Champa opened his mouth, but after hearing Vados say that, he could only wave his hand at Gran.
"Get lost already, kid. The longer you stay here, the more irritated I get."
"Then I'm heading back."
Gran smiled.
"Lord Champa, Vados, I'll be back soon. See you later."
Taking out the Universal Transit Cube, he jumped inside.
The cube transformed into a streak of light and vanished from the God of Destruction Realm.
Only Champa and Vados remained behind.
With his hands clasped behind his back, Champa wore a rather pleased expression.
Covering her mouth, Vados chuckled.
"Lord Champa, weren't you furious just a moment ago? Why are you suddenly so happy?"
"Hmph!"
Champa snorted.
"Didn't Gran already say it himself? As long as he wants to, he can enter seclusion and break through at any time. Of course I believe him. Why would I stay angry?"
If anyone else had said such a thing, Champa wouldn't have believed a word of it.
But when Gran said it, he had no doubts whatsoever.
The reason he'd gotten angry earlier was simply because Gran had wasted such a rare opportunity.
"That's true."
Vados smiled.
"So whenever Gran comprehends martial arts, he naturally enters a state of enlightenment. What a monster."
Then she let out her trademark laugh.
"Ohohoho~ From now on, Gran is officially my disciple as well. The next time I meet my brothers and sisters, I'm definitely going to brag about it."
"Me too! Me too!"
Champa immediately chimed in.
"I'll be bragging to the other Gods of Destruction as well!"
Meanwhile, Gran was rapidly guiding the Universal Transit Cube back toward Universe 7.
The truth was that while comprehending the Third Layer of Mental State, he really could have broken through in a single attempt.
The problem was—
He had no way of knowing how long the breakthrough would take.
Back when he reached the First Layer of Mental State, he vaguely remembered spending half a year.
Breaking through to the Second Layer had taken nearly four years in total.
If the Third Layer required ten years...
Then he truly would become the oath-breaking God of Destruction Candidate Vados had joked about.
"I just hope I'm not too late."
Gran accelerated even further.
A month passed.
The current year was Age 762.
Above Planet Namek in Universe 7.
BOOM!
BOOM!
A heaven-shaking battle raged across the skies.
Three combatants were fighting.
Son Goku.
Vegeta.
And Frieza.
Goku had come to Namek to use the Namekian Dragon Balls to resurrect Piccolo.
Vegeta wanted to use the Dragon Balls to obtain the method for transforming into a Super Saiyan.
Frieza sought immortality through the Dragon Balls.
Their wishes were different.
Their objective, however, was exactly the same:
To obtain Namek's Dragon Balls.
And because of that, none of them would allow the others to succeed.
Elsewhere, inside the Grand Elder's residence.
An elderly Namekian sat quietly in his chair.
He was none other than the Grand Elder of Namek.
Standing nearby were Son Gohan, Bulma, and the others.
"Damn it!"
Gohan clenched his fists.
"Frieza is way too strong. Dad isn't going to lose to him, is he?"
The more he thought about it, the more worried he became.
Finally, he gritted his teeth.
"No! I'm going to help my dad!"
The moment he finished speaking, he shot toward the distant battlefield.
Krillin's expression changed immediately.
With Gohan's strength, how could he possibly interfere in a battle of that level?
"Gohan, don't do anything reckless!"
Grinding his teeth, Krillin hurried after him.
Unbeknownst to them, Bulma revealed a meaningful smile.
"With Krillin helping out, Goku should be close to breaking through."
She chuckled inwardly.
"Bulma, what's wrong?"
Beside her, Tights noticed something odd in Bulma's expression and asked worriedly.
"Nothing."
Bulma's face quickly became serious.
"The situation on Namek isn't looking good. I'm worried they'll blow the planet up. If that happens, we're finished."
In the future timeline, she already knew that Namek would eventually explode.
Her concern was completely justified.
"What do we do then?"
Tights pressed a hand against her chest.
"There are so many of us here. Besides you, nobody else can survive in the vacuum of space. If Namek is destroyed, Vegeta will be doomed!"
"You don't need to worry."
At that moment, the Grand Elder, who had been sitting quietly, finally spoke.
"?"
Bulma and Tights immediately looked toward him.
When they first arrived on Namek, they had come straight to the Grand Elder to borrow the Dragon Balls.
Seeing that they meant no harm, he had agreed.
However, before they could gather all seven Dragon Balls, Frieza arrived.
And thus began the chaotic three-way battle between Frieza, Goku, and Vegeta.
The Grand Elder didn't speak right away.
Instead, he glanced at the corpse lying on the floor below.
It was Piccolo's body.
Even he had never imagined that some members of their race had survived the catastrophic climate disaster that had nearly wiped out the Namekians long ago.
"You truly don't need to worry."
The Grand Elder's aged voice carried unwavering confidence.
"Frieza may be powerful, but I also have a final safeguard prepared. Namek will be fine."
"Grand Elder, are you talking about using the Namekian Dragon Balls?"
Bulma shook her head.
"I know the Dragon Balls are miraculous, but we haven't even gathered them all yet. We can't make a wish."
"No."
The Grand Elder nodded calmly.
"I understand that perfectly well."
Then he continued,
"To tell you the truth, my safeguard is actually a divine being."
"He once came to Namek to borrow the Dragon Balls, and in return, he made me a promise."
"If I ever needed help, I could call upon him."
The Grand Elder looked toward the distant battlefield and sighed deeply.
Under these circumstances, the fate of the Namekian people was nearly impossible to reverse.
If he didn't use that promise now, their race might truly be erased from existence.
"A divine being?"
Bulma and Tights widened their eyes.
The Grand Elder's words immediately made them think of Gran and the others.
Could it be them?
"Yes."
The Grand Elder's tone was filled with reverence.
"That divine being is the current God of Destruction Candidate."
"Lord Gran once told me that if I ever needed to invoke that promise, all I had to do was look toward the sky and shout the name 'Whis.'"
Bulma: "..."
Tights: "..."
The room suddenly fell silent.
The Grand Elder looked at them in confusion.
"That is the current God of Destruction Candidate we're talking about."
"With him here, nothing can happen to us."
"So why do the two of you look like that?"