Why Didn’t the Saiyans Use Zenkai Boosts to Beat Frieza?

Key Takeaways

• Saiyans couldn’t exploit Zenkai Boosts due to the process being high-risk.
• Frieza’s army owned the healing tech, preventing Zenkai Boost abuse.
• King Vegeta’s paranoia and pride also prevented Saiyans from abusing Zenkai Boosts.

One question that’s crossed many Dragon Ball fans is why didn’t the Saiyans in King Vegeta’s time abuse Zenkai Boosts to overthrow Frieza? An ability that isn’t as commonly talked about in Dragon Ball is the Saiyan trait to come back stronger after surviving a near-death injury: Zenkai Boost. It may not be as flashy as a Kamehameha or a Galick Gun, but without it, Goku, Vegeta, and their half-Saiyan children wouldn’t be nearly as powerful as they are now.

You can bleed us to the brink of death, crush every bone in our bodies, it only makes us more powerful! – Vegeta

So if this race of world-conquering space pirates had what is essentially a cheat code to infinite power, why didn’t they use it more often? One Saiyan could mortally wound another, patch them up, reap the benefits, and then do it all over again. The series has already shown that intentionally getting a Zenkai Boost works when Vegeta ordered Krillin to blast a hole into him before using Dende’s healing powers to reverse it. The entire race could have been strong enough to challenge Frieza and his army with that method, but for some reason, they didn’t.

Frieza Had Ways to Prevent It from Happening

His Army Owned the Healing Tech Needed to Abuse Zenkai Boosts

For a Saiyan to gain a Zenkai Boost, they must first survive a life-threatening injury. If a Saiyan had to “intentionally” wound another Saiyan with a life-threatening injury, there would always be a risk of the latter dying. The Saiyans weren’t anatomical geniuses who knew exactly how to hurt someone just enough without accidentally killing them; they had no consistent way of doing that. They’re not medical experts either, so even if there is a chance the severely wounded Saiyan can survive, it doesn’t mean they have the technical know-how to heal him.

The only reliable way Saiyans could heal was through the healing pods belonging to Frieza’s army. However, the issue with that method is that Frieza would have immediately noticed if Saiyans started repeatedly using their healing pods and realized what they were up to.

Besides, even if Saiyans did find an alternate and reliable way of climbing back from the brink of death, Frieza and his soldiers could easily detect Saiyans who were growing a bit too strong with scouters. Remember that the Saiyans during King Vegeta’s time lacked the ability to conceal their ki, making it extremely easy for anyone with a scouter to pick out which ones were strongest. Frieza most likely eliminated Saiyans who’ve naturally gotten one too many Zenkai Boosts to make sure he stays on top.

King Vegeta’s Jealousy Didn’t Help Either

Good Old Saiyan Pride at It Again

The thing is, Frieza isn’t the only one who cut down any Saiyans that grew too powerful. King Vegeta, the Saiyan leader himself, would likely have eliminated anyone who could have posed a threat to his and his lineage’s right to the throne.

An example of this happening is with Broly, who King Vegeta resented in both the Z and Super versions because he possessed the strength and potential to easily surpass the king and his child. In the non-canon Dragon Ball Z movies, King Vegeta ordered Broly’s execution, which ultimately failed. In the main timeline in Dragon Ball Super, King Vegeta took a more indirect approach by exiling Broly to a distant planet where he could no longer threaten the Saiyan royal family.

If the Saiyans’ own king would get rid of any Saiyan with a power level that surpassed his, they had no hope of abusing any power-increasing schemes like the Zenkai Boost. The king’s paranoia led to the downfall of his entire race.

Why Don’t Goku, Vegeta, and Their Children Abuse Zenkai Boosts?

Lack of Hindsight or a Sense of Honor?

Okay, so the Saiyans on Planet Vegeta had no reliable way to trigger Zenkai Boosts and not die, but what about Goku and the rest of the Saiyan Z Fighters? They had multiple ways of healing, such as Senzu Beans, Dende, and, if all else fails, the Dragon Balls themselves.

Senzu Beans are incredibly difficult to acquire, with Korin being the only source. It also takes significant amounts of time to grow even one bean, so they’re best used in emergencies rather than giving Goku a power boost whenever he wants. The same goes for the Dragon Balls, as collecting and using them just to heal an injured person is highly impractical. As for Dende, it would be inconvenient, traumatizing, and probably not the best use of Earth’s guardian’s time.

In addition, even if they had the means to, each of the Z Fighter’s Saiyans have their own personal reasons not to abuse their genes.

• Goku and Vegeta are both too proud to let a system as cheap as Zenkai Boosts do all the work for them. They want their strength to come from intense training, hard work, and experience through real battles. Vegeta may have used it on Namek, but that was during a desperate battle and only as a last resort.
• Gohan doesn’t even really like fighting, so he’s not normally the type to seek ways to boost his power.
• Trunks and Goten are too young to consider something as drastic as putting themselves on the brink of death on purpose for a power-up.

Besides, if any of them really wanted infinite power, they could have just used the Dragon Balls to wish for it, no Zenkai Boosts required.

Dragon Ball Z is now available to stream on Crunchyroll.