Two days later—
Inside Capsule Corporation's massive courtyard, a rather unusual travel group had fully assembled.
The members included:
Goku, Bulma, Tights, Android 18, Piccolo, little Bra, Vegeta and his wife Mollyan, plus Krillin and his wife Marron.
Originally, Goku hadn't planned to invite Piccolo.
After all—
This trip was mostly organized around families.
Besides finding a new Guardian for Earth, the real purpose was to let everyone relax, enjoy life, and strengthen their family bonds.
But because the destination was New Namek—
Piccolo's homeworld—
Once he learned about it, he naturally wanted to visit his people.
So he quietly joined the travel group by himself.
Some time later—
The Galaxy Cruiser left the Solar System and entered stable interstellar travel.
The interior of the ship, however, was incredibly lively.
At the center lounge area—
Goku, Bulma, 18, and Tights were all sitting cross-legged on the floor playing cards.
Bulma slammed down a pair of Jokers dramatically.
"DOUBLE JOKERS!"
Everyone stared at her.
"Can't beat it."
"Pass."
"Pass."
Bulma proudly tossed out her final two cards.
"Pair of threes."
"I win again!"
Goku, 18, and Tights all threw their remaining cards into the pile.
Bulma burst into smug laughter.
"Hahaha!"
"Goku, your card skills are terrible!"
Goku angrily scratched his hair.
He even looked behind himself suspiciously—
There wasn't a mirror for cheating.
"How is my luck THIS bad?!"
"I haven't won even once!"
18 calmly shuffled the cards while peeling a paper strip off her face.
"That's because you're way too easy to read."
"You dragged me down with you."
Goku immediately retorted:
"Like you're any better."
"You can't even remember which cards were played."
At that moment—
Tights lovingly stuck another paper strip onto Goku's face.
Unfortunately—
There were already too many strips attached.
The newly placed one immediately fell off after a few seconds.
Tights looked troubled.
"Oh no…"
"There's no space left on Goku's face anymore."
"How are we supposed to punish him now?"
Bulma suddenly grinned mischievously.
"Big sis…"
"Don't you love looking at eight-pack abs?"
"Why don't we just make him take off his shirt and stick the paper strips on his body instead?"
Tights' eyes instantly lit up.
"Great idea!"
"As expected of my biological sister!"
"So generous!"
She immediately licked another paper strip for extra stickiness and aimed at Goku.
Before Goku could even react—
Tights rolled up her sleeves aggressively.
"You idiot, Goku!"
"Hurry up and strip already!"
"Why are you dragging this out?!"
"Big sis…"
"If you act this fierce, you'll never get married…"
Meanwhile—
At the observation window—
Vegeta stood alone with his arms crossed, staring coldly into the rapidly passing nebulae outside.
It looked like he was admiring the scenery—
But there wasn't the slightest trace of appreciation in his eyes.
Mollyan approached while carrying a cup of hot tea.
She gently nudged his arm.
"Vegeta…"
"Want some tea?"
Without turning around, Vegeta replied coldly:
"I don't need it."
Mollyan didn't mind.
Instead, she moved closer and quietly whispered:
"I know what you're thinking."
"You're worried this trip is interfering with your training, right?"
Vegeta merely snorted.
Mollyan gently wrapped an arm around his shoulder.
"I know you want to become stronger."
"But you can't stay tense all the time."
"Relaxing occasionally isn't a bad thing."
"Training and studying are the same."
"When it's time to work hard, you go all out."
"But when it's time to play, you should enjoy yourself too."
"That's how efficiency becomes highest."
"Look at Goku."
"He spends time with his wives and children all the time."
"And honestly…"
"They look really happy."
"I even heard he trains together with the kids in the mountains regularly."
Vegeta finally turned his head toward Goku's direction.
There—
Goku and 18 both had countless paper strips stuck all over themselves.
Goku's entire upper body was practically covered.
Yet somehow—
He looked genuinely happy.
Vegeta immediately snorted again and turned away.
"…Ridiculous."
Elsewhere—
Krillin was frantically helping Marron organize luggage while she applied makeup in front of a mirror.
As she searched through her bag, she asked:
"Honey, where's my sunscreen?"
"I told you to pack it for me."
"Why can't I find it?"
Krillin scratched his bald head awkwardly.
"Uh…"
"I figured space doesn't really have sunlight…"
Marron widened her eyes dramatically.
"Krillin!"
"You seriously didn't bring it?!"
"What if New Namek still has three suns?!"
"I'll get tanned!"
Seeing her getting upset, Krillin hurriedly panicked.
"Don't worry!"
"I'll ask Bulma if she has some!"
Before Krillin could even ask—
Bulma immediately rejected him while continuing to play cards.
"Don't ask me."
"I don't have any."
"And besides—"
"A naturally beautiful genius like me doesn't need makeup."
Krillin: "..."
Marron: "..."
In another corner of the spaceship—
Piccolo sat cross-legged meditating.
Beside him—
Little Bra copied his posture and closed her eyes seriously.
A while later—
Piccolo finally spoke.
"Not bad."
"Your ki control improved quite a bit."
Bra immediately opened her eyes excitedly.
"Uncle Piccolo!"
"When do you think I'll become a Super Saiyan?"
Piccolo crossed his arms.
"Impatience is a major weakness."
"Focus on your foundation first."
"The power will come naturally."
"…Oh."
Bra looked disappointed.
Then she started playing with her hair while muttering:
"If I can't transform soon…"
"I kinda want to dye my hair blonde and cut it short like 18's."
Piccolo nearly fell over.
"You want Super Saiyan just to change your hair color?!"
Bra blinked innocently.
"…Obviously?"
