The Grand Minister's authoritative voice rang out across the World of Void, vibrating with the weight of universal law. The previously boisterous arena fell into an instantaneous, chilling silence.
The Gods of Destruction exchanged bewildered glances. Was someone spying on them? Who would have the audacity to lurk in the shadows behind the back of the Omni-King?
"Vados, what's going on?" Champa asked, his voice laced with confusion as he stood in the Universe 7 spectator stands.
Vados tilted her head back, her eyes scanning the heights above. "It seems two little guests have arrived," she remarked thoughtfully.
Beerus frowned, turning to his own attendant. "Whis, do you know who they are?"
Whis gripped his scepter, his gaze fixed on the void above, before he answered softly, "They are from the Time Realm and the Dragon Realm. Aside from the Angels, only those from those two worlds could possibly hope to remain hidden from my sight."
"What?!" The members of Universe 7 gasped in shock.
Meanwhile, on the shattered stage below, the eerie shift in atmosphere caused Hit's body to tense up. He moved closer to Gran, his voice hushed and nervous. "Lord Gran, what is happening?"
"I'm not entirely sure myself," Gran replied, his eyes also fixed upward.
He had intended to challenge Quitela right then and there—aiming to finish off the rat while he was down—but the sudden arrival of these two mysterious figures had interrupted his plans. If Zen-Oh and the Grand Minister were both present and these individuals still dared to hide in the darkness, they were clearly no ordinary beings.
But who could they be? The most powerful entities of the Dragon Ball multiverse—the Gods and Angels—were already gathered here.
Under the watchful eyes of the assembly, two figures slowly materialized in the sky above the World of Void.
One wore the distinctive raiment of a Supreme Kai, though her outfit was unique: a sleeveless, shoulder-baring short robe paired with tight-fitting trousers. She was quite short, standing roughly at the same height as the Angel Kusu, with a cute, youthful appearance and soft, pinkish skin.
"The Supreme Kai of Time, Chronoa!" Gran's pupils shrank. He recognized her instantly.
Gran then shifted his gaze to the figure standing beside her. This being bore a resemblance to a Namekian, but his skin was a radiant gold. Two horns protruded from his forehead, and a long, reptilian tail swayed behind him. He looked like a draconic humanoid.
Who is that? Gran wondered, his eyes wide. He had never seen this character in any of the anime or manga he remembered.
"Greetings, Great Zen-Oh. Greetings, Grand Minister!"
The two figures descended slowly toward the royal pavilion, bowing with profound respect.
"The Supreme Kai of Time and the Grand Elder of the Dragon Realm," the Grand Minister said, standing beside Zen-Oh with his hands behind his back. His expression remained cold and detached. "You are far from your respective domains. What brings you here?"
The titles "Supreme Kai of Time" and "Grand Elder of the Dragon Realm" rippled through the stands, sparking a wave of frantic whispers.
"Lord Kai, what kind of deities are these? Why haven't we heard the Angels mention them before?"
"How powerful are they? To think they dared to spy on this tournament right under Zen-Oh's nose!"
The apprentice candidates who had been brought along to watch were buzzing with speculation.
In the Universe 7 stands, Old Kai furrowed his brow. "Chronoa is being remarkably bold today."
Beerus crossed his arms, his voice flat. "She's a Supreme Kai, just like you, but she has the power to back up that boldness. You? You're just a weakling."
Old Kai sputtered, speechless.
Beerus then glanced at the draconic figure beside Chronoa, his expression turning grave. "I didn't expect someone from the Dragon Realm to show up either. Did he come just to watch the fight?"
While the Gods and Kais were familiar with these figures and curious about their motives, Gran found himself in internal debate. He knew of the Time Realm from his knowledge of the franchise, but the "Dragon Realm" was a new concept.
Then again, given that the entire multiverse revolved around the Dragon Balls, the existence of such a realm—perhaps ruled by the Dragon God Zalama—wasn't entirely far-fetched.
As Gran pondered this, he felt two sets of eyes lock onto him.
"Grand Minister," Raphael, the Grand Elder of the Dragon Realm, spoke as he withdrew his gaze from Gran.
"I saw that the Great Zen-Oh was holding a tournament and couldn't resist coming to witness the majesty of the Gods of Destruction. However..." He paused. "I did not expect the primary combatants to be mere candidates."
"And you?" The Grand Minister ignored Raphael and turned his gaze toward Chronoa.
Chronoa wiped a bit of drool from the corner of her mouth, tearing her eyes away from Gran with visible difficulty. "I saw a very interesting little fellow, and I was wondering if I could recruit him to be a—"
She didn't get to finish her sentence.
Zen-Oh, sitting upon his high throne, suddenly narrowed his innocent eyes. "No," he said simply.
The word didn't sound like his usual childish chirping. It was a voice of absolute majesty and holiness—as if reality itself were speaking.
At the sound of that single word, the hearts of every Angel present skipped a beat. They immediately bowed their heads in deep reverence.
Seeing this, the Gods of Destruction and Supreme Kais were struck with terror. They had never seen the Angels react this way, nor had they ever heard Zen-Oh speak with such chilling authority.
In an instant, every God and Kai was prostrate on the ground, their bodies trembling uncontrollably. Even Beerus and Old Kai didn't dare to remain standing.
Down on the stage, Hit whispered urgently, "Lord Gran, what's happening?"
"If you want to live, get your head down!" Gran hissed, cold sweat drenching his back. In the anime, Zen-Oh had never displayed such a terrifying tone. He grabbed Hit and forced him into a low bow.
