"That guy Aomori... I knew he wouldn't just let himself be ordered around so easily."
Ever since the two Saiyans descended upon Earth, King Kai had been closely monitoring their battle with Goku.
Originally, when Nappa was easily suppressed, he was overjoyed, thinking the situation was stable. He never expected Aomori to suddenly "have an episode" and replace Vegeta as the ultimate boss.
The moment he saw Aomori clashing beams with Vegeta, King Kai's scalp went numb. He hurriedly contacted Goku, his voice urgent: "Goku! You have to stop Aomori right now! If that energy wave hits the ground, not only will that Saiyan be finished, but the entire Earth could be destroyed!"
"What?!" Goku was shocked. Without time to think, he instantly activated the Kaio-ken, gathered his energy, and fired a Kamehameha diagonally upward toward Aomori's light blast.
His intervention gave Vegeta a moment to breathe, but it also forced Goku to shoulder a massive amount of pressure.
"Dammit, it's still not enough! Kaio-ken x3!" Goku roared. His entire body turned beet-red; the moment sweat escaped his pores, the intense heat evaporated it into steam that drifted into the air.
However, even so, Aomori's energy sphere continued its slow, inexorable descent.
"Vegeta! Give it everything you've got, or you're dead meat!"
"Shut up! Don't you dare give orders to me, you low-class warrior!" Vegeta obviously didn't want to lose his precious life here. He mustered every ounce of his strength, pushing his limits until the energy beam in his hands thickened significantly.
"I am the noble Prince of all Saiyans!"
"Heh, then I can't fall behind either." A look of grim determination flashed in Goku's eyes as he bellowed: "Kaio-ken x4!"
In an instant, his body turned a deep crimson, like a boiled shrimp, looking as though blood might seep through his very skin. The results, however, were immediate, as for the first time, the duo began to push back.
"Gohan, let's go help out!"
"Right!"
Piccolo and Gohan emerged from behind their cover. Finding the right angle and mirroring each other's stances, they both fired soaring energy blasts into the sky.
Their contribution became the final straw. The combined energy waves were pushed steadily back toward Aomori.
"You guys are pretty capable. I guess the rumors are true, never engage in a beam struggle with a member of the Son family." Aomori suddenly clenched his fists and detonated his own energy wave, vanishing in a flash before the explosion could reach him.
Those left below, however, weren't so lucky.
Accompanied by an earth-shattering roar, the world lost its color, and everything turned a blinding white. Then came the hurricane-force shockwave and endless light and heat. Trees, rocks, and mountains were pulverized inch by inch; every object rising above ground level was wiped clean.
The exhausted Vegeta and Goku were instantly blown away. Fortunately, Piccolo was quick-witted enough to grab Goku, diving to the ground alongside Gohan.
On the other side, Krillin and the others, who had followed Piccolo's advice and moved the captive Nappa to a distance, only saw a flash of light followed by a massive fireball appearing before them. The powerful aftershocks that followed left them stumbling, sending them all tumbling to the ground.
"What the hell just happened?" Krillin and the others hid behind a rock, faces covered in dust, not daring to poke their heads out.
The same question lingered in the minds of Master Roshi and the others watching from afar. From Master Roshi's island, they could see the massive glow illuminating the horizon.
Seen from outer space, a small patch of Earth, roughly the size of a medium-sized country, had been replaced by a sphere of light. The ill-fated Earth had once again suffered a major blow.
…
"Cough, cough..." Gohan groaned, feeling as sore as he did after a training session with Aomori.
He was buried in the dirt with a heavy weight pressing on his back. After struggling for a while, he finally managed to pull his dizzy head out of the ground.
Staring blankly at the now-leveled landscape for a moment, Gohan finally regained his senses and dug out the equally buried Goku and Piccolo.
"Dad! Uncle Piccolo! Wake up!"
He shook them for a while, but there was no response. Had he not been able to sense their Ki, Gohan would have been overcome with grief. He laid the two elders on the ground, grabbed their hands, and silently began transferring Ki to them.
Before long, Aomori appeared, carrying an unconscious Vegeta, and dropped him next to Gohan.
"Don't worry, they're tough. They'll be fine."
