"So you're the God of Destruction the Supreme Kai mentioned?"
A child who looked almost exactly like Goku stepped forward and greeted Beerus with a friendly smile. He was like a smaller version of the Goku Beerus knew, except this one had a long tail swaying behind him. His body looked young, but his eyes carried the weight of someone far older.
Beerus narrowed his eyes. "Are you Son Goku as a child?"
"Well… not exactly." Goku grinned. "Shenron turned me small. I'm actually over fifty."
Beerus stared at him.
"So you're the strongest god the Supreme Kai talked about?" Goku asked, suddenly interested.
"That's right," Beerus said, while quietly sensing his energy.
This little version of Goku was not weak. The Dragon Balls had made his body small, but his energy was even stronger than the Goku from this timeline.
"Can I spar with you?" Goku asked at once.
"Save your strength for Universe 6," Beerus said, then turned to the second fighter Shin had brought back.
That fighter was Vegeta.
GT Vegeta swept one glance over Beerus, gave a dismissive snort, and looked away with open arrogance, as if Beerus was not worth staring at for long.
Beerus's brow twitched.
"Isn't this Vegeta?" Beerus asked. "You use that name in your timeline too, don't you?"
"Of course," GT Vegeta replied, barely giving him two words.
"It's one thing if Goku doesn't know me, but even you don't?" Beerus asked, genuinely puzzled.
That was not how Vegeta should react to him. There was no fear in this Vegeta's eyes at all.
"Why should I know you?" GT Vegeta asked.
"When you were little, I visited Planet Vegeta. I stepped on your father's head and dragged him across the floor. You forgot?"
"Hmph. By the time I was five, my battle power had already surpassed my father's," GT Vegeta said. "As for you visiting Planet Vegeta, how would I know?"
"You were right there. You were only about this tall back then." Beerus held out a hand to indicate the height.
"Oh," GT Goku said with a laugh, "so Vegeta back then was about as tall as I am now."
"Shut up, Kakarot!" GT Vegeta snapped.
GT Goku immediately covered his mouth.
"So you really have never met me?" Beerus asked.
"No."
"Beerus-sama," Shin said, wearing a mysterious smile that stretched nearly to his ears, "that timeline has no Gods of Destruction and no Angels."
Beerus paused. "What? There's a timeline like that?"
"It also has no Zeno-sama and no Grand Priest," Shin added, even happier now. "In that mysterious timeline, we Supreme Kai are truly the greatest gods."
Beerus's shock deepened.
A timeline without Zeno-sama or the Grand Priest?
"I've heard that a certain abandoned timeline existed long ago," Whis said suddenly. "Perhaps that is the one Shin found."
"Abandoned timeline?" Beerus repeated.
Shin, Elder Kai, and Kibito all turned toward Whis, just as confused.
"More accurately, it should be a timeline erased by Zeno-sama," Whis explained.
Beerus's face changed. He pointed at GT Goku and the others. "If Zeno-sama erased it, then why do they still exist?"
"Oh my. Perhaps Zeno-sama's erasure was not as precise back then," Whis said lightly. "There may have been a delay."
"You mean their timeline will disappear sooner or later?" Beerus asked, his face turning uglier.
"Something like that. As for when, that is hard to say."
Shin began trembling on the spot.
"What are you talking about?" GT Goku asked, startled. "Our timeline is going to disappear?"
"Yes, Goku," Whis replied, then offered him a calm reassurance. "But there should be no issue for at least a few hundred years."
GT Goku could only laugh awkwardly.
GT Vegeta snorted, his eyes full of suspicion. "Why should we believe any of that? Our entire timeline disappearing? Don't be ridiculous."
Beerus looked at Shin and smiled. "Supreme Kai, is that Vegeta from the other timeline your real son? The two of you sound exactly the same when you doubt people."
Shin had no answer.
"Enough. We'll leave that timeline issue alone for now." Beerus shifted the subject and looked at the third fighter Shin had brought back.
The third man felt familiar, but also strange. Beerus studied him for a moment before asking, "What's your name?"
"Broly."
Beerus stared. "What did you say? You're Broly?"
He stepped forward and looked the man over from top to bottom, then nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, you do have Broly's scent. You don't look that much like him, but the explosive force in your energy is impressive."
"Hmph. He's only the Legendary Super Saiyan," GT Vegeta said from the side, his tone carrying clear disdain. "That transformation is already outdated."
Beerus ignored him and looked at the fourth fighter.
The fourth was a dark-skinned young man, about the same height as Vegeta.
"And this one… is he an Earthling?"
"I'm Uub, Goku's direct student," the young man answered politely.
"Hehe, Uub is definitely an Earthling," Shin said, then gave Beerus a deliberately mysterious look. "But Beerus-sama, you'll be surprised when you learn who he really is."
"What? Does he have some grand identity?"
"Uub is the reincarnation of Majin Buu," Shin said proudly.
Beerus really was surprised this time.
Majin Buu's reincarnation?
"Who destroyed the pink fat one in your timeline?" Beerus asked.
"That's a long story," GT Goku said, scratching his head. "We used the Spirit Bomb and gathered energy from everyone on Earth to defeat the evil Buu. Later, I said I hoped he would reincarnate as a good person, and King Yemma heard me. That's how Uub was born."
