Zeno-sama looked completely lost.
The Left Guard leaned in for a closer look too, equally baffled.
What is this thing?
Merus: "????"
Bier: "????"
Fuwa: "????"
Broly said nothing.
Ai wasn't the talkative type either.
Mostly because she couldn't drink coffee anymore anyway.
"Ken, what are you doing?" Zeno-sama asked in confusion. "What are you shaking around?"
"Grinding coffee beans," Ken replied.
Zeno-sama looked even more confused, clearly not following.
Bier, on the other hand, was quick to catch on. "Oh, I get it now. So the instant coffee earlier was made from this too, right?"
"Mhm, mhm, mhm." Ken nodded hard and patted her on the head. "Very smart."
"You really went to a lot of trouble, Ken…" Fuwa said gratefully. "You ground all that instant coffee for us first, and only yours has to be freshly ground."
"It's fine, it's fine." Ken looked completely unconcerned.
Inside Ken's body, Amarella rolled her eyes so hard they practically flipped.
"You've got some nerve, Ken," she said irritably. "You gave Zeno-sama 3-in-1 coffee, but you're using freshly ground beans for yourself?"
"What do you know?" Ken shot back. "When people are just getting into coffee, 3-in-1 smells great. If I gave them freshly ground coffee right away, they'd probably just think it tasted bitter."
"I don't buy that at all," Amarella said, shaking her head.
Ken ignored her and finally finished grinding the beans.
With another lift of his hand, a siphon coffee maker appeared. He poured the grounds in and started brewing.
A few minutes later, the freshly ground coffee was finally ready.
Ken poured himself half a cup.
"Coffee tastes better with milk," Amarella reminded him. "That's how you drank it at Bulma's house last time."
Ken said nothing. He just looked at her.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Amarella asked, suddenly uneasy.
"Do you have any milk?" Ken asked.
Amarella: "…"
"Y-You… Ken, you're getting worse and worse!" she snapped angrily.
"What did I say?" Ken laughed.
Then, without the slightest hurry, he conjured up a cup of coconut milk, poured it into the coffee, and stirred it evenly with a spoon.
He took a quiet sip and found the taste perfectly smooth.
Amarella: "????"
"What kind of milk did you just put in?" she asked curiously.
"Coconut milk," Ken replied.
"And when exactly did you meet some girl named Coconut?" Amarella snapped.
Ken: "…"
"Hey, Ken, why does it feel like your coffee smells different from ours?" Zeno-sama asked as he leaned over and sniffed at it curiously.
As he spoke, he took another sip of his 3-in-1 coffee.
"This is a new blend," Ken said with a smile. "Most people would probably think the taste is a little strange. Want to try some, Zeno-sama?"
He took out a small spoon and gave Zeno-sama a tiny sample.
Zeno-sama tasted it, smacked his lips a couple of times, then immediately spat it out.
"Yep, that tastes weird. The other one is better," he said, shaking his head. Then he stepped forward and patted Ken on the shoulder. "You've worked hard for this new flavor."
Amarella: "…"
She was completely speechless.
The freshly ground one was obviously better.
And it even had milk in it.
So how come I've never heard of any girl called Coconut?
Did he meet her during the three years I wasn't around?
…
At the edge of the World of Void, the Right Guard had turned into a streak of light and pushed his speed to the absolute limit.
"Heh heh heh… Ken, you want to race me?" the Right Guard sneered nonstop. "You're probably so far behind me by now you can't even be seen."
He glanced back and, sure enough, Ken was nowhere in sight.
You little brat. You dare challenge me?
By the time I was traveling across the universe, you hadn't even been born yet.
When it comes to speed alone, I'm an entire universe ahead of you.
At your pace, you've probably only just reached the outer edge of Universe 6.
The Right Guard kept laughing to himself, smug delight written all over his face.
They had agreed to fight in the central region of the World of Void.
Only three minutes left until he got there.
Am I arriving a little too early?
Fine. I'll wait there patiently for you.
And when you finally show up, I'll make sure to laugh right in your face.
Three minutes passed quickly.
As the Right Guard kept flying, he suddenly felt that something was off.
He focused his eyes and immediately spotted several familiar figures in the central region ahead.
At the front was Zeno-sama himself.
And besides Zeno-sama, Ken, the Left Guard, Merus, Bier, Broly, and Fuwa were all there as well.
The Right Guard's expression froze. His eyes went wide with utter disbelief.
What the hell?
What exactly is going on here?
Isn't that Ken?
When did he get here?
Why is he here before me?
Wait… that person is…
A Supreme Kai?
