Death Beam—this was Frieza's signature move.
By channeling ki through his fingertip, he could fire an extremely fast, highly penetrating laser. Whether in his base form or transformed, he frequently used this technique. In the original series, Vegeta's first death came from a Death Beam piercing his heart, and before dying, he even delivered a heartfelt monologue to Kakarot.
This time, Frieza's Death Beam was once again aimed at Vegeta's heart—except now, Vegeta was in his Great Ape form.
Vegeta had actually sensed the danger—the moment Frieza pointed his finger at him, he knew something deadly was coming. But by the time the Death Beam was fired and about to hit him, [his body couldn't react fast enough].
Though he desperately wanted to dodge, his body couldn't keep up with his mind. Frieza's Death Beam was on the verge of piercing his heart—when suddenly—BOOM!
Zuke's figure instantly appeared in front of the giant ape, swatting the Death Beam away with a single slap.
The next moment, the beam shot into the sky, vanishing into the void—perhaps it would eventually strike some unfortunate planet or asteroid and obliterate it.
"Hmm?"
Seeing someone block his Death Beam so effortlessly, Frieza was momentarily stunned. He quickly recognized the face of the man standing in front of Vegeta's Great Ape form.
"Ah... Zuke, was it? I remember your name. I even sent the Ginyu Force to hunt you down. To think you were hiding on Planet Vegeta all along..."
"Seems your intel is a bit outdated."
Zuke smirked at Frieza.
"The Ginyu Force has been wiped out. Haven't you noticed the lack of contact?"
He didn't bother correcting Frieza about Planet Vegeta's name change.
After all, Frieza would soon be dead—what use was there in telling a corpse that Planet Vegeta had been renamed Planet Saiyan?
"What did you say?!"
Frieza froze. He truly hadn't expected Zuke to have eliminated the Ginyu Force.
Seeing Zuke's expression—which didn't seem like a bluff—Frieza narrowed his eyes, [his mind rapidly piecing things together].
"I see... So this is why the Saiyans suddenly rebelled."
If Zuke had killed the Ginyu Force, and considering King Vegeta's unknown fate... the conclusion was obvious.
The Saiyan rebellion had likely been instigated by this very man—Zuke.
What puzzled Frieza, however, was that his battle power was no secret within his army. The Saiyans must have heard rumors of his 530,000 power level.
Yet, knowing this, Zuke dared to oppose him—did that mean his strength surpassed that number?
Frieza had never imagined a Saiyan could reach such heights. He studied Zuke carefully.
"Impressive... You're far more formidable than I expected."
With that, Frieza stepped out of his hovering pod—his power was so immense that he rarely bothered with physical movement, let alone training.
He smirked at Zuke, extending an unexpected offer:
"Though I have no interest in weak monkeys... for you, I'll make an exception. Swear loyalty to me, and I'll spare your life."
Just like in the original story with Kakarot, Frieza was now making the same offer to Zuke.
When things were under his control, Frieza could be a surprisingly benevolent leader.
But the moment someone defied him—annihilation was inevitable.
His olive branch revealed one thing: Frieza still believed Zuke was no match for him.
"Looks like I'm being underestimated."
Zuke grinned, wasting no more words.
In an instant, he accelerated—so fast that Frieza didn't even register the movement—and appeared right in front of him, delivering a devastating punch to his gut!
"Wha—?!"
Frieza's mind reeled—Zuke's speed far exceeded his expectations. Before he could react—
BOOM!
Frieza's body rocketed into the sky, vanishing into the atmosphere from the sheer force of the blow.
Zuke locked onto Frieza's ki, then blasted off after him, tearing through the sky and into the vacuum of space.
He had sent Frieza flying into space to prevent their battle from destroying Planet Saiya.
After all, this planet was destined to become part of his "King's Army"—he couldn't let Frieza reduce it to rubble.
Back on the ground, an awestruck Dodoria and the Great Ape Vegeta could only watch as Frieza and Zuke disappeared into the skies.
Dodoria was shocked that a Saiyan could survive in space, while Vegeta was horrified by how close he had come to death—he hadn't even been able to dodge Frieza's attack.
But what truly stunned both of them was Zuke's display of power—had he just overpowered Frieza?
---
Meanwhile, in space...
"Guh... Cough!"
Frieza spat out a mouthful of blood as he stabilized himself in the void. He glared at Zuke, who had already caught up to him.
His once-polite demeanor was gone, replaced by a ravenous, murderous rage.
"Zuke... you damned Saiyan! I'll tear you apart!"
As he roared, Frieza's body began to expand—his small frame rapidly growing into a towering, muscular form.
This was Frieza's First Transformation, with a battle power exceeding 1,000,000.
Clearly, Zuke's punch had made one thing undeniable: 530,000 power level wouldn't be enough to defeat him.
"To survive in space... I don't know how you're doing it, but it doesn't matter."
The now-gigantic Frieza glared at Zuke, blood still trickling from his lips.
Without knowledge of the Dragon Balls, he had no way of understanding how Zuke could breathe in space.
Right now, only one thought consumed him:
Rip Zuke to shreds—and then annihilate the Saiyan's planet before his very eyes.
To be continued…
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