"Zeno-sama, let me send him into space," Jiren offered immediately.
Zeno-sama glanced at Jiren, then suddenly lit up with a different idea.
"I've got it!" Zeno-sama clapped, then called out to Ken. "Hey—bring Universe 7's Supreme Kai here."
Ken blinked.
"He's always talking about 'protecting the universe,' right?" Zeno-sama said with a grin. "Let him come deal with it." His smile widened. "It's time for the Supreme Kai to atone."
Merus couldn't help laughing awkwardly. "Zeno-sama… this is Universe 6. Universe 7's Supreme Kai probably doesn't even know other universes exist."
"Then figure it out," Zeno-sama huffed. "Get him here now."
"Understood," Merus said, helplessly nodding. "I'll find a way…"
Cell's laughter swelled again. "Ten seconds!"
"We're out of time," Merus muttered, head pounding. "In ten seconds, there's no way we can bring Universe 7's Supreme Kai here."
"Easy," Ken said, and raised his staff without hesitation.
Time rewind.
Whoosh!
Space warped.
In an instant, everything snapped back to roughly one minute earlier.
"Heh heh heh! You should surrender!" Cell laughed again. "In one minute, I'm going to explode! All of you… and the entire Earth… will die with me!"
Kale's eyes widened.
Why does he look smaller again?
He was already swollen beyond recognition a second ago.
What is going on?
Everyone else stared in disbelief too.
"Look—Cell shrank!" Yamcha shouted.
"And he says one minute again," Tien added, voice tense. "Wasn't it ten seconds just now?"
"That means Ken and the others intervened," Piccolo said quietly.
"But how?" Yamcha asked, confused.
Ken's time rewind had only been applied to Cell.
Everyone else continued on the same flow of time.
Only Cell got pushed back one minute.
"Ken, you used time rewind," Merus said, finally catching up.
"Contact Universe 7's Supreme Kai," Ken told him. "You do it. We're already in Universe 6."
"Right." Merus nodded. "I'll contact the Supreme Kai immediately."
He didn't waste another second. He lifted his staff and used the crystal orb to reach Universe 7's Supreme Kai.
…
Universe 7, the World of the Kais.
The Supreme Kai lay on the grass, staring up at the stars.
Kibito stood beside him, also looking skyward.
"Supreme Kai," Kibito said with a smile, "Majin Buu has vanished. It finally feels like we can live in peace."
"Yeah," the Supreme Kai said, smiling in rare contentment. "The universe hasn't been this quiet in a long time." The stars looked especially beautiful tonight.
"If only it stayed like this," Kibito said.
"We still don't know where that Buu went," the Supreme Kai said, his tone turning serious. "He's a headache."
"He's a cancer on the universe," Kibito said darkly. "If we don't eliminate him soon, he'll bring the whole universe into crisis."
As they spoke, a voice suddenly echoed in both their minds.
They froze, then looked at each other.
"Supreme Kai, this is Merus," Merus's voice said.
"Merus?" The Supreme Kai's face tightened immediately.
That was the one who let Majin Buu out.
Back then, Merus had kept Buu under control for years. Buu had stayed at Galactic Patrol HQ and behaved himself.
But recently, for some reason, Buu left Galactic Patrol HQ and started rampaging across the universe.
Several planets vanished without explanation.
The worst part was three entire galaxies disappearing in an instant.
The Supreme Kai had no doubt Majin Buu was behind it.
Merus had no idea the erased galaxies and planets weren't Buu's doing at all.
They were Zeno-sama's.
When Zeno-sama got excited, he casually erased three galaxies.
While he was playing in Universe 7, he also erased a few planets on a whim.
That was the stretch where Beerus kept waking up laughing.
Someone's doing my job while I sleep. This is fantastic.
"Merus, you…" the Supreme Kai snapped, sitting up in anger. "Look at the mess you caused! If you're the one who let Majin Buu loose, then you're responsible for keeping him under control!"
Merus went silent.
"Merus, get to the point," Ken said, unable to take it anymore. "Otherwise we'll have to use time rewind again. And doing it across universes—targeting the Supreme Kai—is expensive. It burns through Angel power."
"Understood," Merus said quickly.
"Ken? Was that Ken's voice?" the Supreme Kai asked, immediately recognizing it.
"That's not important," Merus said in a rush. "Supreme Kai, something serious has happened. We need your help."
As soon as he said it, Merus wiped sweat.
Are we really about to send the Supreme Kai to his death?
If the Supreme Kai dies… does Beerus disappear too?
…Probably not.
Whis-nii once mentioned that Beerus sealed away a Supreme Kai before sleeping.
"A serious problem?" the Supreme Kai demanded. "Is it Majin Buu again?"
