Piccolo struggled with his thoughts for a long time before finally crouching down. His face was filled with reluctance.
"Hmph. I'll trust you this once. But if I find out you've deceived me, I'll kill you without hesitation! Now tell me—how do we fuse?"
Nail looked at Piccolo, a trace of helplessness flashing through his eyes, but he answered seriously,
"Place your hand on my body and relax your mind. Leave the rest to me. Remember, after our assimilation, you'll possess far greater power. I hope you'll use it wisely."
Following Nail's instructions, Piccolo placed his hand on Nail's body, though his tone remained as harsh as ever.
"You'd better not try any tricks."
"You... I'm trying to help you... and instead of showing any gratitude... this is how you treat me..."
After speaking, Nail closed his eyes, and his body began to radiate a brilliant light.
Seeing this, Piccolo frowned immediately.
"Hey! What are you doing? What's going on?"
Nail didn't answer. The light around him only grew brighter.
Growing impatient, Piccolo cursed,
"Damn it... you..."
Just then, he suddenly felt an enormous surge of energy pouring out of Nail's body and flowing endlessly into his own.
His eyes widened in shock as he stared in disbelief at what was happening.
"W-What's going on?"
Piccolo muttered. He tried to pull away, only to discover that his body refused to move.
As the light intensified, Nail's body completely dissolved into pure radiance before shooting straight into Piccolo's body.
"Urgh!"
Piccolo instinctively shut his eyes as an overwhelming power flooded every part of his being.
When he opened them again, Nail was gone.
But his own body...
It had completely changed.
Even memories that had never belonged to him surfaced within his mind.
"..."
"This power..."
He clenched his fist, feeling the vast, surging strength coursing through his body. The corners of his lips unconsciously curled upward.
"I never imagined I could gain such incredible power!"
Piccolo tightened his fist, carefully sensing his transformed body.
"It's unbelievable! I never thought assimilation could grant such an enormous increase in strength! Now, no matter who my opponent is..."
"I'll win!"
Then he remembered Nail's final words, and his expression turned solemn.
"Don't worry, Nail. I will defeat Frieza and save Planet Namek!"
With that thought, Piccolo shot into the sky, flying excitedly toward the distant pillar of light.
Frieza and Piccolo flew one after another toward the pillar of light where Porunga had appeared.
After listening to Dende's wish, however, the Namekian Dragon shook his head.
"I'm sorry. That wish exceeds my power. Please make another wish."
"..."
Dende had already suspected that Porunga might not be able to grant it, but hearing the confirmation still left him disappointed.
"So it really is beyond Porunga's ability... Then what should I use the third wish for?"
Krillin and Gohan could only watch as Dende conversed with Porunga in the Namekian language, unable to understand a single word.
Krillin suggested,
"How about having the Dragon send all of us back to Earth? We'd be safe that way!"
Goku was the first to object.
"Krillin, no! It's not every day I get the chance to face the strongest warrior in the universe. I really want to fight him!"
Inspired by his father, Gohan nodded firmly.
"That's right! I can't just abandon everyone on Namek and run away!"
Dende shook his head as well.
This time, with him here, he would do everything in his power to save Planet Namek and eliminate Frieza.
If Namek didn't have to be destroyed, there was no reason for anyone to flee to Earth.
At that moment, Dende suddenly remembered—
Frieza should already be on his way!
"I need to trigger the system one more time!"
Without another thought, Dende hurried over to Vegeta.
Stretching out his hand, he touched Vegeta as a flash of green light enveloped him.
Vegeta immediately awakened from unconsciousness.
He stared blankly at his hands before clenching his fists, feeling the immense energy surging through his body.
A smug, arrogant grin spread across his face.
"Hahahaha! My power has increased again!"
His wild laughter echoed across the entire area.
Soon, his attention fell upon Porunga.
"What is that thing? Could it be... the Dragon Balls?"
The thought flashed through his mind, and his eyes sharpened.
Then he noticed Dende standing beside him.
A crafty smile appeared on his face.
He instantly grabbed Dende by the collar and snarled,
"Make a wish! Turn me into a Super Saiyan!"
His heart burned with anticipation.
He couldn't wait to use the Dragon Balls to fulfill his wish.
Dende, however, panicked.
