"Huh? Where did Merus go?" Bulma stepped out of the room with a tray of tea and realized he was nowhere to be seen.
"He left," Ken said, looking up at the sky.
"So rude… Are all of you angels this rude? Leaving without even saying goodbye?" Bulma huffed. "And I even brewed him a fresh pot of tea!"
"Bulma, I'm going to be away from Earth for a while…" Ken said after thinking for a moment. "As for what's going on here, let Goku and Krillin explain it to you."
"You're leaving Earth again?" Bulma was taken aback, then sighed. "Fine, I know you've got important things to do. But can you at least tell me about how long you'll be gone this time?"
"Hard to say. I'll come back and check in whenever I can," Ken replied.
The reason he had to leave Earth was that he planned to keep an eye on Broly's Great God of Destruction battle.
Angels weren't allowed to take part—but just watching from the sidelines didn't break any rules.
"I'll get going, then." Ken tapped his staff lightly against the ground. Starlike light flared up once more, shining like a star-filled sky.
"Shu."
Ken shot into the sky and, under Bulma's watchful gaze, quickly disappeared from view.
Not long after he left, Goku and the others arrived at Bulma's house.
"Hey, Bulma, where's Ken?" Goku asked.
"He already left Earth. Said he had something important to do," Bulma answered.
"Huh? He's already gone?" Goku scratched his head.
"Hmph." Piccolo gave a cold snort.
Weren't we supposed to have a deal? I train Gohan up, and you teach me some really powerful techniques.
You didn't forget that, did you?
"What about Broly?" Goku asked again.
"Broly left a while ago. Said he was going to run for some kind of god…" Bulma said.
"Forget that for now. Didn't Ken tell us to go to Planet Namek?" Krillin spoke up. "Once we get there, we can use the Dragon Balls there to bring Chiaotzu and the others back! Chiaotzu's already died once—the only Dragon Balls that can revive him again are the ones on Namek."
Piccolo stayed quiet, but there was a clear hint of hope in his eyes.
"Piccolo, you coming with us?" Goku asked.
"Of course. I have to go back and see where I came from," Piccolo nodded.
"Piccolo, you were born on Earth," Krillin corrected automatically.
Piccolo's face went dark and he glared right at Krillin.
Fight side by side with you for a bit and you start treating the Great Demon King Piccolo like your teammate, huh?
"I didn't say anything," Krillin blurted, clapping a hand over his mouth. Then he hurriedly changed the subject. "Anyway… I heard the Dragon Balls on Namek can grant three wishes. Do you think I could ask the dragon for a girlfriend?"
"Krillin, if you really want a girlfriend, I can build you one," Bulma said with a sly little grin. "Always at the perfect temperature."
Krillin: "…"
"Bulma, that's going too far!" Krillin snapped, glaring at her.
"Oh, right—Bulma, do you have a spaceship?" Goku suddenly asked.
"Huh? A spaceship?" Bulma tilted her head, thinking it over. "Now that you mention it, I don't think I have anything suitable on hand…"
"Didn't Ken bring back some spaceships before?" Krillin asked.
"He did, but I used up all those materials. Only that kind of special material can handle space travel," Bulma said thoughtfully. "Still, I'll see what I can do about the ship."
"Bulma, if you really can get us a spaceship, could you modify it for me? I want to train on the way," Goku said.
…
Void.
Merus flew at high speed. In no time, he had passed out of Universe 6 and into the World of Void.
He poured all the frustration in his chest into speed, racing through the emptiness as fast as he could go.
"Shua."
Just then, a figure flickered into existence right in front of him.
Merus's eyes widened. He slammed on the brakes in midair and dropped to one knee.
"Greetings, Grand Priest," Merus said respectfully.
"Merus, your heart is in disarray. That is not the mindset an angel should have," the Grand Priest said, sighing softly.
"…Yes, Grand Priest," Merus could only nod.
"I already know what happened with Son Goku," the Grand Priest continued. "There is nothing for you to feel discouraged about. Even I failed to see that Goku had the potential to awaken angel power."
"Eh? Even you didn't see it, Grand Priest?" Merus blinked. Hearing that, he immediately felt a lot better.
"Most likely, even Ken himself didn't notice it," the Grand Priest said with a faint smile. "If you watched his reaction carefully, his surprise gave it away. At first, all he wanted was for Goku to master Ultra Instinct so he could grow stronger faster. He never imagined Goku would actually release even a tiny trace of angel power."
"Then… Grand Priest, is it possible for Goku to become an angel through training?" Merus asked.
"It would be extremely difficult… Just as Ken said, by the time Mr. Goku truly becomes an angel, he'll probably be at least ninety years old," the Grand Priest said thoughtfully. "Unless some special opportunity appears that lets him complete his angelic transformation early… He's walking a different path from Ken. His training up to now has been far too scattered."
"Are we really going to raise Goku into a true angel?" Merus pressed.
"If he truly has the qualifications to become an angel, then of course we must foster him," the Grand Priest replied, folding his hands behind his back and nodding slightly. "But haste makes waste. Let him grow on his own for a while. Besides, Ken is already guiding him along the path toward becoming an angel."
No, that doesn't sound right…
The more they talked, the more wrong this sounded to Merus.
So after all that… I'm still the one who loses.
Once Goku really becomes an angel, what is Jiren supposed to use to compete with him?
"Based on my calculations, for Goku to truly master real Ultra Instinct and reach the peak that Ken once had as a human—above level thirty—it will be very hard to manage that in just fifteen short years. So you can set your mind at ease. Don't give up so easily," the Grand Priest said, gently instructing him.
"Really? That's great. I know what to do now!" Merus nodded hard.
