"Your wish has been granted. Farewell, Grand Elder."
As Lynx used his energy to scatter the dark miasma, Porunga's blood-red eyes flashed one last time before the mighty Namekian dragon vanished from the sky.
Daylight returned. Slug slowly rose to his feet.
Lynx stood nearby, quietly observing the former villain. Though he still looked like the Slug of old, the aura surrounding him was completely different now.
Gone was the oppressive, malevolent ki. In its place was a calm and benevolent ki—soothing, much like the late Grand Elder's.
That said, it seemed the expulsion of evil had stripped away much of Slug's power. His battle level had dropped significantly, now resting at around 5 million.
"Slug… what happened to you?"
"I am no longer Slug… nor the Grand Elder. I am merely a Namekian who has forgotten his name," Slug replied as he looked at his own hands.
Hearing that, Lynx turned to Nail. "Nail, what exactly happened just now? How did Slug become like this?"
Lynx sighed. "To rid Slug of his evil, the Grand Elder fused with him. The entity you just destroyed was the concentrated evil that had built up in Slug's body over time."
"Normally, such evil would split into an autonomous dark clone. Killing that clone would mean death for the original. But thanks to the Grand Elder's life force shared through fusion, Slug survived the process."
To think… the Grand Elder went to such lengths… for Slug?
Lynx couldn't help but feel a wave of emotion.
At that moment, the Second Elder of Namek stepped forward. "Slug, though many of us still struggle to understand the Grand Elder's decision, his final wish was clear—you are now the new Grand Elder of Namek."
Slug turned to face him. The rage and cruelty that once filled his eyes were completely gone.
"I understand. After merging with the Grand Elder, I came to see the truth. I no longer hold any hatred toward him. From now on, I will carry his will forward… and dedicate myself to Namek's peace."
After speaking, Slug turned to Lynx and bowed deeply. "Mr. Lynx, thank you. If you had killed me back on Planet Laru'la, I would never have had the chance to be reborn."
Lynx never imagined that everything would conclude like this.
The Grand Elder, who in the original timeline was fated to pass away years later, had instead chosen to merge with his former enemy—leaving this world far earlier than expected.
With things diverging this much, who knows how the story of this world will unfold now?
But then Lynx chuckled to himself. Frieza's already dead. The Dragon Ball saga on Namek is never going to happen. What "plot" is left to stick to, anyway?
After bidding farewell to the Namekians, Lynx returned to Planet Laru'la.
By then, the Divine Tree's harvest had been fully completed. Even a Tree of Might seed had been successfully located.
In total, their yield was incredibly fruitful. Thanks to Planet Laru'la rich life energy, over a thousand Tree of Might Fruits had been harvested.
Lynx took the first batch—about a dozen—and distributed them to the Saiyan warriors who had participated in the mission. Each received a few fruits as a reward.
By now, Lynx understood that while the Fruits had only a modest effect on battle power, they were excellent for improving mental focus and internal vitality.
A few fruits per person were more than enough.
As for the rest, Lynx planned to keep half for himself to train his mental power. The other half would be used as rewards for distinguished Saiyans back on Planet Vegeta.
In the future, Lynx also intended to plant a new Tree of Might on another suitable planet.
With the help of Porunga, maybe even Planet Vegeta could one day grow its own Tree of Might. When that time came, they'd have more than enough fruit to give every Saiyan one.
And when that happens, the overall strength of the Saiyan race would undergo another great leap forward.
After settling all the logistics, Lynx and his team destroyed the Tree of Might on Planet Laru'la and vanished from the planet with Instant Transmission.
Two months later.
Ever since the haul of Tree of Might Fruits had been brought back, a new training boom had erupted across Planet Vegeta.
One reason was the incredible effect of the fruits on training.
But the other, perhaps more significant reason, was Lynx's display of the Legendary Super Saiyan form during his battle with Slug.
The sight had shaken the Saiyans deeply.
They were a proud race by nature. Even if they knew they could never catch up to Lynx, King Vegeta and the others refused to fall too far behind.
Especially Hannah—after witnessing just how powerless she had been, she began visiting Lynx regularly to train with him.
One day, after completely wiping the floor with Hannah in a gravity room, Lynx stepped outside to find Paragus waiting for him.
"Paragus? You're not training?"
"I know my limits, Your Majesty," Paragus said respectfully. "Compared to you and Bardock, I'm just average. I've decided to put my focus entirely on assisting you… and managing Planet Vegeta's future."
Lynx smiled. He knew Paragus wasn't just flattering him.
Among his trusted followers, Paragus's potential truly was the most modest. Though he fathered a genius like Broly, Paragus himself was nothing special. If not for Lynx unlocking his potential in the past and providing Tree of Might fruits, he wouldn't have even reached 500,000 in battle power.
"So? What brings you here?"
"It's Dr. Gero, Your Majesty," Paragus replied. "He's made a request… one I wasn't confident enough to approve on my own."
The Saiyans lacked their own scientists, but Lynx had been recruiting them from other worlds.
Since Dr. Gero's arrival, Lynx had put Paragus in charge of managing the genius scientist's needs.
Under Paragus's coordination, a new research facility had been built for Gero, and several biological and cybernetics experts from other planets had been recruited to assist him.
Now hearing that even Paragus wasn't sure how to handle Gero's latest request, Lynx raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? What kind of request?"
Paragus leaned in and whispered the details in Lynx's ear.
Upon hearing it, Lynx's expression sharpened instantly. "I see. I'll go take a look myself before making a decision."
"Yes, Your Majesty."