One month later.
At the other end of the North Galaxy.
A planet designated C-97.
Its surface was grayish brown and lifeless.
A massive, disc-shaped spaceship hovered steadily in midair. It was the flagship of the Frieza Force.
Frieza sat in his signature hover chair.
He held a stemmed glass in one hand. The red wine inside was a far prettier sight than the gloomy gray sky overhead.
Zarbon stood to the right of the chair, holding a data terminal as he reported the results of a routine planetary survey.
"King Frieza, the comprehensive survey of Planet C-97 is complete."
"Mineral reserves are below average, atmospheric sulfur content is high, and surface water resources are virtually nonexistent."
"Overall commercial rating: D."
Frieza gave his glass a gentle swirl. Ripples spread through the wine.
"D?"
He didn't look at Zarbon, gazing instead at the grayish-brown wasteland beneath him.
"Nothing to be done about it. How disappointing~"
Zarbon closed the data terminal and quietly took half a step back.
Frieza took a sip of wine and smacked his lips twice.
"Clear it out and hand it over to the Heeters."
"Yes," Zarbon replied.
A muffled crunch came from behind them.
Bored out of his mind, Dodoria crushed a rock in his hand. Fragments trickled through the gaps between his thick fingers.
"King Frieza, the planets in this sector just keep getting worse."
He shook the stone dust off his hand and muttered,
"We've been going around for three months, and there hasn't been a single decent one."
Frieza paid it no mind. "Mr. Dodoria, these things can't be helped."
Dodoria was used to it, too.
He bent down, picked up an even larger rock, and tossed it in his palm.
Just then, the communicator at his waist rang.
Dodoria tucked the rock against himself, freeing a hand to press the communication button.
The nonchalant look on Dodoria's face slowly gave way to a peculiar expression.
He let go of the rock. It hit the ground with a thud, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"A message just came in from a nearby base. Some bumpkins calling themselves the 'Turles Crusher Corps' are asking to join us."
Dodoria scratched the back of his head.
"They also said they brought a treasure that would interest you."
Frieza, however, barely reacted.
There were plenty of small fry in the universe who wanted to join him.
Something like this shouldn't have reached him in the first place.
He brought the glass back to his lips.
"A treasure?"
The wine slid down his throat. He smacked his lips, unhurried.
"Didn't those insects who claimed to be from the East Galaxy swear the same thing last month? Something about a 'gift that would change the balance of the universe'?"
"A pile of lousy rocks too ugly even to use as decorations."
Zarbon spoke up at just the right moment.
"King Frieza, shall I tell the base to send them away?"
"Wait."
Dodoria raised his hand again. The gesture drew both Zarbon's and Frieza's attention.
"The base ran a routine scan on them."
Dodoria lowered his voice.
"The one leading them..."
"His power level is over thirty thousand."
At that, Zarbon lowered the data terminal in his hand.
A power level of thirty thousand?
Where had this guy come from?
Until now, Zarbon had always believed that, aside from King Frieza and the Ginyu Force, he was among the strongest in the universe.
In this form, his own power level was only 23,000.
How had someone with a power level over thirty thousand suddenly shown up just like that?
"The leader of some small independent space gang?"
A glimmer of interest appeared on Frieza's face when he heard that.
He drained the last of his wine and casually tossed the empty glass to Zarbon at his side.
Zarbon reached out and caught it smoothly, his movements crisp and precise.
"The Turles Crusher Corps..."
"Ho ho ho-then their leader must be this Turles..."
"Someone like that..."
His tail tapped slowly against the armrest of his hover chair.
"Sounds worth a little of my time."
"Let them come. I'll wait for them here."
Dodoria acknowledged the order and pressed the communication button to relay it.
"Lord Dodoria, should we mobilize the garrison as a precaution?"
The question came from the communicator.
"A precaution?"
Dodoria snorted. "What kind of joke is that?"
"King Frieza is here. What precautions do we need?"
"You fool! Are you trying to lose your job?"
In space.
The Destroyer adjusted its course, pushing its engines to maximum thrust.
Outside the portholes, starlight stretched into thin streaks that raced backward.
At the end of that route, above Planet C-97.
The massive, disc-shaped spaceship hung silently in midair.
The tip of Frieza's tail was still tapping against the armrest, once, then again.
As the Destroyer landed.
Behind Frieza, Zarbon and Dodoria both looked up at the same time.
"Hiss-"
The hatch's hydraulic struts released pressure with a heavy hiss. A thick alloy ramp slowly descended, striking the grayish-brown ground with a muffled thud.
Turles was the first to step off the ship.
He was met by the thin, sulfur-scented air of Planet C-97, and... a pressure so intense it was almost tangible.
That feeling came not from the surroundings, but from the three figures nearby.
Especially the one sitting upright in the hover chair.
His body was small, yet he seemed to be the center of this expanse of stars. His invisible aura warped the space around him, making everything else pale in comparison.
The emperor of the universe, Frieza.
Amond, Daiz, and the others followed behind Turles, their faces tense and their muscles bulging involuntarily.
As if some terrible monster had its eyes on them.
But after observing more closely, they found that the pressure was slowly fading.
This is... the one the boss wants to join?
It's like escaping a wolf's den only to enter a tiger's maw.
"Ho ho ho ho..." Frieza's signature laugh rang out, reaching everyone's ears clearly. "Welcome, members of the Turles Crusher Corps. I am Frieza."
His gaze lingered on Turles for a moment, then swept over the others behind him before returning to Turles's face, a hint of scrutiny and curiosity in his eyes.
But in an instant, his attention was drawn to the furry object around Turles's waist that looked like a belt.
Frieza's pupils contracted slightly.
The two pairs of eyes behind him soon noticed it as well.
The previously relaxed atmosphere froze in an instant.
Zarbon's fingers unconsciously tightened around the stemmed glass, and his gaze sharpened behind his lens.
The nonchalant expression faded from Dodoria's fat face, and a vicious glint flickered in his small eyes.
"Ho ho ho ho..."
Frieza's laughter broke the dead silence, his crimson eyes narrowing slightly.
After noticing Turles's tail, then seeing that face, Frieza's thoughts were instantly pulled back to the moment years ago when he had destroyed Planet Vegeta.
The one face among the Saiyans that had left an impression on him.