Zamasu made a grim discovery. Because of his injuries, more than ninety percent of his energy had leaked away through his wounds.
If he took another punch like that, he might not even have enough strength left to heal himself.
And if it came to that, that human really would beat him to death.
No. He had to get out now.
If he stayed any longer, he would die here.
The next moment, Zamasu focused his eyes and saw the soldiers charging toward him with their weapons raised.
"Heh… I'll be back," Zamasu muttered with deep hatred, then immediately used Instant Transmission to escape.
The soldiers kept firing at the place where he had vanished.
But Zamasu was already gone.
Dragging his wounded body with him, Zamasu returned to the North Kai's planet.
Right now, he did not dare go back to the Supreme Kai Realm. If Gowasu noticed anything wrong, it would not take long for him to find the truth.
And if that happened, Zamasu's future ambitions would be over.
Before becoming an apprentice Supreme Kai, Zamasu had served as the North Kai.
Even now that he held the position of apprentice Supreme Kai, the North Kai's planet had still been preserved.
His disciple was also still there.
Of course, once Zamasu had left to take up his new role, another deity had been assigned to the North Kai's planet and had become the new North Kai.
Naturally, the North Kai's planet in Universe 10 was completely different from the one in Universe 7.
This Kai planet was roughly the size of Earth.
Whoosh!
Zamasu used Instant Transmission and appeared there in an instant.
"Pff—"
The moment he arrived, he coughed up another mouthful of blood. His body swayed violently, and he collapsed to the ground, already drenched in cold sweat.
"Supreme Kai!" The North Kai rushed over at once, his face full of concern.
Even though Zamasu was not yet a true Supreme Kai, the North Kai had already begun addressing him that way.
Zamasu actually enjoyed it and had never corrected him.
After all, he believed that one day he would inherit the position for real.
So being called that now was hardly a problem.
"Supreme Kai… if I'm not mistaken, you appear to be injured!" the North Kai said, delivering what he clearly thought was a very funny joke to lighten the mood.
Zamasu fell silent.
Everything about this disciple was fine except his personality. He was a complete clown.
"I'll go get the medicine." The North Kai hurried into the room to fetch it.
"Damn it…" Zamasu ground his teeth, hatred filling his heart.
He was a future Supreme Kai.
And yet a mere mortal had beaten him into this state.
He could not accept it.
He absolutely could not accept it.
The North Kai quickly returned with the medicine, then held out both fists.
"Supreme Kai, guess which hand it's in," he said with a grin.
Zamasu's face darkened, and a cold gleam flashed through his eyes.
The North Kai's mouth twitched. He hurriedly handed over the medicine instead, then turned his head and gave two awkward whistles toward the sky.
Zamasu's face darkened even further.
Why was this idiot so irritating to look at?
Was he making fun of him?
He would kill him sooner or later.
It had to be said, Zamasu's mentality was already starting to warp.
In truth, there had been cracks in it more than twenty years ago.
Gowasu had simply never noticed.
After taking the medicine, Zamasu's injuries improved considerably.
But his energy had not recovered, and although he wanted to go back and take revenge on that human, Paibu's terrifying strength still frightened him.
For a while, Zamasu did not know what he should do.
He felt weak.
Had things really come to this?
Was even a random mortal now strong enough to defeat a god like him?
He could not accept that.
Zamasu clenched his teeth so hard they almost creaked, wishing he could go kill Paibu immediately.
But he knew the truth. There was still a huge gap between them.
He had to become stronger.
He had to become far stronger than he was now.
Only then could he stand above mortals.
…
Universe 6, outer space.
Ken was speeding toward Planet Sadala with the Grand Priestess in tow.
"You said the other two incarnations are in two different universes. Which ones?" Ken asked, patting the Grand Priestess lightly on the cheek.
The Grand Priestess bared her teeth at him.
"Oh, so now you're baring your teeth at me?" Ken said irritably, pinching her cheek. "Go on, then. Try biting me."
As he spoke, he stuck one of his fingers into her mouth.
The Grand Priestess was speechless.
What was he trying to do?
This bastard kept humiliating her again and again.
She would never let this go.
But she did not dare bite down.
Even if she bit his finger off, he could just recreate it with angelic power.
And after that, who knew what he would do to her?
All the angelic power in her body had already been sealed by him.
She still had no idea how he had done it.
"Put those teeth away," Ken said coldly. "If you bare them at me again, I'll knock every last one of them out."
