On King Kai's Planet.
Because of Vegeta's psychic shockwave, North Kai couldn't keep his balance and fell backward onto the ground. His face had even turned a little purple.
"That can't be right. Vegeta should've agreed. Didn't he say at first that he'd grant two wishes...?" North Kai wondered aloud.
Yamcha and Tien Shinhan quickly helped him up.
In some respects, they were quite clever, but sometimes they could be stubborn and slow to catch on.
Piccolo, on the other hand, wasn't surprised in the least. He couldn't help sneering, "You should be glad Vegeta has no way to get here. Otherwise, North Kai, he'd probably beat you to a pulp."
"Huh???" North Kai stared back in confusion, question marks filling his mind.
"Piccolo, what do you mean?" Yamcha asked, just as baffled.
"What else could I mean? You think you're clever, so you offer empty promises to get what you want right now, treating the other person like a fool! Even I wouldn't agree to something like that, so what made you think he would?" Piccolo said coldly.
He was at a loss for words. Did he really have to explain something so simple?
They were just a bunch of selfish people.
At that moment, Piccolo didn't resent Vegeta for refusing to trade his wishes. Instead, he felt that he and Vegeta were cut from the same cloth.
Tien Shinhan finally understood, too. He smacked his forehead and said, "I'm such an idiot. How did I not realize that? No wonder you spotted the problem right away, Piccolo..."
"Uh, is it really that serious?" Yamcha still didn't understand and kept asking questions.
Even Chiaotzu, standing nearby, couldn't help rolling his eyes. Clearly, he'd figured it out, too.
Tien Shinhan continued, "It's actually pretty simple. If King Kai had said that once Earth's Dragon Balls were restored, Vegeta could make a wish right away, he might've considered it. After all, it'd be a one-for-one trade, so it wouldn't be that bad. But saying he could use them again a year later? That's ridiculous.
"First, Planet Namek's Dragon Balls can grant three wishes after just 130 days. Vegeta has no reason to go out of his way to use Earth's Dragon Balls... Second, if Vegeta really wanted to, he wouldn't need anyone's permission to use them. He's no saint, and he has overwhelming power. How could we stop him?"
Only after hearing Tien Shinhan's explanation did Yamcha understand.
North Kai finally got it, too. His face reddened as he realized he hadn't even grasped something so basic.
No wonder Vegeta had told him to get lost.
"Let's wait and hope Vegeta doesn't use the Dragon Balls again after 130 days! Otherwise, our resurrection will be a distant dream." Piccolo finished coldly, then walked away by himself.
The matter on Planet Namek had come to an end for now. Since he couldn't be resurrected, he would train even harder here and try to become strong enough to stand against a Super Saiyan by the time he came back to life.
It might not be realistic, but a warrior without a goal wasn't a good warrior!
He, King Piccolo, wasn't about to give up so easily!
Planet Namek.
After telling North Kai to get lost, Vegeta took several deep breaths before finally calming down.
His sudden transformation had indeed frightened the Namekians in the distance, as well as Krillin, Son Gohan, and Bulma.
They had no idea what had happened behind the scenes.
Even Porunga had been startled by Vegeta's power. Huge beads of cold sweat ran down his face.
If he hadn't known that Vegeta wasn't telling him to get lost, but was instead telling North Kai to get lost all the way back on King Kai's Planet in Otherworld, he would've been in an awkward position.
"Um, are you ready to make your wishes now, Your Excellency, most revered Super Saiyan?" Porunga raised a claw to scratch his cheek and politely, if somewhat awkwardly, urged him on.
At that, Vegeta finally came back to his senses.
He gathered his thoughts, controlled his pace, and slowly stated his first wish in the Namekian language.
"@#%&*@#...(My first wish is for my body to develop again and grow twenty centimeters taller in the most natural and balanced way possible, without affecting my fundamental nature. And no one can be able to tell that my increased height is the result of a wish.)"
Porunga was immediately at a loss for words.
As the Dragon of Planet Namek, he'd heard the Namekians make plenty of strange wishes over the years, but this one was by far the most unexpected.
This Saiyan wanted to use a wish to get taller.
Porunga couldn't understand why humans cared so much about height. To him, Vegeta was already well-proportioned, balanced, and perfect. There was nothing wrong with him.
Of course, he kept that thought to himself. A wish like this was incredibly easy for him to grant.
The simpler the wish, the easier it was for him.
"No problem. I can grant that wish. You'll grow taller without anyone noticing..." Porunga hadn't finished speaking when Vegeta's face darkened.
"Just do it. You don't need to repeat it." Vegeta cut Porunga off.
At that volume, who the hell wouldn't hear him?
Didn't Vegeta have any dignity?
All he wanted was a reasonable increase in height. That wasn't too much to ask, right?!
"Understood. I'll grant your wish now." Porunga got the message and gave him an OK sign.
The next second, red light shone in his eyes as a vast wish-granting power, mighty enough to work miracles, enveloped Vegeta.
Golden light burst forth, as if he were about to turn into a Super Saiyan. When it faded, Vegeta felt that his field of vision had widened, and even the angle from which he saw the world seemed different.
He was finally over 1.8 meters tall. No, he was probably even taller than he'd been in his previous life—at least 1.85 meters!
A premium-grade heartthrob.
And it wasn't just his height that had changed. His hairstyle had also undergone a few subtle changes, and he had more hair. Most importantly, his strength seemed to have increased as well.
Had he gotten a whole package deal?
"Since your first wish was so simple, I took the liberty of boosting your physical strength as well. It's only twice what it was before, but that's the limit of the bonus I can give you." Porunga's words reached Vegeta, filling him with excitement.
"Thanks! Now for my second wish." Vegeta's lips curved into a smile.
Porunga had definitely lived up to his expectations.
For a wish like this, he wouldn't hesitate to trade all three wishes from Earth Shenron.
Even a moment's hesitation would've been an insult to Porunga.
"%￥&&￥*&...(My second wish is to give me the ability to survive in outer space! Of course, without changing my fundamental nature...)"