Beerus's World
"Teacher Whis, I'll leave it to you." Gohan nudged Android 18 forward.
"All right, let me take a look." Whis glided over, every movement elegant.
He lightly tapped his staff toward 18's body.
A projection popped into the air.
It was a fist-sized energy module with the Red Ribbon Army "R" stamped right on it.
"Huh? So it really was made by Dr. Gero? If he actually figured out how to make infinite energy, that's insane." At first Gohan hadn't quite believed it.
But now that he saw the Red Ribbon logo on the energy core, he had to admit it.
"It's not that simple. Look again."
Whis tapped the ground with his staff. The image shifted again, zooming in on the heart of the module.
At the very center was a green sphere, about five centimeters across.
It was absorbing endless energy, converting it, and continuously supplying power to 18's body.
Whis's expression froze. His face even darkened a little.
"Teacher Whis? What is it? What is that?" Gohan immediately sensed this was serious.
"Heh. Well now. Even though Universe 7 is ranked second-to-last… they've gotten awfully bold, daring to smuggle something like this into this universe." Whis's tone went cold, and even his smile suddenly looked dangerous.
"Gohan, do you know what that is?" He pointed at the green core.
"I don't. But judging from your reaction… I'm guessing it's not ordinary." Gohan said.
"That is a Realm Core. A Supreme Kai's core. No wonder. 'Infinite energy module' really is the perfect name." Whis's voice stayed cold.
Most Supreme Kais at the very beginning were chosen from the Core People race. Later on, successors could be from other races.
The Core People had been personally created by the King of Time-Space. Their defining feature was the Realm Core.
The Realm Core was small, but its function was terrifying. The power the Supreme Kai used to create planets came from that core.
You could think of it as the positive-energy engine of a universe, except that it was supposed to stay in the hands of the Core People, used to create planets and life in the correct way.
So a module with bottomless energy wasn't strange at all. That thing was made to support the development of an entire universe.
If a non–Core Person took the post, the previous Supreme Kai would pass the Realm Core down to the next Supreme Kai of another race.
"You mean… someone killed a Supreme Kai? But the Supreme Kais of Universe 7 didn't… Wait. The ones killed by Majin Buu back then, the South, West and North Supreme Kais?" Gohan immediately thought of Universe 7's Kais who died in the Buu incident.
"When a universe is born, it only gets one primordial Realm Core. Lord Time-Space used eighteen of those to create the Core People. It was just one race, but at first there were only eighteen. They had the ability to cultivate new realm cores. Universe 7 is a special case, which is why it had the Grand Supreme Kai and the five East, West, South, North and current Supreme Kai. Realm Cores aren't so easy to cultivate. The Grand Supreme Kai was a genius, a seemingly simple fool who actually figured out a way to grow Realm Cores faster. That's why Universe 7 ended up with so many Supreme Kais." Whis's tone eased as he explained.
"But that was already abnormal. It went against the rules that keep a universe balanced. Do you really think Majin Buu was something some random magician could just 'make'? That was an accident triggered by too many variables. The universe had to balance itself." Whis pointed straight at the heart of it. The birth of Majin Buu had been abnormal.
"So that's why Lord Beerus didn't step in back then?" Gohan asked.
"Yes and no," Whis said. "Back then Lord Beerus was asleep. But even if he'd been awake, I would not have advised him to interfere. Upsetting the rules of the world always comes with a price."
"I get what you mean. It's like the Dragon Balls on Namek. If you overuse them, disaster comes sooner or later," Gohan said.
"Oh? If you know that, why overuse them anyway?" Whis asked, genuinely curious.
"Heh. No enemies? Then we make some."
"Hahaha. Arrogant. I like it," Whis said at once, instantly understanding Gohan's mindset.
"Teacher Whis, like you said, Universe 7 is second-to-last. I want to push the ranking up a bit. If we get erased, that won't be fun. You don't die. We do." Gohan spoke with a fighting gleam in his eyes.
"So you even know that. Then your thoughts match mine. When Lord Beerus wakes up, bring your 'candidate' over. And that Three-Eyed Planet too. We can make use of it. Universe ranking isn't just about top fighters. It's a comprehensive score," Whis reminded him.
"I know. If I can, I'll find a way to restore the number of Saiyans."
"You're not right." Whis gave Android 18 a look, then thought of Videl back on Earth.
"Teacher Whis, what are you thinking? I'm not a stud horse." Gohan immediately saw what that look meant and shouted.
"You're flustered."
"I… Hmph. Believe whatever you want. Let's get back to business. Why did a Realm Core end up in Dr. Gero's hands?" Gohan chose not to argue.
"External interference. Someone not from this universe reached in and disrupted its development. That core might not even be from Universe 7," Whis said.
"External interference… Right, there's something I haven't told you yet…" Gohan told him about Yamcha's disappearance and repeated what the Old Kai had said.
"I see. Then we can't relax," Whis said, voice going cold again.
"I… Can I say something?" Android 18 spoke up, hesitating.
"Oh? You remembered something?" Gohan asked.
"When I was being modified, I woke up for a few seconds. I think I saw a woman with glasses hand this core to Dr. Gero. From the way she spoke… it sounded like they were husband and wife," 18 said. Seeing the Realm Core had jolted that memory loose.
"Wife? A woman with glasses?" Gohan's face changed.
He'd heard that before. Dr. Gero really did have a wife. One who never appeared in the main timeline. Android 21.
"I can't find the person you're talking about. That suggests she's not in Universe 7. So it really might have been her doing," Whis said. After 18 finished, he used Earth as the center and scanned the whole of Universe 7. The staff showed only white. No sign of Dr. Gero's wife.
"Teacher Whis, do the Supreme Kais… have any Realm Cores to spare?" Gohan asked.
"You really plan to help that bald one become an android?" Whis was surprised.
"Teacher Whis, his martial arts foundation isn't weaker than my dad's. If we give him a shot a path to keep getting stronger without being trapped by talent he really might become a top fighter of Universe 7." Gohan's tone was firm. He believed in Krillin.
If Krillin wanted to give up, he wouldn't have come to ask for help.
"There should be. A lot of Supreme Kais in history died… oddly. Keeping one or two Realm Cores is normal. Go get one. If the Fifteenth Generation Supreme Kai won't give it to you, tell him I said so," Whis said, agreeing to Gohan's plan.
He finally had a promising disciple. Of course he'd cover for him.
"He'll give it. Heh. If there's nothing else, I'll head out. Bye, teacher!" Gohan said, and by now, taking 18 by the hand was as natural as breathing.
Eighteen didn't react at all either. As if it were normal.
"Go on. I found you a good opponent. Finish your business and come back," Whis said.
"Got it. I'm off!"
Gohan sent 18 back to Earth with Instant Transmission, then appeared on the Supreme Kai's World.
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