We're Late

Whoosh, whoosh—

Vegeta threw out energy blasts.

One flew toward Krillin and the others, while the other shot toward Piccolo, whose fate was unknown.

The corners of Vegeta's mouth lifted slightly. Barring any surprises, in the next instant, he would be able to watch a beautiful fireworks show.

Suddenly, two streaks of red light moved rapidly in from the distance, arriving on the scene in an instant.

They happened to block the energy blasts' inevitable paths!

Boom! Boom!

The two energy blasts exploded, kicking up a huge cloud of smoke and dust.

Krillin and the others stared nervously at the smoke.

"Who?!"

Vegeta frowned.

What was going on today? Every time things reached the critical moment, someone interrupted him.

The smoke gradually dispersed.

Revealing figures wreathed in red flames.

Jiang Ling!

Son Goku!

"Thank goodness, you're finally here!" "We almost died just now..." "The Saiyan is too strong. Even Piccolo wasn't a match for him."

Krillin and the others spoke excitedly.

On the battlefield, Goku and Jiang Ling had arrived, and the fight was on the verge of breaking out.

Meanwhile, at Bulma's home in West City, Bulma learned through the television that North City had been razed to the ground.

"This Saiyan is way too strong, isn't he? An entire city was destroyed in an instant..." Bulma looked worried.

She did not know whether Goku and the others could defeat the Saiyan. And Jiang Ling had only just arrived, so his strength was probably relatively weak. She did not know if he was all right.

Bulma thought of Jiang Ling.

Although she had known him for less time than people like Goku, the feeling Jiang Ling gave her was something no one else could compare to.

How should she put it? It was like two magnets, drawn to each other.

Just then, the television report on North City caught her attention. The reporter had discovered two white spheres.

"Hard to imagine what kind of power could destroy North City like this. Even a nuclear bomb wouldn't have this effect."

"Oh, my God, look what we've found! Two unidentified spheres!"

The two spheres were extraordinarily conspicuous amid the wasteland.

The reporter's screams soon drew the attention of government personnel.

They could not figure out what the two spheres were, and were completely baffled.

At that moment, a fat man appeared on screen, his hair fluffy, a sword hanging at his waist.

As soon as the fat man appeared, he said, "I know where these two balls came from."

The reporter immediately asked, "Oh? May I ask who you are? Can you tell us about it?"

"My name is Yajirobe. As for these two balls... they're spaceships!" Yajirobe said with absolute certainty.

The reporter's eyes, along with those of the people present, lit up, and they instantly grew excited. If this was true, it would definitely be explosive news!

"Spaceships? How do you know that? What's their origin?"

Everyone began asking questions at once.

The corners of Yajirobe's mouth curved slightly, and he said calmly and leisurely:

"Ah, my stomach just so happens to be a little hungry. What should I do?"

"What are you saying? How could we let you go hungry? Come on, get in the car. It's my treat!"

The reporter immediately thumped his chest, overflowing with heroic generosity.

"..."

Watching the scene on TV, Bulma was utterly speechless.

That actually worked?

Yajirobe really was one damn piece of work.

On the battlefield.

Jiang Ling smiled faintly.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. Goku's home and mine are pretty far from here, so we were late."

"Everyone, good work."

Son Goku nodded, then released his Kaioken state. The red aura dispersed, and he returned to normal.

He took out two Senzu Beans and gave one each to Yamcha and Tien Shinhan.

"Eat them, then hurry up and leave. The farther, the better. This battle's already beyond what you can handle."

Yamcha and Tien Shinhan did not reach out to take them. Instead, they shook their heads. "Using them on us would just be a waste. We can't help at all. Goku, you and Jiang Ling need the Senzu Beans more!"

They were unusually firm. Before Goku could speak again, they left the battlefield with Krillin and Chiaotzu's help.

With a thought, Jiang Ling also released the red aura of his Kaioken state. He looked at Vegeta and silently grumbled to himself:

He's so short... a little taller than bald Krillin, about the same height as Bulma.

Just then, another figure flew over from behind. Son Gohan had finally arrived, late to the scene.

Jiang Ling pointed toward the rubble burying Piccolo. "Gohan, Piccolo's buried over there. Help get him out."

Hearing this, Son Gohan cried out in alarm, "Uncle Piccolo!" Then he struggled to dig Piccolo out of the pile of rubble.

After checking him over, he found that Piccolo still had one breath left.

"Dad, Uncle Piccolo's not dead!"

Son Gohan looked panicked, his hands trembling slightly.

He knew that if this went on, Uncle Piccolo's life force would sooner or later drain away completely, and he would die.

And Piccolo's death was something he absolutely did not want to see.

"Gohan, catch. This is a Senzu Bean." Son Goku tossed a Senzu Bean over. Gohan caught it instinctively, his expression somewhat confused.

Seeing this, Goku explained, "As long as Piccolo still has one breath left, he can recover. Just feed it to him."

Gohan's eyes suddenly lit up at those words, as if he had found hope.

In a fluster, he stuffed the Senzu Bean into Piccolo's mouth.

"Uncle Piccolo, you have to be okay..."

