A few hours had passed before Tundra fully healed, all of his injuries restored.
He had received an incredible boost in power from the accumulated injuries sustained during the fight, surpassing his previous self by two times.
Soon enough, he opened his eyes and looked through the green fluid, spotting Kukki sitting on the ground beside the pod.
Tundra tapped on the glass, causing her to turn toward him in relief. She quickly moved to the control panel and began draining the fluid.
Tundra waited patiently, tapping his fingers against the glass until the pod opened. As soon as he stepped out, Kukki immediately hugged him. His first instinct was to ignore it, but perhaps he could offer the carrot once in a while.
Tundra slowly put his arms around Kukki. The affection was foreign to him, and frankly, he felt he could do without it — but he held her nonetheless until she finally let go. He released her immediately, not wanting to remain like that any longer.
Kukki spoke hesitantly. "I… didn't think you could get hurt… y'know, with what everyone was saying."
She had been worried when he returned injured and exhausted, even volunteering to be the first to watch over him in the healing pod.
Tundra stretched slightly before nodding, sensing the increase in his ki reserves. "That's kind of you, and I appreciate it. But I will never die. Do not worry."
He floated up briefly to pat her head before settling back onto the ground.
"Ah, have we started moving away from the pirates?"
Kukki sighed. His words brought her some relief. She took a quick breath to calm herself before answering. "Um… no. Shitaki said we aren't to act without orders."
Tundra smiled faintly. He hadn't wanted to move away — at least not yet. He still had business to handle here.
"Take care, Kukki."
With that, he walked toward where he sensed Shitaki's ki — in the pilot's quarters. He arrived quickly and opened the door, finding Shitaki studying the material he had given him.
Shitaki perked up at the sound, surprise and relief flashing across his face. "My lord, you're awake!"
Tundra nodded. He appreciated such loyalty in a subordinate.
"Tell the crew to prepare a container for the pirate's body."
Shitaki's smile faltered. For what possible reason could Tundra need a corpse? But it wasn't his place to question his lord. He grabbed a scouter and issued the command.
"Yes, sir."
Tundra nodded and left to exit the spaceship. As he approached the outer door, the surrounding bulkheads sealed automatically to prevent anything important from being sucked into space.
Flying out into space, Tundra searched for the body he had left behind — along with any severed limbs of his own from the battle. He located the corpse first, then found each of his scattered body parts, one by one disintegrating them with precise ki blasts.
Returning to the pirate's body, he grabbed it and flew back to the ship. As the doors opened, he slipped inside, catching a large container that nearly got sucked out into space, placing it on the floor as the doors sealed shut.
Opening the container, he noticed it was unnaturally cold — likely designed to preserve whatever was stored inside. He liked that they had thought of that. He would have to find out who had thought of that later.
For now, he placed the body inside and sealed the container before returning to Shitaki.
Entering the room again, he saw that Shitaki was still studying. Impressive. Tundra himself would have abandoned studying after being interrupted — but that was beside the point.
"Shitaki."
Shitaki looked up immediately. "Yes, my lord?"
"You are to set the coordinates for our next destination to Frieza Planet #314. The body will be handled there."
Shitaki nodded and left with Tundra before they split paths — Shitaki heading to the flight deck, and Tundra returning to his throne.
As Tundra sat upon his throne, he couldn't help but think that he was a bit small. Having to float upward just to be face-to-face with Kukki was somewhat inconvenient and embarrassing.
He couldn't wait until he grew older.
But in the meantime, he needed to contact Frieza Planet #314.
He snapped his fingers for Cherry, who quickly scurried up to him.
"What do you require, my lord?"
Tundra studied her briefly before pointing at the communications device built in front of his throne. "Contact Frieza Planet #314."
Cherry hurried to the device, activating it and initiating contact. Tundra watched in quiet amusement; her tiny red form scurrying about will always entertain him.
Once the connection was established, Cherry scampered away as the screen displayed the other side.
On the other end stood a small reptilian being with a tuft of red hair atop its head.
"My lord, what do you require of us?"
He was respectful, though he did not bow. Not that Tundra particularly cared.
"I am arriving at your planet with a new research specimen — a pirate capable of absorbing members of his own species. The fusion did nott appear entirely voluntary."
The reptilian paused, considering his words carefully. "My lord, while we appreciate the contribution, a species capable of fusion is not a new research subject."
Tundra nodded and elaborated.
"The fusion appeared highly unstable. At times, he was stronger than me. Additionally, he possessed the ability to forcibly teleport me to his location."
That immediately changed the reptilian's expression.
He nodded with renewed interest. "Very well. We will look forward to your arrival, my lord."