Meeting

Shortly after, Bulma finished checking the atmospheric composition and oxygen levels, changed into her work clothes, and stepped off the spaceship.

She couldn't control her emotions for a single second and immediately started shouting.

"You two really treated my words like wind blowing past your ears.

"This is the unknown Planet Namek, and you just ran outside so recklessly without using your brains? Idiots."

Krillin and Son Gohan, who were still observing the surrounding environment, looked incredibly awkward after being scolded by Bulma.

They didn't dare to talk back; they knew Bulma's temper was always bad, and if they really annoyed her, they definitely wouldn't get a pleasant look for the rest of the trip.

"Aunt Bulma, please don't be angry."

"Right, right, right, isn't everything fine?"

As the two of them spoke soothing words, Bulma rolled her eyes. She didn't bother with anything else and pulled the Dragon Radar out of her waist pouch to start scanning.

"Hurry up and find the Dragon Balls. Once we find them and make our wish, we can go home."

Bulma comforted herself.

The Dragon Radar's functions activated, and soon, the device displayed the signal response of the Dragon Balls.

This exceeded Bulma's expectations; she hadn't expected feedback so quickly, which also caused Krillin and Son Gohan to lean in with pleasant surprise.

Confirming that Planet Namek did indeed have Dragon Balls, the trio was overjoyed.

However, not long after, Son Gohan suddenly sensed something. Cold sweat dripped down his face as he said to Krillin, "Uncle Krillin, did you sense that? Over there, in that direction, there are many powerful energy signatures."

"Where? Let me sense them..." Seeing the panicked expression on Son Gohan's face, Krillin put away his joy and immediately began to focus his senses.

Before long, Krillin's face also changed drastically.

"There really are many powerful energy signatures, and these signatures seem somewhat..."

"Oh, what are you two worrying about? This is Planet Namek, after all. Kami and Piccolo are both so strong, so it's not strange for the Namekians to be strong too... Besides, didn't King Kai say that the current Namekians are the honest and simple type?" Bulma couldn't understand what Krillin and Son Gohan were feeling at that moment.

"That may be true, but those energy signatures feel somewhat evil," Son Gohan said.

Krillin nodded: "Yeah, and those signatures are completely different from Piccolo's. There are a few in particular that are unimaginably evil."

"Ah? Does this mean that besides us, someone else has come to Planet Namek? Could it be that the Saiyan have arrived on Planet Namek before us?" Upon hearing this, Bulma immediately shrank her neck in fear.

"What do we do now? Should we just go back to Earth first? Wait until Goku recovers before coming back..." Krillin was also starting to lose his nerve.

Agreeing to come to Planet Namek this time was a decision made with great resolve; if they died on Planet Namek, it would be like dying in a foreign land.

"Agreed, agreed. Why don't we leave quickly? It won't be good if we get discovered. I just hope that after these people make their wish, they don't kill the Eternal Dragon like the Demon King Piccolo of the past..." Bulma's worry made Krillin and Son Gohan hesitate once more.

The three of them stood there, indecisive.

After a final discussion, they decided to try and contact Earth before making any further moves.

At this very moment, they were unaware that because they hadn't suppressed or concealed their energy, they had already been discovered by the scouts of the Frieza Force.

This included Vegeta, who was on the other side and had just happened to discover their signatures while scanning the area.

About a thousand kilometers northwest of where the trio was located.

After scanning the energy signatures, Vegeta had a general grasp of the situation on Planet Namek.

He had sensed the locations of Frieza, Dodoria, and Zarbon, and had also found the location of Grand Elder Guru and that Nail.

Most importantly, he had sensed Bulma, Krillin, and Son Gohan, whom he absolutely had to see.

Although Bulma's energy was unfamiliar, as he had never seen her before, the energy signatures of Krillin and Son Gohan could not be mistaken.

"Heh heh! Better to arrive early than to arrive at the right time. I'm really looking forward to your expressions when we meet again." With the corners of his mouth curled upward, Vegeta slowly rose into the air.

The next second, his energy erupted, and Vegeta headed straight toward the trio.

At his current speed, he was so fast that the naked eye couldn't even track him; simply put, he could cross the thousand-kilometer distance in just a short moment.

Of course, this wasn't even Vegeta's full power; it was less than one-fifth of his speed.

Vegeta knew very well that Frieza and his men must have known he had arrived on Planet Namek, but they hadn't chosen to pursue him, presumably because Frieza didn't take him seriously at all.

Perhaps it was also because they couldn't pinpoint his exact location, given that he had previously hidden his energy.

But as long as Frieza and his men showed any intention of closing in on him, he could immediately erase his energy, leaving them with nowhere to look.

With a distance of fifteen thousand kilometers between them, no matter how fast Frieza and his men flew, he would have enough time to react.

Unless Frieza used a planet-destroying energy ball to blow up Planet Namek, they wouldn't be able to kill him.

With a means of concealment he didn't need to fear, Vegeta had even less need to suppress himself too deliberately.

Meanwhile.

Because of the appearance of Vegeta's energy, Krillin and Son Gohan, who were busy discussing strategies while sensing the area, were struck with terror.

They had already suspected that a Saiyan might have arrived on Planet Namek, so now that Vegeta's energy had appeared, there was no need to guess anything else.

"What do we do, what do we do? Vegeta really did make it to Planet Namek, and he's heading this way at incredible speed!" Krillin said, flustered and frantic.

Son Gohan, standing nearby, was equally at a loss, but he quickly snapped to his senses and tried his best to suppress his energy. "Quick, hurry and hide your energy, Uncle Krillin."

"No, it's no use, it's too late!" Krillin's face turned ashen. Looking toward the horizon, he could already see Vegeta's figure streaking toward them.

After only a brief hesitation, Vegeta arrived, deactivated his aura, and descended naturally to land right in front of the two of them.

Krillin and Son Gohan didn't dare to breathe, struggling to control their emotions as they faced Vegeta.

Vegeta looked at the two of them with amusement, his footsteps never faltering as he glanced toward the spaceship.

From the outside, it was impossible to see the situation within, but Vegeta knew that Bulma was in there, watching him.

"Damn it! You were so heavily injured, yet you managed to recover completely and even beat us to Planet Namek." After holding out for a long while, Krillin gritted his teeth and was the first to break the tension.

If this continued any longer, he feared he would be unable to breathe under the weight of Vegeta's presence.