Suddenly!
Rumble—!
The sound of an engine echoed across the sky as a spaceship descended from above.
At the same time, four figures sped toward them.
"Who's that?"
Frieza had been about to transform into his ultimate form. He abruptly turned his head.
"Frieza, long time no see!" Vegeta appeared in the blink of an eye.
Son Goku followed close behind. He had been keeping an eye on Frieza ever since he arrived, but the moment he saw Bardock—
He froze!
Bardock froze, too.
It was as if time had stopped!
A strange feeling welled up inside Son Goku.
Ever since he had grown up and become more mature, he had known that he wasn't from Earth. He also knew that Raditz was his older brother.
According to Raditz, he had a pair of parents, too.
"Are you my father?"
Son Goku flew in front of Bardock and opened his mouth.
"Kakarot, you're back!"
Bardock pursed his lips. He had so much he wanted to say to his second son, but now that they had finally reunited, he couldn't get the words out.
"Yeah."
Son Goku smiled. His big brother had been right—he and his father really did look exactly alike.
His father just had two more scars on his face!
While father and son reunited, on the other side—
"Vegeta, you survived despite my army hunting you down?"
"Hahaha! I have you to thank for that, Frieza. Without you, I wouldn't have this much power now."
Vegeta laughed loudly as his battle power erupted, reaching 170,000.
Seeing Vegeta's tremendous power, King Vegeta, in his Great Ape form, was ecstatic. "Vegeta, how strong are you now?"
He was his son, after all. The stronger Vegeta became, the happier he was.
"Father, I have a battle power of 170,000 now. If I use my full power, I can reach 1.7 million!"
Vegeta looked at his father and laughed.
Hearing that, King Vegeta, high in the sky, was overjoyed. A battle power of 1.7 million at full power had to mean transforming into a Great Ape.
Little did he know, when Vegeta said he would use his full power, he meant using the Kaioken.
The Kaioken was far stronger than the Great Ape form.
It not only increased the body's strength and speed by leaps and bounds, but also allowed the user to remain agile.
The Great Ape form couldn't compare.
"Is a battle power of 1.7 million really that impressive?"
Frieza hovered in the air with his arms folded, as if his anger had already faded.
He intended to use all his power!
At full strength, apart from that Candidate God of Destruction, Beerus the God of Destruction, and Majin Buu, no one in this universe would be his match.
"1.7 million isn't impressive? Hahaha, that's the funniest thing I've ever heard."
Vegeta rolled his neck and said coldly:
"Frieza, there are three Great Apes with a battle power of over a million each. Add me and Kakarot, and you're facing five fighters with a battle power of over a million!"
Vegeta paused, then laughed. "Are you ready to die?"
"Wait!"
Bardock flew forward, clutching his badly wounded abdomen. In a grave voice, he said, "Frieza, did you just say you'd stop hiding your power? Does that mean this isn't your full strength?"
"What?"
Vegeta was startled.
He stared at Frieza.
King Vegeta, Bibert, and Theodore all looked at Frieza, too.
The other Saiyans who had finished their battles watched him intently.
Frieza wore a mocking expression, seeming to confirm Bardock's words.
"How can that be?"
"It must be a lie!"
"He's still hiding his power? I don't believe it!"
The 1,500 Saiyans behind King Vegeta shouted in disbelief.
"Hahaha! Then I'll tell you the truth. This form I'm in now is actually the first transformation I unlocked. I can unlock two more!"
Frieza clenched his fists, his face contorting. "Every transformation makes me stronger than the last. In my ultimate form, I'll have a battle power of 60 million!"
Frieza wasn't telling the whole truth. He actually had an even more powerful transformation, one that gave him a battle power of 120 million.
But it consumed too much stamina!
That was why Frieza hadn't told them everything.
"Vegeta, are you all ready to die?" Frieza threw Vegeta's words back at him.
Then—
Frieza drew on the power within him and began to unleash it.
"Stop him! Whether he's lying or not, stop him now!!!!"
Vegeta shouted, his face full of terror.
"Kakarot, hurry! 10x Kaioken!!"
A crimson light burst from Vegeta as his battle power surged to 1.7 million.
"Father, you're badly hurt. Here, take this Senzu Bean. It'll heal you."
Son Goku handed Bardock a Senzu Bean, then burst into crimson light himself.
The pressure from his 2-million battle power made the sky rumble.
Bardock looked at the Senzu Bean in his hand. Without hesitation, he bit down and swallowed it.
Whoosh!
A whirlwind burst around him.
"My wounds are healed, and my strength has even increased!"
Bardock laughed heartily. This thing was incredible.
But now wasn't the time to think about that. Like the others, Bardock began to unleash his power.
In an instant—
The three Great Apes and the three fighters charged toward Frieza.
The other Saiyans wanted to join in, but they had received orders to retreat, so they could only get out of the way.
Raditz and Nappa did the same. Neither of them had a battle power of even 100,000, so they could only fall back with the others.
Namek shook without pause. The ground split apart as lava rolled and erupted.
It was like the end of the world!
"Good heavens! Can mortals really possess this kind of power?"
"Is Namek going to explode?"
The Namekians in the Grand Elder's village were gripped by panic.
Louis landed in front of the Grand Elder's house and looked at Nail. "Tell the Grand Elder to be ready to summon Shenron at any moment. Namek might explode."
Nail hurriedly said, "Candidate God of Destruction, with your power, surely you can stop all this. Why won't you intervene?"
Suddenly!
An elderly voice came from inside the house.
"Nail, follow the Candidate God of Destruction's orders!"
