Whitley's heart sank.
Mr. Popo, on Kami's orders, had brought him the news.
King Piccolo's seal had been broken, and Goku was currently fighting him.
Kami hoped he would step in to finish off the old Piccolo and accept the position of Guardian of Earth.
This news was like a boulder dropped into a calm lake, instantly stirring up a storm in Whitley's heart.
Although he believed that Goku's strength was more than enough to defeat King Piccolo, he couldn't help but worry with him not being by Bulma's side.
What if the battle spread to West City?
As for the position of Guardian of Earth... forget it. He really didn't care for it.
"Whis!"
Whitley turned to the elegantly sipping Whis without hesitation, his tone a sincere request.
"I need to return to Earth immediately! I'll have to trouble you to send me back!"
"Ho ho ho~"
Whis put down his exquisite teacup, a gentle but playful smile on his face.
"Whitley, you really do care for Miss Bulma. However, these next few days are a bit..."
His purple eyes shifted slightly towards the God of Destruction's palace.
Just then, Bulma's voice came through the staff's light screen at the perfect moment, her tone feigning "annoyance."
"Ara! It's such a headache. With Whitley not at home, I was trying to find something to do and I accidentally invited several of the world's top chefs to the estate... and then I accidentally had them make a huge table of super, super rare and delicious dishes! Things like 'pufferfish sashimi,' 'dinosaur ribs,' 'rainbow pudding'... oh my! I can't even remember all the names! How can I possibly eat all of this by myself? It would be such a shame if it went bad or had to be thrown away! It's so vexing!"
Bulma's voice was clear and melodious, each word as if carefully polished, landing precisely on Whis's heartstrings.
The moment he heard the names of the food, Whis's deep eyes lit up like a volcanic eruption!
A very subtle crack appeared in his elegant and calm expression, and he swallowed almost imperceptibly.
He let out a chuckle that was even more cheerful and eager than before and instantly stood up from the stone bench.
He elegantly twirled the staff in his hand and, covering his mouth, said with a laugh:
"Ara ara~ Whitley is right! The matter on Earth is indeed very important to you! As a... well, a teacher who cares for his student, how can I possibly stand by and do nothing? Let's go! We shall depart immediately!"
The speed of his attitude change and the grandiosity of his reasoning made even Whitley's mouth twitch.
Mr. Popo's dark face remained expressionless, but the corner of his eye also seemed to twitch, as if he had never seen such a shameless person (angel).
"Well then, I'll have to trouble you to look after the house, Oracle Fish."
Whis said gently to a spot not far away, then quickly departed with Whitley, as if he couldn't bear to wait even a second longer.
The Oracle Fish, hiding behind a rock, clearly heard Bulma's manipulation of Whis and Whis's eager response to the food.
It rolled its eyes dramatically, put its fins on its hips, and sneered in a low voice at the direction Whis had disappeared:
"Hmph! Such high-sounding words! He was clearly just lured away by the food! Hypocrite! ... I wonder if he'll remember to bring me back some goodies..."
Just as the Oracle Fish was beginning to have a sliver of hope for Whis's "return" and "souvenirs"—
RUMBLE—!!!!
A dull but extremely penetrating roar suddenly came from the deepest part of the God of Destruction's palace!
The entire God of Destruction's Realm seemed to tremble slightly with the sound!
The look of anticipation on the Oracle Fish's face instantly froze, then turned into panic.
"Oh... oh no! Lord Beerus?! Why did he have to wake up at this time?!"
It no longer cared about any souvenirs. With a flick of its tail, its figure vanished with a "swoosh," and the entire God of Destruction's Realm became frighteningly quiet.
In the vast, boundless universe.
Whis was traveling with Whitley, traversing space at a speed many times faster than light. (I know some friends will come to lecture me that the speed of light is the fastest in the universe.)
Stars were drawn into splendid tails of light beside them, and galaxies receded rapidly like folded paper.
Suddenly, Whis's figure stopped without any warning!
The relaxed and comfortable expression on his face instantly vanished, replaced by a rare look of "trouble has arrived" resignation.
"Ara~ This..."
Whis frowned slightly, sensing the familiar, violently grumpy aura coming from the core of the God of Destruction's Realm.
"He's actually woken up at this time?"
Whitley was almost thrown off balance by the sudden stop. After steadying himself, he asked in confusion, "What's wrong, Whis? What happened?"
He keenly sensed the slight change in Whis's mood.
Whis didn't answer immediately, but quickly weighed his options in his mind.
He looked at Whitley with some resignation. "Whitley, I remember... you've mastered a technique called 'Instant Transmission,' correct? Capable of long-distance teleportation by sensing ki?"
