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New Characters:
Dende: The young Namek-jin that Gohan saves from Freeza.
Saichourou: The ultimate village elder, a massive old Namek-jin
who's
the one that had created the original Namek Dragon Balls. When
he dies, the Namek Balls cease to function.
Nail: Saichourou's aide and bodyguard.
Cargo: The Namek kid that lived in Dende's village. His death
triggers Gohan into saving Dende.
Fighting styles:
Other notes:
Sentouminzoku Saiya-jin: What Vejita calls himself now that he's
a
little stronger than when he was on Earth.
Story:
The fighting Namek arrive. The Namek complain about the
disruption
of the peace, Freeza still wants the Ball. Dodoria assesses the
fighters at about 1000 -- no challenge. The one elder realizes
that the
aliens are dependent on the scouters for sensing other peoples'
power.
The minions are looking forward to an easy fight. Kuririn and
Gohan
also know that the Namek are hiding their real power. After the
minions
get trashed, Zarbon asks if these Namek are really 1000's, and
Dodoria
wonders why the levels have jumped up to 3000 each. Kuririn is
happy.
Freeza is amused, Dodoria decides that the Namek are using power
control. The elder looks around, finding the three remaining
scouters,
and then tells the two kids to quickly let go of him. Dodoria
gets
ready to take on the three fighters, when the elder makes his
move.
Dodoria thinks that the elder just wants to get beaten up first.
Then,
Zarbon catches on to what's happening, and Kuririn tells us that
without
the scouters, the aliens are at a serious disadvantage. Dodoria
wants
to kill the elder out of spite, but Freeza wants that Namek kept
alive
-- the three fighters should die, though. Dodoria expects to kill
the
three within 10 seconds, but they don't believe this. The alien
has fun
for several pages.
After the job is done, Freeza states that it's useless to try
to run
away, and if the Ball isn't turned over, the two kids will be
next.
The elder succumbs, and gets the Ball. Gohan is losing control,
and
Kuririn tries to get the boy to settle down. When Freeza gets the
Ball,
he says that he only needs two more. The elder complains a bit,
then
Freeza announces that everyone else in the village can die now.
The
elder comments on the breaking of the promise, which Freeza
blames on
the desire to make his wish. Zarbon asks how they're going to
find
the remaining Balls, but that's just a matter of locating the
remaining
villages. The elder tries to create a diversion to let the kids
escape,
but Freeza kills Cargo right away. Dodoria breaks the elder's
neck, and
Kuririn tries to tell Gohan to keep from giving their position
away.
As Dodoria moves to kill Dende, Gohan yells "stop," and
rushes
forward. This makes Dodoria pause long enough to get kicked in
the
face. Kuririn curses Gohan. Dodoria keeps getting knocked down,
and
Kuririn tells Gohan to run away as he grabs the Namek kid. Freeza
notices that the two humans aren't from Namek. Dodoria curses,
Freeza
tells the alien to catch the kids, Kuririn curses over not being
able to
escape, and Freeza wonders who the hell the intruders were. Gohan
and
Kuririn both know that they can't outrun Dodoria, and Kuririn
remembers
a delaying tactic. He passes off Dende, and then uses Taiyouken
to
blind Dodoria. Kuririn celebrates, then they hide. When his eyes
recover, Dodoria can't find the quarry, and decides to blow up
everything to chase them out. The wreckage assures Dodoria that
the
kids are killed, but he'd really like the bodies to show Freeza.
So,
Dodoria rushes up.
Kuririn decides to take Dende to Buruma, Dende thanks them for
saving
him, and Kuririn says that it was all Gohan's fault. And yes,
Dende can
fly on his own. Dodoria wishes for the scouters, which would make
finding the last 2 Balls a lot easier on this big planet.
Preoccupied,
Dodoria is vulnerable to Vejita's surprise attack. The two
exchange
words, and Dodoria wants Vejita's scouter. Vejita explains that
he's
learned a lot while on Earth, and he plans on taking out Dodoria
and
Zarbon in order to get the Balls. They threaten each other, and
finally
Dodoria attacks. However, Vejita is standing behind him. Vejita
is
MUCH stronger now, having nearly been killed while on earth. He's
now a
Sentouminzoku Saiya-jin (i.e. -- stronger.) Dodoria wants a
reprieve, in
return for which he'll tell Vejita something about Vejita's
planet.
Seems that the planet hadn't actually been wiped out by a meteor
like
everyone thought -- the Saiya-jin had gotten uppity, so Freeza
had
decided to wipe them out. However, Vejita was known to be a
formidable
opponent, so he'd been spared to be enlisted in Freeza's ranks.
