The sky bled red like an open wound across the stars.
Ash Maddox opened his eyes, gasping as air punched into his lungs.
The smell hit him first — burnt ozone, iron, and blood. He was lying against a jagged rock, chest bare, skin slick with sweat and soot. The landscape before him was scorched earth, craters stretching in every direction, and screams echoing through a ruined alien city.
This wasn't Earth.
This wasn't anywhere.
His fingers twitched. His body felt... wrong. Strong. Heavy. Raw with untamed power.
Didn't I die?
Yes. He remembered now.
He was Phantom 09. Codename for the most lethal mercenary the world had ever seen. One hundred and seventy-nine confirmed kills. No emotions. No weaknesses.
Until his own employers nuked him mid-mission.
Not because he failed.
Because they feared him.
He remembered the moment of betrayal. The light. The roar. The fucking taste of fire melting his teeth.
And then — nothing.
Until now.
He sat up, groaning. Muscles shifted like steel cables. His arms were bigger. Thicker. His hands were gloved, and—
There was something over his eye.
A scouter.
That was the moment his brain split open.
The memories poured in like a flood of lightning and rage.
Prince Vegeta.Planet Vegeta. Frieza. Kakarot. Saiyan blood. Destruction. Arrogance. Rage.
His soul had merged with the body of the most dangerous warrior in Dragon Ball history. No, not the strongest.
The angriest.The proudest.The hungriest.
They reincarnated me as fucking Vegeta?
Hell. Yes.
In the distance, a massive bald man laughed while tearing the arm off a screaming alien. Flames licked the sky.
Nappa.
Vegeta's old comrade. Cannon fodder in canon. But right now, a monster of destruction.
Ash — now Vegeta — smirked.
The scouter on his face buzzed, blinking red.
BEEP. BEEP.
"You refuse to join us, Kakarot? You deny your own bloodline?"
Raditz.
The voice was unmistakable. Rough. Desperate.
Vegeta stood slowly, arms crossing as the wind swept ash across the battlefield.
"You've become a liability. A traitor. A disgrace to Saiyan blood!"
The voice crackled with distant sounds of battle. Screams. Explosions. Laughter.
"You're not worth the air you breathe, Kakarot!"
Then came silence.
And then:
DING.
A voice. Cold. Female. Mechanical.
[System Synchronization Complete.]Host: VegetaRace: Pure-Blooded SaiyanPower Level: 18,000Transformation Progress:Super Saiyan – 30%Skill Tree Unlocked.Objective Set:Surpass Son Goku.Desire Path Bonus Active:"Dominate."
He blinked once.
System.
Of course.This wasn't just reincarnation. This was the ultimate gift. A weaponized second chance.
No emotion showed on his face. But inside?
Fire.Uncontrollable, perfect, burning ambition.
If I'm Vegeta... I'm rewriting everything.
Nappa approached, dragging a half-charred alien by the tail.
"Planet's ours," he grunted. "Frieza'll pay well."
Frieza.
The name sent a cold ripple of hatred down his spine.
Not for long.
Nappa tossed the alien to the ground, tore off its arm, and held it over the fire.
"Want a bite?"
Vegeta took it without a word, bit into it, and chewed slowly.
Dry. Stringy. Pathetic.
"Still can't cook for shit," he said flatly.
Nappa laughed. "Still can't complain when you're hungry."
Suddenly, Raditz's voice crackled back into the comm:
"You don't get it… this planet has something… the Dragon Balls…"
"They can grant any wish… even bring the dead back…"
A pause. Then a final cry of rage and fear:
"Enjoy your year. You're all dead…"
The channel went dead.
Nappa scratched his head. "Dragon Balls, huh?"
Vegeta said nothing. He stared into the fire.
His mind was already a thousand steps ahead.
Wishes. Immortality. Resurrection. Limitless power.
The rules of the game had just changed.
And he wasn't here to play nice.
He was here to dominate.
His fingers flexed. Energy sparked along his skin — blue, chaotic, beautiful. The air around him shimmered with rising heat.
This was not the Vegeta of canon.
This was Ash Maddox, reborn in Saiyan flesh.With memories of war.With a system to break reality.With rage too big for one universe.
He looked to the blood-colored sky, eyes narrowing.
"Frieza's fucked. Goku's next."
He bared his teeth.
"And if there's a god in this universe…"
"He better kneel now."