Dabura was annoyed.
This guy had flown over, asked one question, and then turned around and left without another word.
Did he have any manners at all?
"Something you need?" Jiren asked, frowning as he glanced back at Dabura.
"You've got a little bit of ability, kid, so I've decided to take you in as one of my underlings," Dabura said with a smug grin.
"An underling?" Jiren let out a cold snort and narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Do you even know who I am?" Dabura asked, jabbing a thumb at his own nose.
"No. And I don't care," Jiren said, shaking his head.
Dabura fell silent.
That one answer hit him like a knife to the chest.
What kind of response was that?
"Hmph. You're going to know," Dabura barked.
Jiren said nothing.
I don't want to know, so why are you forcing it on me?
"Fine. Go ahead," Jiren said flatly.
He had already been flying for more than ten hours. Talking to someone for a while was not the worst way to pass the time.
Besides, the thought of going back into that endless World of Void was giving him a headache already.
His sense of direction in that place was terrible.
One wrong turn and he could lose all sense of up, down, left, right, east, west, and everything in between.
Even the tracker he carried stopped working there completely.
Otherwise, he never would have ended up in Universe 7 by accident.
"Hmph. Listen carefully. I am Dabura!" Dabura said with a self-satisfied smile.
"Never heard of you," Jiren replied, shaking his head again. "Should I have?"
Dabura almost choked on the disbelief.
Looks like it's been too long since I last walked the universe. No one even remembers my name anymore.
"Have you at least heard of the Demon Realm?" Dabura asked, staring at him.
Jiren's brow tightened, and his face turned cold.
He knew the Demon Realm very well.
His master, Gicchin, had died at the hands of people from the Demon Realm.
But after a moment, Jiren remembered this was not the Demon Realm of Universe 11. It had nothing to do with the ones who killed his master.
The killing intent in his eyes gradually faded.
"Listen well. Me. Dabura. King of the Demon Realm," Dabura declared proudly.
"King of the Demon Realm?" Jiren said, giving a faint nod.
And that was it.
Dabura went stiff.
That was all?
He could at least act surprised. Give me something to feel proud about.
Instead, he just nodded?
"What's your name?" Dabura asked through clenched teeth.
"Gray Jiren," Jiren answered.
"Gray?" Dabura blinked, genuinely confused. "Why would you pick a nickname like that?"
"My skin color," Jiren said simply.
"You've got to be joking. Do you think I'm color-blind?" Dabura laughed in disbelief. "Your skin is clearly light purple."
"That may be true here," Jiren said. "But on Planet Pride, this skin tone counts as gray."
Dabura had no response to that.
The annoying part was that it somehow sounded perfectly reasonable.
"What about my skin color, then?" Dabura asked, pointing at his red face.
"Red," Jiren replied.
Dabura froze again.
"I thought you were about to call it green," he said with a snort. "So you can tell red from purple, but not purple from gray?"
"Hmph." Jiren had already lost interest in him. "I'm leaving. I have things to do."
With that, he turned and started to walk away.
Dabura was left floating in space in complete confusion.
Why are you leaving again?
This guy really doesn't take anyone seriously.
"Stop right there!" Dabura roared, firing a blast of energy from his hand.
The attack cut across the starry sky like a streak of light and came howling toward Jiren at high speed.
Jiren did not even bother turning around. He simply swung an arm behind him and batted the blast away with ease.
"Oh?" Dabura stared in surprise.
So this brat actually is strong.
Looks like I'll have to get serious if I want him to understand just how powerful the King of the Demon Realm really is.
"Kid, you've completely enraged me! Today I'll show you the true power of the King of the Demon Realm!" Dabura shouted as he lunged straight at him.
Jiren frowned.
What an idiot.
Dabura shot forward at top speed, appeared right in front of Jiren, and threw a heavy punch at his face.
Jiren turned calmly and caught the punch in one hand.
Smack!
Dabura's fist landed squarely in Jiren's palm.
At once, Dabura felt as though his punch had fallen into the ocean. All its force disappeared in an instant.
What was that?
He caught my punch with one hand?
"That's your attack?" Jiren said coldly. "That level of power, and you call yourself King of the Demon Realm?"
"You... what did you just say?" Dabura snapped. "Are you insulting me? Huh? Ah... ahhh... it hurts!"
