Chapter 455: A True Man Can Retreat

Vegeta had never felt death so close to him before, especially when the other side showed not even the slightest hint of killing intent.

Clearly, there was no murderous aura from his opponent.

Yet Vegeta felt that his life and death were not in his own hands,

but at the mercy of a single thought from the other side.

Even more, at the flick of a glance from that opponent!

However, while Vegeta remained on high alert as if the end of the world were coming, everyone else's atmosphere was completely different:

Bulma was holding their son Gohan, scolding Goku, who had just returned to his own body;

Gohan watched quietly nearby, whispering with Krillin, who wore a guilty expression;

The Phoenix had just delivered something and flew back, circling above everyone's heads;

and Hathaway stood silently with her arms crossed.

It seemed... no one was really concerned about Vegeta.

Not a single person cared whether he lived or died.

At this critical moment, when the Saiyan Prince's life hung in the balance, Bulma and the others might have been thinking about what to eat for dinner...

Taro was calm, like a gentle breeze and light clouds. He nodded at Vegeta and said, "The old man you met earlier is my junior brother, Tsuru. I know he spared your life. I also know he directed you to come to me. Speak, Vegeta—you must have questions for me."

"You know my name!" Vegeta pursed his lips, staring intently at Taro, his body still tense.

"Don't be so nervous. I promise you, as long as you don't cause trouble on this planet, no one will try to kill you."

Taro stomped once, and a wave of natural energy passed from the earth through Vegeta's body from the ground up.

Vegeta was shocked!

He had just witnessed how with one glance Taro made Ginyu suffer worse than death! How with unseen movements, he completely neutralized the combat power of Ginyu and his four comrades from a distance!

How could he not be afraid?

He was a warrior, brave and unafraid of death, even reckless... but if his dignity and power as a warrior were stripped away, what dignity would remain? Vegeta could not help but fear! He did not want to become a pitiful creature like Ginyu and the others—half-dead and broken!

A false alarm.

The natural energy from Taro's step permeated Vegeta's body, bathing him like warm sunlight, embraced by Mother Earth herself. His fatigue faded, his mind relaxed, no longer tense.

Vegeta composed himself and asked again, "So as long as I don't cause trouble, no one will try to kill me? Can you guarantee that?"

Thinking back, when Vegeta first landed, four or five Earthlings waited for him at the landing spot as if expecting him, and... any one of those people could have easily defeated him! In the end, he barely escaped by risking his own severe injuries and the lives of all his men.

But who would have thought that after fleeing, he would randomly land in a forest and encounter the troublesome Tsuru!

Good grief, Tsuru seemed to have been waiting there, predicting exactly where Vegeta would fall, and promptly beat him up! Then he sent Vegeta to Muten Island.

Just as Vegeta stepped onto Muten Island, still catching his breath, he was tormented by a spiteful but powerful bird, utterly powerless to resist, suffering further wounds!

Finally escaping the Phoenix's clutches and eating a Senzu Bean given by Gohan, his strength increased a bit, but he still felt unable to resist the old man Gohan who held his shoulder...

In the end, he personally witnessed Taro's incredible abilities.

...Because of all this, Vegeta almost developed a psychological shadow against this seemingly insignificant planet!

This planet was too strange! Too dangerous!

He felt that the combat powers he sensed here were unreliable! The Earthlings' incredible actual strength broke all rules, beyond his imagination! Vegeta vaguely felt that if he randomly pulled someone out from any city on this planet, that person might suddenly unleash an incomprehensible power!

...On such a planet, when Taro said he could guarantee no one would kill him, Vegeta instinctively doubted it.

But such doubt was only laughable.

"Rest assured, since Master said so, it surely won't be wrong," Krillin waved to Vegeta. "Of course, if you... intend to cause trouble on Earth, sorry, no matter where you hide, it won't end well for you."

The little bald guy paused and said, "As for why, I think if you just spend a little time in any city on Earth, you'll understand."

In today's world, where the virtual Earth network covers the entire globe and is completely integrated into daily life—where martial arts information flies everywhere and ki masters roam freely—Vegeta's desire to cause trouble on this Earth without attracting attention is almost impossible.

Vegeta fell silent, no longer questioning Krillin's words. If he said so, then so be it.

Besides, he understood the situation now.

Escape was impossible, fighting was out of the question—and not just against one person, but many. What surprised him was that no one actually intended to kill him. For Vegeta, who was used to killing and wiping out entire races, this was a strange adjustment, but ultimately a fortunate thing. He had no reason to complain about it.

There was just one thing he wanted to confirm.

"Burely, it's you, isn't it?" Vegeta looked straight into Taro's eyes again. The expression was exactly like that of the young, easily overpowering Burely who once knocked him away! More importantly… it was Taro's voice.

Taro didn't ask who Burely was and simply nodded, "It's me."

Vegeta clenched his fist but didn't ask if Taro had shape-shifting or disguise abilities—that was obvious. Instead, he said, "The person talking to the God of Destruction Beerus in the cave back then… was that also you?"

God of Destruction Beerus? Krillin, Gohan, Goku, Bulma, and the others exchanged confused looks. None of them had ever heard of Beerus.

Only Hathaway remembered the God of Destruction and Whis who had suddenly appeared on Muten Island a few years ago.

Taro nodded, "That was me too."

Vegeta's fist clenched even tighter.

Naturally, a question stuck in his throat, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't say it—

If you were so strong, and you were on Planet Vegeta at the time, why didn't you try to save the Saiyans?

Vegeta still had his pride. He couldn't bring himself to beg like a dog.

He let out a long breath and glanced over at Goku, who was talking to Bulma. Then he asked, "Planet Vegeta… was it really destroyed by Frieza? And what's the deal with that guy called Son Goku?"

"You're asking a lot, young man. Yes, Planet Vegeta was destroyed by Frieza. As for Son Goku, he's a disciple I've taken a liking to, that's all," Taro replied disinterestedly, not wanting to explain everything to Vegeta in detail. He waved his hand and said, "Leave here as soon as possible. My junior brother seems to intend to guide you; when the time is right, he will find you. Choose a place and live as an ordinary Earthling. I won't kill you."

With that, Taro flicked his hand, and a boundless force surged toward Vegeta.

This invisible power swept Vegeta off the lawn and into the sky, as if to throw him off Muten Island. But Vegeta opened his arms midair and shouted, "Hah!" Flames of white fire burned all around him as he gritted his teeth and stopped in the air.

Taro lowered his hand and looked up at Vegeta.

Vegeta gasped for breath. Being watched like that by Taro—though his expression was calm and showed no displeasure—still made sweat bead on Vegeta's forehead. He recalled how Ginyu's expression had twisted horribly just moments before when Taro glanced at him.

Vegeta quickly pointed to Goku on the ground and said, "I want to fight him once!"

Everyone looked at Goku.

Goku pointed to himself and said calmly, "Me? You can't beat me."

That was the truth.

"Maybe so," Vegeta took a deep breath to calm himself and said stiffly, "But I want to see… if you, having grown up on this planet, have really become… a Super Saiyan!"