บท 76: Chapter 76 – The Zone
Ajax stepped away from Dodoria's cooling corpse and sank heavily to the ground, his body exhausted from the life-and-death struggle. He stared at Dodoria's lifeless form, feeling a surge of something welling up from within in his chest. This was his first direct kill in either of his lives, and he was surprised by his lack of guilt.
Ironically, it was likely because his first kill, technically, had been Goku himself. Oh, and Raditz too. However, he had already come to terms with his actions and had already suffered through all the guilt. Compared to Goku's death, Dodoria was emotionally insignificant.
Ajax was well aware that he was now in a different world, one where death was an unavoidable reality. Even the other Z Fighters, typically viewed as paragons, had taken lives when necessary. The Saibamen, Cell Jr., and Yakon were proof of that.
Besides, the path he had chosen would inevitably lead to more deaths, and he couldn't afford to hesitate when it mattered most.
Ajax slapped both of his cheeks firmly to snap himself out of his dark thoughts. There was no time to dwell on these useless thoughts any longer.
Suddenly, he felt two puffs of air against his back, causing him to twitch in surprise. He spun around as quickly as he could while still seated, his guard up and ready.
Standing before him were Dende and another young Namekian, both wearing vests—one blue and the other red—but otherwise looking nearly identical. Ajax relaxed; these were friends, not foes. However, another realization set in, and he began to slightly tense up again.
Why couldn't he feel their Ki? He shouldn't have been caught off guard by their arrival in the first place, especially not when he had his Ki sense active the whole time. It didn't make sense. How had they managed to get so close without being detected?
"What happened to your Ki? It's completely suppressed!" Ajax exclaimed, unable to hide the surprise in his voice. "If you two had this ability, why didn't you use it when we were running away from that guy?"
Ajax pointed his thumbs back toward Dodoria's lifeless body, clarifying who he meant by "that guy". He was aware he was misgendering Dodoria, but he would rather die than explain Dodoria's gender—or the concept of gender—to the two children.
At Ajax's words, the two Namekian children exchanged glances before shrugging helplessly together.
"We couldn't. We're not the ones responsible for this," stated the child on the right, the one wearing the red vest.
"This is most likely one of Lord Guru's Legendary Forbidden Secret Arts! Someone must have notified him of what happened!" gushed the child on the left, dressed in a blue vest. His eyes sparkled with admiration and excitement. "As expected from the Grand Elder! Ha! Big Brother Nail and Lord Guru will get them all!"
"Wait, wait, wait," Ajax raised his hands to stop the blue-vested Namekian child's excited chatter. "That was a lot of information, and I need a moment. 'Forbidden Secret Art?'"
'That sounds incredibly dramatic,' Ajax also thought to himself.
Almost instantly, the Namekian child in the red vest slapped a hand over his companion's mouth with practiced familiarity, stifling the flood of words that was about to erupt. He spoke on behalf of his companion.
"It's not as epic as Mushin made it sound. Lord Guru has a library worth of magical abilities that most of us can't learn. This is likely one of them."
Ajax's thoughts raced as he processed this new information. He hadn't been aware that Guru possessed something this powerful up his sleeves, but he chalked it up to yet another aspect of this world that differed from what he knew. Adjusting to minor discrepancies like these had become a challenge he had largely gotten used to.
Ajax suddenly made a noise of comprehension as everything fell into place in his mind. He now had a clear idea of what had occurred. Most likely, Krillin and Gohan had explained how the Frieza Force was tracking the villagers. Between the time he had left them to now, Escagor must have already contacted Guru and shared this vital information, leading to the Grand Elder employing necessary countermeasures—of a magical kind.
In the original story, if Ajax recalled correctly, Frieza and Vegeta had already annihilated Dende's and the last remaining village before Guru was even aware of the invasion. Since everyone was already dead by the time Guru learned of the situation, there was no point in enacting any countermeasures.
But now, things were different. The timeline had been changed, and thanks to Escagor's timely intervention, Guru had been informed in time to take action. Ajax could also easily envision Guru, the most venerable and powerful elder among the Namekians, to possess magic capable of shielding the villagers' Ki.
Now, the Frieza Force could no longer track the Namekian's Ki signatures with their scouters, making it difficult for them to locate the remaining Namekians and their villages. In contrast, Ajax and his group had the Dragon Radars to pinpoint the exact locations of the Dragon Balls without relying on Ki detection.
