Ginyu Force

"Hehehe, Zarbon, Dodoria is dead?"

"Yes, Lord Frieza. Dodoria lost contact on his way back. By the time we arrived, we found that his spaceship had been completely destroyed."

In Frieza's headquarters, Zarbon knelt on the ground, cold sweat streaming down from his head. It was not Dodoria's death that frightened him, but Frieza standing before him.

Though he and Dodoria were Frieza's right-hand men, they knew Frieza's nature all too well. The Frost Demon race was naturally cold-blooded and merciless. Given the chance, they would not hesitate even against their own kin!

Let alone a mere subordinate. They were nothing more than disposable pawns.

"Zarbon, how long have you been with me?"

Frieza's expression suddenly darkened, and his exaggerated laughter stopped. Zarbon's face changed drastically. He immediately prostrated himself on the floor and said in a trembling voice, "It was a Saiyan, Lord Frieza. I will find that Saiyan and kill him with my own hands!"

"Hehehehe! Go. Have the Ginyu Force search for him. Make sure he is dealt with as quickly as possible."

"Yes!"

Zarbon knew perfectly well that Frieza was warning him!

Dodoria's death was only a minor matter. What Frieza truly cared about was his own reputation! Killing one of Frieza's men so openly in this part of the universe—wasn't that the same as slapping him in the face!?

If they still failed to find the killer, Zarbon himself might be in danger!

"Wait."

Just as Zarbon was about to turn and notify the Ginyu Force, Frieza called him back again.

"Lord Frieza, do you have another order?"

"Vegeta is in that region, isn't he? Call him over too. You understand."

"Yes!"

Zarbon immediately understood Frieza's intentions. He did not trust Vegeta, just as Frieza had once gone to great lengths to guard against the Saiyans because of the absurd legend of the Super Saiyan, eventually destroying Planet Vegeta outright!

Now that a Saiyan of unknown origin had suddenly appeared, it was inevitable that he had touched a nerve with Frieza.

Does Lord Frieza intend to get rid of Vegeta?

Zarbon did not dare ask. He could only secretly speculate about Frieza's thoughts, but he was not far off.

After Zarbon left, Frieza looked out through the spaceship window at the endless cosmic starfield. A terrifying aura glinted in his sinister eyes!

A power level exceeding one hundred million—an absolute powerhouse in the universe!

It might not have seemed like much later on, but that was because the main story focused almost entirely on Goku and the other Super Saiyans. Looking across the entire universe, a power level of one hundred million was absolutely enough to make someone a regional overlord!

At least for the current Li Ming, Frieza was an existence he absolutely could not challenge!

Boom!

A ki blast pierced the sky. Once the dust settled, the wreckage of several spaceships remained in space forever.

Half a year had passed since Dodoria was dealt with. Li Ming had stopped on a planet to resupply. Dr. Brief had underestimated a Saiyan's appetite, and there was not much food left.

"Stet, how far are we from Namek?" Li Ming asked the purple alien some distance away.

"My lord, it will probably take another month of travel."

The purple alien named Stet was extremely nervous—terrified, even. Li Ming acted far too decisively. Whenever they encountered Frieza's men, they usually did not even last a single exchange before being blasted to pieces!

His brutal methods had made Stet silently equate Li Ming with Frieza. While frightened, he had also become increasingly cautious.

Li Ming was somewhat dissatisfied and frowned. "Why is there still a month left?"

He had already been traveling through space for a year. Even if there had been some deviation, he should not have gotten farther and farther away.

After cautiously glancing at Li Ming, Stet said, "Well, my lord, your previous route deviated far too much. You were already heading in a completely different direction from Namek."

"Damn it!"

Li Ming had lost his temper more times than he could count. Why was space travel so troublesome!? Goku and the others had never gotten lost. Why did so many ridiculous problems crop up when it came to him?

First, he had perfectly veered off course. Then he had happened to run into Dodoria returning to headquarters. His luck could not be called bad—it was simply terrible!

In truth, Li Ming's situation was entirely accidental. The spaceship Goku used had been modified from the small craft he arrived on Earth in as a child, while Gohan and the others used Piccolo's spaceship.

Unlike his ship, which had been built entirely by Dr. Brief, those were scientific achievements refined through countless years of research across the universe. More importantly, they came with built-in star-chart navigation.

