"Whoosh!"
A violet-red mote of light shot straight toward Cui.
In the blink of an eye, the violet-red light hit him square in the chest.
"What the hell is this?" Cui froze, then burst into wild laughter. "Is this the little trick you picked up on Earth? Don't make me laugh! What kind of garbage move is this? Are you trying to tickle me?"
But as Cui laughed, his grin suddenly froze in place.
An instant later, his body split apart and disintegrated, collapsing into nothing. Like a soap bubble, he simply popped and vanished.
At the very moment Cui disappeared, that twisted, frozen smile of his was still etched perfectly on his face.
Vegeta was stunned. Eyes wide, he stared at the spot where Cui had vanished, half convinced he was hallucinating.
Dead?
Did I just kill this guy?
Was that really Destruction energy just now?
I spent eighteen days in the spaceship training it over and over in my mind, grinding through countless ways to use this power…
And with just that one try, I actually pulled it off!
Vegeta felt like happiness had crashed down on him out of nowhere.
"Now's not the time to get excited. I absolutely can't let Frieza get his way!" Vegeta snapped back to his senses, bolted toward his spaceship, and jumped into the spherical pod.
"Whoosh!"
The spherical ship tore through the sky and soon broke into the sparkling sea of stars.
In that moment, the starlit void looked especially brilliant to Vegeta.
I've mastered it!
I, Vegeta, will become the next God of Destruction!
Wahahaha!
Vegeta was as giddy as a kid.
Ken, you didn't let me down!
…
Time passed, day after day.
Roughly thirty-four days later.
Universe 9, deep space.
Destruction energy poured into Bardock's palm as he casually wiped out several planets in a row.
"Not bad, just like that." Mojito nodded in satisfaction, lavishing praise on him. "As expected of Bardock-san—your comprehension really is impressive! Just like I said before, the main job of a God of Destruction is to erase planets or people that disrupt the flow of resources, so the universe can maintain its balance."
Bardock gave a small nod, indicating he'd taken it in.
"Our Universe 9 is heading in a very good direction. Truly worth celebrating." Mojito felt his luck was honestly pretty good.
At first, he hadn't thought much of Bardock as a new God of Destruction.
But to Mojito's pleasant surprise, aside from his relatively low power level, Bardock was an excellent choice in every other respect.
As they chatted, the space around them suddenly twisted and rippled.
"Shup!"
The Supreme Kai Roh appeared beside Bardock and Mojito.
"Hello, Bardock-sama. Last time you asked me to investigate Raditz and Kakarot for you. I've basically gotten to the bottom of it," Roh said respectfully.
"Thanks for the trouble. How are they?" Bardock's expression shifted slightly, a flicker of expectation in his eyes.
"Just as you suspected, the man called Son Goku is indeed your son Kakarot, Bardock-san. He was sent to Earth in Universe 7 when he was very young. Later, at the God of Destruction election tournament held by Universe 18, Broly ultimately won, and Angel Ken earned the right to make a wish on Super Shenron. He used it to swap the Earths of Universe 6 and Universe 7. That's why Kakarot ended up on the Earth of Universe 6," Roh explained in detail.
Bardock nodded lightly.
He had more or less figured this much out even without Roh's explanation.
He'd long suspected that the man called Son Goku was his own son.
"How is he doing right now?" Bardock asked, excited and hopeful.
"Son Goku is perfectly fine. Everything's going well," Roh said with a smile. "He just defeated the Saiyan prince Vegeta, and Angel Ken has even guided him personally."
"So that's how it is." Bardock finally let out a quiet breath. "As expected of my son."
"Now, I'd like to focus on your elder son, Raditz-san," Roh went on, his expression growing increasingly serious.
"What about him? Did something happen?" Bardock's brows lifted.
"Something did happen," Roh nodded, then explained, "Raditz-san occupied a planet and killed a large number of people. He violated the Galactic Law of Universe 6. The Universe 6 Peacekeeping Force sent a young Saiyan named Cabba, who defeated Raditz-san and took him into custody on Planet Sadala."
"Universe 6 really likes to meddle, huh?" Bardock frowned.
"That's not the main point," Roh added.
Bardock: "…"
"The main point is, Raditz is scheduled for public execution today," Roh said.
"When?" Bardock's face changed color.
"By Earth's timekeeping, in about five minutes," Roh replied.
Bardock's expression darkened even further.
"But don't worry. I'm a Supreme Kai—I can teleport instantly. Even if we go to Universe 6 right now, we'll be in time. For me, it only takes an instant," Roh said, a smug grin spreading over his face.
Bardock finally relaxed a little, hurriedly thanked him, and begged Roh to take him to Planet Sadala right away.
"Then let's go," Roh said, nodding readily.
"Bardock-san, I have one piece of advice before you head to Universe 6," Mojito suddenly spoke up.
"Go ahead," Bardock replied.
"After you rescue Raditz-san on Planet Sadala in Universe 6, come straight back. As a God of Destruction, I strongly advise against crossing universes just to kill people," Mojito warned.
