"After all, I've lived to a ripe old age. I've still got a few tricks up my sleeve. Come on, kid. Follow me."
Led by Old Supreme Kai, Vitelli arrived at a scenic cliff overlooking a vast plain.
A gentle breeze stirred the flowers, and birds sang in the trees. The air was pure and peaceful—a wonderful place to quiet the mind and train.
"Sit down, relax, and try to enter that state of 'Ultra Instinct.' But don't go all the way in. Just maintain a faint connection to it."
Old Supreme Kai gave his instructions.
Vitelli followed them, sitting cross-legged and slowly closing his eyes. He tried to clear his mind, turning his awareness inward to find that feeling of his body moving on instinct, beyond the reach of thought.
Gradually, a brilliant silver-white glow began to shine from within him, and silver frost crept into the tips of his hair—
He had successfully entered the "Ultra Instinct Sign" state, but instead of sinking deeper into it, he maintained only its outward appearance.
Old Supreme Kai watched closely, nodding again and again as he marveled, "Incredible... To have mastered Sign to this degree at such a young age! There's hardly any resistance in the flow of your energy. Truly incredible."
Then, under the dumbfounded stares of Shin and Kibito, who had come along with them and looked as if they were about to fall apart, the venerable-looking Old Supreme Kai began performing a series of extremely... well, hard-to-describe movements around Vitelli, who was meditating.
First, he waved his arms and danced about, striking poses as strange as some ancient ritual dance. He even hummed and muttered what sounded like incomprehensible incantations.
Then he started circling Vitelli like a shaman performing an exorcism. Sometimes he stamped his feet, sometimes he clapped, and sometimes he made all sorts of strange gestures toward the sky and the ground.
Shin and Kibito watched, their faces burning and their toes curling against the earth. They wished they could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
Their revered ancestor was... this was too much for them to look at.
Even Whis, who still wore his usual smile, paused slightly in the middle of eating his snacks. A flicker of something subtle crossed his eyes.
Though Vitelli kept his eyes closed and did his best to maintain his state, the intense "visual pollution" and "auditory pollution" from the outside world inevitably distracted him.
He felt as if his secondhand embarrassment were about to become terminal. Only his formidable willpower kept him from breaking character and leaping to his feet.
He'd already known how this old man helped people, but... did it really have to be so unusual?!
This ritual, which could only be described as "mental pollution," lasted a full five hours!
At last, Old Supreme Kai stopped moving. Panting hard, he clutched his aching back and cautiously collapsed onto the grass.
Vitelli wasn't the only one to let out a sigh of relief. Shin and Kibito, who had watched from the sidelines, did the same. It felt as if they'd just fought a grueling battle.
"Huff... huff... All right, kid..."
Old Supreme Kai gasped, his voice trembling slightly.
"Try to feel what state you're in now... huff... I've used every trick I've got up my sleeve..."
Vitelli immediately focused his mind.
With a slight movement of his will, he tried to enter the complete "Ultra Instinct Sign" state.
The next instant, a sudden transformation took place!
Whoosh—!
With almost no warning or transition, a dazzling silver-white glow burst out of him!
It didn't gradually spread across him this time. It flared to life in an instant!
Silver energy enveloped his body like solid flames, blazing around him and releasing a divine aura far purer, more ethereal, and more powerful than before!
"What... what is this?!"
Even Vitelli was stunned.
He could clearly feel that he entered the "Ultra Instinct" state several times faster than before. It was almost as if a mere thought was enough to activate it!
Not only that, but his base strength had increased dramatically, as had the upper limit of the power he could wield in the "Ultra Instinct" state!
It felt as if he'd been looking at the world through a thin veil of mist—and now that veil had been swept away completely!
"My, my~"
Whis's voice rang out at just the right moment, carrying his usual teasing lilt.
"What an incredible improvement, Vitelli-san. It seems you're truly only one step away from Lord Beerus's level. When you spar with Lord Beerus again, please be sure to go easy on him~"
Vitelli let the aura around him fade, then gave Whis a deadpan look.
"Go easy on him? Please, Whis, do me a favor and act like a decent person. Can't you try fooling someone else?"
He knew very well just how much of his strength Beerus was hiding.
Vitelli sighed helplessly. He felt that ever since meeting Whis, he'd been sighing noticeably more often.
Ignoring Whis, he turned to Old Supreme Kai, who was sprawled on the ground, and bowed respectfully.
"Thank you, Old Supreme Kai."
No matter how embarrassing the process had been, the results were undeniably astonishing.
Old Supreme Kai waved weakly, indicating that he didn't need to be so formal.
Vitelli then turned to Shin and brought up the serious matter of Majin Buu.
"Shin, when are you planning to deal with Babidi and Majin Buu?"
At that, Shin looked troubled.
"Well... I'm afraid we'll have to wait a little longer. We can occasionally detect faint signals from Babidi and his followers somewhere in the universe, but he's extremely cunning, and his whereabouts are always shifting. He's never revealed his exact location. If he doesn't show himself, it'll be difficult for us to pinpoint where Majin Buu is hiding."
Vitelli rubbed his chin and dropped a bombshell. "Majin Buu is on Earth."
"W-what?! How do you know that?!"
Shin looked shocked as he jerked his head up to stare at Vitelli.
The news was simply unbelievable! Earth? That seemingly ordinary, low-level civilization?
"You don't need to worry about how I know. I just do."
Vitelli couldn't exactly tell him that he'd learned it from a manga.
