“Well, what are you waiting for? Show me the extent of your abilities. I’ll need to know if you’re worth my time.” Zarbon hurried him up.
“Yes, General Zarbon!” Turles didn’t hesitate.
Turles appeared in front of Zarbon, his knee homing in on his face. Zarbon blocked it as Turles rushed to his back with an elbow aiming at his liver. “Hmph.” Zarbon didn’t even turn as flicked his hair like a model. Turles’s elbow struck gold, only for him to realize that he’s done no damage whatsoever. He didn’t stop his offensive assault, though.
A low sweep that would’ve tripped any warrior near his own power level. Following up the failed low sweep with a rapid-fire of useless punches into an uppercut that didn’t move Zarbon an inch. Turles turned in the air and spun into a back kick toward Zarbon’s face. Just like before, he blocked it, and Turles grinned. He shot off two ki blasts that went sailing past the sides of Zarbon’s face. He charged a last one that was headed directly at Zarbon’s face.
“Are you fooling around?” Zarbon looked him in the eyes.
“I’m just doing as I was asked, sir,” Turles responded, unleashing the ki blast at Zarbon.
Zarbon blasted him and his attack away. Turles was lodged in the training room’s wall with severe injuries. Oh boy, General Zarbon did not like it when you repeatedly targeted his face. He could barely move his limbs, but Turles counted this test as a success as he heard Zarbon make a surprised noise. These guys can’t sense ki.
“I suppose… I can count this as a success for you.” Zarbon dusted off his shoulder pads from the ki blasts that hit him from behind. “A far better showing than your predecessors, anyway. Congratulations, Turles. You have gained a rare opportunity to have the Great General Zarbon tutor you himself. We’ll begin again tomorrow, and I expect to see more beauty in your movements. Operator, take him to the medical room.” Zarbon brushed his hair to the side as he exited the training room.
“Yes, General Zarbon!” Naba bowed and went in to grab Turles.
In the canteen, Naba stared a hole through Turles’s face. Turles had thick skin, but even this was too much. He would love nothing more than to dig into his tower of food, but he had a feeling that Naba had hundreds of questions for him. “Wait until I'm done eating. I don’t want this getting cold.” He told her.
“You can just heat it up with your fancy ability to shoot ki out of your hands!” Naba retorted. Not every soldier in the Frieza Force could shoot ki from their hands.
“Reheated food doesn’t taste the same as properly cooked food.” Turles dug in his food to the annoyed sigh of Naba.
“You arrived in your spaceship injured from a mission. Picked a fight with Prince Vegeta and his attendants immediately after coming out. You didn’t even try to talk yourself out of it like you had a death wish or something. Don’t you know that you survived only thanks to General Zarbon’s mercy!? I was even planning to do something crazy enough to put my life at risk to help save you, you insane suicidal monkey!” Naba listed out her grievances.
“Let it all out.” Turles supported her with his mouth full.
“Shut up! Don’t! I don’t need you to! Augh! How do you live like that?!”
“I don’t know, I’d say I’m doing pretty well. I worked my way up from the bottom of the Frieza Force to becoming the protégé of General Zarbon in only a few months. That’s pretty good for a soldier, right?” Turles asked her.
“...” Naba was dumbfounded as she took a moment to think about his words.
This stupid brat had a point! His behavior has been positively reinforced, and he’s only benefited from acting like a suicidal insane person. He’s even growing stronger from it, and he’ll grow even further now that he’s the student of General Zarbon! Was Naba the one in the wrong? It couldn’t be, right? But the facts were pointing exactly in that direction!
“See.” Turles smiled with food-stained around his mouth. “Naba. Nala. Naha. You have to realize that the universe isn’t one that runs on common sense. Especially in an organization like this where it's a meritocracy. You are valued for what you can accomplish and your achievements. It doesn’t matter what methods you use to gain recognition or power. As long as you are recognized for it, and you can back up your achievements.” Turles shared some wisdom with the naive innocent Naba.
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
“I can’t believe I’m being lectured by a brat more than half my age.” Naba sighed.
“I’m surprised someone as smart as you didn’t catch on to how the way this place worked sooner. You must be pretty lucky to have been so innocent for so long.” Turles finished his food. He said innocent instead of naive to spare her feelings.