"Yes, that's right," Whitley nodded, a guess already forming in his mind.
"Excellent!"
Whis's speech quickened.
"The physical distance to Earth from here is no longer that great. With your current strength and control over ki, teleporting there directly should be no problem! I'll have to trouble you to return to Earth on your own. Please tell Miss Bulma—"
Whis's expression became serious. "—that she must preserve those carefully prepared delicacies! I will be bringing... well, a very troublesome 'god' to taste them later! This concerns the survival of Earth, so please ask her to take it very seriously!"
Whitley was shocked! "A god?"
Whis is bringing Beerus to Earth?! He instantly understood why Whis was telling him to go on ahead. It was because that hairless cat, Beerus, had woken up. He had even helped this Lord of Destruction change his sheets before.
"I understand! Whis!"
Whitley wasted no words. He immediately placed two fingers on the center of his forehead, and his powerful senses spread out like a spider's web, accurately locking onto a familiar ki on Earth—Son Goku!
"Well then, I'm off!"
Before Whitley's voice had faded, his figure vanished with a "swish," leaving only a faint spatial ripple in the vacuum of the universe.
Whis watched the direction Whitley had disappeared and sighed softly.
Then, the resignation on his face turned into a smile. He turned towards the God of Destruction's Realm and tapped his staff lightly.
"Ho ho ho~ It seems I'll have to go back and properly coax that rather grumpy 'god.' I hope Miss Bulma's delicacies can appease his anger."
He turned gracefully, his figure becoming a streak of light even faster than before, and headed back the way he came, to appease the God of Destruction—Beerus—who was in a bad mood after waking up and not finding his attendant.
Earth, on the battlefield of Goku and King Piccolo.
The blue light of the Kamehameha illuminated Son Goku's young face, and also the green, old face of King Piccolo, which was twisted with fear and despair.
"Ka~me~ha~me... HAAA—!!!"
A huge energy beam, containing most of Goku's power, tore through the air with a destructive roar, rushing towards the helpless King Piccolo!
The shadow of death instantly enveloped him.
"Wait!!! You can't kill me!"
King Piccolo let out a final roar, trying to grasp at the last straw.
"Kami and I are one! If you kill me, Kami will die too!!! The Earth will lose its Guardian!!"
This was his last trump card, his only hope for delaying his fate.
However, the only response he received was Goku's pure, curious gaze and the unceasing output of energy!
"What's a Kami? Can you eat it?" Goku asked, but before the other could answer, "HAAA!!!" The power of the beam intensified!
King Piccolo was utterly despondent.
This reckless brat! He didn't even care about Kami's life?!
He had just been freed, and before he could even enjoy the air of freedom, he was about to fall at the hands of this inexplicably strong junior?
Mutaito had sealed him for hundreds of years, and now his grand-disciple was about to take his life? How unfair the world was to him!
Seeing the blue torrent, which was more than enough to completely vaporize him, now right before his eyes, the old Piccolo closed his eyes in resignation. He was too old, too weak, he couldn't even spit out an egg to avenge himself...
Just at that critical moment!
A figure, like a ghost, appeared out of thin air in front of King Piccolo, perfectly blocking the path of the Kamehameha!
The timing and position of his appearance were so coincidental, as if it had been calculated.
"Huh?"
Whitley had just landed from his Instant Transmission. Before he could even observe his surroundings, a violent torrent of energy rushed towards him!
The familiar ki and technique left him speechless.
"This guy Goku... he's giving me such a big welcome gift the moment I get back?"
The absurd thought of "is he holding a grudge because I didn't take him to the God of Destruction's Realm to train" flashed through Whitley's mind, but his actions were not slow.
He just casually raised his right hand, palm open, and at the roaring Kamehameha, he gave a light wave to the side, as if shooing an annoying fly!
Whoosh—!
There was no earth-shattering explosion, no violent energy collision.
The Kamehameha wave, powerful enough to destroy mountains, had its direction forcibly twisted by Whitley's immense power the moment it touched his palm!
It was bent at a sharp ninety-degree angle and roared off into the distant sky. In the end, far beyond the Earth, it actually pushed the moon away.
"Uh..." He swore he didn't mean to do that!
Whitley stared at the displaced moon for a moment before turning back to look at the completely bewildered King Piccolo he had just saved.
"Yo~"
Whitley raised an eyebrow, his tone teasing. "If it isn't the old Piccolo? Been a few days, gotten this pathetic?"
He instantly understood the situation—he had apparently interrupted Goku's "finishing move."
"Wh... Whitley?!"
Only then did Goku see who it was. His eyes widened in surprise, and he said happily, "Why are you back all of a sudden?! You just swatted my Kamehameha away... so cool!"
