Saiyan stowaways on the Ark

"What the hell are you doing?! Why are you attacking us?! Are you still Frieza's lackey, hunting us down?!"

Darles's intense question left Tomat somewhat speechless.

It seems that in Darles' eyes, Tomat's attack on them was completely unjustified. He didn't think Tomat had any reason to stop him from planting the Spirit Tree on the planet other than "catching deserters for Frieza".

As Tomat pondered which question to begin answering, and at the same time considered whether to ruthlessly eliminate Darles, a fellow member of their race with virtually zero "conversion potential," Darles suddenly punched a container-like object in his cabin.

Then he took out a fist-sized, reddish-green fruit covered in thorns and immediately stuffed it into his mouth.

—That was a fruit from the Spirit Tree that wasn't quite fully mature.

"Click".

Here are the official combat power figures for Darles and others.

Darles: Combat Power 19000

Dai Zi: Small braid, combat power 13000

Amundo: Red-skinned Sabo, combat power 9100

Kakao: A cyborg with a combat power of 8400.

Rison and Lacasai: Purple dwarfs, combat power 7600

[Main Text] Terra Battle: Chapter Forty-Four - The Forbidden Fruit of God

As a Saiyan, Turles certainly knew what Super Saiyan meant.

That was a legendary being that even the cosmic emperor Frieza feared greatly.

Legends circulate among the Saiyan race about a Super Saiyan who wreaked havoc in the galaxy a thousand years ago and was extremely ferocious. Frieza's clan also has an ancestral precept: "Beware of Saiyans with golden aura."

However, that was ultimately just a legend and a rumor.

No matter how powerful a being is in a story, it is nothing to fear if you haven't witnessed it firsthand.

But the Tomat who now stood before him, a guy who claimed to have become a legend, did not instill in Darles much fear of being "invincible".

There are two reasons.

Firstly, he didn't die. He launched a surprise attack but didn't kill him instantly. So, the power of a Super Saiyan is nothing special. He still has room to maneuver and has a hidden trump card.

Secondly, because their opponent was Tomat.

Admittedly, in this state, Tomat displayed an incredible power and imposing presence compared to Darles' impression, but he was ultimately "just Tomat."

This eccentric Saiyan was never considered a strongman by Turles. Even if he became a Super Saiyan, so what?

So, to put it simply, Turles wasn't unafraid of the power of a Super Saiyan; he was simply unafraid of Tomat—even if Tomat became a Super Saiyan.

"A low-class warrior is a low-class warrior! Even after becoming a Super Saiyan, you're still working as Frieza's lackey, huh!?"

Darles, who did not truly understand why he had survived to this day, made the wrong judgment and choices.

The unripe fruit was gnawed open and swallowed with a defiant and hostile roar from Darles.

Darles has never had many opportunities to cultivate high-quality Spirit Tree fruits, because he himself understands that planets with superior natural environments or abundant energy are rare finds. He also carefully chooses inconspicuous planets that have been destroyed and are no longer needed in order to avoid being discovered by Frieza's Legion.

During this time, he assembled his own team, mostly outlaws from various planets, with the goal of secretly cultivating spiritual trees to continuously increase their strength, hoping to one day accumulate enough power to rival Frieza.

He clearly has a long way to go.

But Darles still believed that dealing with a legend whose depths were unknown was more than enough.

The fruit, which has absorbed the natural energy of the entire planet, still contains astonishing energy even if it has not grown into the ideal deep red color.

The moment it is swallowed, it is delivered to every corner of the body—fatigue and pain are swept away, and injured muscles and internal organs are immediately restored to their best condition.

Not only that, Darles' power has increased to a higher level while he was recovering.

"For the sake of our shared race! I will erect a tomb for you right in the very center of this planet that is about to become a desert!!!"

Darles unleashed a deep purple aura and delivered a powerful punch, imbued with immense energy, to Tomat's face with astonishing speed.

The energy-induced shockwave formed high in the sky, shaking the clouds across Terra's surface and pushing them toward the other side of the planet.

—But the feel is off.

It's too hard.

Darles did not feel the impact of the punch on his body. Thomas's face was not smashed into a bloody mess. He just stood there without moving.

"He's really energetic; he was half-dead just a moment ago."

Thomas grabbed Darles's wrist, which was the fist that had attacked him, and applied a little force as he spoke.

"Click."

That's the sound of a wrist breaking.

As excruciating pain shot through his body, his tightly clenched fist lost all its strength and could only helplessly open.

"Ah ah ah ah ah!!!!"

Darles yelled and tried to pull his fist back, but Thomas's iron grip gave him no chance to break free.

How could this be? We were fighting head-on after consuming the fruit of the Spirit Tree, unlike before when we didn't give the opponent a chance to sneak attack, yet there's still such a huge difference in skill level?

His current power is the result of consuming countless fruits of the Spirit Tree. In terms of combat power, he has far surpassed King Vegeta, the strongest Saiyan. How could he be so embarrassed when facing a Super Saiyan transformed from a low-level warrior?

