Belmod had once told Beerus that his universe possessed a being whose power surpassed that of a God of Destruction.
At the time, Beerus had remained perfectly calm, without a trace of fear in his eyes. It was as if he were certain his own candidate would be the one standing at the very end of the battle royale.
"He's hidden him for so long... I want to see exactly how strong this candidate really is!"
Every God of Destruction looked upward. It wasn't just the Destroyers; even the Angels standing behind them were curious about Beerus's choice. This was, after all, the candidate of the strongest Destroyer. Just like Beerus himself, this fighter was likely to face an immediate and total ambush from every other universe.
They all watched as the transport Cube vanished, finally exposing Gran to the collective gaze of the multiverse. The moment the Gods laid eyes on him, the void fell into a stunned, suffocating silence.
"What?!"
"This... this is impossible!"
In the eyes of the Destroyers, Gran's presence was unmistakable—his divine essence had reached the Peak Godly Realm.
"Impossible! He only looks a few hundred years old. How could he possibly have reached the Peak Godly Realm?!" Quitela, the rat-like Destroyer, shrieked in terror.
"This is insane!" Belmod's voice trembled. "Out of the twelve of us, only Beerus has reached the Peak Godly Realm. How did this kid do it?"
"This is the pinnacle of divine existence! I've lived for hundreds of millions of years, and I'm still nowhere near that level!" Liqueur, the fox Destroyer, added, his heart racing with dread.
The Destroyers gathered around Quitela looked as though they had seen a ghost. Their expressions were a mixture of shock and pure disbelief. The Supreme Kais were no better; they couldn't maintain even a shred of composure. In all twelve universes, Beerus had been the only one at that level. Now, there was a second—and he was merely a candidate!
"Big Sister!"
"Big Sister Kusu!"
The shock extended to the Angels as well. Awamo, the Angel of Universe 1, turned to Kusu in disbelief. "Big Sister, what on earth is going on here?"
Sours, the Angel of Universe 2, looked grim. "This boy isn't right. How can such a young being reach this level of divinity?"
Campari, the Angel of Universe 3, swallowed hard. "It's not just divinity. He's at the absolute peak. One more breakthrough and he'll be at the level of an Angel!"
Cognac's voice was shaking. "You mean... aside from Beerus, his candidate actually has the potential to step into our realm?"
The Angels bombarded Kusu with questions. They knew she had been present years ago during the skirmish between Whis and Vados, so she had to know about the existence of this candidate. Yet, she hadn't said a word after returning from the World of Void back then.
"Big Sister, talk to us!" they pleaded.
"Oh-ho-ho~"
Kusu let out a refined, melodic laugh, much like Whis. "Who says there are no younger gods? Aren't the Supreme Kais born as gods?"
"That's not the same! You can't compare a natural-born deity to a mortal who climbed the divine ladder through cultivation!" Marcarita of Universe 11 stamped her foot in frustration. Why was their eldest sister being so cryptic when she clearly knew exactly what they were asking?
"Alright, I'll explain it to you later," Kusu said, scanning the area.
During the earlier clash between the Destroyers, everyone had huddled together to protect their candidates and Kais. Seeing the crowd, the other Angels realized that Gran's secret was likely something Kusu couldn't share in the open. They suppressed their curiosity for the moment.
In the sky above, Quitela's shock had turned into a hysterical rage. "Beerus! What did you do?! How did your candidate break through to this level?!" It galled him enough that Beerus outclassed him in power, but to be surpassed by Beerus's apprentice was a humiliation he couldn't stomach.
"Did you take him in a hundred million years ago and just keep him hidden?" Belmod asked, his logic failing him. He could see Gran was young, but his mind was scrambling for any explanation that made sense.
"Hahaha!"
Beerus's laughter boomed through the void. He didn't bother answering their questions. Instead, he looked up and shouted, "Gran! Someone was threatening you. Why don't you come down here and see who it was?"
Gran began his slow descent, with Whis and Vados following closely behind. As he landed beside Beerus, Liqueur and the others held their breath.
They couldn't read him. They couldn't gauge Gran's actual power at all, which meant his energy control was already at the level of a God of Destruction. Combined with his Peak Godly Realm status, he was a monster. They cursed Beerus silently—how did that cat always manage to find such freaks of nature?
"Threatening me, you say?"
Gran stood by Beerus's side, calmly surveying the group of foreign Destroyers. It was his first time seeing the others in person. Quitela, Liqueur, Belmod, Helles... They looked a bit underwhelming.
"You must be Quitela." Gran's eyes settled on the rat. In the lore, this rat was supposedly strong enough to beat Beerus in arm wrestling and had even won a fight against him once. Yet, when the eleven of them had ganged up on Beerus, he still couldn't take him down.
"Quitela?" The rat suppressed his shock and snarled, "You have the nerve to address a God of Destruction by name without bowing? Is this how Beerus taught you?"
"Are you even worth the bow?" Gran asked dismissively. "You're just another loser whom Lord Beerus thrashed. Why should I show you any respect?"
"You...!" The veins on Quitela's forehead bulged. If Beerus weren't standing right there, he would have erased Gran on the spot.
Gran took a step forward, his gaze cold and condescending. "Ten years ago, when the Gran Zeno called the meeting of the Destroyers, you were the one who sent people to ambush me, weren't you?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Quitela muttered, narrowing his eyes. Even if he had done it, he wasn't about to admit it.