"Yeah..." Gohan paused, then bit his lip and asked, "Why? Why did you do this, Uncle Aomori? With your strength, couldn't you have solved this easily? I know you aren't a bad person."
"Some people don't like taking the easy road. The harder it is, the more you can grow. Do you understand?"
"I don't understand."
"If you don't understand, ask your father," Aomori said with a light laugh. "Things here are settled. I'm leaving."
"Eh? Where are you going?" Gohan asked urgently.
"Leaving Earth to find even stronger opponents."
He had planned this long ago, which is why he had specifically left one space pod intact. With a wave of his hand, Aomori tossed Gohan two pieces of chocolate and vanished.
He arrived next to the pristine space pod, nodded to the silently waiting Darkrai, and retracted it into his system inventory. Using the memories searched from Vegeta's mind, Aomori opened the pod and climbed inside.
"Hey, hey, King Kai, are you there? If you don't answer, I'll come find you in person."
"Ahem, what do you want with me?" King Kai didn't dare play dumb anymore and quickly responded.
"You should know the coordinates for Planet Namek."
"You're going to Planet Namek? They're a peaceful race; why are you going there to cause trouble?"
"Where else? Should I come cause trouble for you instead? Are you giving them to me or not?"
"...Fine, fine. Here they are."
After receiving the coordinates from King Kai, Aomori entered them into the ship's computer and pressed the departure button without hesitation. Driven by a blast of blue-violet flames, the pod roared into the sky, instantly becoming a speck of light.
"Uncle Aomori... he's gone..." Gohan watched the speck of light in the sky, feeling a sense of loss.
"Don't be sad, Gohan." With the help of the Senzu-infused chocolate, Goku woke up immediately. He ruffled Gohan's hair and said, "As long as we keep getting stronger, we'll meet him again someday."
"Yeah!"
"Hmph, I hope I never see him again." Piccolo crossed his arms habitually. He glanced at the unconscious Vegeta lying on the ground, his eyes narrowing as murderous intent began to seep out.
Just as he was about to strike and end the threat for good, Goku reached out to stop him.
"Piccolo, don't kill him."
"Son Goku, is your 'kindness' acting up again? Get this straight, if that Aomori guy hadn't suddenly appeared, we might not have beaten him. Now that Aomori is gone, letting this guy go is like strapping everyone on Earth to a time bomb!" Piccolo roared in anger.
"I understand everything you're saying." Goku took a deep breath, his expression becoming serious. "But no matter what, I want to fight him again one-on-one, without anyone else interfering. If I don't, I'll regret it for the rest of my life!"
"Heh." Piccolo sneered. "Suit yourself. I just hope that when you look back on those words later, you won't regret them for the rest of your life."
Leaving those words behind, he turned and walked away without looking back.
"Uncle Piccolo! Dad..." Gohan looked torn.
"Gohan, do you also think I'm doing the wrong thing?"
"No... well, yeah."
"Phew. Maybe Aomori and I are the same kind of people." Goku put his arm around Gohan and looked up at the sky. "To be honest, I'm actually pretty jealous of him."
…
"Did I change the plot too much?"
Inside the space pod cruising through the stars, Aomori looked at the pitch-black void outside and fell into thought.
Piccolo and the other Z-Fighters hadn't died, so Goku might not have a reason to go to Planet Namek to find the Dragon Balls. With a power level of only a few tens of thousands, fighting Frieza, who had a power level of over a hundred million, felt a bit like throwing eggs at a rock.
However, he didn't really have a mandatory reason to defeat Frieza. If things went south, he could just bail; surely the "Lord" couldn't chase him across dimensions.
"Should I use the Namekian Dragon Balls to wish for a Saiyan Physique? Never mind, everyone has those. It would be better to ask for the training methods for Ultra Instinct or Ultra Ego, though the odds of getting those are probably slim."
Furthermore, the Namekian Dragon Balls were scattered among different villages, making them a hassle to collect. Ultimately, Aomori gave up on the idea of gathering them himself. If the opportunity arose, he'd just intercept the Lord's wish.
His main goals on Planet Namek were to witness Frieza's power firsthand and to learn the Namekians' mystical skills. It's better to learn to fish than to be given a fish; if Aomori could learn to create a Shenron himself, wouldn't that be grand?
