Seeking Contestants, Awaiting Battle and Cultivation

"Hey! Tell me, have you two decided who to send to the Martial Arts Tournament yet?" Beerus asked with a hint of boredom, clutching a glass of lemon tea in his hand.

Goku and Vegeta both looked troubled.

"How about we send Krillin? He's the strongest human on Earth now!" Goku suddenly suggested.

Vegeta crossed his arms over his chest and said coldly, "He won't do. His power is limited to Earth; he's in no position to compete against the experts from other universes!"

"Vegeta, that's a bit harsh!" Goku said helplessly.

"Hmph! If you want Earth to lose, then go ahead and send him! I won't take the blame for the consequences!" Vegeta snorted.

Goku scratched his head, feeling a headache coming on.

"I have one spot filled. His name is Monaka. You two can find the remaining two yourselves!" Beerus suddenly announced.

"Monaka? Who's that? Is he strong?" Goku asked, curious.

Vegeta looked at Beerus, equally puzzled.

Beerus smiled smugly. "Of course he's strong! He is the most powerful opponent I have ever encountered!"

He looked at Goku and added, "Didn't I tell you before that you were the second-strongest opponent I'd ever faced? Monaka is the first!"

"Whoa! Really? Lord Beerus, is this Monaka you're talking about truly that powerful?" Goku asked, excited.

Vegeta's eye twitched, his expression turning grave.

Beerus nodded. "Of course! Would I lie to you?"

"Ho ho ho!" Whis chuckled, remaining silent.

"Amazing! To think there's an opponent like that—how come we never saw him when we were training at your place, Lord Beerus?" Goku asked, thrilled.

A bead of sweat rolled down Beerus's face, but he feigned calm. "Don't be ridiculous! He's a high-level expert; he's very busy! Don't worry about that—just find the other two participants!"

"In that case, let's go find some people!" Goku laughed and said.

Vegeta thought for a moment before suggesting, "Piccolo and Gohan are the strongest right now. No, wait, there's also Majin Buu. Choosing them should work!"

Goku rubbed his chin and replied, "Gohan won't work. He hasn't trained in years. Besides, Chi-Chi wouldn't let him participate, and with my granddaughter just born, his mind is entirely on her."

Vegeta's eye twitched again, about to say something, but Goku interrupted him...

"Right! Let's go find Buu! If that doesn't work, we'll find Piccolo! I'm heading to get Buu!" Goku laughed, preparing to use Instant Transmission.

"Goku! Are you back? It's me, Dende!" A voice suddenly drifted down.

Goku and the others froze, looking confused.

Dende? Why was he calling?

"Oh! It's Dende! I'm back on Earth. What's up?" Goku asked with a smile.

Dende's voice rang out again. "It's like this: Mr. Luya is staying here with me, and he asked me to have you come find him! It's as if he knew you had something to ask him! What's going on? Do you know?"

"Luya?" Goku was stunned, as were Beerus and the others.

Suddenly, Vegeta's expression shifted. "Kakarot! Weren't you just worrying about not finding enough experts? Didn't you rave about how strong this Luya is? Why not have him compete?"

Goku and Beerus blinked, then both lit up with excitement. "That's right! Why didn't I think of that?!"

"There's still Luya! Since he isn't a Saiyan from Universe 6, he can represent our Universe 7 in the tournament!" Goku grinned.

Beerus also dropped his excited facade and said, "Then it's decided. Go find him yourself!"

Goku nodded, shifted his focus to lock onto Dende's energy, and vanished instantly.

Lookout.

Goku appeared suddenly in the courtyard and looked at Dende. "Dende! How are you?"

"Goku!" Dende was pleasantly surprised and hurried over to him.

Goku laughed and asked, "So, how is it? Are you getting used to being here?"

Dende nodded. "Yes, I've grown accustomed to my role as the Guardian!"

Goku nodded and asked, "By the way, where is Luya?"

Dende replied, "He's still training inside the Hyperbolic Time Chamber! Sorry, I didn't make that clear earlier, which is why you came early!"

Goku glanced toward the direction of the chamber and smiled. "No worries, I'll come back later!"

With that, he vanished.

After leaving the Lookout, Goku went to Gohan's house, where he found Piccolo.

After explaining the situation, Piccolo expressed no interest in the Martial Arts Tournament and refused. In truth, he was thinking that he couldn't play around with Saiyans, or he'd just end up feeling discouraged! Although he had wanted to spar with Goku in the past, Goku was always busy training with Vegeta, making it hard to find a chance to spar with him! And Gohan's strength wasn't what it used to be, so fighting him wasn't very interesting.

With Piccolo out, they only had three people.

Sun Wukong, Vegeta, Monaka...

Two more were needed. Goku thought for a moment and went straight to Satan's house, where Majin Buu was staying.

After some persuasion from Goku, and with Satan's encouragement, Majin Buu finally agreed!

With the four warriors gathered, Sun Wukong's task was complete, and he returned directly to his Space Capsule.

"Very well. Since the headcount is full, the two of you should focus on your training from here on out!" Beerus looked at Sun Wukong and Vegeta, speaking indifferently.

"Kakarot, I won't be training with you this time. I'm going to train here, so you can go do whatever it is you need to do. Besides, you're free to follow Whis if you want! Regardless, I will definitely surpass you!" Vegeta said with a cold, arrogant expression.

Sun Wukong was taken aback, but he was not one to be outdone: "Don't worry, Vegeta. I won't be training with Whis, so you can rest easy knowing I won't be surpassing you!"

"Hmph! That's for the best!" Vegeta let out a cold snort and turned to leave.

Sun Wukong smiled slightly, then waved at Beerus and Whis: "Lord Beerus, Whis, I'll be heading off now!"

"Go on, go on! Try to make yourself a bit stronger!" Beerus waved his hand dismissively.

Sun Wukong laughed: "Count on it!"

Whoosh!

The next second, Sun Wukong vanished.

Beerus fell into a brief silence.

"Is Lord Beerus worried about this tournament?" Whis suddenly asked with a smile.

"Hmph! I wouldn't call it worry, but the way these guys are acting is a bit concerning. No, wait—Whis, why are you teaching them to train? And why teach Vegeta first, only to teach Sun Wukong after he's improved? Do you have some scheme I don't know about?" Beerus suddenly asked.

Whis chuckled, then replied: "Oh, not at all. How could I possibly have such thoughts?"

Beerus: "..."