Mule glanced over the book, satisfied. "I'll take a look first."
Champa chuckled over the line. "After you've practiced, let me know. I want to see if your power goes up."
"Easy enough," Mule said, ending the call.
He lifted the Sunflower Manual. Beneath the bold title was a small line of print: All martial arts bow to speed.
He turned to the first page.
If you wish to master divine skills, you must first castrate yourself.
Mule: "…"
He tried to flip to page two. It wouldn't budge.
Then he noticed the tiny letters under that first sentence: Complete the step to unlock page two.
Mule fell silent.
No wonder Champa wouldn't practice this himself.
Mule's gaze slid to Broly, who was still eating like a storm.
He sauntered back to Sidra and set the manual on the table.
Sidra blinked. "Sunflower Manual? What's that supposed to be?"
"Uh, Champa sent it to me," Mule said, deliberately eyeing Broly.
Broly's ears perked; he pointed at the book. "Mine."
"You gave it to Champa, didn't you?" Mule asked.
Broly nodded.
"You practiced it?" Mule pressed.
Broly nodded hard.
Mule: "…"
He looked at Broly with a strange sympathy.
Kid… you really don't know what else that thing is used for, huh?
"Since you gave it to Champa and now he passed it to me, are you planning to take it back?" Mule smiled.
"You bought me good food… you can have it," Broly said, generous as he waved a greasy hand at the feast.
"Now that's more like it." Mule's smile deepened, meaning layered beneath it.
Sidra picked up the Sunflower Manual, reading the fine print. "All martial arts bow to speed?"
"Champa said even Ultra Instinct gets tagged if the speed is absolute," Mule said quietly. "What do you think?"
"He's… not wrong. If your speed reaches a true absolute, even Ultra Instinct might not avoid it," Sidra nodded, and opened page one.
He stared for a few seconds, then looked at the robot girl beside him, Little Seven, and promptly tossed the book back to Mule.
"Not my kind of scripture," Sidra said, shaking his head.
A beat of silence.
"Mule, you could try," Sidra added with a grin. "It's not like it can't grow back. Maybe you really will push speed to the extreme."
"I heard Ken and Broly got where they are because they trained with this thing—for just one year," Mule murmured, lowering his voice.
"They trained only a year? That's impressive…" Sidra was genuinely surprised. He patted Mule's shoulder. "I think you should try. If you reach God of Destruction level on your own and then fuse with Mosco again, you might even surpass Beerus."
Mule's eyes lit up; the book suddenly felt heavier in his hands.
You make a good point.
If I reach God of Destruction level and then pair with Mosco, we'd stomp Beerus, wouldn't we?
Let those Gods of Destruction look down on me again—I dare them.
I'm trying it.
…
That night.
Moon high, shadows long.
Deep in a cave on the moon, Mule sat on a rock, legs dangling, Sunflower Manual open.
He clenched his jaw. A blade of energy budded at his fingertip.
A sharp flick—
"AAaAAHH—!"
A pig-butchering scream rolled across the lunar stone.
Majin Buu stepped out of the room below, tilting his head toward the moon, puzzled.
"What is it?" Broly rubbed his eyes, ambling out.
"Broly, did you hear someone yelling up on the moon?" Buu pointed skyward.
"No," Broly shook his head.
"The moon's really round tonight," Buu observed.
"Mm. Very round," Broly nodded. "Last time I saw it this full was half a year ago—then I tore it in half."
Buu blinked, not sure what the point of that was.
They both grinned goofily at the bright disk.
"Uh… Ken said I shouldn't stare at a full moon too long… or I'll turn into a Great Ape," Broly said, pulling his gaze away as his pulse quickened. His breathing sharpened—but he brought it back under control and didn't transform.
"Weird guy," Buu snorted.
Broly chuckled along.
A quiet moment passed.
"Hey, if you absorbed me, how much stronger would you get?" Broly asked suddenly.
"How much? I don't know… maybe stronger than both of us put together." Buu shrugged.
"That's not an answer," Broly sighed.
"Heh-heh. You want me to absorb you?" Buu's grin went crooked.
"If it's necessary," Broly murmured, leaning close to whisper in Buu's ear, "do it if I'm in real danger."
Buu didn't quite get it, but he nodded anyway.
…
On the moon.
Pale as chalk, Mule forced himself to steady his breathing. He looked down at the Sunflower Manual.
Unlock successful.
He drew a deep breath and turned to page two.
Even if you castrate yourself, it may still fail.
His face went whiter. A bad feeling crawled up his spine.
He flipped to page three.
Even if you don't, it may still succeed.
Mule trembled, lips quivering with rage.
He yanked to page four.
One word.
Done.
He stared at that last word, twisted strokes jeering at him. May as well have spelled "idiot."
"Aaaarrrgghhh!"
Mule exploded, slicing the manual to dust in one sweep.
Champa—just you wait!
I won't forgive you.
And you, Broly—you dared play me?
You and Champa teamed up to make a fool of me, didn't you?
If I find out you really killed my boy, I will never let you go.
I'll erase you so completely you'll never come back.
…
Eleventh Universe, Pride Planet.
Merus was not the type to give up. He dogged Jiren for three straight days, trying to recruit him as his trainee Supreme Kai.
