"We're finally here!"
After all the things he could have said, only those four words of emotion had escaped his lips.
The journey of more than five days had felt like an eternity to Vegeta, but it had also completely transformed him.
Although he couldn't train and increase his strength as recklessly as Kakarot—after all, Kakarot had Senzu Beans to help with his training and could heal himself with one even after suffering severe injuries—Vegeta had still pushed past his limits again and again, breaking through more than ten times.
If he had to estimate his power level, Vegeta figured he was close to 50,000, if not already there.
As for why he wasn't using a Scouter to measure his power level, it was to avoid any unexpected trouble.
With his current strength, if he revealed everything before arriving, Frieza would surely get word of it and come to kill him at once.
Until he was strong enough to guarantee his own safety, Vegeta still had to keep a low profile.
Even though the only person on Planet Namek who could threaten him now was Frieza himself.
With my current strength, even if I face Nail, whose power level is 42,000, I won't be afraid in the slightest. Vegeta released his ki and immediately scanned the surrounding area.
Without the systematic training he'd undergone over the past few days, Vegeta wouldn't have been able to control his ki sense so skillfully.
He would also get a sense of the current situation on Planet Namek before deciding what to do next.
Meanwhile, in a village about 25,000 kilometers away.
Frieza had led his subordinates, Dodoria and Zarbon, in a massacre.
Naturally, the actual slaughter was left to the soldiers under his command.
What did killing a few natives matter, so long as they could get the Dragon Balls?
Especially when those locals had little strength and stubbornly refused to surrender.
"We've finally found the third Dragon Ball, Lord Frieza." Dodoria took a Dragon Ball from a mud hut and reported.
They'd collected only three in two days, which was actually quite slow progress.
After all, they could pinpoint where the Namekians lived. They didn't have to search blindly.
But they faced a tricky problem. Though the Namekians were few in number, they were spread across many villages. Without a Dragon Radar, Frieza's forces couldn't tell which village held a Dragon Ball, so they had to search each one by trial and error.
"Mm. Let's move on to the next village," Frieza ordered leisurely, in no hurry.
As far as he was concerned, the Dragon Balls were already his. The search was tedious, but he rather enjoyed it.
If he got them right away, it wouldn't be nearly as entertaining.
It would be best if something unexpected happened, too. That would make things even more amusing.
"Please wait a moment, Lord Frieza. According to the message just received from the Scouter, Vegeta's spaceship seems to have arrived on Planet Namek ahead of schedule. However, the Scouter can't pinpoint his location." Zarbon informed Frieza of the message he'd received.
"Oh? He's here already?" At the thought of Vegeta, Frieza's eyes gleamed with mockery.
He recalled that two days earlier, he'd been thinking that by the time Vegeta arrived, he would have completely destroyed Planet Namek and turned it into a dead world.
"I really did underestimate how troublesome the Namekians could be. Still, this works out well. Let him have a little hope, then show him what happens when he opposes me... Let him be. Perhaps our little Vegeta will even surprise us. Hohoho!" After speaking, Frieza let out a laugh full of contempt and calculation.
"Yes, Lord Frieza." Zarbon bowed respectfully.
In the outer space surrounding Planet Namek.
The spaceship that had departed Earth was now close to reaching Planet Namek.
According to the original story, Bulma, Krillin, and Son Gohan were supposed to arrive on Planet Namek first, followed by Vegeta's spaceship.
But this time, Vegeta was traveling in a medium-sized spaceship. Though it wasn't much faster, it was indeed quicker than a small one.
"We're finally here. This time, it really is the right place, isn't it?" Bulma said excitedly, looking at the data displayed by the spaceship and the enormous planet outside.
This space voyage had really tested her patience.
Especially since something absurd had happened a few days earlier: they'd nearly been stranded on a dead planet.
They'd escaped danger at last, so now they were being more cautious.
"It should be. And judging by the timing, this has to be Planet Namek." Krillin leaned closer to the screen and studied the data displayed on it.
Unfortunately, after staring at it for a long time, he still couldn't make heads or tails of it.
"The coordinates are right, Aunt Bulma. We're in the right place this time." Son Gohan spoke up beside them.
Krillin was deeply discouraged. "Gohan, you can understand all that?"
Son Gohan nodded, then pointed at the various numbers and symbols on the screen. "It's actually simple, Uncle Krillin. You just need to know what the symbols mean, then compare them with the coordinates to figure out the information. I remember Planet Namek's coordinates are SU83 and 9045XY..."
"That's amazing, Gohan. You're only five..." Krillin said with a wry smile, feeling as if his intelligence couldn't even measure up to a five-year-old's.
Bulma gave Son Gohan an approving glance and smiled. "You'll surely become a remarkable scholar one day. I only taught you a few basic things, but you taught yourself everything else."
"Hehe, you're too kind, Aunt Bulma." Son Gohan's little face flushed, making him look even more well-behaved and sensible.
"Alright, everyone, fasten your seat belts and get ready. We're landing now."
Without wasting any more time, Bulma informed Krillin and Son Gohan, then began operating the spaceship.
It had to be said that this spaceship was just as good as the spaceships of the Frieza Force, and in some ways even more advanced.
It was worth noting that the Namekians of the past had possessed highly advanced technology. But the Namekians of today were no longer what they once had been, and had completely abandoned technological development.
The spaceship broke through the planet's atmosphere and landed steadily on Planet Namek.
Once they'd landed safely, Bulma began a series of procedures. She didn't know what conditions they would find on the planet or whether Earthlings could survive there.
But while she carried out a series of oxygen tests and analyzed the atmosphere, Krillin and Son Gohan went straight out of the spaceship, completely ignoring her warnings.