On Frieza's spaceship, Frieza sat in his hover pod, staring at the data flashing across the computer screen in front of him.
The screen displayed various transaction records—despite his immense power, Frieza prided himself on being a businessman and thus personally oversaw matters related to trade.
As he was reviewing the data, the sound of the door opening behind him caught his attention, followed by the footsteps of two individuals entering the room.
Frieza didn't possess the ability to sense "ki" like others. In the original series, during his battle with Goku, he had to rely on his hearing and vision to track Goku's movements.
So, he turned around to confirm who had entered.
It was his trusted subordinate, Dodoria, and a lower-ranking officer of the Frieza Force—Mr. Dirty Fireworks, or rather, Cui.
"Lord Frieza, Cui has something to report," Dodoria said, leading Cui into the room and giving him a look, signaling him to speak.
While Frieza always appeared amiable toward his subordinates, that was only true as long as they were useful to him.
The moment Frieza deemed someone useless, he would discard them without hesitation, all while maintaining that same friendly smile.
Thus, while some subordinates might think Frieza was an easygoing boss, trusted aides like Dodoria knew better and never dared to overstep in his presence.
However, as long as you remained valuable to Frieza, he could indeed be a reasonable boss... provided you maintained that value.
"Yes!" Cui straightened up, his expression tense—this was the same Cui who had been brutally killed by Vegeta in the original series, and even now, he was visibly nervous in front of Frieza.
"Lord Frieza, we've lost communication with Planet Vegeta. Someone sent a message saying they had important information to report, but the connection was cut off immediately after."
"Oh? What important matter could the Saiyans possibly have?" Frieza asked, puzzled.
While he did harbor intentions to eliminate the Saiyans, he hadn't shared those plans with anyone yet.
So, in theory, the Saiyans shouldn't be aware of any impending danger.
What could possibly be happening on Planet Vegeta? They were just a bunch of battle-hungry, barbaric monkeys.
"We're not sure. After that, we tried contacting everyone on Planet Vegeta, but without exception, we couldn't reach anyone," Cui continued, swallowing nervously under Frieza's piercing gaze.
"We even tried contacting King Vegeta, but his communicator went unanswered. Later, it became completely unreachable, as if it had been destroyed."
"The entire Planet Vegeta has gone silent?"
Initially indifferent, Frieza's expression sharpened upon hearing Cui's report.
His decision to eliminate the Saiyans wasn't just due to Beerus's orders—it was also because he genuinely feared the Saiyans uniting.
While he could easily wipe out the entire Saiyan race with a flick of his finger, he worried that their unity might give rise to the legendary figure known as the Super Saiyan.
Especially now that even King Vegeta was unreachable... Frieza was certain that, while King Vegeta might secretly resent him, he wouldn't dare to openly defy him.
Now, King Vegeta was likely dead. So, who was the new Saiyan king? Could it be the legendary Super Saiyan?
The thought made Frieza uneasy.
"Prepare a ship and gather a team. We're heading to Planet Vegeta!"
Frieza's ability to grow the Frieza Force to its current size was partly due to his decisive nature.
The moment he sensed something might be wrong with the Saiyans, he immediately prepared to take a team to investigate.
"Dodoria, you and Zarbon come with me! Cui, you too!"
With that, Frieza flew out of the room in his hover pod, leaving a stunned Cui and Dodoria to exchange bewildered looks.
---
"With this, all communication between the Frieza Force and Planet Vegeta has been completely severed."
In King Vegeta's former room, Bardock destroyed the communication device that clearly belonged to the Frieza Force, then turned to Zuke behind him.
"What's the plan now? Frieza has likely already noticed something's wrong on our end."
It was impossible for him not to notice. While eliminating the Frieza Force spies on Planet Vegeta, they discovered that a few had already sent messages attempting to report the Saiyans' rebellion.
Although they managed to kill the spies before they could relay the specifics, the Frieza Force must have received the initial communication signals.
As long as the Frieza Force wasn't completely incompetent, they would realize the Saiyans had rebelled upon hearing that someone had tried to report important information before going silent.
"First, let's measure my combat power. I've been training and growing stronger, but I'm not sure exactly how much my power has increased."
Zuke stated the first thing they needed to do.
That's right—they needed to measure Zuke's combat power to give him a clear understanding of how strong he had become.
While he could easily crush someone like Ginyu, whose combat power was in the tens of thousands, Frieza's final form boasted a power level of 120 million.
The criticism of power scaling in the Frieza Saga wasn't unfounded—the gap was simply too vast, almost incomprehensible.
Thus, defeating Ginyu wasn't something to be overly proud of. Zuke needed a more accurate assessment.
After undergoing Merus's training, experiencing multiple near-death power boosts, and absorbing the energy of several planets, Zuke's combat power had likely reached a level he couldn't even imagine.
"Fair enough. I'm also curious about how much your power has grown during this time."
Hearing Zuke's words, Bardock nodded.
In other regimes, the first thing to do after a coup would be to consolidate power and stabilize morale.
But among the Saiyans, none of that was necessary—Zuke's displayed strength was more than enough to earn their obedience.
Thinking of rebelling against Zuke? First, consider whether you could meet a better end than King Vegeta.
Thus, rather than focusing on consolidating power, measuring Zuke's combat power might yield better results.
Once Zuke's combat power was revealed, the Saiyans would understand how futile it would be to oppose him, and they would naturally fall in line and work for him.
To be continued…
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