The Grand Priestess said nothing.
"Answer me." Ken pressed his finger in slightly.
"Ah…" the Grand Priestess let out a startled cry.
"Now are you going to answer my question?" Ken asked, pulling his finger back out.
The Grand Priestess was so angry her chest rose and fell sharply.
Ken narrowed his eyes and looked over.
The Grand Priestess stiffened at once and did not dare breathe like that anymore.
If he poked over here again, they really might burst…
"Didn't I already tell you? One is in Universe 10, and the other is in Universe 11," the Grand Priestess answered honestly.
"What are their names?" Ken asked again.
"I don't know." She shook her head.
"When you split them off from me, you're telling me you didn't know their names?" Ken said. As he spoke, a whip appeared in his hand. "I think you're the kind that only learns the hard way. Talking nicely doesn't get through to you, does it?"
The Grand Priestess's face turned black again.
Now he had even pulled out a whip?
This was too much.
Crack!
Ken did not bother holding back, especially not with a woman who had tried to harm him.
So he lashed her hard.
"Ahhh…" the Grand Priestess screamed.
The pain struck straight at her soul and felt like endless torture.
"One is called Paibu, and the other is called Daru," she answered at once, not daring to resist.
"See that, Amarella?" Ken said. "Some people just need a beating. You can talk to them nicely all you want, and they still won't listen. It takes a few lashes before they finally behave."
Amarella said nothing.
The Grand Priestess had wronged him, yes…
But seeing him torment her like this…
If the Grand Priest ever found out, she had no idea what he would think.
"Don't you think something about this is strange?" Amarella asked after a moment.
"What's strange about it?" Ken asked.
"Something this major has happened, but the Grand Priest still hasn't shown up. Not even a trace of movement," Amarella said, puzzled.
"Maybe he hasn't noticed," Ken said with a shake of his head. "Even the Grand Priest can't be watching us every second of every day, can he?"
"I don't know. Maybe once someone reaches level 90 and above, something like that becomes easy," Amarella guessed.
"Well, there's a level-90-plus Grand Priestess right here. Why not ask her?" Ken said with a smile, then turned to the Grand Priestess. "Let me ask you something. Once you reach level 90, can you tell what's happening over here?"
"You're asking why the Grand Priest still hasn't come after something this serious, aren't you?" the Grand Priestess said. She was smart enough to deserve the title of the strongest goddess in the universe.
Ken said nothing and gestured for her to continue.
"I specifically came when the Grand Priest wasn't around," the Grand Priestess replied.
"Oh?" Ken paused. "Where did he go?"
"There's a high chance he went to negotiate with the Demon Realm," she said with a snort.
"So I have to drag every word out of you one by one before you'll answer?" Ken said, raising the whip slightly. "What are you, a mule?"
"You…" The Grand Priestess trembled with anger.
He had actually compared her to that kind of animal.
He was unbearable.
"Our agreement with the Demon Realm is about to expire," the Grand Priestess said after a pause. "If the Realm of Gods and the Demon Realm are going to stay at peace, then the Grand Priest has most likely gone to negotiate. Personally, I think that approach is pathetic. Peace bought with a contract won't last. Only true strength can make the Demon Realm submit for good."
"If that's really the case, and the Demon Supreme Kais and Gods of Ruin in the Demon Realm are as high-level as you said, then the Grand Priest could be in serious danger," Ken said with a sigh.
"That was his choice," the Grand Priestess replied with a cold snort.
"I should ask about it when I get the chance," Ken muttered quietly to himself.
Maybe he could find a way to contact the Grand Priest at some point.
Then again… maybe Merus would be a better one to handle it.
He could think about it later.
There was no rush right now.
Ken guessed that the Grand Priest was probably still in the Demon Realm.
That was assuming the Grand Priestess was telling the truth.
"Take out your staff and find the two people you mentioned," Ken ordered. "Paibu in Universe 10, and Daru in Universe 11."
The Grand Priestess did not dare disobey. She took out her staff and obediently began searching for Paibu in Universe 10 and Daru in Universe 11.
…
Out in the starry sky, Bardock slowly opened his eyes and lightly shook his head.
Not far away, Champa woke up as well and immediately got to his feet, looking around.
Their eyes met, and a fierce fighting spirit rose in both of them.
"You passed out earlier," Champa said with a snort. "I even took a nap while waiting for you to wake up."
"Are you sure you weren't the one who passed out?" Bardock replied with a faint smile.
