"What's up with him?" Ken asked, puzzled. "Don't tell me he's cultivating some kind of unbeatable secret art."
"Unbeatable secret art? What's that supposed to mean?" Vados blinked.
Pop!
Ken lifted his right hand and—just like that—a book appeared in his palm.Sunflower Manual.
"This," Ken explained. "They say, 'Of all martial arts, speed is the only sure-fire edge.' If you're fast enough, even Ultra Instinct might not get out of the way."
Vados: "…"
You're making it sound so plausible I don't even know how to refute you.
"Then why don't you practice it?" Vados asked, genuinely curious.
"It doesn't suit me." Ken shook his head and casually tossed the book to Broly.
Broly rubbed his hands together, caught it with both palms, and—equal parts curious and excited—cracked it open to the first page.
"Uh-uh. Don't read it," Ken said, smiling. "Go set it on Champa's nightstand. When he wakes up, I want it to be the first thing he sees."
"Uh." Broly nodded obediently, closed the book without peeking, and ghosted off. A moment later, he slipped back in.
"Perfect. Some treasures are meant to be found by the fated," Ken grinned, even brighter.
"I can't shake the feeling you just dug a gigantic pit and you're waiting for Lord Champa to jump in," Vados said, amused.
"See through it if you must—just don't spoil the fun," Ken chuckled.
"All right, all right, back to business." Vados smoothly changed the subject.
"Shoot," Ken nodded.
"Ken, since you know about Gods of Destruction, you should also know a thing or two about the Supreme Kais, yes?" Vados guided the conversation over.
"You're hinting I should start grooming a Supreme Kai, too?" Ken got it immediately.
Vados: "…"
"Well, that saves me the explanation. Yes, that's exactly it," Vados nodded, then asked, "So who do you plan to cultivate for the Supreme Kai role?"
"Got a recommendation?" Ken asked—and instantly undercut it. "Though I reserve the right to ignore it."
Vados: "…"
Then why ask me?
"Go on, I like hearing you talk," Ken said with a grin, trying to soothe her.
Vados had no words. Three seconds of silence.
"Normally, when we talk Supreme Kais… let's start from the Kais and the World Core," Vados explained. "On the World Core grows an enormous Kai Tree; its fruit ripens into Core People. Population's about 800,000. They're not male or female, live roughly 75,000 years, study in city-schools, live leisurely lives. When a Kai on one of the Kai Worlds dies, the next Kai is chosen from these Core People. Supreme Kais are different: candidates are born from rare golden fruit. Regular Kais come from regular fruit."
"Mm-hmm." Ken nodded.
Vados dabbed at imaginary sweat. I say all that, and all I get is 'mm-hmm'?
"Of course, there are exceptions. Since you're a human who cultivated Angelic Power, your Supreme Kai could also be a human—raised and trained into the role," Vados went on.
"Wait—are Supreme Kais not male or female?" Ken suddenly asked.
Vados was speechless.
We moved past that part already—now you ask?
"Yes," Vados nodded.
Ken propped his chin on his hand, mind flashing through the twelve universes' Supreme Kais. Come to think of it, none of them were women—except the Supreme Kai of Time… she's definitely female.
…unless she wasn't? No, no way.
"Not important," Ken waved it off.
Angels are my type. Supreme Kais… pass.
If a female Supreme Kai shows up later, I'll study the case then. Hard to miss the difference up close.
"What about Angels—male and female?" Ken asked, suddenly wary. Please don't be male.
"Ah… what do you think I am?" Vados teased, lifting her chin and letting those graceful lines do the talking.
"Let me check." Ken stepped in and looked her up and down—thoroughly. Ten seconds.
"Female," he declared.
Vados: "…"
"So, any picks for Supreme Kai?" Vados tried again.
"How about you be my Supreme Kai?" Ken offered.
Vados refused to dignify that. I'm an Angel. Do I look like a Supreme Kai to you?
"I don't have a solid pick yet. I'll decide later," Ken said.
