"Don't make me laugh," Beerus snapped. "Since when does the official order appoint a Great God of Destruction? I've never heard of it."
"Broly, show him the token the Grand Priest gave you," Buu urged.
Beerus's ears shot up at once. "The Grand Priest?"
Broly did not move.
There was no need.
Believe it or don't.
One more God of Destruction in the world, one less God of Destruction in the world—it made no difference to him.
Beerus laughed hard enough that, for a moment, he even forgot how much his body hurt. "You're telling me the Grand Priest gave you a token? That is the funniest thing I've heard since waking up."
To Beerus, the idea itself was absurd. A Great God of Destruction? He had never heard of such a position, and if it truly existed, how could he not know?
"Take it out and show him," Buu insisted. When Broly still ignored him, Buu started patting him down.
Broly's face darkened. "Keep your hands to yourself."
"Found it!"
Buu pulled a token from Broly's pocket with a proud grin. It was the Great God of Destruction Token the Grand Priest had given Broly.
"Here." Buu waved it in front of Beerus's face.
"Stop waving it so fast," Beerus barked. "I can't see anything."
"Then look properly." Buu handed it over and watched Beerus's face with gleeful anticipation.
Beerus took the token, examined it closely, and tapped it with one claw. Then he saw the round seal on its surface, marked with the character for "Great."
That was the Grand Priest's seal.
Beerus's hand began to shake. The token slipped from his fingers and hit the ground with a sharp metallic clang.
"You're finished!" Buu clapped in delight. "You dropped the token the Grand Priest gave him. When the Grand Priest finds out, he'll beat you to death!"
Beerus scrambled to pick it up. There was no dust on it, but he wiped it anyway, polishing it with both hands as if his life depended on it.
Then he knelt and presented the token back to Broly with both hands.
"See it now?" Buu asked, grinning as he took the token and stuffed it back into Broly's pocket.
Broly said nothing.
Beerus lowered his head. "Greetings… Great God of Destruction."
"Enough," Broly said.
He did not linger. He flew to Ai, took her with him, and left the barrier.
A moment later, Broly landed beside Ken and knelt before him.
"Get up," Ken said with a smile. "You don't need to be that formal with me."
"Mm."
Broly stood.
Beerus had returned to Capsule Corporation almost immediately after them. The battlefield had been thousands of kilometers away, but for fighters at their level, that distance meant nothing.
He arrived above the courtyard just in time to see Broly kneeling to Ken.
Beerus froze.
What was this?
Why was the Great God of Destruction kneeling to that little Angel?
And not just a small greeting, either. A full formal bow.
After a few stunned seconds, Beerus dropped beside Whis. "Whis. Explain this."
"Oh my. Beerus-sama still doesn't know?" Whis smiled. "Ken is the one who trained Broly."
"You mean that little Angel trained Broly?" Beerus said, finally understanding something. "That is rare. He became that strong and still remembers who helped him climb."
"Ken is also very strong himself," Whis added.
Beerus turned to him. "As strong as you?"
"No, no. Much stronger than me. I heard even the two guards were defeated by him."
Beerus went completely still.
His expression changed several times in a row, and then, as if his body had suddenly remembered how badly it had been beaten, his eyes went blank.
He sagged and collapsed against Whis.
"Oh my. Beerus-sama, your injuries are quite serious." Whis held him up, then lowered his voice. "You're pretending, aren't you?"
"Shut up and get me out of here," Beerus whispered coldly. "I'm going back to Universe 7."
"Of course."
Whis nodded, then turned toward the chef robots. "Could you please pack this one, this one, this one, and also that one…"
Beerus almost opened his eyes. "This is not the time to pack food. Leave."
"If we want to enjoy Earth's food again, we'll have to come to Universe 6," Whis said matter-of-factly. "We should take more with us."
Beerus gave up and continued pretending to be unconscious.
Half an hour later, Whis's food had finally been packed.
Only then did Whis carry the "unconscious" Beerus over to Ken and bow.
"Going back?" Ken asked.
"Yes. Beerus-sama has fainted, so I should take him home early."
"Go on, then."
Ken did not expose Beerus. For Beerus, pretending to pass out was probably the best way to leave without creating more trouble.
Ken even felt that his temper had improved quite a bit. In the past, he would have beaten Beerus again before letting him go.
"Then we'll take our leave," Whis said.
Starlike light wrapped around him, and he flew off with Beerus, tearing through space in an instant and vanishing into the endless stars.
After a long flight, Whis finally brought Beerus back to Universe 7.
Only then did Beerus twitch and "wake up."
Whis raised his staff, and Angel power covered Beerus, healing his injuries along the way.
Beerus let out a long breath. His expression remained terrible. "Whis, how long did I sleep?"
"Wasn't it a little over forty years?" Whis replied.
