"Temporary" God of Destruction

Inside Beerus's palace, the once-glorious hall now seemed unusually desolate. The golden pillars and ornate decorations had lost their former luster in the dim light, as if silently telling of the end of an era. Beerus sat quietly on his throne, a trace of loneliness in his eyes that was almost impossible to notice.

So this day has come after all? Beerus thought silently. He knew his willfulness and arrogance had ultimately led to this result.

Perhaps this is also a kind of release.

Beerus slowly rose from his throne, his body giving off a faint blue glow—the symbol of his divine power. He walked toward the palace balcony, his gaze passing through the transparent barrier as he stared out at the starry sky.

The stars were still brilliant, but Beerus knew their radiance would no longer belong to him. A complicated feeling surged in his heart, part attachment to the past, part unease toward the future.

What kind of changes will the new God of Destruction bring? Beerus's heart was filled with questions. He did not know how the new God of Destruction would affect the fate of Universe 7.

Just then, a beam of light descended from the heavens, and a figure slowly appeared before Beerus. He was a young God of Destruction named Gaia, and a sharp light flickered in his eyes.

Gaia's body gave off intense waves of energy, and his arrival made the air throughout the palace tremble. He wore a simple black robe, and at his waist hung the symbol of a God of Destruction—a delicate hammer.

"Beerus, your era is over." Gaia's voice carried an unquestionable authority. "From today onward, I will take over Universe 7."

Beerus looked deeply at Gaia, a complicated emotion flashing through his eyes. Then he slowly nodded, accepting this reality.

On a distant planet, Sun Wukong and Vegeta stood atop a mountain peak, their gazes piercing through the clouds as they stared at the faraway starry sky.

Sun Wukong could sense the subtle changes in the universe, and a powerful premonition surged in his heart. "Vegeta, what kind of person do you think the new God of Destruction will be?"

"At the very least, Earth has already become the one place Grand Zeno absolutely won't allow anyone to touch. No matter what the God of Destruction is like, he can't be stupid enough to come to Earth and run wild."

At the center of Universe 7, on the God of Destruction's throne, the newly appointed God of Destruction, Gaia, sat quietly, his eyes flashing with curiosity toward the unknown and a hunger for power. He decided to change his name and go to Earth under a new identity for his first meeting with Grand Zeno's two treasured favorites.

Gaia stood up, and his body began to emit an even stronger light. His figure gradually disappeared from the palace as he used divine power to cross the universe and arrive directly above Earth.

In a valley on Earth, sunlight passed through the gaps between the leaves and spilled over the soft grass. Sun Wukong and Vegeta stood in the center of the valley.

"Vegeta, do you feel that?"

A force of destruction even stronger than Beerus's was rushing toward Earth at great speed. Their eyes remained fixed on the sky as they waited for the new God of Destruction to arrive.

With a slight distortion of space, Gaia's figure appeared in the valley. His body gave off a faint purple glow, and a sharp light flickered in his eyes.

"Sun Wukong, Vegeta, we finally meet." Gaia's voice carried a trace of friendliness.

"How do you know our names?"

Vegeta was the first to ask, while Gaia calmly said, "The Grand Priest has already briefed me. He said Earth has two envoys of peace and told me to build a good relationship with you."

Gaia slowly walked toward Sun Wukong and Vegeta, his steps firm and powerful. The glow radiating from his body formed a stark contrast with the natural surroundings.

"Where's Whis?"

Sun Wukong asked the new God of Destruction before him.

"Whis? You mean that angel? I currently don't need an angel's assistance. If I need anything in the future, I'll go apply to the Grand Priest."

A newborn calf truly did not fear the tiger. The newly appointed God of Destruction really was something—he did not even want an angel and had taken office all on his own.

"Then where is Whis now?"

Vegeta asked again.

"He's with the Grand Priest. Why? Do you need him that badly?"

The look in Gaia's eyes slowly shifted from patient explanation to impatience, as if he were saying, You're just an Earthling who knows Grand Zeno, so what business do you have getting involved with an angel?

Wukong and Vegeta were rendered speechless by the new God of Destruction before them. They had only asked where Whis was, yet this newcomer had mocked them for it. The two of them only wanted to go train and had no desire to keep talking to this guy.

