If he were not the candidate God of Destruction of Universe Seven from another timeline, then why would his time-travel destination be Universe Seven?
Judging from everything they had experienced on Earth, it was obvious they were not carrying out any official Time Patrol mission.
And after leaving Earth, they had come directly to Universe Seven's Realm of Destruction.
That was not the behavior of a normal Time Patrol officer either.
Clearly, there was someone here they knew well.
Coupled with Bulma's earlier question, the answer was obvious—
This man was absolutely the candidate God of Destruction of Universe Seven from another timeline.
"Clap! Clap! Clap!"
Gran applauded.
Bulma was stunned by Whis's deduction. Seeing Gran clap, she quickly joined in and applauded as well.
Gran laughed.
"As expected of Whis. You figured out my identity so easily."
Bulma added excitedly,
"Mr. Whis, you're truly brilliant!"
"..."
Whis said nothing.
He simply gazed at Gran in silence.
Gran also remained silent, letting Whis study him.
The Realm of Destruction fell quiet once more.
A long time passed.
So long that Bulma had no idea how many hours had gone by.
Only when her stomach growled loudly did the silence finally break.
Grrr...
Gran and Whis both turned to look at her.
Bulma's cheeks reddened, and she awkwardly lowered her head.
"Sit."
Whis finally snapped out of his shock.
He stepped out from the stall, tapped his staff lightly, and a tea table with three chairs appeared in front of them.
Whis sat beside the table.
With a casual wave of his hand, a pot of tea appeared.
"Have some tea first."
He invited the two of them to sit and personally poured each of them a cup.
"Whis's tea-making skills are just as exceptional as ever."
Gran took a sip, smiling faintly.
Bulma, however, looked miserable.
She was hungry.
How was tea supposed to fill an empty stomach?
"It seems the other me often made tea for you."
Whis took a sip himself, then sighed.
"I never imagined another version of me would gain such a disciple. How did he manage that?"
"It was an accident that led me to meet Whis."
Gran briefly recounted how he had met the Whis of his own timeline, and how Beerus had later forced him into becoming Universe Seven's candidate God of Destruction.
He did not go into too much detail.
"I see."
Whis could tell Gran was only giving a surface explanation, so he did not pry.
Instead, he smiled.
"With Lord Beerus's temperament and strength, he normally would never accept a candidate God of Destruction."
"But if it were someone like you..."
Whis stared at Gran, eyes gleaming.
"You haven't even reached a thousand years of age, yet your martial cultivation has reached this level."
"That can no longer be called talent."
"You little fellow are a monster."
"No wonder the other Lord Beerus accepted you as his candidate."
"..."
Being praised felt great.
But being called a monster felt... strange.
"You flatter me," Gran said awkwardly.
"This is no flattery."
Whis licked his lips.
"How about staying in this timeline and becoming my disciple instead?"
"After all, your masters would still be Lord Beerus and me."
Gran's hand froze halfway to his teacup.
At that moment, he saw shadows of Vados in Whis.
She had looked at him the same way—with greedy interest.
"No."
Gran shook his head.
"I was never destined to belong to this timeline."
"Ah, what a pity."
Whis sighed sincerely.
He truly coveted this talent.
But Gran was right.
He was not of this world.
He could not remain.
"You don't need to keep calling me Mr. Whis either."
Whis paused, then smiled.
"You are the candidate God of Destruction of Universe Seven from another timeline."
"In a sense, you are still my disciple."
"There is no need to be so formal."
No matter the timeline, Whis always carried the same elegant, refined demeanor.
Gran genuinely enjoyed dealing with him.
"Alright, Whis."
Gran stopped being polite.
Seeing Gran's teacup empty, Whis refilled it.
Then he asked:
"So how did you arrive in this timeline?"
"And why did you come to see us?"
"It's like this..."
Bulma could not hold back and began explaining how Gran had battled Quitela, and how he had later been dragged into a temporal storm.
"What did you say?"
Whis's pouring hand froze.
"The Quitela of another timeline was killed by you?"
Shock filled his face.
Seeing that expression, Bulma quickly covered her mouth.
Had she said the wrong thing again?
She hurriedly glanced at Gran.
Gran's mouth twitched, but he ignored her and nodded to Whis.
"Yes."
"Before I had fully grown stronger, Quitela sent people to ambush me."
"Later, when I encountered him personally, I killed him."
Gran's voice was calm.
But his words shook Whis deeply.
The God of Destruction Quitela... dead?
After a while, Whis steadied himself.
"If that is the case..."
"Then your strength is likely equal to Lord Beerus."
"Perhaps even greater."
Gran merely smiled and did not respond.
The table fell silent again.
Bulma no longer dared interrupt.
Hungry as she was, she could only keep drinking tea.
"To think a candidate God of Destruction could surpass a true God of Destruction..."
Whis sighed again.
"Truly unbelievable."
"Grand Zeno forbids Gods of Destruction from fighting one another."
"But there is no rule saying a candidate God of Destruction cannot fight one."
He looked directly at Gran.
"You did not come here merely to avoid punishment from Grand Zeno, did you?"
"No."
"According to the Supreme Kai of Time, after I killed Quitela, the Grand Zeno of my timeline had no intention of punishing me."
"Then why come here?"
"I only came to warn you of one thing."
Gran touched the Time Ring on his hand.
Whis noticed the gesture.
After thinking for a moment, he said gravely:
"Something may happen in this timeline's future?"
Gran inwardly admired him.
Whis had guessed his purpose instantly.
"Yes."
"In your future—"
Before he could continue, Whis raised a hand.
