Gran's gaze sent the Grand Kai and the four Quadrant Kais straight to their knees. Their bodies shook uncontrollably, gripped by a primal, suffocating dread.
Panic and uncertainty swirled in their hearts—the Destroyer Candidate was truly angry, and they were certain their end had come.
"Please, Lord Candidate, stay your wrath!" the five Kais pleaded, prostrating themselves on the ground.
Gran seemed not to hear them. Suddenly, a violent purple aura erupted from his body. The Power of Destruction surged through the Afterlife, causing the entire dimension to tremble as if the very laws of the spirit world were about to collapse.
"You talk too much," Gran said, his voice devoid of emotion. The purple light shot into the sky like a pillar of flame.
Whoosh!
The energy of Destruction soared a hundred meters high before diving back down with pinpoint precision.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Among the crowd of onlookers, the spirits who had been running their mouths just moments ago vanished instantly, reduced to shimmering stardust.
It happened so fast that by the time the rest of the crowd realized what had occurred, they collapsed in terror, their minds gone blank with fright.
Gran ignored the remaining spirits and walked over to the five Kais. "Get up," he said flatly.
"Yes, sir!" The five deities scrambled to their feet, frantically wiping cold sweat from their brows. The Grand Kai, in particular, had been terrified that his planet would end up like King Kai's—a tiny, desolate rock. Knowing that Gran had only erased a few loudmouths felt like a mercy.
"I'm taking a few of your fish back to feed Lord Beerus. You don't mind, do you, Grand Kai?" Gran asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.
To feed Lord Beerus? Right, Lord Beerus is a cat; he must love fish! A chill ran from the Grand Kai's heels to his scalp, and he shook his head vigorously.
"Not at all! Not at all! The entire universe belongs to you and Lord Beerus. If you wish, you could fish this place dry, and we wouldn't utter a word!"
"Good." Gran nodded with satisfaction.
Training for over three hundred years in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber had nearly driven him mad. His master was right—life shouldn't be only about training. After spending a year relaxing, the irritability that had plagued his mind had finally vanished.
"Well, it's time for me to leave the Afterlife." Gran turned his gaze toward King Kai. "That promise I made you—have you decided to use it yet?"
A promise? The Grand Kai was baffled, having no idea what had transpired between the two. But the Eastern, Southern, and Western Kais knew well; King Kai had given them a play-by-play commentary when Bojack appeared years ago. Because Gran had learned the Kaioken and the Spirit Bomb, he owed King Kai a favor.
"Not yet!" King Kai stood with his hands pinned to his sides, looking like a nervous schoolboy facing a headmaster. The sight was unintentionally hilarious.
Gran suppressed a smile. "Fine. My promise never expires." With that, Gran vanished.
After a long silence, once the Grand Kai was sure Gran was truly gone, he grabbed King Kai by the shoulders. "Why on earth would a Destroyer Candidate owe you a favor?"
"Well, it goes like this..." King Kai began to explain. He realized now that this promise was far too valuable to waste on something trivial. As long as he held onto it, he maintained a direct connection to the future Destroyer.
Hearing the story, the Grand Kai looked at the sky and sighed. "King Kai, you are one lucky guy!"
Sacred World of the Kai.
With a sharp zip, Gran appeared behind Shin. Counting his time in the chamber, it had been over three hundred years since he had seen this place, yet the scenery remained as breathtaking as ever.
Shin felt the shift in the air and dropped his crystal ball. He spun around, his face lighting up. "Ancestor! Gran is back!"
The Old Kai wasn't under the tree; he was by the lake, imitating Beerus and Whis by trying to fish. Hearing Shin's shout, his heart skipped a beat. He looked back and saw that it was indeed the brat.
"Well, look who finally showed up! I thought you'd given up on having your potential unlocked!" The Old Kai came running over, his face beaming with joy.
"Not at all. I timed it perfectly," Gran replied with a grin.
The Old Kai didn't press him on the delay. Instead, he asked the question burning in his mind: "You spent three hundred years in that chamber... just how strong are you now?"
Before entering the chamber, Gran had reached the first stage of the Divine Realm in only fifteen years. Now, after three centuries of specialized training, his power was unfathomable. Beerus had even speculated that Gran might not even need a potential unlock to win the tournament.
"How strong?" Gran paused, considering. He rubbed his chin and then shook his head. "The fight hasn't started yet. I'm keeping that a secret."
The two Kais felt a wave of disappointment, but they understood. In war, you don't show your hand until the first move is made.
"By the way, where are Lord Beerus and Whis?" Gran asked, noticing their absence.
"Don't you know what's happened?" the Old Kai asked, his brow furrowing.
"What? Did something go wrong?" Gran's expression hardened.
"Don't worry," the Old Kai waved a hand. "Nothing bad. The Grand Minister has summoned all the Gods of Destruction to the World of Void."
Gran's frown deepened. The World of Void? "What for?"
"Don't ask me; I haven't a clue," the Old Kai replied.
Gran's mind began to race. Summoning the Destroyers to the World of Void... were they building an arena like the one for the Tournament of Power? But it was far too early for that.
"Alright, don't overthink it," the Old Kai said, pushing Gran down onto the grass. "Are you ready? I'm going to begin the ritual."
