"That's more like it!" Champa broke into a smug grin. "Brat, without that armor, you really think you can beat me?"
Rumble…
A fierce dark green aura suddenly erupted from Broly's body.
In an instant, this stretch of starry sky was dyed green.
Crackle… crackle…
Dark green lightning danced and coiled around Broly.
His hair stood up even higher than before.
"W-What kind of transformation is that?" Champa's smile froze on his face. His expression went from bad to worse.
"Legendary Super Saiyan Two," Broly answered calmly.
Champa fell silent, the corner of his mouth twitching.
"I was going to save you some face, you know. You really shouldn't have shouted that you'd be back while you were running away." Broly grinned, flashing a row of perfectly white teeth.
Champa suddenly felt that his smile looked a lot like Ken's—equally sinister. His face grew even uglier.
"I'm starting," Broly said.
"Hmph, you think I'm scared of you?" Champa gritted his teeth and pushed his power to the limit. Purple-red divine aura blazed to life around him.
With a sharp whoosh, Broly rocketed forward.
"Brat, you think just because you've got lightning on you, you can beat me, Champa?" Champa didn't hesitate at all. He drove his fist straight at the oncoming Broly.
Broly shifted his body slightly, slipping past the incoming punch.
Smack!
In the next instant, Broly's right hand shot out to his left and clamped firmly around Champa's arm.
Champa's face changed dramatically and he struggled with all his might.
Bang!
Broly swung a hook blow straight into Champa's nose.
"Awwwooo—!"
Champa let out a miserable howl as a sour sting shot through his nose, eyes watering.
With a streak of light, Broly dragged Champa by the arm toward a nearby planet.
A few seconds later, Broly yanked Champa down and slammed his body brutally into the planet's surface.
The planet split cleanly in two on impact, cracked apart into halves.
Bang, bang, bang!
Still gripping Champa's arm, Broly smashed him into the ground over and over again.
Champa's screams turned into constant wails as he was tossed around helplessly, completely unable to resist.
In less than a minute, the shattered planet had broken into several giant chunks.
Champa's cries grew weaker and weaker.
Broly then grabbed Champa by the head and drove him down, embedding his face deep into one of the larger chunks of planetary debris.
"Urgh…" Champa's whole body twitched, overwhelmed by sheer terror.
Smack.
Broly clamped a hand around Champa's throat and lifted him high into the air.
Champa was already gravely injured. The look he gave Broly was full of fear and unease, mixed with utter shock.
When did this brat get this strong?
This can't be right.
It's only been a little over twenty years. He rose to this level in that time?
"Want to keep going?" Broly asked, smiling at Champa.
Champa shook his head hard.
Only then did Broly slowly set him down. He reached into his clothes, took out a Senzu Bean, and held it out in front of him.
"Here," Broly said in a tone that left no room for refusal.
"W-What are you trying to do? Are you trying to poison a God of Destruction?" Champa stared at him suspiciously.
Broly: "…"
"I'm not eating that!" Champa shook his head violently.
Broly flicked his fingers lightly.
The Senzu Bean shot straight into Champa's mouth.
"Ah—!"
Champa let out a terrified scream. He was so scared his soul practically left his body. He started coughing frantically, trying to hack the bean out.
But after a moment of coughing, he suddenly realized something. The wounds on his body had fully healed, and his energy was back at peak.
Champa stopped coughing, eyes going wide as he stared at Broly in astonishment.
"Champa, I prefer you when you're cocky and defiant," Broly said as he stepped forward. He straightened out Champa's God of Destruction outfit and brushed the dust off him.
Champa stood there ramrod straight, saying nothing, his eyes still full of fear.
"Later," Broly said, patting Champa's cheek twice before taking off into the air.
Watching Broly's figure slowly disappear into the distance, Champa's rage exploded. He stuck his tongue out and pulled a face at Broly's back.
That was Champa's last shred of pride.
Broly suddenly glanced back over his shoulder.
Champa immediately started scratching his head, dying of embarrassment. He waved and shouted, "That magical bean works really well… and you're actually pretty nice too!"
