"Not bad. You've already gathered the Dragon Balls ahead of time? And laid them out so neatly... Could it be you were waiting here specifically for us?"
Nail was instantly stunned!
With his level of power, he hadn't sensed anyone approaching at all! He couldn't even feel anyone's presence nearby!
Almost instinctively, he whipped around. His entire body tensed, his ki surged to its limit, and he dropped into a fighting stance, warily staring toward the voice.
Not far in front of him, two figures had appeared soundlessly, seemingly out of nowhere.
The one in front was a remarkably young-looking, black-haired man wearing an ordinary black Battle Suit. Handsome and sharp-eyed, he regarded Nail and the Dragon Balls on the ground with curiosity and amusement.
Behind him stood a tall, slender man with blue-green skin, holding a Scepter. He wore a gentle smile, as if he understood everything, and had an even more inscrutable air about him.
The visitors were Vitelli, the Apprentice God of Destruction of Universe 7, and the Angel Whis.
Seeing how tense Nail was, Vitelli grinned. "Relax. I'm not a bad guy or anything."
That grin only made Nail, who was already on guard, even more wary.
Huge beads of cold sweat slid down Nail's forehead. In the tense situation, he actually took the initiative to square up, preparing to fight the two of them.
Seeing this, Whis, unwilling to be left out, started egging them on.
"Vitelli-san, it seems this Namekian gentleman would like to spar with you. Surely you're not going to pass up the chance to show him some respect?"
Vitelli shot Whis an exasperated look, as if to say, You'd better stop talking. Can't you see how terrified he is?
Chapter 25: Suspicious Shin and a Beautiful Wish
Vitelli watched Nail, who looked ready to start shaking, then shot another exasperated glance at the still-smiling Whis, who continued to egg them on. With a helpless laugh, he waved at Nail.
"Don't worry, we're not good... Ptooey!"
He'd nearly blurted out a villain's line, so he hurriedly cleared his throat and corrected himself.
"We're not bad guys. We just happened to come to Namek. I'm sure your Grand Elder has already told you we were coming, right?"
Seeing the seven Dragon Balls already prepared on the ground, and recalling Whis mentioning that someone had sensed them earlier, Vitelli didn't have to think twice. The Grand Elder, who possessed extraordinary abilities, must have foreseen their arrival and arranged everything.
The wariness on Nail's face eased a little at Vitelli's words.
He hesitated, then dropped his fighting stance completely.
Just as he was about to walk up to the two men and speak, Nail suddenly froze, as if he'd received some kind of message. He stood stock-still for several seconds.
Then his expression quickly shifted to one of respect, and he bowed deeply to Vitelli.
"Greetings, Lord God of Destruction! I am Nail, a warrior assigned to protect the Grand Elder of Namek."
Vitelli knew at once that the Grand Elder must have contacted Nail telepathically to explain the situation.
He nodded and said calmly, "There's no need for such formality. I'm only an Apprentice God of Destruction. I ran into a bit of trouble while dealing with a massive star on the verge of destruction. I happened to discover it was very close to Namek, so I came here specifically to borrow the Dragon Balls."
He patted Nail on the shoulder and said warmly, "I... suppose I've caused you trouble."
Nail maintained his respectful posture and quickly replied, "No. It's an honor for all of us Namekians to be able to help Lord God of Destruction."
Whis, standing off to the side, eyed the seven enormous, glowing orange Dragon Balls with interest. Hearing Vitelli say he wanted to borrow them, he couldn't help interrupting.
He wore his trademark smile, seemingly gentle but clearly delighted to watch the drama unfold.
"My, my~ Vitelli-san, using wish-granting orbs to exercise the authority of a God of Destruction would be cheating. If Lord Grand Zeno and the Grand Priest found out, you might be punished~"
Vitelli shook his head and explained, "Don't worry. I won't use the Dragon Balls to do a God of Destruction's job directly. That would be pathetic. I just need them to help me solve a technical problem."
