The number on the gravity room's display froze at 50.
Gohan's limbs were shaking.
The young Saiyan hybrid clenched his teeth, fighting with everything he had to push himself up.
"Stand up."
Shinju's voice came from above.
Under this extreme gravity, Shinju still stood perfectly straight, his breathing not the least bit disturbed.
Chakra surged at high speed through his pathways, forming an internal protective membrane that offset most of the pressure crushing down on his organs.
Gohan lifted his head, his gaze a little unfocused.
It felt like all the buildings of West City were piled onto his back.
"I can't… Shinju…"
"Can't?"
Shinju took a step forward.
"When Piccolo died… is that what you said then, too?"
That tall green figure blocking in front of him—then getting pierced through by Nappa's energy blast—exploded in Gohan's mind.
Anger surged from deep inside his chest, instantly igniting the Saiyan blood sleeping in his body.
"Haaa!"
A white shockwave burst out from Gohan.
His body, pressed flat against the floor, forced itself up against fifty times gravity.
Even though his whole body still trembled violently, he stood.
In the corner, Krillin watched the scene, sweat pouring off his bald head.
He wanted to stand too. Seeing that kid Gohan manage it, his pride made it impossible to keep lying there.
"Damn it… I'm… Krillin!"
Veins bulged along Krillin's arms as he slowly, inch by inch, peeled himself up from the floor.
Shinju looked at the two of them.
"Good."
"Potential is like water in a sponge. Squeeze hard enough, and it'll come out."
"Gohan, there's a terrifying power sleeping inside you—one that can even surpass your father."
"You need to learn to control your anger, not be controlled by it."
Shinju gathered a pale-blue sphere of chakra.
"Feel how this energy flows."
Gohan nodded, half understanding.
That burst just now had drained him badly, and his knees nearly buckled.
But he gritted his teeth and held on.
Shinju turned and walked toward the door.
"Rest ten minutes, then raise it to sixty."
"Huh?!"
Krillin let out a scream and collapsed flat on the floor again. This had to be a joke.
In the cockpit, Bulma sat at the main console with a cup of hot coffee in hand.
The ship was performing a space-fold jump.
Shinju walked in.
Bulma spun her chair around and glanced at Krillin and little Gohan.
"You're being way too harsh on them."
"There's no time."
Shinju sat in the co-pilot seat, eyes turning toward the sea of stars.
"Our enemies won't give us time to prepare."
Bulma sighed and set down her coffee.
"The engine's in great shape. That chakra metal is basically a miracle—the energy conversion rate hit 99%."
"At this speed, we'll reach Namek in three days."
Shinju looked at the data streaming across the screen.
Three days.
For space travel, it was short. For a war, it was enough to change everything.
"Any abnormal signals?"
"Not yet."
Bulma stretched lazily.
"Honestly, if it weren't for your weird repair technique, this junker wouldn't have made it this far."
"Oh right—about that guy Vegeta. Is he really going to Namek?"
Shinju nodded.
"He craves immortality."
"No one with ambition can resist the temptation of the Dragon Balls."
Bulma curled her lips.
"What's so great about immortality? Your skin wouldn't even renew properly—how scary is that?"
Her focus was always strange. Shinju didn't respond.
Suddenly, a shrill alarm blared through the ship, and the once-calm cockpit filled with flashing red light.
"What happened?!"
Krillin and Gohan stumbled in, having just crawled out of the gravity room.
Bulma's hands flew across the keyboard, her face turning pale in an instant.
"Unknown craft approaching!"
"It's too fast! The interception system isn't responding!"
The ship jolted hard, like it had slammed into an invisible wall.
The main screen switched views.
A massive, vicious-looking battleship appeared ahead.
Several huge mechanical claws extended from its front, clamping down on their ship.
"Space pirates!"
Bulma recognized the skull emblem on the hull.
"They raid ships along the lanes—we're done for!"
This was a vacuum.
If the ship was breached, aside from Shinju everyone else would die.
They heard the turn of pressure valves as the enemy forcibly docked to the airlock.
"Get ready to fight!"
Krillin took a stance. Even though his body still ached from the gravity training, his eyes sharpened.
