On the vast plains of Namek, Porunga's unnatural storm had already faded. The sky returned to its usual brightness under three suns.
Shin and Kibito stood aside, their cheekprints not yet fully gone, faces still full of shock and a sliver of awe.
Nail waited respectfully for Vitli's next order.
Vitli, having achieved initial communication with the Supreme Kai, didn't intend to stay longer.
The unstable blue giant Halisfi still needed handling, and—
He glanced at Whis, who was already drifting into fantasies about dinner, and sighed.
If they didn't hurry back, there might not even be leftovers.
Vados looked gentle, but if she truly ate without restraint…
Vitli turned to Nail gently.
"We're leaving now. Please give my regards to your Great Elder."
Nail bowed.
"Yes, Lord Vitli. I will."
Vitli nodded and shifted toward Whis, ready to depart with Shin and Kibito.
But after two steps, Nail's voice rang out, urgent and tense.
"Please wait, Lord Vitli!"
Vitli stopped and looked back.
"What is it?"
Nail drew a breath, stepped forward, and bowed deeply again, voice resolute with a warrior's stubbornness:
"May I spar with you? I want to know whether, facing a god like you, I have even the slightest chance to resist. I want to feel the gap between myself and a true powerhouse."
Whis immediately stopped, somehow producing a neat packet of snacks with a flick (Vitli: Isn't that the Oracle Fish's food?). His expression was pure entertainment.
Vitli raised his brows, then smiled.
"You dare challenge a god. You're a pure martial artist, Nail."
He looked at Whis chewing happily.
Whis shrugged.
"We have a little time, but not much. Missing dinner would be disastrous, Vitli-san~~"
Vitli nodded, then waved at Nail, who was already gathering his aura.
"You heard him. I'm in a hurry. Come at me full force."
"HA—!"
Nail exploded into a white aura. The ground trembled with his power.
Knowing what he faced, he held nothing back.
His body blurred into a streak of light, assaulting Vitli with a storm of punches, kicks, elbows, knees—every limb a weapon, every strike cracking the air like thunder.
Vitli didn't move an inch.
He simply raised a single finger.
BAM! POP! BAM! BAM!
A dense burst of sharp impacts echoed. Nail's attacks, strong enough to split mountains, were all blocked precisely by that one finger.
The finger carried infinite force and perfect accuracy, neutralizing the strongest point of each strike with a light touch.
Nail's face changed. Sweat gathered at his brow.
Each hit felt like smashing into an invisible wall. The force didn't just vanish—it rebounded, numbing his arm.
"Just… one finger?!" Nail's mind reeled. "One finger and my attacks do nothing? This is a god's power?!"
Frustration and unwillingness surged—but his pride wouldn't allow surrender.
He broke off the futile barrage, flipping back to gain distance.
Then he cupped his hands at his chest.
Purple ki surged and condensed into dazzling light. An enormous power gathered.
He was about to fire his strongest beam.
Vitli shook his head slightly, a hint of helplessness in his tone.
"I honestly don't know how much force to use to knock you back without hurting you. If I injure you, I apologize."
Still relaxed, he aimed his raised finger at Nail.
A tiny white ki sphere—no larger than a ping-pong ball—appeared at his fingertip, unimpressive at a glance.
Nail's ultimate attack finished charging.
"Please be careful, Lord Vitli! My strongest strike—Explosive Impact Wave!!"
He roared and unleashed a thick purple beam that tore across the plain, gouging a trench in the earth.
Vitli merely flicked his finger.
The tiny white sphere shot forward, meeting Nail's beam.
What happened next stunned Nail.
The small sphere didn't vanish. It pierced straight through the purple column, ripping it open from the center as if it were paper.
It surged upstream, devouring the beam's energy without slowing.
"Na—what?!" Nail's eyes shrank.
He poured everything into maintaining the blast, but it was useless. The white sphere contained a savage, incomprehensible destructive power.
