Dragon Ball volume 21 summary and personae list.
New Characters:
Kewie: Local lizard-fish alien leader on Planet #79
Freeza: Lizard-like alien. VERY strong, and uses very polite
language. First appears while riding a hover-chair. Wants the
Dragon Balls to wish for immortality.
Dodoria: Freeza's fat, ugly assistant. Very strong, but rather dumb.
Zarbon: Freeza's beautiful alien co-assistant. Stronger than
Dodoria. Also faster, and more vain.
Fighting styles:
Other notes:
Chikyuu: Japanese for The Earth. More or less what everyone uses to
refer to the main planet, and its inhabitants.
Jin: The Japanese word for "person". So, Saiya-jin means a person
from the planet Saiya.
Buruma's parents: They're never given any names beyond "Buruma's
mother" and "Buruma's father."
Namek-jin: The Namek are like certain insects, in that their
functions in society are dictated by the conditions of their
birth. Dende is a healer, Piccolo and Nail are fighters.
Dende can't fight, and Piccolo and Nail can't heal.
Vejita: His character design has changed radically since his first
appearance in book 17. In the one year that has passed,
he's aged 5 to 6 years, at least.
Story:
Buruma, Kamesennin, Karin-sama, and Chi Chi are searching for their
friends. Senpyou sees the bright light from the full moon, and Chi Chi
goes berzerk, hoping that Gohan is still alive. Kamesennin senses 5
people, one very weak, and Senpyou states that the Saiya-jin isn't dead,
either. Meanwhile, Vejita's ship has arrived, and he struggles to reach
it. Kururin struggles to stab the Saiya-jin in the back with
Yajirobee's sword. Kaiou-sama is hoping that the evil will end here.
Kururin says he's going to kill his enemy, Vejita curses his immobility,
and the runt yells "die!!!!" A voice says "stop." Everyone reacts to
Gokuu's telepathic command, and he tells his friend that since Vejita is
going to leave, that he shouldn't be killed. They argue, until Gokuu
wins. Vejita's parting words to "the garbage" are that it's been fun.
Kururin tells the unconscious Gohan that it's now safe, and Yajirobee
complains about having been hit. Gokuu apologizes to Kururin, who shrugs
it off. Then the rescuers arrive, and Chi Chi cries out "Gohan" as she
rushes to care for her son. Kururin tells her that the boy is fine, but
she wails on about his having been injured. The others comfort Gokuu,
Kururin tells Buruma about the dead, including Yamcha. But, she thinks
that her lover can be brought back in one year. She can't accept
Gokuu's explanation that with Kami-sama dead, the Balls won't work. At
least, Yajirobee tells her, Yajirobee himself is still alive. Buruma
breaks down.
Kamesennin already misses Piccolo, and Yajirobee is upset that no one
cares about him. Senpyou tells them to take the wounded to the
hospital, because there are no more Senzu Seeds. Kamesennin then
searches for the corpses, and Kururin mentions that there's a slight
hope for the dead, and Gokuu asks about this, too. But, the answer has
to wait until they collect the bodies. Chao-zu's is missing, since he
self-destructed. Karin-sama comments on the sacrifice, Kamesennin is
too angry to pilot the craft, and Buruma takes over again. Gohan wakes
up, and Chi Chi goes overboard in telling the boy that everything's ok.
Kururin says that they're safe, and Yajirobee states that he's ok, too.
Gohan asks about his dad, Gokuu answers back. The monk asks Chi Chi why
she's not concerned about her husband, and she rants about the man's
carelessness in letting her boy get hurt.
Buruma reminds Kururin about what he was going to say earlier. He
tells them about Piccolo having been recognized as a Namek-jin, and some
vague mentions of the original Dragon Balls, which could be used to
revive everyone. Gohan verifies this, and gets excited at the idea of
Piccolo coming back. Kururin picks this up, because then Kami-sama will
return, as will the power of the regular Balls. Buruma doesn't join in
the rejoicing though, as she asks Kururin if they know where Namek is.
Gokuu states that Kaiou-sama would know. He asks, Kaiou-sama replies,
and the others can hear him in their hearts. This is partly because of
Gokuu's presence, because he's in shock from having used Kaiou-ken.
