Dragon Ball, Saiyans Don't Just Want to Get Stronger!

A sickening, bone-crunching sound echoed out!

Dodoria had his neck twisted at a grotesque angle, and several bloodied teeth mixed with saliva sprayed into the air! His massive body was struck as if by a train moving at full speed, and with a shrill scream, he transformed into a pink meteor, slamming heavily into the distant ground and carving out a deep trench over a hundred meters long before falling completely still! Dust and smoke filled the air!

"Huff... huff... huff..." The state similar to a power-up dissipated, and the white aura vanished in an instant.

Vegeta hovered in the air, gasping violently. His entire body was covered in wounds, his chest throbbed with intense pain, and half of his face was swollen like a steamed bun.

Yet, those eyes flickered with an unprecedented, arrogant light that belonged only to a victor!

"So... so strong! Prince Vegeta is so strong!"

Nappa had his mouth wide open, his jaw nearly hitting the ground, his eyes filled with fanaticism and awe. "Could... could you truly be the legendary Super Saiyan?!"

Raditz was also filled with shock, staring at the motionless Dodoria in the deep trench, and muttered, "This... is the legend of the Super Saiyan true?"

Vegeta landed with difficulty on the edge of the trench, looking down at Dodoria, who lay limp like a dead dog, covered in blood with his face twisted out of shape. A smile, distorted by pain but filled with satisfaction, appeared on his face.

He turned to Nappa, his voice hoarse but carrying an unquestionable command:

"Nappa! Go! Finish off this eyesore of trash!"

Bang!

The heavy metal door buckled inward as if struck by an invisible giant hammer!

Inside, the King of Planet Soph sat slumped on his ornate throne, his face drained of color, trembling like a leaf in the wind.

A guard attempting to report had barely shouted, "Your Majesty, flee!" before a sudden beam of light pierced his heart, and his body slumped to the floor.

Vitelli appeared at the doorway, looking like a grim reaper to the King.

He looked at the King, who was nearly wetting himself in terror, and flashed a smile that appeared demonic to the other man: "You, are the King of this planet?"

"Y-y-yes! H-honorable sir... w-what do you want with me?"

The King's voice trembled uncontrollably; the immense fear had stripped him of all will to resist.

Vitelli nodded, satisfied with this "sensible" attitude. He scanned the room, tore a decorative rope from the side, and casually tied a slipknot around the King's neck.

"Lead the way."

Vitelli's voice was absolute. "Take me to where you keep your spaceships."

Guided by the King, who moved like a marionette on a string, Vitelli soon arrived at a hidden, heavily guarded spaceport behind the palace.

Under the massive dome sat several starships with diverse designs and sleek lines, clearly far more aesthetically pleasing than the mass-produced discs of the Frieza army.

Vitelli's gaze was instantly drawn to one of them: it was silver-gray all over, its streamlined hull exuding a sense of power, with sharp wings extending from both sides and four massive main thruster arrays at the rear. Its design resembled the starships from Earth's science fiction works, far cooler than the ships of Planet Vegeta.

"That one."

Vitelli pointed at the warship. "Load it with food, fill it with fuel, and set the destination to a planet called Earth."

"Huh?" The scientists looked at the uniquely styled King with blank expressions, unsure whether to obey this stranger.

Vitelli glanced at him, and the King immediately roared at the group of engineers standing nearby: "What are you standing there for! Hurry! Prepare everything as this lord says! Fill the fuel! Load the food! Set the course immediately! Destination... Earth!"

The engineers snapped out of their daze and scrambled to begin their work.

Vitelli held the rope, leading the King to the side like a dog on a leash, waiting quietly.

These people were highly efficient.

Soon, an engineer ran over, drenched in sweat, to report: "M-my lord! The ship is ready! Fueling is complete, enough for over twenty-five years of continuous flight! Food reserves are sufficient! The stasis pod is in perfect condition with ample energy for long-term hibernation! The route is set, destination: Earth, the third planet of the solar system located on the outer arm of the North Galaxy."

He hesitated for a moment before biting the bullet and adding:

"However... my lord, Planet Soph is extremely far from Earth... at our ship's maximum speed... the one-way trip is estimated to take two years." He watched Vitelli's expression cautiously.

"Two years?!" Vitelli frowned; this far exceeded his expectations. He had assumed the technologically advanced Planet Soph would have faster ships.

"My lord, please calm your anger!"

