601First that damned Saiyan– Slug thought with anger as he blocked the bald human's fist, responding with a ki blast that sent him far. And now these fools.
The younger Namekian slammed him on the head with an elbow strike, and before he was given a chance to retaliate, the scarred human charged in and locked him in with a flurry of punches and kicks. Slug growled and released an eye beam that pierced the human in the shoulder, kicking him away a second later.
Slug twirled and evaded the Namekian's punch, ducking under the extended fist before flying forward and headbutting his kin. He flinched and recoiled as blood came out of his nose, but quickly regained his footing as he responded with his own headbutt, making Slug take a few steps back as his world began to spin.
Stunned, Slug couldn't defend himself from the onslaught of his fellow Namekian, who punched, kicked, and fired multiple ki blasts that scorched his skin and outfit. Slug hated to admit it, but the fight with that Saiyan took a lot out of him, and with his fragile body, he was weakened beyond belief.
Having to deal with so many warriors simultaneously, ones with good teamwork no less, made him regret not sending a scouting party before deciding to invade. Such a stupid mistake, one so easily avoidable as well. His age must've caught up with him if he had become so senile.
Now all of his commanders were dead, and most of his main army was decimated. He'd be alright with such heavy sacrifices had he accomplished his original goal of coming here, and regained his youth. Unfortunately for the ancient emperor, such a thing didn't seem possible anymore.
But he couldn't let himself die like this. He still needed to teach the Cold Empire a lesson. That bastard and his spawn were the roots of most issues of the seventh universe. With Freeza destroying planets and enslaving races on a whim, not knowing just how important it was to keep this universe thriving.
Had Cold made the elder brother inherit the empire, then Slug might've kept a cordial relationship with the family, even allied himself with them. But no, the big moron chose Freeza to be his heir. At least Cooler was responsible for how he handled his section of the galaxy.
So if the Gods of Creation and Destruction won't do their damned jobs, then someone gad to take up the mantle of the true God-Emperor of the Universe, and there was no better option than Slug himself. He knew how to make this universe thrive, he had plans for nearly every planet in every galaxy. He just needed to regain his youth.
But that wouldn't happen anymore. He was stuck on this backwater planet in the farthest part of the North Galaxy, and he was being beaten by their warriors. First, that eccentric Saiyan, lacking in bloodlust but not in spirit, then this unknown Namekian and worthless humans.
What a joke.
Credit where credit was due, though. Despite his anger, Slug was quite impressed with their techniques. As he stated before, true martial artists had become quite rare these days, as most soldiers relied only on their weak blasters or high power levels. Truly, Earth is a rare gem in the rough.
After being passed around by the squad of Earth's Defenders, with each of them delivering sharp blows and scorching ki moves, Slug was slammed down by the Namekian before dozens of rocks and boulders buried him. The Ancient Namekian thought of a solution quickly, blasting the ground and lowering his ki to undetectable levels as the smoke and dust masked him.
Under cover of the dust kicked up by the impact, he quicly snuck past his enemies and returned to his ruined ship, injured and beaten, but his spirit was still unbroken. Slug grinned as he made his way to his main chambers, the only room untouched by the battle outside.
But it didn't have to be this way. Oh, sure, he wouldn't be getting his youth back, but that was no issue in the long run. After all, there was still Namek he could visit, as risky as it was with Freeza there, and it was better than dying here. Plus, he still had his trump card.
Slug's eyes spotted the Fruit of Might hidden in one of his drawers, grabbing it and inspecting it up close. The power radiating from this fruit was nothing short of marvelous. Such overwhelming power in a tiny thing…
He didn't know how it would react to his old body, but now was better than never. He was so glad he let that Saiyan Pirate onto his ship, otherwise, he wouldn't have the last resort option he now had.
As he took a bite of the fruit, a ki ball suddenly blasted through the wall of his chamber, the young Namekian glaring at him with his human friends behind him. Slug chuckled, enjoying the taste of this godly fruit. How sad, they were this close to stopping him, but now it was too late.
"There you are." The young Namekian muttered. "Didn't think you'd be the kind of person to hide from a battle."
Slug laughed at him as he felt the power of the fruit within him slowly but exponentially increasing. His enemies flinched as they felt his ki grow at a rapid pace, and the young Namekian was the first to act, unleashing a full-power energy wave.
