Ginyu Force

The scouter had gone crazy.

The numbers on the screen jumped wildly, like they were riding a roller coaster. Forty thousand, fifty thousand, fifty-five thousand, sixty thousand... "Does this piece of junk need new batteries?" I muttered, then looked up at the sky.

Then I froze.

Five black dots were rapidly approaching from the horizon.

They weren't shooting stars. They weren't meteors.

They were five people.

The five of them descended at supersonic speed, shockwaves trailing behind them in five long streaks.

They landed.

Boom!

The ground trembled, and dust billowed into the air. I narrowed my eyes at the center of the cloud and saw a sight I would never forget for the rest of my life.

Five people.

Standing in a row.

Striking poses.

The kind of poses that made you question your own eyes.

The first man stood with his arms crossed over his chest, his head tilted up at a forty-five-degree angle toward the sky, his chin raised high enough to hang a bottle from.

The second knelt on one knee, one hand braced against the ground while the other made a V-sign.

The third guy... I wouldn't even describe his pose. He was standing on his head, his legs split apart in midair.

The fourth raised both hands over his head, palms facing up, as if welcoming something falling from the sky.

The fifth was the most ridiculous. He was lying flat on the ground with his hands behind his head, looking like he was saying, "I'm just gonna lie here."

Me: "???"

Krillin leaned over, his voice trembling. "Gohan... what... what are they doing?"

"Probably..." I swallowed with difficulty. "Taking tourist photos?"

"Welcome to Namek."

A voice came from within the dust.

The leader—the guy with his arms crossed—walked out. He had blue skin, two antennae on his head, and a punchable smirk on his face.

"The Ginyu Force."

He pointed at himself, then at the bunch of weirdos behind him. "I'm Ginyu."

Then there were Jeice, Burter, Recoome, and Guldo.

As I looked at them, ten thousand alpacas stampeded through my mind.

Recoome? Jeice? Burter?

Their naming sense was as outrageous as their taste in fashion.

"Where's Vegeta?" Ginyu swept his gaze around the area, his tone as arrogant as if he were asking for directions. "Lord Frieza has ordered him to hand over the Dragon Balls, or else..."

He made a throat-slitting gesture.

"Or else what?" I tilted my head and asked innocently.

Ginyu looked down at me.

Then he laughed.

"Where did this little brat come from? Is everyone on this planet dead? They're sending a child out to die?"

The others joined in laughing.

Especially Recoome. His laugh was so loud that it made the ground shake.

"Kid, hurry home and find your mommy." Recoome bent down until he was right in front of me. His face was ugly enough to ward off evil spirits. "The grown-ups are about to fight."

Looking at that face, I suddenly remembered something: Recoome Bomber.

Recoome's signature move in the original story. It was incredibly powerful, but it had an obvious wind-up: he would first take a deep breath, puff his belly up like a balloon, then launch himself forward like a cannonball.

It was a stupid setup, but it could really hit hard.

"Hey, brat." Recoome waved a hand in front of my face. "Scared stupid?"

"No." I took a step back. "I was thinking about something."

"Thinking about what?"

"How someone with a face like yours managed to survive this long."

Recoome's smile froze.

Krillin sucked in a sharp breath beside me. "Gohan! Don't provoke him!"

But I already was.

Recoome's face turned liver-purple. "You little brat—"

"Your name is Recoome, right?" I cut him off. "Green skin, fat as a balloon, and two spicy snack sticks sticking out of your head. Seriously, does your captain have terrible taste? Did he pick his team members by drawing lots with his eyes closed?"

"I'll kill you!!!"

Recoome exploded.

His ki surged in an instant, tearing through the air. I felt enormous pressure bearing down on me—over forty thousand power level, the real deal.

But I didn't retreat. I took up a fighting stance as the ki within me began to circulate. Twenty thousand against forty thousand head-on? Only an idiot would take that head-on.

Recoome charged at me, his fist smashing toward my head with a howling gust.

Fast.

Incredibly fast.

But I knew exactly what move he would use.

In the original story, Recoome's fighting style was straightforward: he opened with a barrage of attacks, then finished with the Recoome Bomber.

Sure enough, after three punches and two kicks, he stepped back, drew in a deep breath, and his stomach began to swell.

"RECOOME BOMBER!!!"

He shot toward me like a cannonball, twice as fast as before.

But I was ready.

The instant he hit me, I sidestepped and lightly pushed his back at the same time.