Vitli saw Nail still trying to tank it and panicked.
"Hey! Idiot! Dodge! You can't catch that with your face!"
But Nail gritted his teeth and doubled down, actually trying to endure it head-on.
"GRAAAAH—!"
Then—
BOOOOM!!
A deafening explosion shook the entire plain.
A shockwave erupted, throwing dust and rocks into the air for hundreds of meters.
When the smoke cleared, a perfectly circular crater hundreds of meters wide yawned open—like a meteor strike.
Heat waves rolled up from its depths, warping the air.
Vitli's heart sank.
He flashed to the rim and peered down, then blew a powerful gust to clear the smoke.
At the bottom—
Nail's lower body was buried in scorched earth. His upper body was blackened, and both arms were gone, leaving only charred stumps.
His eyes were shut. His aura was nearly extinct.
Vitli's face changed. He fumbled frantically in his suit pocket.
"Senzu bean! Where's the senzu bean?!"
Shin, seeing Nail's state, looked shocked and pained.
Namekians were peaceful. A warrior nearly killed in a spar? He couldn't ignore it.
"Kibito!" Shin barked.
"Yes!"
They jumped down together. Shin used a thread of divine power to pull Nail free, and Kibito helped carry him to the edge, laying him beside Vitli.
Vitli finally found a senzu bean. He pried Nail's mouth open and shoved it in.
"Please work… If you die I'll wake up every night to call myself trash."
The bean went down. Vitli finally exhaled.
A moment later, senzu magic took hold.
Nail's injuries healed at visible speed. Burned skin shed and regrew. His shoulder stumps wriggled with fresh flesh.
Two new arms sprouted in seconds—fully restored.
"Cough—cough!" Nail jerked awake, flipped up by reflex, and stared at his regenerated arms in disbelief.
Vitli let out a long breath, the knot in his stomach finally loosening.
Then he scolded Nail sharply:
"You could've dodged! Why didn't you?! I held back, but you still can't take that head-on!"
Nail's face filled with shame. After a silence, he answered quietly:
"I don't know. It was like… a voice in my heart kept telling me that if I want to become stronger, to truly protect Namek, then when I face power I can't overcome, I may fail… I may die… but I can't lose the courage to face it. And then I just… I just…"
Even he struggled to explain the impulse.
Vitli could only sigh.
"I swear you're trying to cosplay Zoro."
But seeing Nail's stubborn warrior spirit, Vitli let it go.
He walked to Whis, who was still munching snacks, then waved at Shin and Kibito.
"Come on. Put a hand on Whis' shoulder. We're leaving."
Shin looked like he was still digesting Nail's words about strength and protection, but Kibito whispered a reminder.
Shin snapped back to attention, glanced at Nail, then at Vitli, and finally stepped forward with Kibito to hold Whis.
Vitli turned to Nail one last time.
"I owe Namek a favor. If one day you face an enemy you can't resist, shout Whis' name. He'll notify me, and I'll come help you once."
Whis smiled and added smoothly:
"Notifying him is fine, Vitli-san. The price… how about a top-grade barbecue beef feast? Three servings of the usual size~"
Vitli rolled his eyes, but nodded anyway.
A brilliant streak of light flared. Whis tapped his staff.
They vanished from the plain.
Only Nail remained, staring where they had stood.
The pride of being "Namek's strongest warrior" had been shattered.
That finger… that tiny ki sphere… the helplessness was unforgettable.
Then the Great Elder's voice echoed in his mind.
Nail straightened, closed his eyes, and answered respectfully.
"Yes, Great Elder. Your command?"
"Do not be discouraged, my child," the Elder said, kind and wise. "There are countless worlds and countless strong beings in the vast universe. You are still young. Your road is long. If you keep training and surpassing yourself, you will become far stronger someday."
Nail opened his eyes, the fog of defeat replaced by firm light.
He clenched his new fists.
"Yes! I understand! I'll work harder, grow stronger, and protect you and Namek better!"