Kaiou-sama looks up the location of Namek -- SU83 by 9045YX. Buruma
recognizes the latter coordinate, and has "Kame-chan" take the wheel.
("Kame-chan...") Kaiou states that a long time ago, nearly everyone on
the planet got wiped out. He locates the general direction of Namek.
Senpyou comments on how Kami-sama is the lone survivor of this planet.
But if that's so, who's there to make the older Balls work? They
speculate about this until Kaiou discovers that there's about 100
Namek-jin still on Namek. (Yajirobee thinks about what it's like to
have 100 people looking like Kami-sama.) They discuss this a bit, too,
with Kamesennin happily suggesting that Tenshinhan and Yamcha can soon
be wished back alive.
Buruma states otherwise. It will take 4339 years for them to reach
those coordinates. Kaiou-sama hadn't considered that part. Kururin
comes to the rescue again, reminding them about the Saiya-jin's
ultra-fast spaceships, and pulls out the controller that Vejita had
dropped. Buruma now thinks it's possible, and they all celebrate.
The next day, they're at the hospital. It'll take Gokuu 4 months to
heal, but one month for Senpyou to grow more Senzu Seeds. Kururin
gloats over that fact that Kururin and Gohan will get out in 3 days, and
he comments on Gokuu's looking like a mummy. Yajirobee grouses about
not having been admitted, and Senpyou replies that the monk only wants
to get at the hospital's food. Kururin follows up with the
conversation between the monk and Vejita, that gets Yajirobee hopping
mad. Gyuu-ou says that they're all lucky to be alive, when Buruma runs
into the room and tells them to turn on the TV. [Buruma's hair style
changed over night.] Seems that scientists have found Nappa's ship.
They're speculating about what this means, and Buruma announces that
she's going to take over the ship with the controller Kururin found.
She's very pleased with herself, and she enters the control code.
The ship explodes.
This was their last chance, since not even Kintoen can help them out.
Then Mister Popo shows up to tell them that he's probably found a space
ship. He's not sure, but it's probably what Kami-sama used to reach
this planet. Kururin answers that Buruma would know, but she doesn't
trust the strange black man with the big eyes. The two disappear, and
Kururin has his doubts about the ship.
The two instanteously arrive in the cold desolate region where the
ship is, and walk the little ways to it. Popo asks if this is a space
ship, and Buruma isn't sure. She asks how Popo knows about this, and he
states that 100 years ago, Kami-sama told him what had happened. How
Kami-sama had found himself on this planet as a small child, with the
instruction to wait by the ship for a relative to show. After 20-30
years of waiting, the child gave up. Buruma wondrs what the point is,
and Popo tells her to let him make it. The little demon had made the
ship his home. Between it's four legs, a door will open if you say
"Piccolo." They get on the door, and Popo says "Piccolo" again to get
them inside.
Buruma finally realizes that Kami-sama is a Namek-jin, so the ship
should have a way to get back home. She finds the control panel, and
tries to understand it. She has no luck (searching for main switches,
and code numbers,) until a voice sounds in her head. It's similar to
what Piccolo and Kami-sama had spoken at the Tenkaichi-budoukai.
Mister Popo tells her that he knows Namek-speech. She tells him to make
the ship fly (doesn't matter where,) and he replies that the ship is
saying "Ok." They take off, Buruma is impressed, and Popo is happy that
Kami-sama can now be brought back to life.
Back at the hospital, Buruma is enthused, telling people that it will
only take one month to reach Namek. The ship will be fixed up in 5
days. The others are happy, but Popo says that he can't go. Buruma
freaks, and Kururin tells her that she'll have to go. So, she states
that Kururin has to come with. Yajirobee backs out, but Kamesennin
volunteers to spend two months with her (Buruma turns him down.) Gokuu
can't go, since he needs the rest. Then, Gohan pipes up, only to have
Gokuu and Chi Chi argue over this (Gokuu thinks it's a good thing, Chi
Chi wants her boy to study.) He wants to help bring Piccolo back, and
finally shouts to make his mother shut up. (This show of spirit makes
Gokuu happy, but the boy now has to apologize to her to keep her from
crying.) Gohan tells her that he has to try to help bring his friends
back, after everything they've done. Yajirobee is impressed, and
Gyuu-ou tells his daughter that she's lost. Buruma tells them to meet
at Kame House in 10 days. Later, in the ship, Buruma's father is
impressed with the craft, and she tells him to stop messing around.
