Beerus followed Vegeta's look and found Goku sitting a short distance away.
The Saiyan looked familiar. Not clearly, not enough for Beerus to place him at once, but there was something about him that matched the figure from his dream. The Super Saiyan God he had seen there had carried the same kind of presence.
Beerus glanced back at Vegeta. "So that one is a Saiyan too? Is he the Super Saiyan God?"
Vegeta's mood soured the moment Goku became the center of the conversation. Anything involving Kakarot always scraped against his pride, and Beerus walking past him to ask about that idiot only made it worse.
"What do you want with the Super Saiyan God?" Vegeta asked.
Beerus gave him a cold look. "That's none of your business. You're not important enough to ask me questions."
Then he turned and walked away.
Vegeta's whole body trembled. For a moment, rage climbed up his spine so fast he almost stopped caring who Beerus was. Then Ken's warning cut through it. This was Bulma's birthday party. No fighting. No causing trouble.
And if he ignored that, the consequences would not be something he wanted to test.
Vegeta forced himself to swallow it down.
Fine.
He would see what Beerus wanted with Kakarot first.
Beerus returned to Goku's table, helped himself to a chicken wing, and took one bite before he even finished speaking. "You. Are you the Super Saiyan God?"
The question should have been the important part. The chicken wing stole some of that importance immediately.
Beerus looked down at it.
What was this?
Why was it so good?
Goku nodded. "Yeah, I can turn into that." Then he noticed Beerus's attention had gone to the wing and grinned. "That one's good, right? I like those too. The… uh… something wings."
Beerus took another bite, chewed with clear approval, and for a few seconds looked as if the Super Saiyan God could wait its turn. Goku, however, was already leaning forward with bright eyes.
"Beerus-sama, I heard you're the strongest God of Destruction."
Beerus liked the sound of that. "You know more than I expected."
"I want to spar with you," Goku said, unable to keep the excitement out of his voice. "I want to see how strong you really are."
Beerus licked sauce from his finger and finally returned to the actual topic. "You said you can become the Super Saiyan God. So it's a transformation?"
"Yeah. That's right."
"Interesting." Beerus glanced toward the banquet tables. "Then we'll find somewhere else. If we fight here and ruin the food, that would be a waste."
Goku pointed toward an open stretch of land beyond the yard. "How about over there?"
Beerus had no objection.
"Wait," Goku said suddenly. "I should ask Ken first."
Beerus paused.
Ask Ken?
Why would this Saiyan need permission from that little Angel?
Goku vanished, reappeared beside Ken, said a few quick words, then came back with a cheerful nod. "It's fine. Ken said yes."
Beerus stared at him. "Why are you asking him?"
"Oh, because Ken said today is Bulma's birthday, so we're not supposed to cause trouble or fight. If I'm going to fight you, I need to ask first."
Beerus's eyes narrowed slightly. "Is Bulma his woman?"
"Pretty much," Goku said without thinking too hard about it.
Beerus understood at once. "So he counts as half the host."
Goku blinked, missed whatever social meaning Beerus had found, and decided not to bother with it.
Beerus, meanwhile, glanced toward Ken with quiet contempt.
A god chasing after a mortal woman.
Shameless little Angel.
"Then come on," Goku said, already eager. "We'll fight over there."
"Yes, yes. Away from the food," Beerus said, finishing the last of the chicken wing before floating after him.
Goku leapt lightly into the open area. Beerus drifted down across from him, still cleaning the sauce from his fingers.
The guests turned to watch. It was obvious what was about to happen.
Vegeta's mood improved at once.
Kakarot was about to get beaten.
That fool actually dared challenge Beerus-sama.
Good. Let him learn.
Beerus stood with one hand behind his back and the other raised lazily. "Come at me with your strongest power."
Goku braced himself, then paused when Beerus lifted a finger.
"One thing first."
"What?"
"Was Frieza defeated by you?"
"You could say that," Goku said.
Beerus looked him over in his relaxed base form, then appeared beside him in a blur and pinched his arm as if checking whether the body was real. "You don't look strong enough to beat Frieza."
"That's because I haven't powered up yet." Goku laughed.
"Then power up."
At Ken's table, Merus watched the two of them face off and frowned. "Are you really letting Goku challenge Beerus-sama? He can't win."
"That's why it's useful," Ken said. "A fight he can't win is still experience."
Merus accepted that, though he still looked uneasy. "Why not have Bardock challenge him first?"
"One at a time."
Merus stopped asking.
He had seen Goku's true strength during the fight with Majin Buu, and he knew exactly where Goku stood now. After all these years, Goku's strongest state was still Ultra Instinct Sign. He had not truly reached complete Ultra Instinct.
That was why Merus had been willing to arrange Goku's future fight with Jiren. At Jiren's current level, he could defeat this version of Goku.
"Goku's training in that future timeline was not as strong as I expected," Merus said.
