Piccolo's Past

Somewhere on Namek.

The spaceship Vegeta rode in had just landed there, smashing a huge crater into the ground.

Hiss.

The hatch opened.

Vegeta walked out and took a breath of fresh air.

"So this is Namek? Besides Earth's Dragon Balls, this is the place where the Dragon Balls that can grant me an immortal body exist."

He muttered to himself, his gaze shifting to another large crater. A spaceship lay there as well.

An ugly catfish-like humanoid walked out of it.

It was Cui, who had followed him here.

"What a good dog of Frieza's. Wherever I go, there you are."

Vegeta folded his arms across his chest and sneered.

Cui answered with the same cold laugh. "You don't know, do you? The great lord just gave me an order to take care of you directly."

"Oh? Is that so?"

Vegeta was very confident in his own strength at the moment. "If this had been before I went to Earth, I might not have been able to beat you. But now..."

At that point, he paused, switched on the Scouter over his right eye, and aimed it at Cui.

He said disdainfully, "Your combat power is only twenty-two thousand. You can't beat me."

That dismissive tone made Cui feel deeply humiliated, and he shot back, "Even if my combat power is twenty-two thousand, it's still not something you can compare to!"

"Is that so?"

Vegeta narrowed his eyes, bent his legs slightly, and shot toward Cui like a cannonball.

The latter had not expected him to be so direct and hurriedly raised his arms to block.

Bang!

Feeling the tremendous force transmitted through his arms, Cui's face filled with disbelief.

How? How did this damned monkey have such incredible strength!

The corners of Vegeta's mouth lifted. "Heh, hard to believe, isn't it? To tell the truth, I can't believe it either, but it's real!"

As he spoke, he rapidly threw punch after punch, smashing them wildly into Cui's arms.

"Ah-da-da-da-da-da!!!"

Bang bang bang bang—

Boom—

Cui could not withstand such a fierce assault. His body flew backward and crashed into a boulder, the powerful force cracking even the massive rock apart.

"Ugh..."

Cui spat out a mouthful of green blood and looked in terror at Vegeta, who was approaching step by step.

"Spare... spare me..."

"Too late."

Vegeta looked down at Cui, reached out, grabbed his head, and flung him casually.

The latter's body was thrown straight into the sky.

Vegeta swiftly hurled energy blasts with both hands, striking Cui hard.

Bang bang bang!!

"Ah—"

After one scream, the powerless Cui was blown to pieces by the dense barrage of energy blasts, blooming in the air like beautiful fireworks.

"Hmph."

Clenching his fist, Vegeta felt the power he possessed.

"After recovering from near death, my strength increased greatly. What a wonderful feeling. If this happens a few more times... heh heh."

"Then once I gain an immortal body, sooner or later I'll defeat Frieza and rule the entire universe."

"But the urgent priority is to snatch the Dragon Balls from Frieza first."

As long as Frieza had not gathered all the Dragon Balls, then Frieza could not obtain an immortal body.

At worst...

He would destroy the Dragon Balls, then make another trip to Earth!

Vegeta's eyes flashed, and he took a deep look in Frieza's direction.

Hiding his aura, he turned and headed in another direction.

He deliberately avoided Frieza, planning to find the Dragon Balls first.

With his little plan clicking neatly into place, he failed to notice that aside from Frieza, Jiang Ling's group was also moving quickly across Namek with their auras hidden.

Somewhere on Namek.

The aircraft carried Jiang Ling and the others to the outside of the Grand Elder's house, then slowly landed.

Jiang Ling and the others got off one after another.

Gohan and Dende were the last to come down.

Along the way, Gohan had been telling Dende about Earth's tasty snacks and the fun cartoons shown on television.

Dende had become so absorbed that he had nearly pointed them in the wrong direction several times.

"This is where the Grand Elder lives."

Dende pointed at the white, semicircular house as he introduced it.

As soon as he finished speaking, the door of the white house opened, and a strong Namekian came out.

"Nail, long time no see!"

Dende greeted him excitedly.

"Mm." Nail nodded, his gaze shifting to Jiang Ling and the others.

"Friends who have come all the way from Earth, the Grand Elder already knows why you are here. Please follow me."

After saying that, he turned and went into the house.

Jiang Ling nodded, took Bulma's hand, and followed, with Goku and the others close behind.

After entering the house and taking an elevator, everyone arrived on the second floor.

What appeared before them was a gigantic Namekian, seated in a chair.

"He's huge..."

Krillin swallowed.

How huge?

In front of this person, they were like children standing before an adult.

"You are the Grand Elder?"

Bulma could not help asking.

With that kind of difference in size, the pressure he gave off was simply overwhelming.

Jiang Ling sized up the Grand Elder. He looked much the same as Jiang Ling remembered from the original work.

He had a colossal build, an aged body, and many age spots had already appeared on him.

"Greetings, Earthlings. I am the Grand Elder of the Namekians."

The Grand Elder's aged voice rang out.

"Yo!" Son Goku grinned and gave a casual greeting. "I'm Son Goku. So you're the Grand Elder. We finally found you! I don't know what we're supposed to find you for, because Jiang Ling is the one looking for you!"

"This is our Grand Elder. Show some respect!"

Nail, the Grand Elder's guard, frowned and was about to step forward, but the Grand Elder stopped him.

"It's all right." The Grand Elder did not care about such formalities, then looked at Piccolo.

"You come from Earth. You should be the child Katas sent away back then. I never expected you to make it to Earth safely."

"I remember you were a gifted member of our Namekian Dragon Clan, but your strength seems much weaker than others your age."

When Piccolo heard this, his brows furrowed slightly, and he shook his head. "I don't have any memories from when I was little. I don't know who 'Katas' is, and I'm not clear on what 'Dragon Clan' means either."

Seeing him like this, the Grand Elder thought for a moment, then said gently, "May I explore your past? Don't worry. I bear no ill will. I only want to understand what happened to you."

Piccolo was silent for a moment, then agreed.

"My body is failing. Come stand beside me."

Piccolo did as he was told and walked up.

The Grand Elder's broad palm came to rest on his head.

He closed his eyes.

No one disturbed them. They simply waited in silence.

After a long while.

The Grand Elder opened his eyes and sighed.

"You are indeed the child Katas sent away back then. We call the geniuses among our people the 'Dragon Clan.' You are one of the Dragon Clan. Only members of the Dragon Clan can create Dragon Balls."

"Unfortunately, you split apart from Kami back then, weakening your power and talent considerably. Otherwise, the Saiyans who invaded Earth some time ago would never have been able to defeat you..."

"So that's how it is," Piccolo murmured quietly to himself.

The Grand Elder continued, "I discovered that there is still potential in your body that has not yet been drawn out. Let me guide it out for you."

"Potential?"

Piccolo was just about to ask more when, in the next instant, he felt a powerful force surge up from within his body.

"T-t-this... This is my power?!"

He stared at his own hands in shock. He could clearly feel that his strength had increased by more than tenfold!

"Yes, child. This is the power hidden within your body. All I did was guide it out. If you could merge back into one with Kami, your strength would increase even more greatly..."

The Grand Elder spoke slowly, a smile on his kindly face.