Beerus was still drifting through a dreamscape filled with gourmet delicacies.
Suddenly!
BOOM—!
Whis's voice boomed like the Big Bang, echoing through the vastness of the chamber!
"WHO?!!!"
Beerus snapped his eyes open, disoriented and unaware of what was happening. Then came the fallout. The sonic vibration triggered the "Hourglass Bombs" floating around him, detonating in a chain reaction!
BOOM—! BOOM—!
"AAAAAAAAAGHHHH!!!" "GAAAAAAHHHH!!!"
Beerus's agonising shrieks punctuated the earth-shattering explosions. Half an hour later, the smoke finally cleared. Beerus lay flat on the floor, looking like a cat that had completely given up on life. He didn't even need to think—it was definitely Whis.
"Whis... how long was I out this time?"
"One month."
"A month?" Beerus bolted upright. Usually, a "short nap" for him lasted at least a few centuries. To be woken up after only thirty days was practically a war crime.
Beerus slowly climbed to his feet, his eyes burning with an intense fury. A thick, purple shroud of Energy of Destruction (Hakai) began to swirl around him. "You had better have a damn good explanation for this, or I'll give you a taste of your own medicine!"
"Hohoho~" Whis, completely unfazed by the threat, chuckled. "You're the one who told me to remind you, Lord Beerus. You can't blame me."
"?" Beerus paused, his anger momentarily replaced by confusion.
"Your memory seems to be failing you, Lord Beerus. Have you already forgotten what you said before you went to sleep?"
"What I said...?" Beerus rubbed his chin, retracing his steps.
Gran had gone off to train in the universe, so Beerus finally had time for a nap. Whis had taken Gran to Yardrat to learn Instant Transmission, and when Whis returned, Beerus had lain down to sleep. Wait! When Whis came back, they had talked for a bit.
He had told Whis: If Gran runs into a major crisis, wake me up immediately.
Could it be?!
BOOM—!
Beerus's rage erupted like a supernova! The Hakai energy coiled around him and finally found a vent. A tidal wave of purple energy surged outward, disintegrating everything it touched.
Crash! The sleeping chamber vanished into stardust. A second later, the entire God of Destruction's Palace followed suit. But he wasn't done! The raw power of the strongest Destroyer bled into the fabric of space itself, causing the reality of the realm to crack and buckle. The entire Sacred World of the Destroyer began to tremble as if it were about to collapse!
"WHO WAS IT?!!!" "WHO DARES TOUCH MY DISCIPLE?!!!"
BOOM—!
Under the sheer force of his power, the realm couldn't hold. It shattered completely.
Whis hovered in the now-pitch-black void, his lip twitching. He said helplessly, "It's not that. I never said Gran was in trouble."
"Huh?"
Beerus's volcanic rage hit a dead end. He looked around at the dark emptiness where his home used to be. "You... then why didn't you say that sooner?!" Beerus's face turned an ugly shade of sour. If it wasn't that, then what was it?
While Beerus sulked, Whis waved his sceptre, and the destroyed realm—palace and all—instantly reformed as if time had flowed backwards.
"Oh! I remember now!" Beerus shouted, suddenly excited.
He had asked Whis if the Saiyans had some grand history. Whis had mentioned he vaguely remembered a Saiyan who had challenged the King of All!
Beerus sucked in a sharp breath, the memory finally clicking into place. He stammered, "I... I said... If you remembered everything, you should let me know. Do you...?"
Whis sighed, realising Beerus was finally on the same page. He cleared his throat. "I didn't exactly 'remember' it on my own. I took a trip to the Omni-King's Palace and asked my father directly."
"What?!"
Beerus's jaw dropped. He hadn't expected Whis to go straight to the Grand Minister. While Whis's power was unfathomable, the Grand Minister—the father of all Angels—was a being of truly divine mystery.
Beerus's breathing grew shallow. "The Grand Minister has lived far longer than you, Whis. He must know everything. What did he say?"
