The universe was vast, but planets capable of supporting the Tree of Might were exceptionally rare. Most produced only one or two fruits. Depending on the planet's vitality, the boost varied, some added a few hundred points, while others added several thousand.
Legend claimed the highest quality fruit could increase combat power by several hundred thousand points.
However, such fruit existed only in myth. Turles had eaten countless harvests and never encountered one of that caliber. The fruit that provided his greatest historical boost had only added two thousand points.
"Good," Turles said coldly. He swirled the crimson wine in his glass a few times, then drained the liquid in one gulp. "Land the ship."
"Yes, King."
As the massive spaceship descended through the atmosphere, Puru and Naruto stopped their spar. They sensed a shift in the air and looked toward the sky.
"A massive, sinister ki is approaching," Puru said, his brow furrowing.
'The Frieza Force?' Naruto thought. 'They shouldn't be invading for another six years. Did they learn the secret of the Dragon Balls early?'
The spaceship landed with a heavy thud, touching down precisely near Naruto's village.
"Elder Tsubasa, take the children and hide. I fear a fierce battle is inevitable."
After instructing the Elder, Naruto and Puru exchanged a serious glance and flew directly toward the landing site.
"This planet looks totally barren. Aside from a few small animals, there's no life reaction at all." Several bizarre aliens stepped off the ship's ramp. A hulking, red-skinned brute surveyed the rocky surroundings. "Can a Tree of Might really grow here?"
This brute was the most human-looking of the mercenary group.
"The computer says it's possible, so it is," a short, squat alien answered confidently.
"I wonder if King Turles will share some scraps with us after he enjoys the harvest."
"Even leftovers could greatly increase our power."
A long-haired, skull-faced alien spoke up next. "If it produces fewer than ten fruits, don't even think about it."
"Let's just complete the mission first."
The group worked together to blast a massive crater into the rocky ground, then tossed a strange, glowing seed into the pit.
Thick roots instantly burst from the depths, and a pale sprout emerged. It grew at a terrifying speed, thickening into a towering giant tree in a matter of seconds.
"Hahaha, I've seen this growth rate before. Looks like we're in luck!" The red-skinned brute laughed loudly. As the most senior veteran among Turles crew, he knew exactly what this aggressive speed implied.
"It'll produce at least a hundred fruits."
As the giant tree surged upward, the surrounding greenery withered into dust. Rivers rapidly dried up, and small animals collapsed, their life force violently stripped away.
It was pure parasitic growth.
"The plants around us are crying out. That tree is stealing their lives," Puru gritted out as he and Naruto touched down to witness the horrific scene. "We must destroy this monster."
"That won't do, green-skinned kid. We can't let you interfere."
Just as Puru prepared to act, the red-skinned alien stepped forward, blocking his path.
"Get out of the way, or we'll defeat you too." Puru watched the massive tree with mounting anxiety, his tone unusually firm.
The red-skinned alien pointed at Puru and sneered. "Defeat me? Hahahaha! Did you hear that? This punk says he wants to defeat me."
Though his combat power was far inferior to Turles, he was still a respected expert by galactic standards.
"Just to be safe, let's check these two guys combat power first," the skull-faced alien suggested cautiously.
The short alien beside him tapped a scouter identical to the one Naruto owned.
*Beep beep.*
"One thousand points," the short alien read from the green display.
One thousand points was the standard configuration for a Frieza Force combat unit, grunt-level power. It wasn't high, but it wasn't pitifully low either. Few races in the universe could naturally match those numbers.
Hearing the exact reading, the group breathed sighs of relief and burst out laughing. "Hahaha, so what? I thought they were a big deal, but they're just two pieces of trash with barely a thousand combat power."
"No, one thousand is for the Namekian. The blonde one has less than five hundred," the short alien corrected.
"Either way, they're both trash," the red-skinned alien mocked. "No need to worry at all."
"Because our combat power is three thousand points each."
Naruto watched the idiots boast. They would die horribly for blindly trusting scouter readings. That iconic Tree of Might, this was definitely Turles from the movie timeline.
