"Hakai!" Champa said as destructive energy gathered in his hand.
But right after that, Champa suddenly shuddered. His expression changed, and he hurriedly dispersed the energy.
Champa's face instantly went calm, the killing intent in his eyes reined back in.
A brief silence.
"Lock him up," Champa snorted, ordering the king.
"Yes, Champa-sama!" the king answered at once.
His men immediately rushed forward and laid into Raditz with a flurry of punches and kicks.
Raditz had no strength left to resist. He was beaten black and blue and had the shackles slapped back on him.
Raditz felt like he'd rather be dead.
Right after that, he was escorted back to the great prison on the planet and thrown into a cell again.
"Bardock, if you want your son to be set free, then beat this God of Destruction first," Champa snorted coldly and kicked Bardock hard.
Bardock was sent flying up into the air, then crashed heavily back down onto the ground, blood spraying from his mouth.
"You can always sneak your son out. I won't stop you," Champa sneered, "but I don't mind dropping by Universe 9 and erasing him there. He violated the Galactic Law of Universe 6. You're a God of Destruction; you should understand how serious that is. Like I said—if you want to save him, do it after you surpass this God of Destruction."
Once he finished, Champa's body turned into a streak of purple-red light that shot up into the sky and vanished.
Supreme Kai Fuwa gave Roh a disdainful look, then used Instant Transmission and left the scene as well.
Once he was out in space, Champa took out a communicator and pressed a button.
"Ken… heh heh, how was my performance just now?" Champa chuckled.
"Not bad," Ken replied with a satisfied smile.
"That's good, that's good." Champa nodded again and again. "Is there anything else you need from me?"
"Nothing for now," Ken said with a faint smile.
"If there's nothing else, then I'll hang up for now," Champa said carefully as he ended the call.
Ken didn't say anything more.
During this period, Ken had gone to the God of Destruction Realm of Universe 6 and had a long, relaxed talk about life with Vados.
Honestly, it had been a long time since Ken had seen Vados with his own eyes.
Ever since he became an angel, he hadn't really had a chance to be alone with her.
When he arrived at the God of Destruction Realm of Universe 6, the very first thing he did was kick the just-returned Champa out.
That was one of the reasons Champa was feeling so depressed.
On top of that, of course, Ken had sensed Bardock appearing in Universe 6, trying to save his son Raditz.
And it just so happened Champa showed up at a critical moment.
Ken had taken a closer look and realized Champa seemed about to erase Raditz.
Ken didn't care that much about Raditz personally, but letting him die right now felt like a waste.
After all, Bardock hadn't yet trained his strength up to the critical point.
If Bardock died now, it would be basically a pointless death.
If he was going to die, it should at least be after Bardock's power was pushed to the limit.
So Ken immediately contacted Champa and had him throw Raditz into prison first and deal with him later.
…
Planet Sadala.
Roh struggled to climb up from the ground, then quickly appeared at Bardock's side and helped him up.
"Damn it…" Bardock wanted to move, but his body wouldn't respond. His fists clenched tight.
"Bardock-sama, let's return for now and make a long-term plan," Roh said in a low voice.
Bardock didn't argue. At least there was one thing he could be at ease about.
For now, Raditz wouldn't be executed. He was only being held in the great prison on this planet.
Right now, what I need most is to break through my limits as quickly as possible and raise my strength.
I couldn't even beat the weakest God of Destruction!
When will I ever be able to protect my family?
Under Supreme Kai Roh's guidance, Bardock returned to Universe 9.
Even though he hadn't saved Raditz, Bardock was still very grateful to Supreme Kai Roh.
Once his injuries had healed, as promised, Bardock followed Roh to the God of Destruction Realm of Universe 3.
…
Universe 3, God of Destruction Realm.
"Broly, where are we going to hang out today?" Ai's sweet voice rang out.
"Uh… anywhere's fine…" Broly scratched his head.
"Don't you love eating good food? I recently found a new planet. I'll take you there!" Ai said, smiling as her brows curved into crescents, tugging on Broly's hand.
Broly nodded.
Not long after Broly arrived in Universe 3, Ai had discovered him.
She personally invited him to her God of Destruction Realm and gave him a proper tour.
During this time, Broly had gone to all sorts of planets under Ai's lead and experienced all kinds of local customs.
Of course, he'd also eaten plenty of strange and delicious foods from those planets.
He had even gone to a planet that was basically like a Transformers world, where he found metal beings that could turn into planes and cars.
It made Broly sigh in amazement at how vast this universe was and how many different lifeforms it held.
Today, Ai was taking him to a planet known as the gourmet paradise of Universe 3.
"I don't really know how good the food is there… I don't eat your kind of food, so I can't judge it. But I doubt there'll be any problems," Ai said softly, her beautiful eyes fixed intently on Broly, full of tender affection.
Broly was stared at until he felt embarrassed. He gave a silly grin, scratched his head, and couldn't help but blush.
"Broly, you're blushing," Ai giggled as she looked at him.
