"This is somehow my fault?" Frieza asked calmly.
"Would I be dead if it weren't for you?" Frost snapped.
"You died because you were weak."
"And why should I be punished for everything you did?" Frost's entire body shook with anger.
Frieza answered with his familiar high-pitched laugh. "Ohohoho! You should consider it an honor."
"Damn you. If I ever come back to life, I swear I'll make you pay."
"Oh? Is that so?" Frieza's smile widened. "Then do your best."
Two figures suddenly appeared in front of the tree.
Frieza's smile vanished the instant he recognized Beerus and Whis.
"Get lost," Beerus told the singing dolls, his voice cold.
One look at his face was enough. The dolls scattered in terror, ducking behind trees and bushes until the endless music finally stopped.
"Beerus-sama!" Frieza called out immediately.
"Champa-sama!" Frost shouted at the same time.
Frieza and Frost glanced at each other, both wearing the same contemptuous expression.
What an idiot.
How could anyone get a God of Destruction's name wrong?
"Please forgive me for not bowing, Beerus-sama," Frieza said, tugging uselessly against the cocoon that held him to the tree.
Frost hurried to flatter the newcomer. "Champa-sama, when did you lose so much weight? You look far better like this!"
Beerus slapped him across the face.
Frost's soul nearly scattered from the blow, and his mind spun as he dangled from the branch.
"Who are you calling Champa?" Beerus demanded. "Do I look anything like that fat bastard?"
That isn't Champa-sama?
Beerus turned away from Frost and gave Frieza a thin smile. "You seem to be enjoying yourself here."
"Not in the slightest, Beerus-sama," Frieza said, shaking his head as hard as he could.
"If I gave you another chance, could you defeat that Saiyan named Goku?"
Frieza's eyes lit up. Freedom had arrived far more suddenly than he could have dreamed.
"Of course. During all these years trapped here, I have continued training through visualization. Give me four months, and I'll grind Son Goku into the ground."
"Four months?" Beerus frowned. "You have three days. Can you manage that?"
Frieza's hopeful expression stiffened.
That was not remotely the same thing.
"How useless." Beerus raised a hand toward Frieza's soul. "You're only embarrassing Universe 7. Perhaps I should erase you now."
Despair flooded Frieza's face.
He had almost escaped Hell, only to end up moments away from being erased completely.
"Whis, can you contact the Supreme Kai and the others?" Beerus asked without releasing the energy in his palm.
"Oh my. he is currently in another timeline, Beerus-sama. I doubt we can reach him."
Beerus lowered his hand for the moment and looked at the other soul hanging beside Frieza. "And who are you?"
"My name is Frost," Frost answered with a deep bow as far as his restraints allowed. "Give me the opportunity, and I can defeat Son Goku."
Beerus looked from Frost to Frieza and laughed without warmth. "You seem even weaker than Frieza. He isn't certain he can win after three days of training, so what makes you think you can?"
Frost opened his mouth, but nothing came out.
"Were you planning to defeat him by talking?"
"I can at least try."
"Hakai."
Destruction energy washed over Frost before he could say anything else. His soul burst like a soap bubble and vanished without leaving a trace.
Frieza turned pale green and began trembling against his cocoon.
Beerus slowly looked back at him.
"Please spare me, Beerus-sama!"
"You said four months?"
"Yes. Four months…" Frieza forced a smile that looked closer to a grimace. "With enough effort, I could perhaps do it in three, but that truly is the limit."
"At least you're honest." Beerus nodded and turned to Whis. "Take him into that alternate dimension. The one where a day outside lasts more than forty days inside. Three days should give him a little over three months."
"Certainly, Beerus-sama."
Whis pointed his staff at Frieza, and the cocoon binding him disappeared. Frieza stretched his limbs, then dropped to his knees and bowed.
"Let's go," Beerus said. "Do not disappoint me. If you perform poorly, I'll erase you myself."
"I understand. I will train with everything I have."
"Perform well enough, and I may even revive you."
Frieza's face brightened. "Truly, Beerus-sama?"
"Whis, give him a body."
"Easily done."
Whis waved his staff, and Frieza's soul was wrapped in light. A new physical body formed around him, restoring him to the shape he had possessed while alive.
Whis and Beerus then left the Other World with Frieza and brought him to the alternate dimension.
"Train hard, Frieza," Whis told him before leaving. "This tournament concerns the pride of Universe 7."
"I'm not allowed to kill Son Goku?" Frieza asked, shaking with barely contained hatred.
"Killing is forbidden during the tournament."
"Then I'm allowed to beat him into the ground until he can't move?"
"That would be acceptable."
Frieza grinned with renewed confidence. "Come back in three days, and I'll show you the results."
Whis closed the door behind him, sealing the vast white chamber away from the outside world.
Frieza began his new round of training.
Three days passed quickly.
On Universe 6's Earth, everyone had gathered at Capsule Corporation headquarters.
"Make sure you're touching someone," Goku told the crowd.
More than twenty people joined hands or placed a hand on someone's shoulder. Bulma and Emily had come along as well, unwilling to miss the first tournament ever held between universes. Vegeta, Gohan, Krillin, and many others gathered around Goku until the group had formed one large cluster.