"He probably spent more time learning Supreme Kai techniques," Ken said.
"Maybe. But true Ultra Instinct is difficult for mortals in the first place," Merus replied. "Only a true Angel can understand it properly."
Ken smiled and let him have that one.
Across the field, Goku's aura ignited gold.
The ground trembled lightly as he became a Super Saiyan, the familiar blond hair and sharp green eyes settling into place.
Beerus watched with mild interest. "Not bad. Your energy jumped about fifty times. So that's the golden transformation."
"This is Super Saiyan," Goku said. "I ate a bit too much, so I'll start from the basics. Hope that's okay, Beerus-sama."
Beerus beckoned with one finger. "Show me."
Goku shot forward in a flash of gold. Just before reaching Beerus, he slipped behind him and chopped at the back of his neck.
Beerus tilted his head and let the strike pass by.
Goku grinned instead of getting discouraged.
He sped up, launching punches and kicks from every angle. Beerus kept both hands behind his back and drifted through the attacks with almost lazy precision. No matter how quickly Goku moved, he could not even brush Beerus's clothes.
After a while, Goku jumped back with a laugh. "You're amazing, Beerus-sama."
"This form is enough to defeat Frieza," Beerus said, unimpressed. "Against me, it's nothing. Use something stronger."
"Right." Goku's aura thickened, and arcs of lightning snapped around him. "Then here's Super Saiyan Two."
Beerus watched the power rise again. "Another doubling. That makes it about a hundred times your black-haired state."
"You can tell that easily? Beerus-sama really is something." Goku rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry, I'm kind of slow to warm up. And I really did eat too much, so I have to take this step by step."
Beerus did not care enough to argue. He only motioned him forward again.
Goku came in faster this time, lightning cracking around his body as he pressed the attack. Beerus still refused to meet him head-on. He simply moved, always just outside the path of Goku's fist, foot, elbow, or knee.
Vegeta watched from the side, irritation building with every wasted second.
Kakarot, you idiot. Just become Super Saiyan God already.
Why drag this out like a webnovelist padding a chapter?
Buu, meanwhile, leaned toward Bardock. "That boy is your son, right? He looks just like you."
"He is," Bardock said.
"I went easy on him during the last fight," Buu said proudly. "I didn't hit him too hard."
"Thanks."
"You had another son too, right? Champa locked him up."
"I haven't had time to save him yet. Once this side is settled, I'll go get him."
Buu watched Goku trade more useless attacks with Beerus and grinned. "Your son is going to lose. I can't beat Beerus. You probably can't either."
"It's only a spar," Bardock said calmly. "For Kakarot, this is valuable."
Beerus finally sighed and stepped out of Goku's range. "Enough. Next transformation."
"Sure." Goku's expression grew serious. "This one is something I developed recently. I needed it so the name Super Saiyan 4 would make more sense."
Beerus stared at him.
Vegeta's face darkened.
Goku threw his head back and shouted. A pillar of golden ki shot upward, and his hair began to grow, sweeping down past his back. Lightning wrapped around him in thicker, sharper bursts, and his brow changed, giving his face a much harsher look.
Beerus blinked.
Goku turned toward Vegeta with a grin. "Now you get why your form is called Super Saiyan 4, right?"
Vegeta said nothing, but his expression said plenty.
"This is Super Saiyan Three," Goku said, stepping briefly in front of a nearby reflective surface and checking himself. "Yeah, it does look a lot like Super Saiyan God Three. Just gold instead of red."
"Four hundred times your base form," Beerus said.
Goku smiled. "You're really good at math, Beerus-sama. I can never keep track."
"Stop flattering me and attack."
"Actually, wait." Goku raised a hand.
Beerus narrowed his eyes.
"I just wanted to show this one off," Goku admitted. "I know it's still nowhere near you."
Beerus stared at him for a moment, then gave a small snort. "At least you know your limits. Hurry up and show me this Super Saiyan God."
Goku nodded. "Right. This next one is the real change."
The golden aura vanished.
A moment later, red flame-like ki rose around him. His body slimmed slightly, his hair and eyes turned crimson, and a calm divine pressure settled over the field.
Beerus's interest sharpened.
"God ki?"
For the first time, Goku's transformation matched the feeling Beerus had been chasing. It also brought back the memory of Bardock in that same divine state, brief but clear enough to connect the two.
Beerus frowned. "No. In my dream, your hair was standing up."
Goku touched his hair. "Really? I don't know why mine doesn't."
"It doesn't matter." Beerus beckoned. "Begin."
Goku launched himself forward in a streak of red light and drove his fist toward Beerus.
This time, Beerus lifted his arm.
Goku's punch struck against it, and the force burst outward from the two of them, rolling across the open ground in a heavy wave.
Beerus held the blow without moving, but his eyes showed real approval.
"Not bad," he said. "That is strong God ki."
Goku grinned from behind his fist. "Glad you think so."
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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