King Kai regretted everything.
He regretted it so much his intestines could've tied themselves into knots.
After that bizarre God of Destruction landed on his pathetic little planet, he didn't scold him, didn't show Beerus-style divine wrath—he just smiled like he was here for a friendly hangout and said:
"King Kai, Goku and I haven't eaten lunch. We're kinda hungry. Mind treating us to a meal? Don't worry, we aren't freeloading."
As he spoke, Vitreli pulled out a whole box of Capsule Corp capsules like a magician.
He picked one out carefully and handed it to the stunned King Kai.
"Here, consider it a little gift for visiting."
Goku, who'd been looking around curiously, heard the word "eat" and immediately lit up so brightly it was frightening. His stomach even chimed in with a loud gurgle.
He focused completely on King Kai.
He didn't understand their relationship at all, but "food" was more than enough.
"Food's ready?!" Goku beamed with the pure joy of a born eater.
King Kai swallowed nervously, mind spinning.
He accepted the tiny capsule with shaking hands, flipped it around, hesitated, then pressed the switch.
A burst of white smoke—
and a neat, dome-roofed little house popped into existence—
right on top of King Kai.
It sealed him inside with perfect precision, leaving only his stubby little legs kicking helplessly out from under it.
Vitreli threw on an exaggerated look of shock, smacked his forehead, and said in a totally insincere tone:
"Oh no no no! I'm so sorry, King Kai. I forgot to tell you—you have to throw it after activating it."
He turned and instructed Goku:
"Goku, quick, help him out. Look at him, he's about to die."
"Oh! Right!"
Goku snapped out of it, stepped forward, grabbed the house from underneath, and with a little effort hoisted the whole building up.
King Kai finally saw daylight again. He struggled to his feet, barely drawing a breath—
when—
"Uh-oh!"
Goku suddenly yelped. His grip slipped, and the house dropped with a thud!
Poor King Kai had been standing for maybe two seconds before getting crushed again.
"Ah! Sorry, King Kai!"
Goku flushed with guilt and lifted it back up.
"My hand slipped!"
This time King Kai learned.
He didn't even try to stand. He crawled out on all fours in a panicked roll, tumbling far away before daring to stop, gulping air like he'd been reborn.
He pulled out a handkerchief and wiped sweat off his face, heart hammering like crazy.
Vitreli watched the scene unfold, mouth twitching.
The first time was definitely on purpose.
The second time…
Was Goku really clumsy, or had he unknowingly delivered a follow-up attack?
"Ahem."
When King Kai had finally caught his breath, he wore the expression of a man who'd accepted fate.
He looked at Vitreli with a weak, exhausted glare.
"God of Destruction… please stop messing with me. If you've got business, just say it."
He was terrified and just wanted it over with.
Vitreli lifted a brow, still smiling in that playful way.
"Oh? Wasn't it you who peeked at me and Goku first? And now you're blaming us?"
King Kai went quiet. A flash of guilt passed over his face. He coughed twice and forced a solemn tone.
"Actually… I wasn't looking at you."
He turned to Goku, his voice warming with admiration.
"I was watching this Saiyan kid. His heart is pure, his ki is gentle and warm, and he can transform into a Super Saiyan. The reason I was watching him is because I have something very important I want to ask him to do."
"Huh? Me?" Goku pointed at himself, wide-eyed.
King Kai nodded, trying to pull off the aura of a wise master.
"That's right. I need your help. But I won't let you work for free. In return, I'll teach you two of my strongest, top-tier techniques… and you too, Vitreli!"
He added quickly:
"Though… one of them, even you as a God of Destruction, probably couldn't use even if you learned it."
Goku's curiosity instantly got hooked by "top-tier techniques." He rushed over, buzzing with excitement.
"Techniques? Are they strong? Will they make me stronger—"
Halfway through the barrage, his stomach won.
He clutched it, eyes pleading at King Kai.