"As if I'd pass out. And as if I'd lose to some God of Destruction who hasn't even held the title for a hundred years," Champa huffed.
"Then let's continue," Bardock said. "We'll stop when you finally admit defeat."
Flames rose around his body as he transformed once again.
Champa responded by raising his own destruction energy.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The two clashed fiercely through space once more.
About ten minutes later—
"Hold on!" Champa suddenly waved a hand, signaling Bardock to stop.
Bardock came to a halt and smiled. "What is it? Ready to surrender?"
"Look over there!" Champa pointed toward a brilliant streak of light in the distance, bright as a star.
"That's… Ken?" Bardock froze, his expression immediately turning serious.
Whoosh!
Before his words had even finished, Ken had already arrived nearby with the Grand Priestess.
Champa and Bardock both looked toward Ken, then glanced at the Grand Priestess in confusion.
For a moment, neither of them could make sense of what they were seeing.
Was Ken into maids now?
The woman was definitely beautiful.
She was a maid, right?
And why were there whip marks on her?
What a pitiful maid.
"Hope I'm not interrupting anything," Ken said with a smile.
Champa and Bardock both shook their heads.
"Then carry on," Ken said.
The next instant, he turned into a streak of brilliant light and vanished with the Grand Priestess.
Champa and Bardock stared blankly in the direction he had disappeared, completely speechless.
Then they looked at each other again.
"That maid must have done something to piss Ken off," Champa said with a shiver. "What a tragedy."
Bardock said nothing. He only nodded slightly.
The next moment, the two of them charged at each other again and resumed their battle.
…
Universe 11, Ape God Planet.
Long ago, this planet had once produced an Ape God.
But as time passed, that Ape God disappeared, and the apes and related species on the planet eventually declined into ordinary animals.
Little by little, the planet came under human rule.
The humans on this world looked somewhat similar to the people of Earth.
More specifically, they resembled Kahseral of the Pride Troopers.
In fact, Kahseral himself was a native of this planet.
Because of his outstanding performance in the Pride Troopers, the people of this world took great pride in him.
He was the pride of their race.
Then one day, for reasons no one understood, the gorillas on the planet suddenly awakened sentience and gained high intelligence.
The whole world descended into chaos.
The gorillas escaped from zoos one after another and began strutting openly through the streets.
And if any humans dared resist, the gorillas attacked without hesitation.
Daru was one of the humans living on this planet.
But he had always lived in fear.
Years ago, he had discovered that he had an extra tail growing from his body.
What kind of sick joke was that?
Notably, every gorilla on this planet had a tail as well.
Terrified of being treated like a monster, Daru had always been careful in everything he did.
What broke him the most happened on a certain night, when he had gone out to admire the moon with his girlfriend.
And then…
He turned into a Great Ape and nearly crushed her to death.
His girlfriend was scared out of her mind. She had only been dating him for a month, and never in her wildest dreams had she imagined her boyfriend would turn into a giant ape.
That same night, once Daru returned to normal, he fled his home and moved somewhere else under cover of darkness.
But after living there for a while, he discovered that the gorillas had begun awakening.
Many of them had developed intelligence.
Daru no longer knew whether he was human or ape.
As the gorillas ran rampant across the planet, they soon drew the attention of the Pride Troopers.
Naturally, the Pride Troopers began hunting them down.
After all, in their eyes, this planet was meant to be ruled by humans.
The gorillas were nothing more than animals.
The one leading the mission this time was Kahseral himself.
When the people of the planet saw Kahseral appear, they erupted in cheers.
Under his leadership, the team swiftly eliminated one rampaging gorilla after another.
"What a handsome little guy," Cocotte said with a smile after flicking a beam of light from her fingertip and killing a gorilla beside Daru.
Cocotte was one of the Pride Troopers, a beautiful woman known as a magician of other dimensions.
"Th-thank you," Daru said quickly.
"Once I'm done cleaning up these troublemaking gorillas, how about buying me a coffee?" Cocotte asked with a smile.
"Uh… sure, no problem," Daru said, nodding rapidly.
"Come stand by me. I'll protect you," Cocotte said warmly.
"O-okay." Daru was still terrified and quickly hid behind her.
Cocotte unleashed her magic and launched fierce attacks against the incoming gorillas.
Then, just as she was busy fighting, a gorilla suddenly appeared behind Daru and slashed down with its claws.
