In both raw power and refined skill, Tien Shinhan was vastly superior to Recoome.
Their battle didn't last long — Recoome was quickly taken down.
Tien didn't kill him, merely rendered him unable to move.
Off to the side, Vegeta looked at the battered and half-dead Jeice, Burter, and Recoome, his face darkening.
He raised his hand, gathered a Ki blast, and without hesitation launched it at the trio.
BOOM!
The energy wave exploded on contact, engulfing the ground in a blinding flash.
When the dust cleared — the three were obliterated, not even ash remaining.
Krillin and the others gasped.
"Vegeta! That was overkill, wasn't it?" Krillin asked, stunned.
"They couldn't even fight anymore — there was no need to kill them," Yamcha agreed.
Vegeta gave the Earthlings a sideways glance and snorted coldly.
"Hmph. Naïve fools."
"I pity your misguided mercy. One day, it'll get you all killed."
"Don't let their ridiculous poses fool you. They've killed more people than you can imagine."
The group fell silent.
It was true — if they had been weaker, those same enemies would've humiliated and executed them without hesitation. Only Vegeta, who had nearly died just moments ago, truly understood that kind of despair.
Tien also glanced at him — if he hadn't blocked that last attack, Vegeta would be dead.
Now, only one member of the Ginyu Force remained.
Captain Ginyu.
He stood stiffly, clearly annoyed.
He had worked hard to build this team, and now, they were all gone.
Still, instead of sulking, he stepped forward and clapped for Tien.
"Hahaha! Impressive!"
"We are the mighty Ginyu Force. And yet…"
He looked at Tien with genuine admiration.
"Now I understand how you defeated Dodoria, and why Frieza was in such a hurry to call us in."
"You Earthlings are far more formidable than I imagined."
He turned to Vegeta with a twisted grin.
"And you, Vegeta... You really are a fool."
"You think rebelling against Lord Frieza and teaming up with these weaklings will let you defeat him?"
"Hahahaha… laughable."
"Not one of you could even lay a finger on Lord Frieza!"
Vegeta gritted his teeth but didn't speak.
Tien stepped forward. "Enough talk. You fighting or what?"
Ginyu chuckled. "Of course. Don't think beating my four teammates makes you something special."
"I'll let you see what real strength looks like."
He struck a ballet pose — awkward, unbalanced, and clearly not meant to be done solo.
"Damn it! It's all your fault I can't form a proper battle pose anymore!" he growled.
Krillin: "…"
Chiaotzu: "…"
Chi-Chi muttered, "They're so ugly and yet so obsessed with dancing. Unbelievable."
Bulma nodded. "They'd be a perfect fit for a parody girl group."
Ginyu growled, dropping his pose and spreading his stance.
"I don't care where you come from. I'm not letting any of you walk away!"
Tien stepped up calmly.
"I'll fight you. Alone is enough."
Ginyu adjusted his scouter and sneered.
"You sure talk big. I'm Captain Ginyu — Frieza's right-hand man!"
"Don't get cocky just because you outnumber me."
"I'll let you in on a little secret… I'm also one of those who can control their power level freely."
Vegeta's eyes narrowed.
That was true — Ginyu was known to be the strongest under Frieza. But even he didn't know how strong exactly.
Back then, he hadn't been high-ranking enough to learn those details.
Now, the fight began.
Ginyu roared, power flaring around him in a violent aura.
He flung a purple energy blast at Tien.
Tien blinked and dodged upward, preparing to counter.
But Ginyu was already there, sweeping his leg toward Tien midair.
It almost connected.
Fortunately, Tien hadn't let down his guard.
Although thinking about his next move, his awareness saved him — he narrowly dodged the kick.
From the sidelines, Krillin observed. "This guy's power level… must be over 100,000."
Yamcha nodded. "Finally, a real fight."
Ginyu, still trading blows with Tien, was beginning to sweat.
'This guy… he's strong. Even with my max power, I can't land a hit!'
After another intense exchange, the two backed off.
Ginyu grinned. "You're holding back, aren't you?"
Tien blinked. "You noticed?"
"Of course!" Ginyu laughed. "You're saving strength for Frieza, right?"
"Heh… don't bother. You'll never beat him."
"But I like you. Come on — go all out."
Tien's gaze sharpened. "All out, huh?"
"Then you haven't used your full strength either."
"Very well. I understand."
Ginyu smirked. "Good. Otherwise, you'll die for nothing."
Tien raised his arms. "Use your scouter. Don't get scared."
His energy spiked.
Ginyu's scouter lit up.
"100,000…"
"150,000…"
"What?! It's still climbing?!"
Ginyu's eyes widened in shock and growing dread.
