After the Co-Prosperity Conference

On the evening the Universal Co-Prosperity Conference came to an end, the sky above Mount Paozu had been set ablaze orange-red by the sunset. Chi-Chi stood in the yard, clutching a dishcloth as she watched the last ray of sunlight on the distant ridge, then let out a long breath. The three-day grand event had finally ended. As the actual organizer of the culinary judging segment, she had pulled several all-nighters in a row. Her calves were still trembling, yet she could not suppress the curve of her lips. Her crab roe soup dumplings had won the "Best Food in the Universe" gold award. Beerus and Champa had rarely agreed on anything, and the two Gods of Destruction had nearly come to blows over the final basket of dumplings on the awards stage, only to be simultaneously smacked on the backs of their heads by Whis and Vados with their staffs. At the closing ceremony, Zeno announced that Universe 6 would host the next conference. Champa immediately protested, demanding to know why. Zeno said he had eaten more soup dumplings than Champa, so his vote carried greater weight. Champa had been left speechless, while Beerus sat cross-legged in the Universe 7 stands and laughed for a long while.

Ji Ming sat atop the huge boulder at Mount Paozu that Son Goku had polished smooth from years of sitting on it, his legs dangling over the cliff edge and a cup of tea that had long gone cold in his hand. Chi-Chi had brewed it after dinner, but he had forgotten to drink it. By the time he remembered, a pine needle drifting over from the back mountain had already landed on the rim. He picked it off and set it aside, then tipped back his head and took a sip of cold tea. The bustle of the past three days had been like a magnificent fireworks display. Once it had exploded, the sky had returned to quiet, with only the golden light of Kami's Lookout flickering faintly high above.

Footsteps sounded behind him. Not one person's footsteps, but three. He did not turn around, yet he could tell who they were from the weight and spacing of their steps—the soft rustle of Son Goku's bare feet over gravel, the dull impact of Vegeta's hard-soled combat boots against stone, and the faint scrape of Piccolo's cape dragging over the ground. The four of them each found their usual spots on the boulder. Son Goku sat cross-legged to Ji Ming's left, Vegeta leaned against the rock wall to his right, and Piccolo stood at the back. For a long while, no one spoke. Only the evening wind rose from the foot of the mountain, carrying the scents of pine resin and earth. During the conference's culinary judging segment, Beerus and Champa had argued at the judges' table for an entire afternoon. In the end, Whis had needed to knock both of them on the head with his staff before the award ceremony could proceed smoothly. At the cultural exchange exhibition, Krillin had set up an Earth martial arts experience booth, intending only to join in the fun. Instead, members of Universe 11's Pride Troopers had crowded around it until it was impossible to move. After Toppo personally tried a simplified set of basic Turtle School punches, he seriously declared that he would add the module to the Pride Troopers' training curriculum when he returned. Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu's small dojo had taken in several short-term apprentices from other universes. One mechanically modified apprentice from Universe 3 became so excited after learning the Tri-Beam that screws all over his body started popping out, and Chiaotzu spent an entire afternoon chasing after him with a wrench to tighten them back in. At the nature reserve exchange conference, Android 17 had drafted the first joint cross-universe endangered species conservation agreement with environmental experts from several universes. Android 18 had smiled from below the stage as she watched him sign it. Son Gohan had apparently won several martial arts tournament championships. Goten and Trunks had caused several mix-ups in the junior division, infuriating Bulma, but during the awards ceremony, the whole audience still clamored for photos with them.

Meanwhile, Frieza had been taken back into custody on Earth. Before the Co-Prosperity Conference opened, Ji Ming had made one final contact with Frieza through the Supreme Kai communication channel, informing him that Universe 4 was gradually being revived and that the Saiyans' divine bloodline had already resonated in Universe 6. Frieza fell silent for a moment on the other end, then said, "Those Saiyan monkeys actually pulled it off." Afterward, as agreed, he voluntarily applied to the Earth court to return to detention. Bulma approved a special clause allowing his energy limiter to retain five percent of his combat power, on the condition that he regularly provide battle simulation data to the Saiyan recruit training camp. He accepted with a cold sneer.