"Let's start by explaining the first question."

Despite Darles's other fist and legs pounding wildly against his body, Tomat continued to clarify some misunderstandings in his ear.

"First of all—I stopped fighting for Frieza a long time ago. Shortly after you disappeared, Frieza destroyed Planet Vegeta."

When he heard that Planet Vegeta had been destroyed by Frieza, Turles paused for a moment.

It wasn't that he was surprised by the destruction of his homeland; as a Saiyan, Tales didn't have any complicated feelings of homesickness. He was simply more puzzled by Tomat's attack on them.

If he wasn't Frieza's subordinate, why was he attacking him?

His doubts were quickly answered:

"As for why I beat you up..."

Thomas released his grip, then grabbed Darles' face and slammed his head toward the ground.

Struggling was futile; Darles could only be dragged along by Tomat and rubbed against the atmosphere, becoming a scorching meteor.

After a deafening roar, accompanied by billowing smoke and scattered debris, Tomat pressed down on Darles's head, finding himself in a crater at least a hundred meters in diameter.

"You fucking touched something you shouldn't have, you know that?"

Thomas only dropped Darles from that height with him; he didn't exert any force other than to prevent Darles from breaking free, so he didn't kill Darles.

He grabbed Darles's face, pulled the disheveled Darles in front of him, and said in a calm tone that was completely different from the violent golden aura around him:

“We are among the few of our kind left, so you should want us to get along well, right?”

As he said this, Tomat increased the force in his hands, and cracking sounds of bones twisting and popping came from his fingertips.

He really wanted to get back as soon as possible to check on Froststar and the others, but before that, he needed to eliminate any potential threats, and there were only two ways to do so.

One option is to stop the other party from causing further trouble and, out of respect for Bardock, give Darles a chance to choose to back down.

Another option is to eliminate the problem more directly—if he's willing to clench his fist.

“Choose, you 'low-ranking warrior' who only thinks about taking shortcuts.”

[Main Text] Terra Conquest: Chapter 45: A Journey Around Terra

The spaceship parts, torn apart by the aftershocks of the battle, rubbed against each other in the sky, scattering a dazzling light around the area where Tomat was suppressing Darles.

Huge explosions and shockwaves followed one after another, and among the scattered debris, some things that didn't seem like they should have landed smoothly rolled around.

Those were unripe fruits of the Spirit Tree that had spilled out from the fallen shipping container.

Even if the energy absorbed is insufficient, the power contained within is enough to ensure that they are not damaged when they fall to the ground.

Darles caught a glimpse of the fruit, which wasn't exactly close, out of the corner of his eye. One second he was in excruciating pain, feeling as if his skull was about to shatter from Tomat's grip, but the next moment, he excitedly mustered all his strength and struggled to reach out and touch the distant fruit.

"Let...let me go!!!"

Thomas also saw what allowed Darles to still muster the strength to struggle, but he said with considerable disdain:

"Even now, do you still think that eating this fruit will allow you to defeat me?"

Thomas tightened his grip, and blood began to seep from the tips of his fingers.

Kalles, however, seemed to have gone mad, ignoring the pain and continuing to try to break free from Tomat's grasp.

"I'm not a low-class warrior...! I'm going to... I'm going to become the number one warrior in the universe! Not only will I surpass you... I'm going to crush that Frieza under my feet...!"

Darles slammed his hands together and, almost at point-blank range, blasted the energy in his palms into Tomat's face. The massive explosion instantly engulfed the two of them, and the rising flames could be seen even by people far away in the moving city as they soared into the sky.

"I am a Saiyan who will become the emperor of the universe!!!"

Ignoring the fact that launching an attack at this distance would also cause him harm, he loudly proclaimed his arrogant vision—but the grip on him remained unyielding.

"You rely on the power these fruits give you?"

When the smoke cleared, there stood an unharmed Tomat, calmly questioning Darles.

"I actually think your all-out attack just now was more effective than when you ate the fruit."

"If you don't strive to become stronger and instead choose to rely on power obtained through other means, that can't be considered your own power."

Regardless of how Tomat views Darles in terms of good and evil, at least in terms of the mentality of fighting and acquiring power, Darles has become the kind of person he hates the most.

He grabbed Darles by the hair and flew toward a nearby fruit, which was blown into the rocks by the force of the explosion.

Tomat smashed the rock with a punch, took out the dust-covered fruit, and before Darles could react to what was about to happen, Tomat stuffed it into his mouth.

"Well!?"

The fruit, full of pebbles, was stuffed into his mouth, and before he could say anything, he felt a cold wind on his chin.

"bump--"

Tomat landed an uppercut on his chin, causing him to crush the fruit in his mouth and break a few teeth in the process—and the overflowing energy was absorbed by Darles, causing him to regenerate.

Darles' body has been fully restored.