To save time, let's skip to the conclusion: Goku defeated Frieza on Namek and escaped just before the planet reached its breaking point.
Frieza had put up a decent fight, but the gap in raw power was too wide. Worse for the tyrant, his "100% Full Power" state had an abysmal burn rate. While Namek was supposed to take five minutes to explode, it only took about three for Frieza to reach his limit. By the time the clock hit the final minute, his power was already plummeting.
In reality, his peak "Full Power" lasted for exactly two minutes.
It was pathetic. Even a superhero like Ultraman could hold his form longer than that. In my past life, I remembered Frieza's final struggle lasting hours, but that was just the anime stretching "five minutes" across ten episodes to avoid catching up to the manga. Watching it now through my "Far-Sight," I couldn't help but mutter, "He has no stamina at all!"
The process of reaching 100% was slow and full of openings; once he got there, he only had two minutes before he started weakening. It was no wonder Frieza hated using that form—he was honestly better off fighting at 70%.
The escape from Namek, however, hit a snag. Goku had intended to use Frieza's spaceship, but as he ran toward it, the ship suddenly ignited its engines and blasted off without him.
Peering through the void with my "Far-Sight," I saw the pilot: Zarbon. Somehow, that man was still alive and had managed to hijack the ship. I still have no idea how he survived, but I'll give him points for tenacity.
With the main ship gone, I used my telepathy to guide Goku to the Ginyu Force's space pods. While I could have easily opened a Heavens Gate to bring him home, I chose not to. I needed him to go to Planet Yardratand learn Instant Transmission. That ability would be a linchpin for the battles to come; I wasn't about to let a potential "Earth is destroyed because Goku couldn't get there in time" scenario happen on my watch.
As a bonus, I made a few trips between Yardrat and Earth myself to check on him, effectively learning Instant Transmission alongside him.
***
The war with Frieza was over. Or rather, the first act was. In about a year and 260 days, he would return as a cyborg. But honestly? I wasn't worried. He would likely just be fodder for Trunks, and even if he wasn't, he was no longer a threat to me. A "Mecha Frieza" with a power level of 150 million is essentially just a version of Cooler who hasn't transformed yet.
The real problem was the Androids, scheduled to arrive in five years. If this followed the "Timeline of Despair" from the Future Trunks era, the world would end there. Since I had no guarantee that this wasn't that specific timeline, I had to prepare for the worst.
My first thought was to find and kill Dr. Gero immediately. But I hesitated. If this wasn't the doomed timeline, then Androids 17, 18, and 16 weren't purely evil. More importantly, their arrival was the catalyst that pushed Goku and the others to reach new heights.
If I removed Gero and Cell now, Goku and the others might stagnate. If Babidi and Dabura showed up years later while everyone was still at their "Post-Namek" power levels... the thought made my blood run cold. It was a delicate, terrifying balance. The existence of a powerful enemy was a trial that forced the warriors to evolve.
During the five years between the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament and Raditz's arrival, no one really got much stronger. But the moment a greater threat appeared, they multiplied their strength several times over in a single year. Was it biological instinct? Or just a lack of complacency? Whatever the reason, Goku and his friends needed the Androids to become strong enough for what came after.
But if this was the doomed timeline, I couldn't afford to be patient. I decided on a compromise: I would let things play out, but I would ensure Goku survived his heart virus. If Trunks didn't appear with the medicine, I would use the Dragon Balls to save him myself.
And finally, I had to focus on my own growth.
From here on out, it was a "Super Saiyan bargain sale." Anyone who wasn't a Super Saiyan or a Super Namekian would be left behind. I refused to be one of them. I was the God of Earth. I couldn't bear the shame of letting aliens defend my planet while I watched from the sidelines.
So, the day after the Namekian conflict ended, I plunged back into hellish training.
I increased the weight of my clothes, kept my Ki-Sealing Locks on at all times, maintained Burst Limitconstantly, and lived in the gravity chamber. Using Ki Solidification, I created imaginary opponents. I intentionally suppressed my own energy to fight "uphill," simulating battles against foes far stronger than myself.
The fight against Cooler had been a blessing. It taught me how fragile I was compared to the elites of the universe. Now, every day, I sparred against an imaginary Cooler. The simulations were so brutal they often left me with deep, physical wounds.
I didn't stop at Cooler. I recreated every warrior I had ever seen: Vegeta, Piccolo, Frieza, Turles, Krillin, and Tien. I even fought against ten Gokus at once, all set to "Super Saiyan" and stripped of Goku's natural mercy.
