Kakarot

Trunks froze at the sight of Frieza groveling and begging for mercy.

The emperor of the universe, branded as evil and infamous for his cruelty, was actually kneeling before a Saiyan to protect alien civilians?

"Trunks, suppress your power." Son Gohan stepped forward, kicked the unconscious Tien Shinhan aside, and looked down at the trembling Frieza.

The distortion of this timeline was far beyond anything they had imagined. The bizarre events unfolding before them were surely connected to the severe "timeline anomaly" Popo had mentioned. It seemed the entire world had been turned upside down, completely overturning the course of its original history.

Son Gohan placed his right hand on Frieza's trembling shoulder and sent a gentle wave of energy into him, stabilizing his nearly fatal injuries.

"We're not your enemies. We don't belong to that empire, either." Son Gohan kept his voice calm, doing his best to sound nonthreatening. "Can you tell us what happened in this world?"

Feeling a faint spark of life return to him, Frieza cautiously raised his head. When he saw Son Gohan's clear, unthreatening black eyes, some of the fear in his own eyes eased, but he remained intensely wary.

"Damn Saiyans! What are you up to now?" Frieza snarled through gritted teeth.

He didn't believe for a second that these Saiyans were being kind. They must have thought up some new way to torment him for their amusement.

After much effort, they finally managed to convince Frieza, at least temporarily, that they weren't working with the evil Saiyans.

Inside an abandoned resistance base, hundreds of meters underground.

Dim lights flickered. The place was packed with civilians, all trembling in fear. Leaning against a rusty pipe, Frieza took a sip of the water Trunks had handed him, then explained the truth about this timeline between ragged breaths.

"Those evil Saiyans. They're the most vile plague ever to infest this universe."

Frieza's voice was filled with bitter helplessness and hatred.

According to him, history had taken a bizarre turn many years ago. Back then, he had been preparing to destroy Planet Vegeta as planned. But then an absolute anomaly rose among the Saiyans.

"His name was Kakarot." At the mention of the name, Frieza's entire body began to spasm. "They say he was sent to a low-level planet called Earth as a newborn. In an incredibly short time, he conquered it, then returned to Planet Vegeta with terrifying power."

Son Gohan's eyes narrowed. This was the turning point!

In the normal timeline, Kakarot fell off a cliff, hit his head, and became the kindhearted Son Goku. But in this timeline, perhaps Kakarot hadn't hit his head. He had retained the Saiyans' brutal, warlike nature, and his power had likely undergone an absurd, mutant-like surge due to some mysterious force's interference.

"After Kakarot returned, he united all the Saiyans," Frieza continued. "I don't know how they did it, but every last one of them broke through and became the legendary warriors of Saiyan myth: Super Saiyans! My army and I were slaughtered without a fight. My father, King Cold, was torn apart by Kakarot with his bare hands, and my entire space force was reduced to ashes. After that, the Saiyans took over the universe and built an evil empire."

Through a series of twists and turns, Frieza had become a hero fighting against the evil Saiyans.

"Then what happened to Krillin and Tien Shinhan?" Trunks couldn't help asking. Even if Saiyans were naturally violent, how had the Earthlings turned out this way?

Frieza gave a bitter laugh. "Earthlings? They're not human anymore."

"When Kakarot conquered Earth, he rounded up all the martial artists there. To create perfectly obedient attack dogs, they forcibly implanted Saiyan genes into the Earthlings. The ones who survived gained not only the Saiyans' aggression and potential, but also became mad dogs who would attack anyone Kakarot pointed at!"

Trunks felt as if he'd been struck by lightning. He stumbled back two steps and slammed into the wall.

The Uncle Goku his mother had called a savior had become a cold-blooded demon, while Krillin and Tien Shinhan had been turned into genetically modified lackeys. To Trunks, this world was an utterly absurd nightmare.

"Gohan, what's going on..." Trunks's voice was hoarse.

Son Gohan leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, his mind racing.

Under the influence of the Miracle Power emanating from the Original Dragon Balls, this timeline had clearly changed drastically. Rather than becoming good, the Kakarot of this world had amplified the Saiyans' evil nature and even assimilated the entire Universe 7. If left unchecked, this evil empire would grow powerful enough to invade other parallel timelines.

"The Original Dragon Balls we're looking for must be in this Kakarot's hands. The Miracle Power has turned everything upside down!" Son Gohan concluded.

Just then.

A piercing red alarm suddenly blared throughout the underground base! Blinding red lights flashed in alternation as the entire space began to shake violently. Dirt and rocks rained down from the ceiling.

"Not good! They've found the base!" Frieza's face changed. He sprang to his feet.

Rumble!

A deafening crash shook the earth.

Hundreds of meters of ground above the base were pierced by an indescribably terrifying force. Sunlight and a raging energy storm poured down, tearing a massive hole through the resistance base's ceiling.

The civilians screamed and ducked for cover.

At the heart of the storm, two enormous, demon-like figures slowly descended. They slammed into the center of the base like a pair of meteorites, sending cracks spiderwebbing across the ground.

"Well, well. You gave us quite a chase, Frieza."

A hoarse, gravelly voice rang out.

Son Gohan got a clear look at the newcomers.

The one on the left was a bald giant, his muscles bulging as if they were about to burst. His eyes were completely bloodred, dark crimson lightning crackled around him, and a cruel, bloodthirsty grin tugged at his lips.

The one on the right had hair that reached his waist. His previously unruly locks had turned a bizarre dark purple. His nails were as sharp as blades, and a nauseating stench of blood clung to him.

Nappa! Raditz!

Their power levels were no longer the measly few thousand they'd had in the original story. Their auras were already nearing a billion!

"You dared injure the low-level dogs under our command." Nappa rolled his neck, his bones cracking like firecrackers. His bloodred eyes passed over Frieza and locked onto Trunks and Son Gohan behind him.

"Unfamiliar Saiyan faces? Looks like King Kakarot was right. Some rats really did sneak in."

Raditz licked his lips, his dark purple hair stirring in the wind.

"Nappa, you take the purple-haired kid. I'll tear the guts out of the one in black, bit by bit."