"..." He's my father; of course, he's lived longer. Was that really necessary to point out? Whis thought, annoyed.
"I didn't recall incorrectly. There was indeed a Saiyan who challenged Lord Zeno. He was the ancestor of all Saiyans, a man named Otis..."
Whis proceeded to recount the legend of Otis to Beerus. Thirty minutes later, the story concluded.
BOOM—!
A storm of shock raged in Beerus's heart. A Saiyan, using a "Supreme Berserk State," had defeated a God of Destruction from Universe 7? Then, fifty years later, he sought out the Grand Minister? And through a series of accidents, he ended up facing Zeno?
Good grief! Beerus clutched his head. Am I actually awake? This story is insane! It wasn't surprising that Beerus was losing his cool—Zeno was the absolute peak of the multiverse. Challenging him required a level of audacity that bordered on madness.
"Lord Beerus, my father also gave an evaluation of young Gran," Whis added.
"??" Beerus snapped out of his shock. "What did the Grand Minister say?!"
"My father said that while Gran's origins are indeed mysterious, there is nothing 'wrong' with him. He told us to focus on training him without worry."
Whis felt a weight lift from his shoulders as he said this. Gran was too mysterious—when Whis first found him, he was at death's door, only for his dimension to skyrocket from mortal to Peak Grand Kai in an instant. That wasn't normal!
"Well, that's a relief! That's good!" Beerus patted his chest. He really liked the kid—Gran had a good personality and terrifying talent. Beerus didn't want to lose such a disciple over a background check.
"What else? What else did the Grand Minister say?" Beerus's tone was lighter now, though his curiosity was piqued.
"He also said..." Whis paused for emphasis, "that Gran has the potential to surpass."
Potential to surpass?
CRACK!
The revelation hit Beerus like a lightning bolt. He rushed over to Whis and grabbed him by the shoulders. "What does that mean?! Surpass whom? Whom could he surpass?!"
Given Gran's talent, surpassing a God of Destruction was a given. But surpassing Whis? Whis was one of the top two most talented Angels among the twelve universes. Could the Grand Minister mean Gran had the potential to surpass an Angel?
"I don't know exactly what he meant. He walked back into the palace right after saying it."
Whis fell silent. Did his father mean surpassing him? Or surpassing the Grand Minister himself? Or even...
Whis shook his head; he didn't dare think about the last one. The two stood in the quiet chamber for a long time.
"Anyway!" Beerus shook his head, clearing out the wild theories. "Gran said he was going out to find strong opponents. How is he doing?"
"..." Whis's lip curled. "I don't know."
He had been dragged away by his sister, Cus, for a month. He had only just stepped foot back in the universe.
"How can you not know?! I told you to keep an eye on him!" Beerus panicked. That was his "hard-earned" discipline! What if he died?
"I just don't know," Whis deadpanned. He knew exactly what Beerus was thinking. The kid knew Instant Transmission; he wasn't going to die that easily. "Fine!"
Whis waved his sceptre, and a projection appeared in the air. "Let's see what young Gran has been up to this past month."
The projection flickered to life.
"Who is that little bean sprout in the Supreme Kai outfit? Why is he following Gran?" Beerus's eyes widened.
"Have you forgotten? That is the Supreme Kai of the East."
"That's Shin?"
"Yes," Whis said, feeling a bit guilty. "Since the Grand Supreme Kai and the others perished, he is the only remaining active Supreme Kai in our universe."
"..."
Beerus's face soured. The Majin Buu incident was his greatest shame. "It's your fault, Whis! If you hadn't snuck off to find snacks, that fat blob wouldn't have killed the other four!"
Beerus was livid. There were originally five Supreme Kais; as long as one lived, Beerus would live. He even had the "insurance policy" of the Old Kai he had sealed in the Z-Sword. He thought he could sleep in peace, only to wake up and find the heavens had fallen! Out of five, only one remained!
