"Hmm?" Vegeta's satisfaction didn't last long before he sensed something wrong.
The Earthlings showed no reaction at all. That meant either they didn't care about their companion's death, or they had absolute faith in him, faith that a self-destruction of that level couldn't kill him.
From Vegeta's perspective, it was almost certainly the latter.
A moment later, his suspicion was confirmed. As the dust settled, Yamcha's body emerged intact, or close enough, his upper gi was shredded, hanging off him like rags.
Yamcha opened his mouth and blew out a puff of white smoke. "Got careless. Didn't dodge."
"Indeed." Vegeta's eyes narrowed.
"Yamcha, you still haven't fixed that carelessness of yours. Lucky for you, with your strength, an explosion like that can't hurt you at all." Krillin thumped his chest.
"Right." Yamcha tore off the ruined gi, revealing his sturdy upper body. "But thanks to training with explosions every single day for the past year, I wouldn't have gotten injured this time anyway."
He turned his gaze back to Vegeta. "Sorry to disappoint you. Let's continue."
"No point wasting time on this." Vegeta scoffed, then addressed the remaining Saibamen. "All of you, go!"
"Jikku!?" The Saibamen didn't disobey. They turned their eyes to Yamcha in unison and launched their attack.
Unfortunately, their power level of 1,200 was no match for the Z Fighters of this era.
Yamcha beat them into the ground one by one, then delivered the final blow. With a "Kamehameha!", all five Saibamen were wiped out.
"I think I understand this Earthling's power level now." Vegeta smirked as he figured it out, "Nappa, be careful. This guy's power level is comparable to yours."
"What?! Really? Are you serious Vegeta?" Nappa's first reaction was disbelief. When he saw Vegeta wasn't serious, he swallowed hard. "There's no way a mere Earthling could have power level on par with a noble descendant like me."
"His displayed power level is definitely over 2,000. At least 3,000 or more."
As he spoke, Vegeta's stare hardened. "That worthless Raditz may have turned coward and weak, but he wasn't afraid of death."
"Someone on this Earth is holding him back. Someone that makes him cautious."
"Likely someone even stronger than me." He never expected such a remote place to hide such a terrifying existence. Could it be Kakarot, or someone else? Either way, once he dealt with these Earthlings, he could interrogate Raditz and find out.
"Understood." Nappa nodded. He began to take this seriously.
Nappa was born into a noble Saiyan family. His father had been a confidant of the King, which was why he'd been allowed to accompany Vegeta. After Planet Vegeta was destroyed, Nappa was officially incorporated into the Frieza Force, forming a three-man squad with Vegeta and Raditz. Over the years, they had fought across the universe, surviving nearly a thousand battles, many of which had nearly killed them.
He wasn't some reckless fool charging into danger.
If the Z Fighters had matched the canon, Nappa would have held himself in a superior position, grown careless, and become complacent.
But now, the sense of crisis these warriors gave him made him treat them as genuine opponents.
In canon, when Goku arrived and displayed 8,000 points of power level, Vegeta claimed he could handle it if he stayed calm. That proved that when Nappa fought seriously, he was incredibly powerful.
"I will be taking over." The veins on Nappa's temples bulged, his aura flaring. "I am giving anyone chance to come forward, don't say I'm picking on you."
"That Ki is insane." Krillin stepped forward. "I've got this one."
"So this time I'm fighting baldy?" Nappa asked.
"I just shaved my head." Krillin shot a glance at Nappa's gleaming scalp and fired back without mercy. "You're the real baldy."
Nappa flew into a rage. His baldness had always been a sore spot. He used to have a full head of thick hair, until an enemy's magic hit him in an old battle. Now the blood vessels on his scalp stood out, and sparks of electricity crackled across his skin from time to time.
"I'll finish you in one strike!" Nappa charged forward, his power level flaring to 4,000.
But to everyone's surprise, Krillin blocked Nappa's confident punch solidly, arms crossed in front of his chest.
"Interesting! Take this!" Nappa shouted and drove Krillin back into the nearby mountain forest.
"Then you're my opponent." Yamcha approached Vegeta.
"You're wrong. I'm far stronger than Nappa." Vegeta looked him up and down in boredom. "If you're that eager to die, I'll oblige."
"Wolf Fang Fist!" Yamcha answered with a barrage of swift punches.