Majin Buu, nearby: "…"
This Supreme Kai really won't stop blaming me.
As Buu fumed, Zeno-sama casually smacked him on the butt.
"Mm…" Buu blushed, looking embarrassed as he glanced at Zeno-sama.
Why do you keep doing that?
"What did you do in the past that makes the Supreme Kai obsess over you?" Zeno-sama asked flatly.
Buu panicked and dropped to his knees, bowing over and over.
"Enough," Zeno-sama said, waving it off. "That's old history."
Buu's heart finally settled.
But his hatred for the Supreme Kai deepened even more.
One day, I'm going to beat you senseless.
Instead of developing the universe, you spend all your time watching me. What's wrong with you?
"A monster has appeared on Earth in Universe 6," Merus explained. "He's about to self-destruct. With his energy level, if he detonates, it won't just destroy Earth—he'll blow the entire solar system apart."
"That serious?" the Supreme Kai said, stunned.
"We've managed to restrain him for now, but he'll still explode soon," Merus said, sweating as he spoke. "We had no choice but to ask you to come help."
Merus swallowed.
I'm an Angel…
…and I'm setting up a Supreme Kai.
Fine. Zeno-sama ordered it.
I'm just obeying.
"Universe 6? Earth?" the Supreme Kai repeated, confused.
"Time rewind," Ken said again, glancing at the timing. Cell was about to hit his limit.
Whoosh!
Cell's voice rang out again in the distance. "Heh heh heh! In one minute I'll explode! All of you—and the whole Earth—die with me!"
Cell finished shouting… then frowned, suddenly dazed.
Why does it feel like I've said that before?
Kale's eyes narrowed.
Another reset?
Goku scratched his head with an awkward smile.
"Tch. Pathetic," Vegeta scoffed. "He doesn't even realize time's been reset."
"Reset?" Trunks asked, confused. "What do you mean, Dad?"
"Look over there," Vegeta said. "Feels like Ken is forcing a reload."
"You can do that?" Trunks said, stunned.
"Of course it's Ken," Krillin laughed.
"Time rewind?" the Supreme Kai repeated, more confused than ever.
"Supreme Kai, don't worry about the details," Merus said, wiping sweat again.
"Move it," Zeno-sama snapped, impatient.
"Ken already had to step in twice," Merus muttered under his breath.
Ken walked up, grabbed Merus's staff, and spoke directly into it. "Supreme Kai—Majin Buu is with us. He's about to self-destruct. Get here now. When you reach Earth, you'll see a vortex in the sky. Go through it and you'll understand everything."
With that, Ken ended the call.
Majin Buu stared blankly.
I just want to lie down.
Why are you dragging me into this again?
Merus looked uneasy. "Will that work?"
"He'll be here in ten seconds," Ken said confidently.
Sure enough, the moment the Supreme Kai heard "Majin Buu" and "self-destruct," his face turned grave.
"Kibito," he said sharply, "I'm going to Earth."
"Supreme Kai, I'm coming too!" Kibito said, panicking.
"No," the Supreme Kai said, waving him off with a thin smile. "If I die, you'll succeed me as the Supreme Kai of this universe."
"Supreme Kai…" Kibito burst into tears.
"I'm going," the Supreme Kai said.
He vanished.
Whoosh!
The next moment, the Supreme Kai appeared on Earth in Universe 7.
He looked over the ruined landscape and sighed again and again.
Majin Buu…
Look what you've done to Earth.
No time for that.
Ken said there would be a huge vortex in the sky.
Where is it?
The Supreme Kai flew up and searched.
And there it was—far off in the distance—a massive vortex churning in the air.
Whoosh!
He teleported to the vortex and leaned in to look.
The instant he did, a terrifying suction force grabbed him and dragged him inside.
The Supreme Kai's eyes widened. He fought it, panicked.
"Ah—!"
He was pulled in anyway.
He tumbled through an unknown space, flipping over and over.
Then he burst out above Earth in Universe 6 and crashed down headfirst.
The Supreme Kai rubbed his head, dizzy and disoriented.
But then he felt it—an incredibly vile presence far away.
It was evil. So evil it made Majin Buu feel tame.
"Is that Majin Buu's ki?" the Supreme Kai muttered, face tightening as he looked toward Cell.
Even from thousands of kilometers away, he could see it: a bizarre creature, swollen like a balloon, ready to burst at any second.
"Wait… that isn't Majin Buu," the Supreme Kai muttered, scratching his head.
Then he noticed Ken, Merus…
…and Zeno-sama, seated on a throne.
"Isn't that the wizard lot?" the Supreme Kai muttered, face dark.
I get it.
They're fighting each other.
Ha.
Dog-eat-dog.
This is my chance.