As long as Goku can't fully grasp true Ultra Instinct, Jiren still has a chance to win.
Especially since Jiren was already level thirty.
"Keep your mindset steady. Don't let short-term gains and losses throw your heart into chaos," the Grand Priest said. "You are an angel. You must always maintain a calm and peaceful heart."
"Yes, Grand Priest. I'll remember that," Merus said, bowing deeply.
"Shua."
With that, the Grand Priest vanished.
After that conversation, Merus gradually calmed down.
He's right. Even the Grand Priest didn't see that Goku could awaken angel power.
Ken must've just gotten lucky.
But your luck really is terrifying.
You just pull some random guy out of nowhere and he ends up reaching this level.
For a moment, Merus even felt a stab of regret.
Back when Ken said they should swap Goku and Jiren, he'd refused.
And now… thinking back on that, Merus couldn't help feeling bitter.
If only I'd agreed back then.
Looking out at the endless emptiness of the World of Void, Merus's newly calmed heart started to feel complicated again.
Where should I go next?
I should focus on training Kale.
No matter what, I can't lose this God of Destruction contest.
Jiren's strength is already at the point where pushing him even one more level higher is incredibly hard.
But Kale still has plenty of room to grow.
I have to make her as strong as Broly in the shortest time possible.
With that in mind, Merus turned and glanced in the direction of Universe 6.
Looks like I'll have to head back to Universe 6.
I'll go find Kale and bring her to my side as soon as I can.
"Shu."
Merus banked sharply and flew back toward Universe 6.
Not long after he left, in another part of the World of Void, Broly and Majin Buu ran into a woman wearing the attire of a God of Destruction.
The two sides met eyes.
"So you're that trainee God of Destruction from Universe 18, Broly?" Heles snorted, squinting her eyes as she smiled at him.
Broly pulled out his card deck and flipped through it, stopping at the card for Universe 2. He scanned the information printed there.
Heles: God of Destruction of Universe 2. Level 53.
Buu craned his neck to peek at the card as well.
One look at her level, and he immediately grinned.
"Heh-heh, same level as me," Buu said happily.
"You or me?" Broly asked.
"I'll go!" Buu said, cracking his knuckles. "Haven't had a good fight in a while. Gotta warm up first."
He shot forward as he spoke, closing the distance between himself and Heles.
"And no turning people into chocolate," Broly reminded him.
"Got it, got it," Buu replied cheerfully.
"Oh? So you, you fat slob, want to challenge this God of Destruction?" Heles snorted.
Majin Buu nodded, then immediately realized she'd just insulted him.
His gaze turned vicious.
"I trust you already know the rules of this little game. I'm allowed to kill you," Heles said with a cold little laugh.
"Boom!"
Buu didn't hesitate for even a second. White steam erupted from the holes on his shoulders and head.
In an instant, he cranked his power up to the max.
"Hmph." Heles simply snorted, raised her hand, and a bow appeared in it.
She set an arrow to the string, drew it back to full tension, and aimed straight at Majin Buu.
"Ready, fatso?" she asked. Without waiting for an answer, she let go.
"Shu."
A purple-red arrow screamed toward Buu.
"Pssh!"
The arrow's speed was terrifying. In the blink of an eye, it punched straight through Buu's body, leaving a gaping hole in his chest.
Buu dropped his gaze to study the hole, then toppled over, collapsing onto the floor of the World of Void.
"Broly, your partner's pretty weak, isn't he?" Heles said with a mocking smile. "You're up next. Looks like this so-called 'Great God of Destruction' isn't off to a very good start."
Broly didn't answer. He just glanced in Buu's direction.
As soon as she finished speaking, Heles noticed that Majin Buu's body in the distance twitched.
"Oh? Still moving? Tough life force," Heles said, amused. "Well, that's only natural. Gods of Destruction all have strong vitality."
She calmly conjured another bow and arrow and drew the string back again, this time taking aim at Broly.
"Ready, Great God of Destruction?" Heles asked, the corners of her mouth curling up into a smile that made her whole body sway with it.
Broly still didn't move. He simply watched her in silence.
"Think you can dodge this?" She chuckled.
"Shu."
She let go. Another arrow howled through the void straight toward Broly.
Broly still didn't move.
Just as the arrow was about to slam into his chest, Majin Buu suddenly sprang up from where he'd been lying and smashed his head into the arrow.
The shot was knocked off course and skimmed past the outside of Broly's arm instead.
"Oh? Quick reactions," Heles said with a little smile, not particularly surprised.
"That really hurt, you know," Buu muttered, pointing at the hole in his chest. He gritted his teeth and focused, and his body quickly regenerated.
"Regeneration?" Heles blinked. "I underestimated your endurance. I should have coated that shot with a bit of destruction power—then your regeneration would've been much harder."
"Can you handle this or not? If not, I'll take over," Broly said, giving Buu a sideways look.
"That was just a warm-up. This time I'm going all out," Buu said, then launched himself toward Heles.
"Bang!"
But the moment he rushed in, Heles planted a solid kick right in his face.
A deep shoe print immediately caved into Buu's cheek.
"Bang, bang, bang!"
Heles upped the intensity, pummeling Majin Buu with punches and kicks.
In no time, Buu was getting beaten so badly he could barely swing back.
Broly: "…"
A minute later—
Heles drove another vicious kick into him.
With a heavy thud, Buu flew out like a kicked ball and disappeared into the distance.
She calmly conjured her bow once more and drew it to full draw. Purple-red light flickered along the arrow's tip.
"This time, coming back from that won't be so easy," Heles said with a smile.
"Shu."
The arrow left the string and screamed away, flying straight toward the distant Majin Buu.
(End of Chapter)
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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