The battlefield had grown eerily silent, save for the rustle of wind across the mountain terrain. Two pairs of eyes locked in a deadly line of sight—Goku and Vegeta, staring straight at Frieza, who sat arrogantly on his hovering chair. Not far from them, Raditz and Nappa's eyes burned with seething rage, fixed entirely on Zarbon.
For the two ex-Saiyan elites, the memory of endless humiliation still stung.
Nappa clenched his fists, his knuckles white. His body trembled, not from fear, but from years of pent-up hatred. How many times did I have to bow my head to Zarbon's pathetic commands, only because my power level was beneath his? How many times was I forced to obey like a dog?
Raditz's jaw tightened as he recalled his own torment. Dodoria and Zarbon had constantly belittled him, threatened to kill him for even the slightest mistake. I was too weak back then… always the pawn, always the one who had to clean their messes. But today—today, that changes.
Vegeta's past, however, was painted differently. He had never bowed to Zarbon or Dodoria. He never needed to. He was the Prince of all Saiyans, and even those wretched underlings of Frieza knew better than to cross him. The only reason he had survived was because Frieza himself had decided to keep him alive—for amusement, for manipulation.
But Vegeta had seen through it all. He had long known that his destiny was not to live as a slave under Frieza's shadow. His pride, his blood, and his race demanded more.
And now, standing face to face with the monster who had enslaved and destroyed his people, his heart burned hotter than a star.
Vegeta's voice rumbled like thunder, deep and heavy with restrained fury.
"Frieza! You came earlier than expected… What's wrong? Afraid we'd grow too strong if you delayed?"
Zarbon's face twisted with rage, and he immediately thrust his hand forward, gathering ki for a deadly blast. But before he could fire, Frieza lifted a single finger.
"Stop."
The command was sharp, absolute. Zarbon froze instantly. Frieza's lips curled into a chilling smile.
"Hahaha… Vegeta, I've seen foolish Saiyan monkeys before, but you… you take the crown. Do you actually believe you could challenge my authority?"
Vegeta smirked, his eyes narrowing with lethal confidence.
"Authority? Today, I'll strip you of it. Today, Frieza… I'll kill you, and repay the debt my race has carried for generations."
Frieza tilted his head back and laughed, his voice cold and venomous.
"Repay your debt? Oh, how amusing! You still cling to the memory of that pathetic race? Allow me to remind you, Prince Vegeta—the Saiyan race is gone. Their planet… your planet… I destroyed it with my own hands. Planet Vegeta was vaporized because your kind had become too irritating to tolerate."
Gasps spread among the gathered Z Fighters.
But Vegeta didn't flinch. His face didn't change. He had known this truth for years. His silence made Frieza pause.
Then Vegeta spoke, his tone steady, his smirk unbroken.
"You think I didn't know? Ever since I learned the truth, Frieza, I've been preparing. Preparing for this day. You wiped out my people because you feared them. You feared what we could become. And today—your fear will be realized."
Frieza's smile thinned, his crimson eyes narrowing dangerously.
"Prince of no one. Watch your tongue. I'm in no mood for your delusions today."
But Vegeta only chuckled darkly, his aura flickering to life.
"I know why your mood is rotten, Frieza. It's because your headquarters… the mighty fortress of your empire… was destroyed."
Frieza's chair creaked as his claws dug into the armrests. His expression twitched.
Vegeta pressed on, his laughter rising.
"And do you know what's more humiliating? That it wasn't me. It wasn't Kakarot. It wasn't even another Saiyan. It was a single human. A man from Earth. A race you mock as weak and pitiful. Rudra. He annihilated your Ginyu Force. He crushed your strongest warriors and burned your pride to ash!"
The words hit like a meteor.
Goku, Raditz, and Nappa froze in shock. Their eyes widened as they turned toward Vegeta.
"Wait… what?!" Goku asked, disbelief etched across his face.
Vegeta's grin widened, cruel and mocking.
"Yes, Kakarot. Nappa. Raditz. That Earthling—Rudra—destroyed the Ginyu Force single-handedly. He reduced Frieza's headquarters to rubble, and all he took from it… was a scouter. That's the kind of man he is. That's the kind of power he wields."
Nappa's jaw dropped. Raditz nearly stumbled backward. Even Goku was stunned speechless.
Vegeta threw back his head and laughed, the sound sharp and victorious.
But his laughter was cut short when a deadly beam of crimson energy screamed across the battlefield.
Frieza had finally moved.
The death beam ripped through the air, targeting Vegeta's chest. But the Saiyan Prince was ready. He blurred sideways, the attack searing past him, obliterating a mountain behind him in a blinding flash.
Dust and debris rained down as Vegeta straightened, his smirk unfaltering.
"Is that it, Frieza? Is that all you've got? I am a hundred times stronger than I was before, and today, I'll prove it. Today, I end you myself!"
Frieza's laughter rang out again, mocking and venomous.
"Oh, really? Then let us see how strong you've become, little prince. When I'm finished tearing you apart, I'll deal with this… Rudra myself. And once I'm through with Earth, there won't be a shred of it left in the universe."
The ground trembled as both warriors' auras flared to life. Vegeta's golden energy rippled violently, while Frieza's suppressed form radiated suffocating malice.
Behind them, Zarbon sneered at Nappa and Raditz.
"Traitors! You dare stand against Lord Frieza? You dare show your faces before me?"
Raditz cracked his knuckles.
"Words won't save you, Zarbon. Today, you'll answer for every humiliation you forced on us."
Nappa bared his teeth, his aura igniting.
"Yeah. No more bowing. No more orders. Today, you die."
The battlefield was split into two fronts—Saiyan vengeance versus Frieza's cold dominion.
And as Vegeta's laughter clashed with Frieza's, the fate of Earth trembled in the balance.