One that Slug slapped away with one hand.
"I commend you, Warriors of Earth." Slug complimented genuinely. "Specimens such as yourselves have become rare throughout the universe. It was a magnificent battle."
Purple sparks of ki surrounded the Ancient Namekian. His dark aura slowly grew in size along with his power. This feeling was one Slug had nearly forgotten– the overwhelming power he had once had… it was coming back to him once again.
"And for that–" Slug's power then exploded, a giant pillar of dark purple energy breaking through the ceiling of the ship. "I will give you a warrior's death!"
With that, Slug let out a mighty roar that shook the planet under them, his ki expanded and turned the whole bright blue sky into a dark and unforgiving atmosphere. With power so great, not even Earth's Defenders were able to stand their ground, as they were sent flying far away.
Piccolo regained his footing and landed on the ground, gazing at the pillar of energy in terror. What in Kami's name was that?! This power felt so damn heavy– it was crushing him with mere presence alone. Was that bastard hiding some kind of power all along?!
Piccolo turned his gaze to the side, spotting Yamcha sitting on his ass, with eyes opened wide and pupils turned to pinpricks. The human felt his heart drop to his stomach as he felt this overwhelming dark ki. This was way beyond anything they could've expected.
What the hell happened?
"That… is not good." Remiel stated the obvious as Goku stared at the giant pillar of darkness from his not-so-comfortable position of leaning on a bunch of hard and pointy rocks, barely holding onto his consciousness.
Goku grunted and greeted his teeth, trying his damned hardest to get back up on his feet, but he had no strength left. The earlier battle drained him so much that it was a miracle he was still conscious. He cursed under his breath but did not give up as he tried to get up once again.
"Damn it…" Goku scowled at his weakness. "Get up already!"
Every part of his body screamed in pain with every movement, his muscles burning and aching, but now was not the time to whine and complain. He needed to get up, he had to. Otherwise, everyone would die and this planet would be destroyed.
Just then, someone landed next to him. Goku flinched and looked up, spotting his best friend. The Saiyan grinned widely as Krillin crouched next to him, taking out a Senzu Bean from his pouch.
"Man, you're a lifesaver, Krillin," Goku said, taking the bean. "I'd be dead three times over without you."
"Heh, it's what I do." Krillin grinned back, though it looked more like a grimace if anything.
As Goku swallowed the bean, he spotted his son and Nappa right behind Krillin. Gohan rushed forward and hugged his father with a cry of relief, who patted him on the back and reassured him that he was alright.
"I thought- I thought you were–"
"I'm fine, son. It'll take a lot more than that to kill me." Goku chuckled, then a serious frown took over his face. "Gohan, go back to Capsule Corp and stay there."
"H-huh? But I can help!" Gohan protested. "I'm a lot stronger than I was before!"
"I know that, but this is way beyond anything you can handle. You're still too young for something like this." Goku remained firm. "You've already helped a ton. Your job was always to protect your mom and Bulma, remember?"
Gohan wanted to argue, but the stern look of his father made him reluctantly nod. He really would love to help, but this wasn't exactly something he could handle. That dark aura admittedly made him scared. He had never felt something so horrible before.
"Okay, I'll go back," Gohan said, flaring his ki. "Please be careful, dad."
Goku gave his son a reassuring grin and a thumbs up right before Gohan flew away back to his mother. The Saiyan of Earth then glanced at the silent Nappa, and without exchanging any more words, the two nodded to one another.
With that, the three warriors headed straight to the pillar of darkness. Goku flexed his ki and his aura exploded as he spotted Slug, seemingly rejuvenated from his earlier battles and so much stronger than before, enough to make him pretty nervous.
Only one thing would be able to match him right now, but he wasn't sure if he could do it for a long time.
Goku, Krillin, and Nappa all landed next to Piccolo and the others. Slug was still charging his energy, seemingly trying to keep it under control, but everyone else was either frozen in fear or losing hope of winning.
"You guys okay?" Goku called out, snapping them out of their stupor.
"Tsk, there's no end to his power." Piccolo, the first one to recover, responded as cold sweat trailed down his brow. "Trying to attack him right now will do us no good. Everying will sizzle out before it even comes close to him."
