"I'll take you down!!"
Unable to endure Frieza's forces' atrocities, Gohan kicked Dodoria away and shouted at the top of his lungs.
Might sound like empty boasting, but with current Gohan's combat power, it wasn't impossible to realize.
Indeed, against Dodoria's 22,000 combat power, Gohan had 18,000—not an unbeatable opponent.
But facing Frieza changed everything.
Even mastering Kaioken and multiplying combat power by ten wouldn't match him.
Still, no way enraged Gohan would consider such things—thus others' turn.
This time Piccolo kicked the rising Dodoria away.
That power incomparable to Gohan's.
One blow sent Dodoria smashing through a building, rolling pathetically across the ground, spewing blood.
Seeing that, Frieza probably felt he needed to act.
Swiftly pointing his palm, he fired an energy blast at Piccolo.
But that blast was deflected by Lizette intercepting.
Descending while radiating white brilliance from Burst Limit, she casually dispelled the universe emperor's energy blast.
"Everyone, retreat."
Lizette instructed, and the warriors who'd protected Namekian children simultaneously withdrew.
Finally Lizette took flight, leaving only Frieza's forces there.
Naturally Frieza wouldn't silently let them escape.
"Pursue them, Zarbon, Dodoria!"
"...S-So beautiful..."
"Zarbon!"
"Huh!?"
Zarbon was human-type, thus his aesthetic sense extremely close to Earthlings'.
And she possessed beauty callable supreme for human-types.
Zarbon had been entranced, briefly losing himself.
But for him, this was unbearable humiliation.
For the first time in his life, someone else's beauty stole his heart.
He'd felt genuinely beautiful, been entranced.
Zarbon was a warrior possessing both beauty and ugliness.
Thus he couldn't forgive the ugly, but even less could he forgive those more beautiful than himself.
"I-Impossible... that I, entranced by someone other than myself..."
"Go quickly, Zarbon!"
"I felt beautiful from my heart... far more than seeing my reflection in mirrors... It's a lie... impossible. That someone more beautiful than me exists in this universe..."
"Z-Zarbon!"
"Un...forgivable... I've never experienced such humiliation... Don't know who or where, but I won't let this end here. The most beautiful in the universe is this Zarbon."
"Enough already, Zarbon!"
Suddenly, he felt killing intent.
When Zarbon finally returned to himself and turned around, there stood the universe emperor trembling with rage.
Thus he realized.
Apparently being dumbstruck, he'd even ignored Frieza's words—his mistake.
Bad, must go immediately or be killed.
"This is a first... a fool ignoring me this thoroughly."
"I-I'll go right now!"
Zarbon hastily fled from there as if escaping.
If he'd delayed flying even one more second, surely Zarbon would have become a voiceless corpse.
However, stating conclusions: luck was his ally.
When he caught up to Dodoria, those strange people and white woman weren't there, but instead Vegeta had entered combat state with Dodoria.
No, not yet fighting. But Dodoria had obviously taken a surprise attack and combat was unavoidable.
Dodoria ultimately couldn't even catch up to Lizette's group and fell behind.
That's when Vegeta targeted him.
Vegeta's combat power after Earth battle: 22,000. Numbers allowing victory even against Zarbon or Dodoria if catching them off-guard one-on-one.
So he'd waited for solo action, and when Dodoria moved, thought this opportune and acted.
But now Zarbon arrived.
For Vegeta, worst misfortune; for Zarbon, fortune affecting even future fate.
Incidentally, Vegeta's combat power increase resulted from zenkai boost—Saiyan trait—but Lizette's intervention made damage shallower, slightly reducing combat power compared to same-period Vegeta she knew.
Still, discussing that here was pointless.
"Dodoria!"
"You came, Zarbon! Saved!"
"Tch, Zarbon!"
Dodoria voiced relief at Zarbon joining; Vegeta clicked his tongue irritably.
One-on-one, manageable somehow.
But against two, Vegeta was overwhelmingly disadvantaged.
To Zarbon and Dodoria blocking front and back preventing escape, Vegeta talked seeking breakthrough somehow.
"Heh, you guys still Frieza's yes-men as ever. Pathetic... With Dragon Balls, even small fries like you could rule the universe."
"We... rule?"
At Vegeta's provocation, simple-minded Dodoria immediately showed agitation.
Dodoria was originally worldly natured, weak to power.
But Zarbon interjected.
"Dodoria, don't listen to him! Finish him quickly!"
"O-Oh!"
"D-Damn it...!"
Minutes later, Vegeta lay on the ground as dirty trash.
Even Vegeta couldn't manage against two.
But contrary to triumphant Dodoria, Zarbon's face looked unhappy.
"Dragon Balls... huh."
Vegeta's earlier words ran through his mind.
Not particularly desiring supremacy.
Not wanting to become strongest.
But strongly attracted. To those miraculous orbs granting any wish.
With them, he could obtain eternal youth.
Make eternal beauty his own.
"Eternal youth... eternal beauty, huh."
