Broly's cheeks actually reddened a little. He couldn't help lowering his head.
"Now you can play with me, right?" Ai said with a mischievous smile.
Broly stayed silent.
"What are you staring at?" Ai pouted.
Broly: "…"
"Come on, say it—'I'm staring, so what.'" Ai gazed at him expectantly.
Broly scratched his head.
"Hurry up and say it," Ai urged, getting anxious.
For some reason, Ai's eyes suddenly reddened, and two lines of warm tears slid down her cheeks.
"O-okay, I'll say it… don't cry," Broly panicked. This was the first time in his life such a beautiful girl had cried in front of him.
Then, looking a bit embarrassed, he stammered, "I… I'm staring. So what…"
"Pff—"
Ai instantly burst into laughter through her tears.
Ken: "…"
"This is the 'rebuilt' Ai?" Ken glanced over at Bulma. "All that work just to make Broly say 'I'm staring, so what'?"
"Maybe… you just don't understand love," Bulma said, staring over with a complicated look in her eyes.
Ken had no words for that.
"Everyone needs time to grow up, step by step," Bulma's long lashes fluttered as she sighed softly. "Even robots."
Ken didn't argue further. He walked a bit off to the side, unhurriedly raised his staff, and prepared to contact the Grand Priest.
Bulma hesitated for a moment, then sidled over curiously.
"I'm about to contact the strongest god in the entire multiverse. Don't butt in," Ken warned.
"Got it," Bulma nodded obediently.
Ken quickly established a connection with the Grand Priest.
The Grand Priest's voice came from the staff's crystal orb, and his image appeared there as well.
"Ken, what did you need from me?" The Grand Priest still wore that faint, gentle smile.
"Nothing huge. I contacted you because I've found two suitable Gods of Destruction," Ken said, smiling mysteriously.
"You don't want to hand over Broly and Buu to Universe 3 and Universe 9, do you?" The Grand Priest replied with a smile, instantly seeing through Ken's real intent.
"I worked so hard raising my own Gods of Destruction. Why should I gift-wrap them and hand them to someone else?" Ken replied righteously.
Grand Priest: "…"
"Majin Buu doesn't exactly count as 'trained by you,' does he?" the Grand Priest countered. "Strictly speaking, he's Merus's God of Destruction candidate."
"Do you see Buu acknowledging him?" Ken chuckled.
The Grand Priest drew in a long breath. He really didn't want to keep going down this line of conversation.
"Leaving Broly and Majin Buu aside, let's talk about your two 'new' trainee Gods of Destruction first," the Grand Priest said seriously, hands clasped behind his back. "If they aren't good enough, they cannot take those two universes."
"What's the benchmark?" Ken asked.
"Fine, I won't make it too hard on you. As long as the two of them can join forces and defeat Jiren from Universe 11, they'll be qualified to replace Broly and Buu," the Grand Priest said, the corners of his mouth lifting in a slight arc as his smile grew brighter. "But let me state this upfront—no cheating. Both sides must fight in their peak condition."
"Two on one?" Ken froze for a second, almost laughing out loud.
Grand Priest, have you not been watching the universes lately?
Do you have any idea how strong these two I found actually are?
"Yes. The two of them together," the Grand Priest confirmed with a nod.
"You planning to come watch the fight yourself?" Ken asked.
"I'll pass. Let Merus accompany you," the Grand Priest said after thinking it over. For something at this level, there was really no need for him to show up personally.
"Perfect. I was just about to drop by Merus's place and show off my new God of Destruction picks," Ken answered readily. "I'll relay your conditions to him when I see him."
Grand Priest: "…"
You really are going to show off?
And… did this brat actually find two suitable candidates already?
He'd managed to do that in such a short time?
Recently, the Grand Priest really hadn't been monitoring Ken's every move.
The Grand Priest had a lot to attend to; he couldn't watch Ken 24/7.
Of course, he did sometimes pick up his staff to casually look in on events happening around the multiverse.
But in the Grand Priest's mind, it shouldn't have been possible for Ken to find two new Gods of Destruction so quickly.
The reason he'd thrown out Jiren's name was simply because Jiren was, at present, the strongest mortal in all universes.
