Karochi Lost in Thought

Hearing Karochi's voice behind him, Salza jolted and leaped away! But he couldn't see where his opponent was. Losing his cool, he hurriedly activated his Scouter, which picked up the energy signatures of Neiz and Dore, frozen in place—but no one else's.

Beads of sweat as big as beans formed on his forehead and trickled down!!

"My, my, Captain Salza, what's wrong? Why are you sweating?" Karochi's teasing voice came from behind him again, sending a chill down Salza's spine.

Neiz, still frozen in place, could see everything. He was terrified!! The opponent had been standing right behind Captain Salza the whole time, yet the captain couldn't find him. It was horrifying.

"Bastard! How dare you toy with me!!!" Salza roared, soaring into the air and looking around frantically! Yet he still couldn't see his opponent.

He could clearly feel a chill at his back. His opponent was behind him!??

[Salza Blade]

He gathered energy into a blade along his left hand and slashed behind him, but an unbelievable sight met his eyes! His opponent had stopped the energy blade with just one finger.

"Tsk~! You're not nearly as strong as the rumors say. As expected, there's no way someone with a battle power of 170,000 can beat someone with over a million!!" Karochi had wanted to see if Salza had been hiding his strength, but it turned out his speed and strength were exactly what you'd expect of someone with a battle power in the tens of thousands.

His fight with Piccolo in the show had been a close match only because the author had deliberately made it so.

"What are you talking ab—? Uwaaah! Pfft..." Salza had just started asking what nonsense Karochi was spouting when a kick sent him crashing to the ground. The intense pain swallowed the words in his throat, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

Salza trembled as he tried to get up. At last, he managed to stand, but the pain made his legs buckle, and he fell backward. Blood mixed with bits of his organs spurted from his mouth again.

Neiz and Dore, still frozen in place, were completely dumbfounded!! What was going on? How was this guy like some kind of ghost?

"Now, tell me. What did Cooler send you to look for?" Karochi hadn't held back at all with that kick. Given the enormous gap in their strength, the fact that Salza hadn't died on the spot was proof of how tough he was.

"Pfft—cough, cough!! You think... I'd betray... cough... King Cooler!?" Salza managed to say between gasps.

His opponent had meant to kill him. Even if he talked, there was no way the other man would let him live! Meanwhile, he secretly gathered energy into his fingers, ready to catch his opponent off guard.

But those little tricks were as obvious to Karochi as a giant lightbulb in a dark room.

"Think carefully. Maybe I'll let you live if you talk!" Karochi was in the mood to play around. He intended to give Salza a taste of true despair.

"Heh... Do you... Do you believe that yourself!?" Karochi's mocking expression made it clear he wasn't going to let Salza go. Karochi pretended to turn away.

"Now—[Aurora Finger]!" Thinking he'd found an opening, Salza pressed the middle and index fingers of his right hand together and fired a purplish-red blast! It had incredible penetrating power.

Karochi's lips curled into a smile as he turned to face the blast, now almost upon him! He didn't dodge, taking the hit head-on.

Neiz, Dore, and Salza were overjoyed! Their opponent really hadn't reacted in time. But what happened next plunged all three into utter despair.

The [Aurora Finger] struck Karochi squarely in the face, yet it didn't injure him at all! The only effect was that his head jerked back slightly.

"H-How is that possible!!!!" Salza couldn't believe it. That was his signature move, so how had it not even scratched his opponent's skin//?

"I have to say, that had some power to it!" Karochi had felt a little pain, but only a little. "Too bad you didn't know that those who understand the times are the wise."

Karochi decided to stop playing around. After all, dying because he'd let his guard down was Vegito's thing, not his! More importantly, Tights had already started yelling at him.

Boom~~!

He casually tossed out a Great Ki Blast. The moment it hit Salza, it exploded. Salza couldn't dodge—not that he'd been able to—and was vaporized on the spot. When the smoke cleared, only a massive crater remained. Not even a trace of Salza was left.

Snap~!

Karochi snapped his fingers, releasing Neiz and Dore from [Space Imprisonment]. The technique only worked on those weaker than him. Trying to restrain someone on his level would consume a huge amount of ki! If Karochi tried to restrain Frieza with his current power, he might as well just go to bed.

Boom~!

Released from the restraint, Dore's fist shot forward from its momentum. His earlier wild laughter had given way to terror!! He ignored the enormous crater his punch had created and turned to face Karochi alongside Neiz.

Their bodies trembled uncontrollably. They'd watched Salza get completely crushed from start to finish!! He hadn't been able to fight back at all, just like when they faced King Cooler.

