*THUD!*
The ground shattered upon impact, leaving a massive, dust-filled crater.
The Oozaru slapped the dirt from its backside and climbed out of the pit as if the fall were a mere inconvenience. He touched his face, felt the sticky warmth of his own blood, and his rage peaked entirely.
But this time, he completely ignored Naruto. He locked his furious red eyes onto the Tree of Might.
Believing the heavy branch that struck him was the tree intentionally attacking, it charged the thick trunk with a feral roar.
The injured Namekians watched the giant ape violently brawl with the parasitic tree, exchanging bewildered glances.
'There are actually tactical moves like this?'
This was the absolute textbook definition of shifting aggro, driving the tiger to devour the wolf.
After one hour, most of the tree's lower branches were stripped completely bare.
After two hours, only a scarred trunk remained, and the Oozaru shifted his relentless physical attacks to the core.
After three hours, the trunk could no longer withstand the concentrated torment. With a deafening, groaning rumble, the colossal structure finally collapsed.
Looking at the fallen timber, the Oozaru let out a deeply satisfied roar and flopped exhausted onto the dirt.
Though the tree was dead, the Oozaru's stamina was utterly depleted. The ki surging inside its massive body plummeted, and his combat power dropped sharply into the red zone.
Naruto, who had been hiding comfortably in the remaining foliage, finally revealed himself. He calmly launched a spinning technique at the panting beast.
"Destructo Disc!"
A flat, buzzsaw-like ki wave sliced cleanly through the Oozaru's thick tail.
Instantly, the beast's body rapidly shrank, the fur receding until it finally reverted back to Turles original, battered form.
"Ouch... I definitely overdid it."
After returning to his human state, Turles gradually regained his clouded senses. Since low-class warriors completely lack reason in their beast form, they retain absolutely no memory of what happens while transformed. Dragging his exhausted, aching body, Turles forced himself to stand.
"Hahaha, now there's no one on this miserable planet who can match me!"
"Hello there."
Before the Saiyan could fully enjoy his perceived victory, Naruto appeared and delivered a devastating punch squarely to Turles torso, slamming him right back into critical condition.
"That can't be right, you didn't die?" Turles struggled to lift his bruised head, staring at Naruto in total disbelief. His foggy mind raced, slowly realizing he hadn't actually fought the blonde warrior during his rampage. "What... what did I just do?"
"You successfully destroyed a tree."
"A very big tree."
"Damn it!" Turles finally caught on, the massive tree Naruto mentioned was his precious Tree of Might.
The Oozaru transformation truly was a dangerously unstable trump card.
"Goodbye, invader of Namek."
Naruto coldly extended his right hand toward the fallen Saiyan. A bright energy wave quickly gathered in his palm.
"Wait, wait! I can tell you the true secrets of the Tree of Might-" Turles raised his hands, desperately trying to bargain, but Naruto had already made his final decision.
With a blinding flash of white light, Turles was vaporized.
"Eating one or two is fine. But excessive reliance on external crutches is never the path to true strength," Naruto murmured, staring at the scorched spot where the Saiyan had just been. He turned his gaze to survey the severely damaged valleys, deeply scarred by the tree's aggressive absorption.
"Besides, with this much ecological destruction, using Namek's Porunga is completely reasonable, right?"
"Three wishes total, granting one to me and leaving the other two for the planet's actual savior is perfectly fair, right?"
"Using a tactical method like this to defeat that monster..."
Sensing Turles oppressive ki completely vanish, Puru and the other warriors tracked Naruto down. After hearing his calm account of the battle, they exclaimed in pure amazement.
"Your ki is truly powerful. What method did you use to train?"
"Are there many warriors as strong as you back on Earth?"
The Namekians crowded around him closely, sensing his warm energy and asking questions with childlike curiosity.
Through Puru's detailed description, they had learned of Naruto's heroic actions, especially how he casually used a miraculous bean to save a dying brother and had now single-handedly executed the invader. The hospitable locals were practically ready to worship him as a deity.
"Among Earthlings, there are actually many who are stronger than me."
'Hmm. I just didn't specify Earthlings from 'this' world,' Naruto thought.
"So Earthlings are naturally this strong?" The surrounding warriors gasped in unison.
"What should we do with this scarred land?" Puru gazed at the lifeless earth, devastated first by the parasitic tree and then trampled by the Oozaru. He sighed heavily.
The Namekians had spent hundreds of painstaking years restoring their overexploited planet, only for it to suffer such a massive catastrophe again so soon.