On the appointed day, Kururin comments on the size of the ship, but
Buruma is upset because he's dressed wrong for the occasion. Kamesennin
wonders where Gohan is, and Kururin answers that the boy went to visit
Gokuu one more time. Then, the others arrive, and Gyuu-ou also remarks
on the ship. Chi Chi's mothering of her boy cracks up everyone, but
destroys Buruma. Kamesennin wishes them luck, they say their goodbyes.
Kururin is excited, but when he asks where to put his gear, Buruma just
snaps at him. She gives them 5 seconds' warning before blasting off for
Namek, and Kururin complains about not having been able to use the
seatbelts first. Kamesennin is impressed with their speed, and Chi Chi
yells for Gohan to remember to rinse. Then it's time to settle in for
the long journey. Gohan is awed at seeing the Earth, but Buruma is in a
bad mmod, and Kururin can't figure out why. They change into more
comfortable clothes, and Kururin thinks that Buruma's outfit is really a
set of pajamas. It's a long trip to Namek.
After a while, Buruma becomes conscious long enough to notice Gohan
win a session of image training. Kururin is impressed with the
combination of Gokuu's blood, and Piccolo's training, but the boy also
complements his friend's strength. Buruma wants them to clean up after
her, because there's a lady present. Kururin objects, since she's the
one that made the mess, but she states that she's too busy with running
the ship. Then, she asks where Vejita has escaped to, where his planet
is. Kururin doesn't know. They speculate about the idea of other
Saiya-jin running around.
Then, on Freeza Planet #79, Vejita arrives. At first, the guard post
thinks it's Freeza, but they quickly identify the ship. They panic, and
notify their superiors. The greeting party wonders what's happened to
Nappa, then they wonder why the distinguished Vejita isn't coming out.
He's quickly taken to the medics. Eventually, Vejita recovers, but his
tail doesn't grow back. He changes to a new suit, asks where Freeza is,
and is told that Freeza's gone, but Kewie is available in the Training
Room. Vejita leaves, saying that he doesn't need a scouter. He broods,
then meets Kewie, who gloats over the deaths of Radits and Nappa. They
snap at each other (these guys don't like Saiya-jin,) until Kewie states
that Freeza has left for Namek. Vejita realizes that the info must have
been relayed via their scouters, and rushes off when told that Freeza is
also after the Dragon Balls (which he claims are his alone.) After
their 34-day flight, Buruma and company arrive on Namek.
Kururin and Gohan are excited, Buruma is cautious. When they land,
she tells them to suit up in the hazardous atmosphere suits. But, the
other two are already running around outside, to her annoyance (they
don't understand what's wrong.) But, the mood lightens when it turns
out that the Dragon Radar works on Namek. But, Gohan senses a strong
power, and Kururin notices it too. Buruma figures that it's just
another Nakek, like Piccolo. The two aren't so sure. She reassures
them, and states that 4 of the Balls are already in one place. They get
ready to go meet some Namek people, when a Saiya-jin ship streaks
through the sky (Buruma yells at it.) Kururin tells Gohan to mask his
power, since this is probably Vejita's ship. They curse over
discovering that they have competition for the Balls. Kururin and Gohan
are going to go after the Balls, Buruma plans on staying at the ship and
notifying Kame House -- they can be rescued in only 2 months.
Vejita walks out, still claiming the Balls as his. He plans on
fighting Freeza to the death, but has trouble using the scouter.
Eventually, the scouter indicates Freeza's location, and that of Dodoria
and Zarbon. On Earth, Kamesennin is told that Vejita has appeared, and
he's to notify Gokuu, but not Chi Chi. Then, another Saiya-jin ship
streaks past, landing nearby. Somewhere, in a Namek village, a minion
has found the town's Dragon Ball. Freeza is pleased, and wants it added
to the 3 he already has. Zarbon relays a message from Kewie, concerning
Vejita. Freeza states that Kewie and Vejita are about equal. Kewie
looks forward to settling things.
Buruma and Kururin are worried at the appearance of another
Saiya-jin. Kewpie finds Vejita and goes to kill him on Freeza's orders.