(Privately, he'd thought of Son Goku—temperament fits a Supreme Kai nicely. He'd considered training Vegeta as his God of Destruction, but the prince wouldn't bend. That's how Broly got the nod—and Ken was quite pleased with Broly's growth. Dopey on the surface, very trainable underneath. After the bout with Champa, Broly had come back from the brink several times; if he ran into Majin Buu again, he could grind Buu into the dirt.)
Ken even felt an itch to compare "intern Gods of Destruction" with Merus now. How was Merus's Buu coming along?
Universe 7 – Galactic Patrol HQ
Merus's quarters.
Watching Majin Buu snore away on his bed, Merus sank into thought.
This guy can sleep.
Three months now.
When are you waking up? I need to train you into my God of Destruction candidate. If you sleep this much, when do we start?
Then a thought struck him: Lord Beerus sleeps all the time… and he's the strongest God of Destruction of the twelve.
So… sleeping's a plus?
Maybe Buu will pull a Beerus on me. Patience.
Truth is, besides Buu, Universe 7 has no one stronger right now. Ken needed time to bring Broly to "Legendary Super Saiyan." Maybe Buu had forms of his own to unlock.
Merus exhaled, left the room, and let the pink mountain rest.
Universe 6 – Champa's Planet
"Do we have any good candidates here in Universe 6?" Ken asked.
"That part is your quest. You can't lean on me for everything," Vados said with a soft smile.
"Then tell me: who's the strongest human in Universe 6?" Ken asked, already knowing the answer—Hit, the assassin.
"You're thinking of grooming the strongest human into a Supreme Kai?" Vados asked.
"Just asking. Choice is mine," Ken replied.
Vados opted for silence.
"Eh, forget it. Talk's cheap. What I need is to keep refining my Angelic Power—target is 40," Ken said.
"Ahh… that's an admirable goal," Vados nodded.
"It's not that lofty. I mainly want to leapfrog Merus and rub it in," Ken smirked.
Vados: "…"
Your motives are… pure as mud. Maybe widen your horizons a tad?
"Why not push the purity to 100 and lord it over the Grand Priest instead?" Vados teased.
Ken: "…"
A beat.
"Would outclassing my future father-in-law be… rude?" Ken asked.
Vados dabbed "sweat" again. He's calling him father-in-law already. You're five.
"But if I hit 100, do I surpass him?" Ken stared at her, increasingly enamored. How could someone look this good? A true goddess, flawless—blue skin and all. (Blueberries are delicious anyway.)
"Since you proposed an 'Angel Power purity' model, I ran some quick brackets. Want to hear the tiers?" Vados asked, unfazed by the "father-in-law" bit. Let the Grand Priest deal with that later.
"Lay it on me," Ken said.
"You're purity 30 now, and you've unlocked Ultra Instinct (Sign)," Vados said. "By my projection: at ~30 you'll grasp true Ultra Instinct; at 40 you'll be roughly on par with Merus; at 50 you can challenge a God of Destruction without your armor; and at 60, you're a full-fledged Angel."
She paused.
"Go on," Ken urged.
Vados: "…"
"The rest is conjecture," she warned.
"Extrapolate," Ken waved.
Three seconds of silence.
"At 70, you're at the level of the Omni-King's guards. At 80, even the Omni-King likely couldn't erase you. At 90, you're roughly the Grand Priest's level," Vados finished.
Ken fell quiet.
So, 80 purity to be beyond erasure. Ordinary Angels could be erased by Zeno—unless he's showing the Grand Priest courtesy. Which implies… the Grand Priest might actually outstrip the Omni-King—in a certain sense. If 90 equals the Grand Priest…
"All right, small goal first—purity 100," Ken said, dead serious.
Vados was speechless. Small goal?
"These are my estimates, but they won't be far off," Vados added. "For instance, purity ~50 to stand toe-to-toe with a God of Destruction: say Beerus at 56—the top of the twelve. Quitela of Universe 4 sits around 55. Most others are below 55. I'm mapping 'power' to this purity scale for comparison."
"Quitela?" Ken prompted, letting Broly listen in.
"Universe 4's God of Destruction," Vados explained. "He's second to Beerus. Over the years he's only beaten Beerus once—arm-wrestling. Otherwise he gets trounced. Still, he's stubborn and keeps training, hoping to surpass Beerus."