Stake out that candidate first, so Ken wouldn't get any ideas about stealing him.
And with Jiren's power, he should easily crush any mortals who came to challenge him.
To put it bluntly, in that previous Universe 18 God of Destruction Selection Tournament, if Jiren had participated, Broly wouldn't have had a chance.
But Jiren wasn't interested in becoming a God of Destruction.
Having him help test other candidates' strength, though—that was fine.
"Then I'll wish you success in advance. If those two can beat Jiren together, take them straight to Universe 3 and Universe 9 to assume office. I've already notified them," the Grand Priest said with a smile.
"Much appreciated." Ken nodded, then suddenly thought of something, bowed, and said, "I've troubled you, Grand Priest."
Grand Priest: "…"
"That's enough. I'll end the call here," the Grand Priest sighed helplessly. "No need to deliberately imitate us angels' mannerisms."
"You could've said that earlier." Ken immediately straightened up, standing ramrod straight.
The Grand Priest simply cut the connection.
Why does talking to this kid feel like it drains my angel power?
Is he my natural nemesis?
I just hope Merus doesn't disappoint me.
The call ended quickly. Ken then immediately contacted Merus.
"Merus, you there?" Ken asked.
Merus: "…"
Merus's image soon appeared in the orb.
How could I not be?
Where else would I be if not here?
"What I mean is, you're at Galactic Patrol Headquarters, right?" Ken rephrased.
"I am. I just got back from a mission," Merus said, taking out his staff and opening a link from his room.
"We'll be arriving at Galactic Patrol Headquarters in about two minutes," Ken said with a smile. "Set something up to welcome us, yeah?"
Merus was speechless.
He's acting like some big-shot dignitary is visiting.
Then again…
It is a god who's coming.
Rolling out the welcome wagon for him wasn't exactly unreasonable.
"Hold on… welcome 'you all'? Besides you, Broly, and Buu, who else is there?" Merus tilted his head and took a look through the staff's crystal orb, noticing a couple of unfamiliar faces.
Among them was a girl who seemed a bit familiar—looked like Tights's younger sister.
"Quite a crowd," Merus said, a little surprised. "You guys here on vacation?"
"You'll see when we get there," Ken replied with a grin.
"All right, I'll have the cafeteria prepare some food," Merus nodded.
"Now that's my best friend," Ken laughed.
Merus was once again at a loss for words.
"By the way, are you really planning to keep your own God of Destruction candidate hidden?" Ken suddenly asked.
"Sorry, Ken. There's no need for you to know that early. We've got plenty of time before the tournament," Merus answered with a teasing smile.
"I was just asking," Ken chuckled, then deliberately tilted his staff toward Bardock for a moment, watching Merus's reaction closely.
Merus paused, clearly noticing Bardock and carefully studying his appearance.
"Is that… Son Goku?" Merus asked. "Doesn't quite look like him…"
"That's Goku's father," Ken said quietly. "Don't tell him yet."
"Understood," Merus nodded.
Now Ken found it a little strange.
Judging from Merus's expression, his own God of Destruction candidate clearly wasn't Bardock.
Otherwise, he definitely wouldn't be reacting like this.
Ken was genuinely curious now. Who did Merus pick as his new God of Destruction?
He really couldn't think of anyone more suitable than Bardock.
Since he couldn't figure it out, he dropped it.
He'd find out soon enough during the test.
A few minutes later, Ken brought Broly, Bulma and the others down at Galactic Patrol Headquarters.
The Galactic King personally came to greet them.
Tights also came along to welcome her sister.
The two sisters hadn't seen each other in quite some time. Now that they'd reunited, they hugged tightly, both excited and delighted.
"Hey, Bulma, why do I feel like you look younger?" Tights looked her sister up and down, feeling something was off the more she stared.
"Heehee," Bulma just giggled and didn't elaborate.
"Ken… your change is pretty drastic too. Your hair's gone white," the Galactic King sighed over and over. "Time is a butcher's knife—every cut ages a man."
Ken smiled and didn't bother explaining, just shook hands with him.
"So you're Broly? Blink and you've grown this big," the Galactic King said amicably to Broly.