He turned to Nail. "Nail, could you summon the Eternal Dragon?"
"Yes, Lord Vitelli."
Nail respectfully answered.
He got up and went to the Dragon Balls, faced them, and spread his arms. Then he began reciting the summoning incantation in the peculiar Namekian Language.
"Arise, Porunga! And grant my wish!!!"
As the rhythmic chant rang out, a strange phenomenon unfolded!
The sky over Namek, which had three shining suns and had never known a true night, suddenly plunged into darkness.
Clouds gathered from nowhere and rapidly spread across the sky!
The light dimmed sharply. In just a few breaths, the area several kilometers around them went from daylight to the darkness of midnight.
The rare spectacle drew many Namekians from their homes in the distance. They gazed curiously at the sky, suddenly shrouded in night.
Boom—!!!
A deafening roar erupted, and a golden pillar of light, surging with powerful energy, shot up from the seven Dragon Balls and pierced the cloud-covered sky!
Within the light, a colossal, heavily muscled, green body rapidly took shape—
Porunga, the Eternal Dragon of Namek, coiled in the air. His massive body cast a vast shadow, and his red eyes swept across the three tiny figures on the ground like searchlights. In a deep, solemn voice, he said:
"Now then—state your wishes! Whatever they may be, I can grant you three!"
Vitelli looked up at Porunga, whose presence was far more imposing than Earth's Eternal Dragon. Hearing his grand claim that he could grant any wish, Vitelli chuckled and spoke with a hint of teasing.
"Oh? Is that so? Then my first wish is this: give me the same ability as Supreme Kai's attendant, Kibito—the ability to use Instant Transmission freely anywhere in the universe."
He was testing the limits of Namek's Dragon Balls. After all, Earth's Eternal Dragon couldn't even deal with the Saiyans, saying they were too strong for him.
Nail glanced at Vitelli. Though he found the wish a little strange, he relayed it to Porunga exactly as stated, in the Namekian Language.
Porunga fell silent for a moment. His huge red eyes flickered a few times as he seemed to assess how to grant the wish.
Vitelli thought Porunga might ask him to choose another wish, just as Earth's Eternal Dragon had, and was about to state the wish he'd actually planned when Porunga spoke.
His voice remained steady.
"Your wish is too profound for me to grant completely. However... you can now use Instant Transmission anywhere in the universe without restriction, but you must sense the destination's exact ki or know its coordinates to travel there freely."
"Seriously?! I was joking! You actually granted it?!"
Vitelli was genuinely shocked. His eyes widened.
Almost without thinking, he raised one hand and pressed two fingers to his forehead, concentrating.
In an instant, his perception seemed to break through an invisible barrier and stretch endlessly into the depths of the universe.
As long as he knew the exact coordinates, he felt he could travel anywhere in this universe! He just didn't know whether it would work in other universes.
Without coordinates, he could still teleport the way he always had, by sensing ki.
"This... this is a wonderful surprise!"
Vitelli lowered his hand, delighted.
Compared to Namek's Dragon Balls, the Dragon Balls on Earth were downright pathetic!
Namek's Dragon Balls had completely outclassed Earth's, making Namek the MVP!
"I'll have to ask Bulma for a detailed star map when I get back..."
He immediately thought of the spaceship he'd brought back from Planet Soph. It should have a fairly comprehensive set of interstellar coordinates stored inside.
After trying out his new, convenient ability for a little while, Vitelli reined in his excitement and continued speaking to Nail.
"Could you have Porunga grant my second wish? Send the Supreme Kai of Universe 7—Shin—to Namek. If it can't send him here directly..."
He paused, thinking that the Supreme Kai was a god, after all. Forcibly transporting him might not be possible.
"Then have it notify the Supreme Kai. Tell him that Vitelli, an Apprentice God of Destruction, has something important to discuss with him, and ask him to come to Namek right away."
Nail hesitated briefly, then relayed Vitelli's second wish to Porunga as instructed.
