Chapter 3 The Salamander Temple

"Proud warriors of the Plant Trade Organization, I'd like to inform you of the change in command. Starting as of this moment I Blize, the second son of Lord Frieza will be in control of this expedition. Thank you all for your participation and let us claim Victory!" A small green Frost demon yells excitedly to rally the troops. 'There's no fucking way, what is the plot' I can't help but shake knowing most of my pre-knowledge has just been deemed worthless, at least in terms of the Frieza arc.

''Quit gawking kid, it's just a change in command, happens all the time,'' Shugesh says.

"That's not the reason Shugesh," Bardock said before turning to me in question. "How high is his power level Scorz?". 'Well shit why didn't I check already'

LVL ???

BLIZE 1ST FORM

POWERLEVEL: 458,980

'At Least he's slightly weaker than canon Frieza, first form Frieza in canon was around 540,000. So if I had to guess..' I think to myself trying to estimate.

"Right now? 460,000. His Full power is just a guess." I answer Bardock who jumps in worry.

"The hell do you mean his full power?" Bardock asked exasperated.

"My ability tells me how much power they're hiding in their body, but some races have forms that completely mask it. His full power is somewhere in the 100,000,000 range." I answer with a bead of sweat running down my cheek.

"There's no fucking way." Shugesh shakes in mild horror.

"Yeah kid quit fucking with us," Tora adds sternly but I can tell by Bardocks look that he believes every word. 'Surprising given that there's no recorded power that high but that's easily solved by them withholding the information. Don't give the monkeys a goal or so on.

"Believe me or not it doesn't matter, don't even look at that guy," I warn the squad seriously.

It's only been a week since the last raid on the Sphinx temple, since then the squads have been sent on nothing but pure reconnaissance. Lucky for me I actually had time to complete my daily training quest every day. Plus I gained stats across the board and my ki control has finally hit the level cap and evolved giving me a massive gain in both mind and wisdom. Add that to my .5 Zenkai from the Sphinx mission and my power level skyrocketed.

Lvl10 (3650/4500)

Title: Low-class Saiyan warrior

HP 2500/2500

KI 2840/2840

Vigor:50-(55)

Strength:114-(119)

Dexterity:32-(48)

Mind:50-(65)

Endurance:64-(70)

Wisdom:48-(77)

Stat points:20-(30)

Power Level:5,590-(6,424)

Current multiplier: 22X Physical stats

'Let's just say that was the whole reason I grinded ki control so hard, after my power passed six thousand I realized I was out of time to mask my signature before I got asked some difficult questions. After the skill turned from basic to intermediate I finally grasped how to hide from Scouters, I didn't get a skill because it's purely my ki control.'

KI CONTROL (INTERMEDIATE) LVL 3/100- Ability to use and reduce KI cost and KI use as well as being able to create techniques. KI COST FOR MOVES AND TECHNIQUES REDUCED BY 45%.

"Did we finally get a real mission? '' I heard Fasha ask Bardock, disrupting my thought.

"Not yet, I'm going to go bug one of the lieutenants to see if I can get one. Meet you guys back at camp" Bardock said before walking off toward the command center.

'Well I guess that's settled, Blize seemed off though. He seemed like he meant what he was saying, I expected a son of Frieza to be more cynical.' I think to myself in confusion. Thankfully we finally have a little time off before Bardock comes back, I can finally start training my new moves.

"Hey Scorz, you coming?" Shugesh asks curiously.

"No, I think I'm gonna go to the desert and train a little, radio over if we get a mission. Thanks man" I tell him with a wave as I fly toward a random dune.

Honestly, I need to come up with a plan soon. There are a bunch of ways for me to boost my strength in this world but the problem is I'm stuck in the army. Not a bad thing per se as I'm gaining battle experience and building a good base for myself, not to mention the amount of quest prompts I get in a war. I think my main goal once I get some leave time should be to either go to Yardrat or somehow find Namek.