He paid no mind to the fact that Whitley had "saved" the enemy, and was instead excited by the power Whitley had displayed, which was far beyond his comprehension.
And King Piccolo, after experiencing a violent swing from hell to heaven, finally came to his senses!
He looked at the black-haired young man before him, who had casually swatted away a fatal blow and whose ki was unfathomably deep. The brief astonishment was quickly replaced by the elation of surviving and a swelling ambition!
"Mwahahahahahahaha!!!"
King Piccolo burst into a laughter even more crazed than before, as if the despair from a moment ago had never happened.
"I knew it! How could the great King Piccolo fall so easily! Fate is ultimately on my side!"
He struggled to straighten his stooped back and looked down at Whitley as if bestowing a great favor.
"Kid! I don't know who you are, but you have saved the great King Piccolo. I will remember this service! As long as you kill the kid in front of you, after I rule this world, you will be second only to me!"
He could already see himself at the pinnacle of power.
Whitley looked at the old Piccolo as if he were an idiot, an extremely speechless expression on his face.
He couldn't help but ask, "Hey, old man, you... have you always been this bold? Who gave you the courage to talk to me like that? Liang Jingru? Huh?!"
Whitley took out a verdant Senzu Bean from the DynoCap case at his waist and casually tossed it over. "Here, you know what this is, right? Eat it."
A Senzu Bean?! A greedy light instantly burst from King Piccolo's cloudy old eyes!
Of course, he knew what it was! Without any hesitation, he snatched the Senzu Bean and eagerly stuffed it into his mouth, chewing and swallowing forcefully!
BOOM!
A vast amount of life energy instantly exploded within his withered and aging body!
Broken bones crackled as they rapidly mended. Wounds deep enough to see bone healed and disappeared at a visible rate.
Even the wrinkles on his skin seemed to smooth out a little!
"Power! Infinite power has returned! Hahaha!"
King Piccolo felt the surging power within him, his confidence swelling to an unprecedented level!
His gaze towards Whitley was no longer one of gratitude, but filled with violence and arrogance!
"Kid! Although you gave me a Senzu Bean, your disrespect towards me just now..."
He sneered and raised his hands, a terrifying energy beginning to gather. He was clearly turning on his benefactor and testing out his recovered strength at the same time.
However, before he could finish his threat, Whitley's figure appeared in front of him in an instant!
A hand, like an iron clamp, shot out like lightning and seized his throat!
"Ugh?!"
All of King Piccolo's movements froze instantly!
He was horrified to discover that his terrifying power, which could destroy cities, was as helpless as an infant's before this hand!
No matter how he struggled, no matter how he flared his ki, he couldn't budge that hand a single inch!
The feeling of suffocation and the cold of death instantly filled his heart!
"Spit out the egg."
Whitley's voice was cold, devoid of any emotion.
"Ugh... ugh..." King Piccolo made gurgling sounds, his eyes filled with incredible fear. This young man... how does he know?!
"Spit. Out. The. Egg."
Whitley's grip tightened slightly. King Piccolo's eyeballs bulged, and his face turned a purplish color.
He realized this was not a negotiation; it was an order! An ultimatum!
"Damn... you!" The instinct for survival overrode everything else.
A crazed and resentful light flashed in King Piccolo's eyes. He shot his hands up, gathering all of his recovered power!
A thick, destructive Special Beam Cannon shot out at point-blank range and slammed into Whitley's chest!
BOOM!!!!
A violent explosion instantly engulfed the two of them! The violent purple energy raged, carving a huge, deep crater in the ground!
In the billowing smoke, Goku couldn't help but shout nervously, "Whitley!"
However, when the smoke cleared, Whitley's figure was still standing steadily in the same spot. Not even his hair was out of place!
The Special Beam Cannon, powerful enough to pierce through mountains, had hit him as if it were just a gentle breeze!
His other hand was even free, and in the smoke from the explosion, he had accurately pinched the cheek of Goku, who had come over to get a closer look, and habitually gave it a hard rub.
"Spit. Out. The. Egg."
Whitley's voice sounded again, still cold and calm, as if the city-destroying explosion had never happened.
The hand gripping Piccolo's throat had not moved.
King Piccolo was utterly despondent!
This was not an opponent on the same level! This was... a monster! An absolute monster!
In the face of absolute power, all his schemes and monstrous hatred seemed so pale and ridiculous!
Looking at Whitley's emotionless eyes, which looked as if they would crush his neck in the next second, King Piccolo finally broke. He gave up all resistance and, humiliated and with great difficulty, nodded forcefully.
Only then did Whitley release his grip on his throat, but his other hand remained firmly on his shoulder, preventing him from escaping or trying any tricks.
"Hah... hah..."
