Immediately after the Vegeta series, Gokou, Gohan, and Krillin are in the hospital recupperating from their battle with Vegeta. Popo tells them about the dragonballs of Namek, another planet, and Bulma, Krillin, and Gohan set out to find them. Gokou stays behind to heal.
Bulma, Krillin, and Gohan leave for Namek in Kami's ship. They are caught by another spaceship along the way and learn about Freeza, an evil planet broker who is taking over many planets. After the aliens are satisfied that Bulma, Krillin, and Gohan aren't Freeza's minions, they are allowed to leave. Soon after they crash on a strange planet they believe to be Namek. They later learn it's a fraud, designed to lure them in and steal their spaceship.

Vegeta flies back to Freeza's world to recover after the battle, then he sets out for Namek too to try to further his quest for immortality. Since Freeza is trying to find the Namek dragonballs as well, there's a need for speed in the search for Bulma, Krillin, and Gohan.

The 7 Namek dragonballs are held by the world's 7 village elders. Since the elders are unwilling to give Freeza the dragonballs, he has been having his henchmen Zarbon and Dodoria destroy the villages and take the dragonballs. In the process, Krillin and Gohan rescue a Namek named Dende who Freeza was going to kill.

Vegeta arrives on Namek, then things really start happening. Vegeta kills Dodoria, then finds one dragonball and hides it, to prevent Freeza from using them. Veteta then fights Zarbon, and is defeated, but not killed. He proceeds to destroy a village to get another dragonball. Vegeta uses one of Freeza's recovery cells, then destroys it.

Freeza calls in Ginew Force to help with his quest, and at the same time Gohan finds the dragonball Vegeta had hidden. On Dende's advice, Krillin visits Guru, the chief elder, and gets from him the one star dragonball. When Krillin gets back to Bulma and Gohan, Vegeta and Zarbon are there too. Vegeta defeats Zarbon, and Krillin has to give him his dragonball. Fortunately, Gohan still has the dragonball he found earlier.

Gokou gets a szenu bean from Yajirobe and quickly recovers his strength. He sets out for Namek, training in 100X earh's gravity. He gets a message from King Kaiou that Yamcha, Piccolo, Tenshin-han, and Chauzu are training with him.

Vegeta proposes a truce with Krillin and Gohan, and they give him their dragonball so that he can wish for immortality before the Ginew Force arrives. Ginew, Jees, Baata, Recoom, and Guldo arrive before Vegeta can make his wish, though. Vegeta and Krillin try to get rid of the dragonballs, but the Ginew force grabs them and takes them away to Freeza.

After Ginew leaves, the fighting begins. They fight Guldo first, and Vegeta kills him. Recoom beats on Krillin, Gohan, and Vegeta, but then Gokou arrives, restores his friends, and quickly knocks out Recoom. Baata and Jees attack Gokou, but Gokou knocks out Baata and lets Jees run away. Vegeta kills the unconcious Baata and Recoom.

Freeza gets the dragonballs, but can't work them so he leaves to find Guru. Gokou and Ginew begin to fight, and after Ginew gets really beat up he swaps bodies with Gokou. Then Jees and Ginew fly off, leaving Gokou in Ginew's injured body. Gokou, Ginew, Jees, Vegeta, Krillin, and Gohan all arrive at Freeza's ship to get the dragonballs. Vegeta kills Jees while Krillin and Gohan beat Ginew, then Vegeta starts to beat on Ginew. Ginew tries to swap bodies with Vegeta, but Gokou jumps in the way and gets his own body back. Ginew tries to switch with Vegeta again, but Gokou causes him to turn into a frog instead.

While Dende leaves to tell the earth warriors how to activate the dragonballs, Freeza fights Nail, Namek mightiest warrior, to try and learn the words himself. Nail fights on and on, even though he is much weaker than Freeza, so Dende can accomplish her task. Nail is left dying.

Vegeta proposes a truce while Gokou and Gohan recover. Krillin learns how to summon the dragon and they do so. First they wish for Piccolo to come back to life, then for Piccolo to come to Namek, and finally for Vegeta to be immortal. As the final wish is about to be granted, however, Guru dies and the dragonballs become worthless, nullifying the last wish. Freeza arrives and begins the first of three transformations as he fights Vegeta.

Piccolo, on another part of the world, heads toward the battle. On the way he comes accross Nail, who is dying, and they fuse, increasing Piccolo's power.

Piccolo arrives as Vegeta is finished off, and then Freeza moves to his second transformation. During this stage he beats Krillin badly, then begins to beat Gohan. As Freeza beats Gohan, Dende heals Krillin. Piccolo starts fighting again, and now Dende heals Gohan. Piccolo is nearly killed, and Krillin blasts Vegeta, at Vegeta's request. Gohan gets upset and wails on Freeza, causing him to go to his third transformation. While he transforms, he observes Dende healing Vegeta and Piccolo. Freeza promptly kills Dende, then he and Vegeta really go at it. Gokou finally comes back at this point. Gokou hits Freeza with a huge Genki-Dama.

Freeza kills Krillin and nearly kills Piccolo, which really ticks off Gokou and makes him become a Super Saiyan. Gohan takes the injured Piccolo back to the ship with Bulma, and Freeza and Gokou keep fighting. Freeza fires a blast at the center of the planet, starting a chain reaction that will destroy it. Gokou tells Gohan and Bulma to leave, but stays to battle Freeza.

Back on earh, King Kaiou wishes that everyone killed by Freeza be revived, so Guru and all those on Namek come back to life, restoring the Namek dragonballs. Dende, at Gokou's request, wishes everyone but Gokou and Freeza to be teleported to earth. Gokou kills Freeza, the planet explodes, and Gokou still makes it back to earth.

Back on earth, everyone fights Garlic Jr. who is attempting to make himself Kami's replacement as earth's god, and everyone is temporarily turned evil. They all get cleansed by Kami though and everything turns out alright.

Freeza's father, King Cold, finds him in space, restores him, and takes him to earth for revenge. Since Gokou isn't back from Namek yet, the earth has no good defender. Then a teenager, Trunks, shows up from the future, becomes a Super Saiyan, and quickly destroys Freeza and King Cold. Gokou returns and they talk privately.

Trunks tells Gokou that some cyborgs will show up in 3 years, and need to be stopped. He also mentions that he's the son of Vegeta and Bulma. He tells Gokou that he will develop heart disease, and gives him future medicine to remedy the problem. Then Trunks leaves in his time machine. Piccolo tells Gokou that he heard, since he has better than human hearing. Then Gokou explains how he escaped Namk in the Ginew Force's ship. On the way home he learned to teleport from the Yardatrians. They all begin training for the arrival of the cyborgs.