Watching Beerus's retreating figure as he disappeared into the Temple of Destruction, Gran rolled his eyes. He really was being treated like unpaid labor at this point.
He flipped the bird at the Destroyer's back before scanning the area. Whis was already using his magic to clear away the leftover scraps from their feast. Gran slumped back into his chair at the table, poured two cups of tea, and took a slow sip from one.
Whis finished cleaning up and sat down beside him, picking up the other cup. For a moment, they enjoyed the tea in the peaceful silence of the Destroyer's planet.
"So, Earth is your next stop?" Whis asked.
"Yeah. You coming?"
"Earth has so many culinary wonders; I wouldn't dream of missing it," Whis replied with a cheerful hum.
Gran stood up and nodded. "Let's get going, then."
He waited for a moment, but he didn't feel the familiar weight of Whis's hand on his shoulder to initiate the travel. Confused, he looked back. Whis was standing perfectly still, seemingly lost in thought.
"Whis? Something wrong?"
"Gran..." Whis looked up, his voice soft.
Gran didn't say anything, simply nodding for him to continue. The atmosphere on the planet suddenly felt heavy and oppressive.
Whis's expression became uncharacteristically grim. "The punishment mentioned by Lord Zeno... it's giving me an ominous feeling."
Gran blinked, taken aback. Whis was an Angel. If he had a bad feeling, then things were seriously wrong. "Is something going to happen?"
"Universe 9's Mortal Level is only 1.86, yet Lord Zeno never saw fit to erase them before. But now..." Whis trailed off, letting out a long sigh. "Never mind. Perhaps I'm just overthinking things."
Gran remained silent, studying Whis. He searched his memory—in the stories he knew, the Omni-Universe never faced a true existential crisis outside of the tournament.
Then again, there were those rumors from the Dark Demon Realm—beings like Demigra or Mechikabura who wanted to tear everything down. But to Gran, those guys didn't seem like they could even take Beerus, let alone Whis. How could such "trash" pose a threat to the Omni-King?
"Don't worry about it. It's likely nothing," Whis said, placing his hand on Gran's shoulder and shaking his head. "Even if something does happen, it's not our place to step in yet. Shall we?"
"Right." Gran nodded, trying to push the thought aside. As Whis said, if the "tallest" beings in the universe couldn't handle it, he certainly couldn't. Still, a seed of unease had been planted. He'd have to keep a close eye on the development of the universe to see exactly what had Whis so spooked.
With a soft swish, Gran activated Instant Transmission. In the blink of an eye, he, Whis, and Broly vanished from the Destroyer's Realm.
In the gardens of the Capsule Corporation in West City, the sun was shining brightly. Under a large patio umbrella, a stylish young woman was enjoying her afternoon tea. As she sipped, she grumbled to herself.
"According to what Lord Gran said, the Destroyer tournament should have happened by now. It's been ages—why can't I get a hold of Whis or Gran?"
This was Bulma. At 26, she was a grown woman, but thanks to a wish for eternal youth she had made years ago, she still looked exactly like she did at 18—vibrant and beautiful.
"Could the match still be going? Or did something happen to Gran?" Bulma stood up, unable to sit still. As a resident of Universe 7, she desperately wanted her home team to win. "That's it. I'm going to find the Dragon Balls and ask Shenron what's going on."
Just as she turned to grab the Dragon Radar, there was a sudden pop, and three figures appeared behind her.
"Where are you off to in such a hurry, Bulma?"
The voice was unmistakable. Bulma's eyes went wide as she whirled around. Standing there was the very person she had been worrying about.
"Lord Gran! You're finally back!" Bulma rushed over to him, her small fists clenched in excitement.
"Whoa!" Gran looked her over. Her power hadn't increased much—she was still sitting around a 10,000 power level—but her ki control had clearly improved since he last saw her.
"Well, Lord Gran? Did you win the tournament?" Bulma asked breathlessly.
"Is that even a question?" Gran gave her a cocky thumbs-up, pointing to himself. "Do you know whom you're talking to? Once I got serious, those weaklings couldn't even last a single round against me."
"Really?!" Bulma hadn't been there to see it, but her imagination ran wild with Gran's words. She pictured him as an invincible force, utterly crushing the other candidates. "That's amazing! You're the best, Lord Gran!" She mirrored his thumbs-up with a giant grin.
"Hahaha! You bet I am!" Gran stood with his hands on his hips, soaking in her admiration. Whis and Broly shared a look, their expressions twitching slightly at how childish the two were being.
They all gathered around the tea table. "Lord Gran, I told you I wanted to see the match! Why didn't you take me with you?" Bulma asked as she poured tea for everyone.
"Didn't I ask you?" Gran paused, scratching his head. Come to think of it, he actually hadn't. "Ah, sorry. It slipped my mind. If you wanted to go so badly, why didn't you call Whis?"
"Him?" Bulma shot an annoyed look at Whis. "I called him a dozen times over the last few weeks, and I didn't get a single response!"
"You called? I didn't hear anything," Whis said, frowning. He waved his staff, and the crystal ball on top began to play back a series of recorded messages.
"Mr. Whis, where are you? I've got delicious food waiting!"
