To Frieza, the power levels possessed by Dalles and his crew met his expectations.
They hadn’t wasted his time.
Warriors with power levels approaching ten thousand were actually quite remarkable in the universe.
High-quality fighters like Dalles and his men were already considered elite even within the Frieza Force.
Frieza couldn’t help but clap his hands.
“Mr.
Dalles!
You have truly given me a pleasant surprise!”
Frieza tilted his head, his elegant smile resembling someone admiring a fine piece of porcelain.
“Compared to you, Mr.
Dalles, the Saiyans’ King Vegeta from back then pales in comparison!
Could it be that you are the legendary Super Saiyan, Mr.
Dalles?”
Dalles paused upon hearing this.
For a moment, he couldn’t keep up with Frieza’s leaping train of thought.
But he couldn’t blame him; Frieza had never seen a true Super Saiyan before.
It was only natural for him to have such a thought.
Dalles shook his head.
“Lord Frieza must be joking.
The so-called Super Saiyan is nothing more than an illusory legend.
The fact that your subordinate possesses such power is merely due to luck.
In truth, I relied on a certain treasure.”
The tip of Frieza’s tail paused its tapping on the armrest.
“Oh my, luck?” He tilted his head.
“You are far too modest, Mr.
Dalles.”
“But speaking of treasures, Mr.
Dodoria did mention that you brought something that might interest me.
I wonder if it would be convenient for you to broaden my horizons, Mr.
Dalles?”
Dalles gave a slight nod toward the men behind him.
Cacao understood the cue.
A piece of armor plating on his chest slid open silently, revealing a built-in storage compartment.
A mechanical arm reached in with precision and extracted an alloy container.
The container was small, about the size of a fist, with a silver-gray exterior and a tight seal.
Cacao took two steps forward and handed the container to Dalles.
Dalles took it with both hands, walked up to Frieza, and presented it respectfully.
Frieza casually took it.
There wasn’t much fluctuation in his expression.
In reality, Frieza had never taken this so-called treasure very seriously.
What ordinary people considered a treasure wasn’t necessarily one to him.
He was already satisfied enough with acquiring a high-quality group of subordinates like Dalles and his crew today.
“Lord Frieza!” Dalles announced.
“The item inside is called the fruit of the Tree of Might!
It can increase the power level of whoever consumes it!
The reason your subordinate possesses this level of power today is entirely thanks to this fruit!”
“The fruit of the Tree of Might…” Frieza murmured softly.
“A fruit that makes you stronger when eaten?”
Beside him, Dodoria and Sarbo exchanged a glance.
Dalles went on to explain the Tree of Might fruit to Frieza, though he naturally embellished the details slightly.
After listening, Frieza’s expression grew even more indifferent.
‘It requires draining a planet’s life force to grow, and the power boost is this minuscule?’
He held the Tree of Might fruit in his hand.
He seemed intent on taking a bite himself, but just as he brought it to his lips, he suddenly stopped.
He handed it back to Dalles.
“According to what you’ve said, Mr.
Dalles, it truly is a miraculous fruit.
I would very much like to witness its wondrous effects for myself.
I wonder if you could satisfy my curiosity, Mr.
Dalles?”
Dalles couldn’t help but freeze.
Prior to this, he had run through many different scenarios regarding this matter.
In his original estimation, Frieza would only do one of two things upon receiving the Tree of Might fruit.
The first was to eat it right away and personally experience the supposed power increase.
However, Dalles hadn’t considered this very likely.
After all, Frieza wasn’t a fool who would just shove unknown substances into his mouth.
The more probable outcome was that Frieza would hand the Tree of Might fruit over to the Frieza Force’s research team.
That would have been entirely logical.
But the current situation had completely exceeded Dalles’s expectations.
‘What kind of game is he playing?’
In truth, Dalles had ultimately underestimated Frieza’s arrogance.
The reason Frieza returned the Tree of Might fruit to Dalles wasn’t just out of caution to avoid eating it himself; he simply couldn’t muster much interest in it.
The reasoning was simple.
Dalles and his subordinates had consumed so many of these Tree of Might fruits, yet their power levels were still so pitifully low that they were nothing more than ants in his eyes.
He simply couldn’t take it seriously.
Furthermore, the fact that this item required absorbing an entire planet’s life force just to grow once made it utterly useless to him.
It was worth noting that while the Frieza Force had amassed a far more vicious reputation across the universe over the years than during King Cold’s era, on the surface, the Frieza Force had always engaged in legal business.
Back during the period of the Frieza Force’s most rapid expansion, the Galactic Patrol could only direct their heavy-handed crackdowns at Planet Vegeta.
They had absolutely no way to trace the blame back to the Frieza Force itself.
Later on, it was only due to the authorization of Beerus the Destroyer, coupled with that foolish King Vegeta daring to rebel against him, that he finally made up his mind to eradicate those barbaric monkeys.
Now that he had lost the Saiyans, his powerful enforcers who did his dirty work, he had no desire to provoke the annoying Galactic Patrol for the time being.
It was better to witness the actual effects of this so-called divine fruit on the spot before making any plans.
Dalles actually had no room to refuse at this point.
“Lord Frieza, your subordinate is happy to oblige!”
He took the Tree of Might fruit and took a bite without hesitation.
As soon as he swallowed the flesh of the fruit, power instantly surged through his body!
Dodoria, understanding the cue, activated his scouter.
Dalles’s power level jumped directly from 35,000 to 38,000!
However, this result only further confirmed Frieza’s original thoughts.
In his mind, the value of the Tree of Might fruit couldn’t even compare to a single life-bearing planet.
There was no doubt about it.
An ordinary planet capable of nurturing life could be sold for a hefty price after some development.
Risking the attention of the Galactic Patrol just to plant these low-yield fruits?
What a joke.
Of course, he didn’t voice these thoughts.
Because right now, gaining the service of high-quality subordinates like Dalles and his crew was his greatest harvest of the day.
Therefore, Frieza feigned an expression of great surprise and clapped his hands.
“Ohohoho!
What a stunning display!” Frieza laughed.
“You have truly opened my eyes, Mr.
Dalles!”
Seeing this, Dalles quickly chimed in.
“Lord Frieza!
I deeply apologize, but this was the very last fruit your subordinate had on hand.
If you require it, I can travel to the West Galaxy to find more of these divine fruits for you!”
Hearing this, Frieza half-covered his mouth with one hand, maintaining his elegance.
“Ohohoho, you are very thoughtful, Mr.
Dalles.”
“However, I believe such trivial matters can wait.
You have been traveling for a long time, Mr.
Dalles.
Why don’t you return to headquarters with me to rest and reorganize first?
I also want to introduce you to some friends.
I’m sure you will be pleasantly surprised, Mr.
Dalles.”