Whis watched with a smile, a hint of satisfaction in his purple eyes.
He was pleased that Vitelli had taken the initiative to seek out and meet the Supreme Kai.
After all, the God of Destruction and the Supreme Kai were supposed to be partners who worked together to maintain the balance of the universe. But Lord Beerus had almost completely severed ties with the Supreme Kai's realm because of the Old Supreme Kai. That was hardly good for Universe 7.
Now that Vitelli was willing to repair that relationship and even seek cooperation, it would be a huge boost to Universe 7's overall rating!
"Looks like Universe 7's ranking might finally improve~ Ho ho ho."
Whis thought happily, looking at Vitelli with even greater approval.
After Nail relayed the wish, Porunga fell silent once again.
His enormous red eyes flickered faintly, as if he were communicating across a vast distance with the Supreme Kai.
Just as Vitelli had expected, directly transporting a god was no simple matter. Porunga was more likely acting as a messenger.
After a long while, Porunga's eyes flashed red, and his grand voice rang out once more:
"Your wish has been granted. The message has been delivered."
Almost the moment Porunga finished speaking—
Whoosh!
Two figures appeared without warning in an open area not far in front of Nail.
They were Shin, the Supreme Kai of Universe 7, and his attendant, Kibito.
The sudden summons had clearly caught them off guard. The moment they appeared on Namek, they immediately stood back-to-back, taking up defensive stances as they warily scanned their surroundings.
Shin's gaze swept across the scene. The first person he noticed was Whis, with his extraordinary presence and Scepter, followed by Nail and Vitelli standing beside him.
He sensed the unfathomable yet divine aura coming from Whis. Putting it together with the bizarre summons and their current surroundings, he hesitated briefly before cautiously approaching Whis with Kibito.
"Was it you? The one who summoned us to this planet and claims to be the God of Destruction?"
"..."
Vitelli looked utterly bewildered. He pointed to himself, then looked at Whis, whom Shin had mistaken for the God of Destruction. His expression turned downright remarkable.
Whis couldn't hold back a laugh. He covered his mouth with one hand and chuckled.
"Ho ho ho~ Supreme Kai, I'm afraid you've mistaken me for someone else. I'm merely a humble attendant serving the God of Destruction."
He turned gracefully and pointed his Scepter at Vitelli, who looked completely exasperated, introducing him with a smile.
"The God of Destruction you're really looking for is this gentleman here."
An awkward silence settled over the scene.
Shin followed Whis's gesture and looked at Vitelli. A flash of surprise and disbelief crossed his face.
It seemed difficult for him to connect the title "God of Destruction" with the young-looking black-haired man in an ordinary Battle Suit standing before him.
His skin was already red, but it grew faintly redder still. Clearly, he was embarrassed to have mistaken the wrong person.
Seeing Shin look a little flushed while trying to maintain his composure, Vitelli gave a helpless cough and stepped forward. Keeping things polite, he smiled and said, "Ahem. Nice to meet you, Supreme Kai Shin. I'm Vitelli, the Apprentice God of Destruction of Universe 7."
Shin studied Vitelli, his eyes narrowing slightly. His wariness hadn't eased.
"Universe 7? God of Destruction? Who exactly are you? I've been the Supreme Kai for so many years, and I've never heard of any god called a 'God of Destruction' in the universe!"
His voice was full of suspicion.
Suddenly, Shin seemed to think of something truly terrifying.
His face changed, and he abruptly stepped back several paces, putting more distance between himself and Vitelli.
His voice rose sharply, full of suspicion and hostility.
"Wait! You... Are you one of that evil wizard Babidi's minions?! Did that man set a trap and lure me here with this unheard-of title?! Kibito! Prepare to fight!"
Kibito immediately responded. He powered up and dropped into a fighting stance, glaring at Vitelli.
Watching the two of them act as if they were facing a deadly threat—as if he were obviously a villain—Vitelli couldn't help raising a hand to his forehead.
He sighed deeply, feeling utterly exhausted.