Broly ignored him and flew off at high speed, heading in the direction of Bardock's fight with Beerus.
Champa lowered his head, crushed by endless misery.
A veteran God of Destruction like him had just been bullied by a newly appointed God of Destruction?
I can't accept this!
No. I need to find someone to beat him down for me.
That brat is way too arrogant!
Beerus, you bastard, why aren't you waking up?
If you keep sleeping, someone's going to rob you of your title as the strongest God of Destruction!
No, relying on Beerus won't work. Knowing him, he'll probably sleep at least ten more years.
Then who do I go to?
I guess I'll have to go to Quitela!
Only Quitela can beat Broly as he is now.
No, I should round up a few more Gods of Destruction. There's no way we can't handle one little Broly.
Champa didn't hesitate any longer. His body turned into purple-red light and streaked toward Universe 4.
Ken was quite pleased with Broly's performance.
This God of Destruction he'd trained… he was confident it wouldn't be long before Broly surpassed Beerus.
Ken could tell that Broly's level was still at 54—barely higher than it had been more than twenty years ago.
Last time Broly transformed into Legendary Super Saiyan Two, he had essentially burned through and awakened all the potential he was supposed to gradually unleash between the ages of five and thirty.
On top of that, for the last twenty-plus years, Broly had stayed by Ken's side almost constantly, watching over him rather than doing any real training. So it was perfectly normal for his strength not to have improved much.
But that didn't matter at all.
With Broly's body, as long as he fought strong opponents, his power would rise again.
By now, Broly had returned to his base form and slowly approached the battlefield where Bardock was clashing with Beerus.
Their fight was still intense.
However, Beerus was ultimately nothing more than a body condensed from destructive energy. Whether it was combat ability or reaction time, he was tens of thousands of miles away from his true self.
Bardock only grew more fired up as he fought.
Five minutes later—
Bang!
Bardock landed a sharp uppercut into Beerus's chin, sending his body flipping through the starry sky.
When Beerus finally halted, Bardock stopped attacking for the moment.
"What's with your body?" Bardock frowned, staring intently at Beerus. "Why do you look kind of transparent?"
Beerus looked down and saw his own colors had indeed faded.
"It was fun fighting you." Beerus smiled faintly. "It's been a long time since I've enjoyed a fight like this."
"You're no match for me," Bardock snorted.
"What did you say your name was again? Super Saiyan God, was it?" Beerus asked.
"That's right. Super Saiyan God." Bardock nodded.
"I'll remember you, Super Saiyan God," Beerus said with a smile. "When I wake up, I'll have a proper fight with you."
"Wake up? What's that supposed to mean?" Bardock asked, confused.
With a small pop, Beerus's body suddenly broke apart into scattered sparks and merged completely into the starry sky.
"He vanished?" Bardock froze, more confused than ever. He immediately turned his head and looked at Broly in bewilderment.
Broly slowly flew over.
"What was with that guy just now?" Bardock asked strangely.
"Not sure, but it didn't feel like it was really him." Broly had already seen through part of it.
Ken's figure flickered, and he appeared beside both of them, explaining, "That Beerus was just a construct he manifested using destructive energy. Whether in strength or intelligence, he was at most one-thousandth of the real Beerus."
Broly nodded thoughtfully, instantly understanding.
No wonder he was so weak.
And he reacted so slowly, too.
He was always half a beat late in the fight.
If that version of Beerus were truly the strongest God of Destruction, it just wouldn't add up.
"Just a construct?" Bardock blinked. "So I've been fighting a fake this whole time?"
"That's exactly what happened." Ken nodded.
"I thought that God of Destruction was weak…" Bardock gave a dry laugh.
"He's actually the strongest of the twelve Gods of Destruction. He spends most of his time asleep," Broly added from the side.
"So you just blew up his avatar. Once he wakes up, he'll probably come looking for trouble with you." Ken said with a smile.
Bardock: "…"
He kept forcing a bitter smile, his face paling a little.
But then Bardock took a deep breath. His expression quickly calmed.
