Planet Namek, Piccolo: I'm Back!

Namek.

The once peaceful planet was now covered in alien spacecraft.

The Emperor of the Universe had occupied this planet and was now hunting down the Namekians, intending to obtain from them the treasure capable of granting wishes.

One village after another had been wiped out, and the misery here had become impossible to describe in words.

Just as the Frieza Force was searching the planet with all its might for signs of life, a spacecraft from Earth quietly descended. Having successfully evaded the Frieza Force's detection, it landed in a corner of the planet.

Crack!

The spacecraft's hatch opened after it landed.

Then, two figures—one tall and one small—appeared in the doorway.

They were Son Gohan and Piccolo, who had come from Earth. Their clothes were somewhat tattered, clearly because they had trained aboard the spacecraft and reduced their outfits to this state.

Although Son Gohan knew how events would unfold, this was still his first time coming to an alien planet and seeing scenery beyond Earth.

At that moment, he was simply taking in the planet's sights.

The instant Piccolo saw the landscape, his heart trembled. It was as though he had been immersed in a gentle warmth, a sense of peace he had never experienced before.

"This... is the planet where I was born!"

He did not need to investigate anything to confirm that he truly came from Namek.

Now, he even felt the urge to see every blade of grass and every tree on the planet.

After surveying the surroundings, Son Gohan began sensing the various ki signatures present across the planet. He needed to determine the progress of each event as quickly as possible so he could make the appropriate adjustments.

Although Namek's diameter was more than ten times that of Earth, his strength had improved again, and he could now use ki to sense anywhere on the planet. Thus, he quickly detected the ki signatures spread across it.

Only a few scattered clusters of ki similar to Uncle Piccolo's remained.

Clearly, the Namekians had suffered a horrific massacre, and not many were still alive.

Aside from those presences, there were all kinds of mixed ki across the planet. In the southwest, however, there was one exceptionally powerful and unusual aura.

That had to be Frieza, with his power level of 530,000!

If that guy only had this level of strength, Son Gohan could defeat him alone without transforming. Unfortunately, Frieza still had transformations, and his true strength far surpassed that number.

He then sensed a Namekian somewhere whose power level was extremely high.

That should be Nail, the guardian of the Grand Elder!

Having located Frieza and the Grand Elder, he already had a plan in mind. He intended to first meet the Grand Elder before doing anything else.

"So this is Namek. Pretty nice. But why does it feel kind of hot?"

After Son Gohan and Piccolo had looked over the planet, Yamcha and Krillin emerged from the spacecraft as well, looking around with the curiosity of children.

Bulma, who came out afterward, said, "Of course it's hot. Namek has three sun-like stars orbiting around it, so the temperature is definitely higher than Earth's. But this planet is really interesting!"

With Bulma stepping out of the spacecraft, everyone from Earth who had come to Namek was finally present.

Because of Ginyu and the others' invasion, they had not all come to Namek. Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu had remained on Earth to deal with any changes.

In truth, Krillin and Yamcha had originally not wanted to come.

But Yamcha was Bulma's boyfriend. Since Bulma was coming to Namek, he naturally had to come too.

As for Krillin, there was no question that Krillin had to come to Namek!

Since the two of them had come, only Tien Shinhan was left behind on Earth. He was currently training diligently at Capsule Corporation to prepare for any possible changes in the future.

As Yamcha looked over Namek's scenery, he asked, "What do we do now? Wait for Goku and the others to arrive?"

Hearing them speak, Piccolo finally collected himself somewhat. He first restored his and Son Gohan's clothes, then said, "Wait here. I'm going to take a look at... the Namekians."

"I think we should wait for Goku and the others to arrive. You have to remember, our opponent this time... is the Emperor of the Universe."

Krillin clearly preferred to play it safe.

Piccolo merely shook his head and said, "Just wait here. I'll go take a look first. Maybe we won't even need their help!"

Clearly, after training for this period of time, Piccolo had regained his confidence.

Son Gohan lightly rubbed his forehead. Just from those words, he could tell that Uncle Piccolo thought he was capable again, perhaps even considering taking on Frieza alone.

But Frieza was not someone who could be beaten solo. Even if Uncle Piccolo gave it everything he had, he probably could not force Frieza into his first transformation—and Frieza had three transformations!

And every transformation greatly increased his strength.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "Uncle Piccolo, I sensed a ki over there that's fading away. How about we go take a look?"

"Fading away? What do you mean?"

"His life is approaching its end. And I can sense that this Namekian... is the source of life on this planet?"

"The Grand Elder!"

The words slipped out of Piccolo's mouth almost immediately, but then confusion followed. "Strange. Who is the Grand Elder?"

Everyone watched Piccolo oppose himself, their eyes equally filled with confusion.

But seeing Piccolo like this, Son Gohan already knew it was a memory belonging to the Namekians from long ago. However, after the separation of Kami and Demon, followed by the inheritance of the first Piccolo, those memories had become extremely vague.

"I'll go take a look with you."

Piccolo himself had failed to find an answer, so he simply decided to follow Gohan over and see for himself.

Afterward, they temporarily split up from Krillin, Yamcha, and the others.

The two sped toward Namek's Sacred Land at an incredible pace.

Namek Sacred Land.

This place lay amidst all the villages of Namek.

Its terrain was entirely different from the other regions. It was a place known only to the Namekian elders, for Namek's Grand Elder lived within. He was practically the father of all Namekians.

It was also he who had created everything related to Namek.

Atop the towering mountain stood white buildings in the Namekian style, yet not a single person could be seen nearby.

Suddenly.

Son Gohan and Piccolo streaked across the sky before landing near the sacred mountain.

"There really are two presences..."

Piccolo gazed at the white buildings ahead, his eyes thoughtful. Those two auras truly made him feel close to them.

And one of those auras was indeed constantly weakening.

If that continued, the aura would completely vanish within the next few days!

Creak!

The doors of the white building above opened, and a green-skinned man stepped out. He looked very much like Piccolo, and even carried the same cold temperament, with the bearing of an expert.

The instant Son Gohan saw him, he knew that this was probably Nail.

Nail had originally intended to tell the visitors not to disturb the Grand Elder, but when his gaze fell on Piccolo, confusion appeared in his eyes. "Which village are you from? I don't think I've seen you before."