Tights looked at Karochi in confusion and asked, "How did you guess who they were?" Surely he hadn't figured out their identities from just a few red dots?
Karochi didn't answer right away. He had his suspicions, but he wasn't certain! It didn't make sense. Frieza shouldn't have given a second glance to a low-level planet like this, even if it was highly advanced. And even if he wanted to enslave the Fidelians, he shouldn't have sent the Ginyu Force.
Wasn't that like using a cannon to swat a mosquito, or a butcher's knife to kill a chicken? It made no sense!
"I have a guess, but I'm not sure! They shouldn't be here on a planet like this. Still, to be safe, we should send out a probe to investigate!" Whether they were the Ginyu Force or not, it was clear they were powerful and had come with hostile intentions.
To be safe, they'd better have a reconnaissance robot check things out on the ground.
"Fine! I get it. You're being so mysterious!" Tights felt uncomfortable that Karochi was keeping things from her.
Karochi smiled wryly. It wasn't that he didn't want to tell her, Sis. He just wasn't sure! There was no point in saying anything yet.
"Which one should we observe? The one on its own?" Tights asked. Karochi was better at this sort of thing, after all! She really wasn't any good at judging how strong someone was.
Karochi waved his hand. "No, let's scan the two farthest points that are close together! If I'm right, the one on its own is the strongest of them."
If they were the Ginyu Force, then the lone one was very likely Ginyu!
"Okay! These little guys were supposed to be for shooting footage!" Tights regretfully loaded several tiny, bee-sized machines into a small aircraft.
She'd asked her father to make them especially for gathering material. They were meant for filming and recording in dangerous places or cramped areas that were difficult to reach.
"All right, Sis Tights, don't worry about it! We don't have any other choice right now, do we? You don't want us wandering through space, do you?" Karochi shrugged. Besides, if they really were the Ginyu Force, he could work hard, wipe them all out, and then have the Fidelians make her some more, couldn't he?
They wouldn't refuse, not after he'd saved their lives!
It wasn't that Karochi underestimated the Ginyu Force. After training under a hundred times Earth's gravity, his power level had already reached 90,000! With a Ki Burst, he could push it beyond 100,000.
Of course, if this had been more than twenty years later, Karochi wouldn't have been foolish enough to take them on headfirst. By then, Ginyu, the strongest among them, would have had a power level of 120,000. At the start of Dragon Ball, a difference of even eight thousand could have a huge impact on a battle, let alone a gap of twenty thousand.
But it wasn't twenty years later yet, was it? Karochi wouldn't believe for a second that Ginyu already had a power level of 120,000. No matter what, he couldn't have failed to grow at all over more than twenty years.
And aside from Guldo and Ginyu, who needed to be watched carefully, the others—Recoome, Burter, and Jeice—could all be beaten with brute force. They weren't difficult to deal with.
"Enough! I was just complaining. It's ready to launch!" Tights pressed the launch button, and an aircraft shot out toward Fidel Planet.
"Phew, now we just wait for the results! And I'm sorry. We've had to stop so often along the way, and that's what got us into this situation." She knew Karochi would probably have to face another tough battle, and in the end she lowered her head to apologize.
Karochi was stunned. What the heck? What was going on? Had the sun risen in the west today? Tights had actually apologized!!! That made no sense!
Tights' sudden concession left Karochi flustered, and he became cautious as he explained, "No, no! You came out to gather material in the first place, Sis Tights, and you were the one who kept us fed back on Earth! We agreed on all this before we left. Nobody's at fault."
Tights burst out laughing at Karochi's frantic explanation, and her gloomy mood lifted. "All right, you don't have to comfort me! But you'll probably have a tough fight later, so make sure you keep the Senzu Beans handy."
She'd realized just how important Senzu Beans were when Karochi had accidentally injured himself badly during his eighty-times-gravity training. Almost every bone in his body had been broken! Under normal circumstances, that would have left him crippled, but one Senzu Bean had restored him completely.
That had made Tights understand how precious they were. No wonder Karochi had been so eager to get Senzu Beans from Korin back then. They really were treasures!
"Don't worry, Sis Tights! I know what I'm doing." Tights' concern warmed Karochi's heart. It felt so nice, as if he really had a big sister! Wait, wasn't he supposed to be the older one mentally? Ah, his poor maiden heart!
Karochi had chosen to observe Guldo and Recoome's group. The two were having a great time competing to see who could kill more people, and hadn't noticed the aircraft descending from the sky.