Vejita looks forward to this. Meanwhile, Buruma wants to return to
Earth and wait for Gokuu. Kururin tries to get her to wait, to talk
Gohan into going with her. She wants them to stay to get the Balls to
resurrect Piccolo and Kami-sama. Gohan then senses a Saiya-jin, but it
turns out to be two of Freeza's warriors who are looking someone that's
not Namek-jin. Kururin and Buruma discover that the two guys aren't
Namek-jin, either. They threaten each other a bit, then the Saiya-jin
destroy the ship to keep them from leaving. This makes the two
Earthlings angry, and the two Saiya-jin amused. However, the sudden
increase in power worries the bad guys just before they get trashed.
Kururin and Gohan congratulate each other ("Nice, Nice,") and Buruma
yells at them for it.
Zarbon notices the blip of power, but tells Freeza that it was
nothing. It wasn't Vejita -- just two people with 1500 levels.
Buruma's upset at having been stranded, and not being able to ever
return to Earth. Kururin and Gohan are going after the Balls, and
want to find a safe place for Buruma to hide. Kewpie and Vejita taunt
each other, and Vejita has to explain that the scouter is registering very
little power because he's mastered power control now. He has to explain
further, then shows his true level -- at 22000 it breaks Kewpie's
scouter, and Kewie is very shocked (they're not evenly matched after
all.) Zarbon decides that Vejita has arrived. Dodoria thinks that his
partner's scouter was malfunctioning, but Vejita really is registering
at 24000. That's more than Dodoria and Zarbon. They talk about that
(he was only 18000 before.) Freeza isn't impressed, and he knows what
the Saiya-jin is after.
Kewpie is trying to strike a deal to band against Freeza, but it's
just a stalling tactic. Kewpie announces that Freeza has arrived, then
attacks. He's sure that he's won, but Vejita says that his speed has
increased, too. Vejita easily wins, and is happy at seeing fireworks
today. He decides that with the scouters, Zarbon and Dodoria can see
him approaching, and that they'll be able to find the Dragon Balls. But
if they only get 6, they'll be useless. He wants the Balls to realize
his dream of being the number 1 fighter in the universe. Dodoria is
concerned about Vejita's strength, and ability to easily kill Kewie.
Freeza is more interested in getting the fifth Ball, which is in a Namek
village with 10 Namek-jin in it. They leave for the village.
Kururin tells Buruma to try to keep up a little longer. She's
exhausted and not happy. They find a cave for her, but it's dark and
she doesn't want to go in. They sense some more power, it's not Namek,
and it's getting closer. They hide, wondering if they've been sensed.
Buruma is relieved when the group passes by, but wonders who they were.
Kururin and Gohan, however, are panicked, and the runt asks to see what
the Dragon Radar shows concerning four of the Balls. Turns out that the
strangers do indeed have those Balls. Kururin asks if Gohan noticed the
group leader -- he did, and the leader was incredibly strong. Kururin
likens the little leader to Vejita -- both are overwhelmingly strong.
Buruma wonders who can be like Vejita, Kururin doesn't know but the
group was dressed like Saiya-jin. Kururin is frustrated at the thought
that the strangers are also after the Balls.
The strangers are heading for one Ball, 14km away. Gohan reminds
Kururin about the runt's having sensed the Namek-jin earlier, and they
decide to go look at the village. Buruma objects to being left alone,
and is told to stay in the cave and tell Kamesennin what's happening.
Then the two fighter's rush off.
On Earth, the doctor berates the injured Gokuu for exercising in the
hospital room. Gokuu is pushed back into bed, with a warning to take
better care of himself. Kamesennin comes into the room, checking first
whether Chi Chi is in (she's out.) The old man brought some food as a
present (kasutera == sponge cake.) He grabs the nurse's butt while
stating that he'd talked to Buruma on Namek just 2 hours earlier. (He
then asks the nurse if she thinks he'd done something to her just now.)
The turtle master says that Vejita is on Namek, that there's 10 strong
Namek in the village that they've gone to, and that someone else is
there that's at least Vejita's level. While Gokuu's trying to handle
this, Yajirobee arrives ("You're alive?") with 7 senzu seeds from
Karin-sama. Gokuu congratulates Yajirobee for having good timing, and
demands to be fed a seed right away, while the doctor warns them against
eating strange foods.
