"Yikes!"
Vitelli clutched his aching head, baring his teeth as he steadied himself. He glared resentfully at Whis, who was still smiling,
"Whis! You actually sneak-attacked me! That's totally dishonorable! Picking on a young man who was sneezing!"
"Oh my~"
Whis covered his mouth and let out a delighted chuckle,
"Vitelli-san, you're getting more and more amusing. No wonder even such an outstanding woman as Miss Bulma is so devoted to you."
Whis would've been better off not bringing that up. The moment he did, Vitelli blew his top:
"You dare bring that up?! Whis, you're a dog! Last week, we finally made it back to Earth, and brought back all that delicious food from Bulma! You promised you'd keep it safe so we could share it when we got back! And what happened?! Why couldn't I even find a single wrapper when I finished training and came out?! You ate all of it by yourself! You didn't leave me a single bite, you jerk!!!"
Vitelli was heartbroken. It had all been delicious Earth food that Bulma had carefully prepared!
"Oh dear..."
A rare trace of embarrassment appeared on Whis's face. His eyes darted aside for a moment, then he resumed his usual air of graceful nonchalance.
"Don't worry about the little details, Vitelli-san. Look, I teach you how to train, spar with you, and show you how to grasp the 'realm of the gods.' Surely taking a tiny amount of food as a negligible storage and teaching fee is only fair?"
"Storage fee? Teaching fee?"
Vitelli nearly rolled his eyes in anger. "You're just robbing me! Forget it..."
He waved a hand helplessly, knowing there was no point arguing with an angel who seemed gentle but was actually sly and greedy.
"Fine, fine, take it all! I'll just eat Senzu Beans! Enough talk. Let's keep training!"
He pulled a Senzu Bean from his waist, angrily stuffed it into his mouth, and chewed as he replenished his strength.
However, Whis didn't immediately resume their training.
He tilted his head slightly, as though listening to something, and a look of understanding crossed his face.
"Afraid we can't, Vitelli-san."
Whis smiled and shook his head, flipping his wrist to make the magical Scepter appear in his hand.
The crystal ball atop the Scepter shimmered, instantly projecting an image.
It was Bulma's face! She appeared to be in a laboratory of some sort, with screens crowded with complicated instruments in the background.
"Hm? Bulma?"
Vitelli froze, his anger immediately replaced by confusion. "Does she miss me already?" It hadn't been that long since he'd last returned to Earth.
The image connected, and when Bulma saw Whis's face appear first in the projection, she hurriedly said,
"Mr. Whis! Please get Vitelli on the line! I have something urgent to discuss with him!"
"Ho ho ho~ It seems Miss Bulma has something important to attend to."
Whis nodded knowingly and naturally handed the Scepter to Vitelli. "You two talk."
With that, he leisurely turned and went back to the stone table to make himself some tea, showing not the slightest concern for what was happening on Earth.
Vitelli took the Scepter and looked at the adorable Bulma in the projection. "Bulma? What's wrong? Did something happen?"
"Vitelli! It's not me who wants you! It's him!"
Bulma quickly stepped aside, revealing a short, plump man with a blank expression standing beside her.
It was none other than Mr. Popo, the servant of Kami at Kami's Lookout!
"Mr. Popo?"
Vitelli was even more surprised. "What are you doing here? What do you need me for?"
Chapter 19: The Death of Old Piccolo, Did Kami Go Back on His Word?
Vitelli's heart sank.
Mr. Popo had brought him a message on Kami's orders.
King Piccolo had broken free from his seal, and Goku was fighting to hold him off.
Kami wanted Vitelli to kill old Piccolo and take up the position of Earth's Kami.
The news struck the still waters of Vitelli's heart like a boulder, instantly stirring up a storm.
Although he believed Goku was strong enough to defeat King Piccolo, he still couldn't help worrying about Bulma when he wasn't by her side.
What if the battle affected West City?
As for the position of Earth's Kami... no thanks. He really wasn't interested in it.
"Whis!"
Vitelli immediately turned to Whis, who was elegantly sipping his tea, and asked earnestly,
"I need to get back to Earth right away! Sorry to trouble you, but could you take me back?"
"Ho ho ho~"
Whis set down his delicate teacup, a gentle yet slightly playful smile appearing on his face.
"Vitelli-san really does care about Miss Bulma. However, these past few days have been a little..."
His violet eyes shifted slightly toward the God of Destruction Palace.
Just then, Bulma's voice rang out from the projection on the Scepter. In a tone that sounded almost casually "troubled," she said,
"Oh! Come to think of it, this is such a headache. With Vitelli away, I hired a few of the world's top chefs to come to the estate just to keep myself busy... and then, by accident, I had them prepare a huge feast of incredibly rare delicacies! Things like 'pufferfish sashimi,' 'dinosaur ribs,' and 'rainbow pudding'... Oh dear! I can't even remember all the names! How could I possibly eat all of that by myself? It would be such a shame if it spoiled or had to be thrown away! What a headache!"
Bulma's voice was clear and sweet, and every word struck Whis right in the heart, as though she'd polished them to perfection.
The moment he heard the names of the dishes, Whis's deep eyes lit up like an erupting volcano!
A tiny crack appeared in his elegant, composed expression, and his throat bobbed almost imperceptibly.
He let out a chuckle that was even more delighted and eager than before, and sprang up from the stone stool.
He spun the Scepter gracefully in his hand, covered his mouth, and chuckled,
"Oh my, oh my~ Vitelli-san was right! The matter on Earth really is important to you! As someone who cares for his disciple... well, as a teacher, how could I stand by and do nothing? Come on, let's go! We'll set off at once!"
