"Did you spend all that time in your room practicing how to talk big?" Ginyu was nearly beside himself with laughter, his grin growing wider by the second.
Vegeta's expression remained serene. He didn't rise to it.
"Come on, let's head over there." Ginyu gestured toward an open stretch of land in the distance and addressed Vegeta with an easy smile. "You wouldn't want to accidentally damage the ship, would you?"
"That's a fair point." Vegeta nodded and immediately launched himself skyward, flying ahead to touch down exactly where Ginyu had indicated.
Ginyu blinked.
This guy is unusually eager.
Where does this confidence come from?
He flew over and landed opposite Vegeta, the two of them facing each other.
Cranberry trailed along and hung back at a distance to watch.
"Vegeta — you've got some nerve, betraying Lord Frieza!" Ginyu's expression hardened, and he let loose on Vegeta without holding back.
"Frieza?" Vegeta gave a cold snort. "Who does he think he is? Once I'm done with you, I'll deal with Frieza next."
"Big talk!" Ginyu's jaw tightened in irritation.
Vegeta must have lost his mind.
Ginyu pressed the button on his scouter.
"Power level: 20,000." He muttered to himself and then smirked. "Not bad, Vegeta — you pushed it from 18,000 up to 20,000. No wonder you're feeling so full of yourself."
"20,000?" The corner of Vegeta's mouth curved upward slightly.
"You want to know what my power level is?" Ginyu asked with an easy smile.
"I forget." Vegeta shook his head.
"Then allow me to show you just how powerful I am!" Ginyu declared — and immediately launched himself straight at Vegeta.
He threw a fierce, direct punch right at Vegeta's face.
Vegeta tilted his body slightly and sidestepped it with fluid ease, letting Ginyu's fist sail past.
THUD!
Vegeta's knee shot upward in a sharp drive, connecting hard with Ginyu's gut.
"Ghk—"
Ginyu doubled over and spewed a mouthful of bile, his whole body seizing from the impact.
What the — ?
Why does it hurt so much when Vegeta hits me?
Cranberry was trembling, and his legs nearly gave out from under him. Every instinct screamed at him to get away.
Captain Ginyu — why are you going down so fast?
Still, Cranberry didn't dare run. Getting caught in the crossfire from both sides seemed even worse.
"Ugh — damn you!" Ginyu's face contorted in pain. He suddenly thrust his hand out directly toward Vegeta's body.
BOOM!
An energy blast fired from Ginyu's palm.
At such close range, even Vegeta was caught slightly off guard.
KABOOM!
With a thunderous detonation, the blast exploded directly at Vegeta's position and kicked up a massive plume of dust and debris.
"Hm. Dead." Ginyu grunted.
The smoke gradually cleared — revealing Vegeta standing completely unscathed, a look of cool contempt playing at his lips.
Ginyu's pupils shrank. His eyes went wide in an almost comical expression of disbelief.
"That — that's impossible. That is absolutely impossible!" Ginyu said, his voice low and strained.
"Nothing impossible about it." Vegeta chuckled. "You've completely enraged me now, Ginyu. I won't let you off easy."
"How — how did you get this strong?" Ginyu stared at Vegeta with an odd expression and hit the button on his scouter again.
"Through training. Obviously." Vegeta smiled slightly. "Go ahead — check your scouter. See what my power level reads."
"You're awfully confident, Vegeta." Ginyu scoffed. "Fine — let me see the number. Based on what I felt just now, I'd put you somewhere around 80,000 at most."
"Is that right? Then watch carefully." Vegeta laughed softly — and detonated his energy.
In that instant, Vegeta released the full force of his power without restraint.
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP!
The numbers on Ginyu's scouter cascaded upward without stopping.
"80,000! 90,000! 100,000 — what — what is this, it's still climbing!" Ginyu's jaw dropped. Cold sweat broke out across his face.
Vegeta's smile grew.
"120,000 — 130,000! 180,000! 200,000!" Ginyu's voice started to shake, his complexion draining of color in waves.
"What?!" Cranberry nearly wet himself on the spot.
A power level of 200,000.
Vegeta's power level had actually reached 200,000.
This is a disaster. I backed the wrong side.
Cranberry shot a furtive glance at the spaceship, the urge to bolt and fly off this planet almost overwhelming him.
Vegeta glanced at him sideways. His gaze was flat and ice-cold.
Cranberry's mouth twitched. He didn't dare make another move.
"Power level: 200,000!" Ginyu's expression had curdled, the color completely gone from his face. "You — this is unbelievable. Vegeta... don't tell me you've become a Super Saiyan."
"I'm not a Super Saiyan." Vegeta gave a dismissive snort and a small laugh, then drew in a long, deep breath.
"Not — not a Super Saiyan?" Ginyu faltered.
"Hold on. Let me see if I can transform into one." Vegeta said coolly — then clenched both fists tight.
CRACK!
A blaze of golden light erupted from Vegeta's body. His hair shifted in an instant, turning a brilliant shade of gold.
His eyebrows followed — changing with the rest, the black fading into gold.
A mantle of golden flame ignited around him, wreathing his entire frame in blazing light.
Vegeta's heart leapt.
It worked.
This body's base isn't anything special — but the method to transform into a Super Saiyan is something I still know cold.
Push the power level up to around 200,000 — and the Super Saiyan transformation becomes achievable. Just as expected.
"What — what is this? Saiyans can only transform into Great Apes — can't they?" Ginyu's expression collapsed entirely. His eyes looked ready to pop out of his skull.
"Super — Super Saiyan!" Cranberry was shaking so hard he could barely stand, and he dropped to his knees on the spot.
The battle between Goku and Frieza was still burned into Cranberry's memory with perfect clarity.
Lord Frieza got absolutely destroyed.
And now Vegeta is a Super Saiyan too.
"Is this — is this really a Super Saiyan?" Ginyu was visibly trembling.
"That's right. Super Saiyan." Vegeta gave a satisfied nod. "Ginyu — you shouldn't have come looking for me. Couldn't you have just gone on doing whatever you wanted out there in the universe and left me alone?"
"Hm... so you're a Super Saiyan. Big deal." Ginyu suddenly let out a vicious grin. "You think that means I've got nothing on you?"
Vegeta crossed his arms and watched him, expression unreadable.
"Super Saiyan Vegeta — now this is getting interesting!" Ginyu broke into booming laughter.
Vegeta said nothing. He simply watched Ginyu with steady, calm eyes.
"Pay attention, Vegeta!" Ginyu's mouth curved into a leer. He raised his hand — and drove his fingers straight into his own shoulder.
Squelch—
His claws sank deep into his own flesh. A cry of genuine agony tore from his throat.
Vegeta raised an eyebrow.
So that's it.
That's why Kakarot got hurt when he ended up in Ginyu's body back then.
Ginyu wounded himself on purpose.
To be continued…
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