His thoughts settled, and Aomori entered a meditative state, waiting to arrive at Planet Namek.
On the other side, just as in the original timeline, Frieza intercepted the transmission between Vegeta's duo and Piccolo's group. Learning of the miraculous items known as Dragon Balls, he immediately decided to lead his army toward Planet Namek.
The peaceful Planet Namek was suddenly thrust into the center of a universal vortex.
…
"Planet Namek? Aomori went to Planet Namek?" Goku asked in surprise.
A week had passed since the great battle, and his injuries were completely healed. Vegeta, however, had been hurt too severely; without Senzu Beans, he was currently wrapped up like a mummy, unable to move on his hospital bed.
Both he and Nappa were being kept under strict watch at Master Roshi's hut. Seeing Vegeta's miserable state, Nappa, who was in much better physical shape, didn't dare act out. He focused instead on Earth's delicacies, his appetite at every meal causing Master Roshi's heart to ache at the expense.
Currently, with the exception of the absent Piccolo, the rest of the group was gathered at the hut to discuss how to handle Vegeta and Nappa. Before the meeting, Goku found an opening to ask King Kai about Aomori's whereabouts and received a startling answer.
"Yes," King Kai nodded. "He specifically asked me for the coordinates."
"Why would he go there?" Goku had assumed Aomori had stolen the pod to go to Vegeta's headquarters and challenge the universal real estate moguls.
"Heh, idiot. To find the Dragon Balls, obviously. No one can refuse eternal life!" Hearing Goku's words, Vegeta felt a surge of urgency. In his current state, his only chance to get to Planet Namek and fish in troubled waters was to stir up Goku and the others' desire for the Dragon Balls.
Unfortunately, no one believed him.
"That guy said long ago he had no interest in the Dragon Balls. If he had even a shred of desire, he would have snatched them and used them back then. Goku wouldn't even be back to life." Krillin shot Vegeta a sidelong glance and said with a chuckle.
"Yeah, I believe his goal isn't the Dragon Balls either, which is why I'm confused." Goku continued asking King Kai, "Is there someone really strong on Planet Namek?"
"Well, there are people quite a bit stronger than you, but compared to him, there's likely still a gap," King Kai answered honestly.
"I guess that makes some sense." Goku rubbed his chin, lost in thought.
"Could it be because of Uncle Piccolo? Maybe Uncle Aomori wanted to see Uncle Piccolo's home planet," Gohan said uncertainly.
"Haha, that's the least likely reason," Krillin dismissed it without a second thought. "Agh, why do we need to know his reason for going to Namek? Let's hurry up and decide what to do with these two."
"Yeah, true." Goku nodded, intending to drop the subject.
Suddenly, King Kai's shocked voice rang out in his mind again.
"Goku! I just had a feeling and looked toward Planet Namek. Aside from Aomori, there's another group heading there!"
"Who?"
"It's the self-proclaimed Emperor of the Universe, Frieza!"
"Frieza?" Goku repeated.
At the mention of that name, Vegeta became visibly agitated, shouting, "Kakarot! How do you know that name?!"
"Frieza is the embodiment of evil. He leads a horde of ruthless thugs to invade other planets. Vegeta is essentially his subordinate. If his target is Planet Namek, then the Namekians will likely be wiped out!"
"What?!" Goku cried out in shock. He then relayed King Kai's words with a heavy expression.
"Kakarot! Go to Planet Namek with me! If Frieza gets the Dragon Balls, there won't be a single chance for victory left!" Vegeta said excitedly.
"But... he's the Emperor of the Universe? Can we really win?" Krillin said in a low voice.
"If Frieza knows about Planet Namek, he definitely knows about Earth's existence too. Do you think you can just hide?" Vegeta challenged.
"This..." Everyone's eyes turned toward Goku.
Goku was silent for a moment before adopting a look of firm resolve. "Vegeta is right. We can't hide; it's better to take the initiative. So, I've decided. I'm going to Planet Namek, and I'm taking Vegeta and Nappa with me. That way, we don't have to worry about what to do with them."
"Goku, do you know how to get to Planet Namek? Both of their pods are gone," Bulma, the only scientist present, said while raising her hand.
"Uh, well..." Goku scratched his head, stumped.