitched almost imperceptibly. He quickly lowered his head, afraid he might give himself away.
Those clowns never missed a chance to show off, no matter where they went.
"Oh ho ho ho, King Vegeta, there's no need for such formalities."
Frieza's distinctive voice rang out, mocking and cold. He regarded the Saiyan king with amused interest. Though his small body gave off a faint aura, the temperature across the entire plaza seemed to plummet.
"Yes, Lord Frieza." King Vegeta lowered himself even further.
King Cold smiled as if he were watching a show and spoke from the side.
"King Vegeta, from this day forward, my son Frieza will have complete command over your Saiyan race. The Cold Force will also officially be renamed the Frieza Force!"
His voice was imbued with unquestionable authority.
"You'd better stay on your toes. Frieza is... even more ruthless and brutal than I am."
Before King Cold had finished speaking, Frieza gently raised a hand to stop his father.
He leaned forward slightly, his crimson eyes sweeping over the mass of kneeling Saiyan warriors below. A smile that made one's blood run cold spread across his face.
"Saiyans~"
His voice reached every person clearly. It sounded as cheerful as a child's, yet carried a chill that froze the soul.
"From today on, I'm your new master. Personally, I'm very, very eager to see what you can do... I hope you won't disappoint me, heh heh heh."
As soon as he finished speaking, Frieza casually lifted a hand and took a smaller, more streamlined Scouter from a box held by an attendant. He slipped it over his ear.
His crimson eyes slowly surveyed the crowd through the Scouter's lens.
Every Saiyan his gaze passed over felt as though a venomous snake had fixed its eyes on them. They instinctively pressed themselves lower and didn't dare even breathe too loudly.
"Oh?"
Frieza suddenly let out a flippant little question, as if he'd noticed something interesting. He extended a small white finger and pointed toward the top of a tall building behind the royal palace.
"Looks like there are some unfriendly little bugs."
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Several tiny but incredibly concentrated crimson beams of energy burst from his fingertips, as swift as the scythes of death!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The sturdy alloy building was pierced, torn apart, and blown up as easily as if it were made of paper!
Flames shot into the sky as thick smoke billowed! Several figures at the top of the building, apparently holding weapons and trying to spy on them, barely managed half a scream before the violent explosions reduced them to cosmic dust!
The shock wave even reached the edge of the plaza, drawing a wave of muffled cries and commotion.
Vitelli kept his head down among the crowd and cursed inwardly. That bastard... he's already putting on a show of force!
He furtively glanced up toward the front. King Vegeta had bowed his head even lower, and his broad shoulders seemed to tremble slightly.
All Vitelli felt was mocking amusement. King of the Saiyans? Hah... before overwhelming power, he's nothing but a dog. This is... laughable.
Apparently finding the pointless slaughter boring,
Frieza's smile faded, replaced by his usual lofty indifference.
He casually tossed the latest-model Scouter onto the ground in front of King Vegeta. It hit with a crisp clatter.
"Here, Saiyans. These are some 'little gifts' for you: five hundred of the latest-model Scouters. Their functions are... a little complicated. Figure them out yourselves."
He left them with one final, offhand remark. "If you need more, just ask me anytime. Oh ho ho~."
With a laugh, he stopped looking at everyone and leisurely flew back to his ship.
King Cold laughed heartily and followed right behind him.
As they had on their arrival, the enormous fleet became a dark cloud of destruction, smashing its way through the atmosphere before vanishing in the blink of an eye into the dim horizon.
And so, a meeting filled with oppression, slaughter, and humiliation ended in anticlimactic fashion.
A deathly silence settled over the plaza.
Only after a long while did King Vegeta slowly rise. His face was livid, and his fists were clenched so tightly that his nails nearly dug into his flesh.
The senior officials nearby immediately crowded around him, quietly discussing something.
Vitelli had no interest in sticking around.
He just wanted to get back to his little home and keep honing his strength.