Even Turtle reached out a flipper, only for Zarek to kick him away.
What was a turtle going to do at a martial arts tournament?
Turtle landed several meters away and glared at him, silently cursing the entire Saiyan family.
"All right, let's go."
Goku focused on the distant ki he had been given and used Instant Transmission, taking the entire group with him.
Far away in the World of Void, within the territory of Universe 18, Ken tapped the ground with his staff and examined the white planet beneath them.
"This place has developed nicely. It feels much sturdier now."
"Be careful with that," Amarella said, watching his staff anxiously. "It would be terrible if you cracked it."
No one had actively managed the planet over the years, yet it had continued expanding on its own. It was now several times larger than Earth's moon, although its surface remained an endless field of white.
Ken and Vados had constructed the tournament arena near the center of the planet. A broad square ring stood beneath the pale light, its surface smooth and solid, with a small number of spectator stands arranged around it.
In the distance, Buu was racing around the planet like an excited child.
"Broly, come catch me!" he called while running.
Broly watched him pass without moving.
"Come on!"
Broly decided it would be easier to ignore him.
Ai floated beside him. "Did you and Buu always play like this?"
"We were younger then," Broly replied.
"I think I still prefer how you were when you were little."
Broly quietly looked away, choosing not to answer.
Goku and the others appeared near the arena a moment later. The newcomers looked around the strange white planet with open curiosity before their attention settled on the ring.
"Ken, are we fighting there?" Goku asked.
"That's right."
Goku studied its size and nodded approvingly. It was large enough for a proper fight without being so wide that the spectators would lose sight of the action.
"When is Universe 7 team arriving?" He looked up into the empty white sky.
"Hmph. Beerus will probably be late," Champa grumbled.
Back on the Sacred World of the Kai, Beerus and Whis had already arrived with Frieza and were waiting for Shin to return.
Elder Kai paced beside them with his hands clasped behind his back.
"Stop walking back and forth in front of me," Beerus snapped. "You're making me dizzy."
"You still have the nerve to complain?" Elder Kai shot back. "You sealed me inside that Z Sword for all those years. I couldn't even spend time with my five closest girlfriends."
Beerus frowned. "Five girlfriends?"
"The five very affectionate ladies attached to my hand," Elder Kai replied, his cheeks turning red.
Beerus stared at him before his expression turned black. "Get away from me. I told you to stop pacing, and now you've dragged the conversation into something disgusting."
"I'm not pacing. I'm merely taking a walk."
Beerus was about to argue further when another thought occurred to him. "Weren't you supposed to go into that other timeline with Shin? Why are you still here?"
"Shin and Kibito were enough. I'm far too old for traveling between timelines. That sort of strain can leave a man weak."
Beerus decided there was no point continuing that conversation and turned toward Frieza instead.
Frieza immediately straightened, his posture respectful.
"How do you feel?" Beerus asked. "Confident?"
"Of course." Frieza clenched his fists, veins standing out across his forehead. "I am Emperor Frieza. This time, I will grind Son Goku into the dirt."
"Good. That's what I wanted to hear. Do not disappoint me."
"I will give this tournament everything I have."
Elder Kai looked between them and sighed. "So after three full days, Beerus-sama only managed to find one contestant?"
"You senile old fool!" Smoke practically poured from Beerus's nose. "If you had protected Universe 7's Earth, would I be struggling to find fighters now?"
"If you hadn't sealed me inside the Z Sword, would the current Supreme Kai have grown up this useless?"
They glared at each other, neither willing to yield.
"Beerus-sama, Elder Kai, please calm down," Whis said, stepping between them. "The tournament is more important. Unfortunately, it is true that Universe 7 currently has almost no suitable contestants."
"Our universe really is pitiful," Elder Kai muttered. "Everything depends on how many people Shin brings back. What do we do if he can't find enough?"
"We grab anyone available to fill the last spot," Beerus said. "With Frieza on the team, victory is already guaranteed."
"That sounds reasonable," Elder Kai agreed.
Before their argument could restart, the space nearby twisted into a spiraling distortion.
Shin and Kibito stepped through with four people behind them.
Beerus and Elder Kai immediately counted the newcomers.
Four.
Perfect. Together with Frieza, that gave them a complete team.
Their relief lasted only until Beerus saw the four faces clearly.
His expression turned foul.
He crossed the distance in one step and slapped Shin onto the ground.
"Beerus-sama!" Shin cried, clutching his face. "Why did you hit me? I'm not late, am I?"
"What kind of people did you bring back?" Beerus demanded, lifting Shin by the front of his clothes.
"Let me handle him!"
Elder Kai rushed forward, jumped as high as his old legs allowed, and brought his fist down on Shin's head.
Shin yelped as tears sprang into his eyes. "Elder Kai! Beerus-sama! What did I do?"
Kibito stayed perfectly silent, afraid any attention would earn him the same treatment.
"We sent you to another timeline to find contestants," Beerus said, shaking with rage. "Why did you bring back almost the exact same people Universe 6 is using?"
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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