Sadly Namek coordinates are non-existent, surprising considering both Frieza and Vegeta seemed well aware of the planet and the race during canon. Maybe in the next twenty or so years, it gets discovered.

On the positive side of things, the planet Yardrat does exist but it seems that the race is extinct. I highly doubt that though knowing they are a race full of teleporters. My guess is whenever they sense anything malicious heading towards them they all just disappear, a good strategy to deal with Frieza or anyone else that might try to enslave or kill them. So I guess that'll be my next mission, with instant transmission my life will be so much easier and I can really start plotting.

TIMED QUEST ACCEPTED

THE MASTERS OF TRAVEL

OBJECTIVE:IN ONE YEAR TIME TRAVEL TO YARDRAT TO LEARN THEIR ABILITIES

REWARDS:15,000XP, RANDOM SKILL-SCROLL

'Hell yeah, hopefully, I can talk Bardock into letting me leave for a few months. I bet if I told him I'll share what I learned with him he'd make an excuse for me.' I think with a smirk before touching down in the desert.

"Alright let's take this for a test run!" I hype up myself as I pull out a dagger and force my will on it. A sheen of dark aura covers the edge of the weapon before I begin swinging and slicing with precision.

With a thought I pull out the second dagger and coat it as well, going into a flurry of strikes against an imaginary opponent. 'Honestly, as I am now I'd probably be able to fight that bastard Kroto head-on without my hit-and-run tactics' I can help but smile at my progress.

Haki is a very odd concept, the easy part to understand is willpower. All sentient creatures have it but it was rarely made weaponized. The confusing thing for me is gauging how long I can use it, till I lose my will. Do I get scared in a fight losing my concentration? I simply get tired or very injured? I don't have a bar as I do for KI. It's more like a mental image I can barely make out. But even with that I still can't tell because it seems the cost is erratic. I coat the blades once but the cost is never the same, a real conundrum. The more important question is can I learn the other types now that I know Armament? I should be able to given that I now have a basic understanding, but it's all just guesswork at this point.

But having something like Conquers Haki during a war? Absolutely priceless. An instant gain in experience per use with how many enemies are weaker than 2,000 on both sides. That's with guessing it'd actually work like how I think it would in this universe.

Three hours later I hear my scouter going off giving me coordinates for a meetup point, with a sigh I release the Haki over my blades before sheathing them as I blast off into the sky. Toward the end there I managed to get a larger coating on my blades than normal, an inch or so but still progress.

ARMAMENT HAKI (NOVICE) LVL8/25- ENFORCE YOUR WILL INTO CORPOREAL FORM TO COVER YOUR BODY OR WEAPONS IN HAKI, ALLOWING YOU TO BOOST YOUR DAMAGE AS WELL AS DEFENSE. CURRENT MASTERY-23%BOOST ATTACKS AND DEFENSE.

'8 levels in a week isn't bad considering I mainly focus on KI control, gaining 100 levels on novice for that was brutal. Never thought I'd sit and meditate for over 30 hours in one week willingly.'

"Has it only been 3 weeks?" I can't help but sigh at how much my life changed. Going from a regular human to a flying Alien is the weirdest thing to ever happen to me. 'I just hope Sarah is ok, hopefully, she and her mom are doing fine without me. At Least they're rich from the life insurance.' I can't help but sadly laugh.

It only takes about 15 minutes to reach the coordinates that were sent over by the squad. Seems everyone's getting ready for something big, polishing their armor and sharpening their weapons.

"Hey everyone hope I wasn't late" I come down with a smile and a wave.

"What's up kid" everyone replied besides Bardock.

"So what's going on, we finally get a real mission?" I asked.

"No, just some more fucking recon. They've been here for a few months, I don't know how much information they need at this point." Bardock says frustrated.

"You're right it doesn't make much sense, after the success of the first mission they've been giving us nothing but busy work," Borgos adds with a shake of his head.

