"They won't have much time to train, though," Beerus said thoughtfully. "At most, we can give them a year and a half inside one of those dimensional spaces."
"I look forward to seeing them again." Frieza bowed respectfully, clearly amused by the idea.
"Keep training here. By the time you come out, they should already be waiting for you."
Beerus gave Frieza a pat on the shoulder before leaving with the Grand Supreme Kai. The two soon returned to Beerus's Planet, where Granolah immediately noticed that Frieza hadn't come back with them.
Beerus had no intention of explaining Frieza's situation, but the Grand Supreme Kai gave Granolah a brief account of what they had seen.
"Frieza is stronger than me?" Granolah's expression changed immediately. "That's impossible. I wished to become the strongest in the universe. Toronbo specifically said that, aside from the gods, I should be the strongest mortal in Universe 7. Has Frieza somehow become a god?"
"No," the Grand Supreme Kai replied. "My guess is that because Frieza was training inside a separate dimensional space when you made your wish, he wasn't included."
Before Granolah could dwell on that explanation, several figures suddenly appeared nearby. Shin had returned from Other World with Whis, King Cold, Cooler, and Ize, and Whis had already restored all three members of Frieza's family to life. Shin had also explained the Tournament of Power to them along the way.
Cooler narrowed his eyes as soon as he noticed Granolah. "A Cerealian? They're letting someone like you enter the Tournament of Power too?"
Granolah immediately recognized the resemblance and stared coldly back at the three newcomers. "You're Frieza's family."
Beerus waved them away before the hostility could escalate. "Go entertain yourselves somewhere else. Just remember that nobody is allowed to kill anyone."
"Of course, Beerus-sama." King Cold bowed immediately, with Cooler and Ize following his example.
Cooler then walked over, draped an arm around Granolah's shoulders, and gave him an unpleasant smile. "Come on, Cerealian. Why don't we go have some fun?"
"Gladly."
The four headed into the distance, and it wasn't long before cries of pain began echoing across Beerus's Planet. Granolah thoroughly beat King Cold, Cooler, and Ize, enjoying the chance to vent some of his anger without actually killing any of them. He knew perfectly well that Beerus's orders weren't something he could afford to ignore.
Once the noise in the distance settled down, Shin began counting their fighters again.
"With those three, Granolah, Frieza, and the four from the other timeline... we're still one person short."
Whis smiled knowingly. "I assume you've already found the final fighter, Beerus-sama?"
"Of course." Beerus looked quite pleased with himself. "I already have someone in mind. Hopefully he won't disappoint me."
Shin blinked. "You found somebody? Who?"
"You'll find out later." Beerus glanced toward Granolah and Frieza's relatives before continuing, "For now, those three need training. Get King Cold, Cooler, and Ize into dimensional spaces as soon as possible."
"Understood. I'll take care of it now."
Shin gathered the three revived fighters and found them suitable dimensional spaces where they could spend the remaining time training. Once he returned to Beerus's Planet, Beerus immediately gave him his next assignment: bring back the four fighters from the GT timeline.
Shin activated his Time Ring and prepared to cross timelines, but Beerus stopped him before he left.
"Shin, when you find Goku over there, only tell him about the Tournament of Power. Don't mention that losing means their universe gets erased."
Shin looked uncomfortable. "We're not telling them the truth?"
"If you tell them that part, they might refuse to come."
"That... is possible." Shin hesitated before another concern occurred to him. "But if Universe 7 loses, will the Goku and the others from that timeline be erased too?"
"Unfortunately, yes," Whis answered with a quiet sigh. "Once they come here and participate as members of our Universe 7 team, Zeno-sama will treat them as our representatives. If we lose, those four will be erased along with everyone else."
Shin's expression became even more troubled. "That feels pretty underhanded. Aren't we basically tricking them into risking their lives?"
"Oh, quit whining!" Beerus stormed over and grabbed Shin by the collar. "We're going to win! And if you don't bring them here, we don't even have enough fighters to enter the tournament!"
The Grand Supreme Kai gave Shin a calm nod. "Go."
"Yes!."
With even his teacher supporting the plan, Shin finally stopped objecting. He activated the Time Ring and disappeared into the GT timeline.
It didn't take long for Shin to locate Goku and gather Vegeta, Broly, and Uub as well. He explained the Tournament of Power and invited all four of them to represent Universe 7, carefully leaving out the part about erasure just as Beerus had ordered.
"A Tournament of Power?" GT Goku looked genuinely surprised. "I didn't know your timeline held tournaments like that."
Vegeta listened without interrupting, but the interest in his eyes was obvious. He still remembered how badly things had gone for him during the previous match against Universe 6, and this time he was determined to redeem himself.
Goku turned toward him with a grin. "Vegeta, what do you think? Want to enter?"
"Obviously." Vegeta folded his arms with a snort. "I'm going, and this time I'm beating the version of you from that timeline."
Goku laughed before looking toward the other two. "What about you, Broly? Uub? You guys are in too, right?"
Broly nodded without hesitation, while Uub smiled. "I'll follow Goku."
Shin finally relaxed. Convincing the four of them had been much easier than he'd feared, especially with the unpleasant part of the tournament conveniently left out.
"Then come back to our timeline with me now."
Shin brought GT Goku, Vegeta, Broly, and Uub back with him, completing almost all of Universe 7's roster.
Another day passed.
...
On Planet Cereal, Elec and the other Heeters had used information obtained from Master Zuno to track down the planet's two Dragon Balls.
Unlike Earth's set, Planet Cereal had only two Dragon Balls, each small enough to resemble a glass marble. Even more importantly, there was no waiting period after a wish. Once the two balls scattered, they could simply be gathered again and used immediately.
After searching across the planet, the Heeters finally collected both Dragon Balls and summoned Toronbo.
Elec made his wish without hesitation.
He wanted Gas to become the strongest warrior in the universe.
Just as Granolah had before him, Gas had to sacrifice part of his lifespan in exchange for that power. Elec, however, pushed the bargain even further, leaving his brother with only a single year to live so that Toronbo could draw out even greater strength.
Beerus had promised to find a way to extend Granolah's life if Universe 7 won the Tournament of Power.
Surely, Elec reasoned, the same promise would apply to Gas.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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