The Long-Lasting Guardian

The new annual review meeting on Zeno's Planet convened on an utterly ordinary morning. There were no emergency alarms, no wormhole anomalies, no signs of any universe teetering on the brink of destruction. Whis's notice contained only one sentence: "Zeno says it's been a long time since the last meeting, and he wants to hold one." When Ji Ming received the message, he was behind Mount Paozu sparring with Son Goku to hone their Ultra Instinct evasion precision. The two stopped to glance at their wristbands, then continued sparring, since the meeting was still several days away. Son Goku said they should go, since it wasn't like they would be fighting. After thinking it over, Ji Ming decided he was right—this was one of the rare inter-universal trips that did not require bringing Senzu Beans.

On the day of departure, Chi-Chi stuffed a lunchbox into each of their hands. As usual, Son Goku's lunchbox had an extra-large piece of braised pork, while Ji Ming found a tempura shrimp buried beneath the rice in his. He looked up at Chi-Chi. She was busy adding minced garlic to Vegeta's lunchbox and did not raise her head as she said, "It won't taste good once it gets cold." Ji Ming closed his lunchbox and tucked it into his clothes, then reached out to touch the back of her hand. She curled her fingers around his for a moment before releasing him and continuing to stuff ribs into Vegeta's lunchbox.

The conference hall on Zeno's Planet had been arranged into a circle today—or, more precisely, Whis and Vados had temporarily conjured it with their staffs before the meeting. The original rectangular conference table had lost three corners when Beerus and Champa got into an argument last time. Zeno had thought the broken corners were fun, but the Grand Priest said a formal meeting still required a complete table. So Whis conjured a round crystal table, meaning, "This way, there are no corners left to break." Beerus and Champa fell silent for a long time when they saw the round table, likely each evaluating new geometric strategies for arguing.

There were not many attendees. Universe 7 sent Ji Ming, Son Goku, and Beerus; Universe 6 was represented by Champa and Caulifla; Universe 11 sent Toppo and Jiren; and Universe 1 sent that leader of the divine race who had never made a move from beginning to end—this time, he still showed no intention of doing so, merely sitting quietly in a corner and drinking tea. Representatives from the other universes gradually arrived as well. Some Ji Ming had met before, while others were unfamiliar faces, probably newly selected core fighters after the war. As usual, Zeno sat atop the highest crystal throne, swinging his legs. The other Zeno sat beside him, hugging the panda plushie he had taken from Mount Paozu last time. Both wore solemn expressions that said, "Today, we're holding a very formal meeting."

The Grand Priest stood at the center of the round table, his white cloak stirring without wind, and first summarized the overall situation since the Tournament of Power—the multiversal stability index remained within the safe range, while postwar reconstruction and the handover of the Primordial Corridor seal had both been completed. When discussing reconstruction, he commended the specific contributions of each universe. Even Champa was singled out for Universe 6's investment in reviving Saiyan culture. Champa immediately puffed out his chest, and Beerus smacked one of his chair legs with his tail. The Grand Priest then asked each universe for suggestions regarding the future.

Champa was the first to raise his tail, demanding that food awards be made a permanent event and that the number of judges be increased. Beerus said there was no need for more judges; they only needed to replace the current unqualified ones. Representing Universe 11, Toppo submitted a lengthy proposal recommending the establishment of an inter-universal joint defense system to address the possible loosening of ancient seals. Universe 1 submitted an extremely concise one-page report stating, "The Primordial Corridor seal is normal. No new fissures have been observed." Caulifla of Universe 6 raised her hand and said she hoped Chi-Chi could visit Universe 6 every year to teach a cooking course, preferably with the complete braised pork recipe. Champa nodded furiously beside her.

When it was Universe 7's turn, Whis made the statement in Beerus's place. In an even tone, he listed twelve specific proposals, ranging from an inter-universal warning system and a Saiyan cultural revival plan to making Planet Namek's sealing technique database public. He went on to suggest renaming the next Tournament of Power and adding an award for the best cuisine in all universes, then added that Lord Beerus had always denied being concerned about Universe 6's cooking standards on its behalf. The Grand Priest nodded slightly and recorded each proposal in glowing text appearing across the crystal tabletop.

"The Co-Prosperity Conference can be held more often, but we should keep the Tournament of Power too," Zeno suddenly said, his black dot-like eyes looking one by one at the representatives around the table. "Because watching everyone fight is really, really fun—I haven't seen enough yet. But we can hold more meetings about universal peace too. At meetings, everyone has to sit down and talk properly, just like today. Anyone who doesn't talk gets punished by having to eat three extra bowls of rice."

Ji Ming swept his gaze over the room from the corner of his eye. Beerus and Champa both shifted in their chairs at the same time, probably wondering whether being punished with food counted as a disguised benefit. Jiren, unusually, uncrossed his arms and picked up the glass of water before him for a sip. Ji Ming looked away and silently folded the short, unsent suggestion sheet in his hand into his pocket—Zeno had already said everything there was to say.