"I mean it's obvious ain't it? They're trying to hold Bardock and us back from making a wave this time. I think they're trying to make 'Lord Blize' look good for his daddy." Fasha spoke her opinion with a sneer on her beautiful lips,' god damn these Saiyan hormones aaannndd she caught me again, jeez does that woman have a six sense when guys are looking at her'

"But what are we monitoring this time, supply line?" Shugesh questioned.

"No, we're heading towards a temple again, but this time we have a strict order to merely investigate. If we're found we are supposed to run." Bardock said with a snarl.

"It doesn't sound like that's all we're doing?" I asked in mild worry. 'Not too surprising they're itching for a fight after a week, I'd be lying if I didn't say I wanted to see how fast my Armament would level in live combat'.

"Who's to say we didn't get 'surrounded' and had to kill everything in sight?" Bardock asked with a devious smirk.

'Yeah, this sounds like a fucking stupid idea, but I'm not the boss' I can't help but think with a sigh as everyone takes off.

"But which temple are we attacking and who is the commander?" I asked catching up with everyone.

"Oh it's the Salamander temple, be careful though. Intel says they all use some type of poison on their weapons and bombs, a tricky tribe that one. There are only captains at this base but there are multiple so we all need to be alert." Borgos informs me.

"The plans going to be different than last time, this time we're working in pairs because of the chance you guys could run into a Captain. There are At Least 5 on this base alone so it's the best precaution I can make. It's going to be Borgos and me, Tora with Shugesh, and you two last." Bardock finishes looking at me and Fasha.

QUEST ACCEPTED

SALAMANDERS NEST

OBJECTIVE: DESTROY THE TEMPLE AND KILL AT LEAST TWO CAPTAINS

BONUS OBJECTIVE: PROTECT FASHA

REWARDS:3,000XP, ???,???

"You guys are crazy, what happens when command decides to punish us with more busy work than before?" Fasha asked with a resigned sigh. 'Can't help but agree but I need more quests it's been a whole week since the last decent one so I'm just gonna keep my mouth shut about it'

"They can't keep it up forever, I heard Frieza wants this planet under our control within the month, no matter the losses," Bardock said with his usual snarl.

"That's nice, looks like this war will end in a month. This damn sand gets in everything, I don't think I've ever been more uncomfortable in my life." I replied.

"If we survive." The Borgos joins in with a dark laugh.

Thirty minutes later we come on the scene, something I didn't expect. A slave labor camp.

"Why do they have slaves carrying the supplies, they're weak. Doesn't make much sense when they have thousands of warriors?" I asked everyone.

"They have work and their fed, most weak races under Frost demon rule can't ask for much better," Tora explains. 'So they're more like indentured servants?'

"It doesn't matter, it isn't like they're going to escape the blast radius." Bardock cuts the conversation off with a flurry of blasts into the area.

"Alright everyone you have your objectives, carry them out quickly and kill anything that moves!" Bardock yells out disappearing with Borgos with Tora and Shugesh quickly heading in another direction.

"Well, you coming? You gotta protect me right." Fasha teased with a flirty smirk before flying off toward the command center of the base.

"Of course, it's the plan" I reply with smirk firing stray ki blasts at random enemies.

We both drop to the ground quickly carving through mobs of weak enemies and slaves like butter before a real challenge shows up, a vice captain but we're about the same level so I nod to Fasha telling her I got this one. Before heading toward the red Mohawk guy ordering the slaves.

VICE CAPTAIN ZUKO

POWERLEVEL: 8,450

'He's around 2,000 stronger than me but I'm sure Haki and my stupid high strength stat will hopefully bridge that gap' I think before coating my blades in Armament and heading straight for him. He parry's it immediately much to my surprise, but the sword in his hand makes me take a step back with caution.

A Japanese straight sword with a snake's eye in its guard. "Kusanagi?" I whisper out in confusion wondering how this low-ranked guy got something like that. His whole body twitched when he heard me, caution written all over him.