However, under the current circumstances, Frieza would likely guard the other four Dragon Balls personally, meaning there's no easy way to steal them. And Ajax doubted anyone would fault him for not wanting to tempt fate again by risking another confrontation with Frieza.
Ajax sighed, realizing that this development also meant he could no longer foresee how future events might play out. The timeline had already diverged from what he had known, and with the Frieza Force permanently blinded instead of temporarily, the dynamics had shifted in unpredictable ways.
However, this did not mean his plans became useless. Quite the opposite—he just needed to remain vigilant and be prepared to capitalize on any opportunities that presented themselves. While his knowledge of the original canon had provided a solid foundation, he now had to supplement it with real-time observations and quick thinking.
On a side note, this new understanding clarified why the worm-like Ki had seemingly vanished into nothing. The thread, being external, had been detectable, but Ajax couldn't detect the children themselves due to Guru's interference. This led him to mistakenly believe that the Ki thread was connected to nothing, and thus an independent phenomenon–or creature.
Ajax eyed the two Namekian children thoughtfully. He had a pretty good hunch about which one might be Dende, but it was better not to make assumptions.
"So, you're Mushin," Ajax said, pointing to the child in the blue vest who had been identified by his companion. He turned to the other child in the red vest. "And you are?"
"I'm Dende."
"Awesome!" Ajax responded, unsurprised. "So, Dende and Mushin, nice to meet you. I'm Ajax, a traveler from another planet here to warn you about the current invasion. Some of my allies are currently with Elder Escagor."
Tired of being silenced, Mushin pulled Dende's hand away from his mouth. He was so excited that he was practically vibrating in place.
"That reminds me! You! Y–you! You used it!"
Ajax tilted his head in confusion, his expression clearly conveying his lack of comprehension without any need for words.
"The Zone!" Mushin exclaimed excitedly, getting right up into Ajax's face, his eyes wide with hero worship and awe. "The legendary state of ultimate concentration, accessible only by the mightiest of heroes and revered as the absolute pinnacle of mortal combat!"
Ajax, now familiar with Mushin's tendencies, turned to Dende with a slightly exasperated look.
"Could you give me the normal version of that?" he asked.
Dende nodded, his expression conveying a sense of resigned helplessness.
"Mushin is referring to The Zone, a battle meditation technique of ours that enables a warrior to enter a state of absolute focus. In this state, you are literally 'in the zone', so to speak. While it doesn't directly boost raw power per se, it does allow the user's movements and energy channeling to reach the user's current maximum efficiency. Also, I know I referred to it as 'our technique', but technically, it's a skill that anyone can learn–in case you're wondering about that."
Dende paused briefly to take a breath. Then, instinctively, he slapped his hand over Mushin's mouth again to prevent any potential interruptions. After a moment to gather his thoughts, Dende resumed his explanation despite Mushin's muffled complaints.
"Mushin has the ability to 'connect' with others and enhance their abilities. During the battle, he linked with me and then connected with you, which allowed me to heal you remotely through him. Since he doesn't have any knowledge of you, his ability randomly enhanced one of your abilities. Whatever ability he enhanced, it allowed you to access The Zone."
Dende suddenly recoiled and pulled back his hand, staring at the damp spot in the center of his palm with mild disgust before wiping it off on his tunic.
"And don't forget the lightning, Dende! That's the coolest part!" Mushin interjected eagerly, supplementing Dende's explanation. "You know you've entered The Zone when lightning flashes from the corners of your eyes! Out of everyone on Namek, only Big Brother Nail can summon it at will, and he's invincible because of it! He's my hero and I will be a hero just like him someday!"
Ajax listened attentively, nodding in acknowledgment as he absorbed this new information. If The Zone truly allowed him to maximize his Ki control, it could potentially redefine his strategy in future battles against the Frieza Force, perhaps even against Frieza himself.
He looked down at his hand and clenched it tightly. The level of Ki control he had achieved while in The Zone had been absurd, and now that he was out of it, he could sense the Rokuogan slipping beyond his reach once more. He understood that to use that technique again, he would need to be in The Zone.
Meanwhile, the conversation between Dende and Mushin carried on.