As far as he was concerned, rather than rage helplessly here or discuss strategies that were doomed to fail, he'd be better off throwing a few tens of thousands more punches and raising his power level a little further.
However, just as he turned to leave, a palace official in a hurry stopped him.
The official seemed eager to report back. He spoke to Vitelli extremely quickly.
"Vitelli! Go back and get ready! Next month, His Highness Prince Vegeta will awaken from his incubation pod! From then on, your duty as the prince's bodyguard will take effect immediately! You must stay by His Highness at all times and protect him. No mistakes!"
"What?!"
Vitelli was deeply shaken and blurted out, "Wasn't it supposed to be another six months?"
The official glared at him impatiently, his tone scolding.
"Is His Highness's awakening date something you can question? This is King Vegeta's order! Go back and prepare. Wait for the official notice!"
With that, he paid no further attention to the stunned Vitelli and hurried off, joining the stream of people returning to the palace.
Vitelli stood there, watching the official's retreating back before glancing at the oppressive silhouette of the palace. He felt a chill creep up his spine.
Vegeta was going to awaken six months early?!
Frieza had just left, and now Vegeta was waking up ahead of schedule... This couldn't be a coincidence!
King Vegeta had sensed an unprecedented crisis. He urgently needed his son—the "hope" he had pinned his faith on—to grow up quickly and face the terrifying pressure Frieza brought with him!
And Vitelli, the "bodyguard," had naturally been forced onto this speeding carriage hurtling toward a cliff!
This is bad...
Vitelli furrowed his brow. Guarding Vegeta? That proud, cold prince who treated human lives like grass?
His carefully concealed power level of 2,000 was nothing in front of him!
One wrong move and another bodyguard might decide he was useless and dispose of him. For now, he had to avoid revealing himself.
Besides, staying by Vegeta's side meant a much greater risk of exposing himself to the inner circle of the Frieza Force!
He would have to use his Scouter even more cautiously and perfect his ability to hide his power!
He took a deep breath and forced down the turmoil in his heart.
Panic wouldn't solve anything!
"Forget it!" A ruthless glint flashed in Vitelli's eyes.
"Whatever comes, I'll deal with it! If he's waking up early, then he's waking up early! The sooner Vegeta awakens, the sooner I might get a chance to slip away to Earth! It might not be a bad thing!"
As for the royal family's orders? Heh.
The only thing he could really rely on was the strength clenched in his own fists!
"Thirteen thousand... Still not enough! Nowhere near enough!"
He turned away from the oppressive palace and fixed his gaze on the direction of his little home.
The new Gravity Chamber would arrive in a week. Ten times gravity would be his new starting point!
"Now... I'm going back to do another thirty thousand push-ups!"
Chapter 3: Vegeta's Crushed Pride
The palace banquet hall was brightly lit, and the whole place was filled with noise and commotion.
The feast celebrating the birth of Prince Vegeta was underway. The air was thick with the smell of roasted exotic creatures, strong liquor, and the distinctive, rough-edged presence of the Saiyans.
The mid- and high-ranking Saiyan warriors raised their cups and laughed loudly, but their eyes kept drifting toward the seat of honor above them.
Prince Vegeta, just four years old but already radiating an astonishing aura, sat on a specially made high chair. Despite his young age, his face was already marked by an arrogance beyond his years and a hint of impatience.
Vegeta wore a finely made miniature Battle Suit and folded his arms as he surveyed the crowd.
King Vegeta was beaming, proudly introducing his much-anticipated son to his trusted subordinates over and over.
The prince's future bodyguards, Nappa and Raditz, stood nearby with tense expressions. Raditz, however, was the exception... Vitelli, who was currently crouched in a corner, wolfing down food and drink, figured that the Saiyans were about to be wiped out anyway, so they weren't worth a second thought.
He had no interest in this gathering, so full of hypocrisy and flattery.