The rankings?
Whis was momentarily taken aback.
Why was this kid suddenly interested in something like that?
Frowning slightly, he said,
"Hasn't our Seventh Universe always ranked second from the bottom? What's there to look at?"
Standing nearby, Bulma felt as though she'd just overheard a shocking secret.
She never imagined that the universe she lived in ranked second to last.
"It's been ten years since we last checked the rankings," Gran said casually.
"I'm a little curious about our universe's current situation. Go ahead and take a look."
Resting his chin on one hand by the dining table, Gran pushed the bowl of seasoned soup in front of him far away.
"You brat," Whis muttered.
Still, he didn't refuse any further.
He raised his staff and used the crystal orb to examine the Human Mortal Level Index.
The very next second.
Whis froze completely.
"Our Seventh Universe's Mortal Level has risen to 3.21?!"
His voice was filled with disbelief.
Ten years ago, after Beerus had wiped out a large number of unqualified planets, the Seventh Universe's index had jumped from 3.18 to 3.20.
The commotion back then was enormous
so much so that even Champa and Vados from the Sixth Universe had been drawn over.
But that was only ten years ago.
How could it have increased again?
"Only an increase of 0.01 in ten years?" Gran said, sounding disappointed.
Then there was no need to ask further
as expected, the Seventh Universe was still second from last.
"You don't seriously think an increase of 0.01 is small, do you?" Whis stood up, his voice turning solemn.
Countless Gods of Destruction and Supreme Kai exhausted themselves just to raise their universe's index by the tiniest margin
and yet this kid still wasn't satisfied.
"I know it's not little," Gran replied, also standing up.
"But we're still second from the bottom, aren't we?"
He laughed helplessly.
"If that gets out, it's kind of embarrassing."
"..."
Whis shot him a sidelong glance.
How much is pride even worth?
Just as he was about to investigate why the Seventh Universe had changed like this
Beerus finally arrived, fashionably late.
He walked into the dining hall rubbing his neck, looking as though he'd slept wrong.
"Whis, why does my neck hurt so much?"
"..."
Gran and Whis fell silent.
Bulma was desperately holding back her laughter.
Nearby, little Broly paid no attention to the adults at all.
After eating several rice balls and still not feeling full, he asked for an entire vat of them.
"What's with those expressions?" Beerus frowned.
His heart skipped a beat.
"Did something bad happen?"
"Nothing at all."
Gran pressed Beerus down into a chair and signaled the servants to bring out breakfast.
"Last night, Lord Beerus and I sparred a bit too intensely and lost track of time. In the end, Whis knocked us both out."
"That explains it!" Beerus exclaimed.
"No wonder the back of my neck hurts so much!"
He wasn't angry
after all, he'd completely forgotten about the time rewind limit.
If it exceeded three minutes, Whis wouldn't be able to restore the environment destroyed by his fight with Gran.
"Still…"
Beerus took a sip of the seasoned soup and rubbed his neck again.
"I've been knocked out by Whis before. Why does it hurt this much this time?"
"Pfft!"
Bulma couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out laughing.
Of course it hurts—you were knocked out twice.
But that was something she absolutely didn't dare say out loud.
"What are you laughing at?" Beerus raised his head, scanning the room.
"I'm really starting to feel like you're all hiding something from me."
"Nothing like that," Gran replied calmly, shooting Whis a look.
Whis's lips twitched.
What else could he do? He could only change the subject.
"Lord Beerus, our universe's Mortal Level has changed again."
The moment Whis said that
Beerus slammed both hands onto the table.
Crash!
The dining table flipped over instantly.
Little Broly had been happily eating his rice balls nearby when the sudden chaos sent the entire vat of rice balls dumping straight onto his head.
Little Broly: "..."
Everyone else: "..."
"Lord Beerus, why did you sneak-attack me?"
Broly lifted his head, looking utterly innocent.
However
Beerus didn't spare him a glance.
He stood up, grabbed Whis tightly by the shoulders, and said excitedly,
"How much did it increase?"
"Oh?" Whis teased.
"Why are you so excited, Lord Beerus? Didn't you always say you didn't care about the universe rankings?"
If Beerus truly cared, he wouldn't have slept for so long—
and the incident with Majin Buu invading the Supreme Kai Realm would never have happened.
"I don't care," Beerus replied, releasing Whis with a snort.
"As long as we're not dead last, even if Grand Zeno decides to erase a universe, it'll be the one in last place—Universe Nine."
Whis paused, then asked again,
"Then why were you so excited just now?"
Gran was puzzled as well.
"That's because of this guy!" Beerus shot Gran a sideways glance.
"Me?" Gran pointed at himself.
"Who else?" Beerus said impatiently.
He had Whis restore the overturned table, then continued eating as he spoke:
"Isn't it you who keeps saying that I, the strongest God of Destruction, rule a universe that's ranked second from last?"
"Uh… yeah. That does sound like something I'd say."
"Exactly."
Beerus sighed.
"The more I thought about it, the more it didn't sit right. Second from last really doesn't match my status, so I figured I might as well—"
Beerus continued explaining, while everyone listened.
Whis merely smiled without saying a word.
He knew the truth.
The real reason wasn't that at all.
The real reason was that Gran wanted to raise the universe's ranking—
and Beerus was indulging him.
"Lord Beerus, you…"
Gran seemed to realize something.
A warm current flowed through his chest.
"Enough," Beerus said, lifting his head.
"Whis, how much did our universe's index increase?"
"0.01."
"0.01…?"
Unlike Gran's earlier calm reaction, Beerus sounded genuinely stunned.
To achieve such progress in just ten years was, in fact, astonishing.
"Whis," Beerus said seriously,
"what exactly is going on? Why has our universe improved so much in such a short time?"
"I'll take a look."
Whis began reviewing the changes in the Seventh Universe over the past decade.
As Whis investigated, Gran quietly pressed his lips together.
He already knew the answer.
The Seventh Universe was, in truth, the universe with the deepest foundation among all of Grand Zeno's universes.
This wasn't an exaggeration.
Three angels.
Two Supreme Kai.
The strongest God of Destruction.
And the most gifted God of Destruction candidate.
That was just the surface.
Beyond that, there were extraordinary races—
the Namekians, the Metamorans, the Yardrats…
Their combat power might not be overwhelming,
but raw strength was never the sole measure of a universe's foundation.
These races shaped the Seventh Universe itself.
And let's not forget its technology tree
Android technology.
Capsule technology.
Time machine technology.
Any single one of these could be called nothing short of a miracle.
Over the past two years, Gran had traveled the universe cultivating,
and he had personally witnessed terrifying civilizations just beginning to sprout.
Seeing was believing.
And this was still only the tip of the iceberg.
Coupled with Gran's knowledge of what the Seventh Universe would become in the future,
he dared to say it—
The Seventh Universe truly possessed the deepest foundation of all.
Otherwise…
How could Beerus lie flat for so long—
and still have the Seventh Universe ranked second from last?
END OF CHAPTER
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