Though a little surprised to hear that the Divine Martial Battle Star was a planetary-class world, Barros soon understood why:
The planet had once been home to countless powerful natives. It was likely the result of its abundant life energy and rich natural vitality.
He looked straight into Shenron's blood-red eyes. The corners of his mouth lifted, a trace of chill in his smile—
It seemed there were even higher-class planets.
Sure enough, as soon as the thought crossed his mind, Shenron continued, "Above planetary-class are 'stellar-class' life planets. But worlds of that kind are exceedingly rare throughout the universe!"
Barros had ruled the Divine Martial Battle Star for years, yet had discovered only a handful of planets comparable to it.
Stellar-class worlds were even rarer, which came as no surprise.
Suddenly, he furrowed his brow and asked, "Planet Namek should be stellar-class, shouldn't it?"
Shenron visibly froze, clearly not expecting Barros to name it so readily. He hurriedly replied, "Ah! That's right! But that was Planet Namek in ancient times. It has since fallen to planetary-class. It's not even as good as the Divine Martial Battle Star, where Your Majesty resides!"
"Is that so?" A sharp glint flashed in Barros's eyes. He watched the sweat beading on Shenron's forehead and said coolly, "Go on. Are there any classes of planets above stellar-class?"
Shenron paused, then quickly answered, "Above stellar-class are the 'forbidden-class' life planets, of which there are only a handful in the universe!"
"Wait!" Barros's brows drew together as he cut in coldly. "What is a forbidden-class life planet?"
"Mm..." Shenron fell silent for a long while. Then two red beams suddenly flared in his eyes, and he slowly spoke. "Forbidden planets have an even more ancient name—the divine planets!"
"Divine planets?" Barros furrowed his brow and considered this, his tone uncertain. "Do you mean the planets where the four Supreme Kais and the Grand Kai reside, or..."
His gaze suddenly sharpened, stabbing into Shenron's eyes like a blade. "Or do you mean the homeworld of the four Supreme Kais, the Supreme Kai Planet, or even the entire Sacred World of the Kai?"
In an instant, cold sweat covered Shenron's forehead, soaking through the back of his clothes.
Only a handful in the universe knew of the four Supreme Kais, and fewer still knew that the Grand Kai existed.
As for the Supreme Kai—if Shenron hadn't been born as the one and only wish-granting dragon in this universe, he might never even have heard of them. So there was a higher existence above the Grand Kai!
And the Grand Supreme Kai...
Shenron knew only scraps about beings of that level, and even those were as hazy as flowers seen through mist.
Yet the Saiyan emperor before him seemed to know all these secrets inside and out!
It was worth remembering that the four Supreme Kais had all perished in a cataclysm thousands of years ago, with only one barely clinging to life; the Grand Supreme Kai had also vanished completely in that same disaster.
If Barros hadn't made a wish today, Shenron might never have pieced together such a complete account—
That single question was enough to shatter the foundations of countless powerful beings' understanding!
Shenron stood stunned for a long while before wiping the burning sweat from his brow. His voice tightened as he replied, "Your Majesty is correct. Forbidden planets are divine planets, and the four Supreme Kai Planets and the Grand Kai's Planet are indeed among them. As for the Supreme Kai Planet... it lies beyond anything this little dragon can perceive."
That was where the Supreme Kais were born. With the power of a dragon created by Earth's Kami, Shenron couldn't reach it at all!
Much less the Grand Supreme Kai's Planet, or the Sacred World of the Kai, which stood above everything!
Barros shook his head lightly and said nothing more. The Earth dragon of this era was worlds apart from the dragon who had been revived after his death. The dragon later remade by Kami Dende would be in a league of its own.
After a brief pause, he said indifferently, "Never mind. Forbidden planets or divine planets, I have no interest in them for now. Just tell me this: how can one distinguish an ordinary planet from a stellar-class planet or a life planet?"
"Ah! Yes!" Shenron hurriedly replied. "A planet's class depends on both its size and the strength of those who guard it. The higher the class, the more powerful its warriors.
"An ordinary stellar-class life planet must be guarded by a galactic-class warrior with a battle power exceeding ten million. A planetary-class world must at least have a system-class warrior with a battle power of one million. With only a few exceptions, this is the rule for every planet within reasonable reach of the universe's center!"
"I see." Barros nodded. No wonder the planetary-class Divine Martial Battle Star, though a little stronger than Planet Vegeta had been back then, had only just managed to meet the threshold for a planetary-class world.
And Planet Namek—if it hadn't undergone that upheaval, there would probably have been more than one or two Super Namekians by now, right?
As soon as the thought crossed his mind, Shenron quietly raised his head, twisted his body, and shot into the sky. "Your wish has been granted. Farewell!"
The seven Dragon Balls soared after him, circling rapidly along his path before suddenly turning into seven golden streaks that shot off in every direction.
The dark clouds gradually dispersed, and daylight returned.
Barros still stood with his hands behind his back, lost in thought, when a roar that split the sky, mixed with a heart-rending scream, abruptly dragged him back to reality.
He turned to look and saw Goku go berserk again beneath the full moon that had reappeared in the night sky, transforming into a colossal Great Ape!
Barros sighed helplessly but made no move to erase the moon Kami had restored with his wish.
He had nothing else to do right now. Playing with this Great Ape might be entertaining.
The thought flickered through his mind, and the corners of his mouth curled slightly.
"Roar—!!" The instant the Great Ape finished transforming, Goku threw his head back and howled, the force of the sound sending rubble bouncing across the ground.
