Karochi Lost in Thought

Hearing Karochi's voice from behind him, Salza was struck with alarm and scrambled to jump away! Yet, he couldn't pinpoint the opponent's location. Losing his composure, the panicked Salza activated his scouter, filtering out the energy readings of Neiz and Dore, who remained frozen in place. There was simply no reading for a second person.

Beads of sweat the size of beans seeped from his forehead and trickled down!

"Oh my, what's wrong, Captain Salza? Why are you sweating?" Karochi's voice drifted from behind him once more, the mocking tone sending a chill down Salza's spine.

Neiz, frozen in place, had a clear view of the scene and felt absolute terror! The opponent had clearly been standing right behind Captain Salza the entire time, yet the captain couldn't find him at all—it was bone-chilling.

"Damn you, how dare you toy with me!!!" Salza roared, launching himself into mid-air and scanning his surroundings, but he still couldn't see a trace of his foe.

He could clearly feel the cold air on his back—the opponent was right behind him!??

[Salza Blade]

He condensed energy into his left hand, slashing backward like a blade, but a sight beyond belief unfolded before his eyes: the opponent had blocked his ki blade with just a single finger.

"Tch! You aren't nearly as strong as the legends say. I knew it was impossible for someone with 170,000 battle power to fight someone with over a million!" Karochi had wanted to test if Salza was hiding his strength, but he could tell that both his speed and power were exactly what one would expect from someone with a battle power in the low hundreds of thousands.

The fact that he went back and forth with Piccolo in the show was truly just the author's deliberate choice.

"You... ugh! Pfft..." Before he could ask what nonsense Karochi was spouting, he was kicked back to the ground. The intense pain choked the words in his throat, and a mouthful of blood sprayed out.

Salza tried to tremble his way back to his feet, but after finally standing, the excruciating pain made his legs buckle, and he collapsed backward, vomiting more blood mixed with bits of his internal organs.

Neiz and Dore, still frozen in place, were completely numb! What was going on? Why was this guy acting like a damn ghost?

"Speak. What is Cooler having you look for!!?" Karochi hadn't held back in the slightest with that kick; given the massive gap in their battle power, the fact that the man hadn't died on the spot meant his body was quite sturdy.

"Pfft—cough, cough! Do you... think I would betray... cough... betray Lord Cooler!!?" Salza wheezed intermittently.

The opponent was going for the kill; even if he talked, there was no way he would be spared! He secretly began gathering energy in his fingers, preparing to strike when his guard was down.

But in reality, these little tricks were like placing a giant lightbulb in a dark room when facing Karochi! It was painfully obvious.

"You'd better think carefully. I might just let you live if you do!" Karochi was feeling playful; he intended to make the man truly understand the meaning of despair.

"Heh... do you... do you really expect me to believe that!?" The mocking look on the opponent's face made it clear he would never be spared. Karochi feigned turning his head away.

"Now—[Aurora Finger]!" Thinking he had found an opening, Salza pressed his middle and index fingers together, firing a crimson-purple shockwave! Its piercing power was immense.

Karochi's lips curled upward. He turned to look at the incoming shockwave, taking the hit head-on without dodging or parrying.

Neiz, Dore, and Salza were overjoyed! The opponent had clearly failed to react, but the next moment left all three in absolute despair.

The [Aurora Finger] had struck Karochi square in the face, yet it hadn't caused any damage! If there was any effect at all, it was merely that Karochi's head tilted back slightly.

"Ho... how is that possible!!!!" Salza couldn't believe it. That was his ultimate technique—how could it not even scratch the opponent's skin?

"I'll give you this, it actually packs quite a punch!" Karochi did feel a hint of pain, though it was only a slight sting. "What a pity, you don't know that a wise man submits to circumstances!"

Karochi didn't plan to keep playing. After all, dying from arrogance was Vegito's character trait, not his! Most importantly, Tights had already started cursing.

BOOM!

He casually tossed a Great Ki Blast. The moment it touched Salza, it detonated. Having no way to dodge—and no ability to do so—Salza was instantly obliterated. As the smoke cleared, only a massive crater remained; not even a scrap of Salza was left.

Snap!

Karochi snapped his fingers, releasing the [Space Imprisonment] on Neiz and Dore. This skill was only effective against those weaker than him; if he tried to imprison someone of equal strength, it would consume a massive amount of ki! If Karochi tried to imprison Frieza with his current power, he might as well just give up and go to sleep.

BOOM!

Released from the restraint, Dore threw a punch forward out of sheer momentum. The manic laughter he'd had while imprisoned had long since been replaced by terror! Ignoring the massive crater he had just punched into the ground, he and Neiz turned to look at Karochi.

Their bodies trembled uncontrollably. They had watched the entire time as Salza was toyed with! He had been utterly helpless, just as if he were facing Lord Cooler himself.