After the meeting, Whis treated everyone to tea and pastries. Beerus and Champa nearly started arguing again over the last piece of matcha cake, only to be stopped by Zeno shouting, "Whoever fights has to do the dishes!" Holding his plate, Ji Ming walked to the window and looked at the golden void outside in the World of Void. All at once, he felt a long-lost sense of peace. Not the calm before a storm—just simple, ordinary peace, with no major event brewing.

By the time they returned to Mount Paozu, it was already evening. Chi-Chi was braising beef in the kitchen. A large clay pot on the stove bubbled away, sending out steam, and its fragrance could be smelled from far off. Ji Ming entered the kitchen, and Chi-Chi looked back at him before asking whether dinner had been good. He said it had, then set his empty lunchbox beside the sink and picked up the teapot on the stove to pour himself a cup of hot sencha. Outside the window, Mount Paozu's maple leaves had turned completely red, while pine needles were still falling. A layer of yellow-green pine needles blanketed the huge rock in the yard, where Son Goku sat cross-legged, wiping down the Power Pole. Ji Ming stood behind Chi-Chi for a moment, then walked over and sat at the table, slowly finishing the tea after it had cooled.

A few days later, Ji Ming met Bulma in West City. She was adjusting the power supply system for the next-generation Gravity Chamber in the top-floor laboratory of Capsule Corp. Beside her were several stacks of infrastructure applications for New Vegeta City, expansion approval forms for Saiyan residential districts, and lists of inter-universal cooperation projects sent by the Universe 6 Saiyan base. Seeing Ji Ming enter, she pushed her coffee cup aside and pulled a blue report from beneath the thickest stack of folders.

"I've finished organizing the Zeno meeting records, Tournament of Power data, and all the agreements signed by the various universes during the Co-Prosperity Conference that you had me compile over the past few years," she said. "Based on these documents, all the participating universes have not only shown clear improvements in the speed of postwar reconstruction, but inter-universal cultural exchanges and infrastructure cooperation have gradually become routine as well. My dad asked me to tell you that the fourth-phase Gravity Chamber expansion project in New Vegeta City has been approved, but on one condition—we have to sign off on the organic flour import agreement with Universe 6 and the Supreme Kai's temple restoration plan at the same time. He isn't interested in meetings on Zeno's Planet, but he's especially enthusiastic about deals like 'trade flour and get the pillars gilded while we're at it.'"

Ji Ming accepted the report and opened it. The blue folder was quite thick, packed from the first page to the last. Every item was being carried out, and every plan once written amid ruins had already been put into place.

"You can take a break now." Bulma removed her glasses. Rarely, she did not speak in a teasing tone, merely looking at him calmly.

Ji Ming closed the folder and looked out the window. West City's sunset was slowly sinking behind the distant clusters of high-rises, dyeing the sky in overlapping shades of deep orange and crimson purple. He remembered one evening years ago, the first time he had sat on the huge rock at Mount Paozu watching the sunset, with Son Goku and Vegeta beside him. The three of them together might not even have been able to withstand a full-power strike from Frieza's final form. Now, his strength had reached heights he had once not dared imagine. But what he had wanted most had always been for everyone to live in a universe where they did not need to fear for their lives, waking each day knowing the people they needed to protect were by their side. By now, that goal had finally been more than half achieved.

He nodded and placed the blue folder on the windowsill. "Okay."

After a rainstorm, autumn at Mount Paozu officially gave way to winter. Chi-Chi harvested the radishes, turned over the vegetable patch, and planted cabbage and spinach for the cold season. The Gravity Chamber schedule remained packed, with Vegeta and Goku spending nearly every day inside. Piccolo still came to Mount Paozu for dinner every weekend. Krillin and Android 18 occasionally brought Marron over to mooch a meal, while Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu arrived on time with vegetables. The fourth-phase Gravity Chamber expansion project in New Vegeta City began before the first snowfall of winter. The cooking course at the Universe 6 Saiyan base opened its third session. Son Gohan's healing technique textbooks were translated into Hit language. Beerus and Champa still argued over the judging seats for the next Co-Prosperity Conference.

Above Kami's Lookout, Dende and Nail completed an enormous undertaking—organizing every parameter of the Primordial Corridor seal into a complete inherited document on Planet Namek's ancient sealing arts, to train a new generation of inter-universal guardians. After the war, the twelve universes gradually established a joint observation mechanism, regularly monitoring fluctuations in the ancient seals. Ji Ming inspected the Primordial Corridor once every year. Each time he went, he paused outside the massive gate for a moment, making sure the newly added inscription on the lintel remained clear.

Smoke rose from Mount Paozu's chimneys on time every evening. There was always a steaming clay pot in Chi-Chi's kitchen, and not a single set of bowls and chopsticks was ever missing from the table. Sitting in his old seat, Ji Ming used his chopsticks to move aside the slices of stir-fried meat in his bowl, and there would still be a tempura shrimp buried at the bottom. He picked it up and took a bite. The batter was crisp, and the shrimp sweet and fresh. Then, amid the clamor of the dinner table, he picked up a pen, opened the old notebook that was nearly full, and wrote on the blank space of its final page.

[Another new day. Mount Paozu. Nothing of note.]