Turles turned to look as well.
His eyes met Maki's, which were full of surprise and uncertainty.
He could see the surprise in her eyes.
Why did it feel like my face was so recognizable across the universe?
"A Saiyan?"
Maki's voice came again.
Turles gave a slight nod.
"Are you with the Heeters Group?"
Maki finally came back to her senses.
She glanced down at the piece of candy that had fallen to the ground and gotten covered in sand, and her mouth twitched.
"Tsk, what a waste."
She kicked the candy aside, planted her hands on her hips, and struck that half-baked, self-important pose again.
"That's right, the Heeters Group."
She waved a hand beside her face.
Then she stared at Turles for a little longer.
After thinking for a moment, she said, "Um, wait here for now. I'll go explain the situation."
She started to leave, but Turles called out to her.
"What? You have to report this first?"
Turles frowned.
What the hell?
Did I really need an appointment to meet someone like that, or what?
Still, Turles decided to follow the host's lead. He couldn't be bothered to make an issue of it, so he simply waved impatiently for Maki to hurry.
As they watched Maki leave, Amond looked at Daiz beside him and said quietly, "That person from the Heeters Group doesn't look like anything special."
"Her power level seems pretty low."
"Can these guys really help us complete our mission?"
Daiz agreed with his assessment.
Turles actually felt much the same way.
But in his view, their power levels were a secondary concern. The fact that the Heeters Group was valued by the Frieza Force meant they had to have something going for them.
For example, perhaps they were good at using their brains...
Meanwhile, Maki returned to the other Heeters, feeling somewhat uneasy.
When Elec saw the expression on his sister's face, he wondered what had happened.
"Big brother, the guy who came this time is a Saiyan... and I think he might be related to the Saiyan from over twenty years ago."
"We'd better prepare ourselves before we meet him."
As Maki said this, she looked pointedly at their youngest brother, Jass.
At her words, Elec and the others all turned to look.
Especially Jass.
He had once been defeated by the Saiyan Maki had mentioned, over twenty years ago.
The incident had haunted him like a nightmare, driving him to train desperately ever since.
Elec also noticed that Jass's mood had been affected.
He stepped forward and patted Jass on the shoulder.
"It looks like you still haven't gotten over what happened back then. Don't push yourself. You're not the same person you were back then. I believe that if you got another chance, you definitely wouldn't lose again."
Elec's reassurance seemed to calm Jass down.
He nodded.
Seeing this, Elec felt relieved. "Let's go welcome the warriors from the Frieza Force."
Maki led the way, her twin tails whipping about in the wind.
The group stopped in front of the last weathered stone pillar.
She stepped aside, giving them a clear view.
Elec walked out from behind her.
His gaze passed over Maki's shoulder and swept across the large spaceship parked on the plateau, bearing the Frieza Force insignia.
Elec had already prepared himself.
But when his gaze fell on Turles's face, he froze mid-step.
This was what she meant by possibly related?
That was exactly the same face!
The Saiyan who defeated Jass on Planet Cereal over twenty years ago!
Only the composure and calm Elec had developed over the years allowed him to quickly regain control of his expression.
But Jass, behind him, couldn't do the same.
Jass's body jolted violently.
Images from his memories began flooding uncontrollably into his mind.
The shattered ground, his own blood, that face looking down at him from above.
The spot on his chest began to hurt again. The wound had healed over twenty years ago, yet now it felt as vivid as if it had just been torn open.
His hand began to tremble.
Then the trembling spread through his entire body.
The suppressor headpiece on his head gave a faint hum.
His reaction drew Turles's attention.
Turles looked over at him.
He also keenly caught the hostility in Jass's eyes, along with an emotion that seemed to be a mixture of resentment and fear.
Though he hadn't used a scouter, he could quickly tell that this short figure was probably the strongest of the Heeters.
Turles said nothing.
He simply continued to stare at Jass, his face expressionless.
Under his gaze, Jass seemed to grow even more agitated.
"Jass."
Elec placed his hand on Jass's shoulder again.
Only then did the hum of Jass's headpiece begin to subside.
It gradually faded from a piercing sound to nearly inaudible.
Turles looked away from Jass and turned to Elec.
Elec met Turles's gaze.
"That's right."
He stepped forward and offered his hand.
"My name is Elec. I'm in charge of the Heeters Group."
Turles glanced at the outstretched hand.
He shook it, then quickly let go.
"Turles. Lord Frieza arranged for me to assist with your operation."
"You're the one in charge of the Heeters Group?"
Elec tried to explain what had just happened.
"Sorry, gentlemen. My younger brother is feeling a little unwell."
"Unwell?" Turles didn't seem to believe him.
He said coldly, "I'm not blind. He's hostile toward me. Have we met before?"
"My brother really does have an old ailment. It flares up occasionally, but it has nothing to do with you, Mr. Turles."
Elec stuck to his original explanation.
Turles's gaze lingered on Jass a little longer.
Of course he didn't believe it.
He thought of Bardock again.
After all, that was probably the most likely explanation.
But for now, he had no intention of pressing the matter.
Turles lowered his arm.
"Let's get down to business."
"What do you need us to do?"
Hearing this, Elec looked the group over.
Finally, his gaze returned to Turles.
He was assessing the reinforcements' fighting strength before the operation officially began.
But clearly, he couldn't judge the fighting strength of Turles and his companions by sight alone.
Still, from what he knew of Saiyans, their fighting strength was generally reliable.
Even a Saiyan Low-Class Warrior possessed the power to destroy heaven and earth after transforming into a Great Ape.
Besides its highly advanced civilization, Planet Karen also had quite a few powerful warriors.
Otherwise, Frieza wouldn't have sent Turles, who had a power level close to forty thousand, on this trip.
The strongest Karen warrior seemed to have a power level exceeding 10,000!
Even Jass, the strongest among them, couldn't suppress Planet Karen by force in a short time in his normal state.
Besides, the Heeters Group had never intended to participate in the fighting themselves, so the military aid sent by the Frieza Force-Turles and his companions-needed, at the very least, to be strong enough to suppress Planet Karen as quickly as possible.
Based on his long-standing knowledge of the Frieza Force, Elec chose to trust the other party's arrangements on this point.
When it came to fighting strength, the Heeters really weren't qualified to question the Frieza Force.
"Mr. Turles, I understand..."