"You!!"
Piccolo's words left Vegeta speechless. He wanted to argue, but he had nothing to say.
That was simply the truth.
He couldn't accept it.
He, Vegeta, the Saiyan prince, had now become someone inferior to a Low-Class Warrior.
Vegeta clenched his teeth and fists, his eyes blazing with fury.
"What? You just got revived and you're already looking for a fight? You think things are still the way they were when you came to Earth? Even if your strength increased when you were revived, that's all you've got now." Piccolo didn't hold back in the slightest.
He was reclaiming his dignity.
He intended to make Vegeta pay all at once for the humiliation he'd suffered on Earth.
"You're asking to die!!" Piccolo's words only stoked Vegeta's fury. An incredibly terrifying aura surged around him.
The power of that aura even surpassed Vegeta's previous threshold.
Even Ron was surprised.
As expected, anger could make a Saiyan stronger.
Especially this kind of rage, which could ignite an explosive force within and push him past his limits.
Vegeta's aura surged wildly, as if he were about to attack at any moment.
Piccolo, however, didn't seem to care. A mocking, disdainful smile played across his face.
That reaction made Vegeta's heart sink.
He was indeed furious, but he hadn't lost his head.
He realized that Piccolo seemed to have changed somewhat, so he didn't immediately charge at him.
To be fair, he was becoming more and more cautious.
After everything he'd gone through on Namek, including death and revival, Vegeta knew that if he could become this much stronger, Piccolo might have had some sort of opportunity of his own.
"What? Afraid to fight? That doesn't sound like you, Vegeta." Piccolo saw Vegeta hesitate and didn't let up, continuing to taunt him.
That was the last straw.
Vegeta's face twisted with fury, and he could no longer control himself.
Just as he was about to attack, Son Goku stepped forward and stopped him, giving him a way out.
"Come on, Piccolo. Vegeta has done a lot of terrible things, and he even attacked Earth. People died because of him. But that's all in the past. Since he's been revived, let's give him a chance to turn over a new leaf. With Frieza, that big bad guy, no longer giving him orders, I don't think Vegeta will go back to his old ways."
Piccolo sneered at Son Goku's words, openly contemptuous.
"So you're pleading on his behalf? Son Goku, you really are as simple-minded as ever. Maybe even an idiot. Do you know who you're trying to excuse? This guy is ruthless enough to kill even his own comrades." Piccolo's words struck like a blow to the head.
They reminded everyone that Nappa had died at Vegeta's hands.
He had been such a loyal subordinate, but Vegeta had killed him simply because he'd lost.
Krillin and Son Gohan went deathly pale.
They stared at Vegeta, their hostility plain to see.
Even if they had fought alongside each other on Namek this time, so what?
They could never be comrades.
"Look, Piccolo, didn't you used to threaten people and try to kill them, too? Now you're fighting to protect others, aren't you?" Son Goku said with a smile.
"You're comparing me to this kind of guy?" Piccolo's mouth twitched.
What Son Goku said wasn't exactly wrong.
He was King Piccolo, after all.
He didn't know when it had happened, but at some point, he'd suddenly forgotten what he used to be like.
"Hmph! If something unexpected happens in the future, don't say I didn't warn you." Piccolo shot Son Goku a glare, then turned to Vegeta. "You'd better never do anything that crosses my line. If you ever fall into my hands again, I'll kill you!"
Son Goku could only smile and keep quiet in response to Piccolo's threat.
He understood what Piccolo was thinking. He was just taking precautions.
The reason he'd given Vegeta this chance was entirely selfish, too. He wanted to fight Vegeta again, fairly.
Besides, having Vegeta there to compete with him as they trained in the future would give him more motivation.
Neither of them would want to be surpassed by the other, and that would naturally make them stronger.
Vegeta was trembling from head to toe.
He was furious, resentful, and unwilling to accept this.
But right now, there was nothing he could do.
All he could do was suppress his resentment and wait for the day when he was strong enough, when he became a Super Saiyan. Then he would reclaim the face he'd lost.
When that day came, he would repay today's humiliation a hundredfold.
"Hmph!!!" Vegeta let out a muffled snort through his nose, reined in his aura, and turned to look at Ron.
When their eyes met, the amused look on Ron's face changed.
"What is it? Does our Prince Vegeta have something to teach me?" Ron teased.
Hearing Ron's tone, which clearly showed that he didn't take him seriously, only made Vegeta feel more gloomy. It was as if something were stuck in his chest, making him miserable.
"Let me see what a Super Saiyan looks like!"
After hesitating for a long time, Vegeta finally gritted his teeth and said what was on his mind.
"Want to see what a Super Saiyan looks like?" Ron murmured. Everyone around them held their breath at the shift in his tone.
Krillin and Son Gohan especially.
Everyone realized why Vegeta wanted to see a Super Saiyan.
But even if they didn't want Ron to show Vegeta, they couldn't decide for him.
"Sure. It'll be even more interesting if you become a Super Saiyan someday, too." Ron pretended to hesitate for a moment.
After all, he was bound to show Vegeta.
He had to give him a clear goal, didn't he?
In the original story, one reason Vegeta eventually broke through and became a Super Saiyan was that he'd seen Son Goku transform from the very beginning, giving him a clear target.
Even though he didn't become a Super Saiyan until several years later, and a series of events happened in the meantime—for instance, Future Trunks came from the future to the past and transformed into a Super Saiyan right in front of him to fight Son Goku.
But the point was, only because he'd known what a Super Saiyan looked like from the start was he able to break through as smoothly as he had in the original story.
After getting Ron's answer, Vegeta grew somewhat impatient.
He didn't say anything, but his eyes and expression gave away what he was thinking.
Ron didn't stall or waste another word.
With a single thought, he transformed into a Super Saiyan, allowing Vegeta to witness the Super Saiyan's power with his own eyes.
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