"Hurry up and go back to your Planet of Destruction. If there's nothing important, don't come visit Earth. Earth doesn't need you."

Vegeta was still holding his temper at this moment and did not make his words sound any harsher. But when Gaia heard this, he merely sneered and said, "If it weren't for the fact that Grand Zeno and the Grand Priest are my superiors, do you think I'd be willing to come? Do you think I'd be willing to make friends with two useless things like you?"

"What did you say?"

Vegeta's raging fury instantly surged as he said those words. He had not expected the new God of Destruction to be this arrogant. It seemed he needed to teach him a lesson.

"I said, you two useless things—what can you do besides go looking for Grand Zeno? If you've got the guts, fight me one-on-one. If I lose, I promise I won't come to Earth. But if you lose, Earth won't be safe."

Hearing this, Wukong and Vegeta both wanted to stretch their muscles. After all, it had been a long time since they had met someone this arrogant and confident. Did he really think having the power of destruction made him invincible?

"Sure!"

Vegeta and Wukong both rushed to say it, but the God of Destruction in front of them said he would only fight one person one-on-one. What were they supposed to do about that? They could not exactly use fusion to summon Vegito just to deal with this piece of trash.

"How about this, Vegeta? We'll play rock-paper-scissors."

Although Vegeta disdained using such a childish method, he thought it over himself and realized there did not seem to be any better choice besides rock-paper-scissors.

"Fine."

After saying this, Wukong and Vegeta played rock-paper-scissors. Since things had already come to this, and since Wukong had been the one to suggest the idea, the winner was naturally Wukong. No matter how unconvinced Vegeta was, he could only accept the result.

The newly appointed God of Destruction, Gaia, watched from the side as if he had never seen this kind of way to decide a match before, then opened his mouth and mocked them.

"You're not going to make me use this move to compete with you, are you? Hahahahaha."

"No."

Wukong did not waste words, giving a simple and clear two-word answer, while Gaia also stopped dragging things out and slowly began raising his aura.

Although Wukong had experienced plenty of great battles, suddenly facing someone even stronger than the God of Destruction Beerus inevitably made him excited. He even wanted his old habit to flare up again—that was, not using his full strength at the start.

"Kakarot, this concerns Earth, so take it seriously, got it? If you can't handle it, let me do it. I've wanted to beat this guy down for ages."

Goku smiled and answered, "Don't worry, Vegeta. I know what I'm doing."

Beside them, Gaia erupted with astonishing energy. His body was surrounded by a purple aura of destruction, his black eyes were turning violet, and the collar around his neck sprang open. His consciousness was gradually blurring, as if a great demon king was about to descend upon the world.

Goku was shocked by the power before him. He hadn't expected this guy to possess such immense energy. But Goku was no pushover either, and he began gathering power where he stood.

Very quickly, Goku entered the form of Ultra Instinct Sign. After all, he had spent so long meditating that his Ultra Instinct Sign was no longer what it once had been—even rivaling the Ultra Instinct from back then.

This was all thanks to Goku's method of training, which had allowed him to enter his inner state of mind and find the way to cultivate. The current Goku could basically be considered the strongest individual below the Grand Priest and Grand Zeno.

"Didn't expect your power to be this strong."

The God of Destruction Gaia said those words, and the moment he finished, he blasted out a fierce punch. Goku did not dodge. Instead, he extended his own fist, and it slammed hard into Gaia's.

The instant the two fists collided, it felt as though everything on Earth had gone still. A huge fissure split open in the ground, followed by mountains collapsing and the earth cracking apart. The once-clear sky also began to fill with dark clouds as lightning flashed and thunder roared.

Gaia's fists rained down before him. Goku's Ultra Instinct Sign used its advantage to react at high speed to Gaia's attacks, and he even counterattacked after each strike.

This continued for five minutes. Gaia realized that relying only on martial arts would never let him touch Goku, so he used his own technique.

"Destruction Ghost!"

Waves of white smoke appeared behind him. After the smoke dispersed, five transparent ghosts the same size as him appeared at his back. But the aura of destruction around these ghosts was extremely strong. They felt just like Gotenks's ghosts, except the former erased whatever they touched, while the latter exploded when they touched something.