Vegeta took the lead, leaving Dodoria’s massive, fleshy body half a step behind.
Nappa breathed heavily, while Raditz followed beside him in complete silence.
The sight of three Saiyans accompanied by Dodoria drew quite a few sideways glances in the corridor.
At the end of the corridor, the alloy doors to the command room were already half open.
Dodoria stopped at the entrance.
He shifted his massive frame sideways, blocking Nappa and Raditz’s path.
“Lord Frieza only summoned Vegeta.”
“Irrelevant personnel are to stand by right here.”
Nappa and Raditz stopped dead in their tracks.
Nappa’s face instantly flushed a deep, angry red.
He had already taken a step forward, but Raditz grabbed his arm from behind and forcefully yanked him back.
Both of them looked rather awkward.
Dodoria did not even bother to look back.
The alloy doors slid shut behind him, separating the two Saiyans from the command room as if they were in two different worlds.
Nappa shook off Raditz’s grip.
“Damn it…”
Raditz rubbed his aching wrist and said nothing, simply leaning against the corridor wall.
Inside the command room.
Holographic projections covered the entire wall.
Streams of data scrolled silently in mid-air, displaying military deployments, commercial trade routes, and resource reserves across various star sectors.
The Frieza Force’s tentacles extended into every inch of the North Galaxy.
Frieza sat upright in his hoverchair.
Sarbo stood half a step to his right.
Vegeta stopped a respectful distance away from the hoverchair.
He lowered his head slightly.
“Lord Frieza.”
“Mission K-18x has been completed.”
Frieza tilted his head.
He looked at Vegeta, his crimson eyes gleaming with fragmented light from the holographic projections.
“Good work, Vegeta.”
Frieza lifted his tail from the armrest, traced a small arc in the air, and leisurely draped it back down.
“Your recent performance has been excellent.”
He tapped his finger lightly against his knee.
“Truly worthy of the title, Prince of all Saiyans…”
Vegeta’s jaw muscles twitched for a fraction of a second.
But he stood there, completely motionless.
‘A prince without a kingdom.’
‘A prince who works for the very murderer that wiped out his entire race?’
He mocked himself inwardly.
However, the thought was fleeting.
He knew very well that harboring this deep-seated hatred would bring him no benefit, other than sending him to an early grave.
To a Saiyan, what did his people matter?
‘Sorry, but absolute power is the only thing that truly matters!’
“You flatter me, Lord Frieza.”
“Ho ho ho.”
Frieza chuckled softly.
“Speaking of which, Vegeta.”
“I didn’t actually call you here today just to listen to a mission report.
You must have realized that by now, haven’t you?”
“I want to introduce you to a…
new friend.”
“Aren’t you curious, Vegeta?”
From the moment he met Dodoria until now, the phrase “new friend” had been repeated in Vegeta’s ears enough times to genuinely pique his curiosity.
Within the Frieza Force, anyone Frieza personally deemed worthy of an “introduction” usually possessed enough power or value to capture the tyrant’s own interest.
This was an incredibly rare occurrence in the army.
Vegeta’s face remained calm, but his gaze sharpened slightly.
“I am entirely at your disposal, my lord.”
Frieza’s smile deepened.
The tip of his tail curled up from the armrest, hovered in the air for a beat, and then lazily draped back down.
“Ho ho ho.”
“As expected, Vegeta, you are always the most reliable.”
Frieza lifted his chin toward Sarbo.
Understanding the gesture, Sarbo stepped forward and placed his fingers on the communication terminal.
The channel switched to a specific, dedicated line.
Over in the barracks area.
Dalles had just returned from the training grounds, his battle armor still dusted with fine powder from the simulation.
The moment the communication terminal’s indicator light flashed, he was already stepping up to the receiver panel.
“Mr.
Dalles.”
“Lord Frieza requests your presence in the command room.”
“Understood.
I’ll be right there.”
Armond poked his head out from the next room.
“Lord Dalles?”
“It doesn’t concern you.
Go back to what you were doing.
I’m heading to the command room.”
Dalles’s footsteps echoed down the corridor.
He turned the final corner.
The alloy doors of the command room came into view at the end of the hall.
The doors were still closed.
But flanking the entrance stood two figures.
The one on the left was massive and bald, with shoulders so broad they practically took up half the wall.
He leaned against the wall, cracking his knuckles out of sheer boredom, one by one, each joint popping with a crisp snap.
The one on the right was tall and lean, with a wild mane of black hair cascading down to his waist.
He leaned silently against the opposite wall, arms crossed and head slightly bowed.
Dalles had clearly recognized the two men the moment he rounded the corner.
Nappa.
Raditz.
It was then that he fully understood why Frieza had summoned him today.
Inside that command room, the Prince of all Saiyans—Vegeta—was undoubtedly waiting!
Hearing the heavy thud of boots against the alloy floor echoing down the corridor, Raditz was the first to look up.
He lifted his gaze from the floor, sweeping it toward the approaching figure at the end of the hall.
And then…
He froze completely.
His spine snapped rigidly straight.
The sight before him perfectly overlapped with a blurry yet unforgettable figure buried deep within his memories.
That image was so incredibly old, so distant that he once thought he had forgotten it entirely.
‘Father?’
His rationality returned half a beat slower than his physical impulse, but it eventually caught up.
His father had died a long time ago.
Along with Planet Vegeta, he had been reduced to an insignificant speck of dust in the vast universe.
That event had happened many years ago.
Raditz’s chest heaved violently for a moment.
‘It’s just a coincidence…’
But that damn face…
it looked far too similar.
So similar that, for a split second, Raditz almost believed time had flowed backward.
By the time he looked again, the figure had already drawn near, wearing the standard Class B battle armor of the Frieza Force.
At that moment, Nappa also noticed Dalles approaching.
He stared at the approaching figure, his large face written with confusion.
It was a guy he had never seen before.
Strutting down the headquarters’ core corridor with a swagger that made it look like he was strolling through his own backyard.
Nappa wrinkled his nose.
Dalles walked right up to the two of them.
The alloy doors to the command room slid open before him.
Dalles stepped inside.
From beginning to end, Dalles didn’t even spare them a single glance.
Nappa blinked in surprise.
He shook his head, a surge of nameless anger flaring up in his chest.
What was this?
He, Nappa, was a recognized, high-ranking warrior in the Frieza Force.
How dare some random guy in a Class B uniform put on such airs?
But just as he formulated his outrage and prepared to shout a curse, Nappa’s mouth froze half-open.
In the brief moment before the doors closed, he caught a glimpse of it.
That furry appendage wrapped around the man’s waist.
Nappa stiffened.
He slowly turned his head to look at Raditz.
“Raditz.”
He lowered his voice.
“That guy…
is he a Saiyan?”