"No, I'm not…" Broly shook his head in denial.
"Do you like me, Broly?" Ai asked in a soft voice.
Broly didn't answer. Mostly because he didn't know how to.
"Tell me when you've figured it out," Ai said, blinking playfully as she took Broly by the arm. "Come on, let's go to that planet."
Broly nodded lightly.
The two of them flew up into the sky.
"But by the way, are you really going to become that Great God of Destruction?" Ai turned her head and asked.
"Yeah. I'm definitely becoming the Great God of Destruction," Broly said with a serious nod. "But right now I'm still no match for those Gods of Destruction. I'll train here with you for a while longer."
"Then I'll fight by your side when the time comes," Ai said, pumping her little pink fist.
"Don't join in," Broly said, shaking his head.
Because Broly knew very clearly that Ai's strength wasn't that high.
She didn't seem as strong as Champa, even.
If Ai joined the battle on his side, there was a real chance she'd get killed.
"Even if you really want to fight, don't be my ally. Stand on the opposite side," Broly added.
"You're worried about me, aren't you?" Ai winked and smiled.
Broly didn't answer, just flew on with his head down.
Whoosh.
In the next instant, Roh appeared in front of Broly and Ai with Bardock using Instant Transmission.
Broly and Ai immediately stopped in the void of space.
The two sides faced each other.
"Oh, it's you," Ai recognized Supreme Kai Roh at a glance, her eyes full of disgust. "Ugh, how annoying."
Roh: "…"
"What's wrong?" Broly turned his head to ask Ai.
"He went to one of our universe's high-tech civilization planets and tried to get the scientists there to build him… a custom robot," Ai said through gritted teeth.
After all, Ai herself was a robot.
And this Supreme Kai had actually wanted a special-model robot as his partner.
Just thinking about it made Ai feel sick.
"I don't really get all the details… but get lost. Now," Broly said bluntly, scolding Roh without mercy.
Roh suddenly had a massive headache.
"Bardock, Ai doesn't like him. Tell him to get lost," Broly said, turning to Bardock.
Bardock looked at Ai, then at Broly, and immediately connected the dots about the robot Roh had requested.
He slapped his forehead and let out a speechless sigh.
No wonder Ai hates him so much.
"Supreme Kai, I'll talk to you later. Head back for now," Bardock said to Roh.
"…Got it." Roh tossed out those words, then used Instant Transmission and left.
But the moment he left, a trace of irritation flashed through his eyes.
So what if I want a robot?
You're all going too far!
The problem is that the tech level in Universe 9 isn't high enough, so it's really hard to build that kind of robot.
Are all these newly appointed Gods of Destruction this heartless now?
Roh suddenly thought of the late Sidra.
Sidra used to take me all over the place to have fun…
And then he just got killed by Broly…
Right, I heard Broly is running for this Great God of Destruction thing, isn't he?
Roh's heart stirred slightly. Maybe because he'd already died once, the seed of hatred had quietly begun to sprout.
…
After Roh left, Bardock turned his gaze back to Broly and Ai.
"Broly, I heard you're aiming to become the leader of all the Gods of Destruction. So what are you doing over in Universe 3?" Bardock asked casually.
"I've fought a few of the Gods of Destruction, and I'm still no match for them. I figured I'd train up a bit more first," Broly answered honestly.
"Perfect. Let's train together. I need to raise my own strength too," Bardock suggested, without mentioning Raditz.
Broly nodded without objection.
"As for the robot thing… sorry about that, Ai," Bardock apologized.
"It's fine," Ai shook her head. "Let me take you two to eat first. I'm pretty sure the food on that planet will be right up your alley."
The next moment, the three of them flew at high speed toward a certain planet.
As they flew, Broly suddenly sensed a familiar ki coming from the distant depths of space.
"It's Buu," Broly's eyes lit up. "I'll go bring him over."
He turned into a streak of dark green light and changed direction in the starry sky.
Just a few minutes later, Broly spotted Majin Buu zipping through space in the distance.
Broly waved at him from afar.
The two met up in the void.
"I've been looking all over for you. I had to track you down by your smell from really far away," Buu said, sniffing like a little dog.
Broly: "…"
"Are you a dog or something?" Broly wiped the sweat from his brow.
"Which universe is this?" Buu asked.
"Universe 3," Broly replied.
"Oh, this is that robot universe?" Buu suddenly remembered.
"Don't bring that up in front of Ai," Broly said, shooting Buu a fierce glare.
"Why not? We're not allowed to tell the truth now?" Buu looked genuinely confused.
"Nope," Broly said, nodding firmly.
"Then I won't say it. I just won't talk at all when I see her. That work?" Buu thought for a moment and proposed his solution.
Broly agreed.
A moment later, he brought Buu over to where Ai and Bardock were.
Buu really did stay completely silent. He just gave them a little wave by way of greeting.
"Hey, Buu, you look even chubbier," Ai said with a smile, eyeing him up and down.
Buu looked down at his own belly, then shook his head to indicate that he hadn't gotten fatter—he was the same as always.