"Mr. Whis, has the match started yet?"
"Mr. Whis, please take me to see it!"
The messages played one after another. Because Whis had been in the Null Realm—a void outside of the standard universes—he hadn't been able to receive any transmissions from Earth.
Whis looked a bit embarrassed. He took a sip of tea, trying to act casual. "My apologies. The tournament took place in a location so remote that your messages couldn't reach me."
Gran burst out laughing, while Bulma's face darkened. Missing that fight was clearly going to be a major regret for her. Seeing her pouting look, Whis eventually relented and used his staff to project a replay of the tournament highlights.
The garden was soon filled with Bulma's gasps and cheers. However, when the footage reached the end and showed the Grand Minister announcing the punishment, Bulma's eyes widened in horror. "Lord Gran... what does 'erased' mean?"
"Erased? It means being completely wiped out from existence. Gone forever."
"What?!" Bulma covered her mouth. "You mean if you had lost, you and Beerus would have been erased?"
Gran set his teacup down and smirked. "You're being too optimistic."
"What do you mean?"
"If I had lost, it wouldn't have just been Lord Beerus and me. Our entire universe would have been wiped out. That includes you, too."
The color drained from Bulma's face. A cold shiver ran from the soles of her feet to the top of her head. The garden went deathly silent.
After a long moment, Gran broke the silence. "Bulma, how is Kakarot doing?"
"W-well, at least we won!" Bulma said, finally snapping out of her shock and clutching her chest.
"You mean Goku, right? He's over at Mount Paozu, playing family man." She tapped her head as if remembering something. "I forgot to mention—he and Chi-Chi have a kid now. A boy named Gohan."
"Is that so?" Gran had actually come to Earth specifically for Gohan, but he played it cool, acting like it was news to him. "And how has Earth been? Any alien invasions lately?"
He was thinking of Raditz and Vegeta. By the original timeline, Raditz shouldn't be arriving for another two years. But since he had already altered the fates of the Saiyans, nothing was certain anymore.
"Aliens?" Bulma looked confused. "No. This planet is basically your and Lord Beerus's backyard. Who would be stupid enough to invade Earth?"
Gran's mouth twitched. She wasn't wrong. Earth was effectively Beerus's private pantry. In the original Moro arc, Beerus had even admitted that while he didn't care if Goku or Vegeta died, he wouldn't let anything happen to Earth.
Now, it was Gran's backyard, too. He glanced at the ground; Whis had already reinforced the planet. If any future villains tried to threaten the Earth to get to Goku, they were in for a very rude awakening.
"Whis, can you check on what Vegeta is up to?" Gran asked.
Whis looked surprised. Why was Gran suddenly asking about Vegeta? Was he planning to finish off his old rival? "Very well."
He waved his staff, and a projection appeared in the air. Everyone looked up. The screen showed a vast, deep expanse of space where a lone ship was streaking through the stars. Inside the cockpit sat ten figures. At the lead was Vegeta.
He was no longer the small child from Gran's memories. Vegeta was now a grown man, his features sharper and more mature, though he was still noticeably short. Compared to Gran's 185cm frame, he looked like a kid.
"Lord Gran, is that the Vegeta you told me about?" Bulma asked. She remembered Gran warning her years ago never to get involved with a guy named Vegeta.
"That's him. What do you think?" Gran asked, giving her a sideways glance.
"You mean his looks?" Bulma rested her chin on her hand, squinting at the screen. "He doesn't look that old, but he's so short! And look at that M-shaped hairline... honestly, he's hideous." She pointed at the screen. "And his eyes! He looks like he wants to eat someone!"
She then looked back at Gran. Gran's black hair was swept up with two distinct locks falling over his forehead—a classic Saiyan look that looked perfectly styled. His face was sharp and handsome, his eyes carrying a hint of divine detachment. He radiated the aura of a supreme deity, a presence both ancient and powerful, yet he looked remarkably young.
"That Vegeta guy is a total wreck. No wonder you told me to stay away from him," Bulma muttered. "You're way more handsome, Lord Gran."
Gran heard her mumbling and felt his lip curl into a smirk, but he kept his eyes on the projection. Vegeta and his ten companions seemed to be heading toward a specific destination. Gran watched for a moment until he realized the truth: Vegeta was taking his nine fellow Saiyans to get revenge on Frieza.
"Gran, it seems your rival doesn't quite grasp Frieza's true strength," Whis noted playfully.
"Wait, is this Frieza guy really that strong?" Bulma asked.
"Bulma, you remember Cooler?" Gran took another sip of tea.
"Of course. He almost killed Broly and me back then. Thank goodness Broly went berserk." Beside her, Broly gave a silent, grumpy look as if to say, 'If I hadn't, we'd both be dead.'
"Well, the Frieza that Whis is talking about is Cooler's younger brother. His true power level is around 120 million," Gran explained.
Bulma gasped. Ever since she had eaten a Fruit from the Tree of Might and boosted her power level to 10,000, she understood exactly what those numbers meant. She couldn't believe Cooler's brother was that terrifying.
"Then what about this Vegeta? How strong is he?"
Gran turned to Whis. "Yeah, what's his status?"
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