The Bet

But what should he give him?

The Supreme Kai was at a loss.

As the Supreme Kai, he had far too many things at his disposal.

"Ahem!"

Son Gohan cleared his throat, then said, "Supreme Kai, to be honest, I'd like to learn Kibito's Instant Transmission."

"Uh..."

The Supreme Kai and Kibito froze, then were both equally shocked.

They hadn't expected Son Gohan to know Kibito's name, let alone recognize his signature technique.

He'd only seen Kibito use Instant Transmission twice.

How was that possible?

Besides, they didn't remember ever introducing Kibito by name.

There was only one explanation.

Son Gohan had known about them all along.

The more they thought about it, the more unnerving it became.

Who was the real god here?

Though stunned, the Supreme Kai quickly recovered and said, "Mr. Gohan, I'm afraid that won't be possible. It's not that Kibito doesn't want to teach you. His Instant Transmission has certain restrictions. You can't learn it unless you're an attendant to a Supreme Kai."

"Uh, there's a restriction like that?" Son Gohan asked in surprise.

He'd actually been coveting Kibito's technique for a long time.

Kibito's Instant Transmission was on a completely different level from the Instant Transmission used by the people of Planet Yardrat.

The Yardratian technique required locking onto a target's ki before it could be used.

Kibito's Instant Transmission had no such restriction at all.

He didn't need to lock onto anyone's ki. As long as he had a destination in mind, he could teleport there.

In other words, Kibito could instantly travel to any planet or any location under the Supreme Kai's jurisdiction. It was a genuine divine technique.

But he couldn't learn it? That was total bullshit.

Son Gohan suddenly felt as if he'd missed out on a fortune in the blink of an eye.

Ah, what a shame. What a real shame.

The Supreme Kai said, "Yes. It's a Divine Technique, and you can't use it without Godly Ki."

Hm?

Godly Ki?

Son Gohan's eyes lit up. "You mean I can learn it if I have Godly Ki?"

He did know a way to acquire Godly Ki, though even that would be hellishly difficult for him at the moment.

The Supreme Kai said, "That's only one of the requirements. There are others..."

"..."

Oh, for fuck's sake!

Son Gohan said helplessly, "Uh, never mind, then. I guess it wasn't meant to be. Maybe I'll get another chance someday."

The Supreme Kai continued, "If you want to learn Instant Transmission, I do know of a planet where they use that technique. It's not as powerful as Kibito's, but it's still quite good."

Son Gohan said, "You mean the technique used on Planet Yardrat? I know about that one."

The Supreme Kai said, "I didn't expect you to know about Planet Yardrat, Mr. Gohan. I suppose there was no need for me to mention it."

"Heh, to be honest, Supreme Kai, my late father knew that technique, so it's only natural that I know about Planet Yardrat."

The Supreme Kai nodded in understanding. "Oh, I see. That explains it."

Then Son Gohan had the robot bring out a few more dishes. As he urged the Supreme Kai to hurry up and eat, he continued asking,

"Supreme Kai, what's the hardest metal in the world?"

"The hardest metal? Hmm, it should be Thunderbolt Steel. It's probably the hardest metal in the universe."

"Oh? Could you show me some?"

"Of course."

As he spoke, the Supreme Kai swept his hand through the air, and a black cube about the size of a fist appeared in his palm.

"Here." He handed the Thunderbolt Steel to Son Gohan.

Son Gohan took it and found that the fist-sized piece of Thunderbolt Steel weighed several hundred pounds.

Its density was ridiculous.

He flicked it with a finger. It gave a dull clang—sure enough, it was extremely hard.

He wondered if this metal would be useful to Bulma.

"Hmm, it looks pretty good. Could you give me some more, Supreme Kai? I'd like to study this metal," Son Gohan said.

"Certainly. I'll get you more in a moment. If I brought any out now, this room might not be able to withstand the weight and could collapse."

"Okay, thanks, Supreme Kai."

"Don't mention it. We're friends, after all. It's no trouble."

"Supreme Kai, what's the sharpest sword in the world? Do you know?"

The Supreme Kai thought for a moment, then replied, "Well, the sharpest sword in the world should be the Z Sword in the Sacred Land. Don't tell me you want that divine sword too, Mr. Gohan?"

Son Gohan laughed. "Hahaha, you saw right through me. Your insight is truly sharp. I'm impressed."

The Supreme Kai said, "To be honest, Mr. Gohan, even if I wanted to give you that divine sword, there'd be nothing I could do."

"What do you mean?" Son Gohan asked, feigning ignorance.

The Supreme Kai smiled bitterly. "To be honest, although the sword is now on Supreme Kai Planet, it's been sealed for over seventy million years. No one can pull it out."

"That can't be true. I don't believe it," Son Gohan said bluntly.

The Supreme Kai said, "Mr. Gohan, I really am not lying. Every generation of Supreme Kais has tried to pull out the sealed sword, but not one of us has ever succeeded."

Kibito chimed in, "That's right. I can vouch for that. I've tried pulling out the Z Sword too, but it wouldn't budge. The Supreme Kai has tried as well, and it didn't move at all."

"So it's impossible for anyone to pull that sword out."

Son Gohan smiled. "Have you ever considered one thing?"

"W-what thing?" Kibito asked.

"You're too weak to pull out the Z Sword."

"Uh..."

The Supreme Kai: "..."

Kibito: "..."

They were both speechless.

Did he have to be so blunt?

They felt like they could barely breathe.

Son Gohan declared confidently, "Well, I'd be happy to do you a favor. I'm sure I can pull that sword out."

Kibito immediately grew anxious. "I don't believe you. That's impossible!"

It wasn't just Kibito who doubted him. The Supreme Kai did too.

It was one thing to call them weak, but there had been plenty of powerful Supreme Kais throughout history. It wasn't as though they hadn't tried to pull out the Z Sword.

The East Kai, West Kai, South Kai, and North Supreme Kai.

One generation after another.

Countless Supreme Kais had tried to pull out the divine sword, but none had succeeded.

So it definitely had nothing to do with strength.

Son Gohan crooked his mouth into a smirk and said, "Why don't we make a bet? If I can pull out the Z Sword, it's mine."

Hm?

The Supreme Kai raised an eyebrow and replied seriously, "And what if you can't pull it out?"

"If I can't, you can do whatever you want with me," Son Gohan said firmly.

"Good. Deal," the Supreme Kai said with a smile, overjoyed inside.

He was certain Son Gohan had absolutely no chance of pulling out the Z Sword.

Which meant Son Gohan would have to do as he said from then on.

Having such a powerful fighter at his beck and call—just thinking about it was enough to give him sweet dreams.

Then why should he be afraid of Majin Buu?

Bring it on, Majin Buu!

Heh, even if Son Gohan really did pull the sword out, so what?

He could just give it to him as a present.

The Z Sword had been sealed in the Sacred Land for over seventy million years. It made no difference whether it was there or not.

Besides, he really did want to see what this divine sword was like.

Was it truly the greatest divine sword in the world?

Even so, the Supreme Kai and Kibito still didn't believe Son Gohan could pull out the divine sword.

It was a bet that left both sides happy.