"Lord Beerus, is something wrong?"
Goku and the others approached Beerus, looking puzzled.
"Check the group chat," Beerus replied casually. "Piccolo's looking for you."
The four opened the "Group of Thugs" chat and quickly spotted Piccolo's message.
"What?! Frieza's been resurrected?"
Seeing Piccolo's words, the group was visibly shocked. Frieza had been dead for so long—how could he possibly come back?
Still, they knew Piccolo wouldn't make a joke about something this serious.
"If Frieza has been resurrected and is heading to Earth, it must be for revenge."
"Hmph! That bastard dares show up again! I died at his hands once. This time, I'll be the one sending him to hell!" Vegeta clenched his fists.
"Hey, Vegeta, I died at his hands too. Shouldn't I get a shot at him first?"
As panic set in for Piccolo and the others on Earth, Vegeta and Krillin—two former victims of Frieza—were actually fired up. This was their chance to settle an old score.
Krillin was especially excited. He had just been saying how unfortunate it was that Frieza was already dead, or he would've shown him just how much stronger he'd become.
Now, the universe had handed him a golden opportunity!
"Why should you get him? Frieza's mine! Don't even think of stealing this from me!" Vegeta shot back.
"But I want to fight him too! What should we do?" Goku asked with a grin.
"Kakarot, you already beat Frieza once. This time, it's my turn!"
"I've got an idea. How about the two of us take him on together?"
"Fight him together? That's overkill for Frieza," Krillin chuckled.
Tenshinhan finally stepped in. "How about we go back to Earth first before fighting over who gets Frieza?"
He wasn't particularly interested in fighting Frieza anyway. He never had a real encounter with him—only saw him from afar when Future Trunks sliced him up. So this whole rivalry didn't apply to him.
"You're right," Goku nodded. "Let's get back to Earth first. We'll figure the rest out there."
With that, Goku had the others grab onto him for instant transmission. Beerus and Whis tagged along too—partly out of curiosity, and mostly because they heard Bulma might be cooking.
They weren't the least bit worried about Frieza.
Goku and company reappeared on Earth, right beside Piccolo and Gohan.
Seeing them, Piccolo and Gohan sighed in relief.
"That power… it's Frieza, alright," Vegeta muttered. "I can't believe he came straight here after being resurrected."
"He must be confident. I just hope he's not hiding some new power." Piccolo looked uneasy.
"What's there to worry about?" Krillin said with a grin. "Even you've gotten stronger from doing missions. Maybe you could take on Frieza yourself."
"That's right. He dares show up? Let's send him back where he belongs!"
"Vegeta," Goku said, "before Frieza arrives, we need to figure out who's fighting him."
"There's no need," Vegeta declared smugly. "It's me. I'll handle Frieza myself—you guys can just watch."
"That won't do," Krillin jumped in. "I've been waiting for this moment too! He killed me, remember?"
"Just wait for the next resurrection," Vegeta smirked. "Frieza seems to be making a habit of coming back."
As Goku, Vegeta, and Krillin argued, Piccolo and Gohan looked on, speechless.
Poor Frieza. He must've trained hard, resurrected himself, and come here full of vengeance. And yet here he was—nothing more than a prize to be fought over.
Piccolo couldn't help but wonder—what if he had Saiyan blood too?
If he had that power, he might be the one arguing to fight Frieza. After all, Frieza nearly killed him back then too. It was only his Namekian durability that saved his life.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. Though Piccolo had grown significantly stronger, he knew he wasn't quite on par with the Saiyans just yet.
Meanwhile, Bulma arrived on the scene in her jet, accompanied by Jaco.
Beerus and Whis, uninterested in Frieza, followed her—ready for a meal.
Suddenly, the sky darkened.
Everyone looked up.
Several massive spaceships descended from the clouds. Frieza had arrived.
In the lead ship, they could sense a familiar ki—cold, cruel, unmistakable.
The ships landed, and from them poured a small army—about a thousand soldiers.
Frieza intended to fight Goku and, maybe, Vegeta. The rest weren't worth his time. He left them to his subordinates.
Once the soldiers finished disembarking, Frieza finally made his grand entrance, seated on his hover pod like a king returning to his throne.
"Frieza! How did you come back to life?" Goku called out.
"Oh ho ho… Goku, long time no see. And Vegeta as well."
"Hmph," Vegeta scoffed. "You worm. I don't care how you came back. You've signed your death sentence just by showing up on Earth."
"No, no," Frieza chuckled. "I cherish my life very much. That's why I waited until now. I've been training hard ever since I was resurrected."
"You've only trained for a few months," Vegeta mocked. "That's enough for you to challenge us?"
Vegeta sneered, now understanding the misplaced confidence. Frieza didn't know how strong they'd become. He probably assumed they were still stuck in the Super Saiyan stage. The poor fool.
Frieza didn't react to the taunts. If anything, he was amused. The more they underestimated him, the sweeter his revenge would be.
His goal wasn't just to kill Goku. He wanted Goku to suffer—by watching his friends and Vegeta die first.
"Go on," he told his troops. "Play with them for a while."
With that, the thousand soldiers charged at the Z fighters.
"In that case, let's warm up first," Vegeta said, cracking his knuckles.
He leapt into the chaos, mowing through Frieza's men with ease.
Goku, Piccolo, and the others joined in. Even Goten and Trunks joined the fray.
The battle wasn't even close. Frieza's men were overwhelmed. In minutes, their forces had been decimated—except for one lone fight.
Gohan.
He was struggling against an opponent—Tagoma, Frieza's new right-hand man, who had trained alongside him over the past few months.
Frieza's training had paid off—for both of them.
"Gohan can't even handle one of Frieza's minions?" Piccolo muttered, shaking his head.
"This wouldn't have happened to the old Gohan," Goku sighed. "Even the one who fought Cell would've crushed this guy."
"Maybe that's why Jack didn't invite him into the Group of Thugs," Piccolo added.
Still, it was understandable. Gohan had chosen a different life now. He had a family. Becoming a scholar was his dream.
But it was a shame—Gohan's potential rivaled Goku and Vegeta. He could've surpassed them both.
"Is it really okay to just stand here watching Gohan struggle?" Krillin finally asked, annoyed. "You two are his father and godfather, for crying out loud."
"I think he'll be fine," Piccolo replied calmly. "He hasn't even gone Super Saiyan yet."
No sooner had he said that than Gohan was kicked hard by Tagoma and sent flying.
Piccolo scowled and finally moved, intercepting Tagoma's next attack and helping Gohan to his feet.
"Gohan, what's going on?" Piccolo asked. "If your current strength isn't enough, why haven't you transformed?"
"I… I haven't been a Super Saiyan in so long," Gohan admitted. "I'm struggling to find that feeling again. But I think I'm getting close!"
Piccolo resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
The decline of Gohan, once Earth's greatest warrior, was heartbreaking. Now he needed to "find a feeling" just to transform?
He wanted to lecture Gohan, but he didn't. This was Gohan's choice. He had the right to walk his own path.
Still, it felt like such a waste.
"Don't worry, Uncle Pic," Gohan said with renewed determination. "I'll beat him. Just wait and see!"
Piccolo stared at him, a mix of frustration and hope in his eyes.
Gohan had made his choice—but could he still rise to the occasion?
That was something only the battle would reveal.