Two spherical spaceships streaked across the sky, the burning oxygen leaving long trails of flame behind them as they fell like two meteors into a wilderness.
Boom!!!
Smoke billowed up, revealing two enormous impact craters in the ground.
The hatches opened, and one person flew out of each spaceship.
Is this planet that woman's home?
Vegeta looked at his surroundings, the thought crossing his mind.
"Vegeta, we're finally here. What do we do now?"
Vegeta and Nappa floated in the air as Nappa put the question to him.
"Let's hide first and find out whether Raditz is still alive and how strong the most powerful fighter on this planet is."
Vegeta's plan was doomed to fail. Neither of them had learned to use Ki, and their presence had been sensed the moment they arrived on Earth.
Just then, their Battle Scouters suddenly began registering readings.
"This is bad, Vegeta! Several high-energy life-forms are moving toward us at high speed!" Nappa looked at Vegeta in a slight panic.
"Damn it, why were we exposed right from the start?" Vegeta was somewhat puzzled.
The latest Battle Scouters they were wearing were supposed to be able to block detection by measuring devices, so why? Why had they still been exposed?
"Nappa, get ready to fight." Vegeta looked solemnly ahead as he warned Nappa.
In the distance, Krillin, Tien Shinhan, Yamcha, and Piccolo had gathered together.
Aku and Goku hadn't come. Aku had found Goku right away because he lived close to Goku's house.
Goku, meanwhile, was in no hurry. A year had passed, and even Yamcha's Power Level was close to 20,000, while Piccolo had reached 100,000.
Vegeta and Nappa were destined to cause no real trouble.
"Did you feel them too?" Piccolo asked the others.
"Yeah! Two unfamiliar Ki signatures, and one of them is even powerful enough to destroy Earth," Krillin said with a nod.
Although everyone present could destroy Earth, they wouldn't do so. The same couldn't necessarily be said for that unfamiliar Ki.
Goku had never told them about Vegeta, so none of them knew anything about him.
"Let's go take a look together," Tien Shinhan said.
Before long, they spotted Vegeta and Nappa.
"Vegeta, the highest Power Level among them is only 1,000!" Nappa looked at Vegeta in excitement.
If the highest Power Level was only 1,000, then none of them were even as strong as he was. He'd been scared for nothing.
"Idiot, have you forgotten what happened with Raditz? They can hide their Power Levels!"
With that, Vegeta took the Power Level Scouter off his face.
He gripped it in one hand and crushed it.
"A Namekian?" Vegeta asked, looking at Piccolo in some confusion.
Hearing Vegeta's question, Piccolo nodded. He, too, had learned from Goku that he was a Namekian.
"Are you from the same race as Son Goku?" Piccolo had spotted the tails behind Vegeta and Nappa.
Like Raditz, these two were probably from the same race as Goku.
Vegeta and Nappa exchanged puzzled looks. Who? Son Goku? Who was that?
Seeing the confusion on their faces, Piccolo immediately realized he shouldn't have said Son Goku. He should have said Kakarot.
"As you call him, Kakarot!"
Krillin and the others understood when they heard Kakarot's name. After all, Raditz had always called Son Goku Kakarot.
Hearing Piccolo say that, Vegeta already had an idea.
Kakarot and Raditz hadn't died at all! Kakarot even seemed to be friends with the people in front of him.
In that case, the two of them wouldn't have to fight these people.
"What? Kakarot and Raditz aren't dead?" Nappa asked.
"What are you talking about? How could Goku die? Even if he did, we could use the Dragon Balls and wish for Shenron to bring him back to life!" Yamcha chimed in.
At that moment, Nappa had neither removed nor destroyed his Power Level Scouter, and the Frieza Force, far away in deep space, heard them.
Shenron? A wish? Resurrection? Is it the Namekians'?
Just then, Vegeta saw the Power Level Scouter flickering in front of Nappa's eye.
"This is bad! Nappa, destroy your Power Level Scouter, quick!"
Vegeta had long known that Frieza had planted surveillance devices in their Power Level Scouters.
Whenever they had discussed Frieza before, they had taken their Power Level Scouters off and left them at a distance.
Hearing Vegeta's words, Nappa immediately took off his Power Level Scouter and crushed it.
Vegeta breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Nappa destroy it. He could only hope that Frieza and his men wouldn't figure out that Namekians could make Dragon Balls!
Otherwise, there would be no hope of revenge at all.
"Huh? What's wrong?"
Piccolo and the others stared blankly at Vegeta, who had reacted so strongly.
"Power Level Scouters have a listening function. Frieza heard everything we just said. You're the one who made the Dragon Balls, aren't you?"
Vegeta asked Piccolo in an almost certain tone.
Piccolo nodded.
"In a sense, yes!"
"Then that's that. There have always been rumors in the universe that Namekians possess miraculous magic, including the Dragon Balls that can grant wishes. But no one ever took them seriously, and no one could confirm them. But now..."
Vegeta trailed off halfway through, because everyone present understood.
"Is Frieza that strong?" Krillin asked, somewhat puzzled. No matter how strong Frieza was, surely he couldn't be stronger than Goku?
"Very strong. His Power Level is 2.55 million. It used to be 530,000, but for some reason, it suddenly rose to 2.65 million over the past few years."
A year ago, when Frieza announced that his Power Level had reached 2.65 million, Vegeta had been in despair.
If 530,000 had still seemed possible, then the gap at 2.65 million was enough to drive him to despair. He found it hard to believe he could surpass Frieza and avenge Planet Vegeta.
Lost in thought, Vegeta didn't notice Krillin and the others looking at him and holding back their laughter.
"Hey, Vegeta."
Nappa nudged Vegeta with his arm to get his attention. Vegeta came to his senses and couldn't help feeling a little angry when he looked at Krillin and the others.
But he didn't dare voice his anger, because his sixth sense told him that Krillin and the others were stronger than he was.
"Why are you laughing?" Vegeta asked through gritted teeth.
"Haha, it's nothing. If Frieza's only at 2.65 million, you don't have to worry. Goku can handle him," Krillin said, struggling to hold back his laughter.
He'd thought Frieza was much stronger, but it turned out he was a nobody. Goku could have beaten him easily several years ago.
"What? Goku, you mean Kakarot? How is that possible? He's just a Low-Class Warrior!"
Vegeta didn't want to believe it. He was the Saiyan Prince, and his Power Level was only 25,000.
Yet Kakarot, a Low-Class Warrior, had already surpassed Frieza!