Today, the mystery was finally solved.
With Barros's approval, Broly focused his mind and gathered his energy, attempting to call forth the ordinary Super Saiyan form!
Crackle! Crackle! Crackle!
Golden flames surged up and wrapped around him. His black hair turned golden strand by strand, whipping in the wind. A chilling glint flashed in his eyes; his emerald-green pupils were as cold as ice blades, devoid of warmth.
Ordinary Super Saiyan—achieved!
Barros's gaze darkened slightly. Then he called softly, "Broly."
Broly furrowed his brow, pain showing on his face. Gritting his teeth, he managed to reply, "E-Emperor!"
A moment later, Barros watched the golden flames flickering around him and nodded. "You're still conscious. It seems that as long as you don't enter the legendary form or fight to the death, you can maintain the ordinary form and hold on to a sliver of clarity."
There was one thing he left unsaid—
Goku was the fuse.
Even though Broly could now barely maintain the ordinary form, the moment he sensed Goku's energy, the resonance between their bloodlines would make him lose control and plunge straight into the legendary abyss.
After waiting a little longer and confirming that Broly's mind remained clear, Barros nodded, signaling for him to end the transformation.
The next instant, the two vanished into thin air. When they reappeared, they were standing beneath the heavens of Divine Martial Battle Star.
After they left, the nameless planet fell silent once more.
Barros had no idea that, besides the Four Supreme Kais and Grand Kai watching from the shadows, a pair of fathomless eyes far across the universe was coldly observing every frame of light and shadow as he transformed...
The commotion over Barros and Broly's Super Saiyan transformations had finally subsided.
But the Four Supreme Kais all left King Kai's Planet and rushed to Grand Kai's Planet.
A Super Saiyan who could shatter a galaxy with one punch was one thing. But who could have guessed that, in the blink of an eye, the universe's most savage and violent Super Saiyan would appear as well?!
Barros had casually struck Broly, sending him flying and spitting blood. He had forcibly shattered Broly's legendary form and knocked him out of the Super Saiyan state—
The Four Supreme Kais weren't the only ones whose expressions changed and hearts tightened. Even King Yemma in the Underworld and Grand Kai himself, long since fallen into Hell, were shaken.
The Four Supreme Kais and King Yemma had perhaps only heard of the true might of the Legendary Super Saiyan.
But Grand Kai had experienced it firsthand.
In ancient times, he had personally led an assault against a Legendary Super Saiyan. He had been gravely wounded and brought to the brink of death in that battle, nearly having his soul scattered and perishing forever at his opponent's hands.
That was why the terror of the legendary form was etched into his bones, never to be forgotten.
And that was also why, more than anyone else, he understood—
Just how terrifying this unprecedented Barros before them was.
Without tricks or outside help, he had used nothing but overwhelming strength to crush a Legendary Super Saiyan and force him down two levels of transformation!
In all the universe's long history, searching through every memory and experience Grand Kai possessed, Barros was the first—and only—being ever to accomplish such a feat!
His dominance, ferocity, and unfathomable power were plain to see.
Hell!
Beneath the Underworld lay the Ninefold Nether Realm.
It was a place of perpetual darkness, never touched by daylight—filthy, sinister, and utterly silent. There was no day or night, no life, no way in or out, not even... a "present moment."
Since the dawn of creation, the Underworld had judged the good and evil of all living beings.
Those who had done good and accumulated virtue ascended to Heaven, where they lived in peace, free of worry and suffering.
Those whose crimes were too great were cast into Hell for eternity. They could never be reborn or reincarnated; they could only wait for endless time to grind their souls to dust, inch by inch, until nothing remained.
Then there were those whose martial prowess and merit were extraordinary. After death, their souls remained intact and their bodies did not decay. They ascended to the Four Supreme Kais' planets, Grand Kai's Planet, or even the Underworld to cultivate.
These rules had endured for tens of millions of years, unchanged.
And today, someone who should never have set foot in Hell—or rather, a god—had truly arrived.
For tens of millions of years, Hell had certainly been a prison for the wicked,
but because there was no reincarnation and no release, countless desperate, powerful beings had quietly gathered there.
The mightiest among them were no weaker than Majin Buu in his prime. Even the lesser ones could sweep aside the top powers at the galactic level.
Now Grand Kai, the one who wielded authority over the universe, had personally entered this forbidden land.
The moment he stepped into the boundless Hell, his expression turned as cold as iron.
He had known Hell concealed countless powerful beings, but he had never imagined that, just after entering its outermost region, he would sense more than a dozen auras on par with galactic-level powerhouses!
The area beneath his feet was practically at the edge of Hell—
In this abyss, where the law of the jungle was even more brutally naked than in the Demon Realm,
were more than a dozen galactic-level beings really entrenched even on its outskirts?
Even with all his experience, he couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart:
How many peerless experts were lurking in the depths of Hell?
And just how powerful was the emperor enthroned at its very center?!
He drew a deep breath, suppressing his tumultuous thoughts. Then he flashed away, vanishing into the darkness.
He had come for one answer.
An answer that would determine the fate of the entire universe.
An answer inextricably tied to Barros.