He did not get to finish.
Jiren twisted the arm he was holding, hard.
In an instant, Dabura felt as though his entire arm had been twisted into a rope. The pain made him howl on the spot.
"You bastard! You should never have provoked me! I'll show you what real power looks like!" Dabura roared.
Gritting through the pain, he suddenly spat at Jiren.
Jiren frowned even harder.
What are you, a child?
You can't win, so now you're spitting at me?
But in the next instant, Jiren realized something was wrong.
That spit was dangerous.
Smack!
Dabura's spit landed on Jiren's clothes.
A smug grin spread across Dabura's face.
Got you.
Think you can mess with me?
You're petrified now, aren't you?
In a second, I'll smash you to pieces and see if you're still acting tough.
But what happened next left him staring in disbelief.
A flash of light flickered across Jiren's body, and Dabura's spit was neutralized on the spot.
"How is that possible? Why didn't my petrification work?" Dabura blurted out.
"Petrification?" Jiren snorted. "I've been through more battles than you can imagine. Did you really think a cheap trick like that would work on me?"
"Who... who exactly are you?" Dabura asked, finally unnerved.
Bang!
Jiren did not answer. He simply drove a brutal kick into Dabura's body.
"Aaaargh!"
Dabura let out a miserable scream and blacked out on the spot.
Jiren raised a hand from a distance, aimed it at Dabura's unconscious body, and said coldly, "People of the Demon Realm... your kind killed my master. If I killed you here, you'd have no right to complain."
Just as he was about to act, however, he suddenly sensed a powerful energy racing toward him from the direction of the World of Void.
Jiren's eyes shifted, and he looked that way. A moment later, he made out the figure clearly.
"Buu?" Jiren said at once, recognizing him.
The one flying in from the World of Void was Majin Buu.
Jiren slowly lowered his hand and gave up any intention of killing Dabura.
He had hesitated earlier anyway. This man was not from Universe 11's Demon Realm.
Killing him over that would be forcing the issue.
And this was not Universe 11. As an outsider, casually killing someone here without the consent of the gods would not be appropriate.
Besides, Buu was here now.
If Buu had not shown up, Jiren could have killed Dabura and no one would have known.
Better to leave it alone.
"Oh? You're that Jiren guy?" Buu asked, squinting at him.
Jiren nodded.
"What are you doing here?" Buu asked.
"Is this Universe 7?" Jiren asked instead of answering.
Buu nodded.
"I was trying to return to Universe 11, but I went the wrong way and ended up in Universe 7 by mistake," Jiren said honestly.
"Who's that?" Buu asked, pointing at the unconscious Dabura.
"He called himself the King of the Demon Realm. He challenged me, so I knocked him out with one kick," Jiren said with a faint smile.
Buu looked over at Dabura and smacked his lips, clearly tempted to turn him into chocolate and eat him.
But Ken had told him not to turn people into chocolate for the time being.
If he wanted chocolate instead...
Buu quickly fished out a chocolate bar from his body, unwrapped it, stuffed it into his mouth, then looked back at Jiren.
He hesitated for a second.
"Want one?" Buu asked, holding out another chocolate bar.
"Thanks..." Jiren said, hesitating as he reached for it.
It did look pretty good.
"Wait." Buu immediately stuffed the chocolate down the front of his pants, rubbed it around in there, then took it back out. "It wasn't clean before. Now it's fine."
Jiren nearly cursed out loud.
It wasn't clean before?
Now it definitely wasn't clean.
"No thanks," Jiren said, shaking his head.
"Hehe, I knew you wouldn't want it. I was only offering to be polite," Buu said with a grin.
Jiren went silent.
"I'm leaving," he said at last. He truly had no interest in dealing with Buu any longer.
Zeno-sama really should keep riding you around as a mount.
You deserve it.
Muttering inwardly, Jiren sped up and flew off toward the edge of the universe.
Before long, he reentered the World of Void.
Buu made a face at him, then shot off toward the Supreme Kai World.
...
Universe 7, Bibidi Planet.
After three long years of travel, Babidi finally returned to his homeland with the new underlings he had gathered.
His father's castle looked ancient now, worn down by time and filled with a damp, stale smell.
Babidi entered the castle and ordered his men to clean the whole place thoroughly.
