Whis held a slice of cake he hadn't tasted yet.
He ambled toward Vegeta and Lin Fan.
He hadn't been far away.
He'd heard every word of Vegeta's loud request.
It reminded him of the wager he and Lin Fan had made in the God of Destruction Realm.
So he'd come over to see what was happening.
Whis approached without saying a word.
He simply watched Vegeta, who looked utterly serious, with keen interest.
The atmosphere on the deck immediately grew much quieter.
Son Gohan, Krillin, and the others exchanged bewildered looks, none of them sure what the angel was planning.
Whis watched Vegeta for a few seconds.
Then he shifted his gaze to Lin Fan.
A playful smile curled at the corners of his mouth.
"Lin Fan."
"Looks like you won't need to find someone to train after all."
"They've come right to you, haven't they?"
Hearing that, Lin Fan smiled and nodded.
"Sure saved me a lot of trouble."
Bulma listened from the side, completely confused.
She couldn't help asking.
"Someone to train?"
"What do you mean?"
"What are you two talking about?"
The others chimed in as well.
Their heads were all full of questions.
Seeing their confusion, Whis didn't keep them in suspense.
He went straight to explaining the wager.
"It's quite simple."
"Lin Fan and I made a bet."
"We each chose someone to train."
"Then we'll see whose student becomes the strongest warrior in the universe."
Boom!
As soon as Whis said that,
the deck erupted in commotion.
The strongest warrior in the universe?
That was an enormous wager!
Lin Fan picked up where Whis left off and added,
"I chose Vegeta from the start."
"I didn't expect him to come to me himself."
"That saved me quite a bit of trouble."
At that,
Vegeta's face flushed bright red.
He clenched his fists.
He felt utterly speechless.
So that humble request he'd just made
had been completely unnecessary?
Lin Fan patted Vegeta on the shoulder.
His tone carried a hint of encouragement.
"Work hard."
"Don't disappoint me."
Vegeta took a deep breath.
He looked up at Lin Fan.
His gaze turned utterly resolute.
"Becoming the strongest warrior in the universe?"
"Just what I wanted!"
Whis's eyes narrowed slightly at the sight.
His smile grew even wider.
"Since you've chosen Vegeta,"
"then I'll choose Son Goku."
Whis silently considered his choice.
"Son Goku has already sensed God Ki."
"Having him follow the Super God path of evolution"
"could let him forge a completely new path unlike those of other Saiyans."
When Vegeta heard that Whis had chosen Son Goku,
he froze for a moment.
Then he trembled with excitement.
The corners of his mouth rose uncontrollably.
More than anything, he wanted to fight Son Goku fair and square.
And find out which of them was truly number one.
Now, with Lin Fan guiding him,
he could definitely surpass Son Goku!
Vegeta looked up at Son Goku, who was still fighting high in the sky.
He silently made up his mind.
"Son Goku!"
"Just you wait!"
"This time, I'll definitely surpass you!"
The scene shifted to the sky.
Son Goku's battle with Beerus was nearing its end.
Son Goku knew very well
that he was nowhere near as strong as Beerus.
Even with some of the power of Super Saiyan God,
he couldn't hurt Beerus in the slightest.
But he didn't give up.
He gritted his teeth.
He gathered every last bit of his energy.
His hands snapped together in front of him.
"Kamehameha!"
Son Goku let out a mighty shout.
A brilliant blue wave of energy burst from his palms.
With the force to destroy the heavens and earth, it surged toward Beerus.
Beerus watched the Kamehameha rushing at him.
His expression didn't change in the slightest.
He simply raised a hand, nonchalantly.
He used a little Destruction Energy
and easily caught Son Goku's attack.
The two forces collided.
A terrifying storm of energy erupted.
Son Goku was swept into the storm.
His body was nearly torn apart by its force.
Just as he was about to give out,
Beerus snapped his fingers.
Snap!
The storm of energy vanished instantly.
Son Goku had exhausted every last bit of his strength and energy.
His body fell backward like a kite with its strings cut,
plummeting toward the luxury cruise ship below.
"Son Goku!"
Vegeta shouted
and rushed forward first.
Just before Son Goku could crash onto the deck,
he caught him.
Enduring the pain wracking his body,
Son Goku gave Vegeta a weak smile.
"Thanks."
Vegeta snorted.
His tone held a hint of disdain.
"Hmph."
"Useless."
"You had all that power"
"and still got beaten up this badly."
Son Goku scratched his head.
A wry smile appeared on his face.
"Can't be helped."
"Beerus is too strong."
"The God of Destruction's power really is unfathomable."
Beerus slowly descended from the sky.
He landed steadily on the deck.
Everyone took a closer look.
Beerus was completely unharmed.
It seemed the battle hadn't drained much of his strength at all.
Son Gohan, Krillin, and the others drew in sharp breaths.
Their faces were full of shock.
The God of Destruction was terrifyingly powerful!
Bulma looked at Beerus, who hadn't suffered a scratch.
She couldn't help worrying.
She asked cautiously,
"Lord Beerus."
"Y-you're not going to destroy Earth, are you?"
Whis covered his mouth and chuckled.
He reassured Bulma,
"Don't worry."
"Beerus won't do that."
After saying this,
Whis started walking toward Son Goku.
Everyone's attention immediately focused on him.
They wondered what he was about to do.
Whis loosely curled his right hand.
An Angel Staff radiating a faint glow appeared in his grasp.
Then.
Whis spoke to Vegeta, who was holding Son Goku.
"Vegeta."
"Step aside a little."
Vegeta nodded.
He obediently took two steps back.
He knew it very well.
Whis, Lin Fan, and Beerus—
if they wanted to kill them or destroy Earth,
it would take only an instant.
Nobody could stop them.
Everyone held their breath,
watching Whis, who held the Angel Staff,
and waiting for his next move.
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