Goku wasn't surprised to hear that. This pressure emanating from Slug was immense. The very earth beneath them couldn't handle it, breaking and shattering as the mountains in the distance began to shake.
They might not have a chance, but giving up wasn't something he'd ever do, so he got into his stance. How would he be able to fight off something like this, though? The only thing he could do to match this kind of strength was to destroy his body with the Kaioken again, using the absolute upper limit he was capable of right now.
A Kaioken times twelve might not give him the win, but it could sure as hellbuy them some time to think of something else.
"I don't know what's gotten into you all–" Nappa suddenly said, getting in front of the group. "But if some light show is all it takes to get you scared, then maybe ya ain't the warriors I thought ya were."
Everyone else remained silent as they stared at Nappa.
"Seriously, when ya fought us before, you showed more spirit than most warriors I faced." He scoffed. "And now this gets you all cowering? How the hell do you expect to fight Freeza, then?"
After a moment of silence, Goku responded.
"You're right." Goku grinned. "I don't care how strong he is, I'll still fight and come out on top."
"That's it!" Nappa smirked widely as the two flared their ki. "You might not be the cold-blooded warrior you should've been, but your Saiyan spirit still shines through. You make your race proud, Kakarot."
Piccolo joined and stood beside them, a white, transparent aura engulfing him as he rolled his neck.
"The three of us will take him on," Piccolo said, shocking the others. "You four focus on support. Goku, as much as I hate to admit it, you're the strongest out of us, so you take the charge and keep him busy. We'll assist you in close-quarters combat."
The humans looked at one another, and all of them nodded with sharp looks. They did not know if they were going to survive this, but dying as a warrior beat waiting for your demise. With determination filling them, the human warriors all exploded their auras and flew back to gain a distance.
"Got it." Goku nodded at Piccolo, then glared at Slug, who was just about to finish charging up his ki. "Get ready!"
"Don't focus on defeating him." Remiel suddenly said. "You only need to stall for time."
"What? Why?" Goku blinked in confusion as Slug began to walk towards them, a confident yet vicious grin on his face.
"Call it a hunch, but I believe whatever he did to increase his power came at a cost." He clarified. "Try to conserve as much energy as you can."
"...Right." Goku nodded with a serious look.
And without wasting anymore time, Goku's aura erupted crimson red as he charged at the empowered enemy. Kaioken times twelve could very well rip his body apart earlier, but with the boost in power after recovering, he knew he could handle it at least for a while longer.
Goku threw a punch directly at Slug's face, who blocked it with one hand. The force of the strike shattered the ground beneath them, creating a giant crater. Goku gritted his teeth and backed off before rushing at him from the side.
Slug was prepared, however, even ignoring the ki blasts from Nappa and Piccolo that made contact with his body, as if he didn't even feel them. He flexed his aura and pushed away the less powerful warriors, focusing on Goku as their battle resumed.
With every punch, mountains would crumble from the shockwaves. Red and dark purple clashed, splitting the clouds and shaking the planet. Slug was very obviously the stronger warrior, but Goku was keeping up fairly decently, something the Ancient Namekian did not expect.
He didn't know how this Saiyan managed to heal, but he was aware of the Saiyans' power to become stronger after recovering from a near-death experience. Did they have a healer with them? Perhaps, but it mattered not. Slug noticed that this Kaioken technique of his had a high cost of leaving him extremely fatigued very quickly.
Eventually, he would fall too, and his allies were nothing but mere small fry. With this newfound power, he'd easily wipe them out.
Slug landed a punch directly on Goku's face, making him recoil in pain as blood seeped from his nose, however, the Saiyan responded with an earth-shattering headbutt. Slug flinched, concentration broken for a moment, and was faced with a point-blank ki wave.
Slug resisted it, gritting his teeth and drawing more and more power from his very being. He responded with his own energy attack, sending the Saiyan far above the clouds. As Slug was about to follow through with a killing blow, a barrage of ki blasts locked him in place.
He growled at the humans in the distance, all with their arms extended as they kept firing. Slug aimed his own blast at them, but was interrupted with a fist making contact with his face. He blocked Piccolo's hand before he landed any other hit, ripping it off with a flick.
