It did not take long for Goku to recover completely under Dende's healing.
Most of his injuries came from the aftermath of the Kaioken.
Vegeta had only struck him a few times—enough to hurt him, stop his movements, and force him out of the fight.
Physically, he was fine.
Mentally?
Goku had taken a serious blow.
And like every Saiyan before him,
he became stronger because of it.
His power rose again.
Goku's battle strength quietly passed the level of two hundred thousand.
The ancient truth never lied:
Combat is the fastest path to a Saiyan's growth.
One battle.
One brush with death.
One healing.
And a Saiyan leaps past limits that would take others decades of training.
This was no longer the old era.
The world had grown larger.
The rules had changed.
If training was a form of martial arts, then the battles they fought now were a form of cultivation.
The difference was like earth and sky.
A fifty thousand increase used to be impossible.
Now it was simply the natural result of pushing oneself.
When Goku once again faced Vegeta, the Saiyan prince showed no arrogance.
Defeating this version of Goku meant nothing.
What mattered was the Goku of the future.
The Goku who became a Super Saiyan.
The Goku who one day surpassed even him in the original timeline.
Vegeta's ambition was not to surpass this Goku.
He intended to surpass every version of Goku in every possible timeline.
That was the true meaning of his own rise.
"You are amazing, Vegeta," Goku said sincerely.
"In just this short time, you have grown so strong.
I already knew you would surpass me, but I did not expect even my Kaioken twelve times would not make you fight seriously."
He had lost completely.
Yet Vegeta had shown no intention to kill him, and Goku understood his motives clearly.
That made the defeat easier to accept.
Krillin and Gohan also relaxed.
Things had turned out far better than they expected.
Perhaps they had been too afraid.
Perhaps they were haunted by the memory of Vegeta's attack on Earth.
Now they simply hoped they could understand him better.
Vegeta did not bother responding to Goku's praise.
Such words were useless.
Instead, he spoke plainly:
"Do not act like we are close, Kakarot.
But since you gave me a decent warm up, I will give you something in return."
He paused.
"In two days, Frieza's father, King Cold, will arrive on Namek."
The words landed like thunder.
Goku, Krillin, Gohan, Bulma, and Dende froze in place.
"Prepare yourself, Kakarot.
He is no weaker than Frieza.
If you want more information, ask that North Kai who has been watching over you.
He already knows."
With that, Vegeta turned and walked away.
There was nothing more to discuss.
At his level, Goku could no longer match him.
Unless Goku grew strong enough to make Vegeta transform…
unless he forced Vegeta to use true power…
they no longer stood on equal ground.
As Vegeta left with the alien soldiers behind him, Goku and the others remained where they were, stunned.
Even Dende was speechless.
"W… wait… Frieza has a father…?"
~~~~~~
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