A gentle curtain of light unfolded before them, clearly displaying detailed information about the planet ahead.
"Logori Planet."
Whis read the information.
"Because it lies within the range of a massive black hole's gravitational interference, the extreme environment has caused life on this planet to evolve into extremely primitive and chaotic forms, most of which are highly aggressive and destructive. The planet's potential has been assessed as nonexistent, and its prospects for development are close to zero. Overall assessment: no value in preserving it. Recommended action: 'Destruction.'"
He put away the light screen and looked at Vitelli. Though he still wore a smile, his tone had grown more formal.
"All right, Vitelli. You can get started. Remember to clean it up thoroughly. The energy of 'Destruction' needs to penetrate the planet's core to ensure it's completely annihilated. Don't follow Lord Beerus's example and destroy only half because he's feeling lazy or in a good mood. He only cares about having fun and leaves a mess behind."
"Okay, got it."
Vitelli nodded and slowly raised his right hand, aiming it at the distant gray planet, which looked minuscule against the backdrop of the black hole.
Dark purple Destruction energy instantly gathered in his palm. Its devastating aura made the space around them tremble faintly.
For him now, destroying a planet like this took almost no effort. A light touch was all it needed.
There was no earth-shattering explosion, no shower of debris.
A deep purple flash streaked past, and the enormous planet, more than ten times Earth's mass, began to disintegrate and vanish in an instant.
Within seconds, it had turned into the universe's most basic dust. The nearby black hole's immense gravity immediately swallowed it all, as if it had never existed.
Vitelli lowered his hand, feeling the power he had just unleashed, but his gaze fell on the enormous black hole, which continued devouring matter.
He rubbed his chin and asked thoughtfully,
"Hey, Whis, this black hole looks pretty troublesome too. Should we take care of it while we're at it?"
Whis was pulled back to reality from his daydream about what delicious food Miss Bulma might prepare for dinner. He gave a light cough to cover up his distraction.
He looked at the enormous black hole and shook his head, his expression calm and knowing.
"No need, no need, Vitelli. Everything has a reason for existing. This black hole has already swallowed and merged with several smaller black holes nearby, so it has accumulated quite a lot of mass. Leave it alone, and after a long time, it may become the 'seed' from which a new star system is born. Its gravity will draw the surrounding matter back together... Destruction and creation are sometimes only a hair's breadth apart."
"Fine, you're the expert. You decide."
Vitelli shrugged indifferently.
"Let's go. On to the next target. We need to pick up the pace, or we'll get back too late. Your sister, who's overstayed her welcome, might eat all the food for dinner! You don't want to spend all day working hard only to go home and fill your stomach with Senzu Beans, do you, Whis?"
At the thought of his sister smiling as she rapidly swept through all the food, Whis's usually placid expression changed at once.
He immediately put on a stern, serious look and tapped his Scepter as he declared, "Quite right, Vitelli! Efficiency is a virtue of an excellent angel like me! It's time to speed up our work!"
Seeing Whis wear such an "urgent" expression for once, Vitelli grinned and put an arm around his shoulder.
"Good. Let's go!"
There were still more than a dozen planets on today's list that needed to be cleared of. It was a heavy workload, and they didn't have much time to waste.
The work that followed became somewhat monotonous: Whis pinpointed each target, and Vitelli destroyed it.
One after another, planets that had lost their potential—whether because of extreme environments, civilizations gone astray, or some cosmic disaster—quietly became the universe's most basic particles beneath the purple light of finality in Vitelli's hand.
Finally, after another violent planet covered in lava and poisonous gas had been annihilated, Whis checked the list displayed on his Scepter.
"All right, Vitelli. This is our last stop for today."
Brilliant streaks of light flashed again, and the two appeared near a binary star system.
The system was much larger and younger than the Solar System. A mature yellow star and an enormous, very young blue star circled one another in a gravitational dance.
They turned their attention to the massive blue star. Its light was young and intense, yet it gave off a restless, unstable feeling.
Whis's Scepter projected another light screen.
"This is the massive blue giant called Holisphi."
