Inside Gran's meditation world, the entire realm was vibrating. Gran's spectral consciousness stood up, frowning as he surveyed the endless silver expanse. He had been so deep into deciphering the "Angelic" state of mind that he'd nearly forgotten he was in the middle of a five-year potential-unlocking ritual.
"It looks like time is up," he realized. "The ritual is coming to an end."
He knew exactly what was happening. Just like Gohan during the battle with Majin Buu, the Elder Kai's secret technique drew out a warrior's hidden reserves and condensed them into a "Mysterious" state—otherwise known as the Ultimate State.
It was essentially a refined version of one's base form, allowing access to the full power of a Super Saiyan without the physical strain or emotional turbulence. For Gran, this meant he could now layer Ultra Instinct onto this optimized base.
"How strong will I be once this is over?" he wondered. "Could I actually hit the Seventh Tier of the Divine Realm?"
He immediately withdrew his consciousness from the meditation world. There was no more time to ponder the Angelic mindset; it was time to wake up. The moment his awareness returned to his body, he felt a colossal tide of energy surging from his core. It was a power that far eclipsed the initial stage of the Fifth Tier.
Boom!
His energy exploded into the mid-stage of the Fifth Tier.
"Whis!" Beerus shouted from a distance.
Whis reacted instantly, tapping his staff to conjure a silver energy barrier around the Elder Kai. A second later, the Sacred World of the Kais—and the very space surrounding it—began to collapse under the sheer pressure of Gran's aura.
"This is incredible! Hahaha!" Champa shouted, floating in the now-shattered starry void. "Forget being a Candidate—at this rate, Gran could take on half the actual Gods of Destruction!"
"Keep your pants on, you fat cat," Beerus laughed, pinning Champa down as he watched the light show. "It's not even over yet!"
As if on cue, Gran's power spiked again, skyrocketing to the Peak of the Fifth Tier. A cosmic storm of energy erupted, tearing through the fabric of space. Shards of the broken dimension were sucked into the vortex, swirling around Gran like a kaleidoscope of lethal, crystalline fire. It was beautiful, but terrifying.
"Gran! The rest is up to you!!" the Elder Kai yelled, snapping his eyes open as the ritual reached its conclusion.
"Thank you, Elder Kai," Gran said, opening his eyes for the first time in five years. He stood up in the void, his joints popping with a satisfying crunch.
Then, the final wave of potential hit.
"HAAA!" Gran let out a roar as a white, translucent aura enveloped him. Under the influence of the Ultimate state, his muscles became more defined, and his features sharpened into a look of cold, handsome intensity.
His black hair spiked upward, leaving only a single lock falling over his forehead. He looked peerless.
With a final thunderous surge, his power shattered the bottleneck of the Sixth Tier. His base potential was now firmly in the Sixth Tier, but the multiplier of his Ultimate state wasn't finished.
Sixth Tier Mid-Stage...
Sixth Tier Peak...
Seventh Tier Initial Stage!!
The shockwave was too much for Universe 7 to handle. The dimension buckled and exploded into a sea of white light in less than half a second.
"Yes!!" Beerus wasn't even upset that his universe had just been "blown up." He was too busy gloating. "Vados, did you see that? We've already won! Hahaha!"
Champa was shaking with pure, unadulterated joy. Vados and Whis, however, remained silent. Both Angels were working their staves in tandem, containing the overflow of Gran's power within a localized field.
They didn't want the other universes to sense this fluctuation; the upcoming tournament would be much more "fun" if Gran's strength remained a total surprise.
"It seems his growth has plateaued, Lord Beerus," Vados said, exhaling a long breath.
"Indeed," Whis smiled, looking like a proud parent. "The Initial Stage of the Seventh Tier seems to be his current limit."
Whis couldn't help but feel a surge of pride. After Beerus, another of his pupils had reached the Seventh Tier. It was a feat that would make any Angel the envy of their siblings.
"You really are something else," Vados muttered, her envy written all over her face.
"Oh ho ho, don't be like that, sister," Whis teased. "We're on the same team for this tournament. If Gran is strong, it benefits you too, doesn't it?"
Vados rolled her eyes and signaled for him to fix the mess. With a dual tap of their staves, time flowed backward, and Universe 7—and the Sacred World of the Kais—returned to their original state.
The gods gathered around the Great Tree as Gran, and the Elder Kai walked toward them. Everyone stared at Gran in stunned silence. In just a few hundred years, he had surpassed the majority of the Multiverse's Destroyers. In terms of both divine dimension and raw power, he was now a peer to Beerus himself. He was a genuine monster.
"What's with the long faces?" the Elder Kai laughed, breaking the silence. "I knew you'd all be shocked."
"You old fox," Beerus said, clenching his fist. "You kept this from me the whole time. You've got some nerve."
"Hey, don't blame me!" the Elder Kai yelped, hiding behind Gran. "Gran was the one who told me to keep it a secret!"
"Is that so?" Beerus stepped forward, looking menacing. "Gran, save me! Beerus is going to commit ancestor-cide!"
Gran laughed and stepped between them. "It's true, Lord Beerus. I wanted it to be a surprise for the tournament. But the ritual was so intense I couldn't keep the lid on it."
"Gran, look at you! You're so much better than Beerus!" the Elder Kai poked his head out from behind Gran's back and stuck his tongue out at the Destroyer.
Gran sighed and stepped aside, leaving the old man exposed. "Gran, what are you doing?! I'm your benefactor!"
