Breakthrough Failure, Subduing Talent

"It really wasn't as simple as I thought; I'm still just too weak."

Muttering to himself, Vegeta let out a sigh of relief, allowing his power to circulate naturally through his body.

Just moments ago, he had channeled every ounce of his strength toward the center of his back.

At first, the surging power seemed to hit a wall, unable to break through or even condense.

As his control over his energy grew more refined, Vegeta finally pushed past that repulsion after a grueling effort, only to be met not with success, but with an entirely new problem.

This spot was like a bottomless pit; no matter how he tried to control it, the energy he gathered was instantly absorbed, as if it could never be filled.

Having experienced this setback, Vegeta finally realized that with his current level of power, transformation was simply impossible.

He had to become stronger. Only with sufficient power could he fill that bottomless pit and achieve a true breakthrough.

Although he didn't know how much energy it would take to fill that void, or if doing so would truly allow him to become a Super Saiyan, Vegeta had no choice but to take it one step at a time.

At least the information from the original story was accurate; he wasn't just fumbling in the dark.

Putting his thoughts aside, Vegeta stopped wasting time and turned back toward the base.

Everyone he encountered treated him with reverence, a result of his overwhelming strength.

Vegeta had also learned from Zarck, the dinosaur-like alien from the medical unit, that the news of him killing Cui had already spread to the vast majority of the personnel.

For now, the base management had sealed the information, and it hadn't yet been reported to Frieza.

To Vegeta, whether they reported it or not was irrelevant.

Even if Frieza found out, what could he do?

Setting aside whether he had even reached Planet Namek yet, he had only just departed; he wasn't about to turn back now.

The temptation of immortality was far too great for Frieza; how could the death of a mere Cui shake his resolve?

No!

Perhaps that wasn't even his primary wish. After all, Frieza's deepest insecurity was his height; he had mentioned in the later arcs that he wanted to grow another five centimeters.

Perhaps that was Frieza's ultimate pursuit.

In truth, this was a wish the current Vegeta wanted to realize as well.

The original Vegeta hadn't cared, but for the current Vegeta, being one meter sixty-four was truly infuriating.

"I know why you're telling me this. You want to use my hands to eliminate your rivals and solidify your own position! You can pin the blame on me afterward. It's a nice idea, and clever enough."

Because of Vegeta's bluntness, Zarck the dinosaur alien panicked, his body trembling.

"No, no, you've misunderstood, Lord Vegeta! I'm only sharing important information with you; I have no ulterior motives. It's just that those guys are dangerous—heaven knows what they might say about you behind your back," Zarck stammered.

He didn't even realize how hollow his own words sounded.

Vegeta scoffed, entirely unimpressed. "You've got plenty of schemes, but don't take me for an idiot. I'll give you a chance: why should I help you? This little bit of news isn't enough."

Hearing this, Zarck gasped.

He was an ambitious man, and he had only dared to approach Vegeta because he had been the one to treat Vegeta's wounds.

"What does Lord Vegeta mean?"

"Show me your value!"

Zarck froze, his mind racing.

"Does Lord Vegeta want me to pledge my loyalty? Although I am only a researcher without great combat ability, I can provide Lord Vegeta with every assistance, handle all logistics, and even keep you informed of all of King Frieza's movements..." As he spoke, Zarck felt he had hit the nail on the head.

Everyone was a member of the Frieza Force, and to Zarck, he was simply pledging his service to a superior officer.

He knew that Nappa and Raditz were dead, so he had a high chance of moving up in the ranks.

As long as Vegeta agreed, he would have successfully climbed the ladder.

Vegeta just watched him, a smile in his eyes.

While Vegeta couldn't guess every detail of Zarck's inner thoughts, he could roughly imagine the gist of it.

There were too many expendable people under Frieza, and everyone was scrambling to climb higher; Zarck was no exception.

But even if you had unique skills or high achievements in a certain field, it didn't guarantee a high-level management position, which was why those at the bottom like Zarck were so desperate to scheme.

"What is your research focused on?" Vegeta asked.

He knew he couldn't be like the original Vegeta, ignoring the Frieza Force entirely. While he wouldn't necessarily rule the organization, having as many capable people working for him as possible would be a great help to his future growth.

"I am currently researching biological evolution and new types of medical devices..."

New medical devices!

That was something he could make use of.

Although the Senzu Beans from Earth were more effective, they were already rare in this era.

If he had medical devices, any injuries sustained during training or combat could be treated as quickly as possible.

This was a field that even the Bulma of the original work had never touched; if he continued this research, he might even be able to develop an even more potent specialized healing fluid.

After a moment of hesitation, Vegeta's gaze toward Zarck shifted slightly.

"From today on, you belong to me! As for those few fellows you mentioned, tell me what their areas of expertise are." As Vegeta spoke, he rose and walked out of the lounge.

Upon hearing Vegeta's words, a look of fervent eagerness flashed in Zarck's eyes.

He then followed closely by Vegeta's side to begin his report, detailing every rival within this base.

It had to be said that even Vegeta was surprised by the sheer volume of information he possessed; he actually held the specific details of so many people in the palm of his hand.

Of course, he wouldn't take everything at face value, but if those people were useful, he wouldn't mind recruiting them all.

Regardless of whether these people were just putting on an act before him, once the battle on Planet Namek concluded, he would return here to take some of them to Earth.

If they still played him false by that time, things wouldn't be so simple.

Under Zarck's guidance, Vegeta carried out a purge of the base's management; among them, those who had once been loyal to Cui, or even Dodoria and Zarbon, and possessed no particular skills, were directly executed by Vegeta.

Relying on his swift and decisive methods, the twenty or thirty members of the management eventually knelt in submission at Vegeta's feet.

In truth, given Vegeta's current standing, he was already the absolute superior in this base, and every word he spoke was inherently an absolute command.

This was not the headquarters, merely a remote branch.

It was equivalent to a high-ranking official from headquarters like Vegeta arriving in the backwoods.

Otherwise, Cui would never have been able to throw his weight around here.

Unless a higher-ranking captain appeared, such as Dodoria and Zarbon, or the Ginyu Force, or Frieza...