This Planet Is Dying

The spaceship landed beside a turquoise lake.

When the landing gear touched the ground, the entire ship jolted.

Then every light on the console went out.

Energy: zero.

Bulma had said it was a one-way trip.

Chen Mo gave the remaining data on the navigation panel one last look.

Power Output: 0.00%. Fuel Reserves: 0.00%. Propulsion System Status: Offline.

"We're done for," Chen Mo said.

"What's done for?" Android 18 was already standing by the hatch.

"The ship's out of fuel."

"Wasn't it supposed to be a one-way trip?"

"It was, but now that we're actually here, it still feels a little..."

"You talk too much." Android 18 kicked the hatch open.

Planet Namek's air rushed in—clean air carrying the scent of plants.

Chen Mo pressed the compression button on the side of the spaceship.

The entire ship shrank into a capsule the size of a fist and fell into his palm. He slipped it into his pocket.

A fuel-less spaceship. It could serve as a decoration.

Trunks followed them out.

He took a deep breath of Planet Namek's air, his gaze sweeping over the surroundings.

Three suns.

A planet without night. The sky was a bluish purple.

The lake was so clear that the rocks at the bottom were visible. The grass was dark green, deeper and richer than Earth's green.

"Just like Mr. Gohan said," Trunks murmured.

Gohan had told him about Planet Namek when he was little.

That had been Gohan's first time leaving Earth, his first time taking part in a real battle.

Planet Namek had been the beginning of Gohan's growth.

For Trunks, this was the place where he would bring his teacher back.

"Let's go." Chen Mo switched on the Scouter.

Sparse dots of light appeared on the screen. Life-energy readings, scattered within a two-hundred-kilometer radius.

Too few.

Far fewer than he had expected.

Chen Mo frowned. According to the original story, when Frieza invaded Planet Namek, there had been roughly a hundred Namekian villages across the planet.

Later, when the planet exploded, Porunga's wish had sent all the Namekians to Earth. Afterward, the Earth Dragon Balls had been used to locate New Planet Namek, and the entire race had migrated there.

This New Planet Namek should have had the population of an entire civilization.

But the dots on the Scouter...

He counted them.

Twenty-three.

Within a two-hundred-kilometer radius, there were only twenty-three life readings.

"That's not right," Chen Mo said.

"What's not right?" Android 18 was already floating in the air, her short blonde hair lifted by Planet Namek's wind.

"There are too few people."

"Namekians were never that numerous," Trunks said.

"That's not the issue." Chen Mo stared at the Scouter. "There are practically none. Twenty-three. Within the range I can detect, there are only twenty-three life readings on the entire planet."

Trunks's expression changed.

"The Scouter's range is limited. Maybe there are others elsewhere..."

"Bulma modified it," Chen Mo said. "Its effective detection radius is two hundred kilometers, and it can pick up high battle-power readings beyond that. This planet's diameter is roughly three-quarters that of Earth's. Even if I'm only covering part of the area, judging by the density, there can't be more than a hundred Namekians on the whole planet."

A hundred.

An entire civilization reduced to a hundred people.

Android 18 descended and stood beside Chen Mo.

"What does that have to do with me?" she said. "Whether there are many people or few, as long as the Dragon Balls are here, that's enough. Find the Dragon Balls, make the wish, and leave."

"The problem is right here." Chen Mo looked at the nearest dot on the Scouter. "There are too few Namekians. It's hard to say whether there are even any elders left to guard the Dragon Balls."

The three of them moved toward the nearest village.

Android 18 flew the fastest. Chen Mo followed using Flight, while Trunks brought up the rear.

Five minutes later.

A Namekian village came into view.

White domed buildings, just like they had been described in the original story.

But it was far smaller than Chen Mo had imagined. There were only three buildings, and half the roof of one had collapsed.

Two Namekians stood at the entrance to the village.

Green skin, antennae on their heads, pointed ears, and sharply defined muscles.

But both were very old.

Deep wrinkles lined their faces, their backs were slightly bent, and they leaned on wooden canes.

When one of the Namekians saw the three of them land, his entire body trembled. His cane nearly slipped from his hand.

"Are... are you aliens?"

The other old Namekian stepped in front and assumed a defensive stance, but his hands were shaking.

Power level.

Chen Mo glanced at the Scouter.

42.

38.

Two old men. Their combined power level did not even reach 100.

They were weaker than the elderly Demon King Piccolo.

"We aren't enemies." Chen Mo raised both hands. "We came from Earth. We're here to see the Grand Elder."