"Well, Elder Escagor could use it too," Dende asserted, hands on his hips, countering Mushin's earlier statement.
"...yeah, technically? But he could only do it randomly, so it doesn't really count!"
"Okay, stop!" Ajax interrupted, stepping in before their debate could escalate further, hoping to prevent his brain from overheating. Besides, there was another matter he needed to clarify. "Mushin, you're Nail's little brother?"
Dende couldn't help but smirk slightly at the question, a hint of schadenfreude in his expression, while Mushin scratched his cheeks in embarrassment.
"Well… technically not, but we're all related, so there's nothing wrong with me calling him that!" Mushin seemed particularly proud as he justified his reasoning.
"Except you call him that without his permission," Dende interjected with a cough, casually and heartlessly revealing the truth.
Mushin's cheeks gained a faint tinge of color. "Well, I don't see him stopping me!"
"That's–! Well, what the heck was he supposed to do? Beat you within an inch of your life? He tried just about every trick in the book except that and nothing else worked, so he eventually just gave up and let you do as you pleased!"
Mushin smiled victoriously as he puffed up his chest.
"Exactly! So, I win!"
Dende facepalmed from the second-hand embarrassment at Mushin's shameless behavior. Rubbing his face, he wondered how Mushin could remain so unabashedly confident and cheeky even in front of Ajax, who was still getting to know them both.
Ajax observed their playful banter with a mixture of amusement and bemusement. While Mushin's boldness could be off-putting to some, Ajax sensed that beneath the bravado lay a deep-rooted loyalty and respect for his "big brother", albeit expressed in an unconventional direct manner.
"Okay, you two, let's get moving. We can talk on the way; we're not completely safe yet," Ajax said before Dende and Mushin could veer off on another off-topic tangent. With these two in tow, he had a feeling that the journey back would be quite colorful, to say the least.
"Alright, Big Brother Ajax!"
"…"
Oh boy.
~ At the Same Time: Namekian Village ~
Frieza regarded the group of despondent Frieza Force soldiers with cold indifference. Not all of them had succeeded in their tasks; in fact, only a pitiful few had managed to succeed. Out of nearly three dozen Namekians, only three had been recaptured.
"Explain yourselves," Frieza demanded sharply with displeasure.
The soldiers and grunts nervously shifted under Frieza's penetrating gaze, none daring to speak first. The memory of the fate of those who had disappointed Frieza before loomed over them like a guillotine. Despite knowing that not speaking would likely seal their fate, they also knew all too well the consequences of speaking out of turn–or first.
There was a tense silence before one of the soldiers, sweating profusely, cleared his throat and hesitantly stepped forward. His voice trembled as he spoke, carefully selecting his words.
"M-my lord, the Namekians... they were more cunning than we had anticipated," the soldier stammered, his eyes fixed on the ground to avoid Frieza's piercing stare. "They must have had unexpected allies because they ...were able to evade our detection."
Frieza's gaze narrowed, his icy silence unbroken. He lifted a finger, pointing at the soldier who was reporting to him.
Though unaware of this gesture due to keeping his eyes down, the soldier continued speaking after nervously swallowing, having interpreted the silence as a bad omen.
"We did everything we could, my Lord!" the soldier hastily added, his voice tinged with desperation.
Frieza maintained his silence, his expression inscrutable. Meanwhile, the rest of the group dared not even breathe too loudly, fearful of attracting any attention to themselves.
Gradually, a purple light began to coalesce around Frieza's fingertips. The soldier, noticing the ominous glow on the ground, fell to his knees and kowtowed, pleading for mercy.
Before Frieza could execute the minion, another voice rang out timely from among the ranks of soldiers.
"Lord Frieza, reporting!" Another soldier stepped forward, breaking ranks from the others. "Approximately 5 minutes ago, the power levels of all the Namekians suddenly faded simultaneously. It is the cause of our collective failure, sir!"
Frieza's cold eyes shifted to the soldier who dared to speak, briefly scanning the man's features. The soldier had black hair and a nondescript face, resembling one of those filthy monkeys only with nothing of particular note. Despite Frieza's intense scrutiny, the soldier managed to maintain his composure, though a slight sheen of sweat betrayed his nervousness.
Frieza redirected his focus to the three Namekian captives on the ground.
