Ch. 77: Vegeta and Nappa at Guru's (2)

Now that Gohan's power unleashing was done and my power was sealed back up, I could focus my full efforts back on my fight with Nappa. But I didn't technically need to beat him. All I needed to do was stall him until Vegeta noticed the Ginyu Force, who were going to break through Namek's atmosphere any minute now. But the problem was that Nappa's power level was 30,000 after getting brutally beaten down by the enraged Gohan. In comparison, my own power level was only 10,000 under my current seals. With how power worked in the Dragon Ball Universe, fighting an opponent with more than a 20% or so advantage over you in terms of sheer power level meant that your only way to win the fight would be to bust out scary advanced techniques. In other words, as soon as he powered up and began fighting seriously, my base form would be absolutely useless against Nappa. 

But at the same time, Nappa wasn't really worth fighting for me right now. He didn't have any ill will towards me, and I needed to save my current body's strength to fight against the Ginyu Force. Using Grey Mode against Nappa would guarantee me a win, but it would waste a lot of my energy. I didn't want to do it.

"I don't know how all of you got so strong so quickly, and I don't really care! You're still no match for Nappa and I! Stay down in that crater if you know what's good for you!" Vegeta shouted down at Piccolo from his vantage point in the nearby sky. 

"If you think I'm the only one who got stronger, Vegeta, you're mistaken!" Piccolo shouted back at him, plucking himself out of the cliffside. 

"Huh?" Was all Vegeta managed to say before Krillin caught up to him. 

'BOOM!' No. That earth-shattering sound was not the sound of Vegeta being blown across the landscape by a flying punch made by Krillin. Krillin was still too weak for that. Instead, it was the sound of Vegeta reflexively knocking Krillin into the dirt right before the smaller man could deliver his punch. 

"I'm sorry, kid but I'm gonna have to get serious now." Nappa apologized to me as Krillin joined Piccolo in fighting Vegeta. Mentally, I swore, preparing to use Grey Mode the moment that Nappa powered himself up. As both fights geared up for their second rounds, Gohan finally exited Guru's building.

"WAAIT!" He shouted, getting all of our attention. Mentally, I let out a sigh, realizing that Gohan was going to warn us about the Ginyu Force. Effectively, our battles were over.

"What do you want, Kakarot's brat? Can't you see I'm busy using your friends as my own personal punching bags?" Vegeta asked Gohan, annoyed but willing to listen.

"Guru said that there's some kind of powerful force heading right for us! More than one huge power level, and it's not dad and Uncle Raditz!" Gohan shouted.

"Un!" Almost in unison, we all turned our heads to the sky, finally sensing the Ginyu Force entering Namek's atmosphere. 

"Who's this... It doesn't matter." Vegeta wondered for a moment, before "No! Not them! One, two, three, four, five. It has to be... Urgh, Frieza's called in the Ginyu Force!"

"Uhn! You're right, it has to be them... Five overwhelming power levels..." Nappa muttered near me. 

Vegeta flew through the sky towards Guru's house at his quickest pace. Naturally, Piccolo tried to stop him. "Nappa!" He shouted.

The burly Saiyan immediately understood. The Ginyu Force was too strong to fight, he believed. There was no time for arguing with Vegeta or trying to get him to use a lighter touch. "Breaking Crush!" He shouted, flying off and immediately driving Piccolo's body deep into a Piccolo-and-Nappa sized crater.

Vegeta grabbed Gohan's collar, ignoring Nail's hostility, hoisting the boy into the sky. "Give me the Dragon Ball, now!" He shouted.

"I can't!" Gohan answered back, "I don't have it!"

"Tell me where it is! Tell me and I promise that no harm will come to you or your friends! If I don't make my wish before those guys get here, we're all dead!" Vegeta shouted, shocking most of the people here. Nobody would have ever expected Vegeta to readily make such a concession, except me because I know the type of person he becomes in the future.

"And how... can I trust you!?" Gohan shouted, blasting Vegeta point blank with ki. 

"Vegeta!" Nappa blasted out of the hole, Piccolo hot on his tail. 

"I'm fine, Nappa." Vegeta declared loudly, brushing the dust off of him. Gohan had gotten ever so slightly stronger from the potential unleashing thing, but he was still not quite on Vegeta's level.

"I give you my word! These aren't weaklings like the henchmen Frieza usually has at his beck and call, it's the Ginyu Force. Five men, each as strong as I am, maybe stronger, I don't know. In a few moments, they'll be here with brand new scouters. They'll find us and kill us all!" Vegeta shouted.

"Even if you're right, how can we trust you?" Piccolo asked evenly from beside Nappa.

"A Saiyan's word is his bond. Vegeta's a lot of things, but he never breaks a promise." Nappa said.

"We're all strong, aren't we? I think fighting them head-on would be a lot better than trusting the likes of you, Vegeta." Krillin muttered.

"You idiot! Don't you feel that power!? None of us are strong enough to deal with that! We need to use the Dragon Balls to make Nappa and I immortal!" Vegeta shouted at him.

"I fear that he may be correct. This is... an evil presence that approaches." Nail agreed with Vegeta reluctantly.

"Then we'll use the wish on Hanna... and maybe Gohan or Piccolo." Krillin stated. I hadn't really expected him to say that. As unlikely as it was that the wish would ever end up getting to the stage of being granted, the idea of them considering me for that... didn't sit well with me. I needed to nip that in the bud somehow.