His change of attitude was so swift, and his excuse so high-minded, that even Vitelli couldn't help twitching his mouth.
Mr. Popo's dark face remained expressionless, but the corner of his eye seemed to twitch too, as though he'd never seen anyone—angel or otherwise—so shameless.
"Then I'll leave you to look after the place, Oracle Fish-san."
Whis spoke gently to someone in the distance, then hurriedly left with Vitelli, as if he couldn't bear to wait another second.
Hidden behind a rock, the Oracle Fish had clearly heard Bulma's clever words and Whis's eager response to the prospect of food.
It rolled its eyes, planted its fins on its hips, and muttered contemptuously at the direction Whis had disappeared,
"Hmph! What a noble-sounding excuse! He was obviously lured away by the food! What a hypocrite!... I wonder if he'll remember to bring me something tasty when he comes back..."
Just as the Oracle Fish began to feel a little hopeful about Whis's "return" and "souvenir"—
BOOM—!!!!
A deep yet piercing crash suddenly rang out from the innermost part of the God of Destruction Palace!
The entire God of Destruction Realm seemed to tremble slightly with the impact!
The expectation on the Oracle Fish's face instantly froze, then turned into panic.
"Th-this is bad! Lord Beerus?! Why did he have to wake up now?!"
It completely forgot about the souvenir. With a flick of its tail, it vanished with a "whoosh," and the God of Destruction Realm fell frighteningly silent.
In the vast, boundless universe,
Whis was taking Vitelli along at a speed many times faster than light. (I know some of you will come explain that light is the fastest thing in the universe.)
Stars stretched into dazzling trails around them, and entire galaxies rushed backward like sheets of paper being folded.
Suddenly, Whis stopped without warning!
The ease vanished from his face, replaced by a rare look of resignation, as though to say, "Here comes trouble."
"Oh my~ This..."
Whis furrowed his brow slightly, sensing the familiar, irritable aura of someone waking up on the wrong side of bed, radiating from the heart of the God of Destruction Realm.
"He woke up at a time like this?"
The sudden stop nearly threw Vitelli off balance. Once he steadied himself, he asked in confusion, "What's wrong, Whis? Did something happen?"
He'd keenly noticed the slight change in Whis's mood.
Whis didn't answer right away. Instead, he quickly weighed his options.
He looked at Vitelli with some resignation. "Vitelli-san, I recall... you've mastered a technique called 'Instant Transmission,' haven't you? You can travel over great distances by sensing someone's ki?"
"Right," Vitelli replied with a nod, beginning to suspect what was going on.
"Excellent!"
Whis spoke more quickly.
"We're not too far from Earth in terms of physical distance. With your current strength and control over ki, you should be able to teleport there directly. I'm afraid you'll have to return to Earth on your own. Please tell Miss Bulma—"
Whis's expression turned solemn. "Those carefully prepared delicacies must be kept safe! I'll bring a... well, a very troublesome 'god' to try them later! The survival of Earth depends on this, so please tell her to take it seriously!"
Vitelli's heart jolted. "A god?"
Was Whis planning to bring Beerus to Earth?! He immediately understood why Whis wanted him to go on ahead. That hairless cat of a God of Destruction had woken up. Vitelli had even helped the God of Destruction change his sheets before.
"Got it, Whis!"
Vitelli didn't waste words. He immediately pressed two fingers together against the center of his forehead. His powerful senses spread out like a web, precisely locking onto a familiar presence on Earth—Son Goku!
"Then I'll be off!"
Before he'd even finished speaking, Vitelli vanished from the spot with a "whoosh," leaving behind only a faint ripple in space.
Whis looked in the direction Vitelli had disappeared and let out a soft sigh.
Then his resignation turned to amusement. He turned toward the God of Destruction Realm and tapped his Scepter lightly.
"Ho ho ho~ Looks like I'll have to go back and appease that rather ill-tempered 'god.' I hope Miss Bulma's food can soothe his anger."
He turned gracefully, his figure becoming an even faster streak of light than before as he headed back to the God of Destruction Realm to calm the God of Destruction, Beerus, who had woken up, found his attendant missing, and thrown a tantrum.
On Earth, at the battlefield where Goku and King Piccolo were fighting,
The blue light of the Kamehameha illuminated Son Goku's youthful face, as well as King Piccolo's aged green one, twisted with fear and despair.
"Kame... hame... ha... HAA—!!!"
The enormous beam of energy, charged with most of Goku's power, tore through the air with a roar of destruction and surged toward King Piccolo, who was helpless to dodge!
The shadow of death instantly engulfed him.
"Wait!!! You can't kill me!"
King Piccolo let out one last desperate roar, trying to grasp at his final lifeline.
"I'm one with Kami! If you kill me, Kami will die too!!! The Earth will lose its Kami!!"
That was his last trump card, and his only hope of buying time.
But Goku merely looked at him with pure curiosity and continued pouring out energy without the slightest pause!
"What's a Kami? Can you eat it?" Goku asked. But before the other man could answer,
"Ka... me... ha... HAA!!!" The beam surged with even greater force!
King Piccolo was utterly lost to despair.
This blockhead! He didn't care at all whether Kami lived or died?!
He'd only just broken free, and hadn't even had a chance to enjoy the air of freedom before this inexplicably powerful youngster's descendant was about to kill him?
Mutaito had sealed him away for hundreds of years, and now his pupil's grandson was going to take his life outright? How unfair was this world!
The blue torrent, powerful enough to vaporize him completely, was already right before him. Old Piccolo gave in and closed his eyes. He was too old and too weak to even spit out an egg to avenge himself...
At that very moment, when all seemed lost!