"Would you like me to go to Earth myself, find it, and destroy it? We can put an end to this once and for all."
Shin looked deeply conflicted and hesitant.
After thinking it over for a long while, he finally shook his head with determination.
"Vitelli-san, I'm afraid that won't work."
He explained gravely, "Majin Buu is the ultimate monster Babidi poured his heart and soul into creating. If we destroy Buu without eliminating Babidi at the source, then with his abilities, it probably won't take him even a few hundred years to gather enough energy and materials to create an even more terrifying Majin Buu!"
"We have to eliminate the root of the problem! So it would be safest to wait until Babidi shows himself and we confirm where he's hiding. Then we can ask you to step in and wipe them all out at once. Until then, I'll use the power of a Supreme Kai to keep a close eye on Earth and the surrounding star systems for anything unusual."
Vitelli thought that made sense, so he nodded without much concern.
"All right. You handle it, and I'll follow your lead. Just don't hesitate when it's time to act. Let me know right away."
In his mind, sometimes it was better to brute-force a problem than to exhaust yourself scheming around it. Just charge in and get it done.
That was classic Saiyan—and time-traveler—thinking.
Afterward, Vitelli thanked Old Supreme Kai once more, said goodbye to Shin and Kibito, and prepared to return to the God of Destruction Realm.
Whis waved his Scepter. Brilliant light enveloped them, and they instantly left the Supreme Kai Realm, entering a state of movement faster than light.
But as they traveled, just after passing through several star systems, Vitelli's powerful senses suddenly picked up an extremely familiar aura in the distant reaches of space!
"Whis, wait a moment!"
Vitelli spoke up suddenly.
Whis immediately halted their movement, and the two of them stopped in the lonely vacuum of space.
Whis glanced at Vitelli with mild curiosity.
"What is it, Vitelli-san? Did you suddenly remember that you forgot to ask the two Supreme Kais for a reward? It's not too late to go back~"
Vitelli laughed helplessly.
"What reward? I was just helping them out. Besides, hasn't Old Supreme Kai already 'thanked' me in his own... special way?"
Though he'd gotten stronger, he still shuddered at the memory of those five hours of "mental pollution."
His gaze settled on a distant region of space, as if he could see through countless light-years.
His lips slowly curled into a mischievous grin.
"Whis, go back to the God of Destruction Realm without me."
"I think I've sensed an 'old friend' a few star systems away. I'll go over and 'say hello.' I should be back before dinner."
Whis gave his Scepter a light tap against the void. He left him with one final remark before swiftly vanishing in a streak of light.
"Actually, Vitelli-san, it would be perfectly fine if you came back after dinner~ I'll tell Miss Bulma that you've gone on an important 'neighborhood visit.' Ho ho ho~"
Vitelli couldn't be bothered to respond to the mischievous angel.
He raised his hand, pressed his index and middle fingers together against his forehead, and focused on sensing the exact location of that familiar aura.
"It's been a long time..."
He murmured, his grin growing more devious by the moment.
"Prince Vegeta."
Whoosh—!
The next instant, he vanished from the cold vacuum of space, leaving only the distant stars, still twinkling without pause.
In the North Galaxy, on a desolate planet with a harsh environment, red rocks, and blowing dust.
Night had just fallen, and a bitter wind howled as it swept up the sand.
A campfire stubbornly burned beneath a rocky overhang, the only source of warmth on this barren world.
An oddly shaped alien creature roasted over the fire, sizzling as fat dripped from it. Its rich, meaty aroma drifted slowly through the wind.
Three Saiyans of a warrior race sat around the fire: Vegeta, Nappa, and Raditz.
Raditz watched the leaping flames, his face full of unease and fear. He swallowed with difficulty, then asked again, his voice trembling slightly.
"P-Prince Vegeta, have you really... decided to move against King Frieza? Th-this is too dangerous!"
At that, Nappa shot him a scornful look and barked, "Raditz! You coward! You're backing down already? You won't even throw a punch at your enemy. How can someone like you call himself a Saiyan?!"
"I..."
Raditz shrank back at the shout. He wanted to protest, but couldn't think of what to say.
Vegeta suddenly raised a hand, stopping Nappa from continuing to berate him.
He slowly turned his head. His sharp eyes looked especially deep in the firelight.
He looked at Raditz, his voice cold and oppressive, leaving no room for argument.
"Raditz, as I recall... you had a younger brother, didn't you? He was sent to another planet before Planet Vegeta was destroyed. Right?"
Raditz's heart tightened. He thought Vegeta was going to punish him for being afraid, but when he realized Vegeta was asking about this, he relaxed a little and hurried to answer.
"Y-yes, Prince Vegeta. Before the planet exploded, my father, Bardock, sent my younger brother Kakarot away in a small spacecraft. If I remember correctly, he was sent to a low-level planet called Earth."
"Earth...?"
Vegeta repeated the name under his breath, narrowing his eyes slightly as his thoughts seemed to drift into the distance.
He remembered the first time he'd left Planet Vegeta, many years ago, to conquer a planet called Planet Soph.
The mission itself had gone smoothly. The people of Planet Soph were powerless to resist.
But it was also there that he lost a high-ranking warrior named Vitelli—a warrior who had defeated him, Vegeta!
At the time, that guy's battle power had been far lower than his. His combat experience and techniques had seemed nothing special, yet he'd effortlessly defeated the proud Vegeta—as if he were making a mockery of him!
That humiliation was still etched vividly in Vegeta's heart.