HIDDEN QUEST DISCOVERED

THE HOLDER OF THE SNAKE

OBJECTIVE: KILL ZUKO

REWARDS: KUSANAGI, 2,500XP

"How do you know this sword's name, boy?" He asks me with a scowl turning his blade with murderous intent.

"Past life." I tell him honestly as I will my strongest Armament onto my daggers.'I don't know how well my Daedric daggers can hold up against Kusanagi but at least it's not something crazy like Zangestu, my Armament should make them semi-unbreakable'

"Very funny kid, you should probably get out of here before the captains come. You may be able to beat me but once they get here you're dead." He says lazily as he twirls his blade into a fencing stance. 'The real question is does the blade still have its abilities, Orichmaru could extend the sword over 250 meters so I need to be careful, I think before I rush him.

Parry into a stab, slash into a back step, parry into an overhead slash. Yeah, this bastard is good at sword fighting, but can he block a blast the same way? I think before charging my signature attack as I get pushed away after a parry. A third of my ki instantly vanished as a four-foot wide blast comes flying directly at his sternum. Well, it won't matter if he blocks directly as I throw one of my daggers into the shadow of the blast. 'A pot shot admittedly, but a good one.

The smoke leaves to show Zuko kneeling on the ground, a trail of blood flowing down his forehead, and a dagger embedded in his right shoulder blade. 'Lucky as shit, but some would say luck is a skill.' I think before he stands not even trying to remove the dagger.

"Ok you prick, I might have underestimated you but not anymore!" He yells in rage before the tip of the blade shoots forward at blinding speed.

I fold my back to the ground holding my dagger blocking the 15-meter-long sword from slashing downward, black sparks of lighting flew off my dagger in the exchange. I quickly use my strength to push the blade up to throw a few ki blasts to cover my retreat. Then it turns into a constant run-jump dodge, as the sword keeps piercing exactly where I'm going to be next. 'Can't let it hit me, I know my body's probably more resilient than most in Naruto but I don't want to risk getting poised with the Captains still out there.

I slide under the next jab before hopping onto the retracting blade, Zuko's eyes widen seeing my strange tactic, and just as he goes to twist it to take me off I push a decent amount ki into my arm before throwing my last dagger at an insane speed, the dagger flies true before blasting out of his sword arm. Crippled and bleeding Zuko staggers letting out a gasp before his eyes widen and he sees my open palm inches away from his face. A powerful beam completely engulfs him ending his life.

HIDDEN QUEST COMPLETE

THE HOLDER OF THE SNAKE

OBJECTIVE: KILL ZUKO

REWARDS: KUSANAGI, 2,500XP

LVL UP…. 15 STAT POINTS ADDED

'15? I guess it's because I passed level 10 to 11 so it's a new tier?' I guessed. 'But that's even half as important as this,' I think to myself as I pick up the mildly scorched blade.

SWORD OF KUSANAGI

EPIC GRADE

EFFECT: 85% CHANCE TO CAUSE A MILD PARALYSIS EFFECT.

SPECIAL ABILITY: EXTEND AND RETRACT UP TO 200 METERS AT GREAT SPEED

"Wish I had the scabbard but I can't complain when getting something this awesome," I say out aloud admiring my new blade.

About a minute later picking up my weapons and getting situated after the tough battle my Scouter starts ringing, I quickly go to answer after noticing how distracted I was.

"Kid get your ass over here now, I got a captain on my ass while you were playing swords," Fasha yelled between grunts of exertion.

"On my way keep him distracted, don't let him realize you have backup coming!" I yell back before lowering my KI and slipping into the crowds towards Fashas' coordinates. It doesn't take more than thirty seconds before I'm behind a rock looking over her battle. She's not doing horribly, a couple of bruises and cuts nothing major but her enemy? Not a scratch anywhere on him, he's nine feet tall and fucking huge. Probably as big as Nappa but 3 times stronger.