While cleaning the study, Pui Pui found a diary and respectfully presented it to Babidi with both hands.
Babidi opened it and began to read carefully.
It was his father's diary.
Inside were records of things his father had done throughout his life.
Before long, Babidi came across something that thrilled him.
"Father discovered a strange lifeform in outer space and transformed it into Majin Buu?" Babidi muttered, lost in thought. "This Majin Buu possessed overwhelming power... and Father was actually killed by someone called a Supreme Kai?"
So Majin Buu was something Father created?
According to the diary, Majin Buu was incredibly powerful. Even the Supreme Kais feared him, and he destroyed countless planets.
In the end, Father himself could no longer control him.
So he sealed Majin Buu away and took the seal to a planet called Earth.
And then the Supreme Kai took advantage of that chance to kill Father.
Supreme Kai!
I'm not letting that go!
You killed my father, and I'm going to settle that debt.
I need to find Majin Buu's seal and wake him up.
Then I'll control him myself.
Once that happens, I'll become the ruler of the universe.
This is perfect.
Still, before I do that, I need a few capable subordinates.
I should find some strong ones first. At the very least, they'll be able to deal with the Supreme Kai.
"Lord Babidi, one of the satellites we just took control of picked up a person out in space."
One of his men stepped forward to report.
"A person in outer space? What person?" Babidi asked, slightly taken aback.
The subordinate immediately walked over with a tablet and respectfully showed him the image on the screen.
Babidi looked closely and saw Dabura floating unconscious in space.
"He looks strong," Babidi said, his eyes lighting up. "He might make a very useful subordinate."
"Lord Babidi... he can't be that impressive, can he?" Pui Pui said with a laugh. "He's already passed out."
"Kneel," Babidi said, shooting him a sidelong glance.
Because Pui Pui was already under Babidi's control, he dropped to his knees at once and began licking Babidi's shoe frantically.
"Hmph. What do you know?" Babidi scoffed. "Passed out? He's obviously sleeping."
Pui Pui fell silent.
Sleeping?
That really looks more like unconsciousness to me.
He was completely speechless.
"Look at that heroic sleeping posture. You can tell at a glance he's strong," Babidi said with a grin. "And he looks evil too. If I can control someone like that, I'll have an incredible subordinate on my hands."
Babidi was so excited he immediately took out his magic orb.
He set it on the table, held both hands out toward it, and began chanting.
"Abracadabra!"
Flash!
The orb lit up, and Dabura's figure appeared inside it.
Babidi studied him for a while and only grew more satisfied the longer he looked.
"Yes, excellent. He really does seem extraordinary," Babidi said. "Wake up, my little subordinate."
As he spoke, he cast a spell from afar, directing it at Dabura.
Dabura shuddered, his mind stirred, and he opened his eyes, waking from his faint.
"Good. I can sense your evil and your obsession. From now on, you'll serve me, and I'll help you achieve whatever it is you desire," Babidi said, using a spell very similar to hypnosis.
"Who... who's controlling me? Do you even know who I am?" Dabura snapped the instant he realized what was happening.
I am the King of the Demon Realm. How could I ever let someone control me?
Ten seconds later...
"Lord Babidi, I kneel before you!" Dabura said, dropping to his knees in space and bowing humbly.
"Very good. What's your name?" Babidi asked with satisfaction. "Where did you come from, and where are you going?"
"Lord Babidi, I am Dabura," he answered respectfully. "I come from the Demon Realm. I am its king, and I came to this world to recruit some underlings to take back with me."
"King of the Demon Realm?" Babidi's mouth twitched.
What the hell...
I somehow ended up controlling someone this outrageous?
Could he turn on me later?
I'd better be careful.
Pui Pui, meanwhile, had gone pale with fright.
Lord Babidi is incredible.
He actually controlled the King of the Demon Realm.
"Come here first," Babidi said after thinking it over.
"Yes, Lord Babidi," Dabura replied.
About ten minutes later, Dabura arrived from deep space at Babidi's palace and obediently knelt before him, bowing his head.
"Wonderful, wonderful, Dabura!" Babidi cried, dancing with excitement. "My magic really is better than my father's! Looks like my time training in Hell was more worthwhile than I thought."
Dabura remained kneeling without the slightest resistance.
"Dabura, how strong are you? You should be pretty powerful, right?" Babidi asked eagerly.