"Hmph. Don't underestimate him," GT Vegeta said. "He's stronger than Majin Buu was back then. Much stronger."
"Good." Beerus nodded, satisfied. "Supreme Kai, you actually deserve praise for these picks."
"You hit me earlier," Shin muttered, rubbing his sore head.
"The problem," Beerus said, shooting him a cold look, "is that you brought back another Goku and another Vegeta, when Universe 6 also has Goku and Vegeta competing. If this were written as a novel, how is that author supposed to tell their names apart?"
"That's his problem. It has nothing to do with me," Shin said.
"By the way," Elder Kai asked, "what form will the tournament take? A mixed battle, an elimination format, or individual rounds?"
"Individual rounds in order," Beerus said. "Whichever universe wins more matches wins overall."
"Then the two Gokus and two Vegetas probably won't happen to fight each other, right?" Shin said, thinking it over. "Or we can call ours GT Goku and GT Vegeta."
"GT? What does that mean?" Beerus asked.
"The timeline I visited is called the GT timeline," Shin explained.
"Whatever. It doesn't matter."
"Are we done?" GT Vegeta finally snapped, unable to hold back any longer. "When do we leave for this tournament? I want to see this timeline's Kakarot."
GT Goku, meanwhile, had noticed the silent figure standing off to the side. "Is that Frieza?"
Frieza gave him a cold sideways glance.
"Frieza, you have a halo," GT Goku said with a smile. "Looks like you're dead. Who killed you in this timeline?"
"Go away. I have nothing to say to you," Frieza snapped.
GT Goku ignored the hostility and studied him closely. "You feel a lot stronger than I remember."
"I am a genius. Occasionally, I also train seriously," Frieza said with a cold smile.
"So we're teammates this time? Let's do our best together." GT Goku offered his hand.
Frieza had no intention of shaking it. The sight alone disgusted him. If Goku were not his teammate for this tournament, Frieza would already be trying to grind him into the floor.
GT Vegeta laughed softly. "What a pitiful timeline. You people are actually using an outdated Frieza."
Beerus had finally had enough. "Brat, I have been tolerating you for a while."
"What? Is this cat planning to challenge me?" GT Vegeta pointed a thumb at himself. "Don't underestimate me. I've been sick of you ordering everyone around too."
"Show me your strongest power," Beerus said, his face dark.
"Gladly. Today I'll show you the strength of a Saiyan."
GT Vegeta took out a capsule, pressed the button, and threw it to the ground. With a pop, the capsule turned into a machine that fired a golden beam over him.
His body changed immediately. Red fur spread over his torso, and a red tail swayed behind him.
Beerus blinked. "Isn't that Super Saiyan 4?"
"You know more than I expected," GT Vegeta said proudly. "That's right. This is the strongest transformation, Super Saiyan 4."
"Wait." Beerus pointed at the machine GT Vegeta had thrown out. "You need that thing to transform?"
GT Vegeta went silent.
The question hit him where it hurt.
"That's not important," he said stiffly. "As long as I can transform, it's enough."
Beerus looked as if he wanted to cry from secondhand embarrassment, and then that embarrassment turned into anger.
"Perhaps it is because Vegeta has no tail," Whis guessed from the side.
"You people gossip too much," GT Vegeta snapped. "Hurry up and start. Today I'll make you witness my strength."
He pointed his thumb at himself again.
Beerus vanished and appeared directly in front of him.
The speed made GT Vegeta's pupils shrink. He did not even have time to react before Beerus grabbed his forehead.
Panic flashed across GT Vegeta's face. He tried to resist, but all the strength seemed to drain out of him.
Beerus slammed his head into the ground.
A thunderous impact shook the Sacred World of the Kai, and a huge crater opened beneath them. GT Vegeta's head was buried deep in the pit, smoke curling from his body as his Super Saiyan 4 form vanished and he returned to normal, badly injured.
The display left GT Goku, Uub, and the others staring in shock.
"I told you, Goku," Shin whispered as he sidled up beside GT Goku. "Do not provoke Beerus-sama. He is terrifying."
GT Goku nodded hard. This time, he fully agreed.
Cold sweat ran down Uub's face. Even GT Broly's mouth twitched, a tremor of fear passing through him.
That Vegeta had been so strong, and this cat had crushed him in an instant.
So much for Super Tragedy Vegeta.
"Whis, are we close to the scheduled time?" Beerus asked.
"Yes, Beerus-sama. Three minutes remain."
"Heal him and give him a tail while you're at it," Beerus ordered. "Let's see if he can turn into Super Saiyan 4 on his own. If he can't, I may as well erase him now. Bringing him to Universe 6 like this would be too embarrassing."
"Of course, Beerus-sama."
Whis stepped forward and swept his staff over GT Vegeta, healing his injuries and restoring his tail at the same time.
GT Vegeta climbed out of the crater in a far more subdued state, his fear of Beerus now plain in his eyes.
"Your tail is back," Beerus said. "I do not want to see you relying on that machine to become Super Saiyan 4 again."
GT Vegeta glanced warily at Beerus, then looked back at his restored tail. He took a deep breath, and his body began to change.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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