Isn't that Fuwa, the Supreme Kai of Universe 6?
The Right Guard quickly pieced it together.
That bastard Ken… did he have the Supreme Kai teleport him here with Instant Transmission?
The moment that thought crossed his mind, his good mood vanished completely.
I flew here with everything I had, and you just teleported over?
You should really stop being an Angel and go back to being a regular person.
I despise you.
The Right Guard's face turned red, then white, and he ground his teeth in rage.
"Well, you finally made it, Righty," Ken said, waving at him. "Over here, over here."
The Right Guard flew in from the distance.
But because he was moving too fast out of sheer anger, he accidentally knocked the coffee cup out of Zeno-sama's hand.
Zeno-sama: "…"
The Right Guard panicked and hurriedly caught the spilled coffee with both hands, cradling it in his palms.
"Thank goodness, thank goodness, Zeno-sama. I caught all of it," he said, letting out a small sigh of relief.
Zeno-sama's face darkened.
"Please forgive me, Zeno-sama… I truly didn't do it on purpose," the Right Guard said, hurriedly dropping to the ground and kowtowing.
"Did you wash your hands?" Zeno-sama asked coldly.
The Right Guard thought about it carefully, then shook his head.
"I saw you scratching your butt with that hand earlier…" Zeno-sama said, his expression turning especially ugly.
The Right Guard's mouth twitched, and his whole body began trembling in fright.
"No need to be angry, Zeno-sama. I still have more coffee powder here," Ken said, taking out another packet of coffee.
"Oh, oh!" Zeno-sama brightened at once. He took Ken's coffee packet and tucked it into his pocket. "I'll drink it later."
"Sure," Ken said with a nod.
The Right Guard stood there holding the spilled coffee in his hands, not knowing what to do with it anymore.
With a casual wave of his staff, Ken directly erased the coffee from the Right Guard's hands.
The Right Guard glanced up at him, but said nothing.
"I've kept you waiting for a while now, Righty," Ken said with a smile. "Can we start?"
The Right Guard turned to look at Zeno-sama, asking for permission.
"Hurry up already," Zeno-sama said, thoroughly tired of waiting.
"Of course." The Right Guard straightened his back, a faint smile appearing on his lips. "Then let's begin."
The two of them flew off into the distance, opening up some space from Zeno-sama's group.
Fuwa: "????"
"Merus… the fight Ken was talking about… don't tell me it's him against the Guard…" Fuwa said, stunned, his face full of shock.
"That's right," Merus replied with a nod.
"Ken actually dared challenge one of the Guards?" Fuwa was genuinely overwhelmed by the revelation.
Merus smiled helplessly.
"That aside, Merus, how far has your training come?" Fuwa asked curiously.
Merus suddenly didn't feel like talking anymore.
I'm only level 51 right now.
Honestly, I'm not even above Broly anymore.
If Broly challenged me, he could actually beat me badly enough to make me disappear.
"Merus-nii, who do you think will win, Ken or the Right Guard?" Bier asked, turning to him.
"The Grand Priest once said that, other than himself, the two Guards have never been defeated," Merus said after a moment of thought.
"The Grand Priest was absolutely right," Bier said with a nod. "After all, the Guards are level 70. What Angel could possibly beat them, aside from the Grand Priest himself?"
"The fact that Ken dared challenge him means there's a strong chance he's already reached level 70 himself," Merus analyzed.
"How does he even train?" Bier sighed. "At this rate, do you think he might actually become the Grand Priest's successor?"
Merus fell silent.
That really does seem possible.
Am I actually going to have to bow to him one day?
Back in the beginning, when he saw me, he used to look up at me like I was untouchable.
How times have changed. Now the whole thing has completely reversed.
In the distance, Ken and the Right Guard faced each other.
"To be honest, Ken, it's been a very long time since I last fought seriously," the Right Guard said with a smile. "The last time I really fought for real was against the Grand Priest."
"Oh? Really?" Ken smiled faintly. "So who lost?"
"The Grand Priest and I fought three times. He lost the first two," the Right Guard said, flashing a bright grin, looking more confident than ever.
"The Grand Priest can lose too? Do you have any video from back then? Send me a copy," Ken said at once, suddenly very interested.
That said, something about the Right Guard's story about fighting the Grand Priest felt a little off to Ken.
He couldn't quite put his finger on what felt wrong, so he decided not to dwell on it.
The Right Guard: "…"
You've really got guts.
If a video like that ever got out and the Grand Priest saw it, he'd beat me senseless.
The years of the distant past had already been ground away by time.
This brat really does know how to annoy me.
