Zamasu was a man of deep cunning, lacking in nothing — martial power, intellect, or experience. He gave the Majin's words two-tenths of his belief, at most.
Still, he could see she had potential use while he prosecuted his campaign against the Demon Realm. He said immediately, "I have my own mission to attend to. If you're willing to wait..."
The Majin smiled her most shameless smile. "But of course. I can wait as long as necessary. And if there's anything you need done, please don't hesitate to ask."
Zamasu was quite satisfied with that answer and proceeded to outline his mission.
The war between the Tenth Universe and the Demon Realm had ground both sides down to the bone. Zamasu didn't care about any of that — he simply wanted to storm the Demon Realm. How many mortals died in the process was no concern of his.
The problem was that the Tenth Universe had run desperately short of manpower. A Supreme Kai couldn't conjure soldiers out of thin air. He needed troops — large numbers of them.
Old Kai Gowasu had tacitly allowed him to go out recruiting — or rather, swindling. I can't talk you out of anything, so if you're set on this idea, go find your own people. Just make sure the ones who die in battle aren't from the Tenth Universe.
Zamasu had come away empty-handed in the Seventh Universe. Son Goku was impervious to persuasion, and the warriors on the remaining planets were so hopelessly weak that even using them as cannon fodder felt like a waste of rations. So he had set his sights on the Sixth Universe.
He'd heard that Frost of the Sixth Universe was supposedly a man of justice. He intended to make contact — if he could talk that one onto his chariot, it would be a tremendous windfall.
"The Sixth Universe?" The Majin rifled through the memories of the West and South Supreme Kais and quickly grasped the architecture of the multiverses.
The world is this vast?! I absolutely have to go see it for myself! And besides, she was genuinely terrified of Vegetto right now. Getting out to the Sixth Universe for a while was nothing but good news.
Let's go — together, to find this Frost!
Zamasu has too strong a personality. Even if I absorbed him, he'd be hard to 'digest.' But this Frost... he should be absorbable, right?
The Majin and Zamasu departed together, leaving the Seventh Universe behind.
Cross-universe teleportation was extraordinarily difficult. Ino had only mastered the specific spatial coordinates after being guided through the process once by Whis. Zamasu, as an Apprentice Supreme Kai, hadn't originally known the technique either — his teacher had taught him specifically so he could recruit more warriors and reduce Tenth Universe casualties.
...
The matter of the Majin was not entirely resolved, but it had at least reached a stopping point.
The World Martial Arts Tournament Preparatory Committee had tried to paper over the incident by blaming a gas line explosion, but the civilians who had been revived by the Dragon Balls weren't having any of it. Several shareholders were left without so much as their underwear after the settlements, and when the next tournament would be held — heaven only knew.
Son Goku hadn't used a true Spirit Bomb — the kind the enemy has no choice but to take head-on, like catching a blade bare-handed — but in the broad sense, Majin Buu had indeed been eliminated.
The Earth warriors consulted Shenron and received word that while the Majin still lived, her power had been greatly diminished. Vegetto had frightened her badly enough that she had fled far from the Seventh Universe.
Son Goku and Vegeta cracked their knuckles with anticipation. Fusion didn't count. Next time, they would defeat Majin Buu through their own strength alone.
The Grand Supreme Kai returned to the Sacred World of the Kai alongside Shin. This one was quite the glutton himself — the grilled meat Ino had specially brought over from Konoha vanished plate by plate in the blink of an eye.
Because the Old Kai from fifteen generations ago was a close friend of the current Supreme Kai of Time, Kuronoa, Ino had been deliberately obstructing his seal from breaking. Now, delivering the Grand Supreme Kai to Shin as a companion — well, even a lecherous old fossil beat nothing at all, didn't it?
The Grand Supreme Kai paid a special visit to Grand Zeno's palace to recount his ordeal of recent years — a sort of official debriefing.
Grand Zeno, however, had long since forgotten who this chubby fellow even was. Fortunately, the Grand Minister still remembered him.
The Grand Supreme Kai expressed that his power was insufficient and that he now wished only to devote himself wholeheartedly to supporting Shin. The Grand Minister affirmed this, noting that stability was paramount above all else. Shin's performance had been neither outstanding nor poor, and with the Grand Supreme Kai's assistance, the Seventh Universe's future was still worth looking forward to.
...
Ino presented Dabura's severed head to the Tenth Universe as the Seventh Universe's collective contribution to the war effort.
You people in the Tenth Universe keep saying we're stirring up trouble from the back lines without actually doing anything useful. Well — look at this. This is the Demon Realm King's head. Surely that speaks for itself?
Ino had a nagging curiosity about the "master" Towa had mentioned, but she didn't let it weigh on her too much. There were so many great powers out there — did they really need her to worry about all of them?
A Supreme Kai of Time who paid no attention to external affairs and kept her eyes fixed solely on her own little patch of ground — that was an excellent Supreme Kai of Time.
A doctor cannot heal herself; a fortune-teller cannot read her own fate. Their role as Supreme Kai of Time was the same. Every moment, she had to keep herself at a remove from events. Only then would the futures she glimpsed be clear enough to trust.
The moment she entangled herself, the variables that could emerge were simply too numerous.
With the matters of the Demon Realm and the Majin resolved, Ino returned to the Sixth Universe to continue her studies under Vados.
...
Seventh Universe.
The Destroyer's Realm.
Lord Beerus was jolted awake by the alarm clock he had set for himself. A rapid succession of massive explosions engulfed the universe's mightiest Destroyer. When the smoke finally cleared, he raised his right hand and scratched his face, his consciousness still hovering somewhere between sleep and wakefulness.
"Keep it down... let me sleep a little longer..."
Whis pressed a handkerchief to his mouth, regarding the lingering dust clouds with mild distaste. When the haze had thinned somewhat, he looked at Beerus with exasperated resignation. "Do wake up, Lord Beerus. If you don't rouse yourself soon, the backup alarm is going to go off."
"I know, I know." Beerus, eyes still closed, waved a dismissive hand.
Whis gave a performative little cough. "You said earlier that you were only going to sleep 'a little while,' and then you slept for this many years. If you don't get up now, I'll have no choice but to perform a Wake-Up Song live, right here."
The mere thought of an Angel's singing voice sent a shudder through the Destroyer, even in his half-conscious state. It was absolutely atrocious...
"Alright, alright, I'm up — Whis, you're such a nuisance..." he muttered, and, exactly like a cat, licked his right hand.
A quarter of an hour later, Beerus — having changed into fresh pajamas — was finally seated at the dining table for his meal.
Beerus had zero interest in the cuisine of his own household, which had remained unchanged for millions of years. But today, Whis claimed to have a surprise in store for him.
Most of his mind was still adrift in that half-asleep haze. He sat there holding a fork in his right hand, idly stabbing at the air.
Whis, meanwhile, was beside him preparing the ingredients.
Beerus sat with eyes closed, his nostrils twitching. He noticed the smell seemed different from before.
After knowing each other all these years, he still had mixed feelings about Whis's cooking. Sprawled cross-legged on the sofa with grand indifference, he declared, "I am an extraordinarily discerning connoisseur of fine food. If what you've made isn't delicious, I'll just—" He stopped dead.
"—This smells incredible!"
His eyes lit up like lanterns. He stared, transfixed, at the metal cookware Whis had set before him.
"Mmmm — this is so good! You can eat these paper-thin slices of meat just by swishing them in the broth?"
"Indeed. This is hot pot. The condiments are on this side — please, take your time and enjoy."
"Ohhhh — it's wonderful!"
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