"Ha! Well, Salza didn't want to answer my question, so I killed him! Now, let's see how smart you two are." Karochi yawned, feeling like a villain for a moment. Tch, so this is how Frieza plays—it's actually quite fun.

"If we talk, will you let us go?" Dore demanded. Just as Salza had said, he didn't believe the opponent would spare him or Neiz, but he couldn't understand why. Why was such a small Saiyan so strong?! It defied his understanding.

BANG!

Before he could react, Dore was sent flying by a punch from Karochi. There was no technique, just raw force! "I told you to answer the question, not ask one!" Even now, Dore still hadn't grasped the situation.

Pfft!

This punch had much more force behind it than the kick to Salza; after all, Dore was the strongest of the three and as sturdy as an ox! He couldn't afford to hold back, or he might not finish the job.

Dore knelt on the ground, vomiting blood in agony! This punch had essentially cost him half his life; he didn't even have the strength to stand.

Karochi turned to Neiz, who shuddered in fear. He finally understood that the opponent was on a completely different level than them! The gap was so vast it was like standing before Lord Cooler.

"I... I'll talk!" Neiz blurted out. If he didn't talk, he'd die on the spot; if he did, he might live a little longer.

Karochi nodded for him to continue, then casually tossed a Great Ki Blast at Dore, obliterating him until not even a speck of dust remained. Since one was willing to talk, there was no need to keep the others around!

Gulp!

Neiz swallowed hard, cold sweat pouring down his body! He figured his own end wouldn't be much better, he thought with a bitter smile.

"Speak! Don't fear death. When you kill lives weaker than your own, you should be prepared to be killed yourself at any moment. Of course, I've had that resolve since the moment I was born." Though he said that, he wasn't worried in the slightest, thanks to his [Instant Transmission]. As long as he didn't run into an out-of-spec existence like a God of Destruction, he could always escape.

"It... it was three years ago! Lord Cooler obtained a fruit from the Galactic Trade Union. After consuming it, not only did his strength increase, but it actually delayed his aging! Lord Cooler immediately slaughtered the entire Union and finally found out that the fruit was called the Tree of Might Fruit." Because of his fear, Neiz took a breath before continuing: "He also learned that the Tree of Might would appear in this star sector! That's why Lord Cooler mobilized all his subordinates to search for that Tree of Might."

After speaking, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at Karochi, only to see him frowning deeply, as if deep in thought.

In truth, Karochi was shocked by the news. No way, right? That Tree of Might Fruit can actually boost a monster like Cooler?? That's unscientific! If it could extend his lifespan, that would make sense—after all, the Tree of Might grows by absorbing the life force of an entire planet as fertilizer.

But for it to significantly boost Cooler's battle power? Karochi found that hard to believe! Let alone Cooler, even if he ate ten or twenty of them himself, it wouldn't necessarily increase his battle power by ten thousand.

After all, the foundation was already there! Of course, it was also possible; after all, the android Cell had reached an astonishing combat power of 1.4 billion after absorbing the life essence of only a few million people! It was clear just how much life energy could boost one's combat power.

If the Tree of Might Fruit truly granted Cooler a massive boost, then the Tree of Might and its seeds would have to be destroyed together; Cooler was already strong enough as it was.

"Little Chi, that alien is trying to escape!! What are you doing?" Tights' voice interrupted Karochi's thoughts, and he saw that Neiz was already hovering in mid-air.

Seeing Karochi snap back to reality, Neiz didn't hesitate for a second and bolted into the distance!! It could be said that he was using every ounce of strength he possessed.

"Still trying to run? You're overthinking it!!" Karochi muttered, his figure vanishing from where he stood. This was neither High-Speed Movement nor Instant Transmission.

It was a short-range Space Jump that Karochi had developed based on the Space Secret Art, allowing him to teleport at will within his line of sight.

Whoosh!!!

Karochi appeared directly in front of Neiz.

"What...!!" Neiz was shocked and slammed on the brakes, but before he could steady himself, a thick blue energy wave came blasting toward him.

Atomic Energy Wave

"No, no, no~! Lord Cooler!!!!" Seeing that escape was impossible, Neiz screamed in despair, but it was completely useless; he was reduced to ashes under the powerful energy wave.

"Calling for Cooler won't help you; he isn't even here! Even if he were, he wouldn't necessarily save you." Karochi curled his lip.

But then, his brow furrowed tightly. His Sixth Sense was sending out an incredibly intense signal! It was warning him to flee this place as quickly as possible, as if staying here for even one more moment would result in him being decapitated.

Fear washed over Karochi's entire body—yes, fear, that specific terror of death that made it difficult to breathe!!

"Little Chi~! Little Chi!!!" Tights' voice came through the headset, jolting Karochi back to his senses. He let out a heavy breath and immediately used Instant Transmission to leave. Although he didn't know what had caused his Sixth Sense to trigger such a warning, it certainly wasn't anything good.