Cocotte reacted instantly. She grabbed Daru by the collar and yanked him toward her.
Slash—
The gorilla's claws left a long gash across Daru's back and tore his clothes open.
Bang!
Cocotte kicked the gorilla away, then immediately turned back to Daru with concern. "Are you okay? That's my fault. I got careless. Let me see the wound."
"N-no… don't look," Daru said in a panic.
He could already feel his tail slipping into view.
His clothes had been ripped open across the back, after all.
"Oh, please. There's nothing I haven't seen before," Cocotte said with a giggle. She pulled him over and looked behind him.
Her smile froze instantly.
That was the first time she had ever seen a tail growing there…
"W-wait… is that a tail?" Cocotte asked, stunned. She grabbed it and pulled it out from inside his pants.
The moment she saw it clearly, she was completely dumbfounded.
"You… why do you have a tail? What exactly are you?" she asked in disbelief.
Daru went pale and started trembling all over.
"Don't tell me those gorillas suddenly awakened because of you," Cocotte asked with a pleasant smile.
"It wasn't me! It has nothing to do with me!" Daru said, sounding on the verge of tears.
"Whether it does or not, we'll know once we take you back and study you," Cocotte snorted. Then she ordered her subordinates to restrain him at once.
They dragged Daru onto the spaceship.
"Be gentle with him," Cocotte scolded the two subordinates. "A pretty boy like this? I haven't had the chance to play with one yet." Then she added with a sigh, "I just hope we've got the wrong person. If we do, then I can have some real fun with him."
The Pride Troopers truly were the strongest team in Universe 11.
In just a little over three hours, they had easily crushed the gorilla uprising on Ape God Planet.
Most of the gorillas that had gained intelligence were killed.
A small number escaped into the mountains and deep forests, not daring to show themselves again.
After that, the Pride Troopers took Daru back to Pride Planet to be judged.
Daru crouched on the floor like a frightened kitten, shaking nonstop.
"I've never seen such a pathetic man before."
"No matter how you look at him, he doesn't seem like the one behind the gorillas awakening."
"He looks like he's about to piss himself."
"But what's with that tail, anyway? He's not quite human, not quite ape."
The Pride Troopers pointed at him and whispered among themselves.
Just as the discussion was reaching its peak, Toppo strode into the meeting room.
The room fell silent at once as everyone waited for their captain's instructions.
Toppo glanced at Daru, who was crouched on the floor with his head buried between his knees, and said, "Lift your head."
Daru was trembling in fear, but he obediently looked up and met Toppo's gaze.
The moment he did, Toppo's brows knitted tightly together.
Why did this guy look strangely familiar?
It was worth noting that at the old all-universe selection tournament for Gods of Destruction, Ken had still appeared as a child.
Toppo only had the vague feeling that he had seen someone like this before, but for the moment, he could not remember who.
In the end, he did not dwell on it. He assumed he had simply met too many people over the years. Similar faces were nothing unusual.
"What's your name?" Toppo asked.
"Daru…" he answered honestly.
"Tell me. Did what happened on Ape God Planet have anything to do with you?" Toppo demanded sternly. "Think carefully before you answer. In the Pride Troopers, lying has consequences."
"I already told you, it had absolutely nothing to do with me!" Daru answered quickly.
"Then what's the story with your tail?" Toppo asked, looking at it behind him.
"I was born with it… even if I cut it off, it grows back after a while…" Daru sounded like he was on the verge of breaking down.
Why did they keep fixating on his tail?
"That so?" Toppo snorted. "You'd better be honest. Otherwise, you know exactly what kind of fate awaits you."
"I'm telling the truth!" Daru bit down hard, his fear growing stronger and stronger, then shouted, "Why won't any of you believe me?"
"Waaah…"
As he spoke, Daru buried his head in his knees again and began crying loudly.
"Captain, I don't think it was him either…" Cocotte said, sounding a little soft-hearted now.
"Study him first," Toppo said coldly. "We'll decide after the results come in. We must find the real culprit behind what happened on Ape God Planet."
Two Pride Troopers stepped forward, grabbed Daru by the tail, and started dragging him away for examination.
"Why won't any of you believe me?" Daru cried in panic.
But no one answered him.
"I'm telling the truth! Why won't you believe me?" Daru shouted again.
Cocotte's lips moved slightly, but in the end, she still did not plead for him.
After all, if he was innocent, their technology would show it once they analyzed his cells.
They could wait for the results.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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