Yamcha, Bulma, Oolong, and Puar turned and ran, scrambling in panic.
They had gone through hell to gather the Dragon Balls, only for someone else to snatch the prize. And now they were being chased by their own friend—no, by a rampaging beast trying to bite them!
Bulma ran, tears streaming down her face.
Could someone please tell her how Goku had turned into this world-destroying monster?!
Before she could finish the thought, the Great Ape's gaze locked onto her frail figure.
Two fingers as thick as pillars curled with surprising dexterity and pinched the back of her collar.
Bulma felt her feet leave the ground as she ran. Horrified, she looked back—
"Ah—ah—!!"
When she saw herself dangling in front of the Great Ape's foul, gaping maw, she nearly fainted. Her scream tore through the night.
"Bulma—!!" Yamcha and the others cried, their faces changing dramatically.
Having just watched the whole chase, Barros flashed over in an instant and snatched Bulma from between the Great Ape's fingers.
He was so fast that even the Great Ape didn't have time to blink—
Its fingertips were empty. Bulma was gone.
The next moment, it looked closely and saw two tiny figures standing firmly on the tip of its nose!
The Great Ape had meant to swallow the familiar-looking little bug in one bite, but its prey had vanished into thin air. Then, in the blink of an eye, she was back, with a man beside her—and, to make matters worse, he was standing brazenly on its nose without budging!
"Roar!!!" Enraged, it swung its palm down, determined to crush the pair of "ants."
Barros only gave a derisive laugh and swayed aside. The Great Ape's palm swept past him, raising a fierce gust of wind.
The Great Ape drew back its hand in bewilderment. When it looked again, the two were still on its nose, Barros holding Bulma in his arms as calmly as if strolling through a garden.
"Roar!!!" It flew into a rage and brought both palms together like giant pincers, trying to crush them in one grab.
But to Barros, its speed was little more than slow motion.
After missing once more, the Great Ape watched as Barros landed steadily on its nose for a third time—
It seemed to have suddenly wised up. It raised its right hand and slammed it down hard on the bridge of its own nose!
"Raaaagh—!!!"
Its palm crushed the bridge of its nose. Even a Saiyan Great Ape couldn't withstand that searing pain, and it let out a shriek that shook the mountains.
Perhaps he'd had enough of the game. Barros flickered out of sight and appeared in the night sky, hundreds of meters in front of the Great Ape.
Only then did Bulma stagger back from the brink of death.
"Ah... Th-thank you... You're... you're so handsome!!"
She had just begun to thank him when she looked up and met Barros's gaze. His eyes were calm and deep as a starry sea, his brows sharp as swords, his features as striking as if carved by a blade. His entire presence radiated an imposing air that kept others at a distance. In an instant, her heart raced, her cheeks burned, and her eyes stayed fixed on his face.
Rescuing a beauty might be an old cliché, but it was always the easiest way to win a young woman's heart.
What's more, the Dragon Elephant Prison-Suppressing Art had given Barros near-perfect proportions: broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and a well-balanced physique. He stood like a pine and moved like the wind.
His handsome face was naturally imposing when he didn't smile, its coolness wrapped in an air of aloof pride.
And then there was the fact that he had saved her life—
Bulma, who already had a weakness for "prince-like" boys, couldn't withstand such an impact. Her heart fell for him on the spot. The faint traces of affection she'd had for Yamcha hadn't even had time to take root before they were utterly crushed!
Barros lowered his eyes to glance at Bulma in his arms, the corners of his mouth lifting in a faint smile.
His smile made Bulma's mind go "whirr" and shut down completely.
Just then, the Great Ape struggled through the pain and rolled to its feet. It spotted the two of them hovering a hundred meters away and, furious, opened its gaping maw and unleashed a thunderous roar at them!
The roar jolted Bulma from her daze. Barros's brows knit slightly, a flicker of impatience passing through his eyes.
The full moon hung high tonight. There might be no flowers swaying in the breeze, but he had a beauty in his arms—
It was the perfect time for a tender moment, only for that roar to ruin everything.
Barros didn't notice it himself, but when he furrowed his brow, a vast, imperial rage suddenly spread around him.
The Great Ape's roar caught in its throat and stopped dead.
In Barros's arms, Bulma's eyes suddenly shone brilliantly, ripples spreading through them as her love surged even more fiercely.
Barros shifted his gaze to the Great Ape. His expression remained calm, though a cold glint flashed in his eyes.
But the Great Ape didn't notice his chill. It simply roared at the sky, then opened its mouth and fired a blazing white energy wave that tore through the air straight toward Barros's face!
Bulma, lost in the warmth of his embrace, twitched her ears and instinctively turned to look—
The instant she saw it, she drew in a sharp breath and screamed, her cry piercing the night. "Ah—!!!"
Barros glanced down at her and shook his head helplessly. The energy wave couldn't even touch his clothes, but her scream made his eardrums quiver.
He reached out and caught the raging mass of energy in his five fingers. Without even sparing it a glance, he closed his hand—there was a dull "pop," and the energy wave burst into a dazzling shower of white light!
"Gulp..."
Beside the ruins, Yamcha, Oolong, and Puar swallowed in unison, their hearts pounding. "That's insane!!"
They had seen the Great Ape's strength with their own eyes—
That earlier energy wave had sent the entire Pilaf Castle flying!
Yet in that young man's hand, an attack strong enough to rival a missile was crushed like a ball of cotton. It vanished without a sound, without even making a ripple.
Before you continue