"Loser keeps fighting, fighter keeps losing," Ken summed up.
"If Lord Quitela heard that, he'd hunt you down," Vados laughed.
"What about Champa?" Ken asked.
"On this scale, Lord Champa's around 52," Vados said, then glanced at Ken. "You're really asking about Mosco, right?"
"You know me," Ken smiled.
Broly's eyes lit up; his tail swished.
"Lord Mosco is probably the weakest of the twelve—around 50," Vados said.
Broly clenched his fists, thrilled. That robot's only 50? He and Ken beat the fat cat—Mosco shouldn't be a problem.
Ken, though, quickly checked himself. Numbers close together often hide big gaps.
"You're both thinking: 'we beat Champa together, so challenging Mosco should be easy,' yes?" Vados said, reading them like a book.
"Nope," Ken shook his head.
"Oh?" Vados arched a brow.
"From that fight, Champa never went for the kill," Ken said plainly. "If he'd led with Hakai on Broly and kept me busy, I'd have lost eventually."
"Ahh, so you do have self-awareness," Vados said, words sharp but eyes approving.
Broly scratched his head; point taken.
"But if we keep grinding, it won't matter. Give us time and Broly alone can mop the floor with him," Ken smiled.
Broly nodded hard.
"Broly, my goal is to surpass my father-in-law," Ken said, clapping Broly's shoulder. "And I'm going to raise you into the strongest God of Destruction."
Another fierce nod; Broly's eyes shone with resolve—and hero-worship.
Vados glanced at the pair. This sweet dummy's been completely brainwashed by Ken. That's… a very big promise. Even if Ken could surpass the Grand Priest, how long to make Broly the strongest God of Destruction?
"So, where's Broly now on this scale?" Ken asked.
"By this metric, he's jumped from 5 to about 10," Vados said after checking with her scepter.
Ken thought it through. Ten roughly matched early Super Saiyan God Goku in canon. Not bad—those repeated brushes with death and the Legendary physiology paid off. He's five.
Broly didn't sulk about "only 10." Train hard, hit 50+, then we talk.
"Keep pushing," Ken patted his shoulder again.
Broly bobbed his head like a pecking chick.
They dove back into training—Ken refining Angelic Power, Broly pushing Legendary energy.
Three months flashed by.
In that time, Champa never returned to the God Realm. After that fight, he napped three days, had three straight nightmares, then slipped away, probably embarrassed. He never found the Sunflower Manual, alas.
Next time, put it somewhere obvious.
"Time flies. Vados, check our progress," Ken called.
Broly flared, shifting into Legendary form and cranking to max.
"Ahh… Broly's around 20 now, by your metric," Vados said, impressed. Only three months. Worthy of "Legendary" indeed.
Broly scratched his head, still feeling it's slow. Just 20. Long road to the Gods.
"If he wore my armor—which boosts by half, not fifty-fold—he'd clock in around 30," Vados added.
Broly tried to math the difference between 30 and 50 on two hands. Failed.
"You can use your toes," Ken teased.
"Uh…" Broly started untying his shoes.
Vados declined comment.
"And me?" Ken asked.
"You… don't you know?" Vados shot him a look.
"I like it better when you say it," Ken grinned.
"Your Angelic Power purity is 30. Congrats—you still haven't surpassed Merus," Vados said sweetly.
"Has Merus improved lately?" Ken didn't mind, just asked.
"No idea," Vados shook her head.
"Some big sister—you don't even check on your little brother. Ask him. Or put him on—I kinda miss the guy. Half a year already," Ken urged.
"Fine," Vados lifted her scepter to place a call—
—and another call cut in first.
"Oh? The Grand Priest," Vados blinked, then glanced at Ken and Broly and drifted off to take it.
Watching her go, Ken propped his chin again. The Grand Priest… more instructions?
Curiosity kills cats. Not my business. I'm not that nosy.
Far off
Vados answered on the scepter's crystal.
"Grand Priest—calling about the new God of Destruction?" she asked.
"How's prep?" the Grand Priest said. "I haven't checked in on your side for a bit."
"Smoothly. Mission accomplished," Vados beamed.
