PART TWENTY ONE: THE HOPE FOR A WHOLE UNIVERSE

Chapter 101

Translated by npberryhill

A single Varga walked to the center of the arena, holding a microphone in his right hand. As he cleared his throat, Goku and his son Goten paused their conversation to listen.

“We’ve reached the midpoint for the second round of the tournament, so it’s time for another break! We’ll set up picnic tables in each area just like yesterday for the competitors and their guests. Spectators in the audience are encouraged to partake of our fully-stocked concession stands, and we’ll be back with you shortly!”

‘Another break already?’ Buu wondered idly. As the second round had been only half as long as the first round had been, he’d hoped the fighting would continue without interruption.

“Hey, Dad,” Goten laughed, smiling. “I’ll bet you were expecting another lunch—” his voice cut off as he realized his father had suddenly vanished.

“Alright, I’ll take the roast beef, a double order of pasta, loaded mashed potatoes, potato salad, uh...let’s just go with the entire page of ramen...and next the chocolate cake, the selection of fish, a dozen teriyaki shish kabobs, the mountain of caviar, and the breakfast toast that goes with it.”

Goku had seemingly examined the entire menu in an instant, as well as found an end seat at the table—which had also materialized just a moment before. A Varga stood beside him, hastily writing down the order. Sitting next to him, his friend and eternal rival Vegeta rested an elbow on the table as he reclined.

“I’ll have double everything he’s getting,” he said, almost as if eating were a competition as well.

In the area of universe 16, the scene was nearly identical. Bra had been casually discussing things with Vegetto when all of a sudden the latter vanished towards the nearest table. He then proceeded to order four times as much food as the insatiable Goku, which the Varga’s had come to expect. As Goten turned back towards universe 18 to find a seat, he noticed that his brother of universe 16 had approached the table of the organizers, the Kaioshins of universe 1. Gohan of his own universe had headed inside the apartments with Videl and Pan, so what was the other one up to?

The organizers were seated around their own table, the West Kaioshin turning to Gohan as he reached them.

“Take a seat, Son Gohan,” she said. “We’ve considered your request.”

Indeed, that was the reason he had approached them, hoping that by now they’d have come to a decision regarding the matter. But another question came to his mind as he took a seat.

‘I wonder how they knew I’m the same one who spoke to them before, and not my counterpart from universe 18? They didn’t see me coming, and the other me isn’t out in the open right now...’

Then, as if in reply to his thoughts, North Kaioshin replied.

“Indeed, you are genetically identical to Son Gohan of universe 18—you even speak and carry yourself the same way. Certainly, your mannerisms match one another and even the way that you think. But we can sense a difference based on more subtle things. You hold more bitterness inside of you because of what happened with your daughter. We can feel this. You also came to us confidently, because you’ve already made your position and request clear to us, while the other would have possibly approached us with more hesitancy. In addition to all of this, there are hundreds of other minute differences that are perfectly obvious to us.”

“Hmm, I understand,” Gohan replied.

Grand Kaioshin, sitting at the end of the table, was next to speak. “Ah, yes. Now to our decision. After considering your words, we’ve decided that at the conclusion of the second round, we will use one of the sets of dragonballs to revive the victims so far.”

“Thank you very much,” Gohan said, smiling and lowering his head respectfully.

“I’m sure it’ll be welcomed by the other universes as well...”

Gohan quickly recalled all the deaths the tournament had suffered so far. In addition to his daughter Pan, there was TIdar, the nano-warrior of universe 19, Butta, Zangya, Bojack, one of the girls from universe 6, a few Vargas, and possibly even a couple spectators in the audience...

Thus, the discussions between Gohan and the organizer gods had been successful. He’d provided them with lots of information about his universe, and in return was told about the differences that occurred in their respective timelines. The birth of his father, Vegetto, had been of particular interest to them since it involved Kaioshin magic. And now that South Kaioshin had studied the innards of Majin Buu from universe 11, they could continue their investigations even further.

“We have another question,” the Grand Kaioshin said. “Is it true that universe 18 also had a Vegetto?”

“That’s correct. They told me he was de-fused once he entered Buu’s body.”

“Of course!” exclaimed the North Kaioshin. “It must have been the Kaioshins Buu absorbed who separated them.”

“Hmm,” Gohan pondered, a little surprised. “But why?”

“The Potalas are an exclusive magical tool, explicitly forbidden to all but the Kaioshin,” the young West Kaioshin explained (though she looked youthful, in reality she was perhaps millions of years old). “In short, they saw Vegetto’s existence as blasphemy.”

“Ah, yes. Vegetto told me that they wouldn’t normally work on anyone but a Kaioshin. But the Elder Kaioshin had altered them so that they’d allow Goku to fuse with someone.”

The South Kaioshin finally spoke. “That’s it. Our own essence inside of Buu was probably nothing more but instinctual residue, thus, whatever remained of us wasn’t aware that Vegetto had been created for an honorable reason. I’m sure if our counterparts had known the situation or retained any kind of consciousness, they wouldn’t have separated him—at least not right away.”