"It's fine. I just have to surpass him." Battle intent flared on Bardock's face, his blood boiling.
"Come on. Let's head to the underworld and see if your wife's soul is still there." Ken said.
"Do you… do you think there's a good chance her soul still exists?" Bardock asked nervously.
"Did she do more good or evil in her life?" Ken asked. "For example, did she ever kill innocents?"
"No. You know her, Ken." Bardock shook his head. "Gine was responsible for Saiyan logistics. She never killed innocent people."
"In that case, she probably didn't do any great good or great evil. For King Yemma's evaluation in the underworld, she's likely categorized as neutral… and that's the most dangerous type. There's a ninety-percent chance she was put into a soul-cleansing machine and reincarnated." Ken said slowly.
Bardock: "…"
"If she already reincarnated… what then?" Bardock asked urgently. "Can we awaken her old memories?"
"No." Ken shook his head. "Only those with particularly strong power can recall their past life after reincarnating. Your wife, Gine, wasn't that strong."
Bardock lowered his head, overwhelmed by grief.
"Let's pray she's still in the underworld, working a job to earn merit points." Ken said with a smile.
"Working a job?" Bardock didn't quite follow.
"Souls can earn points by working. Then they can trade those points for better reincarnation options—like being reborn into a wealthy, healthy family or as a member of a race with powerful vitality." Ken explained, still smiling.
As he spoke, starlike radiance burst from Ken's body. He took Bardock and Broly and shot toward the underworld at incredible speed.
"You… you can fly this fast?" Bardock was stunned.
Ken only gave a small smile and didn't say any more.
"I hope Gine really is out there working for points…" Bardock murmured.
…
Beerus's planet, inside the castle.
"Ahhh—!"
Beerus suddenly let out a scream, spraying mouthful after mouthful of destructive energy from his mouth.
The destructive energy rampaged across the planet.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Whis quickly flew up, using his staff to catch each orb of destructive energy as it flew out.
Only after a full minute did Beerus finally calm down.
Oracle Fish was so scared he hid in the lake and didn't dare poke his head out.
Once he was sure there was no danger, Oracle Fish finally rode his fishbowl over to Whis.
"I didn't spit in his mouth, I swear… so what's wrong with him?" Oracle Fish asked nervously, still shaken.
"His manifested body was probably defeated." Whis said with a small smile.
"Broly did it?" Oracle Fish asked. "If it was Broly, that would make sense. Broly did kill two Gods of Destruction, after all…"
"No. It was someone else." Whis replied, smiling as he looked straight at Oracle Fish.
Oracle Fish: "…"
"Whis, don't look at me like that. People might think you're about to eat fish." Oracle Fish shuddered.
"Oracle Fish, have you had any new prophecies lately?" Whis asked.
"Funny you should ask. I actually have." Oracle Fish said thoughtfully.
"Let's hear it." Whis said with a gentle smile.
"The Gods of Destruction will soon go through a major reshuffle." Oracle Fish replied.
"Ahh, ahh… that hardly counts as a prophecy." Whis chuckled. "Two Gods of Destruction have already died. Of course new ones taking their place is normal."
"No, not just two." Oracle Fish shook his head.
"You mean… more Gods of Destruction will die?" Surprise flickered in Whis's eyes.
"I never said that. All I foresaw was that there will be a big reshuffle—the current lineup of Gods of Destruction will see many of them replaced." Oracle Fish said.
"Ahh, ahh… maybe we should consider waking Beerus-sama up." Whis said, glancing back toward the castle.
…
A few hours later, Ken lightly swung his staff.
With a crack, he tore open a rift in space and led Bardock into the underworld.
The sight of King Yemma's palace below left Bardock gaping.
This is the underworld?
King Yemma's temple was built in spectacular fashion, grand yet ancient in style.
Golden clouds surrounded the temple on all sides.
If anyone ever slipped through those golden clouds, they would plunge straight into Hell.
And once you fell into Hell, an ordinary soul could forget about climbing back out.
A long road led up to the temple's entrance, and white souls floated in a line along it.