"Um… King Kai… can we eat first?"
A weird silence fell.
Vitreli blinked. King Kai blinked.
Then Vitreli finally busted out laughing.
He thumped Goku lightly on the head.
"Eat, eat, eat—food's all you think about. So when are we eating, King Kai?"
He asked it with ridiculous naturalness.
King Kai stared.
Right now, for some reason, he felt so tired inside.
And so on the tiny King Kai planet, an absurd scene unfolded:
The dignified ruler of the North Galaxy—wearing an apron—was sweating buckets in his cramped kitchen, cooking like his life depended on it.
Meanwhile the two uninvited guests sat at his little table and devoured everything in a whirlwind.
Vitreli ate with enthusiasm but still found room to critique.
"Tastes… pretty average. Ingredients are fresh, though."
King Kai bristled—average?! He cooked personally!
But then he heard the compliment about the ingredients, puffed out his chest proudly, and said:
"Of course! These are special ingredients you can only get in the underworld. You almost never see them in the living world! That beef you're eating? Top-grade stuff from the biggest underworld ranch!"
Vitreli got curious, lifted the beef to look at it.
"What's so special about it? Boosts stamina? Extends lifespan?"
King Kai stared at him like he was weird.
"Of course not. It's just really tasty beef."
Vitreli fell silent and kept eating.
By the time Vitreli and Goku finally put their bowls down, satisfied, King Kai had collapsed against the wall, panting like he'd run a marathon. Even his sunglasses were crooked.
"Wow, I'm stuffed! Thanks so much for the meal, King Kai!" Goku patted his round belly, smiling in pure gratitude.
King Kai lifted his eyelids weakly.
"Yeah, you are… do you know who's about to die of exhaustion? Me! You ate half my planet's food!"
He tried to claw back a tiny bit of dignity.
"I changed my mind! I'm not teaching you anything unless—unless you tell a joke that makes me laugh right now!"
Vitreli watched, exasperated.
"Hey, King Kai, weren't you saying you needed Goku's help for something? What, now you don't?"
King Kai, still sprawled on the floor, shook his head and said shamelessly:
"I already cooked for you! You wouldn't dare refuse to help me now, would you?"
He looked at Goku expectantly, banking on his soft heart.
Goku nodded earnestly, totally serious.
"King Kai is a good guy who fed us! If you need help, I'll definitely help!"
King Kai's heart bloomed.
He let out his cheerful, signature laugh without even thinking.
But then Vitreli cut in casually.
"Hey, King Kai. You're laughing. Looks like Goku's joke was a hit."
King Kai's laugh got strangled in his throat.
He coughed hard, face burning, and asked Goku suspiciously:
"Y-you were telling a joke just now?"
Goku blinked, confused.
"No? I was being serious."
King Kai exhaled in relief—then shot Vitreli a deeply wounded look.
That guy was definitely doing it on purpose.
A smile doesn't vanish—
it just moves from one person's face to another.
Vitreli was grinning like a satisfied criminal.
Goku stood there with question marks all over his head, utterly lost.
Why did King Kai get unhappy after laughing, and why was Vitreli laughing now?
After the silliness, King Kai finally got down to business and laid out his request in full.
"So… you're saying this Frieza bad guy invaded a bunch of planets and killed tons of people, no one can stop him, so you want me to go beat him?" Goku summarized with a frown.
King Kai nodded hard, hope shining in his eyes.
"Exactly! Goku, Frieza is incredibly strong, and his army is huge. He's also got a brother and a father, but you don't need to worry about those two for now. Just do your absolute best and destroy Frieza, the one responsible for all this!"
Goku scratched his head, trying to untangle the relationships, then decided to keep it simple.
"Brother, father… okay, so I just beat up Frieza the big bad guy, right?"
"Yes! That's it!" King Kai affirmed again.
Goku's face lit up with a bright smile. He thumped his chest.