Dodoria
wants to leave while Vejita is still in shock. Vejita states
that's
he's really just upset at the idea of being a slave to Freeza
like
Dodoria is. The alien runs away yelling for Freeza, and Vejita
kills
him while saying that Freeza should be afraid of Saiya-jin. He
then
gloats at being so strong, and remembers the alien's comment
about the
two kids that suddenly showed up. Vejita's not sure which two
strong
kids would have come to Namek, or why. But for the moment, he has
to
interfere with Freeza's plans.
Kuririn and company are getting closer to Buruma's camp when
they
notice something coming up on them fast. They hide their powers,
and
Vejita senses all of this. He approaches them, and they recognize
Vejita and see that he doesn't have his scouter. Each side
wonders
what's happening, and it looks like Vejita has found them until a
large
fish leaps out of the water. The prince curses the delay, but
knows
that without their scouters, Freeza isn't going to find the
remaining
Balls very quickly, either. In relief, Kuririn's group flies off
to
Buruma's camp, but are dejected at the thought that they're not
strong
enough to get the Balls to bring their dead friends back. In the
camp,
they find the Capsule house that Buruma's set up. She berates
them for
running around to have fun, leaving her on her own. Eventually,
she
sees someone that looks like Piccolo, and asks if Dende is a
Namek-jin.
The Namek had been saved by Gohan, and Buruma remembers to tell
them
that Gokuu will arrive in 6 days. She explains how this is
possible,
and they celebrate, with Kuririn happy at their improved chances.
Vejita senses a strong level of power, marking a village with 20
people, and possibly one of the Dragon Balls. He gloats over
getting to
it first. He arrives, and demands the Dragon Ball. The villagers
wonder
what's going on, and the elder says that no evil people can be
given the
Ball. Vejita says he'll kill them then. Buruma has been briefed,
and
Kuririn says that there's nothing more they can do right now.
They
realize that Dende isn't eating, and the Namek replies that he
doesn't
need food, just some water. Kuririn then asks why their were
farmers
growing food in the village. Finally, Dende gives his name, and
asks
where the humans are from. But before answering, Gohan senses a
strong
power, which marks the death of many of the 20 Namek at the hands
of
Vejita. Kuririn is frustrated at having to face the combined
strengths
of Vejita and Freeza without Gokuu's help. They talk about the
fates of
the Namek as the two sides fight to get the Balls, and Dende
demands to
know how the Earthlings know about the Namek Dragon Balls, while
deciding to ask Gohan to help Dende's people.
The village elder refuses to get the Ball for Vejita, so he
kills
that Namek, saying that he can find it by himself. Buruma
completes her
recap, and Dende wants to take them to Saichourou -- The main
village
elder. Vejita happily examines the Ball he's found [Note: It's
the #4
Ball, the original of the one that Gokuu thought contained his
dead
grandfather's soul.] He hides it in the lake, knowing that Freeza
can't find it without the scouters. He then wonders how he's
going to
get the rest of the Balls from Freeza.
Zarbon comments on Dodoria's tardiness. Freeza thinks that if
the two brats have killed that idiot Dodoria, it's a good thing.
They
decide to give Freeza the 5 Balls, and then Zarbon and the
remaining
minion will go separately to the two remaining villages to win
the last
two Balls. The two fighters split up, (the minion has a 3 hour
trip,)
and Freeza broods over Vejita's presence, and his plans to get
all 7
Balls. He takes his 5 back to his ship, to wait.
Buruma ponders over the existence of an ultimate village
elder, and
Dende explains that this is the Namek that had created the
original
Dragon Balls. Dende is this elder's 108th generation offspring.
Buruma
asks how Namek are born -- eggs spit from the mouth. Which means
that
the elder is female. Dende asks what "female" means.
Turns out that
Namek only has one sex, which Buruma considers boring. Kuririn
wants to
talk to an elder to assist the Namek, and Dende points out the
location
of the #4 Ball, but that's where Vejita has probably killed
everyone.
That means that almost none of the Namek are left alive. So,
they've
got to find the Saichourou, but that will take 30 days to walk.
Gohan
will stay behind, Kuririn and Dende will fly and risk the chance
of Vejita sensing their power emanations.
As they fly, Kuririn compares Freeza and Vejita, and thinks
that
they'll have to hold out for 5 1/2 days for Gokuu, after they get
the
Ball from Saichourou. Which is a matter of hoping for a miracle.
Gokuu has finished training at 20 g, and is about to step up to
30 g
when he is contacted telepathically by Kaiou-sama. Kaiou catches
on to
the fact that Gokuu is in a ship heading towards Namek, and
states that
there's some guests on Kaiou's planets. Some people that Gokuu
knows.