He had planned to activate the system to boost his own strength, but the return reward still refused to trigger.
Even worse...
After healing Vegeta once again, Vegeta's strength had already surpassed his own.
Originally, Vegeta's body possessed a battle power of 180,000.
After recovering from another near-death experience, his battle power had nearly reached 400,000.
Held firmly in Vegeta's grasp, Dende's own 200,000 battle power was nowhere near enough to break free.
He could only shout,
"Porunga can only grant wishes within his power! Your wish is beyond his ability. He can't grant it!"
"What?!"
Vegeta roared in anger before immediately changing his demand.
"Then make me immortal! Hurry! Or I'll kill you!"
As he spoke, Vegeta raised his hand, ready to teach Dende a painful lesson.
But something unexpected happened.
Before he could strike, someone firmly grabbed his wrist.
Vegeta's expression changed.
Just as he turned around to see who dared interfere...
A familiar voice sounded behind him.
"Vegeta! Don't do it!"
It was Goku.
Vegeta's face darkened instantly.
He knew that, even with his newfound strength, he still wasn't a match for Goku.
Goku had been watching everything from afar.
The moment he saw Vegeta threatening Dende, he rushed over without hesitation.
Seeing Goku rescue him, Dende finally let out a sigh of relief.
He looked at Goku gratefully.
Thank you, Goku... If you hadn't come, I might really have died...
At the same time, as he looked at the furious Vegeta, Dende couldn't help roaring inwardly,
"Damn it! Every one of you is practically cheating! None of you were stronger than me before, yet now you've all surpassed me! And this lousy system... I've tried six times already! It still hasn't triggered the return reward!"
Just then—
A figure suddenly appeared before Porunga at incredible speed and shouted,
"Grant me an eternal, indestructible body!"
Everyone turned to look.
It was Frieza!
Not knowing that wishes could only be made in the Namekian language, Goku immediately cried out,
"Oh no!"
He anxiously looked toward Porunga.
The moment Frieza finished speaking, Porunga's massive body began flickering.
Then—
He vanished from the sky.
The heavens immediately returned to normal.
The seven Dragon Balls reverted into ordinary stone and fell heavily to the ground.
"W-We're finished..."
Looking at the Dragon Balls that had become lifeless stones—just like Earth's Dragon Balls after a wish had been granted—Goku instantly assumed Frieza had succeeded.
Dende, however, felt only sorrow.
Krillin and Gohan also understood what had happened, grief filling their hearts.
"The Dragon Balls disappeared... which means..."
"The Grand Elder has died."
Seeing everyone's despair, Frieza laughed gleefully.
"Heh heh heh... You fools almost ruined my plans!"
As he spoke, he clenched his fist, carefully sensing the changes brought by the Dragon Balls.
"Hm?"
Almost immediately, he realized...
His body hadn't changed at all.
Exactly like before.
"What's going on? Didn't my wish come true? Then what just happened?"
Vegeta was the first to burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! Frieza! Stop dreaming! The Grand Elder is dead! The Dragon Balls are gone! No one can have their wish granted now! Not me—and certainly not you!"
"Oh?"
Frieza immediately recalled that Nail had said the very same thing earlier.
"So that old fool died?"
"He could have died sooner or later, but he had to die the exact moment I made my wish!"
"How infuriating!"
The muscles on Frieza's face twitched with rage.
"I can no longer detect the Ginyu Force's battle powers."
"Since you obtained the Dragon Balls... I assume the five of them were eliminated by you."
"Damn it..."
"I was only one step away from fulfilling my wish."
"If you hadn't interfered..."
"For the first time..."
"I am truly furious."
Frieza slowly descended before them.
Although that twisted smile still remained on his face, everyone could clearly feel the terrifying rage and killing intent hidden beneath it.
"Unforgivable!"
"You filthy insects..."
"Absolutely unforgivable!"
"I'll tear every last one of you into pieces to satisfy my anger!"
At last, Frieza could no longer suppress his fury and roared.
"Hahaha! Frieza, don't underestimate me!"
"To tell you the truth..."
"I've already become a Super Saiyan!"
Facing Frieza without the slightest fear, Vegeta stepped forward confidently, shielding Dende behind him as he proudly declared those words.