"Oh? In just half a year, Ken's purity hit 20?" The Grand Priest sounded pleasantly surprised.
"Yup," Vados nodded, proud. "Thanks to my attentive guidance."
"Excellent. I'd pegged 15 as a 'great result.' This is beyond expectations," he said, clearly satisfied with both master and pupil.
"So you weren't actually bullish on his speed," Vados teased.
"Pressure motivates," the Grand Priest smiled thinly.
"Mm-hm," Vados smiled just as mysteriously.
Something in that smile nagged him. "Are you hiding something? Angels shouldn't keep secrets."
"Hee-hee… nothing big. Ken's, um, purifying a bit faster than expected," Vados said, smile blooming.
From Ken's vantage, Vados looked like a blue rose in full flare. Gorgeous.
"Oh? So not twenty? Twenty-five, then?" the Grand Priest said, a little startled.
"No—thirty. Just ten shy of being in Merus's neighborhood," Vados sang.
Silence.
Ten away from Merus already? My actual son is… underperforming.
"Merus… where is he now?" he asked at last. "He was at forty when he first met Ken, yes?"
"Correct," Vados nodded. "As for his current purity—I haven't asked. Don't know."
"Did you brief Ken on the Supreme Kai selection?" the Grand Priest moved on.
"I did. He says he's not prioritizing that… yet," Vados answered honestly.
"Then get set. I'll notify a few universes—we'll hold a tournament to choose Universe Eighteen's God of Destruction," the Grand Priest said. "The others are mainly there to make up the numbers. Consider it a test of Broly's level. Let's hope they don't disappoint."
By "they," he meant Ken and Broly.
"How many universes are you tapping?" Vados asked.
"I'll handle that. Give them three days to name their strongest fighter," the Grand Priest said. "I'll erect a platform in the newly restored Universe 18. They'll fight there."
"Understood," Vados nodded.
The call ended. The Grand Priest immediately rang Merus.
"Grand Priest," Merus straightened in his room, scepter in hand.
"I hear you're training a candidate for God of Destruction," the Grand Priest said warmly.
"Yes, sir… his name's Buu—a legend of Universe 7," Merus said quickly.
"How's the training?" the Grand Priest asked.
Merus: "…"
He glanced at the bed. The pink mountain was still out. Since bringing him back—and after one massive cafeteria binge—Buu had slept non-stop.
"He… is sleeping," Merus managed, then, realizing how weak that sounded, added, "Like Lord Beerus, sir. A connoisseur of naps."
"And you? Your own tempering?" the Grand Priest asked.
"I've been working hard," Merus said, earnest.
"Merus, I sent you to the Patrol to grasp human good and evil. What was the point?" The Grand Priest's tone hardened as he peered through the crystal.
"The point… to become a true Angel?" Merus said, unsure.
"And what does that require?" the Grand Priest pressed.
"Uh… broaden horizons, hone one's heart," Merus replied honestly.
"No. Purification," the Grand Priest sighed, shaking his head. Suddenly his son felt… less like the golden child.
"Purification?" Merus gaped. "Isn't that Ken's terminology?"
"It is—and blunt as it sounds, it's correct," the Grand Priest said. "Angel training is the ongoing purification of Angelic Power."
Merus fell silent. The sting landed.
"I didn't spell it out earlier because I hoped you'd realize it on your own," the Grand Priest said, disappointed.
Merus: "…"
The Grand Priest looked him over through the scrying crystal… and his face fell.
"Forty-one?" his eyes narrowed.
"By Ken's math, yes. Purity 41," Merus said after a quick self-check. For Angels, Ken's metric was easy enough to read.
"You'd better step it up," the Grand Priest said.
"Yes, sir. I will!" Merus nodded—then tried for a smile. "Ken was… what, ten? Wonder how much he's purified in half a year."
"He's at 30," the Grand Priest said, light as air.
Merus froze, eyes wide, words gone.
"Half a year…? How?" He could barely believe it.
"You do realize he'd been stuck with a 'simplified' Ultra Instinct. Once he learned the real thing, purification accelerated," the Grand Priest said. "So… what have you been doing these six months?"
(End of chapter)
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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