Frieza felt it the moment he crossed the system's edge. The pressure wasn't hostile. It wasn't welcoming either.
It was evaluating.
He slowed midair, cape fluttering behind him as Yaught filled his vision. From orbit, it looked wounded now—cracks glowing faintly across continents, forests collapsing inward as if exhaling their last breath.
"So," Frieza murmured, eyes narrowing, "this is where you chose to struggle."
He descended.
The moment his feet touched the planet's surface, the resistance shifted. Not heavier. Sharper. Like the world hadrecognisedd something familiar—and dangerous.
Then he felt it. Two signatures.Unmistakable.
One wild, burning, barely contained—the other sharp, disciplined, refusing to bend.
Frieza smiled.
"…Monkeys."
Far beneath the surface, Vegeta froze mid-breath.
Broly's head snapped up, eyes wide. "That presence—"
Vegeta clenched his fists. He didn't need to ask.
He knew.
"Tch," he spat. "Of course."
The Tree pulsed.
Not in warning.
In interest.
Roots shifted, making space subtly realigning the cavern's geometry as if adjusting for a new variable.
Frieza closed his eyes briefly, letting the planet speak around him. He didn't force his way in. He didn't flare his aura.
He listened.
And through the layers of stone, through the ancient roots and the dying core, he felt them.
Recognition.
He laughed softly.
"This will be interesting," he said, voice calm, almost pleased. "You're still growing… even now."
The Tree's glow intensified, branches trembling for the first time since they arrived.
Just inevitability drawing closer.
And somewhere beyond the planet, unseen and unheard, the ancient presence observed.
The planet reacted again. Frieza felt it first—a wrongness blooming on the far side of Yaught. Chaotic. Childish. Uncontained. Power without direction.
He frowned.
"…Another nuisance."
Space warped and tore open in a ripple of pink light.
Majin Buu dropped from it like a discarded toy, landing on the planet's surface with a soft thud. He looked around, blinking, smiling widely.
"Ooooh," Buu said, clapping his hands. "Pretty planet!"
Frieza didn't hesitate.
A finger rose. A thin line of violet light snapped forward—
Death Beam.
It pierced straight through Buu's head.
Clean. Precise.
Frieza turned away mid-shot. "How tiresome."
Behind him
Laughter.
High-pitched. Gleeful.
"Kekeke!"
Frieza's eye twitched. He turned back.
Buu's head reinflated like rubber, the hole sealing instantly. He tilted his head, grin wider than before.
"Ohhh," Buu giggled. "You wanna fight?"His eyes gleamed."Your wish is granted!"Something snapped.
Deep beneath the planet's crust, roots that had endured millennia began to blacken. The slow, steady glow flickered violently as corruption raced through the network like poison.
Vegeta felt it like a knife in his chest.
"No—!"
Broly staggered. "The Tree—its ki—!"
The ancient voice returned, no longer calm.
Foreign chaos detected.
On the surface, Buu bounced on his heels, clapping excitedly. "Heehee! This place is funny! It's breaking!"
Frieza stared at the dying planet, realisation dawning.
"…You're killing it," he said quietly.
Buu blinked. "Huh?"
Then he laughed harder. "Oops!"
Frieza's aura flared—cold, sharp, furious.
Buu pouted. "Buu doesn't care. Buu just wants fun!"Another pulse ran through the planet. A massive root snapped entirely.
The Tree of Life began to wither—fruitless, bleeding energy back into the core in a desperate attempt to survive.
Vegeta slammed his fist into the cavern wall. "Damn it! If it dies now—"
Piccolo's voice crackled through, strained. "—then the planet takes everything with it."
Broly growled low. "He's ruining it."
Above them, Frieza clenched his hand into a fist.
Buu floated closer, smiling innocently. "You mad?"
Frieza looked at him.
"No," he replied.
Deep beneath the surface, Vegeta felt the Tree's rhythm fracture—steady pulses breaking into erratic surges, like a heart losing its beat.
"Move," Vegeta barked.
Broly didn't argue. They launched forward, tearing through collapsing tunnels as roots shrivelled and stone liquefied around them. Gravity twisted wildly—up became sideways, then down again.
Broly smashed through a collapsing wall with brute force. "It's fading!"
Vegeta grit his teeth. "It's being forced to shut down!"
The ancient voice echoed faintly now—strained, distorted.
Judgment… interrupted…
Above them The sky tore open.
Majin Buu floated there, body beginning to change. His playful grin flattened. His form thinned, stretched, eyes sharpening into something colder, more focused.
"Buu bored," he muttered.
His body compressed inward—muscle tightening, power condensing unnaturally
"…So," Frieza said softly, aura flaring at last, "you can focus."
Buu vanished.
Frieza vanished with him.
Their reappearances cracked the air itself—shockwaves ripping outward as fists met palms, as bodies blurred faster than perception.
Vanish.Impact.Vanish.Miss.Counter.
The planet screamed beneath them.
Each exchange bent gravity further out of alignment. Oceans lifted into the sky. Forests collapsed inward, crushed by pressure they were never meant to endure.
Buu laughed mid-strike. "Thisis fun!"
Frieza snarled as a rubberised limb wrapped around his arm, yanking him sideways through a mountain range. He tore free, tail lashing, firing a blast that erased everything in its path.
Buu reformed instantly.
"Kekeke!"
"You are accelerating the collapse," Frieza hissed.
Buu shrugged. "Planet weak."
Far below, Vegeta and Broly burst into the cavern.
The Tree of Life was dying.
Its glow flickered erratically now, roots cracked and blackened, energy bleeding into the core in uncontrolled bursts. The branches sagged, brittle, ancient bark splitting.
Broly took a step forward—and was thrown back as a violent pulse erupted outward.
Vegeta caught him, boots skidding across fractured stone.
"No more time," Vegeta growled. "If we don't act now—"
Another pulse.
The cavern ceiling collapsed partially, crushing roots, severing entire sections of the Tree.
Above—
Frieza and Buu clashed again, this time head-on.
Frieza's fist drove into Buu's guard, space folding inward from the impact. Buu slammed his forehead forward, laughing as both were thrown apart.
The sky split with lightning.
The planet's core destabilised.
Vegeta looked up, sensing it all—the chaos, the fight, the ticking end.
"…That idiot," he muttered.
Broly clenched his fists, aura flaring.
Vegeta's eyes widened slightly.
The Tree pulsed weakly.
Above, Frieza vanished again—then reappeared inches from Buu's face, expression cold and razor-focused."No more games," Frieza said. The planet lurched violently.