Using his own force against him.

Recoome flew away and crashed into a small mountain.

BOOM! The mountain collapsed, sending dust flying everywhere.

"What?!" Ginyu's smile froze.

Jeice and Burter both stared in shock.

Even Guldo, who had been lying there pretending to be dead, couldn't help raising his head.

Recoome crawled out of the rubble, covered in blood, but his eyes had become even more vicious.

"You... how did you know my move?!"

I dusted myself off and gave him a harmless smile. "I guessed."

"You guessed?!"

"Yeah." I shrugged. "You take a deep breath, puff your stomach up like a ball, then ram forward like a cannonball. It's way too obvious. One look tells you it's a skill made exclusively for cannon fodder."

Recoome's face twisted.

"I'll kill you!!!"

He charged again, faster and more vicious this time.

But I kept dodging.

I wasn't taking him head-on. I was fighting on the move.

I knew every one of his moves. Recoome's fighting style was the typical muscle-brain type: immense strength, great speed, but no variation. Once his moves were figured out, he was nothing but a living target.

Five minutes passed.

Recoome was already panting heavily, while I hadn't even taken a breath.

"Damn it... damn it!!" he roared. "All you can do is dodge?!"

"Dodge?" I smiled. "Who said I was dodging?"

I pointed at his arms. Recoome looked down, and his expression changed drastically—more than a dozen cuts had appeared on both arms.

"You thought I was running away, but I was actually sharpening my blade." I spread my hands. "That's called tactics. Got it?"

Recoome's eyes reddened with blood.

"Recoome, stand down."

Ginyu walked over and looked at me.

"Kid, what's your name?"

"Son Gohan."

"Son Gohan?" Ginyu repeated the name. "Interesting. A child who can actually trade blows with our Ginyu Force."

"Trade blows?" I raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure it wasn't a one-sided beating?"

Ginyu smiled.

"You're very arrogant."

"Same to you."

He said nothing more and began circling around me.

That look... was like he was staring at prey.

"You know?" Ginyu suddenly spoke. "I have an ability."

"Oh?"

"I can switch bodies."

My pupils contracted slightly.

Body switching.

Ginyu's signature technique. If he succeeded, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"So..." Ginyu suddenly moved, astonishingly fast. "Hand over your body like a good boy!"

A strange force rushed toward me.

I wanted to dodge, but it felt as though something had locked onto my body.

Time seemed to freeze.

I saw Ginyu's hand reaching toward me. His lips were moving, chanting an incantation.

"Switch—"

"GET LOST!!!"

A ki blast shot in from the side and struck Ginyu's arm.

The switch was interrupted.

Ginyu staggered back several steps, frowning.

I turned to look. It was Vegeta. He was covered in wounds, his clothes in tatters, but his gaze was still as sharp as ever.

"Vegeta?" Ginyu raised a brow. "Weren't you dealing with Zarbon and Dodoria?"

"Taken care of." Vegeta snorted coldly. "Two pieces of trash."

"Looks like we missed a good show." Ginyu sounded intrigued.

"Want a good show?" Vegeta gave a cruel smile. "I'll give you all you can handle."

He glanced at me. "Kid, you owe me one."

"I didn't ask you to save me." I shrugged. "Besides, you're covered in injuries."

"Can't beat them," Vegeta admitted frankly. "But I can buy time."

"Buy time?"

"The Ginyu Force may be strong, but they have weaknesses too." The corner of Vegeta's mouth curled up. "Like the one called Guldo."

Guldo.

That guy who had been lying there playing dead the whole time.

In the original story, his ability was to stop time. His combat power wasn't high, but his skill was absurdly broken.

"As long as you hold the others off..." Vegeta lowered his voice. "I'll find a way to deal with Guldo."

I glanced at him. This tsundere brat was surprisingly reliable when it counted.

"Fine." I nodded. "Then we'll each do what we can."

"Wait." Ginyu suddenly spoke. "What are you two muttering about? You think I can't hear you?"

He took a step forward.

"Doesn't matter." The corner of Ginyu's mouth lifted. "Whether it's Vegeta or Son Gohan, neither of you will leave Namek alive today."

"King Frieza has given the order." His eyes gleamed with an eerie light. "Kill without mercy."

The sky darkened. Not because of clouds, but because of ki.

The ki of all five members of the Ginyu Force was rising wildly.

And beside me stood only a battered, wounded Vegeta.

"The real show... was only just beginning."