Whis explained, "It forms an unstable binary star system with the orange star beside it. The two draw close to one another about every eighty years, causing extremely intense gravitational disturbances. More importantly, this blue giant is nearly out of fuel at its core, and violent changes have already begun inside it. If nothing is done, calculations show there's over a ninety percent chance it'll become a new black hole within the next five hundred years. Given its enormous mass, the black hole that forms would be extremely destructive. It could swallow the entire binary system and wreak havoc across the star systems within dozens of light-years."
He paused and looked at Vitelli, his tone carrying a hint of challenge.
"There are two ways to handle this. The first is to completely annihilate it with 'Destruction' energy. That requires precise control and enough power to disintegrate its core in an instant. Otherwise, if you trigger an uncontrolled energy burst, the consequences could be even worse than letting it collapse into a black hole."
Whis smiled and looked at Vitelli, then spoke of the other option with an amused tone.
"The other option is to use powerful energy to push it out of its current orbit and exile it to a vast, desolate region of 'dark space,' where it can evolve on its own. You can choose that if you don't think you can 'destroy' it in one go. It's the simplest option. This is your final lesson, Vitelli. Good luck!"
"Uh..."
Vitelli looked at the massive blue star, its energy roiling wildly, and immediately felt a headache coming on.
He'd learned from all the cramming he'd done with the "God of Destruction's Handbook" these past few days that dealing with celestial bodies this large was the biggest headache of all.
One small mistake could set off a chain reaction and cause a cosmic disaster that might spread across several light-years.
The safest option would be to ask the Supreme Kai to help stabilize space, or simply have Whis handle it and cover for him.
But...
He glanced at Whis, standing beside him with an easygoing expression that said, "I'm just here to watch," and knew the angel had made up his mind not to get involved.
As for this universe's young Supreme Kai...
Vitelli doubted he had the skill or experience to handle a situation this serious.
For a while, Vitelli sank into thought.
Seeing his thoughtful expression, Whis teased him with a smile.
"Would you like me to contact Bulma and ask her to cheer you on, Vitelli?"
Whis's sarcastic tone left Vitelli momentarily speechless. He waved him off in annoyance, signaling him not to interrupt his thoughts.
Going in head-on carried too much risk, but pushing the star away would take an astronomical amount of time. And how could he make sure he pushed it in exactly the right direction and didn't send it crashing into something else...?
"Whis."
He set aside his thoughts about the star for the moment and pointed to the other planets in the binary system, as well as the distant pinpricks of light from other star systems.
"What's the situation with those planets? Are there any civilizations nearby that are worth paying attention to?"
He decided to gather more information first. Maybe he could come up with a better way to deal with the star.
Whis shrugged and obligingly waved his Scepter, quickly gathering and displaying information on the surrounding star systems.
"The planets in this binary system all have rather harsh environments, and we haven't detected any intelligent life. However, if we can safely deal with this dying blue giant, the remaining yellow star is stable. There's a good chance that planets in its habitable zone may eventually develop life."
"As for the star systems within ten light-years..."
Whis's gaze swept over the light screen.
"Hmm. There are two worth mentioning. One contains a planet called Yardrat. Its civilization isn't especially advanced technologically, but it's somewhat famous across the universe for developing unusual secret arts. Some of its techniques are quite interesting."
"As for the other star system..."
Whis's voice trailed off, and he seemed a little surprised.
He carefully checked the data coming from his Scepter before speaking in a strangely intrigued tone.
"The other star system has a planet teeming with life called Namek. Hmm... How interesting. According to the records, the civilization there has somehow mastered the ability to create wish-granting orbs. That's quite rare."
"What did you just say?!"
Vitelli nearly jumped at the name. He stared in disbelief and asked, "Which planet did you say? Namek?! And Dragon Balls?!"
He had never expected to hear that familiar name at this point, or in this way!
"Let's go to Namek first. Maybe... I've got an idea."
Meanwhile, on Namek, several light-years away from Vitelli.
Vast lakes and unusual round houses dotted the barren land.
In an imposing building of ancient design at the highest point on the planet, the elderly Grand Elder was asleep.
