The dark blue expanse of Aurex stretched out below as a small silhouette flew at several times the speed of sound. One by one, light blue Ki blasts bombarded the remaining hiding places on the surface.
"It's been a full 10 years," Karnel mused, looking down at the planet that had been his home for the past decade. The young Saiyan never thought he would stay in one place for so long.
During these ten years, Karnel's power level had reached an incredible 480,000 through rigorous training. This was still without the aid of a Gravity Chamber or any other advanced training devices that could multiply his combat power even further. He had mastered the technique of concealing his Ki three years ago.
"A lower-ranking Saiyan soldier would normally reach a power level of about 300 in ten years," Karnel said, carefully adjusting his power level down to approximately 300. He nodded with satisfaction.
"Now to quickly eliminate the last two indigenous lifeforms on this planet and return to Planet Vegeta."
Blue flames erupted around his body as Karnel rocketed toward the location of the highest power level he could sense on the planet.
Within a minute, he stood above a small stone house.
"How disappointing. I thought the highest power level on this planet would belong to intelligent life..." Looking down at two half-human, half-tiger creatures below, Karnel felt a pang of disappointment.
Throughout his ten years on this planet, he had longed to encounter intelligent life with whom he could converse and exchange knowledge.
"Since that's how it is, you can't blame me." With one hand, he condensed a basketball-sized light blue Ki blast and whispered to himself.
BOOM!
The entire mountain peak was struck by Karnel's energy blast, exploding like a small nuclear bomb. When the light blue afterglow dissipated, the mountain peak had vanished, leaving only a crater 10 meters deep and 100 meters wide.
A circular ship shot out from Aurex, burst through the atmosphere, and flew into the colorful starry void of space.
"This feeling of being under someone's heel is truly insufferable," Karnel muttered, sitting in his spacecraft. "If only I had enough strength to destroy Frieza now."
He knew that Frieza's normal power level was 530,000, not accounting for his four transformations. The final form of Frieza had a combat power of 120 million, far beyond Karnel's current level of 480,000. Challenging Frieza now would be like throwing pebbles at a mountain.
Although Karnel was unwilling to remain under anyone's control, he wasn't overly concerned. After all, he was only 10 years old. His plan was clear: escape Frieza's control, reach Earth, and train with the gravity chamber for several years. With his 10x training modifier and knowledge of the future, Karnel was confident he could defeat Frieza in minutes when the time came.
Through the vast darkness of space, his streaking spacecraft flew toward Planet Vegeta.
"Another soldier returning from a mission? I wonder who it could be?" Lidam stood at the spacecraft reception area, watching as the round vessel descended toward the landing pad.
As his spacecraft approached Planet Vegeta, Karnel woke from his hibernation sleep.
"Well, well. Isn't this Carlisle's worthless son? Only a power level of 3 at birth, and yet somehow he didn't die out there. Fate has a strange sense of humor."
The spacecraft landed at Planet Vegeta's mission reception site. As soon as Karnel stepped out, he heard the mockery directed at him.
He frowned as he looked at the Saiyan operating an instrument panel while taunting him.
"Saiyans are so arrogant," Karnel thought. "No one is worthy in their eyes. This kind of mindset belongs to a race obsessed only with conquest. No wonder Frieza will destroy them in the future."
"Hey, trash, move along once you've reported your mission," Lidam shouted after processing Karnel's mission data.
"Sir, do you know where my parents are now?" Karnel asked, suppressing the urge to obliterate the muscular man before him.
Though he had no emotional attachment to the parents of this body, now that he had returned, he still wanted to visit his "home."
"Haha. Poor kid, your parents died four years ago on a mid-level planet they were sent to conquer. You're the only one left in your family now. Move along."
"One more thing, sir. Do you know Bardock?" Karnel asked, hoping to glean useful information from this simple-minded Saiyan.
"Bardock? Of course, I know him. Almost everyone on Planet Vegeta knows Bardock. He's a lower-class warrior with a power level of about 4,200. He also had a son similar to you, a weakling with a power level of only 2 at birth. His waste of a son, Kakarot. Ha. The entire Saiyan race is laughing at him. Two months ago, Bardock sent his son to some low-level planet to complete a purge mission."
"So Kakarot was just sent to Earth," Karnel thought. "And judging from this, Prince Vegeta must be a few years old by now. Planet Vegeta is still under Frieza's control, with only about a year before its destruction. I need to find a way to leave this planet quickly." He ignored the muscular man and headed straight to his residence.
The Saiyan living quarters were humble at best. Saiyans, obsessed with fighting and conquest, had little interest in comfort or aesthetics.
When Karnel returned to his assigned home, it was clear no one had cleaned it in years. Saiyans were extremely callous and dismissed family bonds as weakness. In Karnel's house, there wasn't even a single photograph left as a memorial.
Karnel didn't even know what his biological parents looked like. Not that he cared, he wasn't really their child anyway.
After resting for a few days, Karnel grew restless. No one could remain calm on a planet that could be destroyed at any moment.
"I can't stay here any longer," he decided, packing his few belongings. "I need to take on a mission and leave Planet Vegeta as soon as possible, preferably a mission target close to Earth..."
With renewed determination, Karnel flew toward the mission reception center.
(A/N: The time when planet Vegeta exploded is not very well explained as multiples sources contradicts itself, so just asume it is an AU more than it is already.)