After leaving the Grand Elder's house, Vegeta had not only received the Grand Elder's assurance, but had also gained new knowledge from him.
It was an inheritance of the Namekian language. From now on, even without the Namekians' help, Vegeta could summon Shenron himself and make a wish.
Vegeta knew the Grand Elder was making amends to him, hoping that this would free him of any worries and allow him to fight Frieza with all his strength.
Afterward, Vegeta could make whatever wishes he wanted with the Dragon Balls.
The Grand Elder truly lived up to his title. The other Namekians couldn't hold a candle to him in intelligence.
This had also given Vegeta an entirely new understanding of the Grand Elder.
Back outside, Vegeta looked each person there in the eye.
As a transmigrator, Vegeta understood the ways of the world better than anyone.
These people would never understand how carefully the Grand Elder had staked his hopes on him. They would only think that the Grand Elder had been coerced or left with no choice.
In short, the Grand Elder was constantly trying to mend his relationship with Vegeta, while these Namekians kept giving Vegeta reasons to dislike them.
"Go on, keep suspecting me, will you? Be sure not to give me the benefit of the doubt. And forget those three wishes. If you want to make a wish, wait until next time."
With that, Vegeta burst out laughing and shot straight into the sky.
Everyone watched Vegeta fly away, rooted to the spot.
Krillin and Son Gohan were speechless. It took them a long while to react.
Didn't what Vegeta had said mean they wouldn't be able to use Shenron to wish everyone on Earth back to life this time?
That meant they had come here for nothing, and were now completely at Vegeta's mercy.
"What should we do now, Uncle Krillin? If we can't make a wish, everyone will never come back to life," Son Gohan said anxiously.
He was still young and hadn't experienced much, but he knew Shenron could only revive people who had died within the past year.
If they couldn't make their wish, everyone might never come back to life.
What Son Gohan didn't know was that this was only the limit of Earth Shenron's power. It didn't apply to Porunga on Planet Namek.
And he had clearly forgotten what Vegeta had told them earlier: Planet Namek's Dragon Balls only needed 130 days to recharge.
"Don't panic yet, Gohan. There'll be a way. Besides, Vegeta might not be able to defeat that Universe Emperor, Frieza. If he loses, we'll have to think of something else. Or maybe we can do something while Vegeta's fighting Frieza..." Krillin said seriously.
He hadn't even realized that his selfishness had led him to say something like that.
"Uncle Krillin, do you mean we should take the Dragon Balls while they're distracted?" Son Gohan understood at once.
Bulma, standing nearby, caught his meaning too. "Krillin, that doesn't seem right. He's fighting for Planet Namek. In other words, he's facing that Universe Emperor, Frieza, while we stab him in the back? Honestly, I thought some of the things you said earlier were out of line. He did invade Earth, but wasn't his companion responsible for most of it? Of course, I'm not saying Vegeta had nothing to do with it. But if we set aside the invasion of Earth, he hasn't done anything bad on Planet Namek, has he? He even helped you Namekians avoid persecution by the Frieza Force. I don't think we should be hostile toward him or treat him like an enemy just because we're not grateful. That would be pretty ungrateful of us."
Bulma's words left all the Namekians there stunned.
Some of them soon realized she was right. Vegeta hadn't done anything to harm them, yet they had been wary of him from the start.
Some voiced their disagreement, while others began to reflect.
Krillin and Son Gohan were also rooted to the spot, deep in thought.
Even Nail began to question himself...
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
Vegeta had no idea that, thanks to Bulma, the way everyone saw him had begun to change.
If Vegeta hadn't been so unwilling to explain himself or waste words, he could certainly have improved their opinion of him.
Of course, even if he'd known, he wouldn't have cared much.
Frieza's ki was already close by.
In less than half an hour, Vegeta had crossed sixty or seventy thousand kilometers and reached the landing site of Frieza's spaceship.
He suppressed his ki and stopped powering up, then stood in midair with his arms folded, gazing down below.
He could feel the evil presence inside the spaceship stirring. Clearly, even if Frieza couldn't sense ki, he had instinctively detected the approaching danger.
The inside of the ship wasn't visible from the outside, but Vegeta knew Frieza had already seen him through the observation window.
"Heh heh heh! I'm already here, Frieza. Are you still not coming out? Or are you planning to give up this spaceship?" Vegeta narrowed his eyes and sent his voice piercing into the ship.
After delivering his taunt, Vegeta didn't attack right away.
Not long after, the top hatch of the spaceship opened.
Frieza appeared in his personal hover pod, along with a few soldiers from the Frieza Force, all of them small fry.
"Ho ho ho ho! You certainly kept me waiting, little Vegeta. I've been terribly bored these past few days because of you." Frieza wore a mocking expression as he rose to Vegeta's level.
Without giving Vegeta a chance to speak, he continued, "Judging by the look of you, you haven't come to deliver the other two Dragon Balls, have you?"
Frieza narrowed his eyes, radiating the absolute authority of a king.
For years, Vegeta had been like a little dog in his hands, there for him to toy with.
Now he had shown up before Frieza with such audacity, even addressing him by name. Clearly, Vegeta had grown stronger and gained a little confidence.
"You really know how to dream. There's no point in wasting words between us, especially since no one else is around, is there? I've had enough of this act over the years." Vegeta's tone was calm, and Frieza's words did nothing to provoke him.
After all, he was no longer the person he used to be.
Frieza would never guess that Vegeta was now strong enough to crush him.
"I've always thought highly of you. Are you sure you want to become my enemy?" A murderous glint flashed in Frieza's eyes.
Then he recalled the past and gave an evil smile. "I remember your father acted much like you do now. In the end, he couldn't even get close to me. You're certainly a little stronger than your useless father, but you're still nowhere near strong enough. I'll be generous and tell you... my battle power is 530,000!"
"So, I'll give you one more chance to choose. Hand over the Dragon Balls and pledge yourself to me again, or die..."