Over on the sidelines, Goku, Chi-Chi, and Bulma had been watching casually.
But then Bulma's expression changed.
She suddenly remembered Ginyu's most dangerous technique — Body Swap.
Even if someone powerful was swapped, it was hard to reverse.
She wanted to yell at Tien to finish it quickly — but couldn't find the words.
All she could do was pray.
Good luck, Tien…
Then —
KAIO-KEN!
Tien's aura exploded upward again.
"200,000…!"
"400,000…!"
BOOM!
Even Ginyu's custom high-end scouter couldn't take it — it shattered in a small explosion.
Recoiling from the shockwave, Ginyu's face went pale.
Too strong…
He panicked.
He had no choice.
He jabbed his own chest and shouted:
"Change… NOW!!!"
A beam of light flew at Tien.
But Tien was faster.
He sidestepped the attack with ease.
"I've reached my peak and activated Kaio-Ken x2. Your body-swap won't work anymore. My speed is beyond your reach now."
But Ginyu staggered. He looked around, confused.
"Huh? What… am I doing here?"
"Ow, my chest…"
He clutched the bloody hole in his body.
"Wait… this is my body?!"
He stared at himself, realization dawning.
Tien looked on, baffled.
"What are you doing? Why are you attacking yourself?"
And then Krillin shouted the answer.
"Oh no! Ginyu's technique is body-swap!"
"He missed Tien — but he hit someone else. He swapped with Krillin!"
"WHAT?!"
Everyone turned to look at Krillin.
Sure enough — his body twitched, then struck a ballerina-style pose.
No one could deny it now.
The switch had happened.
Ginyu, now in Krillin's body, grinned wickedly.
"Missed the tall guy — but I got the short one. Still, I can feel it…"
"This body's not bad at all!"
"It's stronger than my old one."
Yamcha and Chiaotzu both stepped back nervously.
Chiaotzu whispered, "Oh no… Krillin's our strongest Earthling…"
Ginyu blinked. "Wait — this is the strongest Earthling's body?"
Yamcha nodded, stunned. "Yeah… technically, yeah."
Ginyu burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! Lucky me! I just won the jackpot!"
Then he turned to Vegeta with a gleam in his eye.
In the blink of an eye, he darted forward — and punched Vegeta square in the chest.
BOOM!
Vegeta was sent flying like a meteor, crashing into a distant mountain.
Ginyu clenched his new fists and laughed maniacally.
"Hahaha! I really did it! This is perfect!"
Meanwhile, the real Krillin — now stuck in Ginyu's battered body — was in full panic.
"This is bad… I can't believe I got caught off guard like that!"
Bulma muttered, "Well, that didn't take long. First time seeing Krillin strike a pose like that. Still not used to it…"
She turned to Goku. "What do you think?"
Only to find that Goku had already vanished.
A gust of wind whipped past her — Goku was already charging toward the battlefield.
"Krillin! Are you okay?"
Krillin (in Ginyu's body) clutched his chest. "Goku, I'm done for… He swapped bodies with me. What do I do?!"
Goku handed him a Senzu Bean.
"You're not too hurt. Just eat it for now."
Bulma sighed.
She hadn't wanted Goku to get involved.
This whole Ginyu Force thing was just a warm-up. The only threat was Ginyu's body swap. As long as Goku avoided it, everything would've been fine.
But Goku cared about Krillin too much.
Even swapped, he couldn't stand to see him injured.
Krillin (in Ginyu's body) chewed the Senzu and felt his pain vanish instantly.
But he still looked miserable.
"This is the worst… What'll I do if Snow sees me like this…?"
Goku scanned him up and down. "Hey, I think this body's not so bad."
"You're taller, bigger — and pretty talented. Might even have more potential than before. Train a little, and you'll catch up."
"Goku! This isn't funny! This body's a monster!"
He turned to glare at his real body. "Hey! You! Give it back!"
Ginyu (in Krillin's body) pointed to himself proudly.
"Hehe. Small, but sturdy. Just a bit shorter than Lord Frieza. Perfect!"
"I'm never giving it back!"
He turned to the group. "I was worried earlier. Didn't think I could handle all of you."
"But now? The tide's turned."
"I've got the best body here!"
And with that, he lunged — not to fight, but to grab a Dragon Ball.
He clutched it and blasted off in Frieza's direction.
Everyone was stunned.
"…He ran?!"
"After all that talking?"
Krillin (in Ginyu's body) shouted, "Goku! Help me! Get my body back!"
Goku nodded. "On it!"
But before Goku could move — SWOOSH!
Tien, still powered up with Kaio-Ken, intercepted Ginyu instantly.
"You think you can escape?"
Ginyu (in Krillin's body) gasped.
"No way… how are you faster than me?!"