"Lord Beerus, you have the nerve to blame me?" Whis countered, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "If a certain someone didn't spend all his time napping, would I have to go out and find my own entertainment? Besides, our universe's Mortal Level is the second-lowest in the multiverse. Whose fault is that?"
Beerus immediately deflated. He knew Whis was right.
"Alright, alright!" Beerus changed the subject. "Why bring up the past? We have a Candidate Destroyer now. Gran will manage the universe, and our ranking will go up eventually!"
"Then let's stop the finger-pointing."
"Fine by me!" Beerus huffed. Whis huffed back. The two strongest beings in the universe were bickering like toddlers.
They turned back to the projection. When Beerus saw Shin creating useless planets only for Gran to destroy them, his fist tightened. Whis, however, burst into laughter. Since Beerus still had the Old Kai sealed away, no one had taught Shin his proper duties, so the poor guy was clueless.
The projection showed Gran destroying the planets Shin made. Even if it wasn't the "Hakai" technique, the result for universal balance was the same. Beerus felt proud—his disciple was a natural. He could definitely outsource the planet-destroying chores to Gran later.
"Lord Beerus, when are you going to release the Old Kai?"
"And risk him dying by accident? No thanks."
"But without him, the East Supreme Kai knows nothing."
"Isn't Gran teaching him? That's enough."
"..." Whis sighed. He really is that afraid of the life-link. "But Gran is just a candidate. To raise the universe's rank, you need more than just a Destroyer."
Beerus went quiet for a moment before muttering, "We'll see."
They continued watching. The scene shifted to Planet Namek. Beerus was shocked by Gran's initial "troll" wishes to Porunga.
Immortality, Zeno can't erase? Number one in the multiverse? True eternal life?
"Is this kid sane?" Beerus muttered. Even the Super Dragon would struggle with those! Whis giggled, seeing clearly that Gran was teasing the dragon.
But when Gran made his real wishes, Whis's expression turned serious. "Look, Lord Beerus. Gran really didn't know his dimension had reached the Peak Grand Kai level."
"I see that. The idiot actually asked a lizard why it can breathe in space. I'm dying!" Beerus clutched his stomach, laughing at Gran's confused face.
When the second wish was made, Beerus became grave again. If a magical dragon didn't know the secret of Gran's power, then the boy was...
He shook his head. The Grand Minister had said to train him without worry. That was enough for him.
The projection showed the third wish—three giant vats of beans. Beerus looked at the plain beans with zero interest, but Whis's eyes narrowed.
"Senzu Beans? Instant recovery?" Whis mused. The effect was remarkably similar to an Angel's healing magic.
Suddenly, Beerus started shouting at the screen. "I told you to find strong opponents! Why are you fighting this garbage?!"
After leaving Namek, Gran—seeking to hone his physical instincts—had begun challenging various fighters across the galaxy. Beerus expected him to find titans, but the screen showed Gran facing a martial artist with a power level of only 100.
Is the kid afraid to die? Is that why he's picking on weaklings?
Wait. Beerus noticed something off about the fighter.
Whis smirked. "Lord Beerus, is your eyesight failing? Haven't you noticed? That man's martial arts mastery is incredibly high."
Beerus pouted. "Don't be so annoying. I just looked away for a second."
"Hohoho~ Sure you did. You totally missed it."
"Shut up!"
"Lord Beerus," Whis said, his tone becoming instructional, "there are many cases in the universe where individuals are physically weak but possess profound insights into the martial arts.
Gran's physical instinct is at the first stage—impressive for a mortal—but he has never fought anyone but us. His actual understanding of combat is zero."
Whis pointed at the projection. "Look. Gran is suppressing his power entirely, fighting at a level even lower than his opponent.
Through these repeated 'defeats,' his combat awareness and technical insight are skyrocketing!
Whis's eyes brightened. "The boy knows his own weaknesses. He is seeking out Grandmasters of the craft to refine his basics. He is... remarkably intelligent."
<><><><><><><><><><><>
Want more chapters? Support my Patreon/Razerizz