The room fell silent. Everyone stared at the Grand Elder in disbelief. Didn't both parties have to agree before they could assimilate?
Forced assimilation? That was way too overbearing!
Piccolo wasn't as excited as everyone had imagined. Instead, he hesitated.
Son Gohan didn't understand why he was hesitating and urged him, "Uncle Piccolo, Slug might be the last battle-type Super Namekian in the universe."
"With your current strength, successfully assimilating with him would bring about a qualitative leap in your power. At the very least, you wouldn't be weaker than a Super Saiyan."
"Exactly. This is the kind of power other people can only dream of," Krillin urged.
Piccolo recalled the evil aura radiating from Slug and said worriedly, "Slug is a Namekian with a completely evil heart."
"The evil aura within him far surpasses that of King Piccolo in the past. The two of them aren't even comparable."
"If I assimilate with him, my personality will definitely be affected. I might even become another Slug."
That was what worried Piccolo. What meaning did this power have if the price of gaining it was becoming someone he didn't like?
He wasn't the old demon king who killed without batting an eye anymore. If he had still been his former self, he would have accepted this power without hesitation.
"Don't worry. I can purify all of Slug's evil aura."
The Grand Elder nodded to himself, thinking that this child was very decent. He hadn't let the promise of great power cloud his judgment.
He had no affection for Slug, a fellow Namekian who had harmed his own people.
"Really!?" Piccolo stared intently at the Grand Elder, his face turning green with pent-up emotion.
No warrior didn't want to become stronger.
"Yes, child. My ability only works on Namekians." The Grand Elder's voice grew weaker.
Son Gohan recalled some of the Grand Elder's special abilities, such as reading memories, telepathy, and unlocking potential.
Purifying evil aura was probably another of those abilities. It only worked on Namekians, but that was enough.
If he could even purify Frieza's evil aura, that would be far too overpowered.
Hearing this, Son Gohan pulled out the stopper. A dark-green aura of evil slowly gathered, and Slug's massive body suddenly appeared inside the wooden house.
Slug tried to escape, but Son Gohan's powerful aura pressed him to the ground. He couldn't move at all.
"Let me go! I'll never come here again..." Slug begged repeatedly, but no one paid him any attention.
The Grand Elder's aged hand touched Slug's body. A dense white aura enveloped him completely, as if unlocking his potential.
Before long, the Grand Elder's hand turned translucent. Black smoke began pouring from Slug's eyes, ears, nostrils, and mouth, filling the entire house with a gloomy chill.
He howled in agony on the ground until the last wisp of black smoke drifted from his body. Then he fell completely still.
"Child, take his hand!" The Grand Elder's voice sounded urgent.
Piccolo focused intently. As soon as he heard the instruction, he stepped forward and grabbed Slug's hand.
Piccolo's right hand became like a vortex, suddenly exerting an enormous pull. Slug turned into a dazzling ball of white light and shot into Piccolo's body.
"Whew, whew, whew, whew!"
After successfully assimilating, Piccolo's chest heaved violently as he gasped for breath. He felt as if he'd been reborn.
He could hardly believe the power surging through his body. He felt like he could kill Frieza with a single punch.
Son Gohan was overjoyed. This was exactly the outcome he'd envisioned.
"It really worked!" Krillin jumped up in excitement.
"This is what you call a true meteoric rise." Tien Shinhan's three eyes were full of envy.
Chiaotzu was perched on Tien Shinhan's shoulder, unable to hide his delight.
"I'm suddenly wishing I were a Namekian," Yamcha said with a crooked grin, poking fun at himself.
"Grand Elder!"
Piccolo looked gratefully at the Grand Elder and vowed that no matter what happened in the future, he would use this power to protect Namek.
"Cough, cough, cough!" The Grand Elder coughed violently. His body had reached its limit.
"Child, thanks to Slug, fusing with him has given you more than just a measure of his power."
"Your body has also gained some of the traits of immortality, and your lifespan will increase significantly."
Son Gohan stared in shock. "So the three wishes Slug made to Porunga ended up benefiting Uncle Piccolo instead?"
The Grand Elder lay in his chair, looking kindly and gently at them. He slowly uttered a single word: "Yes."
"This..."
Piccolo felt dizzy. He was so overwhelmed by this sudden stroke of good fortune that his head spun.
"There's a saying back home: when you're in the right place at the right time, even a pig—no, I mean, when luck comes your way, there's no stopping it." Son Gohan realized he'd misspoken and hurriedly corrected himself.
Son Goku rubbed his nose and chuckled. "Piccolo's actually overtaken me."
"You bunch of bastards!"
Vegeta felt that ever since he'd met these people, they'd kept shocking him. His desire for power had reached its peak.
The group bowed deeply to the Grand Elder, said their goodbyes, and left the little house.
"Why don't they use Shenron to make the Grand Elder young again?" Krillin asked. He deeply respected the old man and couldn't bear the thought of it.
"Life, aging, sickness, and death are all part of the natural order. Clearly, this is the Grand Elder's own choice," Son Gohan explained.
As the creator of the Dragon Balls, the Grand Elder understood better than anyone that people shouldn't rely on Shenron. Otherwise, he wouldn't have entrusted the Dragon Balls to the seven elders.
The group then gave the surviving Namekians Earth's coordinates and told them that their murdered countrymen would be resurrected within a year.
Piccolo called Dende over and spoke to him privately. "Dende, if anything happens on Namek in the future, you can come to me. I'll get here as quickly as I can."
As Dende watched Piccolo walk away, he seemed to see his beloved big brother Nail again.
Son Gohan and the others boarded their two spaceships, bringing their journey on Namek to an end.
"Phew, we can finally go back to Earth. Everyone out here is way too strong. I feel much safer on Earth," Krillin said leisurely, lying back in his seat with one leg crossed over the other.
"I've been away for so long. Bulma must be missing me like crazy," Yamcha said narcissistically, admiring himself in a mirror.
"All I want is to get back to Earth and eat a huge meal. We've finished all the food Bulma packed, and there's hardly anything tasty on Namek."
Son Goku stretched lazily, already imagining himself eating to his heart's content.
"Who said we were going back to Earth?" Son Gohan announced the cruel news over the phone with a shy smile.
"If we're not going back to Earth, where are we going?" Krillin and the others' hopes rose and fell in an instant.
"To Yardrat. The people on that planet have a divine technique called Instant Transmission."
Son Gohan explained to everyone, "While I was training on King Kai's Planet, I asked King Kai for Yardrat's coordinates."
"Once we learn this technique, we'll be able to reach anywhere in a second. We won't have to take those slow spaceships anymore."
Before you continue