Broly reached out and grabbed one of the Galactic King's tentacles.
The Galactic King's face turned bright red.
"Why do you always have to grab me there?" he asked shyly.
Broly: "…"
Broly immediately wiped his hand off on Majin Buu.
Buu: "???"
"What?" Buu turned to ask Broly.
"Nothing. Don't worry about it," Broly replied.
Buu scratched his head, completely lost.
"And this beautiful young lady… hello there, how should I address you?" The Galactic King extended a tentacle to Ai this time.
This time it was an actual tentacle.
Ai stepped up to shake it and reported her name.
"What a distinctive name," the Galactic King laughed.
After that, he shook Bardock's hand politely as well.
Bardock's expression didn't change.
After some small talk, the Galactic King hosted Ken and his group in the cafeteria for a big meal.
"Didn't we just eat at Mr. Satan's place?" Bardock muttered to Broly, confused.
Buu turned around and glared at Bardock, then scolded, "Don't make trouble. The food here's good."
Only then did Bardock get it.
It wasn't that the food was especially good. It was that this glutton thought any food was delicious as long as they changed locations.
After Bardock tasted it for himself, he suddenly felt… it actually wasn't as good as Satan's cooking.
It's just that Buu was eating happily.
Bardock finally understood. It wasn't the food. It was the pig eating it.
"Oh? If it isn't Elite Patrolman Jaco… why are you so nonexistent?" Ken walked over, patted Jaco on the shoulder, and greeted him.
Jaco: "…"
You call that polite?
Who greets people like that?
He still shook Ken's hand, then fell silent.
"What's with him? Is he on his period or something?" Ken turned and asked Merus.
Jaco: "…"
Merus: "…"
A brief silence.
Merus walked Ken a short distance away.
"I think Jaco really does feel like he doesn't matter, so he's sulking," Merus said with a bitter smile.
"Not important," Ken waved it off. "He'll get used to it."
Merus genuinely didn't know how to respond to that.
Another moment of quiet.
"Ken, I deliberately left you plenty of time so you could train Son Goku," Merus said, baffled. "Why did you show up here on a sightseeing trip instead?"
When he mentioned Goku's name, he deliberately lowered his voice so Bardock wouldn't hear.
On that point, Merus was very careful.
"Let someone else handle Goku's basics. I'm only responsible for shattering that foundation and pushing his power to the limit," Ken said with a grin.
Merus blinked.
You really are a hands-off teacher.
"I gave Goku a copy of the Ultra Instinct Training Manual," Ken said honestly.
"You can't be serious. You think everyone can awaken Ultra Instinct just because you did?" Merus shook his head. "Finding another mortal like you is near impossible… and even if you want him to learn it, you should teach him in person, not just toss him a book."
"We'll deal with it later, no rush," Ken said with a mysterious smile. "Actually, I came to you this time for something else."
"What is it?" Merus asked.
"I accidentally ended up raising two pretty powerful Gods of Destruction," Ken said, unable to hide the hint of pride in his voice.
"You… what did you say?" Merus's eyes flew wide, wondering if he'd misheard. Then he forced a smile. "Don't tell me you mean Broly and Majin Buu. Those two are indeed strong, no question—especially after your 'decay and rebirth' stunt pushed Broly's power to a whole new level."
"I mean two new powerful Gods of Destruction," Ken grinned. "So? Want to bring out your candidate and let them stretch their legs a bit?"
"There really are two new candidates?" Merus was stunned, immediately glancing over toward Bardock and Ai.
He wasn't stupid. It wasn't hard to guess that those two were likely Ken's new picks.
"Those two?" he asked.
"Quit stalling and bring out your God of Destruction," Ken said, smiling as he sipped his tea.
"Um… m-my candidate's still in the growth phase… sorry…" Merus suddenly felt a sense of crisis creep in.
He'd originally wanted to scan Bardock and Ai right there, but decided that might be disrespectful in front of Ken and quietly dropped the idea.
"If you're not bringing out your God of Destruction, then bring out your Supreme Kai," Ken said casually, taking another sip. "We can let him have a little run."
Merus: "…"
There you go again, targeting my Supreme Kai…
"I don't think that's appropriate," Merus said, half laughing, half crying.