Piccolo screamed and held his arm in agony, the pain temporarily ruining his focus as he did not notice the energy gathering in Slug's hand, the Ancient Namekian preparing to vaporize him in a single attack.
However, Nappa then slammed both hands on Slug's head from above, quickly following that up with a mouth beam. Slug growled in annoyance, slapping the ki attack away before he charged at Nappa. The Saiyan brute flinched at his speed, not expecting him to be this fast.
The red aura of Goku's Kaioken blurred between the older Saiyan and Namekian, defending the former by kicking the latter away. He grunted as he felt the effects of the Kaioken begin to mess with his body, but he ignored the pain and flew forward towards the enemy.
Nappa watched the spectacle in awe, shocked that such a power existed. Just recently, only last year, Kakarot wasn't even strong enough to beat Raditz on his own, and now he was so much more powerful than any of them. Maybe even more powerful than Lord Freeza.
He couldn't understand how this was even possible. How did Kakarot get so strong so fast? Could mere training really be that effective? He trained before, sure, sometimes even with the Prince, but he didn't know it could give this much power.
Nappa swallowed and focused back on the matter at hand. He turned to look at his Namekian ally, who grunted and regrew his arm. Piccolo panted in exhaustion, glancing back at the Saiyan Brute.
"What?" He growled.
"Neat trick." Nappa grinned, looking back at the fight in the distance. "Let's go."
Piccolo clicked his tongue in annoyance and followed after Nappa, occasionally assisting Goku with his combos or even switching places with him quick enough to land a blow or two. They always made sure to keep their distance though, as a single attack could very well end them.
Slug brutally ripping off his arm made that clear enough.
To make matters worse, Slug's power seemed to be slowly increasing as time went on. If they stalled for long enough, then his power would eclipse Goku's, and he'd be able to crush them. There was no way his Saiyan rival did not notice it.
Piccolo backed off to assess the situation, catching his breath in the meantime. If that was the case, then why was Goku not giving it his all? It was as if he was conserving energy, going lower with the Kaioken's multiplier. Doing that in general was wise, but against someone whose power was growing the longer he fought?
As he analyzed the fight happening in front of him, Piccolo's frown deepened as he noticed something odd. Slug's skin looked even more dry than when the fight first started. In fact, it was starting to flake off, slowly but surely.
Piccolo's eyes widened as he understood what was happening. Slug was growing stronger, yes, but at the cost of his own body breaking down, as it was incapable of holding so much energy at its current state. He was already old when he arrived, so this increase in power was detrimental in the long term.
So they didn't really have to defeat him per se, but merely wait until he'd destroyed his own body.
With this new information in mind, Piccolo decided to change his tactics to focus on defense and support. Keeping everyone alive would increase their chances of winning, and as much as he hated to admit it, he wasn't strong enough for his attacks to do any lasting damage.
Piccolo glanced at the humans who kept their distance, throwing a blast or two whenever possible as Goku and Nappa kept Slug busy. Specifically, the Namekian stared at Krillin, and an idea formed in his head.
If damaging him wasn't possible or at least efficient, then maybe speeding up the process of his body falling apart was.
Far from Piccolo, the battle continued to rage on, with Goku beginning to struggle against Slug's increasing power. A fist to the stomach knocked the wind out of the Saiyan of Earth, making him gasp and choke in pain.
His fellow Saiyan tried to help, but a simple slap sent him crashing into several stone pillars. Slug released a yellow ki ball directly in Goku's stomach that propelled him higher into the sky, but the Saiyan was thankfully able to resist it and prevent it from piercing him.
Gritting his teeth, Goku barely managed to throw the ball of energy away, but wasn't able to avoid the arm that grabbed him by the face, throwing him back down to the surface of the planet.
"I can sense that Piccolo is preparing an attack." Remiel warned. "Distract Slug. Do not let him perceive it."
"Got it."
Goku roared and exploded his ki even more, multiplying his ki even further with the Kaioken, and rushed back towards Slug. He threw a feint, circling around the Namekian and hitting him in the back.
Goku released several ki blasts before flying past them, locking Slug in close combat as he threw hundreds of punches and kicks in less than a second. The Saiyan ducked under a jab, grabbing the extended arm before flipping him back, directly at the approaching ki blasts.
