Dalles leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest.
“As for the fruit of the Tree of Might, Armond and I have eaten four each, while Cacao has had two.”
“Daiz, Rez, and Lakasse have all eaten three.”
“You all know better than I do that apart from the significant boost from the first fruit, the effects diminish drastically with every subsequent bite.”
The cockpit fell silent.
It was the undeniable truth.
The power increase from the first fruit was earth-shattering, but by the third or fourth, the enhancement was nowhere near what it used to be.
Everyone present knew this perfectly well.
It was just that over the past two years, no one had been willing to dwell on it.
Perhaps they knew that if they actually did the math, their beautiful dream of conquering the universe would shatter into pieces.
“Let me tell you an even harsher reality.”
“If we want to rely on the fruit of the Tree of Might to raise our power levels to Lord Slug’s tier…”
“…it would take at least fifty years!”
A deathly silence filled the cockpit.
“And that is under the most ideal conditions,” Dalles continued.
He held up three fingers.
“First, the fruit’s effects stop diminishing.”
“Second, we manage to find a suitable planet to plant the Tree of Might every single year.”
“Third, for those fifty years, Lord Slug and any other obstacles completely avoid us.”
Dalles lowered his hand and crossed his arms again.
“Think about it.
Is that even possible?”
“Don’t forget how we got to where we are today,” Dalles raised his voice slightly.
“Do you really think that after two years, Lord Slug hasn’t realized we betrayed him?”
Just then, Armond chimed in.
His face was full of confusion.
“Lord Dalles!”
“What are you saying?”
“What do you mean, fifty years?”
“Your power level has already surpassed thirty thousand!”
“How could it possibly take fifty years to surpass Lord Slug!”
“Even if he is powerful, there’s no way…”
Armond wanted to say that Lord Slug couldn’t possibly be that strong.
But after Dalles shot him a deadpan look…
…Armond and the rest of the crew members in the cabin revealed expressions of utter disbelief.
Their boss’s expression said it all.
They didn’t even dare to imagine the kind of power level that would take their boss fifty years to catch up to.
“Something like that…”
“How is that possible…”
Dalles could sense his subordinates’ overwhelming sense of defeat.
“We’ve been in this together for a long time, and I have no interest in joking around with you.
I only learned of his true power level by chance, and it completely exceeds our comprehension.”
“However…
even though Lord Slug is incredibly strong, I’m not telling you this to crush your spirits.
Don’t look so miserable.”
“I can solemnly promise you that it won’t take me fifty years to surpass Lord Slug!
Nor will I need the fruit of the Tree of Might!”
“And that goes for all of you, too.
Even without the fruit, you can become unimaginably powerful!”
“Of course, all of this hinges on one condition: that you are still willing to trust me!”
At those words, Armond slammed his hand against the cabin wall.
“Lord Dalles!
What are you saying!”
“Of course we trust you!”
“If it weren’t for you, Lord Dalles, I’d probably be rotting in a Galactic Patrol prison right now!” Armond was the first to declare his loyalty.
Daiz quickly followed suit, expressing his agreement with a firm gaze.
Cacao cracked his neck loudly in agreement.
As for the brothers, Rez and Lakasse, it went without saying.
They were the first to start following Dalles.
Seeing this, the corners of Dalles’s mouth twitched upward.
He had to admit, when it came to sheer charisma, the original owner of this body had nailed it.
It didn’t even seem like a trait a Saiyan should possess.
Perhaps it had to do with his upbringing.
The original Dalles had merely been sent to a planet within the North Galaxy.
But through sheer grit and a willingness to fight tooth and nail, he had drifted all the way to the West Galaxy.
It was this very experience that gave him the gritty survival instincts of the universe’s underclass—something ordinary Saiyans could never comprehend!
As everyone knew, you couldn’t survive the hustle without a few loyal brothers by your side.
Making brothers while hustling through the universe was perfectly normal.
Joining one gang today, swallowing up another tomorrow.
Growing bigger and stronger.
Coupled with the innate belligerence and extraordinary combat instincts in his Saiyan DNA, it was easy for him to become the boss of such a small faction.
Among his current subordinates…
…every single one of them had benefited from Dalles’s fierce loyalty in the past.
Back then, Armond was just a minor boss of a small space pirate crew.
Not long after setting out, he was targeted by the Galactic Patrol.
In the end, it was only with Dalles’s help that he escaped imprisonment.
Even Daiz, who was once a prince of his nation, had relied on Dalles’s help to exact revenge after space pirates invaded his home planet.
This group of people were Dalles’s absolute, die-hard supporters.
Otherwise, Dalles wouldn’t have brought them along after finding the seed of the Tree of Might.
To think that even a bunch of ruthless space thugs like them valued loyalty.
‘This damn mutual devotion!’
Dalles couldn’t help but sigh in admiration.
Overall, however, his ideological work had yielded pretty good results.
“Lord Dalles, is this method of growing stronger without the fruit you mentioned…
defecting to Frieza?”
After learning about Lord Slug’s unfathomable power level from Dalles, they naturally began to harbor a subconscious, rightful awe for Frieza—the Emperor of the Universe, whose terrifying reputation far exceeded even Lord Slug’s.
Since Frieza was so powerful, if they joined him…
…maybe they could become incredibly strong too?
In their minds, this line of logic flowed perfectly.
Hearing this, Dalles narrowed his eyes slightly.
He said slowly, “Defecting to Frieza is just a risky move to deal with the pursuit of Lord Slug’s army.
We can only think about getting stronger if we survive first!”
“Frieza is far more terrifying than Lord Slug!”
“Are you all…
ready for this?”
His subordinates nodded with solemn expressions.
“Lord Dalles!”
“We’re ready!”
Dalles stood up from his seat.
His gaze was distant.
He looked out once more into the boundless sea of stars.
The spaceship sped through the cosmos, leaving a brilliant trail in its wake.
“Before that, we still need to make some preparations…”
“Aside from preparations that will increase our chances of successfully joining the Frieza Force…”
“…we might need other contingencies.
For example, leaving ourselves a way out…”
The moment he raised his eyes, it was as if a gaze from the distant reaches of the universe responded in kind…