But after a hesitant pause, he asked in his heart:
"Great Elder… will I ever have a chance to catch up to that young Destroyer someday?"
A long silence.
At last, the Elder answered with only three words:
"Work for it."
Whis seemed genuinely worried about missing dinner this time. Their warp was lightning-fast.
Stars stretched into streaming lines. In under five seconds, reality snapped back into place.
The immense, restless blue giant—Halisfi—loomed ahead again. Its unstable core pulsed like an overcharged bomb, radiating a dread that made skin tighten.
Shin stared blankly, swallowing hard.
"The star you need to deal with… is that one?"
The scale and energy were far beyond his imagination.
Worse, Vitli's plan was for Vitli to destroy it while Shin stabilized space and soothed any backlash.
That difficulty was absurd.
He was a "young" Supreme Kai—only a few tens of thousands of years old! Many high-level god arts from the elders hadn't even been properly learned.
Shin looked at Vitli's hopeful face and flushed with anxiety.
After hesitating, he admitted plainly:
"I'm… very sorry, Mr. Vitli. I… might not be able to do that."
Vitli blinked, surprised.
"Aren't you the god of creation? Stabilizing energy overflow and space distortion is your specialty, isn't it? How can you not manage this?"
The manuals said Supreme Kai power was ideal for this.
Shin's embarrassment deepened. His red face darkened further.
"T-theoretically you're right. But I'm still too young. I haven't mastered those high-level stabilization arts yet. If the Great Supreme Kai and the other elders were still alive, they could do it easily. But… Majin Buu…"
The memory of the catastrophe twisted Shin's face with pain.
Vitli watched him quietly. The last of his irritation faded.
He patted Shin's shoulder more gently than usual.
"Hey. Don't dwell on the past. Later, when I've got time, I'll help you deal with Majin Buu for good. Maybe then you'll stop jumping at shadows and assuming everyone's Babidi's ally."
Shin wiped at his eye and looked up with sincere gratitude.
"Really? Thank you, Mr. Vitli!"
"Small thing."
Vitli then turned to Whis, whose dreamy gaze made it obvious he was still sightseeing (mentally or literally).
"You see that, Whis? Quit slacking. Your turn—Supreme Kai kid can't cover this."
Whis sighed and adopted a preachy tone.
"Vitli-san, this won't do. A Destroyer must learn to handle such problems independently. If you always rely on your angel, what will you do when you're a full Destroyer and must decide alone? This is good training~"
Vitli snorted, unimpressed.
"Whis, want to guess why Zeno and the Grand Priest assign every Destroyer an angel attendant? To cheer from the sidelines and watch the show? Hmm?"
Whis coughed, unfazed, and smoothly changed topics.
He tapped his staff. A silent pulse spread, sealing and reinforcing the space around the blue giant.
"Alright, Vitli-san. I've locked and fortified the local space. But it'll last three minutes only~ So hurry and do it."
Vitli was half amused, half annoyed.
He raised his hand toward the blue giant. Deep violet Destruction power condensed in his palm.
With a low voice, he fired a refined beam straight into its core.
No sound of impact. Just a silent cosmic firework.
The immense blue sun began collapsing inward without noise, like a bubble punctured from within.
Its vast mass and raging energy reduced to primal particles under Destruction's law—then vanished completely into nothing.
A faint ripple washed across Whis' barrier and faded.
A disaster that could have annihilated starfields for light-years was erased as casually as swatting dust from a sleeve.
Vitli lowered his hand and glanced at Whis.
"Whis, your nickname from now on is 'The Slacking Angel.' It fits you perfectly."
Whis smiled as though refusing politely mattered.
"I must protest that ungraceful title, Vitli-san."
"Protest denied."
Vitli grinned and pulled out a trump card.
"If you still want Earth food regularly—hot pot, barbecue, ice cream cake…—you're accepting the nickname."
Whis' smile stiffened. A fierce internal struggle unfolded on his face.
