At the thought, Gran almost let out a laugh.
Others, when they die, are cast into hell to suffer torment…
Yet beings like Frieza are sent to heaven instead.
Because for creatures of absolute evil, being placed in heaven—surrounded by purity—is the cruelest punishment of all.
"Gran, what's wrong?" Bulma noticed the faint smile at the corner of his lips and couldn't help but ask.
"It's nothing. You still haven't finished the Super Dragon Ball Radar, right? Go on—keep working on it."
"Yes."
...
At the same time, in the Realm of the Supreme Kai.
Shin sat on the grass, staring at the crystal ball.
"Ancestor… Cooler has been killed by Broly."
"Mm. I didn't expect Cooler to grow this strong… but running into Broly? That's just his bad luck."
The Old Supreme Kai marveled at Cooler's strength—but Broly's power didn't surprise him at all.
After all, this was someone with a physique like Odys… and he had been personally raised and trained by Gran.
Shin tilted his head.
"Ancestor, Cooler was that powerful. Now that he's dead… will it affect our universe's Mortal Level?"
"Under normal circumstances, when a powerful individual in a universe dies, it does affect the Mortal Level."
The Old Supreme Kai gazed at Cooler's corpse, still lying atop the Super Dragon Ball in the crystal ball.
"Eh? What do you mean?"
"You idiot, did you forget about reincarnation?!"
Bonk!
The Old Supreme Kai flicked Shin on the forehead and snapped,
"As long as they reincarnate, all that power they once had turns to nothing."
"But Cooler is different."
He stroked his chin and chuckled.
"Just like that Frieza fellow, he's an existence of extreme evil. After death, he doesn't go to hell—he goes to heaven."
"To some extent, powerful beings in the afterlife can still be counted toward our universe's Mortal Level… though only to a certain extent."
"I see…"
Shin nodded, half understanding.
...
The Other World — King Yemma's Court.
"I… died? Then where is this place?"
Cooler looked around. The hall was enormous, and ahead sat a towering ox-headed giant.
I'm not dead?
Did Gran save me in the end?
At that moment—
"Cooler!"
The massive ox-headed figure called out his name.
"How dare you address me directly—you're courting death!"
Cooler snapped back to his senses, raising his hand to fire an energy blast—
Only to realize he was wrapped up like a cocoon, completely unable to move.
"What is this?!"
"After judgment, Cooler—you committed countless evils in life. You are hereby sentenced to heaven, where you will undergo purification by the angels. Only when your malice is fully cleansed will you be allowed to reincarnate."
King Yemma stamped a seal onto the Book of Life and Death.
The moment the seal fell, an overwhelming force seized Cooler. He tried to resist—but it was utterly futile.
In the next instant, he was transported to heaven.
There, Cooler found himself hung from a massive tree.
Only then did realization strike him.
Gran hadn't saved him…
He had truly died.
And then he remembered—the look in Gran's eyes before his death.
Disappointment.
"NO!!!"
"How could I—a mighty emperor of the universe—die like this?!"
"Gran… I've disappointed you!!!"
His desperate roar echoed through the heavens—
But what came next was even worse.
Before long, a group of little angels floated over, surrounding him.
They began to play instruments… and sing cheerful melodies.
The beautiful, harmonious sounds flowed into Cooler's ears—
Veins bulged across his forehead, his face twisting grotesquely.
"NOOOOO!!!"
...
Gran could more or less guess what was happening in the afterlife, but he paid it no mind.
He temporarily set aside his planetary cleansing mission.
Bulma had said she would finish the Super Dragon Ball Radar in half an hour—
And sure enough, she did.
Gran used the radar to locate the other Super Dragon Balls, only to discover that within his current region… there was just one.
He couldn't detect the others at all.
It was Bulma who explained that near the edge of the universe, the radar could only scan a limited range.
They would need to move to the center of the universe to expand its detection radius.
So Gran prepared to take Bulma and the others there.
Before leaving, however, Bulma looked worriedly at the Super Dragon Ball beneath their feet, afraid it might be stolen.
Gran gave her a look as if she were an idiot.
Without saying a word, he simply grabbed her and left.
Only afterward did Bulma realize—
A Super Dragon Ball this massive… who could possibly steal it?
And even if someone could, they had the radar. They could find it anytime.
Besides… this was something Gran had set his sights on.
Who would dare touch it?
...
At the center of Universe 7.
Gran discovered that Bulma had been right. The radar's detection range expanded significantly.
Within that range, two more Super Dragon Balls appeared.
At this point, all the Super Dragon Balls in Universe 7 had been located.
The remaining two were in Universe 6.
"Gran, now that we know where they are, let's hurry and collect them!" Bulma said excitedly.
"Alright."
Gran nodded.
At that moment, he was extremely glad he had learned Instant Transmission.
Otherwise, he would've had to call Whis to gather all the Super Dragon Balls.
With a whoosh, Gran teleported away with Broly and Bulma.
However, he didn't immediately gather all three Dragon Balls.
After all, his purpose in entering the universe wasn't just to collect them—he still had his planetary cleansing duties.
And so...
While destroying planets, Gran also traveled with his two "baggages," collecting Dragon Balls along the way.
Half a year passed.
At last, Gran finished clearing out all the defective planets that had emerged in recent years.