At the same time, Gran's mind raced. Chronoa had clearly been looking at him when she mentioned "recruiting." Was she talking about me? Did she want to make me a Time Patroller?
After Zen-Oh spoke, the World of Void became so silent that one could hear the heartbeats of the candidates. The atmosphere was so heavy it was suffocating.
"Please forgive my insolence, Great Zen-Oh! I was out of line!" Chronoa's face turned deathly pale as she bowed until her forehead nearly touched the floor.
Raphael, the Grand Elder, was also bent low, sweat dripping from his brow. Is this the same innocent Zen-Oh? To think he possessed such a terrifying side!
A moment passed. The Grand Minister glanced at Zen-Oh, who had returned to his usual, vacant expression. "Very well. You may all rise."
The Grand Minister knew exactly what Chronoa was thinking. She wanted Gran for her Time Patrol. But how could he let her take such a rare treasure?
Even if the King of Time herself showed up, she wouldn't dare make such a demand. Chronoa had indeed been reckless.
Only after the Grand Minister spoke did the assembly dare to stand. The crushing tension vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
"Grand Minister, who is that?" Raphael asked, pointing toward Gran on the stage.
The Gods of Destruction followed his finger. It made sense that these high-tier beings were interested in Gran. His martial arts had already surpassed those of most of the Gods present. If they could, many of the Gods would have loved to claim Gran as their own candidate.
"His name is Gran. He is a Destroyer Candidate from Universe 7," the Grand Minister replied.
"A candidate from Universe 7?" Chronoa's eyes widened. "But I've never seen a candidate named Gran in any other timeline. Has history been distorted again?"
She quickly pulled out a Scroll of Time to check Gran's origins in this reality. After a moment, she found the point of divergence.
On an obscure planet, Gran should have been abandoned by Vegeta and died—that was his fate in every other timeline. But in this one, he had somehow summoned Whis and eventually became a Destroyer Candidate.
"There is nothing wrong with him," the Grand Minister said flatly. "If you have no further business, you may withdraw."
"Nothing wrong?" Chronoa's pupils contracted.
How could that be right? She stole a cautious glance at Zen-Oh, who was now preoccupied with a handheld game console, seemingly indifferent to Gran's existence.
If Zen-Oh wasn't bothered, then perhaps there truly was no issue. Still, Chronoa checked the stability of the surrounding timelines. To her shock, despite Gran's massive impact on history, the timelines were perfectly stable.
No new branching realities had even been created. That... that should be impossible!
Raphael noticed Chronoa's bewildered expression and wondered what had her so shaken. He looked at the boy on the stage again. Does he have some grand lineage?
Regardless of their curiosity, they saw that the Grand Minister was about to make an announcement and quickly stepped aside.
The Grand Minister stepped out from the pavilion, hovering over the center of the World of Void. "Since only Gran and Hit remain on the stage, I declare Universes 7 and 6 the victors of this battle royale."
A small smile played on the Grand Minister's lips. "According to the original rules, every universe except the winners must now face punishment."
The arena erupted in a panic.
"Lord Kai! Lord Destroyer! What do we do? Will our universe be erased?"
"Surely not! There are ten universes facing punishment. He won't erase ten at once!"
"But what if he does?!"
"Then we're dead! There's nothing we can do!"
While the other universes spiraled into terror, Beerus stood with his hands on his hips, laughing. "Enjoy your punishment, everyone! I won't be joining you this time!"
Champa stuck his tongue out at the surrounding Gods. "Sorry, everyone! I've realized that siding with my brother is actually quite great. I think I'll stick with him from now on!"
Their arrogance turned the other Gods' fear into white-hot rage.
"You're despicable! Just wait until we get a chance—you won't win every time!"
"Damn you, Champa! Siding with Beerus, are you? You'll regret making an enemy of us all!"
"And that brat Gran... just you wait..."
Furious roars echoed from the various stands.
Down on the stage, Gran couldn't help but chuckle. He found the other Gods' reactions surprisingly entertaining—except for Universe 4. He narrowed his eyes at Quitela, plotting the rat's downfall, when the Grand Minister's voice spoke again.
"The punishment is as follows: over the next ten thousand years, every universe must increase its Mortal Level index by one full point from its current standing."
"What?!"
"An entire point? Grand Minister, you can't be serious!"
A new wave of shock hit the deities. This was a brutal sentence. Most of these universes had existed for eons and still hadn't reached a Mortal Level above 10. To be told to raise it by a full point in just ten thousand years was a near-impossible task.
The higher-ranked universes realized their plight was even worse; the higher the level, the harder it was to improve. Conversely, Universe 9, with a level of 1.86, only had to reach 2.86. The four universes already above 7.0 would have to push past 8.0—a monumental challenge.
"Grand Minister... what happens if we fail?" Iwan of Universe 1 asked tentatively.
"If you fail?" The Grand Minister surveyed the gods, pausing for a long, heavy moment. "Erasure."
Silence. Every God and Kai was plunged into a world of pure dread. Chronoa and Raphael exchanged shocked looks. Zen-Oh was forcing the multiverse's evolution.
"If there are no further questions, the Destroyer Candidate Battle Royale is concluded. You may all return to your universes and begin your work."
With a wave of his hand, the Grand Minister opened a rift in the void. Zen-Oh hopped into it, followed closely by his guards. The Grand Minister cast one last glance at Gran on the stage before stepping into the rift himself.
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