The entire planet was built in a highly industrialized, futuristic style.
Spaceships constantly descended from the sky and launched back into space.
Yet in the very center of this technological world stood a magnificent ancient-style palace.
And that palace belonged to the Emperor of the Universe—Frieza.
Gran appeared outside the palace and calmly walked up the stairs.
Two alien guards stood watch beside the entrance.
"Who are you?!"
The two guards instantly raised their arm cannons and aimed them at Gran.
"Where's Frieza?" Gran asked flatly.
"How dare you address Lord Frieza by name—you're courting death!" one of the guards shouted coldly.
Gran narrowed his eyes slightly.
Boom!
The alien instantly exploded into a cloud of blood mist.
"Where's Frieza?" Gran asked again, turning toward the other guard.
The remaining guard swallowed hard, his entire body trembling.
"I-Inside… Lord Frieza is inside!"
Gran nodded.
Without sparing him another glance, he stepped into the palace.
The palace interior was enormous.
Red carpets, crystal chandeliers, luxurious murals…
Everything was decorated with extravagant elegance. It was obvious that Frieza cared deeply about quality of life.
Well, that made sense.
As the universe's greatest real-estate overlord, he certainly wouldn't treat himself poorly.
At that moment, voices echoed through the palace halls.
"So? Can he be revived?"
"Forgive us, Lord Frieza. Although Lord Cooler's body was recovered, he is completely dead. With our current technology, resurrecting him is impossible unless…"
"Unless what?"
"Unless we clone another Lord Cooler using his cells. But… that new Cooler would no longer be the original Lord Cooler."
"Then what use are you idiots?! Die!"
Boom!!
Several explosions echoed throughout the palace.
The scientists speaking moments earlier were instantly erased from existence.
Frieza sat in his floating chair, his brows tightly furrowed.
A year and a half ago, terrifying energy fluctuations had erupted near the border between the East Galaxy and North Galaxy.
Naturally, Frieza had dispatched nearby forces to investigate.
But the result…
Was that his men brought back his older brother, Cooler.
A dead Cooler.
"Cooler was even stronger than me… so how could he possibly die?"
Truthfully, Frieza didn't care much about Cooler's death itself.
Among the Frost Demon Clan, familial bonds were practically a joke.
What Frieza truly cared about was something else—
Someone in this universe had actually managed to kill Cooler.
That meant there existed beings stronger than Frieza himself.
And that filled him with an overwhelming sense of crisis.
He was the Emperor of the Universe.
If someone surpassed him…
Could he still sit securely upon that throne?
That was why he wanted Cooler revived—to learn exactly what had happened.
"Lord Frieza, the place where Lord Cooler died was extremely strange," one of the aliens beside him reported.
"Strange how?"
"The location was a gigantic orange planet!"
The alien manipulated a holographic device in his hand, searching through gathered data.
"According to all our investigations, no such planet exists in the universe. So we continued searching… and eventually uncovered several ancient legends."
"Legends?"
Frieza narrowed his eyes.
"Yes."
The alien continued carefully:
"In those legends, the appearance of that planet closely resembles the Dragon Balls described in the myths."
"…Dragon Balls?"
"And what exactly are Dragon Balls?"
The alien immediately began explaining the legend behind them.
After hearing everything, Frieza's pupils suddenly contracted.
"As long as all the Dragon Balls are gathered… a dragon capable of granting any wish can be summoned?"
"Yes, Lord Frieza."
"Then tell me," Frieza said slowly, suppressing the excitement in his voice, "where are these Dragon Balls?"
"According to the legends… they are located on Planet Namek."
"Namek?!"
Frieza immediately began searching for Namek's coordinates.
"Lord Frieza," the alien added nervously, "these are only legends. I cannot guarantee whether they're true."
"It doesn't matter."
Frieza's lips slowly curled upward.
"Even if it's only a legend… I'll verify it myself."
Soon, Frieza's eerie laughter echoed throughout the palace.
"Ohohohohoho~!"
What he didn't know…
Was that Gran had witnessed everything.
According to the original course of events, after Vegeta and the others invaded Earth, the Namek Saga would soon begin.
Gran had once wondered—
If Frieza never learned about the Dragon Balls, and never went to Namek…
Would the Namek Saga still happen?
Now he finally understood.
Some things had already been destined long ago.
The place where Broly killed Cooler back then…
Was the location of that Super Dragon Ball.
Afterward, Cooler's corpse mysteriously disappeared. Gran had assumed Cooler's subordinates had retrieved it.
But unexpectedly, it had actually been recovered by Frieza's forces—
And that event eventually connected itself back to the Namek Saga.
Gran silently marveled at the mysterious corrective force of history before finally speaking.
"Frieza."
The moment another voice echoed through the palace—
Frieza's laughter stopped instantly.
The atmosphere inside the palace suddenly turned heavy and oppressive.
"You are…?"
Frieza narrowed his eyes as he carefully observed the man standing at the entrance.
His reaction was rather unusual.
In the past, if anyone dared trespass into his palace, Frieza would have subjected them to the cruelest torture imaginable.
But ever since Beerus barged into his palace years ago.
And humiliated him without restraint.
Frieza had become far more cautious.
He no longer acted rashly.
Because he feared that the newcomer might be another existence like Beerus.
"This gentleman," Frieza said politely while examining Gran carefully, "may I ask who you are?"
"So polite?"
Gran almost laughed.
Thinking about it carefully, Frieza really was an unusually courteous villain in the original anime.
"My outfit is this obvious, and you still haven't recognized me?"
Gran casually walked deeper into the palace.
With every step he took, the eyelids of the surrounding aliens twitched violently.
Was this man suicidal?
How could he dare act so boldly in front of Lord Frieza?!
However—
Boom!
Frieza's floating chair exploded instantly.
Frieza himself immediately descended to the ground and bowed deeply toward Gran.
"Greetings, Lord Candidate God of Destruction!"
...
END OF CHAPTER
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