Earth!
At that moment, everything was still calm and peaceful. There was no unrest, nor any sense of an impending storm before disaster struck.
"God of Destruction?"
Vegeta appeared at Kami's Lookout, his face full of disdain.
"I don't care if the one coming is a God of Destruction or some other kind of god. If he dares threaten me, then I, Vegeta, don't mind giving him a proper fight."
"Uncle Vegeta, King Kai already said that the God of Destruction is incredibly powerful, stronger than every enemy we've faced before!
"So I think we'd better be careful."
Son Gohan reminded Vegeta.
"Hmph!"
Vegeta didn't answer Son Gohan, though his true thoughts didn't quite match what he'd said.
"Vegeta, I think Gohan is right, too. Whatever the case, we should be careful around this so-called God of Destruction, Beerus."
Son Goku had just come out of the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. He glanced at Vegeta's disdainful expression as he spoke.
"Kakarot, that's your concern. Don't tell me about it!"
Annoyed by Son Goku's words, Vegeta finished speaking and shot off into the distance.
"Let's go, too. It's Bulma's birthday today, so let's go together!"
Son Goku smiled. He wasn't upset by Vegeta's words; instead, he turned to Son Gohan with a grin.
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Son Goku and Son Gohan shot off at the same time, heading into the distance. They quickly caught up with Vegeta.
Although Vegeta, Son Goku, and Son Gohan hadn't arrived, Bulma's birthday party went on.
The cruise ship moved slowly across the sea, with no particular destination. Bulma simply thought the scenery out at sea was prettier.
So they sailed aimlessly.
The sea breeze swept by, and waves rolled across the water as a lively atmosphere spread over the cruise ship.
"Lord Beerus, shall we head straight to Vegeta?"
In the starry sky not far from Earth, Whis smiled at Beerus and asked what he wanted to do.
"Mm!"
Beerus nodded.
"Whoosh!"
A flash of rainbow light appeared. The instant it reached Earth, it brought them straight above the sea, where they stopped over the cruise ship hosting the birthday party.
Vegeta was lying down in a spot to rest, his mind repeatedly revisiting his earlier battle with Soya.
In fact, Vegeta's strength had already improved tremendously in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. Though he still couldn't transform into a Super Saiyan 3, he had come very close.
"I still can't become a Super Saiyan 3, but with my Super Saiyan 2 at full power, I'm not much weaker than Kakarot as a Super Saiyan 3."
Vegeta muttered to himself.
"But I still need to prepare for other paths."
Vegeta closed his eyes and pondered.
"Vegeta!"
Just then, a calm voice rang out, reaching Vegeta's ears.
The voice was perfectly composed, but the moment it sounded, Vegeta felt a jolt inside.
He opened his eyes in confusion and immediately saw two people.
The first person he saw was Whis. Yet he couldn't sense any pressure from Whis at all. The person before him seemed like an ordinary man.
Then he saw Beerus.
It wasn't that he could sense Beerus's aura. Rather, the instant he saw Beerus, Vegeta's mind was rocked.
"He..."
Vegeta stared at Beerus, but his body was already trembling uncontrollably.
"G-God of Destruction, Lord Beerus!"
The words escaped Vegeta before he could stop them. He remembered seeing Beerus once when he was very young.
That encounter had left an indelible impression on him.
"Oh, you still remember me? How unusual."
Beerus stepped out from behind Whis and looked at Vegeta, speaking calmly.
"Lord Beerus, may I ask what brings you to Earth?"
Vegeta lowered his head. He didn't dare look Beerus in the eye.
The shadow of his childhood instantly came flooding back.
Even when facing Frieza, Vegeta had never felt this way.
But now, he couldn't even bring himself to look Beerus in the eye.
"Vegeta, I came here to ask you something. Do you know about the Super Saiyan God?"
Beerus didn't pay the slightest attention to the weak Vegeta. He simply asked in an even tone.
After all, Vegeta's strength was so insignificant to him that he could kill countless people like him with a single finger.
"Super Saiyan God?"
Vegeta froze. After thinking for a long while, he shook his head. He didn't know, either.
"Lord Beerus, I don't know anything about the Super Saiyan God."
Vegeta answered honestly.
"Even you don't know?"
Beerus looked a little disappointed. He'd thought that coming to Earth this time would lead him to the Super Saiyan God from his dream, but it seemed he'd made the trip for nothing.
"The Saiyan who defeated Frieza is called Son Goku, right? Bring him here. I'll ask him!"
Beerus made his way to a lounge chair and spoke to Vegeta.
"Yes!"
Vegeta didn't dare object to Beerus's order. He vanished in a flash.
"Whoosh!"
Vegeta shot away, arriving at another part of the ship, where things were bustling.
"Vegeta, you're here!"
Son Goku noticed Vegeta suddenly appear.
But Vegeta's expression was grave.
"Kakarot, come with me for a moment."
Vegeta looked at Son Goku with a solemn expression.
"What happened?"
Son Goku had nearly forgotten that the God of Destruction was coming.
"Kakarot, someone wants to see you. He's the God of Destruction, Lord Beerus.
"When you meet him, you mustn't show even the slightest disrespect. If Lord Beerus gets angry, the consequences will be unimaginable."
Vegeta's expression was more serious than ever.
"He's here?"
When he heard that Beerus had arrived, Son Goku immediately grew excited. He didn't hear a single word of Vegeta's warning.
"Come with me! Lord Beerus wants to see you!"
Vegeta vanished in a flash and left.
"Whoosh!"
Son Goku followed close behind, catching up in an instant.
"What's with those two?"
Bulma, Chi-Chi, and the others were all together. Seeing Vegeta and Son Goku leave again without even saying hello, they couldn't help shaking their heads.
But they didn't say anything.
They weren't about to let those two irresponsible men spoil their good time.