This was the first spaceship Dr. Brief had ever truly built. The fact that it could travel normally and was not the least bit slower than other spaceships was already incredibly impressive.

The resupply was completed quickly. Thanks to Stet, there was no longer any issue with replenishing the spaceship's energy, and Li Ming did not need to return to Earth within two years, so he still had plenty of time.

But dragging things out was not a solution. Dodoria had not returned, and Frieza's men were searching everywhere for him. He had to raise his strength as quickly as possible!

Boom!

The spaceship blasted through the atmosphere once again and sailed into the vast universe. At the same time, three small spaceships almost brushed past Li Ming before landing on the planet where he had resupplied.

A day later, the entire planet was destroyed, forever becoming a cloud of dust in the universe.

"Vegeta, do we really need to be in such a hurry? Lord Frieza only told us to assist the Ginyu Force. We do not need to fight ourselves."

The small spaceships had communication systems. Riding in one of the three ships was a burly man with exaggeratedly long hair flowing behind him—Goku's older brother, Raditz.

"Hmph!"

Inside the small spaceship in the middle, Vegeta snorted coldly. He was in a foul mood. Ever since Planet Vegeta had been destroyed by the so-called "meteor impact," he had been controlled by Frieza and made into a dog in his service.

Yet the two clansmen at his side, whether Raditz or Nappa, were utterly useless. Frankly, those two were not even as good as some of Frieza's ordinary grunts!

Vegeta, who had always wanted to break free of Frieza's shackles, naturally could not settle for being a dog. Whether because he suspected Frieza was the one who destroyed Planet Vegeta or because of his own ambition, Vegeta intended to kill Frieza!

Nappa spoke up from the other spaceship as well. "Hey, Vegeta, you do not seriously think there are Saiyans who survived, do you?"

"Shut up, both of you!"

Nappa looked like a fierce bald brute, but he still feared Vegeta greatly. At those words, he did not dare say more, and Raditz was even less likely to speak.

The other two were at least high-class warriors with decent strength, but Raditz only had a power level of twelve hundred. That's right, he was only about as strong as a Saibaman.

And from now until he appeared on Earth several years later, his power level had not increased by even a single point!

Raditz's only shining moment in his life might have been saying, "What a pathetic weakling with a power level of only five." Other than that, perhaps the only thing worth mentioning was that he forced Goku to die together with him.

Meanwhile, Li Ming encountered interception from Frieza's subordinates while heading for Namek. The consecutive attacks forced him to make an emergency landing on a nearby planet.

It was a helpless choice. After all, he could not survive in space for long. If his spaceship was destroyed through even a slight mistake, he would be in serious danger.

Tap...

The instant he stepped out of the ship, Li Ming raised a hand and fired a ki blast! Violent energy instantly cleared everything around him, along with more than a dozen spaceships!

Whoosh!

"Stop!"

"Hm?" The thought had barely crossed Li Ming's mind when he realized his body had completely frozen, unable to move. Even the ki blast he had already fired had been suspended in place!

At the same time, a short, fat alien rushed over, seemingly intending to ambush him.

"Kehehehe! You are the one Lord Frieza is looking for, aren't you? Since you are about to die in... Aah!"

Guldo possessed the ability to temporarily stop time within a certain area by holding his breath. It was an extremely troublesome power, but his combat ability was limited, and he was very cowardly.

The moment he spoke, time returned to normal. Since Li Ming knew his ability, he naturally would not give him the chance.

The instant Guldo opened his mouth, Li Ming flashed behind him. Powerful ki gathered in his palm as he threw a punch! Guldo's eyes bulged in terror, and he could not even mount an effective defense.

"Guldo!"

A red streak suddenly shot between them. Li Ming raised an eyebrow and took a step back.

The newcomer was even slightly faster than him, so he did not dare be careless. But he was unwilling to simply retreat, so he raised his hand and fired another ki blast!

Boom!

"Hohoho, what a powerful attack. I never expected to find a fighter like you in this part of the universe. It seems things will not be too boring after all."

Li Ming's expression darkened completely. The ki blast had been blocked. He knew exactly how much force he had used. If the newcomer could easily block that attack, then his strength was no weaker than Li Ming's.