"If I recall correctly, soldier, you were among the few who managed to succeed in your mission. How did you overcome this challenge that your peers could not?"
The soldier snapped back to attention, maintaining a poised and disciplined demeanor.
"Sir! Upon detecting the anomaly, I activated my spare scouter. After confirming it wasn't a scouter malfunction, I used my primary scouter to conduct a standard sonar scan instead of an energy scan while simultaneously directing my spare scouter to apply a filtering algorithm aimed at excluding non-moving objects and allies. This allowed me to isolate the signals that are most likely from the fleeing Namekians."
"An algorithm?" The galactic emperor inquired, intrigued by the soldier's response and momentarily dismissing the death beam at his fingertip.
"Yes, sir!"
"Implemented on the spot?"
"Yes, sir!"
Frieza reclined on his throne as he considered the soldier's rapid decision-making and strategic use of technology. It demonstrated the soldier's resourcefulness and adaptability to unforeseen circumstances. He glanced at Zarbon, his trusted advisor, who also showed interest in the soldier's account. After sharing a few significant looks, Frieza addressed the soldier once more.
"Excellent work. Your initiative is commendable, and competence always has a place in my ranks," Frieza stated simply. His gaze then roamed over to the other assembled soldiers. "As for the rest of you..."
"Lord Frieza?" Zarbon smoothly interjected, causing Frieza to trail off.
Frieza turned his head to Zarbon, acknowledging his right-hand man's request for attention.
"I recommend we avoid wasting manpower unnecessarily at this stage," Zarbon advised calmly. "We are far from the Empire, and without a reliable means to pinpoint the Dragon Balls, our resources—especially our soldiers—will become increasingly valuable."
Frieza stared at Zarbon unblinkingly. The air between them seemed to hum with unspoken tension, each moment stretching out until finally, Frieza nodded in acknowledgment.
"Your counsel is sound. We shall return to the mothership then. Torture these Namekians for information and continue to monitor the situation closely. We must adjust our strategy accordingly," Frieza ordered. "And increase security measures. I want a comprehensive analysis of what transpired and why our detection methods failed."
With a subtle motion, Frieza's levitating throne glided through the air as he swiftly issued commands to his subordinates. The relieved Frieza Force soldiers sprang into action, gathering the captives and preparing to depart from the village.
Meanwhile, Zarbon approached the soldier who had reported to Frieza moments earlier and asked, "Guavon, was it? Recruited from Planet Frieza #41 approximately two galactic standard years ago?"
"Yes, sir! You know my name, sir! It's an honor, sir!" Guavon confirmed, his voice excited. He took a deep breath to compose himself before continuing in a much calmer tone. "Yes, I have served in various capacities within the Frieza Force since my enlistment, sir!"
"Good work today. Have your squadron leader forward me your details. I will review your performance and consider you for promotion if merited."
"Yes, sir!" Guavon managed to respond, his voice trembling with emotion as his chest swelled with pride.
There was a reason for Guavon's reaction.
Promotions within the cutthroat hierarchy of the Frieza Force were both exceedingly rare and highly coveted. The Cold Empire as a whole valued both technical skill and power, but not the Frieza Force. Within the Frieza Force, power was everything —it determined your allies, your survival, and your future.
In this organization, advancing without the necessary power meant constant vulnerability to challenges from stronger subordinates. Every subordinate had the right to challenge their superiors for their position, and for those lacking strength, a promotion was no different than a death sentence.
However, promotions granted directly by top figures such as General Zarbon, Elite Captain Ginyu, Captain Vegeta, or Lord Frieza carried great significance. These promotions were symbols of personal recognition, akin to a seal of inviolability. Receiving such a promotion was not just an advancement in rank but also a form of protection from the ambitions and rivalries rampant within the ranks.
Challenging Guavon for his position, if he were to be promoted, would be no different than challenging General Zarbon himself. And Zarbon had not maintained his position for decades without a damn good reason.
As the squadron flew in formation behind Frieza on their journey back to the mothership, Guavon's colleagues cast him jealous and resentful glances, fully aware of the rarity and privilege of such a special event.
Guavon himself could barely contain his joy, overwhelmed and in disbelief at the potential opportunity bestowed upon him.
Thus, the entourage made their way back to the mothership.
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