"Earth?"

The two old Namekians exchanged a glance.

"You know Earthlings?" Chen Mo asked.

"Of course we do." One of the elders lowered his guard. "Many years ago, our entire race lived on Earth for a time. The people of Earth treated us very well."

He looked at Chen Mo, then at Trunks behind him.

Then his gaze fell on Android 18.

"And this lady is?"

"Mine," Android 18 said.

The old Namekian froze.

"She means she's my companion." Chen Mo hurriedly took over. "The three of us came together. I need to see the Grand Elder. The survival of Earth is at stake."

The old Namekian fell silent for a while.

"The Grand Elder is in the north. Elder Moori." He pointed in a direction. "It'll take about forty minutes to fly there from here. But..."

He trailed off.

"But what?"

The old Namekian sighed.

"You'll understand once you get there."

Chen Mo did not ask further.

The three of them rose into the air again and flew north.

They passed three villages along the way. Every one of them presented the same scene.

Old people. Only old people. No young adults, no children.

Some houses were intact, while others were damaged. Ajuun trees grew in the fields of Planet Namek. Some were thriving, while others had withered.

"Did you notice?" Trunks flew beside Chen Mo and lowered his voice.

"Mm."

"There aren't any young people. Not a single one."

"I saw."

"What happened?"

"I don't know," Chen Mo said.

He truly did not know.

In the original story, Planet Namek should not have been like this at this point in time.

After the Frieza incident, the Namekians rebuilt their civilization on a new planet and had developed peacefully ever since.

Later, during the Majin Buu arc, Porunga had even granted wishes for Earth.

But this was the future timeline.

The butterfly effect had already changed far too many things.

Broly had come, Cell had appeared early, and Babidi had surfaced as well.

He had no reference for what had happened on this planet.

Forty minutes later.

A cluster of buildings far larger than the other villages appeared ahead.

At its center stood a massive domed hall, roughly thirty meters tall. Several smaller auxiliary buildings surrounded it.

Four Namekians stood at the entrance to the hall.

They were old as well, though sturdier than the ones he had seen before. They wore battle uniforms and held long staffs.

Power levels.

Chen Mo glanced at them.

1200. 1500. 1800. 2100.

Guards. And Namekian warrior-types at that.

Though old, their foundations remained.

When the four old warriors saw the three of them land, they raised their staffs in unison.

"Stop. State your identities."

"We're from Earth," Chen Mo said. "We're here to see Grand Elder Moori."

"Earth?"

The leading old warrior looked Chen Mo up and down.

"Your ki is indeed that of an Earth martial artist. But these two beside you..."

He looked at Trunks.

"A half-Saiyan?"

Then he looked at Android 18.

The old warrior's expression changed.

"She has no ki," he lowered his voice, "but there's a kind of... deeply unpleasant energy fluctuation around her. What is this woman?"

"She's mine," Chen Mo blurted out.

Android 18 turned to glance at him.

Chen Mo saw the corner of her mouth twitch, just slightly.

"She's an android, not an enemy," Chen Mo added. "We came for the Dragon Balls. Earth needs Porunga's power."

"The Dragon Balls..."

The expressions of all four old warriors darkened at once.

The leader fell silent for five seconds.

"Come in. The Grand Elder is waiting for you."

"Waiting for us?"

"The Grand Elder foresaw visitors from Earth three days ago. He told us not to stop you."

The interior of the hall was spacious. Light streamed in through gaps in the dome. The floor was made of a bluish-green material similar to Namekian stone.

At the very back, a Namekian sat in a huge chair.

Moori.

He was older than every other Namekian. Wrinkles layered his skin.

His antennae drooped, and his eyes were half-closed.

His body was curled up in the chair, making it seem even larger.

But the aura around him...

Holding his breath, Chen Mo glanced at the Scouter.

The reading was jumping.

It was not a fixed value. It fluctuated.

At its lowest, it displayed 8000. At its highest...

The Scouter flashed, and the number vanished.

It could not be read.

Elder Moori raised his head. His cloudy eyes looked toward the three of them.

"Earthlings." His voice was slow, as though every word took effort. "You came too late."

Chen Mo's heart sank.

"Is there something wrong with the Dragon Balls?"

Moori slowly nodded.

"The seven Dragon Balls. Six have already been taken."

Trunks stepped forward. "By whom?"

Moori's gaze shifted toward the window. The light of Planet Namek's three suns streamed into the hall.

"Shigula."