"Enough nonsense. Let's get started," the Right Guard snorted. "But before we begin, let me make one thing clear: you'd better not get carried away. I'm far stronger than you think."
"Got it. Let's start." Ken immediately assumed a fighting stance.
But no dazzling aura burst from his body. He simply gave the staff in his hand a light flourish.
"Come on," the Right Guard said, beckoning him forward.
Ken spun the staff and aimed its tip at the Right Guard's body.
A beam of Angel power shot out from the end like an energy blast from a laser gun, screaming toward the Right Guard.
The Right Guard reacted instantly and slipped aside, neatly dodging it.
Ken kept firing without pause.
"That kind of cheap trick isn't going to hit me!" the Right Guard snorted as he lightly dodged every shot. "Angels may be born knowing Ultra Instinct, but we Guards possess overwhelming speed and combat ability!"
While avoiding the incoming Angel power, the Right Guard shot straight toward Ken and rapidly closed the distance.
The gap between them shrank fast.
1,000 meters.
500 meters.
100 meters.
10 meters.
The moment the Right Guard was about to reach him, Ken vanished from the spot instead of meeting him head-on.
In the blink of an eye, Ken had already reappeared several thousand meters away.
Then he lifted his staff again and resumed firing at the Right Guard.
The Right Guard: "…"
"Is that really your only move? If that's all you've got, then you'd better surrender already," the Right Guard said coldly as he charged again.
Ken showed no mercy, sending one burst of Angel power after another out from the staff's tip.
The Angel power became streak after streak of dazzling light, slicing past the Right Guard's body.
"He dodged them all," Zeno-sama said excitedly, clapping.
"He did, Zeno-sama," the Left Guard said with a smile. "After all, Righty hasn't had a real opponent in hundreds of millions of years."
Zeno-sama said nothing. He just watched the fight eagerly.
"This won't work," Merus sighed softly. "Ken may look like he's attacking, but he's been on defense the whole time."
"As long as the Right Guard keeps dodging, Ken has no choice but to keep widening the distance," Bier said, anxious for him.
Broly and Ai said nothing, simply watching the fight seriously.
Fuwa remained silent as well.
In the next instant, the Right Guard closed the gap again.
Ken shifted, preparing to vanish again.
But this time, the Right Guard seemed to see through it and struck with a fierce palm.
Ken realized he couldn't avoid it in time. He quickly raised his staff and used it to block the incoming hand.
"This time you can't run, can you?" the Right Guard sneered, speeding up his attack.
Then he lunged forward and seized the staff in Ken's hands.
"Without your staff, let's see how you're going to keep fighting," he said, grinning even wider.
"Oh… he grabbed the staff," Zeno-sama said.
"This is bad!" Merus's expression shifted. "An Angel's staff can amplify Angel power by at least fifty times. Losing it means a massive drop in strength."
"So Ken's level is going to fall below 70 now?" Bier cried out, her face changing.
"Yes. Just now, Ken's level had already reached 70, but that was with the staff's support," Merus said, his expression growing even more serious. "If he loses it, then reaching level 65 would already be extraordinary."
"A five-level gap between 65 and 70… winning is going to be difficult," Bier said, shaking her head. She clearly wasn't very optimistic anymore.
"A gap of just one level already means an enormous difference in power, never mind five," Merus said. He thought Bier was absolutely right.
"He can't let the Guard take his staff!" Bier shouted toward Ken.
"Once Righty grabs hold of something, he never lets go," the Left Guard said with an amused smile, glancing at Bier.
Bier had nothing to say to that.
"Once I control your staff, your power will plummet, won't it?" the Right Guard said with a light smile. "Let's see how you plan to fight me without it."
But just as the last words left his mouth, crackling electricity burst out across the staff.
"AAAAAHHHH!"
The Right Guard let out a sharp cry as the current ran through him, numbing his whole body and making him tremble violently.
The smile on his face froze solid.
It can shock people too?
"Hmph. Let me tell you, even if it shocks me, it won't do anythi—AAAAAHHH!"
Before he could finish the sentence, he got electrocuted again and howled even louder.
"Still not letting go?" Ken asked with a smile.
"Once I've grabbed something, if I haven't controlled it yet, I absolutely will not let go!" the Right Guard snorted. "AAAAAHHH!"
He didn't even finish speaking before another wave of electricity made him scream again.
"Forget it. You can have it," Ken said, tossing the staff aside and quickly backing away.
The Right Guard held tight to the staff and beamed with triumph.
"Heh heh heh. Without the staff, your Angel power should fall sharply, right?" His grin grew even wider.
