Dragon Ball: The Strongest Training

Two days later...

"Beep beep, we've entered the Perseus Galaxy."

The ship's mechanical voice woke Krillin from his sleep.

Yawning, Krillin stretched and rubbed his eyes, small tears forming at the corners as he lazily made his way to the cockpit. Toothbrush in mouth, he groggily glanced at the view ahead—and was instantly shocked.

The Perseus Galaxy's periphery was a luminous ring composed of bright blue stars, while its center was a sphere of older red giants.

To put it into perspective, Earth's sun is a single star, yet the outer ring of the Perseus Galaxy consisted entirely of bright stars. Meanwhile, the dimness of the center corroborated the records of a supernova that occurred there eons ago, leaving behind only aging red giants.

Closing his eyes, Krillin visualized the star map in his mind. The Perseus Galaxy was made up of several primary stars: Perseus Star at the center, Andromeda Star, Celestial King Star, and the two Gatekeeper Stars, Perseus Valor Star and Perseus Warrior Star.

The intense energy fluctuations from this nebula were palpable even now. Krillin grinned. "Jackpot. High-energy resources, here I come!"

"Ship, accelerate!" Krillin said excitedly.

Leaping out of the pilot's chair, Krillin headed to the washroom, grabbed a towel, and gave his bald head a quick rub. He glanced at himself in the mirror, revealing a perfectly aligned row of teeth. "Looking sharp!"

Changing into his usual martial arts attire and munching on an unidentifiable snack, Krillin returned to the cockpit.

"Beep beep, combat detected ahead. Would you like to take an alternate route?" the ship's AI asked.

"Hmm? How far is it? Why didn't I sense anything?" Krillin closed his eyes and focused.

"One light-year away. Energy levels indicate a battle power of 20,000."

"One light-year, huh? No wonder I couldn't sense it from here. No need to detour. Proceed full speed to the battlefield," Krillin ordered, putting his snack aside.

Observing the Battlefield

A minute later, the ship reached the site of the battle. Krillin concealed his presence behind a mass of dark matter and observed the situation.

A heavily damaged ship was being besieged by dozens of enemy vessels.

"Captain Ska, we can't escape. Let's fight them head-on!" one severely injured alien pleaded.

Ska glanced at his crew, his expression pained. As their captain, it was his responsibility to lead them to safety, yet he was powerless to do so.

Looking at the battered ship, Ska's eyes hardened with resolve. "Charge at them. If we must die, we'll take them with us!"

Internally, Ska prayed silently: May Princess Ciel successfully escape.

"Yes, Captain!" The eight remaining crew members, already eager for a chance to fight, cheered. "As warriors of Perseus, if we must die, let it be on the battlefield!"

On the other side, aboard a dirt-black spaceship, a grotesque alien reported to his leader, "Boss, they're changing direction. Looks like they're going to ram us!"

"Fools courting death. Order all ships to focus fire and take them down," the dirt-black alien sneered confidently.

"Boom! Boom!" The battered ship was struck by another round of intense firepower, now on the verge of disintegration.

Krillin Intervenes

Seeing this, Krillin knew the situation was dire. If he wanted to save them, he had to act quickly. He could feel the malevolent energy emanating from the enemy ships—no doubt Salza's subordinates.

In a flash, Krillin vanished from his ship and reappeared atop the damaged vessel.

"Ha!" Krillin clenched his fists, veins bulging as his hands moved to his abdomen. A faint greenish-white glow began to form.

"Kame...hame...ha!" he roared, rotating his hands in a circle before thrusting them forward.

On the enemy ship, the dirt-black alien was brimming with joy. Their mission to recapture Princess Ciel after her escape had angered Lord Salza, and now he could finally make amends. "Lord Salza will be pleased. I'll finally be recognized!"

"Beep beep! Warning! Extreme energy levels detected approaching fast!"

Before the alien could finish his thought, the ship's alarms blared, and the glow from Krillin's energy wave illuminated their surroundings.

"What—!" The dirt-black alien froze in horror as the blinding light surged toward them.

"Ahhh!" A chorus of anguished cries echoed through space as Krillin intensified his energy wave. The bright white light grew even more brilliant.

"BOOM! BOOM!" One by one, the enemy ships exploded in a chain reaction, their remains scattering like debris across the void.

Panting heavily, Krillin shook his head, disappointed. "Still not strong enough. I couldn't even vaporize them completely." He knew there was a big difference between destroying ships and reducing them to ashes.

Aftermath

Inside the battered ship, Ska and his crew stared at the scene in shock.

"Captain… what just happened?" one crew member stammered, swallowing hard.

Ska was equally baffled. He had seen a flash of white light, and the enemy ships were suddenly gone.

Snapping out of his daze, Ska ordered, "Take this chance! We need to escape this star system!"

"But Captain, the propulsion system was destroyed earlier. Long-distance travel is impossible," the pilot said dejectedly.

The crew, who had just felt the hope of survival, now looked utterly crestfallen.

Ska let out a bitter laugh. "It seems fate has spoken. If we can't escape, then we'll die for Perseus."

"Die for Perseus!" the crew shouted in unison, their voices filled with fervor.

Suddenly, a figure clad in martial arts attire appeared. Looking at their passionate display, the figure spoke nonchalantly, "Hope I'm not interrupting."

Startled, the crew scrambled backward, staring warily at Krillin.

Scratching his nose, Krillin awkwardly smiled. "Didn't mean to intrude."

"Who are you? Where did you come from? Why are you on our ship?" Ska demanded, stepping forward.

Krillin resisted the urge to laugh at the overly philosophical line. "Am I dealing with a fellow earthling?!"

A Diplomatic Approach

Time: Age 756

Name: Ska

Race: Persean

Battle Power: 9,000

Training Speed: Fast

Krillin chuckled to himself. "If you weren't Persean, I'd have to shout, 'The tiger rules the land!'"

Out loud, he introduced himself. "Hello, I'm Krillin, from the faraway Northern Galaxy. My home is Earth."

Seeing no malice in Krillin's demeanor, Ska relaxed and introduced himself. "I'm Ska from Perseus. I'm their captain." He glanced at his crew, silently signaling them to stand down.

"Since they're Perseans, this should be easy," Krillin thought. "Time to invite—uh, convince them to board my ship."

"This ship's about to explode. Come aboard mine. This isn't a safe place, and reinforcements will arrive soon," Krillin said, flashing a grin.

"Captain!" one crew member whispered skeptically.

Ska laughed. "If I'm not mistaken, this man saved us earlier. His power is terrifying. If he wanted to kill us, we'd already be dead."

Hearing this, the crew's suspicion waned.

Krillin laughed and didn't deny it. "At least they're grateful. Now let's get moving."

Gesturing toward his ship, Krillin invited, "Shall we?"

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