“Indeed,” East Kaioshin interrupted. “Vegetto is far too powerful. His existence is further proof we shouldn’t use the Potalas on anyone,” she continued. “Even accounting for the fact that the two warriors who created him were among the strongest in the universe, it’s still too great a risk.”

The group continued discussing things a few minutes before finally eating, while those of universe 8 seemed to be growing impatient.

“We’re no closer to finding the Dragon Balls than when we got here,” Coola complained. “Things aren’t going well.”

“Hah!” his brother interrupted. “You’re the one who lost in the first round! That, plus you’re useless!” Freeza laughed, taunting.

“Tch,” Coola scoffed. “You’re a moron if you think you won’t be eliminated too, you just got lucky by having easy opponents. Even Papa’s going to lose eventually, but that’s why we altered our plan.”

“Focus on fitting in with the others at the tournament, my children,” King Cold said, instructing. “Keep your cool and in the meantime, we’ll have our eyes and ears open. Our plan will work, just be patient.”

The Frost Demon father looked to his right, towards Baddack. Though he knew his sons were probably right that he’d eventually lose, that didn’t mean he wasn't going to give his opponent hell first. This Saiyan from universe 3 was also a Super Saiyan, a warrior on the same level as the one who defeated Coola.

‘I must be very cautious...’

Four other Saiyans had made their way from their own area to the space of universe 18. Their leader, Vegeta of the Super Saiyans, put his hand on the balcony divider and addressed Gohan—who’d recently made his way out of the apartments.

“We’ve come for ‘you know what’...”

“What? Did you guys run out of food?” Goku muttered through a full mouth, biting off an enormous hunk of meat.

“No, not that...” the prince replied, already seeming to lose his patience.

Gohan hadn’t informed the other members of his universe about the ‘agreement’ he’d made with universe 13 to spare his daughter from the trauma of combat. Rising out of his chair, he finally replied.

“Your Kakarotto got carried away during the fight,” he said.

“Don’t play games with me, your kid is perfectly healthy. We fulfilled our part of the contract.”

“Hmm, I guess that’s true. Fine, then. Here’s my half of the agreement. In universe 9, there is an old Kaioshin, the one who appeared during the match of Videl and Cold. He has the ability to raise someone’s power to incredible new heights—if you are found worthy, of course. That’s how I became so strong, thanks to his magic. I will warn you, though...if you threaten or attack him, you’ll be returned to your own universe. So be cautious of how you approach the elder, or he won’t even agree to help you.”

“Are you kidding me?” Vegeta sneered, arms crossed.

“Nope. Change your attitude, and you have a chance to become much stronger,” Gohan replied with a smile. He knew it would be incredibly difficult for them.

After lunch came the dessert. Several of the warriors and spectators didn’t partake and left their table, such as Freeza. He’d retired to his own personal ship to do some thinking. There, he checked up on the progress of the underling he’d charged with finding Ginyu’s new identity. But that wasn’t the main reason he’d come. A large viewscreen in front of him was now broadcasting simultaneous views of the whole arena. On one of the images, he saw a pair of white gloves, like he was looking down on his own hands.

“Your chocolate buns, sir,” a Varga voice said, setting a delicious-looking dish onto the table beside the gloves.

“Hey, thanks, little mate!” came the voice of Jeece. As he spoke the words, the image on screen seemed to scroll rapidly. It remained jumbled for a second, before finally stabilizing. He now saw the face of Jeece.

“You hit me really hard!” the Varga complained, rubbing the back of his head.

“Sorry, mate! Guess I don’t know me own strength, eh?” the red skinned warrior apologized, grinning with sneakiness.

“Jeece has planted the camera perfectly, master,” one of Freeza’s subordinates said from a loudspeaker.

“Good...we’ll finally be able to get a look into their plans without our presence being detected,” Freeza said. “Continue setting the cameras out...surely someone out there has knowledge or access to the Dragon Balls.”

Behind him, as his henchmen frantically worked their technological magic at the keyboards, the Frost Demon couldn’t help but wonder. ‘Could...Ginyu have taken over the body of Jeece? No, surely whoever he switched with would have come to me...unless they covered it up. Hmm, the Ginyus always admired their leader, even used his name for their little band...No!! They wouldn’t dare hide something like that from me!!’

“Um, master?”

Freeza jumped. It was just another of his subordinates, but they had startled him.

“What!?” he yelled harshly, turning to a now trembling henchman.

“Uh...lord...I just wanted to warn you that if the cameras travel between universes, we’ll no longer receive their signal. But the footage is recorded, so we can view it upon their return.”

“It’s better than nothing,” Freeza said, turning to leave the room. ‘Damn! I’m going paranoid, I almost thought it was Ginyu watching me just now...’

At the table for universe 9, everyone showed their support for Tenshinhan—the last one among them still in contention. But his opponent was Buu of universe 4, whom he knew was out of his league.

“I’m going to prepare myself,” the tall bald man said, turning to head inside his apartment.

“You sure you don’t want my help?” Old Kaioshin asked for the umpteenth time.

“It’s too late now, if it takes hours to complete,” he responded.