"By the will of Heaven, the Grand Priest decrees!" Ken suddenly barked at him.
Merus froze.
"Well? Aren't you going to kneel and receive the order?" Ken said.
Merus paused only a heartbeat before deciding Ken actually had a point.
He hurried forward and went down on one knee.
Even Amarella couldn't keep watching.
"Ken, if you keep messing with the Grand Priest's son like this, he's going to make your life miserable," she reminded him kindly.
"Come on, what did I say that's wrong?" Ken didn't care at all. "When you hear an order from the Grand Priest, you kneel. That's exactly how a son should behave."
Amarella: "…"
She had nothing to say to that.
It did sound reasonable. It just somehow felt very wrong.
Merus knelt on one knee, listening intently for Ken to pass on the decree.
He believed that, while Ken liked to clown around, he would never joke about something this serious.
If the Grand Priest truly hadn't given an order, Ken wouldn't dare make one up.
"By the will of Heaven, the Grand Priest decrees! Merus, receive the edict!" Ken intoned.
Merus: "???"
What are you even saying? Why can't I understand you anymore?
"In simple terms, the Grand Priest wants my two new God of Destruction candidates to go challenge Jiren together," Ken explained with a grin. "If they can beat him, they get to replace Broly and Buu as the new Gods of Destruction for Universe 3 and Universe 9."
Merus finally understood. So that's what this was about.
"Got it. When are we leaving?" Merus nodded slightly, not objecting.
"A few days from now. No rush," Ken replied.
They stayed at Galactic Patrol Headquarters for another two days. After that, Ken and his group set out in full force.
The Galactic King personally came to see them off.
Bulma had originally wanted to go along with Ken, but when she realized they were heading off to fight, she decided to stay with Galactic Patrol and spend some time with her sister.
Ken agreed, saying that once the whole God of Destruction business was settled, he'd come pick Bulma up and bring her back to Earth.
To make sure the test would be as fair and impartial as possible, Merus followed along, just as the Grand Priest had ordered.
…
Universe 4, Realm of the Gods.
Quitela's planet.
Quitela had been back for quite some time now.
These days, he'd been holed up in the God of Destruction's realm, constantly waking up in the middle of the night from nightmares with piercing screams.
Angel Cognac was utterly helpless.
Why'd you have to go provoke Ken and his crew?
You're lucky you made it back alive…
And you're even luckier that Ken doesn't yet have spare Gods of Destruction on hand.
Otherwise, Quitela-sama would probably already be in serious trouble.
After several days of adjusting, Quitela finally managed to stabilize his nerves a bit.
Sitting on the ground, he inhaled and exhaled deeply, feeling that the fear wasn't as crushing as before.
Think positive. Maybe my attitude when I apologized was good enough, and Ken-sama forgave me.
That could be it.
It has to be it.
Quitela felt his performance hadn't been that bad, all things considered.
He took a deep breath and stood up.
Just then, a purple-red streak of light flashed across the sky and sped down toward the Realm of the Gods.
"Whoosh!"
Champa's figure solidified as he dropped down beside Quitela.
Quitela blinked and frowned, sizing Champa up.
"Quitela, long time no see!" Champa laughed, stepping up in a friendly greeting.
"Hmph. What do you want?" Quitela snorted.
"Can't I drop by without a reason?" Champa grinned.
"If you've got something to say, say it. If you've got gas, let it out. I don't have time for riddles," Quitela growled.
"Fine, I'll get straight to it." Champa gritted his teeth, clenching his fists in frustration. "I came to ask you for help."
"Help? With what?" Quitela was mildly surprised.
"To be honest… you remember that guy called Broly, right?" Champa asked.
"You… why are you bringing him up? You came here to mock me?" Quitela's whole body shook, rage flaring.
Champa: "???"
"Smack!"
Quitela lunged forward and grabbed Champa by the throat.
Champa: "…"
What the hell?
What did I even say?
"Bang!"
Quitela slammed him down, driving Champa's head straight into the ground.
"Boom!"
Champa's head and the Realm of the Gods' earth shared a very intimate collision. For a moment he thought his skull had split open. His vision swam.
