The scouters worn by Jeice and the others overloaded with a sharp pop and exploded into sparks.
Son Goku's cataclysmic surge of ki didn't just break Ginyu's technique—it utterly obliterated the Captain's invading soul. Thus, the once-feared leader of the Ginyu Force met his ignoble end.
Ginyu's death was a lesson in overconfidence. Against such absolute power, his clever tricks were meaningless. If his Body Change could truly overpower a vastly stronger foe, he would have long since claimed Frieza's body, or that of an even greater being.
He would have been invincible. His reliance on a gimmick against a force of nature was his fatal flaw.
Ginyu's demise instantly granted Son Goku 360,000 energy points. His eyes lit up, and his gaze shifted with predatory interest toward the remaining members of the Force.
"No good! Everyone, scatter! RUN!" Jeice shrieked, the color draining from his blue face. The four survivors exploded into motion, leaping into the air and fleeing in different directions.
"Hmph. Escape? Don't make me laugh." Son Goku's body flickered—a barely perceptible blur.
He appeared beside Recoome. One punch. A fist punched clean through the massive warrior's chest. +110,000 points.
He flickered again. A single kick sent Jeice screaming into the earth, burying him deep. +98,000 points.
Another flicker. Guldo, still trying to concentrate, was snuffed out mid-thought. +24,000 points.
A final flicker. Burter, the "Fastest in the Universe," didn't even see the blow that ended him. +86,000 points.
Silence returned to the shattered valley. Son Goku glanced at his virtual tally. +678,000 points.
A fierce grin spread across his face. "Heheh… As I thought. Harvesting in the cosmos is much more efficient. I wonder… how many points is Frieza worth?"
"Boss! That was so AWESOME! Please, let me be your disciple!" Ox-King scrambled forward on his knees once more, attempting to hug Goku's leg with teary-eyed devotion. The sheer, world-breaking ki Goku had unleashed had terrified him to his core—and inspired absolute, fanatical loyalty.
"Ugh! Get off me!" Goku kicked him away again, this time with a bit more force. "Have some dignity!"
---
In a distant quadrant of the galaxy, on a newly conquered world, Lord Frieza was enjoying the fruits of his latest tyranny. He stood atop the corpse of the planet's last defender, a cruel smile on his lips.
"Kukuku… From this day, Planet Kada joins the glorious Frieza Force. How delightful."
A small shuttle suddenly streaked into the atmosphere and landed nearby. A panicked officer rushed out and threw himself prostrate before his emperor.
"M-my Lord Frieza! Urgent news! The Ginyu Force… dispatched to Planet Kada… has been completely annihilated!"
"Hm?" Frieza's smile vanished. "Annihilated? Those simple-minded Minotaurs could not possibly defeat Ginyu. Explain."
"It… it appears it was not the natives, my Lord. It was an outsider. From a planet called… Earth." The officer produced a data pad and activated a holographic recording—the final footage from the Ginyu Force's scouters before their destruction.
The video showed Son Goku swatting away Ginyu's energy blast, then dispatching the Captain with a single, casual blow.
"Oh? This man…" Frieza's reptilian eyes narrowed. "Bardock? No… impossible. I killed that low-class fool myself. So, this is… another one. How interesting. It seems besides Vegeta and his little band, there is yet another Saiyan monkey loose. And this one seems… stronger." He turned to his taller, armored attendant. "Zarbon. Did the scanners get a definitive reading?"
"Only a partial, my Lord. It spiked past one million before the feed was lost. I estimate his true battle power is between one and two million."
"Between one and two million?" Frieza's tail twitched, a sign of genuine intrigue. "A wild monkey with such power?" A dark, ancient legend flickered in his mind, and his expression hardened. "Could he be… the so-called 'Legendary'? No. That is a fairy tale. Regardless, this specimen must be pruned."
"Zarbon. Plot a course for Planet Kada. I will not have my personally selected warriors die without answer."
"At once, my Lord. However… there is more." Zarbon queued up the final seconds of the recording.
The video showed Son Goku kicking away a prostrate Minotaur, then muttering to the air, almost as if addressing the scooter that was filming him: "Frieza, huh? Annoying, running into his lackeys so soon. Looks like I'll have to move my timetable up. Next stop… Planet Namek."
The recording ended.
"Planet Namek?" Frieza hissed. "What business does a Saiyan have on that miserable backwater swamp? Zarbon, how long to reach Namek?"
"Approximately fifteen days, Lord Frieza."
"Fifteen days? How remote. Very well. Set course. And… summon Vegeta and his team. I think it would be most… entertaining to have the Saiyan monkeys meet. One of them might even do us the favor of killing the other."
"Understood."
---
Back on Planet Kada, Son Goku and his companions were guests of honor in the Minotaur village. As the saviors of their tribe and their world, they were shown overwhelming, boisterous hospitality. Some of the female Minotaurs cast what they likely thought were sultry glances his way, which only made Goku's stomach churn. Their bovine aesthetics were… not to his taste.
The bigger headache was Ox-King and his crew. Their loyalty had morphed into a clingy, obnoxious devotion. They followed him everywhere, bellowing "Aniki!" ("Big Bro!") at every turn. The saying 'you don't hit someone who is smiling' was tested to its limit. Goku found himself 'disciplining' them regularly, but they seemed to enjoy the beatings, grinning through bruised faces. He was at a loss.
In desperation, he taught them the basics of Bukūjutsu—the art of flight. It finally gave them something else to focus on. To his surprise, Ox-King, for all his dimwittedness, grasped it in half a day. His latent ability to manipulate ki for his Berserker state likely paved the way.
The next day, a massive celebration was held. Ox-King finally married the well-endowed Erhua. Though still considered a fool, his status as the tribe's legendary Berserker and his valor against the aliens had redeemed him in the eyes of all, including his new bride.
On the morning of the third day, Son Goku said his farewells to a loudly weeping Ox-King and his crew, boarded his spherical ship, and left Planet Kada behind.
Once in the calm of space, he waved a hand. The women, who had been waiting safely within his Ring of Worlds, materialized around him in the ship's cabin.
"Alright, everyone," he announced, a glint of adventure in his eyes as he input the new coordinates. "Next destination is set. We're going to Planet Namek."