Then he yielded, solemnly.
"Vitli-san… perhaps the matter of my title can be discussed further. If Bulma-san provides those meals regularly… being called 'Slacking Angel' isn't entirely unacceptable…"
Vitli stared at him like he'd seen a ghost.
"Wait, what?! I was joking! You'll sell your dignity for food?! You're serious?"
Whis nodded gravely.
"Vitli-san, you are young. Some joys of godhood you do not yet understand. The pleasure of exquisite cuisine… is beyond titles."
Vitli went silent. Utterly defeated.
Nearby, Shin watched their banter with an unconscious hint of envy.
Kibito was always rigidly respectful. No one joked or bickered with Shin like that. He hadn't felt that kind of lightness in ages.
He murmured sincerely,
"You two… are really close."
Vitli and Whis spun their heads together, answering in perfect sync:
"Shin, are you serious?"
"Ara~ are you serious, Supreme Kai-san?"
Then they glared at each other again.
Shin chuckled awkwardly, realizing his comment had maybe been a mistake. Their "closeness" looked one argument away from another explosion.
After the crisis was solved, Shin and Kibito returned to the Kai Realm to process the day's tidal wave of information.
Vitli and Whis, still bickering, warped back to the Destroyer Realm.
Back in Bulma's capsule-made house, a shriek tore through the second floor, startling Vitli the moment he stepped into the living room.
"AAAAAHHH—!!"
Bulma ran out clutching a small mirror, eyes wide, frantically checking her reflection.
"Honey! Honey! I—I got smaller!!"
Vitli froze, then a wicked grin spread across his face.
He wrapped an arm around her waist. His other hand wandered shamelessly, twisting her words on purpose.
"Smaller? Where? Let me see… Doesn't look smaller to me. Still as irresistible as ever~"
"Pervert!" Bulma smacked his hand away, cheeks blazing.
"I meant my age! Age! You horny idiot! Why did I just take a nap and wake up younger?! My skin's amazing—better than when I was eighteen!"
Then she snapped her eyes onto him, bright with excitement.
"You did this, didn't you? Right?!"
Vitli puffed up with pride.
"Yep! We went to Namek while working—yeah, the old 'Kami's home' planet. Their Dragon Balls are way stronger than Earth's. So I wished you back to eighteen. Surprise? Happy?"
Bulma's delight drowned everything else.
She jumped up, wrapped her legs around his waist, and kissed his face over and over.
"Surprise! Huge surprise! You're the best, honey! Mwah! Mwah!"
But after the thrill, worry crept in. She hesitated and looked at him.
"Is… is this okay? Using Dragon Balls for something like this… Are there any side effects or a price? And…"
She touched her smooth, tight face.
"It feels weird… like I stole a bunch of time overnight."
Vitli hugged her confidently.
"Relax. Namek's Dragon Balls are strong—no side effects. As for the price?"
He grinned.
"The price is your husband has to 'work' even harder from now on to deserve his gorgeous wife."
As he spoke, he scooped her into his arms and headed for the bedroom.
"Hey! What are you doing? Put me down!" Bulma squeaked, face turning crimson.
"What am I doing? I'm personally verifying the Dragon Balls really are that powerful. We need to check you're truly back to eighteen, right? Come on, let's go do some 'research.'"
He laughed, carrying her up the stairs as she giggled and pounded his chest lightly.
Their voices disappeared around the corner.
Meanwhile, in the dining room of the house next door, another "battle" was underway.
Whis and Vados faced off over a steaming plate of freshly roasted beef, aroma filling the air.
Chopsticks clashed in midair at speeds so fast only afterimages remained.
"Ara Sister-dear, I spotted that marbled piece first"
"Ara~ Whis, there's no such thing as courtesy in front of delicious food. Let's see who wins."
For angels, after all, the priority of enjoying food was always number one.
Not everyone could live on a single senzu bean the way Vitli could… and still recover everything…
…