“Well, if you’d decided to do it before now...meh...” the old Kai grumbled under his breath. He next turned to Videl. “Hey there, gorgeous, you sure you don’t want to help me wash my back later?”

“I absolutely will not!” Videl raised her hand to slap him, but was restrained by Trunks. Discreetly, the god took the opportunity to slip away... However, only a few meters away, Vegeta of universe 13 and his ‘friends’ called out to him.

“Hey, old man!” one of the other Saiyans said loudly.

“Just who do you think you’re addressing, you insolent fool!”

“Don’t annoy him!” Vegeta grumbled. “I just need to ask him a question.”

“No!”

“What do you mean, no?”

“That’s the answer to your question,” Old Kai said, crossing his arms.

“Are you kidding me you old imbecile?”

“What, you think you deserve my power?” Old Kaioshin laughed. “You’re all brigands!”

“You don’t know who you’re talking to, you senile old man,” the Emperor growled through his teeth.

“I’m completely serious,” the Elder Kai said, turning up his nose. “There’s nothing you could possibly do to make me unlock your power.”

Turning matter of factly, the King Kaioshin of old left them for the apartments. Everyone from universe 9 watched him go, before turning back to Vegeta, whose teeth were still angrily clenched. He looked like he was going to scream, probably hurling more insults at the god. But he controlled himself in the end, and turned to quickly hurry away. The others of universe 13 followed him silently.

There were only a few minutes left before the start of the second half of round two, but the organizers were still deep in discussion. Participating in the conversation were all the Kaioshins, along with several Namekians and Vargas. Additionally, Buu of universe 4 was listening attentively to their discussion. Discreetly, he suggested a certain ‘idea’ to a Namekian—though he knew they would, as agreed, submit to the Grand Kaioshin. With such convincing arguments, the idea had been considered, but the discussion was concluded.

For Buu, it was all just for fun. They finally decided to do nothing about the new ‘limit idea’, and it was too bad. But Buu hadn’t put much stock in it to begin with.

Meanwhile, the Varga interviewer, Den Grimme Aelling himself, made his way to the center of the arena where another of his colleagues already stood holding a microphone.

“We’d like all the fighters for the second half of round two to come join us in the center!”

After they’d all gathered, the old Varga began inspecting and greeting each of the fighters, just as he had done at the beginning of the second round. The idea of having everyone gather together was a big time saver, as now Aelling didn’t have to go from space to space to speak to each competitor.

Just as before, he went to each of the warriors in turn to ask what they would wish for if they were to win the tournament. For Vegetto, the only thing he was interested in was a potential challenge. The warrior from universe 5, however, didn’t come to the center like everyone else. After hesitating briefly, the Varga decided to move on.

#18, seemingly tired, just said the first thing that came to her mind: a cook. Arale said she’d wish for a giant gorilla and a costume gorilla, as well as a talking watermelon, followed by a flying motorcycle, until finally the interviewer stopped her to interject that she would only have three wishes.

Gotenks did a quick fusion dance for the occasion, and tried to put on an impressive face claiming he’d wish for peace throughout his universe. Rethinking his statement, he quickly clarified that he actually meant all universes everywhere. Then he further second guessed himself by saying all universes except his own, where he alone would maintain the balance of peace.

Nékomajin, after a long hesitation, said his one desire would be for an enormous ball of wool. Aelling, who wasn’t sure he’d understood the question correctly, raised a skeptical eyebrow.

Buu of universe 4 just wanted to have fun, and Tien had no particular wish. It was the same for Bra.

Eleim of universe 19 seemed to be intentionally vague with his wording. “I vow to save my people.”

King Cold was even less clear. “You’ll know when I win,” he said with a grin. A few people seemed frightened by this.

Baddack of universe 3 went without saying a word when it was his turn. When Vegeta of universe 13 said he wanted to eliminate the weak, it made Raichi share in his thirst for revenge all the more. Gast reiterated his desire to find a way to reproduce offspring of his own, while Piccolo Diamao said he’d wish to be master of the entire universe.

Finally done with the interlude, the fighting could once again continue.

“We’ll now continue the games with...Vegetto of universe 16 against XXI of universe 5!”

Old Kaioshin of universe 9 suddenly began to shiver with fear. “Wh...what?? XXI!!?” The mere mention of his name was clearly terrifying. “No, It’s not possible... How could they bring such a being here? Why would the Kaioshins possibly allow that...?”

“You know this ‘Ksee’?” Yamcha asked, curious.

“We haven’t even seen him yet, you know,” Tien added.

Oh yes, the Elder Kaioshin knew the being called XXI. He, or it, was a being, terrible and monstrous, that threatened all life in the universe—even death itself! XXI was a being so vile, anywhere it passed it completely superseded any concepts of good and evil—in its wake was left no chaos, no unhappiness, but rather...nothing at all. Neither was there matter nor spirit, nor any hope whatsoever...

And then, the infamous XXI finally appeared. It was nothing but an old bearded humanoid, wearing a toga.

“Oh, nevermind, it’s not him,” Old Kaioshin chuckled, scratching his head.