"Understood," Bardock agreed.
"Please take my hand," Roh said with a friendly smile, reaching out to Bardock.
Bardock clasped Roh's hand.
"Kai Kai!"
Muttering the technique, Roh activated Instant Transmission, vanishing from the spot in a flash.
In just a blink, Roh had brought Bardock into the region of space where Planet Sadala lay.
When it came to Planet Sadala, no one understood it better than Bardock.
After all, Bardock had lived for over a thousand years and had personally witnessed the rise and fall of Planet Sadala in Universe 7.
The fact that Universe 6 also had a Planet Sadala didn't surprise him at all.
He'd long heard that Universe 6 and Universe 7 were mirror universes, with many planets and people that were very similar.
"Bardock-san, that's Planet Sadala right there," Roh said, pointing to the distant orb in space and grinning.
Bardock nodded again and thanked Roh once more.
"Think nothing of it," Roh replied with a wide smile. "I heard you're on good terms with the new God of Destruction in Universe 3, right?"
Bardock blinked, glancing up at the Supreme Kai.
"I really like the advanced technology in Universe 3. Tell your friend, the God of Destruction over there, that I'd like free access to Universe 3. That's all," Roh said, grinning in a rather sly way.
Bardock: "???"
Bardock had no idea what Roh was up to, but he nodded and agreed anyway.
Roh's meaning couldn't have been clearer.
Before Sidra and Mule disappeared, they had promised Roh a high-intelligence robot with constant temperature and humidity control.
But everyone vanished before Roh ever got that wonderful machine.
He still felt a pang of longing about that.
Especially now that a new God of Destruction had taken over in Universe 3, Roh no longer felt the same restraints as before and was more eager than ever to get his hands on that unique robot.
Not long after being resurrected, Roh had even gone to Universe 3 in person—only to be noticed by Ai and kicked right back out.
So now he'd resorted to an indirect approach, trying to win Bardock over and get his help.
"Raditz-san is on Planet Sadala. Let's head down," Roh called.
Bardock said no more and shot off toward Planet Sadala.
…
Planet Sadala, execution grounds.
Raditz was forced to the ground, tied up in a full spreadeagle with special restraints.
In his current state, he could barely even twitch.
Raditz's heart burned with unwillingness.
Seriously…
I'm really going to die in a dump like this?
What is wrong with these Saiyans?
You guys actually formed some kind of justice league!
I could almost laugh!
Up on the main platform, the king personally read out Raditz's crimes.
On Planet Kute, Raditz had killed nearly a hundred people before storming the palace and setting himself up as the planet's king.
That alone was a blatant violation of Galactic Law, and so he was to be executed.
"Prepare for execution!" the king bellowed.
The executioner hefted a long executioner's blade, lined it up with Raditz's neck, and brought it down without hesitation.
Energy gathered in the executioner's hand, coating the blade.
With a blow like that, Raditz's head would be all but guaranteed to part from his body.
Raditz thrashed with everything he had, but it was useless.
The blade fell.
In Raditz's pupils, there was nothing but bottomless despair.
Crack!
Bardock flicked his hand from afar, blasting the executioner's blade into glittering shards with overwhelming divine power.
A split-second later, Bardock descended from the sky and landed by Raditz's side. He shot a sharp glare at the chains binding his son.
"Ka-chak…"
The chains on Raditz shattered on the spot.
Every Saiyan present was left wide-eyed, staring at Bardock in stunned silence.
Raditz rubbed his eyes, staring up at Bardock without blinking, struggling to process what he was seeing.
"Dad? Is that really you?" Raditz asked uncertainly.
"Raditz, you've grown," Bardock said with a gentle smile.
"Eh? It really is you, Dad… You're still alive!" Raditz's surprise only grew.
"We'll talk later," Bardock said.
"Who goes there? How dare you storm the execution grounds of Planet Sadala!" the king roared, glaring furiously at Bardock.
"I am Bardock, God of Destruction of Universe 9… and once a Saiyan myself," Bardock said calmly.
"Universe 9's Supreme Kai," Roh added with a mild smile beside him.
The king was dumbstruck.
He didn't hesitate for even a second—he rushed forward and dropped to his knees in a formal bow.
"King of Sadala, I apologize for the crimes my son has committed. I'll make sure to discipline him properly from now on. May I take him away?" Bardock asked politely.
"Of course. Absolutely no problem," the king agreed on the spot, without the slightest hesitation.
He knew perfectly well what kind of beings he was dealing with.
One was a God of Destruction, the other a Supreme Kai.
Even if they weren't from Universe 6, they were absolutely not the sort of people he could afford to cross.
"Thank you," Bardock said.
"You honor us with your presence, God of Destruction," the king replied respectfully.
"Supreme Kai, let's go," Bardock said to Roh.
Roh nodded and prepared to use Instant Transmission to take Bardock and Raditz back to Universe 9.
But just as Roh began to cast the technique, an invisible wave of energy crashed down over him.
Boom!