Although the fall of the invader's tree had halted the drain, completely restoring the soil to its former lush state would be impossible in the short term.
"Let's go find the Grand Elder Guru. He will surely have a solution," one of the older warriors suggested brightly.
The others immediately chimed in. "Yes, let's meet the Grand Elder. Even if he can't restore it himself, don't we still have the miraculous Dragon Balls?"
"Porunga will definitely fix this."
"Dragon Balls?" Naruto asked, expertly playing dumb.
"Right, Naruto, you don't know about this yet. Our planet has magical orbs." The warrior began eagerly rattling off the entire history of the Namekian Dragon Balls without a single hint of suspicion.
"We actually have something very similar back on Earth."
"Oh, really? So the artifacts aren't unique to Namek after all."
Amidst the cheerful chatter of the warriors, the group soon arrived at the Grand Elder's residence.
The smooth, white structure sat securely atop a mountain peak hundreds of meters high.
When they were about a hundred paces from the building, the large front door slid open. A tall Namekian who looked remarkably like a slightly older version of Piccolo walked out.
"Nail!" The warriors called out happily.
"The Grand Elder said guests had arrived and asked me to greet them." Nail's attitude was far colder than Puru's, radiating a stern aura that silently warned strangers to keep their distance. "Puru and the friend from outside can go in."
With a combat power sitting at 42,000, he was unequivocally the strongest fighter on the entire planet.
"Since the Grand Elder has arranged this, you two go on in." Faced with Nail's icy demeanor, the other warriors took no offense. Having spent their whole lives together, they all understood Nail's overly serious personality.
The two approached the structure, and the heavy door slid shut behind them. They exchanged a brief glance and walked further inside. Though the architectural style was strange, the interior felt strangely comfortable.
Beyond some basic necessities, there was virtually no furniture, only a vast, open hall.
In the exact center of the room sat a massive chair, and resting heavily upon it was a Namekian of truly enormous build.
His wrinkled skin was noticeably darker than any other local's.
Deep green.
His physical presence was peculiar, neither overwhelmingly powerful nor particularly weak. But it wasn't average either, an indescribable, ancient aura surrounded him completely. Naruto had never encountered such a profound presence before.
This was the Grand Elder of Namek.
"Grand Elder." Puru stepped quickly before him and bowed with deep respect.
"Hello, Grand Elder Guru of Namek," Naruto said politely, while secretly studying the giant figure.
Judging by his steady breathing, he was in much better physical shape than he would be a few years later when nearing the end of his lifespan. At least right now, he could still open his eyes and presumably stand under his own power.
"Puru, my child, come closer."
Puru immediately walked over. Guru placed a massive palm gently on Puru's head. After a long moment, he nodded slowly. "I understand."
Through physical contact with Puru, he had instantly absorbed everything that had happened in the valleys.
Guru then turned his aged gaze to Naruto. "Hello, Earthling. Thank you for everything you've done for our people."
"Without your intervention, Namek would have suffered a terrible disaster."
"You're far too kind, Grand Elder. I've been staying here for some time now, I couldn't just stand by. Besides, anyone would help when facing an invader so full of malice. One must never show mercy to those with such evil intentions."
Naruto spoke with perfect righteous conviction.
"Haha." Guru chuckled softly. "Regardless, I must sincerely thank you."
"That evil Saiyan's raw power surpassed even Nail's. Without you stepping in, none of our children would have been a match for him."
If Nail had been foolish enough to engage the Oozaru-transformed Turles in a direct physical confrontation, no one on the planet would have stood a chance.
"I never expected Earth to have Dragon Balls too," Guru murmured thoughtfully. "Ah, I remember now, the Dragon Balls on Earth were likely created by Katas's son. What a pleasant surprise. He actually made it to Earth safely."
"You mean you know the Kami of Earth?" Naruto pressed, maintaining his innocent facade.
"Mm." Guru nodded slowly. "He is the child of an old, dear friend, a true prodigy among our people. He must be incredibly powerful by now, perhaps the strongest Kami in the galaxy."
Naruto hesitated slightly. "No, his power actually isn't that strong..."
"What's the matter?" Guru asked, noting the shift in tone.
Naruto briefly recounted the tragic history of Earth's Kami to the listening giant.
"To have split his own soul in two... What a terrible waste of his talent." Guru sighed deeply, his broad shoulders slumping. "If he hadn't done that, he surely would have become a strong figure in universe."
Guru seemed to recall something important. He slowly reached behind his massive chair, picked up a giant, glowing Dragon Ball, and handed it directly to Naruto.
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