Gohan held Piccolo's grim green hand tightly in his small hands and prayed softly.

Before long, Piccolo suddenly opened his eyes, a sharp gleam flashing through them. He instantly stood up, his aura erupting outward. He looked as if the person who had been on the verge of death just now had not been him at all.

"Great! Uncle Piccolo's okay!" Son Gohan immediately looked overjoyed.

Piccolo looked at Jiang Ling and Son Goku, then nodded, which counted as a greeting.

Then he crouched down. A trace of gentleness flashed through his cold eyes as he rubbed Gohan's head and spat out a few emotionless words. "I'm fine."

Watching this scene, Jiang Ling could not help sighing inwardly.

Ever since he had arrived, the plot had changed from the original.

Take this battle, for example. In the original, more than half the Earth warriors had died before Goku finally arrived late.

But now, although they had been ten minutes late because they lived relatively far away, no one had died.

Everyone was alive and well. At most, they were just badly injured.

Only...

There was one thing he found a little regretful.

The Saibamen had not been released, so the Tea God's legendary scene that would have gone down through the ages was gone.

Not far away, Vegeta stood where he was, huge waves of shock surging in his heart.

What was going on!?

Just now, he had clearly looked like he was on his last breath. He ate one bean, and in an instant, he was as good as new!?

If I had a large number of those beans, raised an army, and then added an immortal body wished for with the Dragon Balls, would I still have to fear being unable to fight Frieza?

Thinking of this, Vegeta's eyes flickered. He even ignored Krillin and the others who had escaped, his gaze locking onto Son Goku's face.

"You're Kakarot, aren't you? You look exactly like your father."

"I'm Son Goku. As for the name Kakarot, I'm sorry. Maybe it was my name before, but I don't have any memories of that."

Son Goku shook his head and continued, "Right now, I'm a Saiyan who grew up on Earth."

"Looks like you really did lose your memory." Vegeta noticed the tail swaying behind Jiang Ling, and his gaze sharpened. "You're a Saiyan too? Why have I never heard of you?"

Jiang Ling curled his lip and spread his hands. "There's a lot you haven't heard of. I'm just one more thing."

"Hmph!"

Seeing Jiang Ling's careless attitude, Vegeta snorted coldly. "Are you sure you want to oppose this prince and betray the entire Saiyan Empire?"

Jiang Ling: "???"

Son Goku: "???"

Vegeta saw the two of them say nothing, and he already had his answer.

"Doesn't matter. All I want is immortality, and those beans you took out just now."

"Go back," Son Goku said, looking at him with a serious expression. "I won't let you get what you want."

"I won't let you get what you want either!"

Jiang Ling stepped forward.

"They're right," Piccolo said.

"Me too!" Son Gohan shouted.

The wind swept yellow sand past them, and the atmosphere began to turn tense and explosive.

Suddenly, Vegeta burst out laughing.

"Since you won't hand over the Dragon Ball and the Senzu Beans, I'll start taking action—until you do!"

When everyone heard that, their bodies instantly tensed. They braced themselves, ready to face Vegeta's attack at any moment.

Unexpectedly, Vegeta did not attack. Instead, he shot off at extreme speed in another direction.

"?"

"Why did he run?"

"Oh no!"

Jiang Ling looked in the direction he had flown and hurriedly said, "He's going after Krillin and the others!!"

"What!"

Son Goku was startled, and immediately used the Kaioken to chase after him!

If he did not use the Kaioken, at his speed he would never catch up to Vegeta!

"Damn it, I'm still too slow!"

Son Goku gritted his teeth. The red aura around him erupted, and his speed suddenly rose.

Triple Kaioken!

But in the end, he had started too late, and there was still some distance between him and Vegeta.

Before long, Goku heard screams and the roar of explosions coming from up ahead.

The next moment, he saw Vegeta standing on the ground, with four figures lying not far away.

"Krillin! Yamcha! Tien Shinhan! Chiaotzu!!"

"Go... Goku..."

Krillin was barely clinging to life. "We... held you back..."

"No..." Goku shook his head, took out a Senzu Bean, and gave it to Krillin. "Don't refuse. You've died once already. If you die again, you won't be able to come back."

At this time, Earth's Shenron could only revive someone once. If they died a second time, they could no longer be revived.

After taking the Senzu Bean, Krillin recovered.

Son Goku looked at the other three. They were already lifeless.

Vegeta folded his arms across his chest, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly. "Kakarot, if you still don't hand over the Dragon Ball and the Senzu Beans, your friends and family will all end up like them, losing their lives one by one right in front of you."

Son Goku looked at Vegeta, rage igniting in his eyes, and the flames around him surged again!

He said, one word at a time, "I'm going to defeat you!"

"Heh. You insects—what kind of confidence do you even have to think you can beat me?"

Vegeta said disdainfully.

He had grounds for saying that.

Before Planet Vegeta was destroyed, his battle power had stood head and shoulders above Saiyans his own age, and even older ones. His aptitude was unquestionably top-tier.

He did not believe that a Saiyan exiled to this remote, barren planet could possess power greater than his own!