"Hm, it seems some universes have yet to arrive," The Great Priest said expressionlessly, sweeping his gaze across the four universes gathered below. His eyes were deep and unreadable.
Of the eight universes originally scheduled to participate, only four had arrived early.
Surprisingly, however, the four universes that were not participating had already gathered in full.
Although the Great Priest's face revealed nothing at that moment, the present Gods of Destruction keenly sensed something beneath his words.
There seemed to be a hidden meaning behind that calm remark.
After all, at such an important occasion, several universes had arrived later than the Great Priest himself.
This was undoubtedly an act of disrespect that would surely be punished.
At that moment, Quitela, the mouse-like God of Destruction from Universe 4, secretly rejoiced.
He had always loved watching chaos unfold. He felt no sympathy for the troubles other universes might face; he actually looked forward to things getting worse.
"Heh... looks like that fat cat from Universe 6 hasn't shown up yet either. This should be quite an entertaining show." Quitela muttered under his breath, unable to suppress a sly chuckle. His eyes darted around as though he were afraid someone might notice his schadenfreude.
"Beerus, Beerus... This time, your unlucky little brother is really in for it. Hahaha..."
He continued whispering to himself. His cunning expression sharply contrasted with the dignity expected of a God of Destruction.
Though Quitela spoke quietly, he never expected Piccolo to catch his murmuring.
When Piccolo heard that Beerus had a brother, disbelief instantly appeared on his face.
But Piccolo was not someone who merely reacted in surprise. From Quitela's brief words, he quickly analyzed the situation and reached an important conclusion.
Quitela harbored deep hatred toward Beerus, hatred that ran to the bone.
Furthermore, it was clear that anyone associated with Beerus had been added to Quitela's personal list of enemies.
Piccolo frowned, realizing that the situation might be far more serious than expected.
Following this logic, if Quitela truly despised Beerus and everyone connected to him, then Universe 4 would inevitably target Universe 7.
The Gods of Destruction and Kaioshin fell silent, none daring to breathe loudly as they waited for the Great Priest to speak.
Contrary to everyone's expectations, however, the Great Priest did not reprimand the universes that had yet to arrive.
Instead, he clasped his hands behind his back and said calmly,
"It appears we have arrived early. The agreed time has not yet come. In that case, Lord Zen'ō, how do you think the four universes that arrived ahead of schedule should be arranged?"
The Great Priest turned and bowed slightly toward Zen'ō.
At that moment, Super Perfect Cell, standing in Universe 7's resting area, whispered quietly.
He had never seen Zen'ō before.
"So...the one speaking earlier wasn't Zen'ō? Is that little kid actually Zen'ō?"
At the same time, Son Goku nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, I was surprised too. Totally unexpected."
Beerus's face turned dark green with anger.
"Hey, you two! Shut up! How dare you say something like that?!"
At that moment, Beerus regretted allowing them to participate in the tournament.
Zen'ō widened his eyes, looking like an innocent child who didn't understand. Upon hearing the Great Priest address him, he began scanning the gathered universes.
Very quickly, his gaze landed on two individuals within Universe 7.
"Hmm? It's those two!"
Zen'ō, the King of All, seemed to have discovered something astonishing. He pointed directly toward Universe 7's resting area.
The members of Universe 7 instantly stiffened, especially Beerus, who had cold sweat pouring down his head.
He frantically turned his head back and forth, looking first at his team and then back up at Zen'ō.
After repeating this several times, Beerus confirmed that Zen'ō was indeed pointing at Universe 7.
His expression froze; he was completely unsure of what to do.
"It's over! It's over! Did Zen'ō-sama hear what those two idiots just said?"
"S-Sorry, Lord Zen'ō!" Beerus hurriedly apologized.
However, Zen'ō paid him no attention. He pointed his finger directly at Son Goku and Vegeta.
"Great Priest, what are their names again?" Zen'ō asked.
The Great Priest calmly replied, "Lord Zen'ō, they are Son Goku and Vegeta."
"Son Goku! Vegeta! Yay, yay, yay! Your techniques are really cool! Pew pew pew!"
As he spoke, Zen'ō mimicked the Kamehameha and Final Flash poses.
The moment those words were spoken, Beerus finally let out a long sigh of relief.
Goku and Vegeta, standing among the crowd, were both stunned. They hadn't expected Zen'ō to pay them special attention.
Standing beside Zen'ō, the Great Priest smiled slightly.
"It seems Lord Zen'ō is very fond of your techniques."
The reason Zen'ō was interested in the two of them was entirely because of the earlier battle between Gogeta and Beerus, which had left a deep impression on him.
"Hello, Zeno! I'm Son Goku! This is Vegeta!" Goku greeted him casually, acting completely familiar.
Beerus's heart nearly stopped.
Had he actually called Zen'ō Zeno?!
Beerus and all the other Gods of Destruction and Kaioshin were equally stunned.
This was probably the first person in history to address Zen'ō so casually.
But what happened next left Beerus even more bewildered.
Vegeta stood frozen, unsure what to do. In the next instant, however, Goku grabbed Vegeta's hand and flew straight toward Zen'ō.
"Hehe, Zeno, want to learn?" Want to learn our techniques? We can teach you!"
Zen'ō beamed with joy like an excited child.
"Yes! Yes!"
Just like that, everyone present was forced to watch in stunned silence for several minutes, until Zen'ō successfully mastered the Kamehameha and the Final Flash.
"Woo! I learned it!" Zen'ō cheered, happily waving his arms.
The Great Priest smiled gently.
"Lord Zen'ō, in that case, should we proceed with announcing the arrangements?"
Zen'ō's expression instantly turned serious, as if he were a different person entirely.
"Mm. Then, let the universes that are ready enter the arena first."
(End Of This Chapter)
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