Gohan clenched his fists, stepping in front of Bulma.
The hatch was blasted open. Smoke rolled out.
A dozen strange-looking aliens rushed in.
They carried odd-shaped energy guns and wore battered armor.
Leading them was a giant brute with a crocodile head, holding an enormous laser axe.
"Hahahaha! The stars favor me—looks like today's luck is good. Brothers, we struck gold!"
The crocodile-head swept his gaze around, pausing briefly on Bulma, already grasping the situation.
"An upgraded high-class ship, a woman, two pieces of trash, and a…"
"A pretty boy?"
The pirates burst into laughter, sure this job was effortless.
"Hand over everything valuable! The ship's ours too!"
The crocodile-head swung his axe, showing off his strength—and making it clear that noncompliance meant death.
"Otherwise we'll toss you out into space like garbage!"
Krillin gritted his teeth, like he'd made up his mind.
"Gohan, on three we rush them—"
"None of you move."
Shinju stood up.
"I'll handle this one myself. If I don't, these guys won't understand that some people simply can't be messed with."
"Open the door."
Shinju spoke to Bulma, his tone steady—no hint of joking.
"What? I didn't hear you wrong, right? You want me to open the door?"
Bulma froze.
"Are you crazy?! The air will vent!"
"You heard me. Open the outer airlock."
Shinju turned to face the pirates.
The crocodile-head was enraged by this outright disregard. This kid wasn't following any rules at all—like he didn't even see them.
"You brat looking for death! Get him! Break his legs first! Don't let him die too fast—have some fun with him!"
Several pirates raised their guns, fingers tightening on the triggers.
An invisible pressure exploded outward from Shinju, flooding the entire airlock corridor.
It was killing intent fused with chakra nature transformation, resembling something he'd borrowed from the pirate world: Haoshoku Haki (Conqueror's Haki).
For space pirates who bullied others with weapons, this soul-deep fear was something they'd never experienced.
The crocodile-head's grin locked in place.
He saw death.
His laser axe slipped from his hand and hit the floor.
The others were worse—one after another, collapsing in ugly, panicked ways.
Some foamed at the mouth and toppled over. Some clawed at their throats, gasping desperately.
"Get out."
Shinju said only one word.
The crocodile-head shrieked and bolted, scrambling back toward his ship on all fours.
The rest fled like they'd seen a ghost, trampling over each other just to escape.
The mechanical claws released.
The pirate battleship, like a startled rabbit, fired its engines at full power and vanished into the far reaches of space as a streak of light.
The cockpit fell into dead silence.
Krillin was still frozen in a "ready to fire a ki blast" pose.
"T-this… that's it?"
No energy beams. No fistfights.
Just a look. Just a word.
And those vicious pirates had their courage shattered.
Gohan stared at Shinju with shining admiration.
"Shinju-ojisan, how did you do that? I want to learn it too!"
"That was killing intent."
Shinju sat back down in the co-pilot seat.
"When your mental force is strong enough, the weak don't even qualify to stand in front of you."
"Keep moving."
That small incident didn't slow their trip. If anything, it made Krillin and Gohan even more obsessed with training.
Three days later.
The ship passed through the last asteroid belt, and a massive green planet appeared in their view.
Namek.
It floated quietly in space, surrounded by three suns—so there was never any night.
"We're here!"
Bulma shouted excitedly.
But her smile froze almost immediately.
The detector on the main screen began screaming with alarms.
"What's going on? Those energy readings…"
Data poured down the screen like a waterfall, enough to make your scalp tingle.
Countless high-energy signatures moved across the planet's surface.
"So much ki…"
Krillin went pale, sweat beading on his forehead. He'd never faced anything like this.
As a sensing-type fighter, he could clearly feel the malice rising from below.
"This place is hell."
Gohan gripped the armrest, his body trembling slightly.
Shinju stared at the green planet. His sensing range was broader than Krillin's—and far more precise.
Villages that should have been peaceful were burning.
Green-skinned Namekians were being slaughtered.
And at the center of those countless evil presences was an energy source so heavy it made breathing difficult.
Frieza.
Shinju narrowed his eyes.
Finally… we meet.
(End of Chapter)
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