"Whis's final observation report is out." Ji Ming placed a fist-sized energy crystal chip on the stone before them. It was a solid-state storage device Bulma had compiled from Whis's observation data, and it had just been delivered to him after the conference's closing banquet. "Multiversal stability assessment—of the twelve universes, Universe 4 is undergoing an orderly revival, Universe 3's reconstruction plan has been submitted to Lord Zeno for review, and the Saiyans of Universe 6 will come through the wormhole to New Vegeta City within a week to sign a formal alliance agreement. Caulifla sent a message in advance, saying she has three things to do this time—fight Old Vegeta again, eat Aunt Chi-Chi's tempura, and visit the latest Gravity Chamber model."

"Didn't she say the exact same thing the last time she came?" Vegeta snorted, though the curve of his mouth gave him away.

"This time is different. Kale is coming too. Kale said she recently learned to use the methods of Ultra Instinct to control her berserk form, and she wants you to give her some guidance. She said your Instinctive Destruction path has helped her more than Ultra Instinct." Vegeta did not respond, but lightly tapped the rock with one finger. Ji Ming knew it was the gesture he habitually used to hide his reaction when he was being praised.

"Also, Universe 2's Supreme Kai has formally sent a diplomatic invitation. They hope to send a cultural exchange delegation to Earth to study 'postwar social reconstruction experience'—put plainly, they want to learn the Mount Paozu model."

"The Mount Paozu model." Piccolo repeated the phrase. His antennae tilted slightly, and there was the faintest trace of amusement in his voice. "Build a foundation with endless high-intensity training, supplement it with Chi-Chi's cooking and the Gravity Chamber, then tie everyone to the same dinner table to argue regularly—this model probably isn't replicable."

"That's why they're asking to send a delegation for an on-site inspection." Ji Ming raised his cold tea and took another sip. "Bulma has already marked out a plot in West City. She says she wants to build a 'Multiversal Cultural Exchange Center,' though really, it's just a place for visiting warriors from other universes to eat and train properly. She said we can't keep cramming guests into Mount Paozu every time—Chi-Chi's kitchen will need expanding sooner or later."

"Does Chi-Chi agree?" Son Goku asked.

"She said as long as the visitors aren't picky eaters, anything is negotiable."

The corner of Piccolo's mouth twitched. Over the years, at Mount Paozu's dinner table, he had gone from eating only pumpkin to accepting pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin soup, stir-fried pumpkin with meat, and pumpkin-filled buns. Even so, he still refused any dessert that was not pumpkin-based. Every warrior from another universe who had visited Mount Paozu had been conquered by Chi-Chi's cooking, yet none could understand why Piccolo was so devoted to pumpkin.

"But none of that is the most important thing." Ji Ming turned the energy crystal chip over. A line of tiny annotations in Hit's language was reflected on its back. "Universe 12's Supreme Kai has discovered a new ancient ruins signal—not Saiyan, but something left behind by an even earlier primordial divine race. Whis has already confirmed the location. It's within an undetected dimensional rift at the border between Universes 6 and 7. The Grand Priest said he will not intervene this time, but he hopes we can follow up. Because the last record concerning the primordial divine race happened to come from the final manuscript on Planet Sadala that had not been erased."

"The primordial divine race... they're still alive?" Son Goku asked.

"Not certain. It could be ruins, or it could be a deeper seal. The record itself is incomplete. It only preserves one warning, repeated over and over—'The guardian still sleeps. Do not awaken him.' But there were a few more words after that, deliberately scraped away." Ji Ming looked at Piccolo. "Are there any records about dimensional rifts in Planet Namek's ancient texts?"

Piccolo was silent for a moment, his antennae trembling faintly. "There are, but very few. The oldest Namekian creation manuscript mentions an entity named Spela—a member of the primordial divine race, responsible for guarding the boundary between life and peace. In theory, he should have been erased during the reconstruction of order. But there is a fragment in the manuscript: 'Spela has never died. He is only waiting.' This line and the warning in the Sadala manuscript, 'The guardian still sleeps,' are records from almost the same era."