"How'd you track us down?" Ai asked again.
Buu pointed at his nose.
"You followed our scent?" Ai giggled.
Buu nodded.
"Your sense of smell is amazing…" Ai said with a soft laugh.
Buu said nothing.
"Huh? Why aren't you talking?" Ai asked, now genuinely puzzled.
Buu shook his head again. He'd decided—if he wasn't going to talk, he just wasn't going to talk.
You couldn't make him talk even if you killed him.
"Whatever. I'm taking you all to the gourmet paradise of Universe 3 next. They've got all kinds of amazing food there. You can really go wild," Ai said, beckoning. "It's a bit far, though. Flying there will take at least two hours."
"Do… they have chocolate?" Buu's eyes suddenly lit up.
But right after asking, he seemed to realize he'd slipped up and hurriedly wiped his mouth flat with his hand.
"Of course they have chocolate…" Ai said, giving Buu a strange look. She had no idea what he was being so weird about.
But Ai didn't dwell on it.
She knew very well that Buu's personality was pretty strange.
The four of them flew at high speed toward the distant gourmet planet.
"After we eat, could you have a proper match with me?" Bardock asked, staring seriously at Broly. "I need to level up, fast."
Broly nodded slightly.
For him, fighting Bardock in his normal Legendary Super Saiyan form would still help Bardock grow stronger.
…
Universe 6, Planet Namek.
On the thirty-fourth day since they left Earth, Goku and the others finally reached the distant Namek.
"Awesome, so that's Planet Namek?" Goku said excitedly.
"What a beautiful planet," Gohan said, pressed up against the window as he stared at the green world ahead.
"This planet looks pretty nice. I wonder if it has Dragon Balls," Krillin said with an approving nod.
Piccolo stayed silent.
The closer you get to home, the more nervous you feel.
Maybe that was what this was.
Strictly speaking, this wasn't really his true homeland.
But at the very least, it was still Planet Namek.
The spaceship slowly descended and touched down on Namek's surface.
Planet Namek in Universe 6 was basically the same as the one in Universe 7, but its environment was noticeably better.
This Namek hadn't gone through any drastic climate changes.
"We did it! We finally made it to Planet Namek!" Goku laughed and said quickly, "Let me open the door."
He opened the voice-activated lock and shouted Piccolo's name at the control console.
The circular platform began dropping slowly.
Piccolo: "…"
Goku leapt off the platform and landed on the Namekian soil, then turned around and shouted, "Piccolopiccolopiccolopiccolo!"
Krillin, who had just stepped onto the lift, was almost shaken dizzy by the motion.
He practically rolled off the platform.
"Goku… can you not mess around like that? You're going to break the spaceship," Krillin groaned as he got up, half laughing, half crying.
"It's fine. It's just fun to play with," Goku laughed.
Krillin: "…"
Piccolo stepped off with a dark expression, holding Gohan's hand.
"This place looks a lot like where you trained me," Gohan said, looking around and then turning to Piccolo.
Piccolo gave a small nod and looked around as well.
This planet was covered in blue grasslands, with green water visible everywhere. The water rippled gently, and the breeze carried a refreshing coolness.
The planet was over ninety percent water, made up of scattered large islands linked into a strange world.
"This is the first time I've seen a planet like this," Krillin said in amazement.
"I can sense ki over there," Goku suddenly said, pointing in a direction.
"Let's see if there are any Dragon Balls here first," Krillin suggested.
"Good idea." Goku nodded, quickly taking out the Dragon Radar and pressing the button.
But the Dragon Radar didn't react at all.
Krillin craned his neck to get a look at the screen and immediately wilted.
"Huh? No signal on the Dragon Radar… does that mean this planet doesn't have Dragon Balls?" he said with a bitter smile.
"Did the Dragon Radar break?" Gohan asked.
"Don't think so…" Goku scratched his head. He couldn't tell if it was broken or not.
"Let's go ask the Namekians," Krillin suggested.
Goku nodded in agreement.
Asking the Namekians was definitely the best way to find out if there were Dragon Balls here.
"They're over that way," Goku said, pointing.
They were just about to fly in that direction when—
Whoosh.
A streak of light, shining as brightly as a falling star, dropped from the sky. It was the brightest star in this region as it fell, landing right beside Goku and the others.
Goku and his friends focused their eyes and then broke into grins.
"Huh? Ken! Perfect timing, we were just wondering what to do," Goku said in surprise and delight.
"I already know what's been going on with you, so I came over to help you deal with these messy problems," Ken said, smiling as he greeted them.
As he spoke, he swung his staff through the air.
Crack.
A long fissure suddenly tore open in the space around them.
The rift stretched about ten meters, and it was only about a meter wide.
Lightning crackled across its edges, giving off a terrifying aura, as if it could swallow everything.
"Wait… isn't that the thing you threw Vegeta into?" Krillin shuddered, his face paling.
"Ken, awesome. Are you going to bring Vegeta back out?" Goku asked curiously.
(End of Chapter)
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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