"Hey, souls! Line up properly and enter in order!" A worker shouted through a loudspeaker as he kept order. "You there, don't split into two lines! Make a single file! There was once a soul who tried to cut in line by shouting, and King Yemma-sama sent him straight off to reincarnate early!"
Ken brought Bardock and Broly forward and, in an instant, they appeared inside the main hall of King Yemma's palace, floating at his side.
King Yemma blinked and turned his head toward Ken, a little confused.
"And you are…?" King Yemma asked curiously.
"Greetings, King Yemma-sama. I'd like to ask you something." Ken said with a polite smile.
"Sir, get to the back of the line! King Yemma-sama is very busy! Cutting the line is extremely rude!" A little ogre rushed up, shouting at Ken in a harsh tone.
Broly reached out with a large hand, grabbed the ogre by the head, and flung him aside with a casual toss.
"Ahhhh—"
The ogre flew out of sight. His scream echoed from far away, fading into the distance.
Splash.
An instant later, the little ogre fell into the golden clouds below and disappeared.
He had presumably dropped into Hell.
Still, staffers like him could be retrieved from Hell if needed.
Seeing Broly act the moment they arrived, King Yemma's brows furrowed tightly, his face darkening.
The other ogres glared and drew their pitchforks, ready to fight.
"I am Broly, God of Destruction," Broly said coldly.
King Yemma's face changed completely. He shot to his feet and barked at his subordinates, "Stand down, all of you. Back away, now!"
The nearby ogres all trembled with excitement.
Was King Yemma-sama about to personally step in?
It had been a long time since they'd seen King Yemma fight.
King Yemma strode quickly over to Broly, then dropped to his knees and kowtowed repeatedly.
The ogres were stunned, their jaws dropping.
We thought King Yemma-sama was going to beat them up…
And he's kneeling?
They quickly scrambled to kneel and kowtow as well.
"Are you at a gravesite or something?" Broly's face darkened. "You only kneel on one knee."
"Uh… that pose is a little difficult…" King Yemma broke out in a cold sweat.
"Just answer the questions honestly." Broly snorted.
"Yes." King Yemma instantly straightened up inside.
In the past, King Yemma would never have believed someone like Broly was really a God of Destruction.
But something that happened more than twenty years ago was still fresh in his mind.
Back then, a God of Destruction from Universe 3 had come here, looking for his son's soul.
King Yemma remembered clearly that his son had already been sent into the soul-cleansing machine and reincarnated.
Apparently as a stray cat.
Later, that God of Destruction had shown up in person, scaring King Yemma half to death.
Only then did King Yemma realize the guy really had been a God of Destruction's son—albeit from another universe.
You could've mentioned that a little earlier…
If you'd said so, I might have given you offerings every day.
When Mule and Mosco heard what had happened, they gave King Yemma a good thrashing, then left. Even they hadn't dared actually kill the god in charge of the underworld.
So when King Yemma heard that Broly was a God of Destruction, he didn't bother thinking it over. He simply dropped to his knees.
"God of Destruction, what would you like to ask?" King Yemma said respectfully.
Bardock stared, completely floored.
So God of Destruction really is that high-ranked?
Even King Yemma kneels to him?
So Ken wasn't lying to me.
If I really do become a God of Destruction, finding Kakarot and Raditz won't be a problem at all.
In that moment, Bardock's resolve to become a God of Destruction grew even stronger.
At the same time, his heart tightened again.
He still didn't know what had happened to Gine's soul.
"King Yemma-sama, would you please help me look up a Saiyan named Gine?" Ken asked politely.
"Yes!" King Yemma replied at once, cold sweat running down his forehead.
Who is this guy?
Even the God of Destruction treats him with such respect, like a subordinate.
Could he be a god of even higher rank than a God of Destruction?
King Yemma didn't dare slack off. He shuffled backward on his knees, then stood up to pick up the Book of Life and Death from his desk, and dropped back down to his knees again.
A moment later, he felt his kneeling posture was wrong and quickly shifted to kneeling on one knee instead. He placed the book on the floor and began flipping through the pages at high speed.