CAPTAIN GOSEI

POWER LEVEL: 13,780

'He's just toying with her, it's obvious he's got some game to play, probably going to beat her within an inch of her life then hold her hostage. As soon as he overreaches in this little game of his is when I'm going to attack. It doesn't take long for the bastard to try and grab at her, but that's also the same time that Kusanagi shoots out like a missile. 'The difference between how I use this blade and Zuko? This is a rifle in sword form, I know that unlike him and it shows quickly' I think as I watch the bastard's sixty-pound arm fall to the dirt and his scream of pure rage.

"ZUKO WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU, IS THIS TREASON!?" Gosei screams out in pure rage trying to catch sight of him. It's not ten seconds later that Fasha fires her strongest blast at his open back because he completely forgot about her in his rage. It doesn't do much damage but it makes the meat head turn toward her ready to end his game and just kill her.

"YOU FUCKING SAIYAN WHORE, I'M GOING TO BEAT YOU WITHIN AN INCH OF YOUR LIFE THEN LET MY MEN HAVE THEIR WAY WIT…" That's as far as he gets before my sword cleaves his head off his shoulders. 'He can't be serious, this man was an idiot I can't help but think when comparing him to someone like Zuko.

2,500 XP ADDED

"That guy was a fucking moron, he turns to attack the one that hasn't hurt him in five minutes while disregarding the one that just took his arm, it's very embarrassing losing to him for so long," Fasha said dejectedly.

"Yeah we got lucky there, now there are only 4 captains left before this is over," I tell her with a smile while I throw over an extra med pack.

"You think I don't know you waited till the last moment to look like a hero right?" She asked me with the same smirk she always wears when teasing me.

"Possibly" I reply with a smile, " let's get moving, I want to try to take out one more Captain."

"Such a little battle maniac," she says as we both head toward the highest power levels.

We don't get 200 feet before I had to jump back to avoid a beam blast aiming to take my legs out. I look up to see a skinny guy with a pair of daggers, yellow hair, and scars covering his teal skin. This person screams assassin.

"Huh, nice reflexes. I was sure that would at least take a leg." The assassin said before running his tongue along his blade's edge.

CAPTAIN HIROKO

POWER LEVEL: 23,109

'Fuck this is not good, the bastard is probably three times faster than me'

"Fasha, get back and cover me, this guy is in a different league than the meathead." I tell her in worry before putting every extra point I have into endurance.

"Try to get ahold of Bardock, he may be the only one us that can take him out" I whisper to her as she jumps back getting away from the fight.

'Status'

Lvl11 (1550/5000)

Title: Low-class Saiyan warrior

HP 2209/2500-(2809/3100)

KI 1323/2840

Vigor:55

Strength:119

Dexterity:48

Mind:65

Endurance:70-(100)

Wisdom:77

Stat points:30-(0)

Power Level:6,424-(7,084)

Current multiplier: 22X Physical stats

'Over 80% hp and a little less than half KI, I should be able to at least hold him off'

"You done strategizing over there kid?" The guy asks me disinterestedly as he released a flurry of small ki blasts.

I duck and dive as Fasha intercepts as many as she could, I quickly pull out Kusanagi that I had hidden under my gauntlet before quickly coating it in Haki. It shoots out like lightning, piercing through the air with a blackened tip. Hiroku's eyes widen monetarily before bringing his silver daggers up to block, he's flung back a couple of feet before flipping and landing undamaged.'I guess my luck ran out with the last two guys'

He charges me quickly after realizing the danger the blade poses. I guess now I know how Zuko felt fighting sword to the dagger as I have to pay twice the attention to the fast and precise strike that a pair of daggers can throw. I'm overwhelmed quickly before I get a slash down my right eye barely missing the organ itself. It's a superficial wound at most but god damn did it hurt, at least that's what I thought until I sway a little more than necessary 'poison' I realize quickly noticing how my health bar slowly draining by .3 a second

-65HP

Just before he goes in for another strike he's forced to jump back as a beam hits right where he used to be.