"Yes!"
Nail gritted his teeth, then went to gather the Dragon Balls.
Louis flew back into the sky and looked down at the Namekians in the village.
"I could step in, but then Kakarot might not be able to transform."
"Sorry, but I'll have to sacrifice your Namek for the time being."
"I'll make it up to you."
Louis muttered to himself.
Then he looked into the distance.
The three Great Apes and the three fighters tried to stop Frieza from unlocking his next transformation, but before they could get close, a powerful shock wave sent them tumbling away.
They hurled energy blasts at him, but an invisible wall seemed to surround Frieza, blocking them.
They couldn't hurt him at all, much less interrupt his transformation.
"Looks like Frieza's about to enter his ultimate form!"
Louis watched the battle with great interest.
Of the three fighters, Son Goku was the strongest in both battle power and fighting skill.
As for Bardock and the three Great Apes, their fighting styles and control of their energy were truly terrible.
Vegeta, on the other hand, had clearly grown much more skilled at using "ki." He and Son Goku seemed to come from the same school.
They had both been trained by Popo.
But...
Son Goku and Vegeta still fought somewhat differently.
Vegeta was more brutal, while Son Goku was more nimble, as if he could move as he pleased, free of desire and thus invincible...
Rumble—!
A tidal wave of energy surged toward them.
"He's entering his ultimate form!"
Louis watched as Frieza's body changed, growing shorter and shorter, while his power kept increasing.
Frieza entered his ultimate form, restoring his battle power to 60 million.
His tremendous power erupted from his body. The air compressed, crackling with a "zzzz" sound.
Frieza looked like some primordial beast, terrifying to behold.
The Saiyans hiding far away had gone deathly pale with fright.
"Frieza really is powerful!"
"Kakarot, let's see if you can transform this time!"
"You're our only hope!"
Louis still didn't reveal himself. He remained above the Grand Elder's village, protecting the Namekians.
On the horizon—
Frieza had become a little shorter than Vegeta!
But his power was beyond terrifying!
Even the power he released unintentionally seeped into the space around him, throwing it into chaos.
"Gulp!"
Bardock, facing Frieza, swallowed hard. What a terrifying presence!
"60 million battle power?"
King Vegeta shook his Great Ape head wildly. "How can this be? How can anyone in the world possess such incredible power?"
"Do we still have a chance?"
Bibert and Theodore stared in stunned silence.
Vegeta was stunned, too.
He had worked so hard to reach a battle power of 170,000. With the 10x Kaioken, he could reach 1.7 million.
He had thought he could finally get his revenge.
But who could have guessed Frieza had a battle power of 60 million!
More than anything, he could sense that Frieza wasn't lying. Frieza really did have a battle power of 60 million.
"We can't win!"
Vegeta's eyes were vacant. The battle hadn't even begun, yet he had already lost all his fighting spirit. He kept mumbling to himself.
Suddenly!
"Kakarot, what are you doing?" Bardock shouted.
Son Goku was flying forward.
His eyes filled with fighting spirit, Son Goku looked at Frieza. "What an amazing guy! Fighting you is going to be fun!"
Louis saw this and smiled.
Son Goku and Vegeta's reactions were worlds apart. Son Goku was still Son Goku: he never backed down when faced with a powerful opponent.
And Vegeta was still Vegeta, too. Before enduring a series of hardships, he had always been timid and hesitant.
Before long, Son Goku and Frieza clashed.
Bardock ran far away. Without transforming into a Great Ape, his battle power was only a little over a hundred thousand—not even a fraction of Frieza's.
Charging in would only make him cannon fodder!
So Bardock stayed far away.
King Vegeta and the other two Great Apes charged forward, joining Son Goku in attacking Frieza.
Only Vegeta remained motionless in midair.
Vegeta had used Kaioken and could clearly reach a battle power of 1.7 million, but now he seemed utterly lost, without the slightest thought of resisting.
Rumble—!
The three Great Apes were hit by the shock wave and let out bloodcurdling roars.
Then they crashed hard into the ground, leaving three enormous craters.
"Hahaha! Damn Saiyan monkeys! Let's see how you die!"
Frieza was overjoyed. He casually waved a hand, and Son Goku spat blood as Frieza struck him.
Once he found the Dragon Balls, the universe would be his!
"Damn it!!!!"
Watching his son get brutalized from far away, Bardack's eyes blazed with fury.
"Vegeta, you're the Saiyan Prince. Are you really just going to stand there and watch?"
If his power hadn't been so low that he'd only get in the way, Bardock would have charged in long ago.
Vegeta remained unmoved.
"Vegeta, you're a worthless coward!"
"Our Saiyan race has already broken with Frieza. So what if he has a battle power of sixty million?"
"When faced with an enemy of the Saiyan race, you're actually afraid!!!"
"Worthless!"
"As the Saiyan Prince, can you really live up to that title?"
Bardock was burning with rage.
He couldn't take it anymore. He was about to look up at the moon.
A glimmer flashed in Vegeta's vacant eyes, and he murmured, "I'm worthless?"
"Bardock, you're asking for death!"
Light returned to Vegeta's eyes. He clenched his fists.
"I'll settle things with you later!"
Vegeta didn't look at Bardock. He shouted, "10x Kaioken!!"
A red glow erupted around his body, and then he charged forward.
Bardock had been about to transform into a Great Ape, but when he saw Vegeta's move, he stopped.
Yet the worry in his eyes didn't fade. It only deepened.
Frieza was simply too powerful!
The Saiyans had not the slightest chance!
Before you continue