"I missed you too, Mr. Satan," Buu sobbed like a child.
The referee stared.
The crowd stared.
Krillin, Android 16, and Android 21, who had been about to leave, stopped where they were and stared too.
Krillin pointed at the ring. "Who's the pink guy?"
"I don't know," Android 16 said. "But I can feel him from here. He's strong."
Android 21's expression sharpened. "I feel it too."
Krillin looked from Buu to Mr. Satan, still trying to make sense of the scene. "Seriously? That guy has a friend like that?"
Android 21 brushed a hand through her hair and lowered her voice. "Remember the Cell Games. The World Champion's friends weren't exactly normal back then either." Her eyes narrowed a little. "And now I'm wondering how hard it's going to be to collect our one billion."
Krillin blinked. "Even you can't beat that fat guy? His ki feels strong, sure, but I don't know if he's stronger than you."
"We'll see," Android 21 said.
The referee finally stepped closer, doing his best to keep his professional smile in place. "Mr. Satan, may I ask who this is?"
"My best friend!" Mr. Satan said, still emotional. "Buu! We were separated for years, and today we finally found each other again!"
The referee had no idea what to do with that, so he did the safest thing possible and moved on.
"Congratulations, Mr. Satan," he said. Then he turned to the audience and raised his voice. "And with that, the World Martial Arts Tournament has officially ended! Let's give one more round of applause for our champion, Mr. Satan! Please leave the venue in an orderly manner!"
The crowd erupted.
"Mr. Satan! Mr. Satan! Mr. Satan!"
Buu patted his stomach. "Mr. Satan, I'm hungry."
"No problem." Mr. Satan grinned through his tears. "Come home with me. I'll make you something good."
Videl climbed onto the ring, looking between her father and the round pink man in front of him.
Mr. Satan noticed her and frowned. "Videl, where did you go? Why did you drop out halfway through?"
"I had something to take care of," Videl said.
"Oh, right." Mr. Satan pointed to Buu. "This is Buu. You remember him, don't you?"
Buu leaned closer, eyes widening. "You're Videl? You got big."
The memory hit her all at once.
"Buu…" Her eyes watered. "You're Buu. I remember now. It's been so long."
"I missed you too," Buu said.
"Home first," Mr. Satan said, reaching for a capsule.
Buu dropped onto all fours before he could throw it. "Get on my back."
"Well…" Mr. Satan scratched his head. "That feels a little rude."
Then he climbed on immediately.
Videl stared at him.
Dad, that was not hesitation.
"Videl, what are you waiting for?" Mr. Satan called. "Get on!"
"I can fly," Videl said with a small smile.
Mr. Satan froze.
Buu rose into the air with him on his back, and Videl followed beside them.
Mr. Satan's jaw nearly dropped into his lap. "Videl… when did you learn how to do that?"
"Pretty impressive, right?" Videl said, a little proud of herself.
"Who taught you?"
"Kale and Gohan."
Buu turned his head and smiled. "I know them. I beat them up."
Videl went pale. "You killed them?"
"No," Buu said. "They attacked me first."
Videl pressed a hand to her forehead as the pieces clicked together. "Wait. At the tournament, there was someone called the Supreme Kai. He said he sealed away Majin Buu. I thought the name sounded familiar, but I didn't connect it because he added 'Majin' in front of it." She looked at Buu again. "He was talking about you."
Buu nodded. "Me."
"So we didn't see you for so many years because he sealed you away?"
"No." Buu smiled without a care in the world. "I got sleepy and fell asleep."
"How long did you sleep?"
Buu scratched his head and yawned. "Seven years, I think."
Mr. Satan wiped sweat from his forehead. "Seven years… and you're not still tired?"
"No. I don't need long sleep now." Buu grinned. "A few seconds is enough."
"A few seconds?" Videl said.
Buu carried Mr. Satan through the sky at an easy pace, slow enough for Videl to keep up.
On the Lookout, Piccolo watched the three of them leave the tournament grounds.
"Goku. Look."
Goku leaned forward. "That girl… I've seen her before."
Piccolo stared at him.
"That's Videl. Gohan's classmate." His patience was already suffering. "We saw her at the World Martial Arts Tournament."
"Oh!" Goku brightened. "Right, right. Videl."
Piccolo looked back down. "Buu seems close to them."
"Yeah," Goku said. "And for now, he doesn't look like a bad guy."
"He is still dangerous," Piccolo said. "We should not relax."
"Fusion!"
Across the Lookout, Zarek, Goten, and Trunks touched their fingers together under Vegeta's watch.
Goku glanced over. "Vegeta is taking this seriously."
"He has reason to," Piccolo said. "He used everything he had, and Buu walked away from it. That kind of helplessness leaves a mark." He paused. "It probably reminded him of Namek, when Frieza was out of reach no matter what anyone did."
Goku looked at Vegeta again.
Piccolo's voice softened a little. "He has changed. The old Vegeta would never have trained those three."
Goku smiled. "Doesn't really feel like the Vegeta I know."
"You, on the other hand, have barely changed at all," Piccolo said. "Still as simple as ever."
