A few minutes earlier—
Aboard Frieza's spaceship.
Frieza sat calmly in his hovering chair, waiting for news from the Ginyu Force.
Before long, a soldier rushed in with an urgent report.
"B-Bad news, Lord Frieza!"
"Our scouters can no longer detect any energy signatures from the Ginyu Force!"
"And… none of them are responding!"
Frieza stiffened and rose from his chair.
"What did you say?"
The communications officer trembled as he replied,
"We've completely lost contact with the Ginyu Force. Their energy reactions have vanished."
"Our analysis suggests they were—"
He trailed off, unable to finish the sentence, terrified Frieza would kill him on the spot.
Frieza's pupils narrowed.
"You're saying… they were killed?"
The officer hurriedly shook his head.
"N-No! Impossible!"
"The Ginyu Force is the strongest squad in the universe!"
"Stronger than them… is only Lord Frieza yourself!"
Frieza slammed his fist into the armrest of his chair, knuckles whitening.
After a moment, his expression relaxed again.
"Incredible… truly incredible."
"But whether I believe it or not is irrelevant."
"Their energy signatures disappearing means only one thing."
"In this universe… someone capable of defeating the Ginyu Force has appeared."
Just then, the previously bright sky outside suddenly darkened.
Frieza looked up through the glass.
"Oh? It's gotten dark already…"
Suddenly, the communications officer froze.
"Wait, Lord Frieza… something's wrong."
"What is it?" Frieza asked coolly.
The officer reported carefully,
"According to our intelligence, Planet Namek has three suns."
"It should never get dark."
Frieza paused.
"Ah… that's right. Namek doesn't have night."
He frowned at the darkened sky.
"Then what exactly is going on?"
The officer's pupils shrank.
"Lord Frieza… I once read ancient Namekian records."
"Could this be… the Namekian dragon appearing?"
"What?!"
"The dragon?!"
Frieza's face twisted in rage.
"Damn it! Who dares steal my wish?!"
With that, Frieza shot into the air and looked toward the distance.
"The Ginyu Force's last known location… was in that direction, correct?"
"Yes, Lord Frieza!"
Just as Frieza prepared to depart, the scouter operator suddenly shouted again.
"L-Lord Frieza!"
"That direction… an enormous energy reaction has appeared!"
"Please wait! I'll try to read its battle power!"
He activated the scouter—
And it exploded instantly.
The officer recoiled in shock.
"T-This is impossible!"
"It exploded from this far away!"
"That battle power… it's absurdly high!"
Frieza's pupils contracted sharply.
He could no longer remain calm.
Without hesitation, he shot toward the energy source, abandoning his hover chair entirely.
After the wishes were completed, the Grand Supreme Elder entrusted his position to Moori¹ and had him inherit the Dragon Balls.
Thus, Namek's Dragon Balls would not disappear.
Bulma knew very well that Namek was still unsafe.
Frieza was a special existence—he could survive in space.
If he couldn't win, he could simply destroy the planet.
Even someone stronger than him wouldn't dare do that.
Destroying the planet meant self-destruction.
To ensure Son Goku could fight without restraint, Bulma brought out her spaceship and flew into space.
To safeguard the Dragon Balls and leave everyone a fallback option, she originally planned to take Piccolo into space with her.
But Piccolo, being a battle fanatic, refused.
He wanted to fight Frieza.
So instead, Bulma brought the new Namekian leader, Moori, aboard the ship.
She was relieved that the new Grand Elder was not a combat-type Namekian.
Soon, she contacted the Guardian on Earth.
"Hello? Is everything I asked you to do finished?"
The Guardian replied,
"Mr. Popo has gathered the Dragon Balls. We can make a wish at any time."
Bulma exhaled in relief.
"Good. Then stay on standby at all times."
"Piccolo is on Namek now. If anything happens—"
"Have Shenron teleport everyone except me, Son Goku, and Frieza back to Earth immediately."
"Do not hesitate."
The Guardian paused.
"Everyone except you, Son Goku, and Frieza? What about you?"
Bulma answered calmly,
"Frieza has to be defeated, or he'll chase us to Earth."
"Goku can't leave either."
"I'm staying as a contingency."
"If Frieza destroys the planet, things will get messy."
"So I'll remain in space near Namek with the ship."
"If I need to pick Goku up, I can land at any moment."
"If there's no time… then we'll rely on the Dragon Balls."
There was one thing Bulma didn't say.
If Piccolo were to die again, Namek's Dragon Balls would recover in four months—and could be brought to Earth by Moori.
No matter what, she had prepared multiple backups.
The Guardian said warmly,
"With your arrangements, I'm completely at ease."
"I believe everyone will return safely."
"Thank you for your hard work."
Bulma smiled.
"Fighting alongside everyone in my own way isn't hard at all."
"Alright, I'm hanging up. Bye!"
"Goodbye."
Bulma ended the call and turned on a monitor.
"In my previous life, everyone was busy fighting—no one paid attention to me."
"I didn't even get to watch Goku's final battle with Frieza."
"This time, I finally can."
"And from space, no less—completely safe. Perfect."
With that, she began tracking the battle.
On Planet Namek.
Frieza flew toward Goku's group.
Suddenly, several figures blocked his path.
Frieza stopped.
He didn't recognize most of them—
But he immediately recognized Vegeta.
His gaze locked onto Vegeta, murderous fury blazing in his eyes.
Yet instead of exploding in rage, Frieza laughed.
