Dende recalled carefully. In his memory, Dodoria should be on his way back, where he would encounter Vegeta and be defeated.
If I revive the severely injured Dodoria! I should be able to gain powerful strength!
Thinking of this, Dende immediately felt his eyes light up.
Dodoria's strength was far greater than anyone on Namek. If he could obtain ten times his power, it should be enough to protect himself—as long as he didn't run into Frieza!
"I have to go back and take a look!"
Dende flew behind the two of them and suddenly spoke.
"What? But..."
Krillin immediately stopped, stunned.
"I don't know how to say this... but everyone in your village should have been killed!"
Dende nodded, seemingly unsurprised.
After Gohan stopped, he sensed two incredibly powerful auras clashing nearby.
"There are some really strong auras over there!"
Krillin also felt the two massive auras, and cold sweat immediately ran down his back.
"Could someone dare to fight Frieza and the others?"
"Let's go see!"
Dende knew that Vegeta was fighting Dodoria, and immediately flew in that direction.
"Oh no, danger!"
Krillin couldn't stop him, but he saw that Gohan, filled with curiosity, had followed. He could only shake his head and follow as well.
"Taking care of kids is really hard work!"
Nearing the battle site, the three landed and concealed their auras, cautiously moving forward.
"It's Vegeta!"
Krillin recognized Vegeta in the distance at a glance, and instantly felt his body go weak, cold sweat pouring down his back.
Vegeta had left too deep an impression on him back on Earth!
That guy was as cold-blooded as Frieza, even killing his own companion, Nappa, without batting an eye.
"We should go, quickly!"
Krillin said, about to fly away, but Dende quickly stopped him.
"That person can sense ki!"
"What?"
Only then did Krillin see that Vegeta wasn't even carrying a scouter.
"What do we do now? How did that guy get to Namek too?"
"He's after the Dragon Balls!" Dende said in a low voice.
"How did they know the Dragon Balls were here?"
Dende glanced at Krillin, thinking, Didn't you guys hear about it on Earth?
But Dende didn't say anything; it wasn't something he, as a Namekian, should know.
Dende knew that the two people in front of him were good people, and there was no reason to blame them for attracting the bad guys to Namek.
And although he now had Namekian blood flowing through him, his heart was an Earth heart – even though it wasn't the same Earth as Krillin and the others.
Looking at the two of them, Dende still felt some kinship, like he had met fellow countrymen.
"That guy isn't a match for Vegeta!"
Gohan kept watching Dodoria and Vegeta fight, and seeing that Dodoria was about to lose, he couldn't help but say.
"Vegeta's power seems to have increased!"
Krillin broke out in a cold sweat.
"Goku probably can't handle him now!"
Dende immediately focused all his attention on Dodoria, waiting for the right moment to act!
As long as he revived Dodoria and gained his tenfold power, he could easily kill him again!
Dende was certain that he wouldn't hesitate at all to kill Dodoria!
But he still had to save him first!
Seeing that Dodoria was no match for Vegeta and was fleeing at high speed, heading straight toward him, Dende couldn't help but clench his fist.
"When he's half-dead from Vegeta's beating, I'll rush out and heal him! By then, even Vegeta shouldn't be a match for me!"
Dende stared intently at Dodoria.
As he fled at high speed, Vegeta, right behind him, unleashed his full power, firing a Ki Blast that chased closely after Dodoria.
In less than a breath, the Ki Blast caught up to Dodoria, and its immense power instantly blasted him into smithereens!
"This..."
Seeing the powerful Dodoria blasted into smithereens not far away, the three of them were simultaneously shocked.
Dende couldn't help but feel frustrated.
"I only remembered Dodoria being defeated by Vegeta, I didn't expect him to be blasted into smithereens! How can I save him when he's already dust?"
Vegeta, seeing that he had succeeded with his attack, was enjoying the sensation of his own power, and couldn't help but exclaim with satisfaction.
"I did it! Dodoria isn't my match anymore! Indeed, the battle on Earth has improved my strength!"
