The atmosphere grew heavy and silent.
Vegeta stopped talking, giving the Grand Elder time to think.
He had already laid everything out. If the Grand Elder refused, things would become troublesome.
Of course, Vegeta had already considered that possibility.
If he was rejected and couldn't unlock his potential, then there was only one option left:
Leave Namek and live on Earth.
Earth still had the Super Divine Water, which could awaken hidden power.
Even if it wasn't as good as the Grand Elder's potential unlocking, with time, he could still rise.
As for Namek's crisis, he wouldn't interfere.
Whether Krillin or Gohan survived without him? That was their problem.
And whether Kakarot could defeat Frieza like in the original timeline? Not his problem either.
Every man for himself.
Bulma was the only one he'd take. The others? He didn't care.
If Frieza blew up Namek in a rage and erased the Namekian dragon balls forever, Vegeta wouldn't lose sleep over it.
There were still dragon balls on Planet Cereal.
There were dragon balls in the Demon Realm.
There were Super Dragon Balls.
And even if all that failed, Bulma could always build a time machine.
They could hop to another timeline and gather dragon balls there—or bring back a Namekian from another dimension to recreate Earth's dragon balls.
If the plot stuck mostly to the original outline, even better.
Frieza wouldn't die on Namek. Vegeta would have plenty of time to grow stronger.
And when Frieza eventually arrived on Earth, Vegeta would be the one to kill him.
As for whether Future Trunks would appear in this timeline… Vegeta didn't care.
With enough power, even if the kid appeared, Frieza would still die by his hands.
…
After a long while, the Grand Elder seemed to receive some new information.
His aura grew even more ancient and frail.
Vegeta didn't know why.
He simply assumed the Grand Elder had reconsidered—or glimpsed something else with his foresight.
In reality, Frieza's men had just found another Namekian village. After slaughtering them, they obtained the fourth dragon ball.
Their luck was absurdly good—finding a village with a dragon ball and an elder willing to hand it over to protect his people.
But even then, no one escaped the massacre.
"I agree to unlock your potential," the Grand Elder finally said.
"But I cannot guarantee that it will make you truly strong. Do you accept this?"
Uncertain words—but at least he agreed.
"Yes," Vegeta said. "As long as I gain enough power, I will defeat Frieza. When that happens, you can summon your Shenron and resurrect all the Namekians he killed."
The Grand Elder sighed quietly.
He didn't know how Vegeta had so much information, but the truth was as Vegeta said—there was no other choice.
Unlocking potential was the same technique he used on Krillin and Gohan in the original timeline.
There was worry, but since things had gone this far, doubt was meaningless.
Actually, Vegeta had one fear above all:
That the Grand Elder would see the memories of his transmigrator identity during the process.
After all, in the original story, the Grand Elder could read memories when unlocking potential.
"Don't be nervous. Relax," the Grand Elder said. "I won't do anything except unlock your potential."
Vegeta's heart jumped.
The old man clearly sensed his thoughts.
"I hope you keep your word," Vegeta warned. "Otherwise, if you see certain things, you'll only feel guilt… or fear."
It was the only way to stop the old man from peeking.
After all, the Grand Elder's abilities were no joke.
He had demonstrated the power to see memories, and though similar to Kakarot's deep perception, it was still a much higher-level ability.
Kakarot required the subject's cooperation.
The Grand Elder did not.
"It's starting."
The Grand Elder placed his hand on Vegeta's head and pressed down.
A mysterious energy erupted from his palm, flooding into Vegeta's body.
The sudden rush of external power made Vegeta's body tense—but it didn't feel bad. On the contrary, it was strangely pleasant.
His cells heated up, expanding, dividing, awakening.
His strength increased nonstop.
Something deep inside him stirred—an ancient instinct.
Super Saiyan?
No.
This was deeper, older.
A primal Saiyan power.
It reminded Vegeta of Kakarot's transformation in Dragon Ball Daima, when awakened his potential.
"No way… no way… no way! Can I do that too?!"
Vegeta's heart pounded with excitement.
If he truly awakened that form, defeating Frieza would be effortless.
It was a variant of Super Saiyan 4—only a seven-minute transformation, but overwhelming in power.
But just when it felt like something was about to explode—
The sensation vanished.
Cut off instantly.
As if nothing had ever happened.
"Hooh… It's done," the Grand Elder said, breathing heavily.
Sweat dripped from his face. "I'm sorry… this is as much as I can do."
Vegeta clenched his fists, testing his new power.
Even though it wasn't what he wanted most, the surge in strength was undeniable.
"Does unlocking potential affect your lifespan too?" Vegeta asked.
The Grand Elder nodded slowly. "All power… has side effects. Especially in my condition…"