"I am the King of the Demon Realm," Dabura said with total confidence. "No one in the Demon Realm is my match."
"That's perfect!" Babidi said, even more thrilled. Then he turned to Pui Pui. "Pui Pui, spar with this King of the Demon Realm, Dabura."
"Yes, Lord Babidi!" Pui Pui answered at once. He had already taken a dislike to Dabura and was itching for a chance to test him.
"Does Lord Pui Pui really need to move for someone like this?" another subordinate said, hurrying forward with a flattering grin. "Let me handle him. I'd like to see what's so impressive about the King of the Demon Realm."
"Bau, you can go first if you want," Babidi said. He did not object.
This was only a test of Dabura's strength. It made no difference who did it.
Dabura looked at the subordinate called Bau with open disdain.
"King of the Demon Realm, take my iron fist!" Bau roared as he rushed in and threw a fierce punch.
Bang!
His fist slammed straight into Dabura's chest.
Dabura did not dodge.
There was no need.
He had no reason to avoid an attack that weak.
Bau's fist landed, and he immediately smiled smugly.
This guy's got some endurance. I punched him right in the chest, and he's still acting like nothing happened.
"That must hurt," Bau sneered. "Go on, scream. There's nothing shameful about it."
"Hmph. With strength like that, you're not even fit to carry my shoes," Dabura said with a mocking smile as he raised a hand toward him.
Boom!
A blast of energy engulfed Bau's body.
In an instant, Bau was reduced to dust. He died so thoroughly there was not even a corpse left.
Babidi froze, then erupted with delight.
Dabura was this strong?
Excellent!
Pui Pui's soul practically left his body.
Thank goodness that idiot Bau had volunteered to challenge Dabura. He got himself killed so completely that only ashes remained.
Pui Pui's attitude flipped instantly, and he dropped to his knees in front of Dabura.
"Very good, Dabura. You really are a capable right-hand man," Babidi said excitedly. Then he asked curiously, "Do you happen to know anyone suitable in the Demon Realm?"
"As a matter of fact, I do. A demon beast named Yakon," Dabura said after a moment's thought. "Would you like me to bring him here?"
"How strong is he?" Babidi asked.
"You mean him?" Dabura said, pointing at Pui Pui.
Babidi nodded.
Pui Pui blinked.
"Against someone at that level, he could probably handle thirty without much trouble," Dabura said with a smile.
Pui Pui felt his whole mindset collapse.
Could you stop using me as a unit of measurement?
"Excellent!" Babidi shouted. "Then I order you to return to the Demon Realm at once and bring Yakon back."
"Yes, Lord Babidi," Dabura said respectfully.
"Go," Babidi ordered.
"Understood. I'll leave immediately," Dabura said with a nod.
"Wait," Babidi said just as he was about to go. "How long will it take you to get back?"
"About three to five years," Dabura replied.
Babidi stared at him.
"That long?"
"The Demon Realm is quite far from here. At my speed, that's roughly how long the return trip will take," Dabura explained.
"Fine. Go, and come back as soon as you can," Babidi said after thinking it over. Those few years would give him time to recruit some technologically gifted subordinates too.
After all, at the speed of his current spaceship, reaching Earth would take decades.
That was far too long.
"But putting that aside, Dabura," Babidi said with a smile, "the way you were sleeping in space earlier looked extremely cool."
Dabura fell silent.
"Lord Babidi... I wasn't sleeping. I was unconscious," he said awkwardly.
"What... what did you say?" Babidi asked, stunned. "You were unconscious?"
"Yes."
"Who knocked you out?" Babidi asked in surprise.
"A man named Jiren!" Dabura said, clenching both fists so hard his entire body shook. His teeth ground together with hatred. "I will never forgive him!"
"Jiren? What does he do?" Babidi asked.
"I don't know," Dabura said. "But one day I'll grind him into the dirt."
"You just got careless, right?" Babidi said, mostly to reassure himself.
"Of course," Dabura said, nodding with obvious guilt.
"Go, then. Return to the Demon Realm and bring back that demon beast, Yakon," Babidi said. "I need powerful subordinates."
"Yes, Lord Babidi!" Dabura said with another respectful bow.
Then he left Bibidi Planet and headed for the Demon Realm.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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