“I seriously don’t want to hear this from you.”
“Ah ah ah, don’t talk to your superior like this.” Turles waggled his finger.
“Oh my god, you are my superior now!” Naba held her head in distress.
“Yep.” Turles grinned. “We’re no longer equals anymore, engineer.” Turles stood up, still far shorter than Naba.
“My life sucks.” Naba rested her chin on her hands.
“You know, there’s a difference between working hard and working smart?”
“Oh yeah, and what’s that difference?”
“Suckers only know how to do the first one.” Turles chuckled.
“I will shoot you in your stupid monkey face.”
“Alright, alright. I’m done joking. You’re my first friend here, so I’ll treat you well as my first underling.”
“Hey! You’re that weakling Saiyan, right?” The smell of booze wafted toward their table.
“That’s me,” Turles responded. “How can I help you?”
It was a larger soldier. His power was pathetic compared to his own. Purple skin, wide shoulders, and thick limbs, he had everything one could ask for in a soldier if you focused on looks anyway. Maybe intelligence too.
“I heard you joined General Zarbon instead of General Dodoria! That makes us enemies! This woman here, I want her.” He reeked of alcohol.
“Are you picking a fight with me over her or due to our different bosses?” Turles wasn’t sure with how he questioned it.
“Quit talking so much, pipsqueak, and put 'em up!” The buff alien didn’t answer and threw an easily telegraphed punch.
Turles saw as everyone around them was snickering and laughing. Most likely, his buddies put him up to it or put the idea into his head. Just another attempt at hazing the monkey. Turles wouldn’t have a problem with it if they weren’t so weak. There was a difference between letting himself get beat to shit by stronger opponents, but no one in the canteen right now could match his power after being nearly crippled by Zarbon. At his full power in Great Ape form, he was confident that he was stronger than Zarbon and Dodoria combined already. But he still had a long way to go before he could match up with those mutants in the Ginyu Force with power levels of over 40,000, excluding Guldo, who’s only around 10,000.
Turles turned his back to the drunk fool and blasted the snickering bastards in the back with ki blasts. He blocked the fist of the drunkie with his tail. It latched around his wrist and snapped it, causing him to scream in pain. The alien clutched his broken wrist, giving Turles an easier opportunity to spin-kick him across the face. He was sent spinning through the air.
“Anyone else wants to have some fun with the Weakest Saiyan?” Turles showed off his new power level of 3,000.
His real power level was now far above 3,000, but he was only willing to show this much. After all, boosts from recovering from his injured state were inconsistent. He may be showing his power level growing by 500, but he had no control over how much he grew. If he continues his training like he has been, one day, he might get a boost like Kakarot did on Namek. But considering Kakarot was the protagonist, Turles didn’t believe he’d get that lucky. Kakarot gained a 33x boost in strength before fighting Frieza in his final form. Once Turles got his hands on a Seed of Might, he wouldn’t have to hope for handouts from his biological power. A single fruit from the Tree of Might could give him an x15 power boost at the very least per fruit. However, it was unknown whether he could continue eating them forever with the same results or it would have diminishing returns. Neither the movie nor Toriyama ever went into depth about it. It was up to him to experiment and whatnot with it if he ever got it.
“Let’s go.” Naba stood up as well, taking the lead as they walked out of the canteen.
----------------------------------------
“Weakest Saiyan, my shiny pink ass…”
“Who the hell spread such rumors? That brat has a power level of 3,000.”
“He’s also training with General Zarbon, so that monkey’s power is going to increase even further in the future!”
“Better that monkey than Prince Vegeta and the other two.”
“He actually left those idiots alive. Prince Vegeta would’ve slaughtered them if they tried to mess with him.”
“Doesn’t that make him weaker than Prince Vegeta? Why would he spare those fools?”
“Go ask him yourself if you’re so curious. How the hell am I supposed to know what goes on in a monkey's mind? All I know is I'm not getting on the bad side of those monkeys until I know I’m stronger than them.”
“You better hurry up then. That monkey is General Zarbon’s student now. The only monkeys you’ll be able to have fun with are Prince Vegeta and the other two. Unless you want to get on the bad side of General Zarbon.”