"Really?"
Zarek suddenly threw his hands up. "I'm done. This Fusion thing is stupid. I'm going home."
"You may leave," Vegeta said.
Zarek paused.
A ball of purple-red destruction energy formed in Vegeta's hand. He tossed it lightly once, caught it, and smiled.
Zarek went pale.
"Heh… I was joking," Zarek said at once. "We are absolutely finishing the Fusion today."
Goku laughed. "Vegeta scared him."
Piccolo shot him a look. "That's your brother."
"I know," Goku said. "But Vegeta isn't wrong. Zarek tried to run."
Then something occurred to him.
"Wait. Where's Gohan? Didn't he go get Kale?"
Piccolo's expression turned serious. "I was about to mention that. Gohan's ki disappeared. So did the Supreme Kai's, Cabba's, and Caulifla's."
Goku thought for a moment. "Then they probably went to the Sacred World of the Kai. Maybe Universe 7's."
He narrowed his eyes and looked into the distance.
Piccolo glanced at him. "You can see that far?"
"It's a Supreme Kai skill."
Piccolo's eyebrow twitched. "Teach me sometime. I'm supposed to become one too."
"Sure," Goku said. "When we have time."
Then his eyes lit up.
"Found them. They're with Universe 7's Supreme Kai." Goku turned toward Piccolo. "I'll go check on them. You and Vegeta handle the Fusion practice here."
He vanished.
Piccolo stood there.
Of course.
Hand the annoying job to him and leave.
Behind him, Vegeta called without looking over, "Kakarot, it's your turn. Watch them."
No answer.
Vegeta frowned.
He turned.
Goku was gone.
"Where is Kakarot?"
"He left," Piccolo said. "Gohan's group is in Universe 7's Sacred World of the Kai, so he went there."
Vegeta stared at the empty space where Goku had been.
Kakarot.
That bastard.
He had dumped Fusion training on them and run off.
"Piccolo," Vegeta snapped. "You handle it."
Piccolo closed his eyes for a moment.
Wonderful.
Universe 7, Sacred World of the Kai.
After a short discussion, Shin decided they should train with the Z Sword.
According to him, perhaps the sword's power would only reveal itself once they became skilled enough to wield it properly.
Cabba, Caulifla, and Kale each tried swinging it. None of them felt any hidden power, but the sword was so heavy that even a few practice swings worked their wrists hard.
Gohan took to it the fastest.
The blade moved through the air again and again, heavy but steady in his hands.
Shin watched with tears of pride forming in his eyes. "Incredible. He can use the Z Sword this well after such a short time."
Kibito nodded, just as moved. "These Saiyans are remarkable."
"They may not be inferior to Broly in his prime," Shin said.
"As long as they keep training, Majin Buu can be defeated."
"Yes." Shin clasped his hands. "At last, fortune smiles on us."
Gohan had just brought the Z Sword around for another swing when Goku appeared beside him.
The blade came down fast, and Goku leaned out of its path with barely a breath to spare.
"Whoa. That was close."
"Dad?" Gohan quickly pulled the sword back. "When did you get here?"
Shin and Kibito stared at Goku, stunned.
Goku smiled at them. "Hey, Supreme Kai. Hey, Kibito. You're looking better after Buu knocked you out."
Kibito's eye twitched.
Was that really necessary?
And more importantly, how had Goku just appeared in the Sacred World of the Kai?
Goku waved at Cabba and Caulifla too. "You're here as well?"
"Dad?" Gohan quickly pulled the sword back. "How did you get here?"
"Kai Kai," Goku said.
"You can use Kai Kai to travel from Universe 6 to Universe 7 now?" Gohan asked, surprised.
"Pretty good, right?" Goku said with a grin.
Cabba leaned toward Caulifla. "So this is Universe 7?"
"I figured that out already," Caulifla said. "The chubby Supreme Kai we saw earlier was probably Universe 6's."
"Then this is Goku's original universe."
"Looks like it."
Goku pointed to the sword. "That looks interesting. Let me try."
"Sure." Gohan handed it over, then added, "Careful, Dad. It's really heavy."
Goku took the Z Sword without trouble and gave it a few testing swings.
"Nice. It's a good sword." He turned it once in his hand. "But why are you training with it? Is this supposed to beat Majin Buu?"
Kibito folded his arms. "What would a mortal know? This is the divine sword of the Realm of Gods. Broly gained tremendous power from this very sword."
"Broly came here?" Goku asked.
"Of course," Kibito said. "This sword played a major role in making him so powerful."
"Huh." Goku looked at the blade, unconvinced. "I don't think that's it."
He handed the sword back to Gohan. "Here."
Gohan took it and swung a few more times. The more he used it, the smoother the movement became.
"You know," Goku said, thinking aloud, "Future Trunks likes swords. We could get him one like this."
"It has been a long time since we saw Future Trunks," Gohan said.
Kale looked at the Z Sword, then at the others. "Gohan-nii, maybe we should test how sharp it is."
"I was thinking the same thing," Caulifla said.
She walked over, lifted a huge rock, and set it in front of him.
"Try cutting this."
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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