"Ha~! All right, Salza refused to answer my question, so I killed him! Now let's see if you two are smart enough to answer." Karochi yawned. At that moment, he even felt like the villain!! Tsk, so this was how Frieza did it. It was fun.

"If we tell you, will you let us go?" Dore demanded. Just like Salza had said, he didn't believe their opponent would spare him and Neiz either. But he couldn't understand why. Why was such a small Saiyan so strong!! It was beyond anything he knew.

Bang~~~!

Before Dore could react, Karochi punched him away. No technique, just brute force!! "I told you to answer my question, not ask one!!" Even now, Dore still hadn't understood the situation.

Pfft!!

That punch had been much stronger than the kick that had hit Salza. Dore was the strongest of the three, and built like a bull!! Karochi had to put some muscle into it if he wanted to finish him off.

Dore knelt on the ground, coughing up blood in agony!! That punch had nearly taken half his life. He couldn't even stand anymore.

Karochi turned to look at Neiz. Neiz shuddered in fear. He finally understood that they weren't even on the same level as their opponent! The gap was as vast as the one between them and King Cooler.

"I-I'll talk!!" Neiz hurriedly cried out. If he kept quiet, he'd probably die on the spot. If he talked, he might live a little longer.

Karochi nodded for him to continue, then casually tossed a Great Ki Blast at Dore!! It vaporized him without leaving a trace. Now that one of them was willing to talk, there was no need to leave the others alive!!

Gulp~!

Neiz swallowed, cold sweat pouring down his body! He figured his own end wouldn't be any better. He couldn't help smiling bitterly to himself.

"Go on!! Don't fear death. When you kill weaker beings, you should always be prepared to be killed yourself. Of course, I've always been prepared for that—I've been ready since the day I was born." He said that, but as someone with [Instant Transmission], he wasn't worried in the slightest. Unless he ran into an extraordinary being like a God of Destruction, he could always escape.

"Th-Three years ago! King Cooler got a fruit from the Galactic Trade Union. After eating it, not only did his power increase, but it also slowed his aging! King Cooler immediately slaughtered the entire trade union and finally learned that the fruit was called the Tree of Might fruit." Neiz paused to catch his breath, overcome by fear, then continued, "He also learned that the Spirit Fruit Tree had appeared in this region of space! So King Cooler sent all his men out to search for it."

He wiped the sweat from his forehead!! When he looked at Karochi, he saw him frowning deeply as if lost in thought.

In truth, Karochi was shocked by the news. No way. The Tree of Might fruit could actually boost a monster like Cooler's power?? That made no sense. Slowing aging was believable enough! After all, the Spirit Fruit Tree grew by drawing the life force from an entire living planet as nourishment.

But the idea that it could greatly increase Cooler's battle power was hard for Karochi to believe!! Forget Cooler—even if he ate eight or ten of them right now, he might not gain even 10,000 battle power.

It all depended on the person's foundation! Of course, it was possible. After all, the Android Cell had reached an astonishing 1.4 billion in battle power by absorbing the life essence of just a few million people!! That showed just how much life energy could boost one's power.

If the Tree of Might fruit really could give Cooler a huge boost, then Karochi would have to destroy the Spirit Fruit Tree and its seeds together. Cooler was already strong enough.

"Little Chi, that alien is trying to escape!! What are you doing?" Tights's voice interrupted Karochi's thoughts. Neiz was already floating in the air.

The moment he saw Karochi snap out of it, Neiz shot away without hesitation!! He put every last ounce of strength into getting away.

"Still trying to run? Dream on!" Karochi muttered. His figure vanished from the spot—not through High-Speed Movement or Instant Transmission.

Instead, he'd developed a short-range [Space Jump] based on [Space Secret Art]. Within his line of sight, he could shift through space wherever he pleased.

Whoosh!!!

Karochi appeared in front of Neiz.

"What...!!" Neiz cried out in shock and slammed on the brakes. Before he could steady himself, a thick blue Ki Blast came crashing toward him.

[Atomic Energy Wave]

"No, no, no~! King Cooler!!!!" Neiz shouted desperately when he realized he couldn't escape, but it was useless. The powerful Ki Blast reduced him to ash.

"Calling for Cooler won't help. He's not here! And even if he were, he might not save you." Karochi pursed his lips.

But then his brows drew together. [Sixth Sense] sent an extremely strong warning! It was telling him to leave immediately, as if staying there another moment would cost him his head.

Fear engulfed Karochi. Yes, fear—the fear of death made it hard to breathe!!

"Little Chi~! Little Chi!!!" Tights's voice came through his earpiece, jolting Karochi back to his senses. He let out a heavy breath and used [Instant Transmission] to leave. He didn't know what had triggered [Sixth Sense], but it definitely couldn't be good.