Krillin's words actually made Vegeta look at him differently.
He had to admit—despite looking timid, Krillin was surprisingly brave at crucial moments.
The original Krillin messed up a lot, but there were plenty of admirable qualities too.
"It seems my full recovery surprised you, didn't it?" Vegeta said with a mocking smirk.
"Let me guess—Kakarot is lying in a hospital bed, body shattered, which is why you had no choice but to come to Namek and look for the Dragon Balls?"
Hearing this, both Krillin and Gohan clenched their teeth, anger rising instantly.
Facing an enemy they couldn't possibly handle, they were furious but didn't dare speak.
If they had known things would turn out like this, they shouldn't have let Vegeta go back then.
Krillin regretted it deeply. He'd had the power to kill Vegeta back then… but Goku's pleading made him spare him.
Feeling their resentment, Vegeta's smile widened. Then, in an instant, his gaze sharpened and killing intent exploded.
Krillin and Gohan froze. A cold shiver ran down their spines.
Vegeta's sudden surge of power was overwhelming. They couldn't even think of resisting.
BOOM!
A thunderous sound echoed.
Vegeta raised his hand and fired an energy wave—not at Krillin or Gohan, but past them, aimed at a distant island.
Two Frieza Force scout soldiers had been hiding there.
They barely reacted in time to escape the island.
BANG!!!
The entire island exploded into pieces. Flames shot into the sky, and a violent shockwave swept across dozens of miles.
Krillin and Gohan were stunned—until they noticed two figures emerging from the smoke.
The armor.
The scouters.
Frieza Force soldiers.
But if they were Vegeta's allies, why did he attack them?
Then they remembered Nappa—killed by Vegeta himself—and everything suddenly made sense.
Vegeta wasn't someone who could be judged with normal logic.
He was an emotionless, cold-blooded monster who killed whoever he wanted.
Vegeta didn't care what they thought. He slowly floated up, eyes locked on the two trembling scouts.
"I really don't know whether to call you lucky… or unlucky."
He remembered these exact two scouts were the ones Krillin and Gohan killed in the original story.
Now the roles were reversed.
The situation was obvious even to idiots. The two scouts were shaking uncontrollably.
They were just reconnaissance soldiers, barely over a power level of 1,000.
"V-Vegeta… spare us!" one stammered.
"We weren't hiding on purpose. We just saw a spaceship land here and came to inspect!"
"Y-Yes! We're part of Zarbon's scout team! We didn't know it was you!"
Their excuses were pathetic.
"Oh? Is that so?" Vegeta sneered.
"Has the news not spread that I'm a traitor? No… you saw someone arrive, came to investigate, then realized I was here.
You hid, planning to gather information and report to Zarbon and Frieza for credit. Isn't that right?"
Their eyes widened. He saw through everything.
Death was already wrapped around their necks.
One scout was so terrified he immediately tried to flee.
The other decided to go all in and attack. He knew Vegeta wouldn't spare him—might as well try.
But their strength was far too different.
Even with his energy weapon, he couldn't scratch Vegeta.
Vegeta tanked the blast, rushed forward, and reduced him to pulp with one punch.
Then he raised his hand toward the fleeing scout.
At this distance, chasing was unnecessary.
A massive energy wave blasted from Vegeta's palm.
BOOOOM!
The fleeing scout was vaporized instantly. Not even ashes remained.
After handling the scouts, Vegeta descended again, landing before Krillin and Gohan.
Both looked pale, overwhelmed with fear and confusion.
They didn't know what Vegeta wanted… but they clearly heard him mention becoming a traitor.
And names they didn't understand:
Zarbon.
And Frieza.
Just hearing them gave off a sense of overwhelming dread.
They couldn't wrap their heads around it, but they sensed those beings were beyond anything they'd ever imagined.
Vegeta didn't want to waste time. Frieza could hunt him at any moment.
He spoke coldly, "Give me your Dragon Ball Radar. The crisis on Namek is beyond your imagination. You can't control any of this."
He pointed at them casually.
"With your strength, you'd be better off hiding somewhere—watch TV, drink milk, do whatever you want. Or leave Namek before you get discovered. Frieza's men won't chase you. You're small fries."
His tone was half advice, half threat.
Krillin and Gohan were terrified, shocked, and confused.
They exchanged a glance.
Finally, Krillin asked:
"How… how do you know about the Dragon Ball Radar?"
"You don't need to know," Vegeta replied coldly.
"Right now, the Radar is only useful in my hands. You don't want Frieza to gather all the Dragon Balls, do you? Let me tell you—he calls himself the Emperor of the Universe."
"Emperor… of the Universe?!"
"That evil aura… was that him?!"
Their worldviews shattered instantly.
Vegeta was already terrifying. But now they learned an even more terrifying monster was here.
Vegeta said it deliberately—to make them understand the reality of Namek.
Then he looked toward the spaceship.
"Come out. Hiding is pointless. If I wanted you dead, do you think you'd still be alive right now?"