Vegeta hadn't been a match for Dodoria originally, but after the near-death experience on Earth, his strength had increased, and now he could easily deal with Dodoria!
"But what did Dodoria mean just now? What did he mean by 'So those two brats are Earthlings?' Which two brats?"
"Could it be those few auras that just appeared?"
Thinking of this, Vegeta immediately turned his gaze towards Dende and the others.
During the battle, Vegeta had sensed a few auras appearing nearby.
"Damn it!"
Seeing Vegeta actually look this way, Krillin was immediately panicked!
If Vegeta discovered them, they would also be dead!
Could he have sensed our ki while fighting?
Dende, however, remained calm, pulling the two of them into a crevice between the rocks.
"He doesn't have a scouter. As long as we hide our ki, he won't find us!"
Sure enough, Vegeta flew over the heads of the few of them, circling several times, but found nothing.
Krillin and Gohan both had their hearts in their throats, fearing that Vegeta would discover them.
"Damn it, I've only just mastered the method of sensing ki, so I'm not that skilled yet?"
"I shouldn't have destroyed the scouter just like that!"
"But what was that energy signature just now?"
"There should be someone down there!"
Everyone immediately stopped breathing as Vegeta slowly descended.
Just at this crucial moment, a large fish leaped out of the water. Seeing this, Vegeta immediately revealed a helpless expression.
"Tch~ It's that guy!"
"Frieza and the others seem to be without scouters. In that case, I need to find the remaining Dragon Balls and hide them. They won't find them!"
"Haha, a bunch of fools who rely on scouters, now they're like blind men! My good luck has arrived!"
Watching Vegeta fly away, Dende and the others finally crawled out from the crevices in the rocks.
Krillin and Gohan were both covered in cold sweat, lying on the stones and gasping for air.
"Thank goodness, we got away..."
"I thought we were done for!"
"Right, we should thank you!"
Krillin said, reaching out a hand towards Dende.
"If you hadn't warned us, we'd have been flying around with our ki showing, and Vegeta would definitely have found us!"
"I'm Krillin, and this is Son Gohan!"
"Hello!"
Gohan politely extended his hand.
Dende also reached out his hand in a friendly manner, and they shook hands.
"My name is Dende. You don't need to thank me; after all, you saved my life!"
"We're from Earth. You have nowhere to go now, right? Why don't you come with us? We'll protect you!"
Dende nodded. It would be safer to stay with them until he gained some strength!
"We should hurry back to Aunt Bulma! She doesn't know what's happening!"
Gohan, being the kindest, started to worry about Bulma, who was alone.
The three of them concealed their auras and walked for a long time before arriving at their destination.
"I'm really starting to regret coming here!"
"I feel bad for Yamcha and the others, but if I'd known how dangerous this place was... I definitely wouldn't have come looking for the Dragon Balls!"
"After all, I've already died once. There's no way to be revived by the Dragon Balls again!"
Krillin was already wearing a worried expression even before entering. He was still thinking about the scene from earlier.
He hadn't expected Namek to be so perilous!
Gohan, on the other hand, hadn't thought so much about it and happily walked into the cave.
"Aunt Bulma, we're back!"
Bulma had already set up a house inside the cave using capsules and immediately started yelling when she opened the door.
"You guys actually had the free time to go for a stroll? You left a girl like me in this desolate wilderness?"
Krillin immediately let out a helpless laugh.
"Haha, Gohan, she dares to say we're idle..."
Gohan also showed a helpless expression.
Compared to risking their lives outside, they'd rather stay here and drink tea.
"Who's this guy?"
It was then that Bulma saw Dende,
"Why does he look so much like Piccolo? What happened?"
Krillin, looking dejected, was about to enter the house.
"Let's go inside and talk!"
Seeing Krillin's dejected look, Bulma immediately announced.
"I have good news! My dad called and told me that Goku has already set off! He should arrive in a few days!"
"Goku?"
Dende's eyes lit up at the name.
"If we're talking about gaining power, wouldn't it be best to get it from the protagonist?"