Vegeta stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the rock. A Silver Blue aura flowed steadily over his body, its edges no longer shedding particles like they had when he had first broken through. "The border between Universes 6 and 7 isn't far from Sadala. If there really are ruins of the primordial divine race there, then all the commotion we caused before—the large-scale resonance of the trial grounds, the return of the divine bloodline, the simultaneous awakening of Saiyans across the universe—it may already have been disturbed."

"So this time, we won't wait for someone else to come looking for us." Ji Ming put away the energy crystal chip. "Once the wormhole opens into a stable route, we'll first head to Planet Sadala and use the mother planet's Kami's Lookout as a forward base. Then we'll gradually move deeper into the dimensional rift. This expedition may take quite some time, but Whis's observations have already confirmed the signal source's approximate location."

"I'll notify Nail and Dende, have them prepare a remote stabilization array using Planet Namek's sealing techniques in advance." Piccolo rose to his feet, his cape lifting slightly in the evening wind. "If we need to enter the dimensional rift, Dende may have to personally oversee Kami's Lookout to maintain the near-Earth synchronization of the sealing array."

Vegeta rose as well, rolling his neck until his vertebrae cracked sharply. "The Gravity Chamber's threshold needs replacing again. This time, make sure the power supply redundancy is in place beforehand—don't make us rely on Beerus to recharge it halfway through like we did at the trial grounds."

"Lord Beerus says he won't help this time, because he wants to stay on the food street and try the new conveyor-belt sushi place." Bulma walked over from behind them, holding her usual mug. Her projection bracelet displayed the observation data she was receiving from Whis in real time. She had barely slept for three days during the Co-Prosperity Conference. Once it was over, she had gone home and slept for an entire day, only to wake up and start working overtime again. "So you'll have to rely on yourselves this time. Oh, and Chi-Chi asked me to tell you that if you're planning another expedition, give her advance notice. She needs to prepare boxed meals—you four, plus Nail and Dende, and possibly Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu if they join the team. She did the math and said she'll need to make a huge batch. She says she'll start preparing three days before the fleet leaves, and none of you are allowed to stop her."

"There's no stopping her." Ji Ming set the cold tea back in its cup holder, stood, and brushed the dust from his pants. His hand grazed the chilled rim of the cup as he tossed the pine needle into the wind. Smoke from Mount Paozu's kitchen slowly rose in the twilight, mingled with the distinctive aroma of garlic and shredded ginger from Chi-Chi's cooking. It drifted from the open kitchen window, exactly the same as on that evening years ago when he had first returned from the trial grounds.

"Send the expedition plan to New Vegeta Command, then send Caulifla a copy. If we really have to enter the dimensional rift, the Saiyans of Universe 6 may understand the fluctuation patterns of fringe dimensions better than we do." He turned and headed toward the kitchen, his movements and tone returning to the familiar rhythm of a preparation cycle. The scent of dinner grew clear even from afar—Chi-Chi was making braised pork tonight, and the sauce in the pot was reducing with thick, bubbling gurgles.

Vegeta headed for the Gravity Chamber, his Silver Blue aura flashing out of sight at the doorway. Son Goku jumped down from the boulder, casually slung the Power Pole over his shoulder, sniffed toward the kitchen, and instantly increased his speed by thirty percent. Piccolo's cape grew smaller and smaller amid the light and shadow in the direction of Kami's Lookout. Ji Ming pushed open the kitchen door. Chi-Chi was lifting a clay pot of braised pork from the stove. She glanced up at him and asked whether he had drunk his tea, saying there was still hot tea in the pot. Ji Ming picked up the teapot from the stove and poured himself a hot cup, then leaned against the cabinet and watched her busy back. The new expedition had not yet begun, and new ruins still flickered deep within the starfields, but in the old, brightly lit kitchen at Mount Paozu, the bowls and chopsticks had already been laid out, while steam slowly spread along the ceiling.