Gokuu starts to guess, and Kaiou replies that he's going to teach
the
newbies his techniques. This makes Gokuu happy. Yamcha wants to
talk,
and is told to touch Kaiou's shoulder. Yamcha recaps the fact
that the
heroes are going to Namek to wish the dead friends alive. Gokuu
guesses
that Tenshin, Yamcha, and Piccolo are at Kaiou's, Piccolo grouses
about
Gokuu having all the fun. The remaining person is Chao-zu, (not
Kami-sama, like Gokuu had guessed,) who'd gotten his body back
(makes
Gokuu more happy.) Gokuu states that he's currently training to
become
stronger, and has to explain why he's going to Namek: not only
has
Vejita gotten there first, but someone as strong, named Freeza,
is also
there. Kaiou has heard of Freeza before, and needs to examine the
planet. Ten wants Yamcha to explain what's happening. Kaiou
locates
Namek, and recognizes Freeza as the ultimate in evil. The
creature is
close to the two Earthlings and one Namek. Gokuu is interested,
but
Kaiou wants the hero to stay away from Freeza. Then, Piccolo says
that
if they're wished alive, the dead friends want to come help
fight.
Kaiou yells at him, but Piccolo responds that there's no time and
they
have to start training right away. Kaiou will do this, but he
turns it
into a test, that shows that Piccolo and Tenshin are the two most
able
students of the Kaiou techniques. Gokuu keeps training, and kicks
the
gravity level up to 50 g.
Kuririn is getting impatient, and Dende says they have 5 hours
left
to go. Vejita can't find the next village, but he does sense two
people
flying nearby. Kuririn senses Vejita, and is surprised at the
guy's speed.
He and Dende hide and mask their power. However, Zarbon is also
closing
in, and Vejita decides to take on Freeza's minion, instead.
Zarbon
complains that finding the village would be easier with the
scouter. He
sees Vejita. They greet each other, and Vejita says that Dodoria
is
dead, and Zarbon is next. Zarbon wants to know why Vejita doesn't
team
up, and Vejita answers that he has his own plans, with include
taking
the Dragon Balls. They bluster a bit, and then Vejita decides to
demonstrate the true power of a true Saiya-jin. They fight for a
while,
and then Zarbon gets annoyed with Vejita's flicking his blast out
of the
way. A little ways a way, Kuririn is angry at the level of power
that
Vejita and (probably) Freeza's minion are demonstrating, which
overwhelms his own. He decides to take the opportunity to reveal
his
own power and rush off to Saichourou's location.
After some fighting, Vejita gloats, and Zarbon replies that he
hasn't
been fighting at full power. He wants a chance to change into his
real
form, and Vejita laughs at this. He then waits for the change
over.
From his beautiful, effeminate form, Zarbon changes into a
monster
uglier than Dodoria. They fight some more, and Vejita wonders
what this
new Zarbon really is. Before killing Vejita, Zarbon wants to add
that
Freeza is a changeling, too. Zarbon claims victory, and creates a
new
lake with Vejita's body. He decides that Vejita has drowned, and
goes
back to tell Freeza.
[Note: Zarbon prefers masking his power by wearing
the human-looking body.]
Vejita then surfaces, complaining about being stronger than this.
Meanwhile, the other minion has found the village that Vejita
had
destroyed, and returns to Freeza to report. At Freeza's ship,
Freeza
asks if Zarbon had found the village, and the fighter answers no,
but
that he had found and killed Vejita. Freeza is very impressed,
but
Zarbon doesn't have the corpse to prove it. The other minion
rushes in
to say that Vejita had grabbed the next Dragon Ball. But, Vejita
hadn't
had the Ball on him. Freeza tells Zarbon that he'd better hope
that
Vejita wasn't dead. The minion is told to summon the Ginyuu
Combat team
(it'll take them 5 days to reach Namek.) Zarbon wants to know
why, and
Freeza answers that he has a hunch that he'll need them. They
talk
about this (revolves around Vejita's strength as a Saiya-jin, and
the
appearance of the two kids.) Freeza thinks to himself that the
last
thing he needs is a Super Saiya-jin on the planet.
Desperately trying to not die, Vejita crawls from the lake.
Zarbon
thinks about the Ginyuu team, then he sees the body. Vejita is
still
barely alive, and the alien carries the limp form back to
Freeza's ship
for questioning. One day passes, and Gokuu is still training.
He's
still on 50 g, which isn't good enough for facing Vejita. He
takes a
rest.
The next morning, Kuririn wakes up Dende and they keep going.
Dende
gives him directions, and they quickly locate Saichourou's house
atop a
tall rock pillar. The lack of people outside concerns Dende, but
then
the door opens and Nail steps out. The two were expected, and are
told
to come inside. They have to hurry, because Saichourou is old and
getting close to death. (Kuririn comments on Nail's looking like
Piccolo.) They enter and levitate to the next floor. Saichourou
is
told that Dende has arrived, and Kuririn is impressed at the
leader's
size. The elder remarks on Kuririn's being an earthling, and
thanks him
for saving Dende. Kuririn says it was nothing.
End of book 22.
-- Curtis H. Hoffmann Sept. 4, 1993