"Oh ho ho ho ho—Vegeta."
"You traitorous, filthy monkey."
"I knew it. This had your fingerprints all over it."
"After betraying me, you even dared interfere with my path to immortality."
"You truly deserve to die."
As he spoke, Frieza raised a finger.
A red beam of energy shot straight at Vegeta.
Vegeta smirked.
He casually lifted a hand and knocked it aside.
Frieza's eyes widened.
"Impossible!"
Vegeta sneered.
"There's nothing impossible about it, Frieza."
"Your era is coming to an end."
"The Saiyans will rule the universe."
Sensing Vegeta's power, Frieza finally understood.
He placed a fist lightly against his mouth and laughed elegantly.
"Oh ho ho ho ho—how amusing."
"You filthy monkeys… ruling the universe?"
"What a ridiculous dream."
"But Vegeta… your strength truly exceeds my expectations."
"I don't know how you achieved this."
"But it seems…"
"The five members of the Ginyu Force really were killed by you."
In the next instant, Frieza's expression twisted with rage.
He clenched his fists and roared,
"You bastards! You ruined my plans!"
"I will not forgive you!"
"I'll tear you apart!"
Vegeta stepped forward, smiling coldly.
"Frieza, if you don't start taking this seriously…"
"Don't blame me for being ruthless."
"You probably don't know yet."
"The Super Saiyan you fear… has already appeared."
"You're finished."
Frieza paused for a split second.
"Super Saiyan?"
Then he burst into laughter.
"Oh ho ho ho ho—Vegeta, you really do tell jokes."
"Don't think that beating the Ginyu Force means you can challenge me."
"My level… is something you monkeys could never imagine in a lifetime!"
As he roared, Frieza's Ki surged violently.
The ground beneath his feet began to tremble.
"In my eyes, you're nothing but ants."
"And ants dare challenge a dinosaur?"
Vegeta replied arrogantly,
"We can definitely defeat you."
"But honestly… I don't want you to die just yet."
Frieza blinked.
"Oh? You don't want me to die?"
"What does that mean, Vegeta?"
"Are you thinking of serving me again?"
Everyone froze, confused by Vegeta's words.
But it didn't matter.
Even if Vegeta betrayed again, he was insignificant.
Then Vegeta clarified with a cold laugh.
"You're wrong."
"I just don't want you dying at someone else's hands."
"Since I was a child, I was forced to serve you."
"Humiliated and oppressed."
"As the prince of the Saiyans, that was my greatest disgrace."
"So in this world…"
"No one hates you more than I do."
"I don't want you to die yet…"
"Because I want to become a Super Saiyan…"
"And personally send you to hell."
Frieza sneered.
"What big talk."
"Super Saiyan? Hah. A delusion."
In the next instant, Frieza lunged at Vegeta.
Vegeta grabbed his wrist mid-strike.
Then—
He drove a brutal punch into Frieza's abdomen.
Frieza's body shot backward like a meteor, crashing into the mountains behind him.
In an instant, the mountains collapsed into dust and rubble.
The next moment, Frieza burst out of the debris, unscathed.
At that point, Krillin, Tien, Yamcha, Chi-Chi, and Piccolo all stepped forward.
"Frieza—show us your true power."
"In this state, you can't beat us."
Yamcha cracked his knuckles.
"Goku, don't step in yet."
"Let us go first."
"I've been dying to test the results of our long-term team training."
Krillin shouted,
"Frieza! We've prepared for this battle for far too long!"
Chi-Chi clenched her fists.
"So have I!"
As they spoke, everyone unleashed their Ki—
Some even activated Kaio-Ken.
In that instant, violent winds erupted.
Dust and shattered rocks were hurled in every direction, like the eye of a storm.
Frieza stared, genuinely surprised.
"Well, well, well!"
"No wonder you managed to kill Dodoria², Zarbon³, and the Ginyu Force."
"With this level of strength…"
"They didn't die unjustly."
"Very well."
"Then allow me to show you…"
"The true power of the emperor of the universe—Frieza!"
With a thunderous roar, Frieza's power exploded outward.
Purple Ki shot into the sky.
His skin began to shed and mutate—transforming again and again.
The onlookers witnessed multiple forms—
A massive form.
A grotesque alien form.
But it wasn't over.
The earth shook violently.
Wind howled.
Then came the final transformation.
Unlike the previous ones, this change resembled molting.
His outer shell and skin cracked and shattered completely—
And his true form emerged.
A sleek, streamlined body covered in smooth white skin.
Perfectly defined muscles.
An overwhelming kingly presence.
At last—
Frieza stood in his final form.
Krillin and the others had prepared themselves.
They knew he was strong.
But feeling the sheer surge of his Ki, and the oppressive aura that looked down on all existence—
They were still shaken.
"So this… is his complete form…"
Before anyone could speak—
Frieza raised a finger.
A terrifying beam shot straight toward Vegeta.
In an instant, a hole was blasted clean through Vegeta's chest.
He screamed as blood sprayed and his body was sent flying.
"Vegeta!"
"So fast—I didn't even see it!"
Everyone stared in horror.
Vegeta lay on the ground, blood pouring from the hole in his chest.
His eyes were filled with disbelief.
His lips trembled—but no words came out.
Frieza laughed softly.
"Oh ho ho ho ho…"
"You're the ones who asked me to use my full power."
"And Vegeta dies to a single finger."
"How dull."