With a muffled impact, Roh was launched through the air and smashed into the ground, coughing up a mouthful of blood as his face turned ghostly pale.
Bardock froze for a moment, then immediately turned toward the one who'd attacked Roh.
The attacker was a rather chubby cat-like humanoid, and beside him stood someone dressed very much like a Supreme Kai.
"The new God of Destruction from Universe 9 actually dares to meddle in Universe 6's affairs," Champa said coldly, eyes narrowed at Bardock.
Ever since parting ways with Majin Buu, Champa had returned to Universe 6.
As luck would have it, once he got back, the Universe 6 Supreme Kai Fuwa asked for his help destroying several enormous stars.
Champa normally hated working, but after Fuwa's repeated pleading, he'd finally agreed.
The three supermassive stars were enormous—one of them was almost half the size of the entire galaxy.
With a Supreme Kai's strength, destroying such a star was nearly impossible, so Fuwa had no choice but to ask Champa for help.
Naturally, Champa had wiped out all three without breaking much of a sweat.
After finishing the job, he was about to head back to the God of Destruction Realm when Fuwa told him that a Supreme Kai and a God of Destruction from another universe had appeared on Planet Sadala.
Champa immediately had Fuwa teleport him there, and he arrived just in time to witness Bardock's entrance.
The brand new God of Destruction from Universe 9, daring to meddle in Universe 6's business.
As if Champa could just let that slide.
Absolutely not!
He'd already taken a big loss fighting Majin Buu and had even been absorbed. He still hadn't gotten over that humiliation.
And now the Universe 9 God of Destruction had come to Universe 6 to stir up trouble.
It was almost funny how mad it made him.
Sure, he was on the weaker side among the Gods of Destruction—but that didn't mean just anyone could push him around.
And he recognized Bardock at a glance.
Isn't this the same guy Ken picked as his new God of Destruction?
If I remember right, his level isn't anything special.
I won't go so far as to kill him, but if he thinks he's walking out of here with his son, he can dream.
"Champa!" Bardock's brows knit together.
"You again!" Champa snorted, eyes narrowed as he stared at Bardock. "Last time I let it slide because Broly was there. Looks like you've really grown some nerve, huh? Coming all the way to Universe 6 to throw your weight around?"
"I only came to bring my son home. I'd appreciate it if you didn't interfere," Bardock said, voice low.
"Did you not hear me the first time? Your son violated the Galactic Law of Universe 6. He's scheduled for execution today," Champa snorted. "If anyone's interfering, it's you."
"Who is this fat cat supposed to be? Are you brain-damaged or what?" Raditz yelled, jabbing a finger at Champa and cursing him out.
"Shut up!" Bardock barked.
"Good. Insulting a God of Destruction just adds to your crimes," Champa said with a faintly amused smile. "You really aren't worth saving."
Bardock's face grew darker and darker.
This ungrateful brat just did exactly what he shouldn't have.
Why provoke him now, of all times?
"So you're the new God of Destruction, Bardock, right?" Champa said. "Since you're a fellow God of Destruction and he's your son, I'll be generous." He smiled pleasantly. "I'll give him a chance to live. It's simple: if you can defeat me, you can take your son and walk away."
Champa had already seen through Bardock's current strength. At best, he judged him to be around level 32.
And he, Champa, was a level 51 God of Destruction.
Beating Bardock would be laughably easy.
"Hmph. Gladly," Bardock growled through clenched teeth as crimson flames flared up around him.
"Zzzzt… crackle…"
Bardock transformed into Super Saiyan God Two.
"Not bad. That's the form you used to defeat Beerus's clone, right?" Champa chuckled and crooked a finger at him. "Come on, show me what you've got."
"Whoosh!"
Bardock rocketed toward Champa and drove a powerful punch straight at him.
Smack!
Champa casually raised his left hand and caught Bardock's fist with ease.
Boom!
Then Champa moved. His knee shot up like a cannon and slammed into Bardock's gut.
"Gah—!"
Bardock was struck full-on, blood spurting from his mouth.
In just a single exchange, Champa smashed Bardock out of his transformation.
Bardock crashed to the ground, the crimson aura around him vanishing in an instant.
The gap between them was simply too big.
Back when Broly was around, Champa had never really gone all out against Bardock.
But once he got serious, Bardock was no match at all.
Smack!
Champa planted his foot on Bardock's face, eyes narrowed with amused interest as his smile grew ever brighter. "What's wrong? That's the best you can do? All it took was a bit of effort and you're already back to normal?"
Bardock's eyes were bloodshot with rage. He'd never imagined the difference between them would be this vast.
"Dad, are you seriously this useless?" Raditz shook his head, deeply disappointed. "I would've been better off if you hadn't come. I finally had a sliver of hope to survive, and you lost to this fat cat that quickly?"
Bardock stayed silent.
"Hmph. Dying by the hand of a God of Destruction should be an honor for you," Champa snorted, extending his hand toward Raditz from afar.
"Stop! Champa!" Bardock cried out, face twisting as he shouted at him.
(End of chapter)
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