"I think 18's blonde hair and blue eyes are super pretty."
"She looks beautiful and cool."
"Don't you think so?"
Piccolo's face darkened.
"I honestly don't see much difference."
Some time later—
The group finally arrived at New Namek.
Bulma stood proudly and announced:
"Alright everyone!"
"We've arrived!"
"The atmosphere is perfectly breathable."
"Everybody can get off now!"
"Finally!"
"I was suffocating!"
Marron rushed ahead first.
However—
Once they walked deeper onto Namekian soil—
The scene before them instantly stunned everyone.
The once lush green world was now filled with countless machines.
Large groups of Namekians were being forced to labor like slaves under robotic supervision.
Krillin widened his eyes.
"W-What is this…?"
Tights looked fascinated.
"Wow…"
"New Namek is weird."
"Is this some kind of world where machines rule over organic life?"
"I've seriously never seen anything like this before."
She immediately pulled out her camera.
"Now THIS is incredible material!"
Click! Click! Click!
"Stop taking pictures!"
Piccolo suddenly barked sharply.
Tights froze.
"Huh?"
Vegeta glanced around grimly.
"They're being enslaved by robots."
Tights gasped.
"Enslaved by robots?!"
"That's such an exciting novel concept!"
Right then—
Goku finally arrived at the front after helping Bulma and Bra off the ship.
The moment he saw the countless machines—
His eyes instantly filled with intense vigilance.
He had already vaguely realized who these invaders were.
Goku immediately turned and shouted:
"Bulma! Bra!"
"Get back on the ship!"
"Marron! Mollyan too!"
"Hurry!"
Bulma looked confused.
"What happened?"
"There are invaders!"
"There may be fighting!"
Then Goku looked toward 18.
"18."
"You stay with them."
"Protect everyone."
18 glanced at the robots in annoyance.
"What a mood killer…"
Still—
She obediently escorted Bulma, Bra, Tights, and the others back onto the ship.
At that exact moment—
A familiar figure slowly appeared before the group.
His body was entirely composed of shining silver metal.
Under the sunlight—
He gleamed brilliantly.
When he saw Goku and Vegeta—
He smiled coldly.
"Well, well…"
"So it's Vegeta and Son Goku."
"What a coincidence."
"I was just thinking that once I gathered enough energy, I'd head to Earth to find you."
"Who would've thought you'd come to me instead?"
Vegeta's pupils trembled violently.
"You…"
"Don't tell me…"
"You're Cooler?!"
The silver metal figure answered calmly:
"That's right."
"It's me."
"Seems your memory still works, Vegeta."
Vegeta clenched his fists tightly.
"How are you still alive?"
"You should've died already!"
Metal Cooler nodded casually.
"Yes."
"I also believed I was dead after being thrown into the sun."
"But fortunately…"
"Although my body was destroyed…"
"My head was captured by the Big Gete Star."
"It preserved all my memories."
"Afterward…"
"I merged with the planet's supercomputer."
"And eventually…"
"It rebuilt me into this perfect metallic form."
Metal Cooler slowly tightened his fist.
"Though I lost my original flesh…"
"I've gained the technology of the Big Gete Star."
"My power is far beyond what it once was."
"From now on…"
"You may call me…"
Metal Cooler."
"Metal Cooler…"
"That's right."
"Metal Cooler."
He smirked coldly.
"So, Vegeta…"
"Feeling despair yet?"
Vegeta's mouth twisted upward arrogantly.
"Hah!"
"So that's all this is?"
"You got turned into some mechanical puppet?"
"How pathetic."
"Funny enough…"
"I recently dealt with Androids back on Earth."
"In front of Saiyans…"
"Artificial beings are garbage."
Vegeta roared as golden flames exploded around him.
"WATCH ME TURN YOU INTO SCRAP METAL!"
He blasted forward like a cannonball.
The two instantly exchanged dozens of blows in the sky, shockwaves cracking the earth below.
"Kakarot!"
Vegeta shouted during battle.
"DON'T INTERFERE!"
"This fight is mine!"
Goku nodded calmly and didn't interrupt.
Instead—
He slowly floated higher into the sky while staring toward the distant mountain ranges.
There should still be thousands of Metal Coolers hidden there.
But because they resembled Androids—
They possessed no detectable ki.
Even Goku couldn't sense them.
Back when Goku killed Cooler—
Cooler's strength had only been around Frieza's level.
Now, however—
Vegeta was dozens of times stronger than before.
Everyone originally thought he'd crush Metal Cooler effortlessly.
Yet unexpectedly—
Metal Cooler had actually forced Vegeta into a difficult battle.
Vegeta's fists rained down endlessly upon Metal Cooler's body.
Every strike carried enough force to destroy mountains.
Yet the dented metallic body restored itself instantly every single time.
The liquid silver metal shimmered mockingly beneath the sunlight.
Metal Cooler laughed.
"It's useless, Vegeta!"
"As long as my metallic body isn't completely annihilated…"
"It can regenerate forever!"
Vegeta wiped blood from the corner of his mouth and grinned viciously.
"Is that so?"
"Then try surviving THIS!"
He instantly retreated dozens of meters into the air.
A gigantic energy wave gathered between his hands.
"GALICK GUN!!"
A massive purple beam instantly swallowed Metal Cooler whole.
BOOOOOOM!!!
The explosion consumed everything in sight.
When the light finally faded—
The blast had flattened the entire surrounding landscape.
Seeing nothing remaining within the ruins—
Vegeta slowly curled his lips into a smug smile.
"Hmph."
"A puppet is still just a puppet."
"This kind of regeneration ability only guarantees a worse death."
"You won't even leave behind a corpse…"
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