Goku met Piccolo's eyes, the latter concentrating nearly all his energy into his fingers. The two nodded at one another, and as Slug approached the Saiyan, Goku grinned and put both hands over his face.
"SOLAR FLARE!"
The blinding light made Slug flinch, stunning him long enough for Piccolo to unleash his attack. The spiral beam was a direct hit, digging into the Ancient Namekian's back, but it wasn't strong enough to simply pierce him so easily.
Slug felt the searing pain of the beam trying to go through him, and with an angry roar, he released a giant dome of energy around him, consuming the beam while draining him in the process. Slug snarled at his kin, confused and enraged at his grin before barely noticing the disk of ki at the corner of his eye.
He was just quick enough to evade being mortally wounded, but at the cost of his right arm being cut off. Slug screamed in agony as he held his arm, and to his surprise, there wasn't even blood dripping out. It was then that he noticed how utterly dry his body looked and grimaced as he realized what this was.
He knew it, his frail body couldn't handle the power of the fruit. It was only a matter of time before he fell. He should've ended the battle as fast as he could, as using so much energy in this state only sped up the process of aging.
He couldn't even regenerate anymore…
But there was nothing he can do now. Even if he managed to kill them all, he wasn't confident enough that he could escape this planet and recover somewhere else, not when his ship was completely totaled.
Slug smiled a little to himself as he glanced at Earth's defenders.
…Well, at the very least, he'll die like a true warrior and emperor. On his feet, against honorable fighters.
Slug's smile dropped as the red aura of Son Goku glowed, the Saiyan approaching him at high speed. After a deep breath, the Ancient Namekian roared, the pillar of dark ki pushing them all back as his power increased rapidly.
He focused on the stronger Saiyan, vanishing and reappearing in front of him in a burst of speed, slamming him across the planet with a mighty blow. As the others tried to intervene, a mere flex of his aura knocked them all away.
Slug charged forward at Goku, catching up in an instant before delivering hundreds and hundreds of blows. Even with a single arm remaining, Slug's power only increased from there, however, the cost began to make itself known more obviously as every second passed.
Goku's eyes nearly bulged out of his eyes as Slug's fist hit his stomach, gasping for air for a single moment before he was sent down to the ocean below. Water filled the Saiyan's lungs as he tried to breathe, but no courtesy was given to him as his enemy continued the onslaught, blasting him down to the ocean floor before dragging him through it and up through a cliff nearby.
Having had enough, the Saiyan roared and pushed himself to his limit, going beyond Kaioken times twelve. For a split-second, his power jumped by twenty times for one move, which was kicking the Namekian away before backing off. Goku coughed up blood as soon as he gained a good distance, landing in a forest once the red aura fizzled out.
He fell to his knees, gasping and panting as his muscles screamed at him. Every tiny movement made him flinch– he couldn't even breathe properly anymore. He didn't know how Slug was still capable of fighting so fiercely when he was practically on the verge of death.
"It's his dying gasp." Remiel supplied helpfully. "He likely noticed his body breaking down, and decided to go all out."
"Yeah, I don't blame him." Goku thought with a tired huff. "I'd probably do the same."
Goku flinched and got into his stance as he sensed Slug approaching rapidly. He tried but failed to go into his Kaioken state, not even able to manage a Limit Force. He cursed under his breath once Slug entered his sight.
Goku froze, unable to perceive Slug's speed in his regular state. In one instant, he spotted a dark aura in the distance, and in the other, the Namekian was right in front of him. His very life flashed before his eyes as everything suddenly slowed down, realizing one thing.
He knew for a fact that if his Slug's fist reached his face, he wouldn't just be sent flying back or knocked out. No, what would likely happen was his head blowing up from the force. Goku gritted his teeth, but right before he closed his eyes to brace himself, a small figure flew past him and kneed the Namekian right in the face.
It was none other than his son, his hair all spiked up and eyes glowing gold. With eyes wide open, Goku nearly stammered as Slug was pushed back, stumbling and falling on his behind. Gohan landed right in front of his father, a golden aura surrounding him as he growled like a ferocious animal.
His energy was increasing at an insane rate. What the hell was happening to his son? What was this power? The power was great, yes, but this rage caught his attention. He had only felt this kind of emotion from the boy when he had charged at Raditz, but even that wasn't even comparable.
