It really wasn't as simple as I'd thought. I'm still too weak.
Vegeta muttered under his breath, then relaxed and let his power flow naturally through his body.
He had just gathered all the power within him toward the center of his back.
At first, the surging power seemed to hit a wall. It couldn't break through, let alone condense.
As he grew more and more adept at controlling his power, Vegeta finally forced his way through that repulsion after immense effort. But instead of succeeding, he ran into another problem.
That spot was like a bottomless pit. No matter how he controlled his power, all the energy he gathered there was absorbed, as if the pit could never be filled.
Only after this happened did Vegeta truly realize that with the power he possessed now, transforming was impossible.
He had to grow stronger. Only with enough strength could he fill that bottomless pit and achieve a true breakthrough.
He didn't know how much energy it would take to fill the pit, or whether filling it would let him become a Super Saiyan. For now, all he could do was take it one step at a time.
At least the information from the original story was accurate. He hadn't just been blindly fumbling around.
Putting those thoughts aside, Vegeta stopped wasting time and returned to the base.
Everyone he encountered treated him with deference. That was what came with being strong enough.
Vegeta had also learned from Zarck, the dinosaur-like alien from the medical team, that nearly everyone already knew he had killed Cui.
For the time being, the base's management had sealed off the news. It hadn't yet been reported to Frieza.
Whether they told Frieza or not no longer mattered to Vegeta.
Even if Frieza found out, what could he do?
It wasn't as if Frieza had reached Planet Namek yet. He'd only just set out, so there was no chance he would turn around and come back.
The prospect of eternal life was an extraordinary temptation for Frieza. The death of a mere Cui couldn't sway him.
No!
Perhaps eternal life wasn't even his first wish. Frieza's real insecurity was his height. In the later storyline, he'd mentioned wanting to grow another five centimeters.
That might well be Frieza's ultimate goal.
Actually, it was a wish Vegeta wanted to fulfill, too.
The old Vegeta hadn't cared, but to the Vegeta of now, being only 164 centimeters tall was a real pain in the ass.
"I know why you told me all this. You want to use me to get rid of your rivals and secure your own position! Then you can pin the whole thing on me afterward. Not a bad plan. Pretty clever, too."
At Vegeta's blunt words, the dinosaur-like alien Zarck grew frightened, his body trembling.
"N-no, you misunderstand, Lord Vegeta. I only told you something important. I had no ulterior motive. But those few guys are a threat, and who knows what they might say about you?" Zarck hurriedly explained.
Even Zarck himself didn't know how unconvincing he sounded.
Vegeta scoffed, but didn't seem bothered. "You've got plenty of ideas, but you must think I'm an idiot. I'll give you a chance. What makes you think I should help you? This little bit of information isn't enough."
Zarck drew a sharp breath at Vegeta's words.
He was an ambitious man. He'd worked up the courage to approach Vegeta because he had treated Vegeta's injuries.
"What do you mean, Lord Vegeta?"
"Show me what you're worth!"
Zarck froze for a moment, then quickly began thinking.
"Does Lord Vegeta want me to join him? I'm only a researcher, so I don't have much combat ability, but I can help Lord Vegeta in every way I can and handle all the logistics. I can even provide information on all of King Frieza's movements..." By the time he said this, Zarck thought he'd hit the mark.
They were both members of the Frieza Force. To Zarck, this was simply a matter of pledging his loyalty to a higher-ranking superior.
He also knew that Vegeta's subordinates, Nappa and Raditz, were both dead, which meant he had a good chance of rising through the ranks.
If Vegeta agreed, Zarck would have found himself a powerful patron.
Vegeta watched him, amusement in his eyes.
Vegeta couldn't guess everything Zarck was thinking, but he could figure out the gist of it.
Frieza had plenty of useful people under him. Everyone was scrambling to climb the ranks, and Zarck was no different.
But even if you had a unique skill or great achievements in a certain field, that didn't mean you'd become a high-ranking manager. The lower your position, the more carefully you had to scheme. Zarck was no exception.
"What area does your research focus on?" Vegeta asked.
In the future, he couldn't afford to do what his counterpart in the original story had done and ignore the Frieza Force entirely. He had no intention of ruling it, but getting as many useful people as possible to work for him would greatly help him grow stronger.
"Right now, I'm researching biological evolution and new types of medical equipment..."
New medical equipment!
That could prove useful.
Earth's Senzu Beans were more effective, but they had become scarce by this era.
With medical equipment, any injuries he sustained while training or fighting could be treated as quickly as possible.
This was an area Bulma from the original story had never explored. If he pursued the research, he might even develop a more potent Healing Fluid.
After a moment's hesitation, Vegeta looked at Zarck a little differently.
"Starting today, you're one of my people! As for those guys you mentioned, tell me what they specialize in." As he spoke, Vegeta rose and left the lounge.
At Vegeta's words, Zarck's eyes immediately lit up with excitement.
He hurried after Vegeta and began reporting, listing all the people in the base who were at odds with him.
Vegeta was surprised by how much Zarck knew. He seemed to have detailed information on everyone.
Of course, Vegeta wasn't going to take everything he said at face value. If those people were useful, he didn't mind bringing them all into the fold.
Whether they were putting on an act in front of him or not, he would return after the battle on Planet Namek and take some of them to Earth.
If they still tried to deceive him then, things wouldn't be so simple.
With Zarck's help, Vegeta purged the base's management. Some had once served Cui, Dodoria, or Zarbon, and those who had no particular skills were killed outright.
Through his swift and ruthless methods, Vegeta brought the base's twenty or thirty managers to heel.
Given Vegeta's current rank, he was already the undisputed superior at this base. Anything he said was an order.
This wasn't headquarters. It was only a remote branch.
It was like a high-ranking official from headquarters arriving in some backwater.
Otherwise, Cui couldn't have thrown his weight around here.
Unless a higher-ranking commander showed up—someone like Dodoria or Zarbon, the Ginyu Force, or Frieza...