Jiren wanted to cry.
He wanted to ask Belmod if Marcarita had ever harassed him this hard. Do all Angels ignore the concept of boundaries?
He rejected Merus again and again—no interest in being a Supreme Kai. And to avoid being pushed toward God of Destruction next, he added that he had no interest in that either.
He said he just wanted to live as an ordinary man.
Three days later, Merus had to admit defeat.
"Forget it. My turn," Ken sighed.
Merus looked like he'd just been turned down by the love of his life—three days of chasing and still single. And he was tall, rich, and handsome! That woman must be crazy.
He was spiraling.
It was his first time recruiting a mortal as an Angel, and the mortal didn't care at all.
"Fine, go ahead, Ken. I don't believe he'll agree to be your Supreme Kai," Merus said, steadying himself.
If he couldn't do it, how could Ken? He was the Grand Priest's son; Ken was just a human on the Angel's path. If the son of the Grand Priest couldn't seal the deal, how could anyone else?
Ken went in to speak with Jiren.
Ten minutes later, they came out together—Jiren's face solemn, and oddly respectful.
Merus: "???"
Something was off.
"Greetings, Lord Merus." Jiren bowed.
Merus froze.
What does that even mean?
The same man who ignored him for three days… was bowing?
"Are you really Jiren?" Merus blurted.
"Lord Merus, I accept your invitation to serve as your trainee Supreme Kai," Jiren said, bowing again.
Merus gaped, blinking for several seconds before his eyes slid to Ken.
"Lord Ken promised me one condition—that once I become a true Supreme Kai, he'll help fulfill my greatest wish: to bring my master, Gicchin, back," Jiren explained.
Merus: "…"
Such a crucial detail—and I didn't know?
How did you know?
If I'd known, I'd have convinced him!
"Jiren, how did your master die?" Merus asked.
"Killed by the Demon Clan," Jiren said. "His soul never escaped."
Merus: "…"
Headache. Massive.
He pulled Ken aside. "Do you even realize what you promised?"
"What's the problem?" Ken asked.
"Without a soul, even Angels can't resurrect someone," Merus said, shaking his head.
"What about the Divine Dragon? Can't it bring back someone without a soul?" Ken smiled.
"The Divine Dragon? Then… probably yes." Merus's eyes lit. "You mean to use the Divine Dragon to revive Gicchin?"
"Effective, isn't it? He agreed right away," Ken grinned.
"No, wait… something still feels off…" Merus rubbed his temples. Something didn't add up.
Ken just smiled at him.
"Hold on—you said you'd take Jiren for yourself. Why give him to me?" Merus asked.
"I was teasing. I'm not stealing your pick," Ken laughed, floating up to clap Merus's shoulder. "You're my best friend. If you've set your sights on a Supreme Kai, why would I poach him?"
"Ken…" Merus's eyes misted.
"Don't cry. Angels don't shed tears… right?" Ken said.
"Drop the 'right,'" Merus sniffed, grateful all the same.
Ken had not only persuaded Jiren, he'd handed him over as Merus's trainee.
"And you? Are you really going to train Son Goku to be a Supreme Kai?" Merus asked, embarrassed.
"You picked all the heavy hitters. I'll just train one of my own," Ken said with a helpless sigh.
"Don't say that. The cosmos is huge—twelve universes! Let me help you search this time," Merus offered.
"No need. I'm set on Goku. I like raising my own people," Ken smiled.
"In that case, don't expect me to go easy on you at the evaluation," Merus teased back.
"Fair enough," Ken said.
He'd made up his mind—he'd train Goku well. Thirty years from now, he wanted to pit Goku against Merus's Jiren. Now that would be fun.
Goku, I'll shape you into a first-rate warrior in thirty years.
As for Jiren… Ken wasn't that interested. Everyone has ceilings. In Ken's eyes, Goku, Vegeta, and Broly felt… limitless.
Jiren? He already looked close to his limits. Without some special encounter, he wouldn't leap that far again.
Besides, there was a special satisfaction in raising his own.
More importantly, Ken knew how to train them.
So Jiren went to Merus—it was what Merus wanted most, and Ken was happy to hand him the gift. Later, when Jiren lost to Goku, what kind of face would Merus make?
He'd even offered Jiren—Merus had turned Goku down.
Ken couldn't wait for that day.
By then, he'd have become a true Angel.
He was getting excited.
"Should we head back to Universe 18?" Merus asked. "Or go to universe 6 to bring Son Goku over?"
"No need yet. Let Goku grow on his own for a bit," Ken said. "Let's return to Universe 18. By the way—are you bringing Jiren?"
"What do you think?" Merus asked back.
"Leave him a book. Let him study, and we'll drop by to guide him. We've got thirty years," Ken said.
"You're right. Honestly, I think we should go learn from a sitting Supreme Kai," Merus mused, following Ken's thread.
"Universe 7 Supreme Kai? Learn from him?" Ken suggested.
Merus: "…"
"Be serious. If we follow Universe 7 Supreme Kai, we'll wind up in a ditch," Merus sighed.
They joked a bit more, then walked back to Jiren.
Merus lifted his right hand. A book rose from thin air.
Ken glanced at the cover: Supreme Kai Training Guide.
[End of Chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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