"You coward..." Beerus growled, his temper flaring at the denial.
"I'll handle this," Gran said, reaching out to stop Beerus. He looked at Quitela with a playful smirk. "By the way, wasn't your skin usually a yellowish-green? Why do you look like that now?"
Quitela was currently a pathetic sight. During the recent scuffle, Beerus had snapped his arm, and his skin had turned a sickly, pale white. He looked exactly like a dead rat that had been floating in a puddle for three days. Gran knew this was Zeno's punishment.
"How does it feel to be punished by Gran Zeno?" Gran mused aloud. "I heard your power even dropped from Level 7 to Level 6. That must be quite a refreshing feeling, isn't it?"
"YOU'RE ASKING FOR DEATH!" Quitela screamed. He was losing his mind—a mere candidate was mocking him to his face!
"What, you want another round?" Beerus asked, hovering beside Gran while cracking his knuckles. Quitela immediately went quiet, though his eyes remained fixed on Gran with murderous intent.
"And the rest of you? You were threatening me, too?" Gran ignored Quitela entirely and looked at the other Destroyers. "Given the caliber of your candidates, do you really think you're in a position to threaten me?"
Gran's tone was flat, but the sheer arrogance in it was unmistakable. Beerus let out a satisfied cackle.
"You...!" Belmod and the others were fuming. Gran was a carbon copy of Beerus; he had mastered the art of infuriating everyone in the room perfectly.
"You've got some nerve, kid!" Belmod spat, gritting his teeth. "I'll admit your talent is impressive, but your physical instincts are only at Level 3, aren't they?"
This was true. Because Gran had spent so much time in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber without a proper sparring partner, it was difficult to push his Ultra Instinct mastery further.
"Every candidate here has Level 3 instincts," Belmod continued. "At most, your divine realm is just slightly higher. You really think you can win a battle royale as Beerus did?"
The other Destroyers' eyes lit up at Belmod's observation. Arak, the mummy Destroyer, sneered at Gran. "He's right. Only Level 3 instincts. You have some nerve acting as arrogant as Beerus with that little power. Who gave you the right?"
Liqueur laughed coldly. "Based on your age, Beerus probably only recruited you in the last twenty years. I don't know how you cheated your way into the Peak Godly Realm, but Quitela is right—divine rank isn't the same as combat power. Even with time-dilation training, how much actual martial arts could you have mastered in a few hundred years?"
The Destroyers were grasping at straws, trying to find any weakness to comfort themselves before the battle began. After all, if the Supreme Kais were "gods" despite being weak, then Gran's high divine rank didn't necessarily mean he was an unbeatable fighter.
"Heh." Gran chuckled at their stubbornness. He was just about to unleash his full Level 7 power to shut them up for good when...
CRACK!
A rift tore open in the sky above the World of Void. From within the rift, a small figure resembling a colorful eraser hopped out. The moment he appeared, the entire void began to hum and tremble in submission.
"You guys sure got here fast!"
The blue-and-purple figure floated in the vacuum, his voice high-pitched and childlike. Everyone looked up. The candidates who didn't recognize him were confused—why was there a strange kid appearing in the middle of a battlefield? Didn't he know he could be killed?
But the Destroyers and Supreme Kais nearly jumped out of their skins.
"Gra... Gran Zeno!!"
In an instant, every deity in the World of Void dropped into a deep bow. "We greet the Great Lord Zeno!"
The Angels followed suit. "Our greetings, Gran Zeno."
The chorus of voices echoed through the emptiness. The candidates finally realized who they were looking at—the supreme ruler of the multiverse. They scrambled to bow as well.
"Gran, don't just stand there! Bow!" the Old Kai hissed, frantically tugging at Gran's sleeve.
Gran snapped out of his daze and lowered his head. He was finally seeing him—the ultimate authority of the Dragon Ball multiverse. He looked exactly like the "eraser" from the anime. And yet, this simple-looking being held the power of total erasure over everything in existence.
"You can all stand up now," Zeno said. The crowd straightened their backs, but the atmosphere remained heavy and silent. No one dared to speak, fearing they might accidentally offend the King of All.
Then, two more figures stepped out of the rift—the tall, lanky guards who flank Zeno at all times. Gran narrowed his eyes, studying them. In the original series, these two were the ultimate wall between Zeno and any potential threat. How strong are they? Gran wondered. Are they stronger than Whis?
Beerus noticed Gran's distracted look and was about to warn him when the final figure emerged from the rift. Beerus immediately pulled Gran down again. "The Grand Minister is here! Bow again!"
"Grand Minister?"
Gran watched as a small figure with a divine halo behind his head and a serene smile stepped into the void. This was the man who, in the manga, was said to be the strongest being in the multiverse next to Zeno.
As Gran stared, the Gran Minister's eyes suddenly met his.
A cold shiver ran down Gran's spine. He immediately looked away, lowering his head.
Up above, the Gran Minister's smile widened ever so slightly. This little one is growing fast, he thought. Just like Beerus, he's a bit of a troublemaker.
"Grand Minister, there's nowhere to sit," Zeno said, looking around.
"I'll fix that immediately."
The Grand Minister scanned the barren World of Void. Aside from the arena, there was nothing. With a graceful wave of his hand, thirteen massive spectator stands materialized around the stage.
"Since everyone arrived so early," the Grand Minister announced, "please, take your seats."
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