"Then why does it feel like I slept for ten thousand?" Beerus clenched his fists. "What happened in those forty years? Where did that little Angel Ken come from? Which universe gave birth to him?"
"Beerus-sama, do you remember the Saiyan we met on Planet Vegeta?" Whis asked.
"What Saiyan?" Beerus frowned. "Don't change the subject. I'm asking about that Angel named Ken. Why are you talking about Saiyans?"
"Think carefully. When we visited Planet Vegeta, wasn't there a Saiyan selling starch sausages outside the palace? He gave me one when we came out."
Beerus thought about it for nearly a minute before the memory finally surfaced. "Right. That did happen. The boy had a stall at the palace gates. He gave us two starch sausages, and you thanked him by giving him a simplified Ultra Instinct manual."
"That's right."
Beerus's patience thinned. "What does that have to do with Ken?"
"That Saiyan was Ken," Whis said. "Beerus-sama has forgotten his name?"
Beerus stared at him. "What did you say?"
Whis sighed softly.
"You're telling me that Saiyan became a real Angel?" Beerus asked, unable to hide his disbelief.
"Yes. That is exactly what happened."
"This is the first time I've heard of a mortal training until he becomes an actual Angel."
"It's a long story. I don't know all the details myself."
Whis then gave Beerus a brief account of what had happened around Ken during the past forty years, including the swap between Universe 6 and Universe 7's Earths.
When Beerus heard about the Earth swap, he froze for a moment, then burst out laughing.
"What is Beerus-sama laughing about?" Whis asked.
"I'm not laughing at anyone except that idiot Champa!" Beerus said, nearly dancing in space from sheer delight.
"How so?"
"Think about it. His universe now has an Angel that powerful and a God of Destruction that powerful. Champa must be living like his tail is stuck in a door. Tell me that isn't funny."
"When Beerus-sama puts it that way, it does make some sense," Whis said thoughtfully.
Beerus laughed harder, clutching his stomach. "Hahaha! I'm dying! Let me laugh a little longer!"
Whis's staff suddenly vibrated.
He glanced down, then accepted the call. Beerus finally stopped laughing and looked over.
"Oh my, Vados. What can I do for you?" Whis greeted her with a smile.
"I heard Beerus-sama has awakened," Vados's voice came through the staff.
"Yes. Beerus-sama has just woken up."
"Champa-sama would like to speak with him."
"Go ahead. I've put you on speaker."
"Beerus, you really can sleep," Champa said, his voice carrying through. "Only waking up now?"
"Champa, you bastard. You suggested swapping the two Earths, didn't you?" Beerus snapped.
"I did. What are you going to do about it?" Champa said smugly.
It had not been his suggestion at all, but he wanted to say it anyway.
Beerus laughed again. "You idiot."
"What are you laughing at? What's so funny?"
"I'm laughing at you, moron."
"You're the moron. Your whole family is full of morons."
"Are you not part of my family?" Beerus shot back.
Champa choked on that for a second. "Then say it. What are you laughing at?"
"That Angel named Ken basically lives on Earth, doesn't he?" Beerus said, enjoying himself more with every word. "And that Great God of Destruction also lives on Earth. Both of them are in Universe 6 now. Meanwhile, you're the actual God of Destruction of Universe 6, but you probably don't have much authority left at all. Am I wrong?"
Champa went silent.
That hit far too close.
He really did not have much status in Universe 6 anymore. With Ken and Broly there, his presence had become thin enough to barely matter. And now Buu had returned too. These days, even as the God of Destruction, Champa felt he had to be careful about everything.
Beerus had stabbed him right where it hurt.
"Champa-sama," Vados reminded him, "the main point."
"Right." Champa cleared his throat. "Beerus, Ken contacted me earlier. He wants our two universes to hold a friendly tournament."
"A what?" Beerus asked.
"In simple terms, each universe picks five mortals, and those five fight to compare strength."
"Why hold such a boring tournament?" Beerus grumbled. "Wouldn't that time be better spent finding something good to eat?"
"Tell Ken that yourself, then," Champa said. "But before that, you should probably get past the Great God of Destruction."
Beerus's mouth twitched.
The words "Great God of Destruction" were enough to make him swallow the rest of his complaint.
"Actually," Beerus said quickly, "a tournament like that might be interesting. Explain the details."
"That's not what you said a second ago," Champa said, laughing.
"Shut up."
"Ken will offer the Super Dragon Balls as the prize for the winning side," Champa said.
"Super Dragon Balls?" Beerus frowned. "What are those?"
"Oh my. Simply put, there are seven Super Dragon Balls in total," Whis explained. "They are scattered across Universe 6 and Universe 7. Gather all seven, and you can summon a Dragon, who can grant any wish."
Beerus's eyes sharpened. "Not bad. Fine, then. It's decided."
"You have three days to prepare. No problem, right?" Champa asked.
"Of course not."
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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