Targeting the Ginyu Force

Zuke and Bardock's exchange of blows did not last long—within just a few minutes, it had come to a decisive end.

For Saiyans, their endurance allowed them to battle for days without issue. However, Bardock quickly realized that continuing to fight was meaningless.

His attacks landed on Zuke without the latter even bothering to dodge—simply standing there, Zuke remained unscathed.

On the other hand, every time Zuke made a move, he effortlessly caught Bardock and delivered a heavy punch. At times, even when Zuke had clearly not attacked, Bardock still felt as though he had been hit.

He couldn't even see how Zuke was striking. Despite the distance, he was still getting pummeled, leaving him utterly baffled.

It was Zuke's Stand, Blackbird Requiem, that was dealing the blows. The sheer difference in strength was so vast that Bardock couldn't even sense Blackbird Requiem's attacks.

After enduring several minutes of one-sided beating, Bardock hurriedly called for an end to the fight—or rather, the unilateral abuse.

"Alright, alright! I get it—you're ridiculously strong. You can stop now."

Bardock, usually composed, was now speaking with some difficulty. His teeth were intact, but both sides of his face were swollen from the beating. This left him feeling helpless, even bringing to mind the weaker planets the Saiyans had destroyed in the past.

Many ill-tempered Saiyans had used their overwhelming strength to bully the native inhabitants of such planets, treating them like helpless children.

And now, Bardock felt as though he was one of those weak natives—Zuke had not even moved his feet throughout the fight, proving his strength was leagues beyond his own.

Bardock knew that not even King Vegeta could accomplish such a feat. That meant Zuke's power had already surpassed King Vegeta's by an overwhelming margin—taking his place would be effortless.

"With your current strength, replacing King Vegeta would be no problem at all."

Bardock winced as he rubbed his aching body.

"In fact, your power might even rival Frieza's elite Ginyu Force, don't you think?"

Although Bardock still had his scouter on, he wasn't foolish enough to try scanning Zuke's power level—it had undoubtedly exceeded the device's limit.

However, Bardock didn't know Frieza's exact power level either, so he could only estimate that Zuke's strength was at least on par with the Ginyu Force.

Zuke, however, merely sneered in disdain. The Ginyu Force's strongest member, Captain Ginyu, had a power level of just over 100,000. Even without using any special abilities, Zuke could easily crush him with raw strength alone.

His real target had long since shifted beyond the Ginyu Force—to Frieza himself.

"So, do you have any plans?"

Zuke sat down on a nearby training bench and looked at Bardock.

Bardock held considerable influence among the Saiyans. Having him as an advocate would save Zuke the trouble of convincing the other Saiyans to join his cause.

After all, it wasn't as if Zuke could just go around beating up every single Saiyan to prove his strength. While brute force was indeed the Saiyan way, he had no interest in wasting time on such an exhausting endeavor.

"I'll start by recalling all the Saiyans currently on off-world missions back to Planet Vegeta."

Bardock had already formulated a rough plan on his way back from the Galactic Patrol. Now, upon hearing Zuke's question, he promptly responded.

"Most Saiyans should be willing to give me that courtesy. As for the few who refuse, once everything is settled, they won't be able to stir up much trouble anyway."

Bardock's reputation among the Saiyans was about to play a crucial role. Besides the direct orders of Frieza and King Vegeta, he was perhaps the only Saiyan capable of rallying their entire race.

Seeing that Zuke had no objections, Bardock continued:

"After that, things become fairly simple. I'll secretly reach out to a few influential Saiyans and inform them that there's a way to escape Frieza's control. They should be open to accepting you as the new King of the Saiyans."

"Are you sure about this?"

The plan was straightforward, but the biggest challenge would be gathering all the Saiyans in one place and making them acknowledge Zuke as their new king.

"In fact, if we want to make it even easier for the Saiyans to accept this, there's an even simpler approach."

Noticing the trace of concern on Zuke's face, Bardock spoke again.

"Since the Saiyans are discontent with Frieza, and your primary justification for overthrowing King Vegeta is that you can 'lead the Saiyans to break free from Frieza's rule,' then if you were to defeat Frieza's elite forces in front of the Saiyans…"

"Defeat Frieza's elites in front of the Saiyans?"

Zuke pondered this and nodded—it was indeed a good plan. There were many warriors in Frieza's army stronger than the Saiyans. Defeating them would undoubtedly strengthen his credibility.

He approved of this idea and asked Bardock:

"Do you have any specific targets in mind? Who would be the best choice to gain the Saiyans' support?"

"Hmm… the best target would, of course, be the Ginyu Force."

Bardock thought for a moment before answering.

As the backbone of Frieza's army, the Ginyu Force was known across the universe.

Aside from a few hidden powerhouses, they were considered one of the strongest known fighting forces. The Saiyans wouldn't even dare to challenge them.

Even King Vegeta, the ruler of the Saiyans, would be unworthy of joining the Ginyu Force.

"But… that might be too difficult. Maybe we should go after someone else—Dodoria or Zarbon would be good targets too…"

Despite bringing up the Ginyu Force, Bardock instinctively doubted whether Zuke could actually defeat them. So, he suggested alternative targets: Dodoria and Zarbon, Frieza's trusted lieutenants with power levels around 20,000—both of whom were ultimately killed by Vegeta.

"No, we're going after the Ginyu Force."

However, Zuke wasn't interested in wasting time on small fry. He shook his head and decided to target the Ginyu Force directly.

They were well-known enough that their defeat would inspire maximum confidence among the Saiyans. As for whether Ginyu would try to use Body Change on him…

Heh, if that fool thought he could bypass Blackbird Requiem, Zuke might even applaud him for the attempt.

To be continued…

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