Fully recovered, Gokuu's been waiting for this moment. He puts on
his douji (uniform,) takes the seeds, and says he's going to Namek.
Seems that Buruma's father has been working on a new and improved space
ship (of his own design) for Gokuu to use (based on Radits' spaceship's
technology.) The new ship will get him to Namek in 6 days. He calls
Kintoen, and rushes off. Yajirobee and Kamesennin wonder if they're
expected to follow to help the hero. Gokuu is still concerned about
Vejita, who he knows is very strong. At Capsule Corp., Gokuu wonders if
the ship is inside one of the buildings. Buruma's mother recognizes
Gokuu, even after all this time. He asks where the father is. She
takes him inside, commenting on how he's grown up so much, and tries to
make a date with him to go to a cake shop she wants to visit. Then, she
calls out to her husband, announcing that Gokuu has arrived.
The father asks if Gokuu has eaten a senzu seed already, and is
impressed that the seeds really work the way he was told they do. The
mother goes off to tell Pool and Oolong that Gokuu's arrived, and will
get Gokuu something to drink. Gokuu is impressed at the size of the
inside of the ship. The control panel can start the craft on it's
journey to Namek, and one dial can vary the on-board gravity to up to
100g (a 60 kg person would weigh 6000 kg, and this would kill any one.)
The ship has a bath, toilet, bedroom, and kitchen (which Piccolo's ship
didn't.) The only thing left is to install the stereo speakers. Gokuu
is stunned that this is all that's left, and the scientist says that a
stereo is very important. Gokuu wants to leave now, and tells the old
man that he has to save the people on Namek. However, the scientist
wonders if Gokuu really doesn't want the stereo.
Gokuu launches off, and the scientist is impressed at the speed of his
ship. Pool and Oolong walk up, and are disgusted that Gokuu had rushed
off without talking to them. The mother arrives with some beer, and is
also confused at not finding Gokuu. Our hero is surprised at being
surrounded by night already, then he gets ready to face Vejita in 6 days
by turning the gravity up to 10g and practicing the Kaiou techniques.
Kururin senses that he's getting closer to the village, so they slow
down to a walk. They wonder who the strangers in the village are. They
also notice the strong power emanating from the two near the one in the
floating chair. As well as the over-sized Namek Dragon Balls. Freeza
asks Dodoria what's wrong, and the alien comments on having noticed a
little power blip from near Kururin's position (probably just some
insects.) One of the soldiers is threatening to kill one of the Namek
village elders, which Kururin is surprised to see looks just like an
older version of Piccolo -- must be a Namek-jin.
The Namek want to know what's up, and the heroes wonder if the
strangers are Saiya-jin (they're not, although they're dressed the same,
they're not like Vejita or Gokuu.) Kururin repeats something Radits had
said before, about other aliens being found on other planets -- this
must be an example of what the guy had meant. The elders realize that
Freeza has 4 of the Balls, and the alien offers to spare the villagers
if they give him their Ball. The elder speaks in Namek, but Freeza
orders him to use normal speach (ie -- Japanese.) The elder states that
it's the village elders' jobs to protect the location of the Dragon
Balls, which Freeza already knows. Freeza wants the Ball, and orders
Dodoria to kill 2 of the Namek. If that doesn't work, the rest will
die. Freeza knows that the elders in each of the villages on Namek all
have one of the Balls within the village for safekeeping. He wants to
use them to make his wish. So, he's tracking down all of the elders on
the planet, and making them the same offer. (At the same time, Vejita
is listening in on the conversation via his own scouter.)
Freeza wants them to be submissive, which the elders refuse to do.
So, Zarbon is ordered to give them an example of what to expect. One
elder dies, another attacks in anger and is also killed (after getting
in a killing blow to one of Freeza's red-shirt minions.) Kururin and
Gohan don't like what they're seeing. Freeza demands the Balls again,
so that he can live for eternity (which Kururin notices is the same
thing that Vejita wants, but the heroes don't know why someone would
want to do that.) The elder would rather die first, which is ok by
Freeza. He plans on killing everyone on the planet anyway. Then,
Dodoria notices some strong power levels approaching. It's a group of
Namek soldiers.
End of book 21.
-- Curtis H. Hoffmann
Sept. 4, 1993
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