His massive body rose and fell slightly with each steady, deep breath.
Suddenly, his immense body jolted, and he awoke from his deep slumber.
Confusion first crossed his wrinkled green face, then gave way to profound relief.
He murmured, his voice laden with the weight of age,
"They've come... The course of fate has taken a tremendous turn... Thank goodness... Thank goodness it's a benevolent one... I sensed it in advance..."
He laboriously shifted his enormous body and sat a little straighter, then called toward the door in a low voice.
"Nail, come in for a moment."
Before long, a young Namekian warrior with a sturdy build and composed expression strode into the room.
He respectfully bowed to the Grand Elder seated on his throne, his voice full of reverence.
"Grand Elder, what are your orders?"
The Grand Elder lifted his head, his gaze seeming to pierce the thick ceiling and look into the boundless depths of space.
He fell silent for a few seconds, then gave his orders slowly and firmly.
"Nail, my child. Contact the elders of all the villages immediately. In my name, ask them to gather the Dragon Balls they're keeping, and have you bring them to the plains."
A look of confusion crossed Nail's face.
"Grand Elder, what is this for...?"
The Grand Elder lowered his head and looked deeply into Nail's eyes.
"Don't ask. Do as I say. Two... honored guests will soon arrive on Namek. If they ask to use the Dragon Balls, help them summon Porunga and do everything we can to grant their wishes."
Nail was stunned. Honored guests beyond imagination? They wanted to use the Dragon Balls?
But he had absolute faith in and obedience to the Grand Elder. He immediately suppressed all his questions and bowed respectfully again.
"Yes! I'll follow your orders, Grand Elder! I'll take care of it at once!"
With that, he quickly turned and left the hall.
As Nail hurried away to carry out the order,
Whis, who was about to take Vitelli with him, suddenly let out a soft "Oh?" A hint of surprise appeared on his normally composed face before it turned into an amused smile.
"How interesting... Such an exceptionally rare talent. From so far away across space and time, he can actually sense the movements of an Angel and a God of Destruction... His interpretation is rather vague, but this spiritual sensitivity is among the best in the universe."
Vitelli was about to hurry Whis along to Namek. Hearing him, he asked curiously,
"Hm? What's going on? What happened? Who sensed us?"
Whis shook his head without answering directly. His smile only grew more mysterious as he gracefully waved his Scepter.
"Don't be impatient, Vitelli. A little mystery and anticipation are good for you. You'll find out soon enough."
Brilliant streaks of light enveloped them again, and almost the next second, they appeared in a completely different part of space.
A vast, beautiful, emerald-green planet hung quietly in space like a jade jewel.
Broad lakes and orange landmasses covered its surface, beneath a thick, tranquil atmosphere. This was Namek.
Looking at the familiar planet, Vitelli felt a little conflicted.
He couldn't help thinking of the Dragon Ball anime he'd watched in his previous life. He chuckled softly to himself.
"Namek... I wonder if the legendary Grand Elder could unlock my potential too?"
But as soon as the thought occurred to him, he smiled and shook his head.
For one thing, he was already a god. His level of existence and the very nature of his energy had long surpassed those of ordinary life-forms.
Even without that divine title, with his current unfathomable power in his base form, the Grand Elder could probably strain every muscle and risk his life, yet still only draw out a tiny bit of his potential—hardly worth mentioning.
After all, Vitelli had absolute confidence that even against Cell in his Perfect Form, his base-form battle power would be enough to crush him.
Meanwhile, on a vast plain on Namek,
Nail had collected all seven enormous Dragon Balls as quickly as possible, thanks to the Grand Elder's authority and his own efficiency.
They had been arranged neatly on the ground, each marked with a different number of stars.
Nail stood beside them, straight-backed and still as a statue. He stared intently at the blue sky, his sharp gaze never wavering, his heart full of caution and uncertainty.
The Grand Elder's earlier instructions and his gaze toward the sky had led Nail to suspect that the so-called honored guests had come from beyond the planet.
The thought made him anxious. Could they be... enemies no one could resist?
Just then, a calm voice sounded behind him without warning.