"G-Gohan?" He called out worriedly.
"W-what the hell…?" Slug glared at the boy, who was twitching in anger.
"I'll…" Gohan gritted his teeth, his aura growing in size. "Kill you!"
Even Goku flinched at the sheer hostility in his young son's tone, but before he could even attempt to calm him down, Gohan charged and smashed his small fist against Slug's face, the very ground they were on shattering from the impact.
Gohan continued throwing punch after punch, making the sizable crater the were in even bigger with every hit. Slug roared, a yellow beam coming out of his mouth and hitting the young Saiyan's face. Gohan recoiled and gasped as a hand wrapped around his neck, nearly breaking it.
Goku panicked as he tried to protect his son, but his body refused to respond. He grunted and took a deep breath, crimson-colored sparks beginning to envelop his body once he focused his ki.
Then, all of a sudden, Slug let go of the boy, falling to his knees as he hacked and coughed. The dark aura around him vanished and his energy dropped. He had finally hit his limit, and before he was given a chance to gain any sort of a second wind, Goku roared, using this golden chance to land the final blow.
"TIMES TWENTY!"
Slug couldn't defend himself from a world-shattering punch to his face, not when his ki reserves were nearly empty. He soared over the ocean, and Goku didn't simply end it here. He cupped his hands to his sides, ignoring the burning agony as a blue orb of ki glowed brightly.
"Kamehame…" He gritted his teeth, using all of his energy in this one attack. "HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
The blue beam shot forward, spreading the ocean in two. Gohan's rage temporarily subsided as he felt the overwhelming power next to him, golden eyes going wide in shock and wonder. Once the wave hit, the explosion parted the ocean in every direction, and the very clouds opened up and let sunlight shine through. It sent Slug further than the eye could even see.
Goku fell down, nearly passing out from exhaustion as a painful ringing in his ears made it so much more difficult to keep his eyes open. He did everything in his power to keep his breathing under control, sight blurry and growing darker by the second.
A minute passed and the Saiyan managed to stay conscious, however, he was still unable to move too much. With great effort, Goku raised his head for a single moment, spotting his son slumped over on the ground.
"That power was too much for him to control," Remiel said. "His body couldn't handle it for long."
"What was that anyway?" Goku thought with a pant. "You never told me his rage power was this strong."
"This was no mere rage power." His friend responded. "Gohan was somehow capable of using the strength of a Great Ape without transforming into one. That, alongside his regular rage boost, brought his power level to these heights."
"I didn't know he could do that."
"He shouldn't be able to. This was never present in my vision." Remiel explained, sounding equally confused. "Then again, Slug was not this powerful either. Perhaps future knowledge may not be perfect after all."
Goku looked at his son with mixed feelings. On one hand, this power felt too primal for a boy his age. There was no doubt that he'd struggle far more in battles and maybe training if couldn't control it.
But at the same time, the sheer potential of it was incredible. Goku didn't have a fraction of the power Gohan showed today, so just how strong would his boy become once he was an adult?
"Well, what matters is that we won." Goku waved it off for now. He'd think about it later, once the pain stopped. "...Right?"
"Yes, Slug is on the verge of death," Remiel confirmed, making the Saiyan breathe a sigh of relief. "Unfortunately for him, he used too much energy, and now he's paying the price. I doubt even a Senzu Bean can heal him."
After a moment passed, his friends landed next to him, prompting him to give them a tired smile. Krillin knelt next to his best friend, mirroring the bright smile as Tien picked the unconscious Gohan off the ground.
"Good work out there, man," Krillin said. "I knew you'd win."
"Barely." Goku panted. "He was too strong. I couldn't have done it without you guys."
"Heh, we did what we could," He responded, taking a Senzu Bean out of his bag. "Here, the last one we have."
"That could be a problem," Remiel stated with a worried tone. "We should get a few for Namek."
"Yeah, we're gonna have to check with Korrin and hope he has more." Goku agreed.
Goku popped the bean in his mouth, and as soon as he swallowed, all the pain washed away and his energy was restored. He flipped and landed on his feet, grinning as his power increased twofold, maybe more.
"Thanks, buddy."