At this point, the Supreme Kai didn't care about anything else. He teleported straight to Ken's group.
"Supreme Kai, you finally made it," Merus said quickly.
"Hold on," the Supreme Kai said, narrowing his eyes. "Majin Buu is right here, isn't he? So who's the one about to explode?"
He immediately noticed the pony-like Majin Buu sitting beside Zeno-sama.
Merus opened his mouth, but no words came out.
"Supreme Kai," Ken said, "look again."
He raised his staff and pointed at the Supreme Kai.
A wave of invisible Angel power washed over him.
The Supreme Kai shook his head hard.
What?
Why did my mind blank out just now?
It's like… I crashed.
"Supreme Kai," Ken said again, "look properly."
The Supreme Kai blinked, then stared at the pony.
Now it was just a normal pony. Completely ordinary.
"And look over there," Ken said, pointing his staff toward Cell.
The Supreme Kai looked.
His expression instantly turned solemn.
That look.
That's the look of certainty.
That monster is Majin Buu.
In the Supreme Kai's eyes, Majin Buu was swollen like a balloon and seconds from exploding.
"Hahaha! Four seconds left!" Cell laughed wildly. "Maybe we didn't get a winner, but watching your faces is good enough for me!"
"Time rewind," Ken said, waving his staff again.
Whoosh!
In an instant, time snapped back another twenty seconds.
"Supreme Kai," Ken said, patting his shoulder, "only you can save this planet."
"Wait—this is Earth?" the Supreme Kai said, still dizzy.
"Don't overthink it," Ken said. "If you stand here talking, we're down to ten seconds again. Hurry up."
"Fine," the Supreme Kai said, forcing himself to focus. "I know what to do. For the peace of the universe!"
"For the peace of the universe!" Ken echoed, raising a fist.
The Supreme Kai nodded hard.
Then he vanished.
"Hahaha! Four seconds left!" Cell roared again.
…Why did I say "again"?
Whoosh!
The Supreme Kai appeared right beside Cell.
Cell's stomach dropped. "Who are you?"
"Buu!" the Supreme Kai shouted. "I won't let you destroy Earth!"
Cell froze.
"…Are you mistaking me for someone else?" he said blankly.
"You're Buu," the Supreme Kai snarled. "I can tell no matter what form you take. I see through appearances to the truth!"
He placed a hand on Cell.
Whoosh!
In the next instant, the Supreme Kai vanished—taking Cell with him.
Goku and the others stared, stunned, too slow to react.
What just happened?
Who was that guy?
Where did he take Cell?
Krillin turned to Goku. "Was that Instant Transmission?"
"Looks like it," Goku said, nodding. "Judging by his outfit, he was probably a Supreme Kai… just not sure which universe."
"That was a Supreme Kai?" Piccolo's ears practically perked up.
Ken said I'll become a great Supreme Kai someday…
"Where did he go?" Krillin asked.
"No idea," Goku said, shaking his head. "But wherever it is, it should be far away from Earth."
Vegeta stared at the spot they vanished from and stayed silent.
Trunks didn't speak either.
Kale and Gohan looked at each other.
"Gohan-nii… that bad guy got taken away," Kale said, walking forward.
"Yeah," Gohan said, nodding. "Kale, you were incredible. I'm proud of you."
"Gohan-nii, from now on, I'll protect you," Kale said, giggling.
Gohan went quiet.
Am I really at the point where a girl has to protect me?
On the distant ridge, Zeno-sama leaned forward, excited. "Show me where he went."
Ken lifted his staff. The crystal orb projected a hologram.
It showed the Supreme Kai and Cell.
They were in deep space—empty and vast.
There were no planets anywhere.
Not even an asteroid.
Cell spun around, staring in shock and fury.
How did I end up here in an instant?
Who is this guy?
"Buu," the Supreme Kai said, grinning as he flashed away to create distance, "your self-destruct is perfect!"
Cell's face twisted.
"You animal!" he screamed. "I'm not Buu! You've got the wrong person!"
Then he realized something even worse.
Sound didn't carry.
He was in space.
"I'm finished…" Cell tried to shout anyway, pure unwillingness in his voice.
Boom.
A silent detonation bloomed in space, like an explosion with no sound at all.
Cell's body burst apart.
The shockwave expanded outward in all directions.
"Ah—!" the Supreme Kai cried.
He hadn't gotten far enough away.
The blast engulfed him, tearing him up and knocking him out cold.
As consciousness faded, regret hit him like a hammer.
I should've gone farther.
That was stupid.
I didn't expect the blast to be that violent.
The Supreme Kai's battered body drifted through space, pushed and pulled by the fading shockwaves.
"Nice!" Zeno-sama cheered, waving his little hands with pure delight.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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