Quitela hoisted him back up high.
"Champa, you've got some nerve, coming into my realm to insult me?" Quitela got angrier the more he spoke.
Champa was so dazed his spirit nearly left his body.
I didn't even say anything yet…
"Cough…" Champa hacked, feeling like his whole being was falling apart. "What… what did I even say?"
"Get lost. I don't want to hear your voice. If you come here to stir things up again, I'll show you what real pain is," Quitela snarled, punting him with a massive kick.
"Whoosh!"
Champa tumbled through the air, somersaulting several times before regaining his balance.
He glared down at Quitela from above, furious.
"Quitela, are you insane?" Champa roared.
"Say that one more time," Quitela narrowed his eyes.
"You wait. I'll get Beerus to come beat you up!" Champa snapped, leaving that parting threat before his body erupted in purple-red light and he fled at high speed.
"Damn stray cat," Quitela snorted again and again. "Coming to my turf to humiliate me…"
Cognac: "…"
From the side, Angel Cognac could only stare speechlessly.
"Perhaps… Champa-sama didn't actually come to humiliate you," Cognac ventured.
"Hmph, I know that," Quitela shot back with a sideways look. "You think I don't know what that guy is after? He was probably beaten up by that Broly guy and came to drag me into a grudge match."
"Quitela-sama isn't interested in helping?" Cognac asked.
"Help with what? I'm lucky I made it back alive. You think I dare stick my neck out again?" Quitela said, sounding extremely justified.
Cognac had no answer for that…
Champa was on the verge of tears.
Now this was trouble.
Did Quitela's brain melt or something?
I hadn't even said anything and he beat me half to death first…
Who am I supposed to look for now?
After hesitating for a long time, Champa decided it was better to wait until Beerus woke up.
At this point, besides Quitela, there really weren't any Gods of Destruction who could handle Broly.
Unless they got all of them together at once.
In the days that followed, Champa slunk back to Universe 6 with his tail between his legs and didn't dare stir up anything else.
"Oh my, Champa-sama is back?" Vados greeted him with a gentle smile.
"Hmph, Vados, you do remember the way home," Champa rolled his eyes and gave her a sour look.
"Oh dear, you sound a little irritable, Champa-sama. Did something happen?" Vados asked, still smiling.
Champa said nothing, baring his teeth and sulking.
"Let me guess… you didn't happen to run into Broly, did you?" Vados asked with a soft laugh.
"Hmph. If you already know, why keep asking?" Champa huffed, his mood sinking even further.
"Champa-sama should be counting his blessings," Vados sighed lightly.
"What? I get beaten up by that guy and I'm supposed to feel lucky?" Champa snapped.
"You really don't know?" Vados shook her head gently. "A lot has happened with Broly."
"What more could possibly happen with him?" Champa asked, glancing sideways.
"You really don't know, Champa-sama?" Vados shrugged. "Roughly twenty-four years ago, Mr. Broly personally erased both Mosco and Sidra, the Gods of Destruction of Universe 3 and Universe 9."
Champa's eyes bulged. His ears practically stood straight up as he stared in shock.
There was a long moment of silence.
"W-what did you say?" Champa's voice shot up several pitches, growing shrill.
"You heard correctly. The Gods of Destruction for Universe 3 and Universe 9 are dead, and their Supreme Kais vanished with them," Vados replied calmly.
"Broly… killed two Gods of Destruction?" Champa's whole body trembled.
"Yes," Vados nodded.
Champa's face grew uglier by the second.
So when he fought me, he was actually… holding back?
He'd even fed me that strange bean and restored my stamina.
Champa's face turned chalk white.
He forced himself to calm down a little.
"H-he killed two Gods of Destruction… and the Grand Priest didn't punish him?" Champa asked, bewildered.
"Of course there was a punishment," Vados said. "Because those two universes no longer had Gods of Destruction, they began sliding toward collapse. So the punishment was that Broly and Buu are now slated to take over those universes' God of Destruction positions."
Champa: "…"
[End of Chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
[Check out my Patreon to read 20+ chapters ahead]
[[email protected]/BellAshelia]
[Thanks for your support!]