"Well done, Righty!" the Left Guard cheered for his companion.
"This is really bad." Merus's face darkened, and he even looked down at his own staff, as if considering throwing it to Ken.
Bier looked at the staff in her own hand too. She hesitated, then turned back to look at Zeno-sama and ultimately held herself back.
After all, this was only a spar.
Neither side was in any real danger.
And with Zeno-sama watching, tossing Ken another staff would be outright cheating.
"Oh… no more staff," Zeno-sama said blankly.
"Ken, your staff is in my control now!" the Right Guard laughed loudly. "I told you already—once I grab something, if I haven't controlled it yet, I absolutely will not let go! Even if you shock me, I still won't let go!"
But the moment those words left his mouth, another staff appeared in Ken's hand, and he fired.
A brilliant streak of light burst from the staff's tip and screamed toward the Right Guard's chest.
The Right Guard's face changed dramatically.
Where did that new staff come from?
Doesn't an Angel only have one staff?
How does he have another one now?
He dodged with all his strength and barely managed to avoid the shot.
Even so, the Angel power grazed across his chest and left a long slash in his clothing.
He glanced down and his face changed in alarm.
"You dodged that too?" Ken asked with a faint smile.
"You attacked by surprise while I wasn't ready!" the Right Guard snorted.
But after he said that, he suddenly heard Merus and the Left Guard whispering about something nearby.
He turned his head and pricked up his ears.
"Merus, take a closer look. What exactly is the Right Guard holding?" Bier asked.
"It doesn't look like a staff," Merus said thoughtfully.
"Huh? Then what is Righty holding?" Zeno-sama asked, suddenly very curious too.
The Left Guard said nothing.
"Zeno-sama, based on my analysis, the object in the Guard's hand appears to be more than 95% animal waste," Ai said immediately from the side.
Zeno-sama: "…"
The Left Guard: "…"
Merus: "…"
Bier quietly wiped away a bead of sweat.
Broly grinned like an idiot.
"W-What did you say?" The Right Guard turned his head and looked again, only to find that what he was holding was no longer a staff at all, but a long lump of poop.
He froze, then cautiously brought it to his nose and sniffed.
A wave of foul stench blasted straight into his nostrils.
"Sorry about that. It's condensed from the foulest droppings in the universe," Ken said with a smile.
"The Dung-Eating Beast?" the Right Guard said, his face changing.
"Correct." Ken nodded.
The Right Guard instantly felt sick all over and hurled the poop away.
Then he started blowing furiously on his right hand, trying to get rid of the stink.
"The Dung-Eating Beast…" Merus muttered, wiping away sweat.
"A monster that lives on poop… and the poop it produces is even worse…" Bier said, fighting back nausea. "Even a god couldn't stand that smell."
"Right. It's completely different from a dog. At least dogs eat bones," Merus said with a nod. "Sometimes when I run into those things while carrying out missions in the universe, even I have to avoid them."
"The beast itself already reeks… its droppings…" Bier shuddered.
"You really should stop talking…" Fuwa said, already running off into the distance to throw up.
"If you turned it into chocolate, would it stop smelling?" Majin Buu suddenly asked.
Fuwa threw up even harder.
You really are something.
Zeno-sama: "…"
"Stay at least a hundred meters away from me from now on," Zeno-sama said as he immediately got down from his mount, shivering, and ordered the Right Guard to keep his distance.
The Right Guard's mouth twitched. He hurriedly bowed and acknowledged the order.
Then he turned to glare at Ken with open fury.
This is all your fault!
You actually made Zeno-sama keep his distance from me!
I'm not letting this go!
"Weren't you the one who said you'd never let go of anything once you'd controlled it?" Ken asked with a smile.
The Right Guard: "…"
"This is the one exception!" the Right Guard roared.
"Merus, when did Ken swap the staff out for Dung-Eating Beast poop?" Zeno-sama asked Merus curiously.
Merus scratched his head and answered awkwardly, "I'm sorry, Zeno-sama. I didn't see it."
So Zeno-sama turned and looked at the Left Guard instead.
"The instant Ken let go, he used an exchange ability and swapped the staff for that thing," the Left Guard said. "I have to admit, that was well played."
Zeno-sama nodded in approval. "Nicely done."
"Seriously nicely done," Bier added from the side.
Zeno-sama: "…"
"Damn it! No one has ever toyed with me like this before!" the Right Guard growled through clenched teeth, rage all over his face.
"Hmph! Fighting with childish tricks like this is unethical!" the Right Guard shouted. "The Grand Priest never fought like this back in the day!"
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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