"The Ginyu Force is far beneath the level that requires me to act personally."
With a narrowed gaze, Vegeta's eyes glimmered with amused disdain.
Krillin and Gohan's expressions shifted instantly.
"But didn't you give the Grand Elder your word?" Krillin asked, uneasy.
"Exactly! Isn't this breaking your promise? He helped you make your wish come true!" Gohan added, sounding like a child defending justice.
Vegeta snorted.
"I promised to protect Planet Namek, not to personally babysit it. I'll fulfill my word — but as long as the Ginyu Force poses no real threat to the planet or the Namekians, why should I bother killing a handful of insects?"
His eyes sharpened as he swept them with cold clarity.
"With your strength right now, you may not be able to defeat Captain Ginyu. But his subordinates? They're only slightly stronger than you. You should be thanking me for leaving you good opponents. If you want to grow stronger, you need real battles. Without them, what meaning is there to your power? You'll never truly improve if you never fight."
Krillin blinked.
Vegeta's logic… really wasn't wrong.
But something still felt off.
"Hold on! Even if that makes sense, they're five people! Gohan and I may have gotten stronger, but there are only two of us. Are you trying to send us off to die?" Krillin protested.
To him, knowingly charging into a losing fight was suicide — and he refused to drag Goku's son into a death trap.
Vegeta snorted again.
"Yes, there are five of them. And? If you don't even have the courage to face them, why are you still on Namek? Oh, right — you also want to use the Dragon Balls. So your brilliant plan is to hide behind me, let me solve your problems, and enjoy the rewards without lifting a finger?"
His smirk sharpened.
"Pathetic."
Krillin's face flushed with shame. Gohan lowered his head too — even at his age, he could tell Vegeta wasn't wrong.
"Krillin… he's right. We should help however we can," Gohan said quietly.
Krillin exhaled slowly.
The truth was obvious.
The Grand Elder hadn't unlocked their potential simply out of repayment — saving Dende wasn't enough for such generosity.
He had done it because he wanted them strong enough to defend the Namekian people.
"Alright. Gohan… this time, we'll fight with everything we've got. Even if we can't win, we won't run away," Krillin declared, resolve settling firmly in his voice.
Vegeta nodded faintly, sensing their rising determination.
"Good. At least you haven't disappointed me entirely. And let me remind you — when the Ginyu Force shows up, they definitely won't send everyone at once. They're arrogant idiots. They'll underestimate you. That's your chance to win. Unless," he added with a smirk, "you manage to unleash even more power."
Then Vegeta added something that made both of them blink.
"And one more thing — good news, for once. Kakarot is almost here. Most likely, he'll arrive while you're fighting the Ginyu Force. The difference won't be more than fifteen minutes."
That was shockingly fast.
It made Vegeta suspect that because he had altered events, Goku's ship hadn't suffered the damage or gravitational delays it did in the original timeline — allowing him to arrive well ahead of schedule.
~~~~~~
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