The lead engineer and the King nearly knelt in terror. "Our planet... focuses primarily on robotics and automated defense; our interstellar travel technology... is indeed... not top-tier... This 'King Soph Ship' is already the best vessel our planet has! This two-year journey... is the fastest speed it can achieve!"

The King nodded frantically from the side, confirming the engineer's words were true.

Vitelli remained silent for a few seconds before finally sighing in resignation.

Two years... although it was a bit long, it was still better than staying on Planet Vegeta.

Besides, he would be in stasis for the duration, so the time wouldn't be too hard to endure.

"Fine, two years it is. Is the stasis pod reliable?"

"Absolutely reliable, my lord! The stasis system is one of the few technologies we can truly be proud of; it is very mature and stable! As long as the energy doesn't fail, it can last for a hundred years without issue!"

The engineer patted his chest in assurance.

"Very well."

Vitelli nodded. He led the King over to the group of engineers who had finished their work and were now standing to the side, feeling uneasy.

Looking at their terrified eyes, a hint of apology appeared on Vitelli's face, but his gaze remained cold as frost.

"My apologies."

He said softly, as if stating a simple fact.

As the words left his lips, he abruptly raised his empty right hand, palm aimed directly at the group of engineers!

BOOM—!!!

A massive golden energy blast, far more condensed and terrifying than the one that had just obliterated the robots, erupted in an instant! The blinding radiance swallowed the engineers' faces, twisted in terror and despair!

There were no screams, no struggles; even the metal floor beneath their feet was instantly vaporized and annihilated! All that remained was a massive, mirror-smooth molten crater and wisps of rising blue smoke.

"Ah!!!"

Witnessing this horrific scene, the King's trousers instantly soaked through. His legs turned to jelly, and he collapsed to the ground, his throat emitting a rattling, wheezing sound as he lost the ability to even beg for his life.

Vitelli released the rope from the King's neck and looked down at him, his tone as calm as if he were discussing the pleasant weather:

"Don't worry, I said I wouldn't kill you, and I won't go back on my word. However..."

He paused, his gaze sweeping across the empty spaceport.

"I suggest you run for it immediately. You should know the methods of the Frieza army. Their goal is to completely eradicate all life on this planet; if you stay here, you're as good as dead. I've said my piece—whether you listen or not is up to you. Bye-bye."

With that, Vitelli stopped looking at the broken, soul-shattered King, turned, and strode toward the silver-gray warship.

The heavy hatch slid open and closed silently behind him.

"Now, full speed ahead! Launch!!!"

The engines emitted a low, powerful hum as the deep blue exhaust flared to life.

The massive warship slid slowly out of its berth, automatically adjusting its orientation to point its bow toward the deep, starry expanse of space.

The next second, the main thrusters erupted with dazzling light!

BOOM—!!!

Like a silver beast breaking its chains, the ship tore through the air with a piercing shriek, ascending at an astonishing speed. It instantly pierced the atmosphere of Planet Soph, transforming into a brilliant shooting star that plunged resolutely into the boundless darkness.

The King sat slumped on the cold ground, staring blankly in the direction the ship had vanished, Vitelli's final words echoing in his mind like a curse.

After a long while, a desperate urge to survive overcame his fear.

He struggled to his feet and shrieked at the top of his lungs toward the empty port:

"Someone! Come here! Prepare my ship! Immediately! Destination... destination: Galactic Patrol Headquarters!!"

Vegeta sat on a boulder scorched black by energy blasts, gnawing on a piece of local food that Raditz had scavenged from a destroyed town—it tasted strange, but was rich in energy.

His battle armor was slightly damaged, and there were a few scrapes on his face, but his expression was exceptionally exhilarated.

The fierce battle with Dodoria had been difficult, but in the end, he had won!

The moment his power level surged to twenty-five thousand, the feeling of being filled with such strength had left him utterly intoxicated.

Just then, sensing something, he abruptly looked up. His sharp gaze pierced the thin atmosphere, locking onto a silver speck nearly invisible at the edge of the horizon—a ship rapidly escaping the planet's gravity.

"Hmm?"

Vegeta frowned slightly. A strange feeling welled up in his heart, as if there were something familiar about that ship... but he immediately dismissed the thought.

Don't be ridiculous, how could a guy like Vitelli leave on his own? Ever since Nappa and Raditz began their large-scale slaughter, countless ships had been launching in a panic like a startled flock of birds, trying to flee this doomed planet.