"Lose the sword kid, it's obvious you just learned to swing it, use those nice little daggers hanging on your belt" Hirako advised me with interest as he eyed the evil-looking blades.

"It's not like I had a choice you cocky bastard" I shoot back as retract Kusanagi and put it back under my gauntlet

He scoffs at my words before I quickly draw my daggers letting every single bit of Haki flow through them knowing this is probably my last battle of the day. Surprisingly the force answers greedily, coating both blades completely for the first time. ' I guess my luck hasn't hit zero yet' I think to myself with a smirk as I get into my stance.

Hirako smiles with bloodlust in his eyes before coming at me twice as fast as before. This time it's different, parry after parry, Mild injuries shared as we fight to a standstill, at least until I feel my Haki surge in response to my bloodlust, completely cutting through one of his daggers and two fingers in the end. We both jump back simultaneously seeing the result of the first real exchange in our knife fight. Mild cuts litter my body and I can feel the poison coursing stronger than before, it's almost reaching a hit point a second. At Least there is a time limit on the poison effect, it seems to be a 3-minute effect but it gets restarted every time this bastard lands a blow.

"Nice skills, but those daggers you have are even more interesting," he said with a crazed look licking the blood coming out of a small cut on his cheek

"If I let you borrow them will you fuck off until my boss comes and kills ya?" I ask diplomatically

"Not a chance kid, your way too fun for someone at your power level" he shoots it down quickly before rushing back in with a single dagger.

The fight continued the same way for another ten minutes, Hirako would jump in to get a few slashes to keep the poison going, and I would try my best to parry and strike back. But I gained three deep slash marks over my forearms and a deep diagonal gash over my chest leaking a worryingly large amount of blood.

-1559HP

"You can't last much longer kid, how about you join our side? We could use someone with your

skills, no reason to die for an empire that despises ya" He says sounding interested in between dodging a flurry of blasts from Fasha.

"Can't do it, pretty sure Cooler sees us as monkeys, same with his brother. It'd be just trading another slave master for another." I tell home with a smirk seeing a silhouette of green armor flying in quickly.

"I guess I can't blame ya, Saiyans are seen as nothing but war dogs anyway. See ya in the next life kid." He tells me with a cunning smirk charging an insanely large blast. But I can only smirk back in confidence.

"Yeah I'll see you when I get there, we can have a beer," I tell him with a smirk seeing his confused gaze with his head twisted around 360 degrees with Bardock's hands flying out from snapping his neck. 'At Least the prick didn't even feel it, not the worst guy I've ever met' I intone as I fall forward face first n pain and exhaustion.

3,200XP ADDED

'Wait I get experience points even if I don't get the killing blow, that's busted'

"HEY KID GET YOUR ASS UP!" Bardock yells walking up to me giving me a kick to the side

"BARDOCK WHAT THE HELLS WRONG WITH YOU, HES POISONED AND CUT UP ALL OVER!" Fasha screams at him in concern.

"Fucking dick. Captain's right breast pocket, antidote ``I gurgle through pain and ragged breaths as I pass out.

"Huh, the kid really got messed up, surprised he usually comes out of these kinds of fights at least walking." Bardock ponders.

"The guy's power was over 20,000, holding out for fifteen minutes is already crazy with the kids power," Borgos says from the side going over to the Captain to get the antidote. He quickly walks over to Scorz and pours it down his throat. Then picks him up throwing him over his shoulder.

"I know that's right, the crazy little bastard fought the strongest Captain here by himself while we finished the mission easily," Tora joins in dropping out of flight and landing by the squad.

"He'll be alright, kid probably just wanted to get a Zenkai out of this mission. You guys worry too much `` the leader says his opinion quickly.

"Alright, guys let's get the hell out of here before some scouts show up," Bardock says with a smirk before everyone blasts off into the sky, mission complete.