Dragon Ball: Ascension

As the light from the explosion faded, Karnel slowly descended from the sky. The surviving Bargonians watched him with a mixture of awe and lingering shock. Ceror was the first to approach, his weathered face heavy with grief.

"Karnel," the elder began, his voice thick with emotion, "I'm grateful the invaders are dead, but I can't help feeling responsible for the loss of my three clansmen. If I had been stronger, if any of us had been strong enough to handle even their weakest soldiers..."

Karnel placed a reassuring hand on Ceror's shoulder. "Don't blame yourself. You couldn't have known about their life-draining abilities. Hell, I didn't figure it out until it was almost too late." He glanced at the withered remains of the three fallen warriors. "If I'd killed Thorne immediately instead of playing with him, your people would still be alive. That's on me."

Barok stepped forward, shaking his head firmly. "No, Karnel. You've already done more for us than we had any right to ask. Without you here, that monster would have drained every last one of us." He clenched his fists, muscles trembling with suppressed rage. "We were too weak to protect our own. That's the harsh truth we have to face."

"The real question," Karnel said, his gaze shifting to the intact Kaimo spacecraft in the distance, "is what we do next. Those bastards came from somewhere, and they're expecting their little raiding party to return with fresh victims. I don't think sitting around waiting for the next wave is such a great idea."

Ceror followed his gaze to the alien vessel. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking," Karnel replied with a grim smile, "that it's time to take this fight to their front door. That ship has navigation data, I can track it back to their home world and settle this permanently."

"You want us to come with you?" Barok asked, though his tone suggested he already knew the answer.

Karnel shook his head. "This is a one-man job. You saw how much trouble eight low-level soldiers gave you, even after a month of gravity training. Their home world is going to be crawling with warriors who make Thorne look like a weakling." He gestured toward the gravity chamber facility. "You need to stay here and keep training. Get strong enough to defend your world properly, because there's no guarantee I'll be around next time."

Ceror nodded slowly, understanding the logic even if he didn't like it. "You're right, of course. We can't keep depending on you to save us. But Karnel—" He paused, struggling for words. "What if they've already sent word ahead? What if more powerful Kaimo are on their way here while you're gone?"

"Then you'd better make damn sure you're ready for them," Karnel replied bluntly. "Look, I get that losing three people hurts. But letting their sacrifice be meaningless by staying weak would be the real tragedy. Honor them by becoming strong enough that it never happens again."

The Bargonians exchanged determined glances. The red warning lights on the gravity chamber were already flashing as several warriors headed inside to resume their training, driven by a new sense of urgency.

"We won't let you down," Barok promised. "And Karnel, come back alive. We owe you that much."

Karnel spent the rest of the day examining the Kaimo spacecraft. It was clearly built by enslaved technicians from some advanced civilization, the design was elegant and user-friendly, with intuitive controls that even a primitive could master quickly. The navigation system was particularly impressive, displaying a star map with one coordinate glowing brighter than the rest: the Kaimo home world.

As evening fell, Karnel made his final preparations. The spacecraft was fueled and ready, the navigation system programmed for his destination. He'd grabbed some supplies and a handful of senzu beans for the journey ahead.

"Take care of yourselves," he called to the assembled Bargonians. "And remember, sweat more in training, bleed less in battle."

With that, he sealed himself inside the alien craft and launched into the star-filled void. Within minutes, Bargon was just a distant speck behind him as the ship accelerated to incredible speeds.

The journey would take nearly a month according to the navigation computer. Karnel settled into the pilot's chair and considered how to spend the time productively. His recent battle had revealed some serious flaws in his techniques that needed addressing.

Specifically, his clone ability. While it could triple his power output, the energy drain was catastrophic. After using it against King Cold, he'd barely had enough strength left to survive Cooler's counterattack. The recovery time was painfully slow, almost ten times longer than normal energy regeneration.

"Can't rely on senzu beans forever," he muttered, pulling up the technique's principles in his mind. "Better figure out why this thing is so inefficient."

Over the following weeks, as the ship hurtled through hyperspace toward the dark blue world of Kaimo, Karnel worked tirelessly to perfect his abilities. He discovered that the clone technique's massive energy drain came from its near-perfect replication of life force and soul essence, necessary for fooling enemies, but devastating to maintain.

The original Yadrat technique had been designed for a peaceful race with minimal combat applications. For warriors like himself, who pushed their bodies to extremes, the spiritual component was both unnecessary and dangerous.

By the time the ship's proximity alarms began chiming, indicating their approach to the Kaimo system, Karnel had managed to streamline the technique considerably. The new version sacrificed some of the clone's authenticity for practical sustainability.

Through the viewport, a dark blue planet grew larger against the backdrop of space. Even from orbit, he could sense the malevolent energy radiating from its surface, thousands of powerful ki signatures clustered together like a nest of cosmic parasites.

"Finally," Karnel said, cracking his knuckles as he prepared for atmospheric entry. "Time to give the Kaimo a taste of their own medicine. Let's see how they like being the prey for once."

The ship descended through roiling storm clouds toward a world built on the suffering of countless enslaved races. But unlike their previous victims, this prey had teeth.

(A/N: Patreon Goal 56/70: Double upload for a week)