The smoke hung in the air like a funeral shroud, thick enough to choke out the twin suns.
Frieza floated at its center, chest heaving, fingers still smoking from the barrage that had just erased half a continent.
He stared into the haze, eyes wild, lips peeled back in a rictus of triumphant madness.
Nothing moved.
No golden light.
No mocking voice.
For one glorious, delirious second, Frieza allowed himself to believe.
He had won.
Then the smoke parted.
Vegeta stepped out of it like he was on a leisurely stroll.
Not a scratch.
Not a tear in his armor.
Hair still perfect.
He looked almost bored.
Frieza's smile died.
Vegeta stopped ten meters away, tilted his head, and spoke in the tone of a disappointed parent.
"Destroy the planet?"
He glanced around at the molten craters, the boiling seas, the sky cracked open like an egg.
"You were going to destroy the planet… without asking me first?"
Frieza opened his mouth.
No sound came out.
Vegeta took one step forward.
The ground beneath his boot liquefied and re-solidified in the same heartbeat.
"Let me explain something, Frieza."
His voice was soft.
Almost kind.
"This planet belongs to me now."
Golden aura flared just a pulse, barely a whisper of true power.
The smoke vanished.
The boiling oceans flash-froze.
Every remaining island on Namek trembled as if the planet itself had remembered who its new master was.
Vegeta's eyes locked on Frieza's.
Teal fire burning cold.
"You don't get to break my things."
Frieza took one involuntary step back.
His tail curled so tight it bruised.
Vegeta smiled.
It wasn't kind at all.
"Run."
Frieza's pride shattered.
He turned and fled: final form speed, a white streak screaming across the sky.
Vegeta watched him go.
Counted to three.
Then vanished.
Reappeared directly in Frieza's path, arms folded, blocking the way like he'd been waiting for hours.
Frieza's eyes widened.
He tried to stop.
Couldn't.
Slammed face-first into Vegeta's open palm.
The impact reversed his momentum so hard his body folded like a lawn chair.
Vegeta didn't move an inch.
He looked down at the tyrant dangling from his hand like a caught fish.
"Going somewhere?"
Frieza thrashed, tail whipping, aura flaring in panicked bursts.
Vegeta squeezed once.
Bones creaked.
Frieza's scream cut off into a choked whimper.
Vegeta leaned in until their foreheads touched.
Golden eyes into red.
"Listen carefully."
His voice was a whisper that shook the planet.
"You don't get to run."
He released Frieza.
The tyrant dropped.
Vegeta followed, slow, hands behind his back.
Frieza hit the ocean.
Vegeta landed on the water beside him.
Didn't sink.
He looked down at the broken emperor coughing blood into the waves.
And smiled.
"Your turn."
Far away, every warrior watching felt the exact same chill.
King Kai dropped to his knees.
Piccolo's smirk was gone.
Krillin whispered one word.
"…Run."
Because they all understood.
This wasn't a fight anymore.
This was judgment.
And the golden god delivering it had waited thirty years to enjoy every second.
~~~~~~
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