These goons were even weaker than their movie counterparts.
"Let's move!"
Naruto and Puru struck simultaneously, blurring into motion as they charged the group.
"Leaf Whirlwind!"
Naruto spun and kicked the red-skinned alien squarely in the stomach. The moment of impact caused the scouter's reading to skyrocket.
"Impossible! My combat power is three thousand! You're just trash with five hundred!" The brute stared at his caved-in stomach in shock, clinging desperately to his blind faith in the machine's data. He struggled to choke out the words before his eyes rolled back and he collapsed.
Naruto had knocked the veteran unconscious with a single kick.
One move. Instant defeat.
As a former ninja, Naruto knew the absolute importance of a finishing blow. He gathered a tight sphere of energy and fired a ki blast at the fallen alien.
The blast struck the red-skinned brute, incinerating him into nothing but ash.
Puru had experienced the same rapid growth. Sparing relentlessly with Naruto had caused his combat power to surge, he was no longer sitting at 4,000 points. His strength had more than doubled over the past few months.
The only difference was that Puru didn't finish his opponents immediately. His innate Namekian kindness made it difficult for him to kill, even when facing an invader. Namekians rarely resorted to lethal force unless pushed to the absolute brink.
Naruto didn't share that hesitation. He instantly reduced his defeated opponent to ashes. Why leave an enemy breathing just so they could stab you in the back later?
"Impossible! The scouter shows his combat power is only 500! Cacao and Daiz have 3,000, how could they be defeated by this piece of trash?!" the remaining aliens cried out in sheer panic.
In the broader universe, few races could freely regulate their ki. Most individuals possessed a fixed combat power, which their bodies constantly emitted, making them easy to read. While some could boost their strength through physical transformations, Turles subordinates had never seen anyone suppress their energy like this.
"Could the scouter be broken?!"
"Yeah, that's right. My combat power is exactly 500 points. Don't you forget it," Naruto mocked.
He nodded, though his hands never slowed down. He vanished and reappeared directly in front of the other mercenaries. Fighting alongside Puru, he tore through the enemy ranks in a flurry of strikes, quickly eliminating the majority of the squad.
In just three months, their coordination and strength had improved by leaps and bounds. This was a universe where intense physical effort yielded immediate, explosive power.
"King Turles, save me!"
A pair of alien twin brothers were the only mercenaries left standing. Terrified by how easily Naruto and Puru defied the scouter readings, they screamed and scrambled toward the safety of their spaceship.
"Hmph, a bunch of useless trash." With a dismissive scoff, a jagged beam of energy shot from the shadows, instantly piercing the younger twin's chest.
"Squeak, squeak!" The surviving brother let out a panicked cry in his native tongue. Frozen in mid-air, he couldn't decide whether to run or beg for mercy.
"You can't even handle such a minor extermination." A figure slowly appeared from the ship's ramp.
A man stepped out to face Naruto and Puru. He looked exactly like an eighteen-year-old Goku, perhaps two or three years older, with one glaring difference: his skin was a dusky grey.
Turles. The rogue Saiyan from the movie 'The Tree of Might'. He shared Goku's face, but unlike the kind-hearted Earth hero, Turles was sinister and cunning.
He was a low-class Saiyan warrior who had stumbled upon the seeds of the Tree of Might, and from there, he abandoned all limits. When confronted with his identical resemblance to Goku, he famously claimed that all low-class Saiyans looked alike. In truth, Turles was the only Saiyan who actually possessed Goku's exact face.
Many fans joked that his mother had an affair with Bardock, or that he was Raditz's true brother switched at birth.
"What use are you to me?" Turles casually raised his hand. Before the last twin could even grunt, a blast of energy wiped him from existence.
Turles had just personally executed his last remaining subordinate.
Villains in this universe thoroughly enjoyed killing their own men for failing missions, Vegeta did it, and so did Turles.
With the notable exception of Frieza.
In a twisted sense, was Frieza, the universe's most ruthless tyrant, actually a better boss? He also remembered his minions names.
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