Unless Shenron could provide it or Barros revealed it himself, Grand Kai had thought it over and concluded that only one place could offer a solution: Hell, where those few "people"—or those few "beings"—resided.
Super Saiyans were nothing rare over the long course of history.
Nor had he seen the legendary form, which appeared once every thousand years, only once or twice.
After all, as Grand Kai, who ruled over one part of the universe, he had a lifespan too vast to measure—
A thousand years, long enough to bury every legend among the Saiyans,
was no more than a week or even a day to him.
But even after living through unfathomable ages and witnessing countless peerless fighters,
he still couldn't forget Barros's entirely new Super Saiyan form. It lingered in his mind, impossible to shake.
He knew better than anyone how powerful Super Saiyans were and how violent the legendary form could be.
And because he knew, he was all the more eager to find out:
Just how powerful was Barros's new form?
Because there was no one in the universe now who could truly suppress him.
Barros and Divine Martial Battle Star already stood above all others as supreme powers. The likes of Frieza weren't even worthy of comparison.
What worried him even more was—
Ever since pledging allegiance to Frieza, the Saiyans had repeatedly sent their armies to slaughter innocent planets, using ruthless methods.
Grand Kai had long since given up on the Saiyan race.
He wasn't afraid Barros would covet authority over the universe,
but he feared that one day, on a whim, Barros might once again punch apart galaxies, shatter celestial orbits, and throw the foundations of the universe into chaos.
Once or twice, he could turn a blind eye;
but if it happened often, then even the Four Supreme Kais—and he himself—would have to intervene.
Having lived too long, he understood the weight of the saying "know yourself and your enemy, and you will never be defeated."
Facing Barros, who now clearly had the upper hand, he no longer felt entirely confident;
and when he considered the Saiyans' defiant growth rate and battle instincts—
he didn't dare imagine how terrifyingly powerful Barros might become if his worst fears came true!
He couldn't estimate the limits of the Saiyans' potential;
but deep in his heart, a figure quietly took shape—
a shadow that followed him everywhere, like a dream and a nightmare.
Majin Uub!!
The only fearsome demon in modern universal history to slaughter every Supreme Kai and Grand Supreme Kai.
If that day truly came—the day they had to face Barros head-on—
Grand Kai could only devise a plan if he learned everything he could about his opponent beforehand.
At least Super Saiyans, though powerful, weren't immortal like Majin Buu. They still had vulnerabilities that could be exploited.
Half a day later, Grand Kai quietly left Hell.
No one knew what he and the one he had questioned had discussed.
Barros had no way of knowing whether Grand Kai had truly obtained the answer he sought.
In his eyes, any so-called "weakness" vanished in the blink of an eye. Time surged onward, and his growth had already quietly ground those flaws away.
For instance, although Barros wasn't immortal...
Divine Martial Battle Star.
A month passed in the blink of an eye.
A month ago, Barros had successfully broken through into the Super Saiyan form and returned to Divine Martial Battle Star with Broly, who could now control his legendary form. From then on, Super Saiyans were no longer a secret.
And it lived up to the Saiyans' hopes.
Though Barros didn't teach them how to transform, he had Broly transform into an ordinary Super Saiyan before all the Saiyans on the planet.
That day, every Saiyan on Divine Martial Battle Star was ablaze with excitement, their hearts pounding.
That day, every Saiyan on the planet made the same vow:
In this lifetime, they would become Super Saiyans!
They couldn't accurately gauge the limits of a Super Saiyan's battle power.
Standing before transformed Broly, all they felt was fear. They couldn't even bring themselves to think of raising their fists against him.
Perhaps their fighting spirit remained, but the moment it sparked, Broly's bone-chilling pressure snuffed it out.
To them, the appearance of a Super Saiyan was both a blazing fire and a beacon.
That was because Barros had personally told all the Saiyans on Divine Martial Battle Star: bloodline didn't matter. Even someone from the lowest-ranking Saiyan family could become a Super Saiyan—as long as they were willing to fight, willing to endure, and strong enough.
As long as they were willing to fight, willing to endure, and strong enough, anyone could become a Super Saiyan.
Those words rang in every Saiyan's ears and echoed in their hearts, again and again.
Barros looked out at their blazing eyes, each one brimming with fighting spirit, and gave a slight, satisfied nod.
Divine Martial Battle Star was far beyond Planet Vegeta.
The two differed by an enormous margin in their foundations and strength.
If he had been on Planet Vegeta, Barros would never have made such a declaration.
For the Saiyans there, whose strongest warriors had barely over ten thousand in battle power, the words "Super Saiyan" were no different from a myth.
But this was Divine Martial Battle Star.
Here, a million in battle power wasn't beyond reach;
here, Saiyans who specialized in combat started with battle power exceeding fifty thousand.
To them, a Super Saiyan wasn't a legend, but a goal within reach.
It might take decades or even a century of hard training, but as long as they kept going and never let up, they would reach it in their lifetime.
That was why Barros dared—and wanted—to say it;
and why, back on Planet Vegeta, he had boldly intervened, fought Frieza in a bloody battle, saved all the Saiyans, and brought them under his command.
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