However…
During this time, he encountered something rather interesting.
On one of those defective planets, there was a creature—neither human nor ghost.
It resembled the undead being Light that Gran had encountered before—both emitted black smoke.
But unlike Light, this one had no intelligence.
When Gran began destroying that planet, the creature awakened.
Its power had already reached the Second Stage of the Divine Realm.
At that level, in the current Universe 7—aside from beings like Gran and other gods, and monsters like Broly—it could be considered the strongest.
The moment it awakened, it attacked Gran.
And since it attacked him—
Gran showed no mercy.
To him, it was nothing more than insignificant trash.
With a casual backhand, he obliterated it.
...
Half a year later, in the starry sky.
"Phew… I didn't realize being a candidate God of Destruction would be this exhausting… I'm so tired…" Bulma slumped beside Gran, looking utterly drained.
"What, you thought being a god was easy?" Gran said irritably.
"Let's see if you still want to follow me around destroying planets next time."
"No, no—I was wrong!" Bulma bent over, laughing bitterly.
"Gran, hurry up and gather the third Super Dragon Ball already. I want to go back to Earth…"
"Fine."
Gran stopped teasing her. His planetary cleansing mission was complete anyway.
He brought Bulma and Broly back to the location where they had first created the radar.
"Huh?"
Standing atop the Super Dragon Ball, Bulma scanned the surroundings.
"Gran… where's Cooler's body?"
When Cooler died, his corpse hadn't been destroyed.
"Perhaps his subordinates retrieved it."
Gran narrowed his eyes, then shook his head.
"Forget it. Let's head back to Earth."
With that, he moved the Super Dragon Ball beneath their feet to the space near Earth—
Where two others were already waiting.
With the third one added, all Super Dragon Balls of Universe 7 had been fully assembled.
...
On Earth.
The three finally returned home.
Bulma collapsed onto the sofa, her face full of bliss.
"Finally… I can lie down and rest properly!"
Gran's lips twitched. Ignoring her, he stepped out to find Whis.
Now that Universe 7's Super Dragon Balls had been gathered…
It was time to head to Universe 6.
...
Night had already fallen.
Whis was dining at a restaurant in West City, enjoying delicacies—tempura, takoyaki, and more.
Gran walked in and sat beside him, glancing at the spread.
Not bad at all.
"You've destroyed all the defective planets?" Whis asked meaningfully.
Gran's lips twitched. He knew collecting the Super Dragon Balls couldn't be hidden from this guy.
"Yes. But while doing so, I encountered something interesting—a strange creature."
He told Whis about the being that had reached the Second Stage of the Divine Realm.
"You mean that half-human, half-ghost creature? A demonic being," Whis said, sipping his tea.
"A demonic being?"
Gran frowned. He suddenly recalled that Jiren's master had been killed by such a creature.
Could they be the same kind?
"What's their origin?" Gran asked.
"I can't say for certain," Whis replied calmly.
"They appear from time to time across the universes under the Omni-King."
Gran fell silent.
After a while, seeing him still deep in thought, Whis smiled.
"Don't worry too much. Their origins may be mysterious, but they're not particularly powerful. There's no need for concern."
Gran nodded. There was no point overthinking it.
...
As the restaurant closed, Whis paid for the meal, and the two stepped outside.
On the way back to Bulma's place—
"You've destroyed quite a number of planets. How far has your Destruction Law progressed?" Whis asked.
"I've reached the peak of the First Stage. I should break through to the Second Stage soon."
"Good."
Whis nodded in satisfaction.
Then Gran asked,
"You already know I've gathered all the Super Dragon Balls in Universe 7, right?"
"I do. Why?"
"So… shouldn't you take me to Universe 6 now?"
"Well, since your tasks are done, there's nothing else left… but…"
Whis paused, smiling.
"Do you remember Vegeta? I mentioned it would take him half a year to reach Frieza's headquarters. He's already arrived."
"Would you like to watch the show before heading to Universe 6?"
Gran froze for a moment—then nodded.
"Watching how Vegeta dies… sounds interesting."
The two returned to Bulma's estate and reclined on lounge chairs.
Whis projected the scene.
It was nighttime—the projection illuminated everything brightly. Bulma and Broly also came out to watch.
The four of them began observing Vegeta's revenge.
...
In the projection.
Vegeta and his group of eleven had indeed arrived at Frieza's headquarters.
The moment they appeared, they began a massacre.
Vegeta's power level was still 3 million.
Nappa's was weaker—1.5 million.
Raditz was weaker still—500,000.
The remaining Saiyans hovered around 200,000.
Yet despite the gap between them and monsters like Broly or Cooler—
Even the weakest among them surpassed the former Ginyu.
Within Frieza's army, no one could stand against them.
For a time, the Frieza Force suffered devastating losses.
"Isn't that Frieza coming out yet? If he waits any longer, all his men will be dead," Bulma said, puzzled.
The moment she finished speaking—
Frieza appeared.
However, in his first form, his power level was only 530,000.
He couldn't even defeat Nappa—let alone Vegeta.
And so..
What followed was a merciless, inhumane beating.
Frieza had never imagined he would one day suffer such humiliation—
At the hands of the very Saiyan "monkeys" he once despised.