Normally he wouldn't have seriously considered this.
Dragon Balls were what the master desired—meaning desiring them meant betraying that fearsome Frieza.
But Zarbon currently wasn't normal.
Seeing beauty surpassing his own—Lizette—right before him cracked his pride, stimulating self-esteem beyond measure.
Wanting to become beautiful. Making beauty eternal.
The long-held desire for beauty.
It swelled within him beyond even his control.
"...Dodoria."
"Hm? What, Zarbon?"
"—Sorry, but die here."
That was unmistakably a rampage.
The worst action taken by momentarily harbored beauty thirst.
Yet strangely, no hesitation existed in Zarbon's heart.
"Wh-What are you saying, Zarbon... you planning betrayal!?"
"...Good opportunity to say it, Dodoria. Seeing your ugly face daily was unbearable pain for me. But that ends today."
Simultaneously speaking, Zarbon kicked the ground, delivering a preemptive strike to Dodoria still unable to recover from confusion.
Tightly clenched fist struck Dodoria's face, his stocky body mercilessly sent flying.
There, he fired an energy blast without any hesitation despite being supposed comrades.
Light exploded, massive smoke rising.
But Dodoria wasn't soft enough to die from this much.
Flying out from smoke via flight technique, landing before Zarbon.
"Z-Zarbon... you...!"
"Hmph, stubborn. Do even the ugly have unsightly death throes?"
Zarbon and Dodoria's combat powers were nearly equal.
Meaning whichever landed the decisive blow first became critically important to victory.
But Dodoria had already taken surprise attacks from three—Gohan, Piccolo, Vegeta—exhausted even without Zarbon doing anything.
Attacking further on top, now Dodoria could barely stand.
The power difference was already obvious.
"Die! Dodoria!"
"D-Don't mock me! I'll kill you!"
Zarbon and Dodoria's figures simultaneously vanished.
Entering super high-speed combat impossible to perceive with ordinary senses, beginning battle leaving sound behind.
Two shadows crossed through air repeatedly, impact sounds echoing delayed.
Thus they gradually moved locations, repeatedly clashing violently while distancing.
Left behind was only Vegeta, fatally wounded and abandoned.
"...D-Damn it... I won't... die..."
The Saiyan race possessed tremendous vitality.
Even thinking the heart stopped, they might spontaneously revive later.
Prince Vegeta was no exception—rather, his stubbornness stood out even among Saiyans.
Though bearing wounds that should have killed him, he still crawled across the ground, desperately moving.
Naturally, that wouldn't improve the situation.
Vegeta who'd come to this Namek isolated had zero comrades to help, no means to heal wounds.
Meaning checkmate already.
Still he moved crawling along the ground.
Though no conveniently unused medical pod existed ahead, he crawled refusing to die.
"...D-Damn... it..."
But even Saiyans had limits.
However robust the body, suffering fatal wounds meant eventual death without treatment.
This was biology's great principle unavoidable even for Saiyans.
Vision darkening, fingertip sensation lost.
—Dying in such a place?
What he felt last—regret or rage?
Either way, that would be his last emotion in this life.
And with that as final, the human called Vegeta would be lost forever.
"Well well, isn't this Prince Vegeta? What's he doing nearly dead here?"
Unless someone grasped that falling fate.
"Hmph... finally kicked the bucket. Truly stubborn."
Easily 10km from Vegeta's location, on a small island.
There Zarbon looked down at motionless Dodoria, breathing hard.
This should make moving easier.
For the extremely difficult objective of stealing Dragon Balls from Frieza, couldn't bother with Dodoria every time.
Since he'd just get in the way later, eliminating him now was optimal.
"Eternal beauty is mine. To make this beautiful face and body eternal..."
Zarbon's heart now burned with ambition like never before.
Liberation from Frieza's terror rule, never before considered.
But the Dragon Balls' existence amplified his hidden desires.
Eternal beauty. Eternal youth.
To make those reality, Zarbon decided here to betray Frieza and make Dragon Balls his own.
"Now then, for now report defeating Vegeta. Must pretend to obey for a while."
Zarbon grinned and took flight without sparing his former colleague a glance.
Obey Frieza as before for now.
But that wouldn't reach his objective.
Even obtaining eternal youth, if Frieza lived, he'd be cornered and killed.
If dead, couldn't call it eternal.
So—kill Frieza.
This ambition couldn't be fulfilled without his death.
Only with Frieza's death could liberation from terror rule be achieved.
Of course, not an opponent matchable in power.
Even becoming immortal, with current power difference, just becoming a sandbag.
(Vegeta seemed to consider nothing about that...)
Then make him clash with someone who could kill him.
Make him fight someone capable of killing even Frieza, eliminating Frieza.
Zarbon already saw the path for that.
"Only the same clan can oppose Frieza. Then him... Frieza's brother, I must summon Cooler to this planet!"
Ambition seeking beauty wouldn't stop anymore.
And that would bring further chaos to this Planet Namek—but to Zarbon, it didn't matter.
All for eternal beauty's sake—