"Beep, beep, beep—"
Outside the spaceship, Aira stepped out of the healing pod, fully recovered, and adjusted the only Scouter she had left. As the beeping gradually faded, confusion flickered across her face. The highest power level displayed wasn't even a thousand.
"That guy Rhode was taken out?!"
The reading stunned her. Rhode's power level had reached twenty-five hundred—only a hundred lower than her current strength—yet he had been eliminated without a trace?
"No… something's wrong."
At first, Aira assumed Rhode had been defeated. But when she looked closer, she realized the issue: the Scouter couldn't detect any life forms above a thousand on this entire planet. If nothing here even reached that level, then who could possibly have beaten Rhode? The contradiction left her baffled.
"Beep, beep, beep…"
Before she could puzzle further, the Scouter alarm sounded. Two life forms, both under five hundred, were approaching fast. Aira snapped her gaze toward the sky.
That is—?
Rhode wasn't dead!
She spotted him descending unharmed. But when she checked the Scouter again, his reading showed only three hundred.
Whoosh!
As she tried to make sense of this sudden drop, Rhode landed in front of the ship with a Laina Star native at his side.
"This is Tabo, a top scientist from Laina Star. I brought him to dismantle the tracking and monitoring devices on the spaceship and the Scouter," Rhode explained.
Whoosh!
Bang!
His explanation was met with Aira's fist slamming straight into his face.
"What are you doing?!" Rhode staggered back, completely shocked.
"Less talking—fight me first!"
Aira had been confused by Rhode's lowered reading, but after exchanging just a few blows, she instantly realized his actual strength hadn't decreased at all. And since they were already fighting… this was the perfect chance to settle the score.
With her power level now at twenty-six hundred, she was confident she could defeat him.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Their fists collided again and again, shockwaves ripping through the atmosphere. Tabo, terrified by the sudden burst of power, immediately dove for cover.
Pop!
At first, neither gained a true advantage. More precisely, Rhode was adapting with frightening speed. From being pressured, to evening out the fight, to gradually overpowering Aira—his improvement was rapid and obvious.
After recovering his memories, Rhode had only fought the Laina Star forces in his Great Ape form, relying on sheer destructive blasts. He'd had no time to refine close combat. Now, facing someone on his level, his battle instincts sharpened dramatically.
Perhaps due to his heightened comprehension, Rhode's combat skills fused and evolved in just minutes—allowing him to overpower Aira despite her hundred-point edge.
Pop!
Realizing she couldn't defeat him up close, Aira quickly pulled back and unleashed a relentless barrage of energy blasts.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions consumed the battlefield, swallowing Rhode in smoke, fire, and thunderous roars.
"Whoosh… whoosh… whoosh…"
The rapid outpour drained her stamina fast. Breathing heavily, Aira stared into the smoke, waiting for the result.
Whoosh!
Bang!
The moment the smoke cleared—Rhode was gone.
Before she could react, pain exploded across her back. A brutal force smashed into her, sending her plummeting into the ground.
She struck hard, and Rhode landed immediately after, stepping on her without hesitation. Blood spilled from her lips.
"Aira, this was your only chance in this life to defeat me. Unfortunately… you didn't seize it."
Looking down at her, Rhode's expression was cold and steady. He shook his head, lifted his foot, and vanished in an instant.
How is that possible?!
The physical pain meant nothing compared to the turmoil tearing at Aira's mind. She couldn't understand how she had lost. Even if she didn't know how Rhode hid his true power, she was certain her twenty-six hundred beat his. Yet she had been overwhelmed effortlessly.
After lying there for a long time, unable to accept the outcome, Aira finally pushed herself up and reentered the spaceship. Staring directly at Rhode, her eyes bright and burning, she demanded:
"What's going on with your power level?"
"I strengthened my control over my internal energy and hid it," Rhode replied casually. Knowing the technique was one thing—mastering it was another.
"My power level is 2600 now. Did you surpass me?"
She asked again, unwilling to accept the gap.
"No. It's still around twenty-five hundred."
Rhode hadn't suffered serious injuries recently, nor had he begun focused training—so his power level hadn't increased at all.
"Then how did you…?"
Aira's voice trembled with frustration. His power level hadn't surpassed hers—yet he'd defeated her completely. That was something she couldn't accept.
"Do you see my hairstyle?"
Seeing her confusion, Rhode calmly pointed at his own hair, styled in a way reminiscent of a certain prideful king.
"Our Saiyan hairstyles don't change from birth. Aren't you the same?"
Aira stared blankly. Of all things, why was he bringing up his hair? It made absolutely no sense.
"Remember this," Rhode said, tapping his own hair with icy arrogance. "This hairstyle represents invincibility."
His expression, his tone, his gaze—everything carried an overwhelming sense of disdain, making Aira feel as if she were looking up at a being far above her. Her heart clenched.
After confirming she was sufficiently subdued, Rhode finally gave her the real reason:
"You lost because your combat techniques are crude. Your power control is sloppy. Your usage is full of openings. Simply put, you have too many weaknesses."
"Is that so…"
Hearing this, Aira nodded stiffly. Instead of asking how he learned these things or why he adapted so quickly, she simply turned around and walked off to think on her own.
Classic Saiyan tsundere nature.
Watching her leave, Rhode had originally intended to share a few insights, but instead he could only sigh.
"Forget it. I'll help you when you hit a wall."
Shaking his head, he turned to the green-skinned, white-haired man standing nearby.
"Tabo, is it done?"
Tabo swallowed hard. "I—I've removed all tracking and monitoring devices from the spaceship and the Scouter!"
"You didn't tamper with anything, did you?"
Rhode's narrowed eyes fell on Tabo, whose legs instantly went weak.
"No! Absolutely not!" Tabo dropped to his knees with a thud. "My lord, please spare my life!"
"You can go."
Rhode waved his hand dismissively, already losing interest.
"You're not going to kill him?" Aira walked back over, puzzled as she watched Tabo flee as fast as his legs could carry him.
"It's irrelevant."
Rhode shrugged. He didn't trust Tabo, of course—he didn't trust any Laina Star native besides the one he chose to bring. But it didn't matter. As long as the spaceship functioned normally and could reach the nearest technological planet, the removal of tracking devices meant nothing more than a temporary smokescreen against Frieza's Army.
"What do we do next?" Aira's voice carried both curiosity and a hint of excitement. They had already decided not to return to Planet Vegeta.
"We go to an unknown planet," Rhode replied calmly. "There, we'll find what we need."
He didn't mention Earth. Not yet. First, they needed to replace their ship a few times and fully erase their trails from Frieza's surveillance. Only then would he reveal everything to Aira.
"Let's go."
With that, they stepped into the spaceship. After a series of diagnostics and adjustments confirmed everything was functioning normally, the ship roared to life. Flame burst from its thrusters as it lifted off, pierced the atmosphere, and shot into space—
Heading toward the nearest technological planet and the beginning of a new path.