Kast

"It's been five years!"

"Boom!!"

With a casual flick, he fired a Ki Blast, blasting a blue alien with antennae growing from its head into powder. Floating in midair, Kast couldn't help but feel a pang of emotion.

He held out his hands. They were small and covered in white gloves. He wore a blue bodysuit beneath white armor. Below his flowing, gravity-defying hair was a handsome, youthful face, and over his left eye sat a green lens that covered his ear, data streams appearing across it from time to time.

Strangest of all, a tail like a monkey's curled around his waist.

All of this was so familiar to Kast.

"I never thought I'd end up in the world of Dragon Ball."

Kast thought back to his previous world.

It had been an ordinary world, without supernatural powers or any confirmed discoveries of aliens. It had plenty of entertainment and technology, and the Dragon Ball anime was famous around the world. Kast had been an anime fan in his previous life, and he'd watched Dragon Ball over and over.

Kast's transmigration could be called a cruel twist of fate. One day, while he was out, his vehicle went out of control, and the resulting accident killed him.

When he woke, Kast found himself inside a pod filled with blue liquid. Strange creatures in white clothing wandered around him.

One red-skinned alien came over to Kast and tapped the Scouter by his ear.

Then he said, "Power level: 10. Low-Class Warrior," assigned Kast to an alien planet, and sent him off in a capsule.

It had now been five years since Kast had arrived on this alien planet. Only after reaching it had he learned that it was a world without civilization, inhabited by nothing but mindless beasts.

When he had first landed, the noise from his spaceship had attracted a great many creatures.

He'd been lucky, in a way. This world had a moon, and in his moment of peril, Kast had seen it. Under the influence of more than 17 million Blutz Waves, he'd transformed into a giant ape.

Perhaps it was because he had been reincarnated, but Kast hadn't lost his reason when he turned into a Great Ape.

In his Great Ape form, Kast had cleared away all the threatening creatures nearby and even built himself a shelter.

He had stored away the creatures he killed as provisions.

As he grew older, and with the basic information he'd found in the spaceship, Kast learned the basics of flying and using Ki Blasts.

He also learned that Planet Vegeta had only just begun working with Frieza. Vegeta hadn't been born yet, and Son Goku wouldn't be born until five years after Vegeta.

In other words, Planet Vegeta's destruction was still some time away, and he could put that time to good use.

Perhaps his soul had changed during transmigration. For some reason, Kast found that training brought twice the results for half the effort, especially when it came to control. He could command his ki as easily as moving a limb, performing complex maneuvers with his Ki Blasts without much effort.

For physical training, he'd followed the memories of his previous life and chosen basic exercises like standing in a horse stance, long-distance running, and carrying weights.

It was no wonder Saiyans were built the way they were. With systematic training, Kast's power level had risen markedly. In just two years, it had grown from 10 to fifty times its original level.

Now, after five years, his power level had reached 1,300, far surpassing the readings Vegeta had at birth and rivaling those of some of the weaker adult Low-Class Warriors.

"Oh? Vegeta's been born."

Back at his base, Kast's Scouter received a recall notice for Saiyans who had nothing to do. The message said that King Vegeta's son, Vegeta, had been born. The birth of the king's son was big news for all the Saiyans, especially since Prince Vegeta had a power level of 1,000 at birth!

"Vegeta's been born. That doesn't leave me much time."

He thought of how Son Goku would be born five years after Vegeta—and how that would also mark Planet Vegeta's destruction.

"I should go back."

Kast fell into thought. When he'd first arrived on this planet, he hadn't planned to return to Planet Vegeta. He'd intended to raise his power level and go straight to Earth later. But then he'd discovered that the spaceship had only one course plotted through the stars: back to Planet Vegeta. That discovery put an end to all his plans.

But it made sense. A Low-Class Warrior might not be considered much by the Saiyans, but anyone who could survive alone on a planet would surely grow into a capable warrior. Saiyans needed warriors like that.

"Still, I should suppress my power before I go back."

Kast smiled faintly and took a light breath. The numbers on his Scouter began to fall: 1,290, 1,080, 870... 400... 300. At last, they stopped at 300.

"That should do."

Looking at the reading of 300, Kast nodded in satisfaction. A power level of 300 wasn't high, but considering he was a Low-Class Warrior and only five years old, it was already impressive. It was certainly higher than King Piccolo's, who was far away on Earth at the moment.

For Kast, controlling his ki wasn't difficult. He had been able to sense the flow of ki since he was two, and with years of practice, he could control the trajectory of his Ki Blasts at will. He also had a much deeper understanding of how to use ki.

Suppressing his power was even easier.

He wasn't suppressing his power to play the underdog. He had other plans.

To the Saiyans, power level was proof of social status. Those with greater power held greater authority. The Saiyans were now working with Frieza, conspiring to conquer planets and sell them.

In this invasion campaign, Frieza provided the technology and funding while the Saiyans supplied the manpower and force. Naturally, those with great power would attract the most attention.

If Kast revealed his strength now, the higher-ups would take notice, and he wouldn't be able to move around freely.

That was unacceptable to Kast.

Kast knew the story well. Planet Vegeta had only five years left. He was being forced to return because the planet he lived on had no intelligent life, and the spaceship had no star charts. Going back to Planet Vegeta to upgrade his equipment was his only option.

He had to hide his strength, but he couldn't make it too low, either, or he might raise suspicions. Keeping it at 300 was the best way to pass for normal.