The aircraft landed slowly, then its hatch opened automatically! A dozen or so bee-like probes flew out and headed toward Guldo and Recoome.
Inside the spaceship, Karochi and Tights stared at the screen, watching the footage transmitted by the probes.
"Just as I thought. Fidel Planet has been invaded!" Karochi frowned at the cratered ground. Tights nodded beside him.
"Who would do something so awful?" Tights was furious. The closer they got to the residential area, the more horrified she became.
Severed limbs littered the ground, and the bodies of Fidelians were scattered everywhere! The homes in the residential area lay in ruins, fires blazed, and tall buildings had been snapped in half. Nothing had been left intact.
At last, Guldo and Recoome appeared on the screen.
"I can't believe it really is them!!!" Karochi just couldn't understand it. It was only a low-level planet! Sending Shangbo or Dodoria would have been enough!
Did Frieza need someone around to flatter him that badly? Was that why he'd sent out the Ginyu Force?
"That's awful!" Tights covered her mouth as she watched Guldo and Recoome's killing contest, her voice trembling. How could they be so savage, taking such pleasure in killing people?
"They're a bunch of beasts like that. Don't judge them by Earth's morals! Besides, this is the norm in this part of the universe!" Karochi's expression turned utterly serious, and his voice grew low and heavy.
"Do they really have no humanity at all?" Tights was baffled!
Humanity? What a joke. Even on Earth, it wasn't guaranteed! As for his previous life, never mind. If he ever made it back to the present day, he'd wipe the Sakura Peninsula off the map!!!
"The law of the jungle." No matter the world, as long as there were people—or any intelligent life—things would be the same! The strong preyed on the weak. It was the one unchanging rule since ancient times.
Even on peaceful planets, it was still the same. No life was entirely free of desire! Hadn't even the respected Namekians given rise to an evil being like Slug?
"Little Chi, do you know who they are? Do we have any chance of winning?" This wasn't the time to feel sorry for others. They were in trouble themselves! If Karochi wasn't confident, the two of them would really have to start wandering through space.
"They're Frieza's subordinates, his ace unit—the Ginyu Force! There are five of them, and from the looks of it, they're all here! Every member of this force has a power level above 10,000, and their captain, Ginyu, should be over 100,000." Karochi explained each point carefully.
"Then aren't we done for?" Karochi's power level was only a little over 90,000. How could he possibly beat that Ginyu guy? "Why don't we keep going? Maybe we'll get lucky and find a planet that isn't on the charts!"
She wouldn't let Karochi go to his death. Those people killed without the slightest hesitation!
"Uh, looking for a lucky break? Wouldn't that mean game over?" Karochi smiled wryly. They only had enough fuel to fly for a dozen days or so! Even though a spaceship could keep moving through space with just a little thrust, it still had to overcome the gravitational pull of countless planets. Otherwise, they might get caught by a star, and then not even their ashes would remain.
"Don't worry, Sis Tights. My normal power level is only 90,000, but with a Ki Burst, I can go beyond 100,000. And the only ones in the Ginyu Force we really need to watch are that four-eyed, green-skinned Guldo and their captain, Ginyu! We still have a pretty good chance." Karochi was a little excited. Not because he was especially happy, but because the fighting instincts in his blood were acting up.
He especially got itchy for a fight when he encountered an enemy whose strength was close to his own.
"Hm? This little dwarf named Guldo is strong too?" Tights was surprised. She'd thought Ginyu was the only one they needed to watch carefully.
Then Tights tapped the Scouter on her face. Guldo's number jumped around for a moment before settling at 10,580. Recoome's power level, by contrast, was 43,720! (Don't nitpick this part, everyone. I know the Scouter can't measure power levels through a screen! But this is to avoid padding the word count!! Bear with me. If it really bothers you, just assume Dr. Brief modified it.)
"This... he's not strong at all! That pineapple-headed guy is the one with a high power level." Tights thought Karochi was a little unreliable. One was over 10,000 and the other over 40,000, so how could the one with the lower number be more dangerous?
"Uh, Guldo really is pretty weak!" After all, in the original story, he couldn't even handle Krillin and young Gohan. Even after the Grand Elder unlocked their potential, their power levels were only around 18,000, yet they'd still made Guldo flee in a panic. "Guldo's strength is his psychic ability. By holding his breath, he can stop time within a certain area."
Guldo definitely couldn't stop time over a large area. That ability was beyond him—and even Whis couldn't manage it!!
Tights looked utterly shocked. "Seriously? That ugly thing has an ability like that?"
Before you continue