"What do you mean by that? Are you saying I wronged you?!" Nail growled, furious at Vegeta's words.
"Evil outsider! If not for your arrival, how would Namek have fallen into such a crisis?!"
Right now, Vegeta had been labeled a merciless villain, and anything he said sounded like a lie in Nail's ears.
Vegeta didn't care about the hostility.
He calmly replied, "I won't pretend to be a good person, but don't dump blame on me for something I didn't do. It was Frieza and his forces who invaded Namek, and his soldiers who killed your people.
What does that have to do with me? If anything, the enemy of my enemy is my ally. So we should be on the same side."
"What did you say?" Nail frowned deeply, staring at Vegeta in disbelief. "Impossible! You're lying!"
His aura erupted violently, turning into a raging storm that seemed capable of crushing mountains.
But Vegeta didn't budge.
"Don't think I'm explaining this to avoid a fight. If you want to fight, then fight!" Vegeta snarled, his eyes sharpening as he bent his knees and unleashed his own aura.
He had already prepared along the way.
From the moment he decided to meet the Grand Elder, he knew this fight was unavoidable.
Since the Grand Elder wasn't stopping anything from inside, Vegeta knew exactly what that meant:
If he wanted to see the Grand Elder, he had to prove his worth with power—not with words.
And Vegeta would never grovel or beg.
His power level surged as his aura ignited.
The scouter on his face beeped faster and faster—20,000… 30,000… 40,000… 45,000!
Was this his limit?
No.
Vegeta still held back, convinced that this level of power was more than enough.
Nail's expression changed.
He was shocked—but not afraid. As the strongest of the Namekians, he had faced Frieza with a power level of 530,000 before showing fear in the original timeline.
Courage had nothing to do with numbers.
"Hmph! Your aura reeks of slaughter. Even if you didn't kill my brethren, you definitely came with ill intent!" Nail roared and charged.
Vegeta rolled his eyes, raised his arm, and blocked Nail's punch before pushing off — intentionally flying higher into the sky.
If their clash shook the mountain and harmed the Grand Elder, that would cause unnecessary trouble.
"The hell are you judging me for? I already said I'm not a good person. If you want to fight, then fight. Don't act righteous in front of me!"
With a mocking grin, Vegeta fired a blast of ki at the charging Namekian.
Nail deflected it with a sweeping backhand, sending the attack flying into a distant island where it exploded violently, throwing up waves.
Neither of them blinked.
And so, their battle began.
They clashed midair—fists, kicks, dodges, counters.
To Vegeta, Nail was a good opponent. This level of battle was rare; only his fight with Goku on Earth matched it.
But Nail had a problem.
He was strong, yes—but his combat experience was far less than Vegeta's.
Vegeta had been fighting ever since he could walk.
He fought constantly—training, war, missions, slaughter. Even if most of it was bullying weaker enemies, it was still real combat.
Nail, by contrast, was born strong thanks to the Grand Elder's potential unlock.
But he spent his whole life on peaceful Namek. Training was sparring at most.
So while Nail fought well at the start, the longer the fight dragged on, the clearer the gap became.
Vegeta smirked as he slipped through Nail's guard and slammed a punch into his chest.
Nail flew backward, and Vegeta instantly appeared behind him, launching a flurry of fierce attacks from every angle.
"You're done attacking—now it's my turn."
His fists and feet became almost invisible, hammering Nail relentlessly.
The Namekian couldn't block, couldn't counter, couldn't even breathe.
If his power level weren't 42,000, he would've died on the spot.
Finally, Vegeta delivered a heavy blow that sent Nail crashing into an island, shattering the ground.
Vegeta stopped and hovered in the air with a cold expression.
"I know you're tougher than that. If this is all you've got, then I really overestimated you."
The wind stirred from his aura as he spoke.
Moments later, Nail's ki flared, blasting away the dust. He shot back into the sky to face Vegeta again.
But now, his eyes had changed. That fight had forced him to reassess everything.
"Why did you hold back? You could have killed me just now," Nail demanded.
"That's why you should be grateful," Vegeta replied arrogantly. "I had no intention of killing you."
"What is your real goal?!" Nail interrupted—only to suddenly wince in pain, grabbing his arm.
The earlier barrage had left the limb completely numb.
Though Namekians were far more durable than most species, pain still hit them harder when the damage was severe.
Unless they regenerated.
Nail understood. With a grunt, he tore off the damaged arm and regenerated a fresh, new one.
Vegeta wasn't impressed.
"Your strength is good, but you're nowhere near my level. If we keep fighting, you'll only embarrass yourself."
"Hmph! Do you think I've shown my full power yet?!" Nail roared as his aura exploded again, the air trembling around them.
He prepared to charge—
—but suddenly, a voice echoed from below, halting him immediately.
A calm, aged voice filled with wisdom and authority.
The Grand Elder had finally spoken.