I knew that as a human, my base stats were inferior to Saiyans and Namekians. To stand ahead of them, my training had to be an act of torture. I accepted the pain as the price for a future where I could still stand on the front lines.
"Hup!"
In my private training sanctuary, I danced through a whirlwind of strikes. My dress was tattered, my skin bruised and cut. Four "virtual" warriors surrounded me, each possessed of double my current output.
I could have erased them instantly—I was the one providing the energy for the simulation, after all—but I kept my own power suppressed. For this exercise, they were the hunters, and I was the prey.
An imaginary Goku, his gold hair shimmering, lunged with a kick. This was the "Super Saiyan" setting. I slipped under the strike, grabbed his leg, and used his own momentum to snap the joint before throwing him. Even a Saiyan's joints are vulnerable to a master of the Hundred Arts.
As I threw him, a blast hit me in the back, slamming me face-first into the ground. I pushed off into a handstand, narrowly avoiding a stomping foot from a virtual Vegeta. He immediately transitioned into his signature "Prince's Technique"—a relentless, rapid-fire barrage of energy blasts.
I deployed my latest defensive project: the Dual Barrier. I used my telekinesis to create a vacuum seal around my body, layered beneath a traditional Ki barrier similar to those used by Vegito or Broly. The twin layers neutralized the "Prince's" assault.
Suddenly, a third man tore through the smoke. It was Cooler. His kick caught me in the solar plexus, launching me toward the ceiling.
Instead of tensing up, I practiced Extreme Relaxation. I drained every ounce of tension from my muscles, letting the impact carry me like a leaf in a gale.
I knew I couldn't tank hits. So, I developed a defense based on "Softness." By relaxing at the moment of impact, I let my barriers take the brunt while my body moved with the force, killing the kinetic energy before it could shatter my bones.
But there was a fourth opponent.
"Kinect!"
My imaginary self—a "Virtual Lisette"—surrounded me with homing energy spheres. Sparring against myself allowed me to see the flaws in my own movements from an enemy's perspective. And God, I was a mean fighter.
The "Virtual Lisette" fired a Kiai Cannon exactly where I was going to dodge. The explosion threw me against the wall, my vision swimming. She closed the distance with twin energy blades. I dodged the first with a jump and the second with a mid-air spin.
I caught a punch from the virtual Vegeta, intending to throw him into the path of my virtual self, but the "Virtual Lisette" simply vaporized the Vegeta simulation and kept coming.
"Stay down!" she commanded.
I dodged her blast, but Cooler caught me with a follow-up kick, pinning me to the floor. Without room to move, my "Relaxation Defense" failed. He began to mercilessly stomp on my ribs, the damage mounting. Goku began charging a Kamehameha while my virtual self crossed her arms for a final strike.
I was completely cornered.
"God! That's enough! Stop now!"
Popo's voice cut through the chaos from the sidelines. I didn't need to be told twice; I cut the power to the solidification, and the virtual warriors vanished into mist.
I collapsed, coughing violently as I tried to catch my breath. The "Virtual Cooler" was an excellent teacher of the world's cruelty, but his lessons were starting to get a bit too literal.
"God, you go too far," Popo said, rushing over. "There is no need to hurt yourself like this."
"Hah... hah... No, Popo. I have to," I wheezed, wiping blood from my lip. "If I don't, I'll be left behind. Especially in the battles that are coming."
"You are the strongest on Earth right now," Popo countered. "You are stronger than even the Super Saiyan Goku. To think you will be left behind... that is strange."
"Heh... for now, maybe. But the growth rate of a Saiyan—especially Goku—is terrifying. I'm glad he's on our side, but as a fellow martial artist... I don't want to lose to him. I want to be the wall that no one can climb over."
I wanted them to be strong, truly. But I also wanted to be stronger. It wasn't about ego; it was about the duty I had taken on. If someone wanted to destroy this planet, they would have to get past me first.
And so, tomorrow, and the day after that, I would return to this room. I would continue this reckless, impossible challenge until my human body reached the realm of the gods.
Lisette's Note on "The Longest 5 Minutes"
Wait, it really was only five minutes? I guess the Namekian planet deserves credit for holding on for ten episodes of screaming. In reality, Frieza's 100% form is basically a battery with a leak. Two minutes of glory, and then he's just a tired lizard.
***
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