Before the Elder Kai could run, Beerus delivered a lightning-fast flick to his forehead. Pop! The old Kai rolled away, clutching his head and howling in comedic agony, instantly lightening the heavy atmosphere.
"Gran, you're incredible!" Shin exclaimed, his face flushed with excitement. "If I ever get into trouble, you have to promise to help me!"
Gran smiled at the young Supreme Kai. "You're the life-link of my mentor and the guardian of this universe. Of course I'll help you."
"Gran-bro, it's been a long time." Broly stepped forward, towering over the group. Even though Gran was a respectable height, the adult Broly was a mountain of muscle.
"Broly? Your clothes..." Gran noted that Broly was still wearing the Destroyer-style uniform.
"Ah, Lord Beerus said it looked good on me, so I just kept it," Broly laughed, scratching his head. He spoke with a newfound confidence and warmth, a far cry from the stunted, lonely boy he might have become on Vampa.
Gran patted Broly's arm. "You've grown well. It looks like Earth's food treated you right these last few years."
Beerus eventually turned back to Gran. "So, that form... that's what the old man gave you?"
"Yes," Gran replied, reverting to his base state. "That is my most powerful form for now."
"Base level at the start of the Sixth Tier, and an Ultimate state that reaches the Seventh Tier..." Beerus took a deep breath. "You've almost caught up to me in just a few centuries. It's terrifying."
The group looked at Elder Kai with newfound respect. His ritual was truly legendary. Champa, meanwhile, was having an existential crisis. "I'm happy we won't be erased, but I'm depressed that a mortal has officially surpassed me."
Vados looked at Gran with a hint of regret. "I really should have tied you up in that sack and kidnapped you when I had the chance."
Whis chuckled and reached out to ruffle Gran's hair. "You've finally become a warrior who can stand on his own two feet."
"Lord Beerus," Gran said, his eyes glinting. "How much of a gap is there left between us?"
"You want to know? Let's fight and find out!" Beerus's tail flicked with excitement. He hadn't had a satisfying fight in years.
"Count me in too!" Champa added, eager to see the limit of Gran's power.
Gran smirked. "I'll pass on the sparring for now."
"What?" Beerus frowned. "Are you scared now that you've reached the top? That's not like you."
"Think about it," Gran said, looking at the horizon. "How much time do we have left until the tournament?"
The gods froze, then realization hit them. One month.
"You're right," Beerus conceded. "We shouldn't risk any injuries or reveal our hand this close to the date. We'll settle this after the tournament."
"Exactly," Champa nodded vigorously. "We need to focus. We have to go back to Universe 6 and pick up Hit."
Hit, Gran thought. So he was the one Champa chose.
"Why don't we all go to Universe 6 together?" Gran suggested. "We can pick him up and head straight to the Null Realm from there."
Beerus glanced at Champa. "Fine. I suppose I can stand looking at your ugly universe for a few hours."
"Whatever! Just get in the cube!"
Whis summoned the Universe Travel Cube, and the entire group piled in. With a flash of light, they departed for Universe 6.
The Palace of Zen-Oh
A massive screen floated in the center of the palace, showing the events in Universe 7.
"Wow! Gran has become so strong!" One of the Zen-Ohs chirped, clapping his hands with childlike glee.
"The tournament was meant to be a way for him to gain experience," the Gran Minister sighed, looking at the display.
"I didn't expect him to utilize the Time Chamber so effectively. At his current level, the other candidates won't stand a chance. It won't be much of a 'contest' anymore."
Standard training for ten years would have put Gran at the Second Tier of the Divine Realm—a perfect level for a hard-fought battle. But with three hundred years of extra training, he was now an apex predator.
"Should we have the other Destroyers team up against him to make it fair?" the Gran Minister asked, bowing toward the throne.
Suddenly, the childish, high-pitched voice of Zen-Oh vanished.
It was replaced by a deep, resonant tone that seemed to vibrate with the authority of the multiverse itself. The very air in the palace grew heavy.
"No. Let it play out exactly as it is. Let him have his fun."
"As you wish," the Grand Minister replied, a flicker of curiosity crossing his eyes.
Inside the Travel Cube
"Lord Beerus," Gran asked again as they streaked through the inter-universal void. "Be honest. What's the real gap?"
"Fine, if you're going to be annoying about it," Beerus huffed. "Our dimensions are similar now. But in terms of raw power, there is a massive gulf between the Initial Stage of the Seventh Tier and the Peak. At my peak, I could take on all eleven other Destroyers at once. You're strong, but you aren't 'wipe out the pantheon' strong yet."
Gran nodded, unfazed. He hadn't expected to leapfrog the strongest Destroyer in history in just three hundred years.
"Gran, walk for a moment," Whis said suddenly, turning to look at him.
Gran blinked but complied, taking a few steps across the floor of the cube.
"Vados, what do you see?" Whis asked.
"His physical instinct has reached the Peak of the Third Tier," Vados observed, her eyes narrowing. "And his state of mind is at the very brink of the second level's bottleneck. In other words... his Ultra Instinct is already in the Completed stage."
Gran was stunned. He hadn't realized he had officially crossed that threshold.
"Let's see your Destruction," Vados added.
Gran raised his hand, and a small, concentrated orb of purple violet light appeared.
"First Stage Destruction," Vados noted with a smirk. "I knew you'd pick that up eventually. You really are a little monster."
Gran smiled. He had the Ultimate form, Completed Ultra Instinct, and the power of Hakai.
Universe 11 and Jiren were waiting. The battle for the multiverse was about to begin.
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