"I'm in! Thanks for the meal, King Kai!"
He stood, fired up, and turned to Vitreli.
"Vitreli, let's go right now!"
Vitreli stood too, casual as ever.
"Sure. I've been bored lately anyway. I'll go with you."
He paused, then added:
"But before we head out, we need to go back to Earth and bring Vegeta with us."
"Huh?" Goku looked puzzled. "Why bring Vegeta?"
Vitreli smiled, eyes carrying a hint of something heavier.
"Because Frieza is the one who destroyed Planet Vegeta. Your father Bardock, Vegeta's father, basically all of your families—almost everyone—died in that disaster."
"And if we go kill Frieza without telling Vegeta, then when he finds out later, that proud, twisted personality of his will stew over it for the rest of his life."
Goku's expression turned serious.
He nodded firmly.
"Yeah… then we definitely need to bring Vegeta."
Vitreli nodded in satisfaction, then said to King Kai:
"King Kai, when Goku deals with Frieza, don't forget to teach him those techniques. He made you laugh just now. No backing out."
King Kai didn't have the brain space to back out even if he wanted to.
A Super Saiyan not only agreed to help—he even came with a bonus God of Destruction.
What did that mean?
That meant the opponent was basically getting a dragon dropped on his face.
How could you possibly lose?
"No problem! Absolutely no problem!" King Kai nodded like a bobblehead. "As soon as Frieza's done, I'll teach Goku everything I've got!"
"Good."
Vitreli put a hand on Goku's shoulder. Both of them waved to King Kai and vanished.
King Kai finally collapsed against the wall in full relief once they were gone.
"Thank goodness… thank goodness they're gone…"
He wiped sweat, still shaken.
But then a wave of pure excitement surged through him.
"Frieza's finally going to be wiped out for good!"
He paced his little planet, grinning like he'd won the lottery.
"This is what you call a double win! I, North Kai, just won twice!"
On Earth, in a vast forest near North City—
Vegeta, Raditz, and Nappa were camped out there for now.
They were living in a capsule house "sponsored" by Vitreli, and their basic supplies were also being provided by him.
But Vitreli had made it clear it was temporary—after this, they'd have to figure out how to survive on Earth themselves.
Right now, Vegeta sat cross-legged outside on open ground.
Eyes shut, brows knotted, he was trying to enter something called "meditation."
He had interrogated Raditz back and forth until he confirmed one thing:
Back on Planet Vegeta, Vitreli really had spent every morning—from dawn till near noon—sitting on his lawn doing "meditation."
Combine that with Vitreli's ridiculous line to him—"Sometimes slacking off is more important than training"—
and Vegeta couldn't help but get curious… and a little hopeful.
Could this really be some secret shortcut to strength?
The answer was obvious.
Getting Vegeta to sit still and empty his mind was harder than forcing him to go Super Saiyan 3 on the spot.
His thoughts wouldn't stop:
Jealousy of Vitreli's power.
Fury at Kakarot surpassing him.
Humiliation from past defeats.
A haze of uncertainty about the future…
He couldn't calm down at all.
Vegeta's eyes snapped open.
He slammed a fist into the ground, blasting a crater.
Grinding his teeth, he stood, ready to fly north to the polar ice wastes and train like a madman—destroying anything in sight to drown out this unbearable irritation.
But the instant he moved—
two figures appeared in front of him with no warning.
Vitreli and Goku, just back from King Kai's planet.
Vegeta's brow turned into a knot.
Being interrupted made his mood even uglier. He opened his mouth to snap at them—
but Vitreli cut in first.
He wore that same infuriating smile, voice light as if chatting about the weather.
"Vegeta. You want revenge or not?"
Vegeta froze. The irritation and fury jammed in his throat, swallowed by that one question.
Vitreli chuckled, then delivered the rest slowly—
each word pounding into Vegeta's heart.
"If you do, then come on. I'll take you there right now."