"Supreme Kai, may I ask what brings you to our headquarters?" Elec asked respectfully.
"Hold on. We'll get to that in a moment." The Grand Supreme Kai gestured for him to wait, then turned his attention toward Beerus and Granolah.
Elec followed his gaze and found himself staring at the unfamiliar purple cat standing beside the Supreme Kai.
Who was that supposed to be?
He leaned closer to the Grand Supreme Kai and lowered his voice. "Is that cat... your pet?"
The Grand Supreme Kai's expression went blank, while Beerus's face darkened so quickly that the killing intent pouring from him made Elec instinctively retreat several steps.
Beerus decided to deal with that insult later and instead looked Granolah over with an interested smile.
"Granolah, let me test how strong you really are."
"I'm not interested in you," Granolah replied coldly, his attention drifting toward the Grand Supreme Kai instead.
So this really was the legendary Supreme Kai. If someone like him had appeared here personally, perhaps Granolah finally had a chance to learn where Frieza was hiding.
"You want Frieza's location, don't you?" Beerus asked. "I can take you to him."
Granolah's composure disappeared immediately. "What did you say? You really know where Frieza is?"
"First, I want to see what you're capable of." Beerus beckoned him forward. "Attack me with everything you've got."
Granolah stared at him. "You're serious?"
"Hurry up. We don't have all day."
"In that case, don't blame me if you get hurt."
Granolah extended one finger and jabbed directly at Beerus. Beerus didn't even bother moving aside; he simply raised his hand and caught Granolah's finger between two of his own.
Granolah stared at him in disbelief. He had only used about ten percent of his power, but even so, he hadn't expected this strange cat to stop him so effortlessly.
"I told you to use everything," Beerus said coldly. "No holding back this time."
Granolah slowly pulled his hand free and took a deep breath. "Fine. But you'd better not get yourself killed. I still need you to lead me to Frieza."
"Don't worry about me. Come on."
Granolah stopped holding back.
His energy exploded outward in a violent surge, sending waves of pressure through the hall and making the entire castle tremble around them. Even the Grand Supreme Kai looked impressed by the sheer force rolling off him.
"Not bad," Beerus said approvingly. "That's certainly an unusual amount of power."
Granolah drove forward and threw a full-powered punch directly at Beerus.
Macki immediately covered her eyes. As far as she was concerned, there was no possible way that skinny purple cat was surviving a direct hit from the newly crowned strongest warrior in the universe. He wasn't particularly cute, but he did look amusing enough that she might have considered keeping him as a pet.
Too bad Granolah was about to splatter him across the room.
Elec and the others weren't much more optimistic. The cat already knew Granolah had used the Dragon Balls to become the strongest in the universe, yet he had still invited a full-power attack as though none of that mattered. Even the Supreme Kai himself might not be able to withstand Granolah now.
Then they saw what had actually happened.
Beerus had stopped Granolah's full-powered punch with a single finger.
Granolah's eyes widened until almost nothing but white showed around his pupils. He had poured everything into that strike, yet Beerus hadn't merely blocked it—he had done so casually, without even shifting his stance.
What the hell was going on?
Wasn't he supposed to be the strongest in the universe?
"Very good." Beerus nodded with obvious satisfaction. "You really are unusually strong. At the very least, you're stronger than Goku."
The Grand Supreme Kai looked genuinely surprised. "He's already stronger than Goku?"
"He probably made the wish while Goku was still part of our universe," Beerus reasoned, his grin growing wider. "If the Dragon Balls made him the strongest at that point, then of course they would've pushed him beyond Goku."
The Grand Supreme Kai rubbed his head uneasily. "Doesn't this feel a little like cheating?"
"How is it cheating?" Beerus shot back. "Did you tell him to use the Dragon Balls and become the strongest?"
"No..."
"Did I?"
"Of course not."
"Then he became this strong on his own terms. That has nothing to do with us." Beerus gave him an irritated look. "What, would you rather Universe 7 get erased?"
"Obviously not."
Granolah frowned as he listened. "Universe 7... get erased?"
The Heeters exchanged confused looks as well. None of them understood what Beerus and the Grand Supreme Kai were talking about, and the idea of an entire universe simply disappearing made even less sense.
Beerus ignored their confusion and turned back to Granolah. "You're in. With you on the team, dealing with Goku and Vegeta should be a lot easier."
"Vegeta?" Granolah's eyes lit up immediately.
Goku's name meant almost nothing to him, but Vegeta was different. A Saiyan named after Planet Vegeta could hardly be mistaken for anything else.
"Vegeta is a Saiyan?" Granolah asked eagerly.
"He is. Goku is too." Beerus nodded. "And yes, I know the Saiyans were responsible for destroying Planet Cereal."
Granolah's fists tightened as years of hatred immediately resurfaced. "Where are they? And where's Frieza? I want revenge on all of them!"
"Revenge will only make you lose yourself," the Grand Supreme Kai said, cutting in before Granolah could work himself up any further. "Beerus and I have already discussed this. If you help us with something, we'll help you resurrect your parents and any members of your people who can still be brought back. We can even restore Planet Cereal to the way it once was."
Granolah stared at him, stunned. "You can bring back my parents... and some of the Cerealians?"
"It's been a very long time, so most of your people have already reincarnated," the Grand Supreme Kai explained gently. "But a small number are still in the Other World, including your parents. Those people can be revived."
For the first time since Beerus and the Grand Supreme Kai arrived, Granolah completely forgot about Frieza.
"You can really do that?" His voice trembled as emotion overwhelmed him. "That's... that's incredible."
The tears gathering in his eyes made it clear just how much that promise meant to him.
[End of chapter]