"Chiaotzu, try your psychic powers." Tien watched the four-way battle and whispered.
"It won't work, Tien." Chiaotzu shook his head. He'd been using his powers since the start. "Their power is far beyond mine. They can ignore my abilities."
Chiaotzu was far weaker than the others. He wasn't a pure martial artist, his training existed only to accompany Tien. His power level sat under 3,000, making him the weakest of them all.
*Bang!*
Yamcha's fist collided with Vegeta's. For a moment, neither gained the upper hand.
"Interesting." Vegeta paused, but he wasn't bothered. "I underestimated you."
"There's more coming! Ha!" Yamcha pushed his power level to its limit. White Ki currents blazed around him.
Vegeta remained calm. He caught Yamcha's punch with one hand and pressed the scouter's switch with the other. "Let me see your power."
*beep beep beep*
The number stunned him.
"6,500."
Yamcha didn't let the distraction slip by. A crimson aura enveloped his body. His right hand broke free of Vegeta's grip, and he drove a punch deep into Vegeta's abdomen. Vegeta's body curled forward by surprise attack.
The same crimson aura flared around Krillin.
'Kaio-ken!'
Yamcha's power level: 13,000 points.
"You bastard!"
The pain in his abdomen shot through Vegeta's nerves, jolting him out of his daze. Countless deadly battles had forged his instincts, he could make split-second decisions without thinking.
He dodged Yamcha's follow-up strike from an extremely undignified position.
That undignified maneuver was commonly called the "Donkey Roll."
Yamcha tried to press his advantage, but it was too late, Vegeta had already slipped out of his attack range.
"You think 13,000 points is enough to beat me?" Vegeta scrambled to his feet, veins bulging at his temples, his face flushed crimson, whether from pain or rage, probably the latter. Vegeta's pride ran deep enough to twist reason itself.
"I'm going to crush every bone in your body!?"
Vegeta screamed as he appeared beside almost instantly Yamcha, striking with lightning speed in a devastating barrage.
Yamcha, who had activated Kaio-ken, reacted instantly, but the moment their attacks connected, he felt an overwhelming pressure.
"What? Didn't expect me to be stronger than you?" Vegeta's fist slammed into Yamcha's stomach.
"Weren't you acting cocky just now?"
An elbow struck Yamcha's back.
"My power level is 18,000 points. Not that garbage 13,000 of yours."
Vegeta's strength eclipsed Yamcha's even with Kaio-ken active. The underdog was beating the veteran.
"Kaio-ken X 2!" Yamcha's voice strained through gritted teeth as the crimson aura around him deepened.
The overwhelming ki burst from Yamcha, sending Vegeta flying and delivering a crushing counterblow.
Pain.
As Yamcha tried to press his advantage, his legs buckled, every bone in his body screaming in protest.
'The strain is too much. I pushed it too far.'
This was Kaio-ken's drawback. The technique granted immense power, but at a cost. Base Kaio-ken placed enormous strain on the body. Kaio-ken X 2 doubled that burden, and X 3 would triple it.
Theoretically, Kaio-ken could stack indefinitely, as long as the body could withstand it.
Unfortunately, Kaio-ken X 2 was Yamcha's absolute limit.
But it would have to be enough.
power level: 19,800. It surpassed Vegeta's.
Vegeta wiped his lips, and bright red stained his fingers. "Blood?"
"You made me bleed."
"How does a trash Earthling get to be stronger than me, a noble Saiyan Prince? How dare you wound my body."
Frieza, that was unavoidable. Defeating Frieza was his ultimate goal. Dodoria, Zarbon, and their like were tolerable, they were from his father's generation. (Dodoria had attacked Bardock's Team, this took place shortly after Goku's birth.)
But this? An Earthling? What right did he have?
His pride, so vast it had become a kind of madness, exploded. Gone was the composed arrogance he'd carried when he first arrived on Earth. Being surpassed by an Earthling, of all things, how could the Saiyan Prince accept that?
So he decided to flip the table.
"I'm going to kill you! And this planet along with you!" Vegeta hovered in the sky, hands pressed together, channeling every ounce of his power. The gathered ki lit up the sky.
His power level of 18,000 blazed for all to see.
The Dragon Balls, the wish, he wanted none of it now. All he wanted was for the Earthling who'd wounded him to die.
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