"That is enough."
Gran frowned.
"What is it?"
"I know you are a Time Patrol officer."
"You must have seen what happened in other timelines, which is why you wish to warn us."
Whis shook his head.
"But you need not tell me how this timeline develops."
"Every timeline has its own path."
"If you interfere too much, you will only destabilize time itself."
Yet just earlier, you wanted me to stay in this timeline, Gran thought with amusement.
He coughed lightly.
"Whis."
"If I had never come here, I would have ignored it."
"But since I am here, I cannot pretend not to care."
"You are manipulating time."
"So what?"
Gran looked directly into Whis's eyes.
Whis returned the gaze.
The atmosphere in the Realm of Destruction became heavy.
Bulma, sitting beside them, grew nervous.
After a while, Whis withdrew his gaze.
The corner of his lips lifted.
"For the other me to have gained a disciple like you..."
"He is truly fortunate."
"No."
Gran shook his head.
"I was the fortunate one to meet Whis."
If Whis had not saved him when he first arrived in this world, he would have gone straight to the afterlife.
"Very well."
"Tell me what you saw in another timeline that made you come—"
Before he finished—
Grrr...
Bulma's stomach growled again.
A crimson blush spread across her face.
Whis's lips twitched.
He stood from the tea table and walked back toward the stall.
Gran blinked.
"What are you doing?"
Whis pointed to the dough on the board and smiled.
"While Lord Beerus sleeps, I often research new cuisine."
"Recently I've been studying a food called noodles."
"Would you like to try some?"
Those words brought back terrible memories for Gran.
In the past, while Gran trained endlessly, Whis had often cooked for himself.
Once, Gran emerged from seclusion just in time to taste Whis's noodles.
That flavor.
That texture.
Gran shuddered violently.
"No. Absolutely not."
"Oh?"
Whis frowned.
"That expression seems rather disdainful of my cooking."
Gran hurriedly waved both hands.
"Not disdainful at all."
"It's just... I happen to have a better kind of noodle here."
"Would you like to try it?"
Without waiting for an answer, Gran tossed out a capsule.
Instantly, a warehouse appeared.
It was filled with stored foods—among them, every variety of instant noodles imaginable.
Seeing the instant noodles, Bulma suddenly remembered something from years ago.
The first time she met Gran had been in a park.
At the time, Gran and a group of gods—including Whis—had been squatting by the roadside eating cup noodles.
She had mistaken them for beggars.
"Pfft!"
Bulma burst into laughter.
"What are you laughing at?"
By then, Gran had already prepared three cups.
Bulma covered her mouth and shook her head.
"Nothing."
Gran knew she was thinking nonsense again and ignored her.
He handed one cup to her.
"This is yours."
Then another to Whis.
"So this is the noodle dish you claimed was better?"
Whis stepped out of the stall, took the cup, and inhaled the aroma.
His eyes lit up instantly.
As he moved to open it, Gran quickly stopped him.
"Wait."
"It's not ready yet."
Three minutes passed.
When Gran finally said, "Now."
Whis moved with astonishing speed.
After taking one bite—
His whole body trembled violently.
It looked as if he had reached ecstasy.
"My heavens!"
"So fragrant!"
"There is actually food like this in the world?!"
He continued devouring the noodles, his body glowing as he ate.
Gran and Bulma exchanged glances.
Both twitched at the corners of their mouths.
No matter the timeline, Whis truly loved instant noodles.
After a while, Whis finally set down the empty cup and exhaled in bliss.
"I have never eaten noodles this delicious in my life."
"Did you create this yourself?"
"No."
"Oh?"
"Then please, you must tell me which master chef made it!"
"I don't know who invented instant noodles."
"But I do know where they came from."
"A planet called Earth."
Gran also set down his cup, smiling faintly.
Bulma's eyes brightened.
She understood immediately.
Gran was trying to lure Whis to Earth.
If the Bulma of this timeline became acquainted with Whis—
Their future would be glorious.
"Earth?"
"The same planet where you helped those mortals earlier?"
Whis had not noticed Gran's hidden intentions.
"That's right."
"Wonderful."
"Then when I have time, I shall visit and see what other delicacies that planet holds."
With that topic settled, Gran prepared to speak of Zamasu.
"Wait."
Whis raised a hand.
Gran stared.
"Now what?"
"This matter is important."
"We should wake Lord Beerus first."
"...Or maybe not?"
Gran's body stiffened instantly.
Whis smiled knowingly.
"Though you are not from this timeline, you are still Universe Seven's candidate God of Destruction."
"If you come here and do not pay respects to Lord Beerus..."
"Wouldn't that be rather improper?"
Gran: "..."
Seeing Gran's grim expression, Bulma asked curiously:
"Gran, it's only meeting Lord Beerus once."
"Why do you look so terrified?"
Gran swallowed hard and turned toward her with a strained smile.
"You've known Lord Beerus for years."
"Do you not know how terrible his waking temper is?"
The surroundings instantly fell deathly silent.
Bulma remembered.
Her body began trembling.
"Oh hohoho~~"
Whis finally could not hold it in and covered his mouth while laughing.
If he had still held any doubt about Gran's identity before—
Now he was certain.
This man was absolutely the candidate God of Destruction of Universe Seven from another timeline.
Only someone of that status would know Beerus's temperament so well.
"Come with me."
Staff in hand, Whis walked toward the palace of destruction.
Gran rolled his eyes.
What choice did he have?
He could only follow.
Bulma naturally did not dare remain behind alone.
Afraid there might be other terrifying beings in this realm, she hurried after them as well.