Dragon Ball

"Eh, I'm..."

"Goku!"

Yajirobe hurried over. "How are you feeling now?"

"It's Yajirobe. You're okay—that's great." Seeing that Yajirobe was unharmed, Son Goku finally breathed a sigh of relief. He struggled to his feet and dusted himself off. "I'm fine. Nothing serious."

"Is that so..."

Before Yajirobe could finish, he seemed to sense something and, in a flash, ducked behind Son Goku.

As if sensing it himself, Son Goku looked up at the newcomer.

"Your ki woke me up, didn't it?"

"Yeah."

"What happened to that Saiyan named Vegeta?"

"He escaped."

"...I see."

Son Goku was briefly stunned, then seemed to understand something and did not ask any further questions.

He did not hold it against An Xiu for knocking him unconscious earlier. Instead, he sincerely thanked him.

"Thank you for helping us defeat that guy. He was really strong. Without you, Earth might really have been finished. Can you tell me your name?"

A faint smile tugged at An Xiu's lips. "My name is An Xiu. Like you, I'm a Saiyan. But don't worry, I'm not with those Saiyans."

"I understand."

Son Goku nodded. Just as he was about to say something else, two familiar ki signatures flew in from the distance.

"Goku!"

"Dad!"

It was Krillin and Son Gohan, returning from Kame House.

Unlike in the original story, where they decided to return to the battlefield after seeing the artificial moon, they had turned back because they sensed a sudden, unfamiliar, powerful ki.

When they saw An Xiu standing before Son Goku, both were startled, and the same thought involuntarily surfaced in their minds.

There's another Saiyan?!

The two landed directly from the sky and stood in front of Son Goku, staring at An Xiu with grave expressions.

Seeing this, Son Goku hurriedly explained things to them.

Only after quite a while did Krillin and Son Gohan finally let go of their hostility toward An Xiu.

The group exchanged concerned questions for a while. Before long, Bulma arrived at the scene in her plane, accompanied by Chi-Chi, Master Roshi, and Korin.

The moment Chi-Chi jumped out of the plane, she scooped Gohan into her arms and showered him with affection, while also giving Goku a thorough scolding.

Son Goku scratched his head with an awkward laugh and did not argue back. Bulma and Master Roshi, meanwhile, walked over to Goku, asking about his injuries while inquiring into the situation.

After learning the full story, everyone was greatly surprised. The looks they gave An Xiu shifted from initial suspicion and shock to something more complicated, tinged with gratitude.

"What a shame... Piccolo is dead, and Kami is gone too. Now the Dragon Balls can never be used again. Yamcha, Tien Shinhan, and the others who were killed..." Bulma gritted her teeth, her eyes filled with intense unwillingness.

Just as everyone sank into grief and indignation, An Xiu spoke.

"Things like Dragon Balls don't exist only on Earth."

"Huh?!"

Everyone froze.

An Xiu slowly explained.

"The Dragon Balls were originally made by Namekians. Even if Earth's Dragon Balls are gone, there are still some on Namek. You can take my spaceship there. I don't know where Namek is, but Kakarot might. As long as you make a wish with Namek's Dragon Balls, you can revive your dead companions."

How would I know...

Son Goku froze for a moment. Then, suddenly remembering King Kai, he communicated with him telepathically and excitedly said, "It's true! I know where Namek is now—King Kai told me!"

Hearing this, Bulma was overjoyed. "That's great! Yamcha and the others can be saved!"

"Don't celebrate too soon. That Saiyan named Vegeta, who escaped earlier, is also heading for Namek."

Just as everyone was getting excited, An Xiu poured cold water over them.

"And he won't be alone. The Frieza Force is going there as well. Their goal is also Namek's Dragon Balls. There are many powerful fighters among them. Even Kakarot in his current state is no match for them, let alone the leader of the force—the Emperor of the Universe, Frieza. With your current strength, going to Namek would be nothing more than suicide."

Upon hearing this, the joy on everyone's faces gradually faded.

"Is that Frieza guy really that strong?"

Son Goku asked.

"Very strong. If measured by battle power, his final form has over a hundred million. He's almost more than ten thousand times stronger than you are now."

An Xiu's calm tone felt like a massive mountain pressing down on everyone present, leaving them barely able to breathe.

Even the ever-positive and optimistic Son Goku wore an extremely grave expression at that moment.

"Then what are we supposed to do? Are we just going to sit around and do nothing?" Bulma angrily punched the stone slab.

Just as everyone's spirits sank to their lowest point, An Xiu's words rekindled their hope.

"Although the enemy is very strong, it's not as though we have no chance of defeating him. Saiyans have no limit to their growth. As long as Kakarot and I transform into Super Saiyans, we can defeat Frieza."

"Super Saiyan?"

Son Goku asked in surprise, "What's that supposed to be?"

An Xiu shook his head and did not continue explaining.

Just then, a strangely shaped oval spaceship suddenly flew down from the sky. It was the very ship An Xiu had arrived in earlier.

He had just used a remote control to summon it from afar.

The spaceship slowly landed. Seeing this, An Xiu turned to Bulma. "This is my spaceship. I know that you and your father are the top scientists on this planet, so I'd like you to take it back and modify it into a room with extremely powerful gravity. Son Goku and I need it for training."

"So this is... a spaceship capable of traveling through space..." Bulma looked at An Xiu's spaceship. Though she was puzzled as to why he knew about her, she did not refuse.

After Bulma used a Hoi-Poi Capsule to store his spaceship, An Xiu asked curiously, "How much can this thing hold at most? Do you have any extras?"

"Huh?"

Bulma was somewhat surprised that he was interested in Hoi-Poi Capsules. She explained, "This is called a Hoi-Poi Capsule. It stores items using space-compression technology. In theory, the space inside can be infinitely large, but currently, the largest model can only store up to five thousand cubic meters. If you need some, I happen to have a few unused ones."

With that, Bulma immediately took several Hoi-Poi Capsules from the pouch at her waist and handed them to An Xiu.

"Mm, thanks."

An Xiu gave a slight nod and put the capsules into his pocket. Then he turned to Son Goku. "Kakarot, once your body has fully recovered, come find me at Kami's Lookout. I'll take you somewhere to train and help you increase your strength."

Son Goku nodded. "Okay, I understand..."