The wager

But what should he give him?

The Supreme Kai was stumped.

As a Supreme Kai, he had far too many things at his disposal.

"Ahem!"

Son Gohan cleared his throat, then said, "Lord Supreme Kai, to be honest, I'd like to learn Kibito's Instant Transmission."

"Uh..."

The Supreme Kai and Kibito froze, then both stared in shock.

They had never expected Son Gohan to know Kibito's name, let alone name his signature move.

He had only seen Kibito use Instant Transmission twice.

How was that possible?

Besides, they couldn't remember ever introducing Kibito by name.

That left only one possible explanation.

The Son Gohan standing before them had known about their existence all along.

The more they thought about it, the more unsettling it became.

Which of them was the real god here?

But despite his shock, the Supreme Kai quickly recovered and said, "Mr. Gohan, I'm afraid that won't be possible. It isn't that Kibito is unwilling to teach you. His Instant Transmission has restrictions. Only a Supreme Kai's attendant can learn it."

"Huh? There's a restriction like that?" Son Gohan asked in surprise.

He had coveted Kibito's ability for quite some time.

Kibito's Instant Transmission and Planet Yardrat's Instant Transmission weren't even on the same level.

Planet Yardrat's Instant Transmission required the user to lock onto a target's Ki before activating it.

Kibito's Instant Transmission had no such restriction at all.

Kibito didn't need to lock onto a target's Ki. As long as he had a destination, he could teleport there.

In other words, Kibito's Instant Transmission could take him instantly to any planet or location under the Supreme Kai's jurisdiction. It truly deserved to be called a divine ability.

But I can't learn it? That's bullshit.

Son Gohan suddenly felt as though ten trillion had slipped through his fingers in a single instant.

Ah, what a shame. What a terrible shame.

The Supreme Kai said, "Yes, that's right. This is a Divine Technique. Without God Ki Breath, you cannot use it."

Hmm?

God Ki Breath?

Son Gohan's eyes lit up, and he asked, "Are you saying I can learn it if I have God Ki Breath?"

He did know a way to obtain God Ki Breath, though for his current self, the difficulty would be hellish.

The Supreme Kai said, "That's only one of the requirements. There are others..."

"..."

Holy shit!

Son Gohan said helplessly, "Uh, forget it, then. I suppose it just wasn't meant to be. I'll see if another opportunity comes along."

The Supreme Kai continued, "If you want to learn Instant Transmission, Mr. Gohan, I do know of a planet whose inhabitants possess that ability. It isn't as powerful as Kibito's Instant Transmission, but it's still quite good."

Son Gohan said, "You mean the technique from Planet Yardrat, right? I know about that one."

The Supreme Kai said, "I never expected you to know about Planet Yardrat, Mr. Gohan. It seems I spoke needlessly."

"Hehe, to tell you the truth, Lord Supreme Kai, my late father knew that move, so it's perfectly natural for me to know about Planet Yardrat."

Understanding dawned on the Supreme Kai. "Oh, I see. That explains it."

Then Son Gohan had the robot bring over several fresh servings of food. As he urged the Supreme Kai to eat, he continued asking questions:

"Lord Supreme Kai, what would you say is the hardest metal in the world?"

The Supreme Kai said, "The hardest metal? Hmm, that would be katchin. It should be the hardest metal in the universe."

"Oh? Could you show me some?"

"Yes, of course."

As he spoke, the Supreme Kai traced a hand through the air, and a fist-sized black cube appeared in his palm.

"Here." He handed the katchin to Son Gohan.

Son Gohan took it and discovered that the fist-sized piece of katchin weighed several hundred pounds.

Its density was absurd.

He flicked it with a finger, producing a dull clang. It certainly was hard.

He wondered whether this metal would be useful to Bulma.

"Hmm, it looks pretty good. Could you give me some more, Lord Supreme Kai? I'd like to study this metal," Son Gohan said.

"Of course. I'll give it to you later. If I brought it out now, this room probably wouldn't bear the weight and would collapse."

"All right. Thank you, Lord Supreme Kai."

"No need, no need. We're friends, after all. It's only right, and it's no trouble at all."

"Lord Supreme Kai, what about the sharpest sword in the world? Do you know what it is?"

The Supreme Kai thought for a moment before answering, "Well, the sharpest sword in this world should be the Z Sword in the sacred grounds. Don't tell me you want that divine sword too, Mr. Gohan?"

Son Gohan laughed. "Hahaha, you saw right through me! Nothing escapes your keen eyes. I'm impressed."

The Supreme Kai said, "To be honest, Mr. Gohan, even if I wanted to give you that divine sword, it would be beyond my power."

Son Gohan asked, despite already knowing the answer, "What do you mean?"

The Supreme Kai smiled wryly. "The truth is, although the sword is on the Supreme Kai Planet, it has been sealed there for over seventy million years. No one could possibly pull it out."

"How could that be? I don't believe it," Son Gohan said bluntly.

The Supreme Kai said, "Mr. Gohan, I really am not lying to you. Supreme Kais throughout the generations have tried to pull out that sealed sword, but not a single one has succeeded."

Kibito chimed in from beside him. "Yes, I can vouch for that. I've tried pulling out the Z Sword myself, but it wouldn't budge. Lord Supreme Kai has also tried, and it didn't move at all."

"So there's no way anyone could pull that sword out."

Son Gohan smiled. "Have you ever considered something?"

"C-considered what?" Kibito asked.

"You're too weak to pull out the Z Sword."

"Uh..."

The Supreme Kai said, "..."

Kibito said, "..."

Both were left speechless.

Couldn't he be a little less blunt?

They felt as though they could barely breathe.

Son Gohan declared confidently, "Well, I'm willing to help you out. I'm certain I can pull that sword out."

Kibito immediately grew agitated. "I don't believe you. That's impossible!"

And it wasn't just Kibito. The Supreme Kai didn't believe him either.

He could accept being called weak, but there had been plenty of powerful Supreme Kais throughout history, and those gods had tried pulling out the Z Sword too.

East Supreme Kai, West Supreme Kai, South Supreme Kai, North Supreme Kai.

Generation after generation.

Who knew how many Supreme Kais had tried to pull out that divine sword? Yet none had succeeded.

So it certainly had nothing to do with strength.

Son Gohan cocked his mouth into a smug, crooked grin. "How about a wager? If I can pull out the Z Sword, it's mine."

Hmm?

The Supreme Kai raised an eyebrow and replied solemnly, "And if you can't?"

"If I can't, you can do whatever you want with me," Son Gohan said firmly.

"All right. Agreed. It's a deal," the Supreme Kai said with a smile, inwardly overjoyed.

He was absolutely certain that Son Gohan couldn't possibly pull out the Z Sword.

That meant Son Gohan would have to obey him from then on.

With such a powerful fighter at his command, the mere thought was enough to give him sweet dreams.

Why the hell would I fear Majin Buu then?

Bring it on, Majin Buu!

Heh, even if Son Gohan really does pull the sword out, so what?

I'll just give it to him as a gift.

The Z Sword had been sealed in the sacred grounds for over seventy million years anyway. Having it was no different from not having it.

More importantly, he genuinely wanted to see just what sort of treasure this sword was.

Was it truly the greatest divine sword in the world?

Even now, however, the Supreme Kai and Kibito still didn't believe Son Gohan could pull out that divine sword.

One wager had left both sides delighted.