Tundra stood on the planet for a while longer, a faint smirk on his face as he imagined Shitaki dealing with the work he had left behind.
Sure, he didn't like leaving responsibilities unattended. But if he had no choice, he might as well find some humor in it.
His thoughts drifted back to his earlier flight—the instability, the way his ki had resisted him. Something about it still bothered him.
Tundra lifted off the ground again, testing the flow of his energy.
Before, his ki had flowed like water—smooth, fluid, and easy to guide.
Now it felt different.
Thicker.
If it had once been water, now it was closer to honey.
He sighed.
To compensate, Tundra coated his entire body in ki, compressing it inward from every direction like a stabilizing shell. It wasn't elegant, and it made his movements feel rigid, but it would work for now.
With that, he launched into space, flying at full speed toward the dark energy he had sensed earlier—the one that felt eerily similar to the creature he had fought before.
The journey took longer than expected.
Nearly an hour passed before he finally arrived, and the trip had drained far more energy than it should have.
The planet before him was… strange.
It gleamed.
From orbit it looked as though the entire world had been coated in gold.
Tundra descended through the atmosphere and landed on one of its streets.
Gold.
Everything was gold.
The buildings, the roads, even the air seemed to shimmer with a metallic glow. Yet despite the grandeur, the planet felt… empty.
No movement.
No voices.
Only statues.
Intricately crafted statues lined the streets—people frozen mid-step, animals caught in motion, even carriages captured as if they had been traveling before time itself stopped.
Tundra frowned slightly.
Then he sensed it again.
The energy.
His gaze shifted toward a massive golden temple in the distance.
Without hesitation, he took flight again, crossing the silent city until he reached the towering doors. Landing before them, he pushed them open.
Inside was more gold.
Pillars. Floors. Walls.
And in the center of it all sat a massive throne.
Upon it lounged a giant man.
His skin was pale, his hair as golden as the world around him. A third eye rested in the center of his forehead, watching Tundra carefully.
But what caught Tundra's attention most was embedded in the man's chest.
A blue Dragon Ball.
Two stars gleamed inside it.
Beside it was one of the shards belonging to the shattered one-star Dragon Ball.
The giant smiled.
"My name is Kinir," he said calmly. "The king of this world. And who might you be?"
Tundra's gaze stayed fixed on the Dragon Ball.
"Tundra," he replied. "An emperor… and the last person you will ever see."
Kinir chuckled softly.
He raised a finger and pointed it at Tundra.
"You'd make a fine decoration…"
His smile widened.
"If only you were gold."
A beam shot from his finger.
Tundra raised his hand and blocked it without concern.
Then he frowned.
His hand was turning gold.
Slowly.
The metal spread across his fingers like creeping frost.
Kinir fired another beam.
This time Tundra dodged.
Without hesitation he ripped his own arm off before the gold could reach his elbow.
The severed limb clattered to the ground, already fully transformed.
Tundra stared at the spreading metal with interest.
"…Magic?"
Kinir continued firing beams as Tundra weaved between them.
Magic that could transform matter.
That was… useful.
Extremely useful.
Tundra made a mental note.
He would learn magic someday.
But first—
He needed to kill Kinir.
"Thank you, King Kinir," Tundra said as he shot upward toward the giant. "You've helped me decide what I'll learn next."
He landed atop Kinir's head.
"But now you die."
Kinir burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! Fool! You'll become a decoration whether you like it or not!"
Tundra felt it immediately.
His legs were turning gold.
The transformation crept upward from his feet as he stood on the king's hair.
But that didn't matter.
Tundra simply raised his hands and began charging a massive blast downward.
The gold reached his knees.
He fired.
The explosion tore through Kinir's body and the throne beneath him, vaporizing everything below in a blazing column of energy—including Tundra's own legs.
When the light faded, Tundra floated down and regenerated his limbs.
The Dragon Ball and shard fell to the ground beside him.
But something made him pause.
Kinir's lower half was still there.
Molten gold dripped from the destroyed torso, the remains twitching slightly before going still.
Tundra frowned.
That attack should have erased him entirely.
Even the creature he fought earlier would have been obliterated.
They were getting stronger.
Tundra exhaled slowly and looked down at the Dragon Ball and shard.
Suddenly—
They cracked apart.
Each piece split into five fragments and shot off in different directions across the cosmos.
Tundra sighed.
"This is going to be a pain."
He lifted off again, chasing the nearest shard.
As he flew, something felt… different.
Smoother.
His ki responded more naturally now.
All the flying and constant use had begun loosening the thick energy flow.
He shed some of the ki shell around his body and redirected it for speed.
Immediately, he accelerated.
Two hours later he arrived at the next planet.
Despite the greater distance, the trip had been much faster.
The world below was mostly barren.
A dusty surface stretched across the landscape, broken only by a few enormous trees scattered across the terrain.
Tundra descended.
Following the dark energy, he soon found the source.
A massive gelatinous creature.
It was devouring a giant wasp, dissolving it slowly inside its translucent body.
Its body was light blue.
And floating inside its center was a blue three-star Dragon Ball, surrounded by two shards.
The creature turned toward Tundra.
Though it had no face, the hatred radiating from it was unmistakable.
Then something strange happened.
The creature's body shifted.
It reshaped itself.
Moments later, it stood before Tundra in his exact form—though tinted light blue.
The copy sneered.
"An empire?" it said with disgust. "And you're not even taking care of it?"
"I would do a far better job, you imbecile."
Tundra stared at it, puzzled.
How did it know that?
He tilted his head slightly.
"Who are you? What's your name?"
The creature's expression twisted with contempt.
"I am Tundra."
It crossed its arms proudly.
"The ruler of the Planet Trade Organization."
Tundra stared at it for a moment.
Then he spoke flatly.
"…Who are you trying to fool? You didn't even get the colors right."
The impostor's fists clenched.
Rage exploded across its face as it rushed forward.
"How dare you say that!?"
"I will be superior! I am the better ruler!"
"You don't deserve anything—you were just handed it all on a silver platter!"
Tundra casually punched it in the stomach.
The impostor doubled over.
"So?" Tundra said calmly. "I used the power of my lineage."
"Why should I care if I deserve it?"
The creature recovered quickly and lunged with its horns.
"You weren't even born into it! How dare you play that card!?"
Tundra grabbed the horns mid-charge and hurled the creature skyward.
He fired a ki blast.
The impostor blocked it with its arms.
They disintegrated instantly.
But the creature regenerated them seconds later.
It screamed in fury.
"Why are you holding back!?"
"Are you saying I'm not strong enough to see your full power?!"
Tundra stared at it blankly.
"Yeah."
"You're laughably weak."
The creature froze.
"…What?"
Suddenly dark ki erupted from its body.
Its form twisted and expanded into a monstrous figure, its power skyrocketing until it rivaled Majin Buu.
"Say that again!"
Tundra raised his hand calmly.
"You're not worth using my full power on."
A ki blast formed in his palm.
The impostor panicked and expanded its body, trying to grow large enough to survive.
Tundra didn't care.
He aimed directly at the Dragon Balls inside it.
And fired.
The blast tore a massive hole straight through the creature.
The Dragon Ball and shards fell out as the body collapsed into a lifeless blue mass.
Moments later—
The Dragon Ball cracked.
The shards split apart and shot away in four different directions.
Tundra sighed again.
"Just four more…"
Their power was rising with each encounter.
At this rate, he wasn't sure if he could defeat the final one.
But stopping wasn't an option.
Who knew what might happen to his empire if these creatures were allowed to roam free.