Nappa and the others had blown up a few, but there were too many to stop, and eventually, they couldn't be bothered.

"Hmph, just another bug trying to escape."

Vegeta scoffed in disdain, lost interest, and lowered his head to continue gnawing on his fruit.

Regardless, once they finished clearing out the major cities and resistance forces on the planet, that guy Vitelli would naturally show himself. When that time came, he would have to have a proper spar with him to show him who the true genius was!

In the deep, silent, and cold reaches of space, Vitelli's ship drifted like a lonely leaf along its set course, heading toward the distant solar system at a steady speed.

Inside the ship, the main computer's indicator lights blinked rhythmically, recording flight data.

Vitelli lay quietly in a stasis pod filled with pale blue nutrient fluid. On the transparent cover, a clear countdown was displayed:

[Wake-up countdown: 1 year, 11 months, 29 days, 22 hours, 59 minutes...]

His breathing was steady and deep, his expression peaceful. Wrapped in the stasis system, his body had entered the deepest level of physiological suspension; all cellular activity had dropped to its lowest point, and time seemed to have frozen for him.

The ship sailed smoothly, traversing a relatively empty sector of space.

Suddenly, the monitoring radar captured a faint signal—a meteorite fragment, insignificant on a cosmic scale and only the size of a fist, was drifting at a relatively slow speed along a trajectory almost perpendicular to the ship's course.

Due to complex mechanical interactions, their speeds resulted in an extremely minor, almost negligible "intersection."

Thud!

An extremely faint impact, which should have been impossible to hear in the vacuum of space, resonated against the ship's sturdy hull.

The point of impact was on the side of the ship, near an interface for the stasis pod's power supply lines.

The force of the impact was minimal, not even leaving a visible dent on the super-alloy hull.

However, the moment the impact occurred, an extremely precise circuit node inside the stasis pod, responsible for receiving wake-up commands, suffered a trace of nearly undetectable interference.

This interference, like a tiny speck of dust falling onto a calm lake, triggered a chain reaction within the complex electronic circuits.

On the stasis pod's main control panel, the rhythmically ticking wake-up countdown digits, at the [1 year, 11 months, 29 days] mark, abruptly... stalled.

The countdown... had stopped.

Inside the pod, Vitelli remained immersed in the deepest slumber, oblivious to everything happening outside and the relentless passage of time.

His expression remained serene, as if he were lost in a long, pleasant dream about gaining power and the future.

The spaceship faithfully executed its final command, continuing to sail toward the originally set coordinates, its engine light shining steadily in the eternal darkness.

Only the countdown representing the return date remained frozen at the very moment of departure.

The ship continued to forge ahead, flying steadily into the depths of the dark universe.

In the vast, boundless universe, on the edge of the Orion Arm of the Milky Way, a blue planet hung silently among the stars like a forgotten pearl.

Earth—on the star charts of cosmic ambitionists, it was labeled as a low-level, worthless planet. It was precisely this lack of value that allowed it to remain tucked away from countless interstellar conflicts, rarely touched by external storms except for the occasional accidental visitor from space.

West City, Capsule Corporation estate.

"Whew! Finally finished!"

In the bright laboratory, a young girl with short, sea-blue hair, Bulma, excitedly held up a strangely shaped device.

On the screen's grid map, seven flickering light points were clearly visible.

This was the Dragon Radar, which she had painstakingly created after cracking the electromagnetic-like signals emitted by the Dragon Balls themselves!

Ever since she discovered one of the seven Dragon Balls—which were recorded in ancient texts as being able to grant any wish—in the warehouse of her father, Dr. Brief, Bulma's spirit of adventure had been thoroughly ignited.

She had buried herself in the laboratory, analyzing the unique radio signals emitted by the Dragon Ball, and today, she had finally turned the radar capable of capturing those signals into reality!

"Dad! Mom! My Dragon Radar is finished!"

Bulma rushed out of the laboratory, her face glowing with youthful radiance and eager excitement. "I'm going to use my summer vacation to find them all! And make my wish come true!"

With the support of her open-minded parents, Bulma's expedition plan was quickly approved.

She packed her gear in a flash, stuffing a box full of various supplies and daily necessities in the form of Hoi-Poi Capsule into her backpack, and selected a high-performance car from her father's dazzling collection in the garage.