As he scanned the surroundings, Goku noticed that Piccolo was nowhere to be seen. Even Nappa was nearby, leaning against a tree as he stared at the group.
"Where's Piccolo?"
"Taking care of the dried-up Namekian," Nappa responded with a snort. "Only fitting that he does it."
"I see."
What a shame. Goku would've loved a one-on-one fight with him, but perhaps that wasn't really possible anymore.
"Let's go back to Capsule Corp," Goku said. "We'll fill Bulma in. We only have a few days before the ship is ready, so we should rest until then."
He then turned to look at the Saiyan brute.
"Are you coming with us?" He asked. "To Namek I mean."
"What, was all that not enough to give ya an answer?" Nappa scoffed. "Well, it's either I go with you, or I piss off to bumfuck nowhere and forget the empire exists, so I'm taking my chances and hope we're good enough to kill Freeza."
Goku smirked and nodded, leading the group back to West City.
Floating over the ruins of the spaceship, Piccolo looked at the scorched body of their enemy with a pitying gaze, almost feeling bad for him. Goku's blast, on top of being immensely powerful, sent him back to where the battle began.
The rest rushed forward to find Goku as he told them he'd finish the job, none protesting or stopping from doing so. At this point, killing Slug was far more merciful than letting him rot away like this.
Piccolo landed next to the charred Slug, who was barely breathing. Half of his body was incinerated and his skin was pitch-black from soot. None of that explosive power from before remained, only this pitiful state. Barely, the Ancient Namekian turned to look at Piccolo, then chuckled silently.
"What an embarrassment." Piccolo suddenly heard Slug's voice in his head. "To think I would've been beaten so badly that I'd lose my ability to speak…"
Piccolo remained silent, only narrowing his eyes in response.
"Yet… it was a marvelous battle." He continued. "You and all those humans fought bravely when the odds were stacked against you."
"It was either that or we die," Piccolo replied. "Why did you even come here for? Conquest?"
"The Dragon Balls," Slug answered, making his eyes widen. "I wanted to regain my youth."
Piccolo was suddenly hit with an ominous sense of Deja Vu at that, but ignored it and asked the real question.
"How do you know about the Dragon Balls?" Piccolo questioned.
"I didn't. Or I wasn't sure to be more accurate." Slug said, coughing violently. "There were rumors floating around, and Earth was my second option. I couldn't risk going to Namek because of Freeza."
So he's already there, then? Piccolo thought to himself. And if someone like him didn't want to get involved with Freeza, then just how strong was he?
"But I suppose I should've done more research before coming here." Slug gazed directly at Piccolo's eyes. "I'd like to know the name of the one who will land the finishing blow if you don't mind."
"...Piccolo." He answered after a pause.
"You've fought well, Piccolo. To think there are young and powerful Namekians out there…" Slug grinned. "It was an honor."
Piccolo extended an arm and aimed a finger at Slug's head, then nodded.
"Likewise."
The beam shot forward and pierced Slug's head, killing him painlessly. The Ancient Namekian's body was then blown away by the wind, turning to ash and dust. Piccolo stood there, staring at the ground.
Piccolo didn't know why he gave Slug this courtesy, but he didn't give it any mind. He didn't know that Namekians could ever get this strong, and it motivated him to get better. If he was this powerful when old and weakened, then what about his prime?
It didn't matter. He would become even stronger and have his rematch with Goku, and when he defeated his rival, taking over the world would be a trivial matter.
…For some reason, that plan didn't sound so appealing anymore.
I actually kinda wanted to have Piccolo absorb Slug, but I don't think it would've been that good of an idea in the long run. It would likely trivialize the entire Freeza arc if I did that. Keep in mind that Slug's PL here is 200k as an old man. Piccolo would be way too strong for Namek.
Don't worry though, Piccolo will not be left behind power-wise, especially not since I've watched the new movie. It was so damn good.
anyway, here are some PLs
Fruit of Might Slug: 800,000, 1,100,000 at the peak of his strength then rapidly decreasing
Goku Post-1st Zenkai: 40,000
Goku Kx20: 800,000
Goku Kx20 Kamehameha: 1,250,000
Goku Post-2nd Zenkai: 95,000
Wrathful/Ikari Plus Rage Boost Gohan: 450,000
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