He had spent years preparing his spirit for this moment. As Gran settled in, the Old Kai began his eccentric, rhythmic ritual dance around him. Five hours passed. Finally, the Old Kai sat behind Gran and raised his hands. But the moment the secret art touched Gran's soul, the Old Kai's pupils shrank to pinpricks.
"Your... your power...!!!"
Meanwhile, a Transportation Cube was hurtling through the cosmic nothingness toward the World of Void. Inside, Beerus held little Broly up by the scruff of his neck.
"Listen, Broly. If anyone asks who you are, you tell them you are the Destroyer Candidate of Universe 7. Got it?"
"Huh? But what about big brother Gran?" Broly swung back and forth like a pendulum, a comical sight in his oversized god-garb.
"Don't get cute with me." Beerus bopped him on the head, and the boy went still. "Forget about Gran. Don't mention his name to anyone. Your only job right now is to play the part. Understand?"
"Mhm!" Broly nodded vigorously. His eyes shifted instantly—the innocent sparkle vanished, replaced by a cold, aloof gaze that looked down on all creation. He looked exactly like a miniature, arrogant god.
Beerus and Whis shared a look, their lips twitching. When Gran first brought the boy back, he had been a clueless brat. A few years later, he was a natural-born actor.
"Perfect!" Beerus grinned. He set Broly down and waved his hand. "Whis, pick up the pace!"
The Cube accelerated, eventually breaking into a realm of pure "nothing." This was the World of Void, where Beerus had once fought Champa. Now, however, the place had been transformed.
A colossal arena stood in the center of the void, nearly the size of a planet. Its surface was a patchwork of glaciers, deserts, forests, and oceans. The sheer scale of it sent a jolt of tension through Beerus.
"Whis... the Grand Minister must have built this himself," Beerus muttered, swallowing hard.
"Indeed," Whis replied thoughtfully. "Usually, my father leaves such tasks to us Angels. To see it finished the moment we arrive... he must have taken a personal interest in this event."
The two shared a look of pure shock. Was this tournament really going to be that monumental?
"Everyone is already here. Let's head down," Whis said, pointing to a landing area where the other eleven Destroyers and their Angels stood, with the Grand Minister at the front.
Beerus realized they were the last to arrive. He grabbed Broly and hopped out of the Cube, floating down toward the assembly with Whis following close behind.
"Well, well. If it isn't Beerus," a voice drawled from the crowd. It was Quitela, looking as pale and rat-like as ever. "So slow. You actually kept the Grand Minister waiting? You really think you're the star of the show, don't you?"
Belmod, the clown of Universe 11, couldn't help but join in. "He's probably been oversleeping again. Typical."
The other Destroyers erupted into laughter, even Champa. Beerus didn't react immediately, which worried Whis. Why is he being so quiet?
Suddenly, Beerus stepped forward and bowed deeply to the Grand Minister. Then, he turned to Quitela and the others.
"The star of the show, you say? Whether I'm late or not is for the Grand Minister to decide. He hasn't said a word, yet here you all are, barking like you're the ones in charge. To an outsider, it might look like you think you are the ones the Grand Minister should be answering to."
The silence that followed was deafening. Quitela broke into a cold sweat; Belmod turned white; Ivan began to tremble.
"Lord Grand Minister! No! Beerus is talking nonsense!" Quitela fell to the floor, shivering.
"We meant no such thing! It's just that Beerus is so disrespectful for delaying your summons..." Belmod added, he and the others prostrating themselves in terror.
Beerus's smirk widened. That's what you get for mocking me! Whis hid a laugh behind his hand. This was the Beerus he knew.
The Grand Minister spared a glance at the pathetic, trembling gods before turning his attention to Beerus... and the small boy at his side.
"And whom might this be?" the Grand Minister asked, squinting slightly as if he didn't already know.
The other Destroyers scrambled up, fuming at Beerus's trick but unable to complain. They watched as Beerus hoisted Broly up by his collar once more.
"This?" Beerus grinned, flashing his teeth. "This is Broly. He is the Destroyer Candidate for Universe 7."
The Grand Minister's lip twitched. This god loves to stir the pot.
Every eye in the void fixed on little Broly. The Angels, including Cognac and the others, began to scan the boy. They were curious to see what kind of monster the strongest Destroyer had trained.
But as they scanned him, their expressions shifted from curiosity to shock, and then to derision. If you measured Broly's power right now, he sat at roughly 40 million—a high number for a mortal, but a complete joke compared to a god-tier candidate.
"Hahaha!" Quitela doubled over, clutching his stomach. "Beerus, has Universe 7 really run out of people? You chose this garbage to be your candidate?"
Belmod laughed until tears came to his eyes. "You actually think he's qualified? If your universe is that desperate, I could lend you one of my trainees so that you don't embarrass yourself!"
Liquiir of Universe 8 joined in, breathless with laughter. "If you let this brat onto the stage, one sneeze from my candidate would blow him out of the arena!"
The mockery echoed through the World of Void. Beerus smiled; this was exactly the reaction he wanted. He scanned the room.
Champa wasn't laughing... and neither was Rumsshi of Universe 10. Beerus remembered that Cus had been present during his last fight with Champa—she clearly knew the truth about Universe 7's real ace.
Just then, Cus stepped forward. "Perhaps you Lords should stop laughing and take a closer look at this little one's potential," she said softly.
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