King Piccolo gasped for air, his eyes filled with humiliation and unwillingness.
He clutched his neck and glared venomously at Whitley. Finally, under the threat of death, he mobilized all the remaining power and life force in his body. His abdomen began to churn and expand violently!
"Ugh... ah—!!!"
With a painful and resentful roar, a huge, demonic egg, covered in a viscous fluid and glowing with a strange green light, was forcibly "spat" out of his mouth!
The moment the egg left Piccolo's body, as if it had a will of its own, it immediately turned into a streak of green light and shot into the sky with a "swoosh," disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye.
Whitley glanced in the direction the egg had disappeared, knowing that it was probably the future Piccolo, and couldn't be bothered to chase it.
"Alright, your task is complete."
Whitley looked at the limp and even more aged King Piccolo, who had exhausted all his strength, and said flatly.
"You..." King Piccolo seemed to want to say something more.
Whitley gave him no chance.
He raised his right hand. A point of golden light instantly gathered at the tip of his index finger, then turned into a golden ray with terrifying piercing power. With a "pfft!" sound, it accurately pierced through the center of King Piccolo's brow.
The malice, unwillingness, and fear in his eyes instantly froze, then completely faded.
This great demon king, who had once plunged the world into darkness, died, completely and utterly, with endless humiliation and confusion, becoming a cold corpse.
Whitley retracted his finger, as calm as if he had just crushed an ant.
He turned to the still-dazed Goku and said with a smile:
"I have to go now. Bulma is probably getting impatient waiting for me. What about you? Want to come to West City with me? Bulma has prepared a big meal."
Goku came to his senses, looked at Piccolo's corpse on the ground, then at Whitley, scratched the back of his head, and gave a grin.
"Nah! Grandpa Roshi and Krillin are still waiting for me! I'll come and find you later! Remember to have Bulma save some good food for me!"
He said no more, immediately summoned the Flying Nimbus, waved at Whitley, and quickly disappeared into the sky as a streak of golden light.
Whitley didn't linger either, his body anxiously shooting into the sky.
At a speed far exceeding the Flying Nimbus, he sped towards the Briefs' estate in West City!
He had to be fast. That dog Beerus was about to arrive, and he had to go back and prepare with Bulma.
At the very least, he couldn't let Bulma give that God of Destruction a resounding slap, like in the original Dragon Ball story.
But... with his current mastery of God Ki...
He was confident that with a few more years of development, if not defeat Beerus, he could definitely fight him on equal footing!
And at that time... hehehe!
Ten thousand meters high in the sky, on Kami's Lookout.
Kami had watched the entire process of King Piccolo's death unfold below.
The expression on his wrinkled, green, old face was extremely complex, a mixture of shock, bewilderment, a hint of lingering fear, and... deep relief.
"It's... it's over just like that?"
Kami muttered to himself, feeling as if he were in a dream.
The sacrifice, the tragedy, the mutual destruction he had envisioned... none of it happened.
That King Piccolo, who was so powerful that even he felt fear, was like a toy being played with in front of the alien named Whitley. Even his final resistance seemed so feeble.
What shocked him even more was Whitley's final act of forcing Piccolo to "spit out the egg"!
"How... how did he know that secret?"
Kami was completely baffled. "I never revealed to him that Piccolo and I were one and the same! This..."
This incident gave him a greater understanding of Whitley.
Mr. Popo had just arrived in West City and he was already back. Kami had confirmed one thing: this was a man who loved his wife!
But in any case, the greatest threat, King Piccolo, had been eliminated.
Looking at the demonic egg that Piccolo had spat out at the last moment, which had disappeared into the sky, Kami's brow furrowed slightly, a hint of worry on his face.
He knew all too well what that egg meant. In the future, there would probably be new troubles...
But that was for later. The most important crisis for now had been resolved.
This made Kami let out a long sigh of relief, as if a burden he had carried for hundreds of years had been lifted.
"Popo," he spoke telepathically to Mr. Popo, his voice filled with an unprecedented lightness. "Mr. Popo, King Piccolo has been dealt with by Whitley. you may return to the Lookout."
After telling Mr. Popo he could come back, Kami sighed. He decided to temporarily forget about his previous decision to pass the title of Guardian to Whitley.
"The position of Guardian..."
Kami looked at the vast Earth below the Lookout, a hint of an imperceptible fondness in his cloudy eyes.
Mr. Whitley is still too young. Although his power is great, his temperament... well, it still needs to be honed.
And he may not be interested in a divine position. A burden like this, which concerns the very lifeblood of the Earth, is better left for an old man like me... to carry for a few more years.
He silently found an excuse for himself.
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200 Power Stones = 1 Bônus Chapter