"Found her…" King Yemma said happily when he located Gine's entry.
But as soon as he read the details, his expression went green with fright.
"T-This, this, this…" King Yemma stammered.
The knot of dread in Bardock's chest only grew tighter. His face turned ashen.
"Just say it." Ken said calmly.
"Gine's soul… has… has been reincarnated already…" King Yemma stuttered.
"What… did you say?" Bardock's voice was low and heavy.
"Where did she reincarnate?" Ken asked.
"Earth…" King Yemma answered truthfully. "She reincarnated three months after her death. If nothing unexpected happened, she should be twenty-four years old now… in nominal age."
"You even know about nominal age?" Ken chuckled.
"According to Earth's system, actual age is based on the mother's time of birth, and nominal age is—" King Yemma began to explain quickly.
Ken: "…"
Technically, that wasn't wrong.
"Earth…" Bardock murmured.
Back then, Kakarot had been sent to a planet called Earth.
"What's her name on Earth?" Bardock asked, barely able to contain himself.
"She's still called Gine." King Yemma double-checked the book and gave a firm answer.
"Thank you for your time, King Yemma-sama. Sorry to have disturbed you. Please forgive any offense." Ken said politely.
"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare…" King Yemma replied, bowing even more respectfully.
"Let's go." Ken said.
With that, Ken took Broly and Bardock and left the underworld at high speed.
"You really are getting more and more like an angel." Amarella said with a bright smile.
"Thanks for the compliment." Ken smiled back.
"Ken, can we go to Earth next?" Bardock asked, visibly excited, his eyes full of hope.
"Even if she kept the name Gine after reincarnating, she no longer has her old memories." Ken shook his head. "Going there will only add to your grief."
"I just want to see her from afar," Bardock said quietly. "Just once."
"Letting you see her is easy enough." Ken said as he raised his staff and started searching Earth for Gine.
Knowing her name meant he had the perfect keyword, so searching was much simpler.
In less than ten seconds, an image appeared in the crystal orb—a pretty young woman.
She looked to be around twenty-three years old and resembled Gine quite a bit.
"Just one look, right?" Ken asked with a smile.
Bardock nodded seriously.
Ken projected the image from the crystal orb and showed it to Bardock.
Bardock went blank for a moment, staring in disbelief.
"She… that's Gine after reincarnation?" Bardock asked.
"Yes. She looks very similar to the old Gine." Ken nodded.
Bardock: "…"
When I said I wanted to see her, I meant in person.
Not on a screen.
"Ken, I want to see her with my own eyes. Please." Bardock hesitated, then looked at Ken with undisguised pleading.
"You're really asking a lot." Ken frowned slightly.
Broly glared.
If he weren't planning to make you God of Destruction in his place, he would've pinned you to the ground and rubbed your face in it for these demands.
"Just let me see her in person… no, ten minutes. Let me spend ten minutes with her! Please?" Bardock said seriously, his eyes full of longing.
"All right. Ten minutes." Ken took a deep breath and finally gave in.
He just happened to be heading back to Earth anyway, to give Bulma the fragments of Mosco so she could upgrade Ai.
So before returning to Universe 6, Ken took Broly and Bardock to Universe 9, to the place where Broly had once fought Mosco.
Back then, during Broly's battle with Mosco, he'd smashed him into several pieces, turning him into heaps of metal.
Over the twenty-four years since, those metal chunks had drifted all over space and were scattered who knew where.
Broly hadn't collected them at the time, mainly because he needed to stay by Ken's side.
"Gather."
Ken rose into the air, lifting his staff high.
Light burst from the staff's tip, his angelic power shining brilliantly.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
One by one, the metal fragments that had once made up Mosco shot toward Ken's location from every direction in the void.
About ten minutes later, all of the fragments had gathered together.
Ken tapped them lightly with his staff, melting the metal down into a condensed mass of cosmic essence.
With a flick, Ken stored the cosmic essence in his personal subspace.
"What are you going to use that for?" Broly asked curiously.
(End of chapter)
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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