Kasso and the others had been on Mumu Planet for three months.
As their battle power increased, they had cleared out almost all the planet's strongest fighters.
That night, Kasso and Ausbie sat around a campfire. The flames crackled, and two wild boars were roasting nearby.
As the fire cooked them, fat sizzled out of the boars and occasionally dripped onto the ground. A closer look would reveal that the earth was already slick with grease from the meat.
The boars were nearly done, and an incredibly tempting aroma filled the air.
Ausbie reached out with a little hand and picked up one of the boars.
She held it to her mouth, opened wide, and took a big bite.
The outside was crisp, the inside tender—it was roasted to perfection.
The piping-hot meat filled her mouth. Every so often, Ausbie drew in a breath to cool it down.
"Brother Kasso, you're such a good cook! This meat smells so good!" Ausbie's little cheeks puffed as she chewed and spoke.
"Of course! You think just anyone could roast it this well?" Seeing how much she enjoyed it, Kasso couldn't resist the delicious smell either. He picked up the other boar and began to dig in.
"Little Biel, we've finished our mission. We'll leave this planet in a few days."
Kasso held a boar leg in one hand and took a few bites. When a piece got stuck between his teeth, he picked up a twig and worked it loose.
"Okay, I'll go wherever you go, Brother Kasso." Ausbie didn't even look up. She just kept her head down and savored the delicious roast meat.
After all, wherever Brother Kasso went, she would follow!
Kasso glanced over and chuckled at the way Ausbie ate.
Her chubby little legs were folded in front of the fire as she kept stuffing roast meat into her mouth. Her cheeks were puffed out, and in the firelight she looked just like a porcelain doll.
At that moment, the soul in Kasso's body, which was over twenty years old, was completely charmed by her cuteness. His old face couldn't help turning red.
Was this what they called raising a little girl?
Kasso kept eating.
After months of grueling training and a steady stream of missions, Kasso and Ausbie had shed their novice-warrior image.
They had fought hundreds of battles, big and small, while clearing out vicious beasts, and their combat skills had improved by leaps and bounds.
Once, they had nearly been killed by a beast. That battle had also greatly raised Kasso's battle power. He now had 1,000 points, while Ausbie had reached 700.
To reach such battle power at such a young age was a testament to Earth's training methods.
If Kasso and Ausbie returned to Planet Vegeta, they would surely cause a sensation.
In the anime, Raditz had only 1,500 points of battle power when he invaded Earth. Even an adult Elite Warrior Saiyan had only that much.
Raditz might have been weak, but these two little kids, who were only around six, were already approaching the level of some adult Saiyans.
Kasso tossed the bones left over from his meal into the distance.
There was only one year left until Planet Vegeta exploded. He had to increase his strength as quickly as possible.
Maybe Frieza had already placed surveillance on the ships that had made the return trip.
Once they finished the mission,
their next stop would be Yardrat.
Yardrat was in the 27th main star system of the Vega constellation in the North Galaxy, not far from Namek.
In the Namek Saga, Goku defeated Frieza on Namek, but the planet was about to explode.
Goku didn't have enough time to get back to his spaceship. Frieza's ship was nearby, but Vegeta had destroyed its engines, leaving it unable to start.
Just when everyone thought Goku was going to die, he luckily found an abandoned Ginyu Force spaceship and escaped. Since the Ginyu Force's next target had been Yardrat, the ship's destination coordinates were set for that planet.
After a year, Goku learned Instant Transmission on Yardrat.
It was a skill Kasso had dreamed of having in his previous life. If he couldn't win a fight, he could escape; he could also travel quickly to other planets.
Since the Saiyans worked for Frieza, they had the same map of his star systems aboard their ships. Yardrat's location was on it.
Back on Planet Vegeta, before his ship took off, Kasso had already checked its location on the star map. Yardrat was close to Namek.
"Let's get ready to leave for Yardrat in a few days," Kasso thought.
After eating their fill, the two of them lay back in recliners woven from vines.
Kasso stroked Ausbie's glossy black hair.
They enjoyed the peaceful night together.
After a while,
Ausbie shifted in his arms, her cheeks faintly flushed. She raised her head and said, "Brother Kasso, I need to pee!"
"Okay, I'll wait nearby." Kasso gently flicked her little nose.
"Mm!"
Ausbie climbed off him and slowly got down from the vine chair.
Kasso followed behind her.
A wide path ran between rows of trees, with the faint chirping of insects sounding from time to time.
They had cleared this path to the toilet themselves.
Ausbie walked down the path and entered a little hut.
From a distance, it looked like a square, with walls made of wood, all the same height—but there was no roof. It was an open-air toilet.
It was just a toilet. Why make a fuss over it? Simple was fine, Kasso had thought when he built it.
In truth, it wasn't about whether the toilet was fancy or not. Kasso had just been too lazy to put on a roof.
After a while,
"Brother Kasso, the moonlight is so bright tonight. The moon is so round."
Ausbie's soft voice came from inside the hut.
"So bright? So round? Could it be..."
Kasso hurriedly looked up. A full moon, round as an egg yolk, hung in the sky.
"Damn it!"
All Saiyans knew that those with tails turned into Great Apes when they saw the full moon. Well, all except Goku.
"How can there be a moon here?"
Kasso had been on Mumu Planet for months and had never noticed one.
Bardock had really set them up!
Kasso quickly felt his heart begin to pound.
Thump, thump!
It was the prelude to a Great Ape Transformation!
As far as Kasso knew, only Saiyan royalty and Elite Warriors could maintain their sanity in Great Ape form. He was an Elite Warrior, but he was still young. He didn't know if he could withstand the savage emotions.
His heartbeat doubled in speed. Kasso's eyes gradually glowed red, like a beast's. His face twisted into a grimace, and he bared his teeth, roaring several times as his whole body trembled!
Kasso lost control of his body, and a powerful aura burst out of him.
Rumble!
The earth groaned beneath the pressure of his aura. Loose stones rose into the air as if gravity had stopped working!
Kasso fought against the savage emotions brought on by the Great Ape Transformation. They lashed out through his mind, while the last trace of his sanity was like a tiny boat on the open sea, on the verge of capsizing at any moment.
Kasso didn't dare gamble that he could stay sane. Gritting his teeth through the pain, he tore off his tail with one hand.
"Haah, haah, haah..."
Tail gone, Kasso dropped to one knee and panted heavily.
His face relaxed. The fur that had begun to emerge in preparation for turning into a Great Ape disappeared, but his eyes remained bloodshot, laced with red veins and filled with a terrifying look.
Just then, a roar came from the direction of the toilet!
Roar! Roar! Roar!
A Great Ape, over twenty meters tall, stood before him, its eyes blood-red like rubies and its body covered in yellowish-brown fur.
The Great Ape beat its chest with both fists, as if a pent-up rage inside it was desperate to be released.
The open-air toilet Kasso had built was now smashed to pieces by Ausbie's transformation. There wasn't a single intact piece of wood left on the ground.
Kasso swallowed and gave a slight, wry smile.
"Damn it all. I should've built an enclosed toilet. Why did I have to be so lazy?"
Seeing that Ausbie had lost her sanity, Kasso realized that even Elite Warriors had to train before they could maintain their senses in Great Ape form!
The full moon was Bardock's last trick for Kasso and Ausbie. In Great Ape form, the beasts on Mumu Planet would be no more than ants to them.
Bardock, all the way back on Planet Vegeta, probably hadn't imagined this situation either!
That they'd transform because of the full moon when they had no need to!
This was really going to be the death of Kasso!
Before you continue