"Dende, make a wish! Bring back all the humans on Earth who were killed by the Saiyans!"
Dende shook his head and explained,
"That's not possible. Porunga can only revive one person per wish."
"What?!"
Everyone was stunned.
If Porunga could only resurrect one person at a time, then reviving all of their fallen friends was impossible.
After all, there were already four people who had died and traveled along Snake Way to King Kai's Planet.
King Kai had been watching everything happening on Namek. The moment Porunga appeared, he immediately informed everyone on his planet.
Hearing the news, Piccolo instantly thought of a solution.
But before he could speak, Dende proposed it first.
"We should revive the Namekian on Earth first. Once he's alive again, Earth's Dragon Balls will return as well."
"That's right!"
Krillin immediately understood.
Piccolo, who had just been about to contact everyone through King Kai, froze for a moment.
He hadn't expected this little Namekian to come up with the answer before he did.
His opinion of Dende instantly rose.
Before anyone could even discuss it further, Dende had already hurriedly made the wish to Porunga.
There wasn't a second to waste.
As the wish was granted, the halo above Piccolo's head instantly vanished.
"Gohan!"
The moment he was revived, Piccolo placed a hand on King Kai's shoulder, using King Kai's power to speak to Gohan across the vast distance.
"Uncle Piccolo? Where are you?"
Gohan immediately looked around in confusion.
Only Goku understood what was happening.
"Hey, King Kai! So you've been watching us this whole time!"
"Ahem..."
King Kai coughed awkwardly before saying,
"Goku, listen carefully! Frieza is unbelievably powerful. Whatever you do, don't try to fight him! Now that you've made your wishes, leave Namek immediately! Do you hear me?"
Before Goku could answer, Piccolo interrupted.
"Gohan! Use the second wish to teleport me to Namek! Frieza slaughtered so many of my people. I'll deal with him personally!"
The moment those words left his mouth, everyone around King Kai was left speechless.
"Piccolo, have you lost your mind? If you die on Namek, Earth's Dragon Balls will disappear again!"
Faced with everyone's doubts, Piccolo remained completely confident.
"I've become much stronger through my training. I'll defeat Frieza myself."
As he spoke, he pressed harder on King Kai's back.
"Gohan, stop standing there! Hurry!"
"Y-Yes!"
Hearing Piccolo's voice, Gohan's face lit up with excitement. He quickly relayed the wish to Dende.
Dende had already expected this request and immediately made the second wish.
Whoosh!
Piccolo vanished from King Kai's Planet.
At that same moment...
On Earth's Lookout, Kami suddenly reappeared out of thin air.
"Piccolo has been revived."
A faint smile appeared on Kami's face.
"I disappeared when he died... and have been reborn with his resurrection."
"Now Earth's Dragon Balls have returned as well."
Piccolo instantly appeared on Namek.
Looking around at the pitch-black surroundings, he unexpectedly felt a strange sense of familiarity.
"So... this is what it feels like to stand upon my homeland."
"No time for sentiment. I need to find Gohan and the others."
"Where are their ki signatures...? They're so far away."
"Hm?"
"There's an incredibly powerful ki nearby!"
Carefully sensing the area, Piccolo discovered an overwhelming aura not far from his location.
It was so powerful that even he felt his heart tremble.
After making the second wish, Dende knew there was only one wish left.
Since he was the only one who could speak the Namekian language, he decided he should make full use of the final wish himself.
Taking a deep breath, he looked at Porunga and declared,
"For my third wish... make my system's success rate 100%!"
Meanwhile...
Frieza was brutally torturing Nail when the sky suddenly went completely dark.
"What is this?"
"Why has it suddenly become nighttime?"
"And what's that pillar of light in the distance?"
Because Porunga's enormous body was so far away, all Frieza could see from his location was a towering column of light.
"A lot of people are gathered there..."
"It's near my spaceship!"
His expression immediately changed.
"Don't tell me..."
"Someone is using the Dragon Balls!"
Realizing the truth, panic flashed across his face.
"You crafty insects!"
"Just wait!"
"The wishes belong to me!"
Without another thought, Frieza abandoned Nail, released his full power, and shot toward the pillar of light at maximum speed.
The instant Frieza left, Piccolo arrived nearby.
Looking at the dying Namekian lying on the ground, Piccolo was surprised.
The man's appearance was astonishingly similar to his own.
"Do all Namekians look alike?"
After all, Nail was the first Namekian Piccolo had ever met on Namek.
"...Y... You are..."
Nail said weakly, his body trembling.
A smile slowly appeared on his face.
"So..."
"They succeeded..."
The moment the sky had gone dark, Nail had realized Dende had successfully summoned Porunga.
Now, seeing a Namekian he had never met before standing before him, he immediately understood.
This must be the Namekian from Earth.
Porunga had brought him back to life.
"Who was fighting you just now?"
Piccolo asked impatiently.
"...Frieza..."
"So it really was him."
Cold sweat trickled down Piccolo's forehead.
He had only heard stories of Frieza's terrifying strength.
After his recent training, he had believed he had finally become powerful enough to challenge him.
But now...
Only after arriving on Namek and sensing Frieza's aura firsthand did he realize the terrifying gap between them.
"...You're the Namekian from Earth."
Nail spoke with difficulty.
"You're not even a Warrior-type Namekian... yet you're already this powerful."
Piccolo replied coldly,
"Sorry. I have something urgent to do."
"You look like you're about to die, but I can't help you."
"W-Wait..."
"The Grand Elder once said..."
"If you were still the original Namekian..."
"You could definitely defeat Frieza."
"Hm?"
Piccolo frowned.
"You mean... reunite with Kami?"
"Become my original self again?"
"That's right..."
"Even though Frieza has reduced me to this state..."
"I know exactly how powerful he is."
"As you are now..."
"You stand no chance against him."
"Hmph."
Piccolo let out a cold laugh.
"Believe whatever you want."
"I'll never agree to merge with Kami."
Cough... cough...
"I'm dying anyway..."
"Instead..."
"Merge with me."
"I'm a Warrior-type Namekian."
"I can greatly increase your power."
"Hmph."
Piccolo looked at him with obvious disdain.
"Merge with you?"
"Thanks for the offer."
"But I only want to remain myself."
For the first time in his life, Nail saw such an expression on another Namekian's face.
There was none of the pure kindness typical of his race.
Yet he also knew...
If Piccolo refused to merge, he would only be throwing his life away.
"Cough..."
"Don't hesitate..."
"There's no time..."
"Put your hand on me..."
Piccolo's expression became even more skeptical.
Understanding his concerns, Nail continued,
"Don't worry..."
"You'll still be you."
"I'll simply become part of your strength."
"...You're not lying to me?"
Using every last bit of strength he had, Nail nodded firmly.
"If you don't believe me..."
"Then facing Frieza..."
"Will only lead to your death."
Piccolo struggled internally.
Cold sweat streamed down his face.
Nail was struggling as well.
He had lived his entire life as an honest man.
Yet at the very end...
He had learned to lie.
"If I don't say it this way..."
"He'll never agree to merge with me."
"But even after our fusion..."
"He'll still be himself."
"He'll simply become kinder because of my influence..."
"And inherit my knowledge as well."
"That isn't a bad thing for him."
"So... I suppose this is a lie told for the sake of kindness."