"Oh my, Merus. Your level has risen quite a bit," the Grand Priest remarked, turning toward him with a gentle smile.
"Yes, Grand Priest." Merus bowed respectfully.
Bier swept her long hair aside and stared at him in surprise. "Wait, Merus... what level are you now?"
"Well..." Merus gave an awkward smile and lowered his head. "I just reached level 67."
That answer immediately drew the attention of every Angel present. Level 67 was already considered quite high even among full-fledged Angels, so seeing Merus reach it this quickly was enough to genuinely surprise them.
"That's quite an accomplishment, Merus," the Grand Priest praised him.
"Level 67? Weren't you only level 52 before?" Bier exclaimed. "How did you jump that much all at once?"
"I couldn't have done it without Ken," Merus admitted.
Goku had only just noticed him among the gathered Angels, and his face immediately lit up. "Merus! You're alive! That's great! I didn't see you earlier."
Merus nodded to Goku before addressing the others. "I reconstructed my body."
Understanding dawned on the Angels, followed almost immediately by another wave of surprise. Bier looked especially stunned; she knew better than most how dangerous something like that could be.
"You actually went through with a body reconstruction? You've got guts," she said. "One mistake during something like that and you could disappear completely."
"I trusted Ken," Merus replied without hesitation. "As long as he was there, I knew I'd succeed."
"Congratulations, Merus," the Grand Priest said with another smile, accepting Merus's respectful bow in return.
Bier looked from Merus to Ken and suddenly found herself facing an unpleasant reality: among the apprentice Angels, she really might be the one at the bottom now.
"Ken..." She bit her lip and gave him a pitiful look. "When you have time, reconstruct my body too."
"Sure, but I'll need to think of another way to do yours," Ken replied after studying her for a moment.
The Grand Priest then shifted his attention toward Universe 11. "Belmod."
Belmod immediately lowered himself even further and answered with complete respect.
"And the one behind you?" the Grand Priest asked, glancing toward Toppo.
"His name is Toppo," Belmod explained. "I'm considering retiring in the near future, and he's currently training as a candidate to succeed me as God of Destruction. Since he happened to be with me, I brought him along to see this for himself."
"I'm Toppo. It's an honor, Grand Priest." Toppo quietly wiped away a bead of sweat as he bowed.
He couldn't help feeling a little wounded. Hadn't the Grand Priest already seen him during the previous God of Destruction selection? Had he really forgotten him that quickly? Apparently, unless you were number one, nobody remembered you.
How depressing.
"I see. Then keep working hard, Toppo. I hope you'll become a true God of Destruction someday."
"Yes!" Toppo bowed again.
Before anything else could be said, Korn's voice came through the Grand Priest's staff.
"Grand Priest, Universe 8 is ready."
"Very well. Come over."
The Grand Priest casually waved one hand, and the Angel, God of Destruction, and Supreme Kai of Universe 8 appeared inside the palace. Their Supreme Kai took one look around, froze in horror, and hurriedly pulled up his pants, looking as though he wanted the floor to swallow him.
"Now that everyone is here, I will announce Zeno-sama's decision," the Grand Priest said, clasping his hands behind his back as he stood before the two Zenos.
The entire palace fell silent as every god focused on him.
"This is rather sudden, but five tiks from now, we will hold a large-scale martial arts competition known as the Tournament of Power. Each universe will select fighters who will compete against one another in strength and martial skill."
The announcement left the assembled gods stunned, with many of them unsure how they were even supposed to react.
Before the Grand Priest could continue, however, he heard the two Zenos whispering behind him and politely turned to ask what was wrong.
"He doesn't understand what this is," Zeno-sama explained, pointing toward Future Zeno.
"The Tournament of Power?" The Grand Priest paused.
Zeno-sama nodded, and Future Zeno quickly did the same.
"Of course. Future Zeno-sama never saw the match between Universe 6 and Universe 7." The Grand Priest considered the problem for a moment, then turned his gaze toward Ken.
Ken immediately had a bad feeling.
Why are you looking at me?
"Ken, you organized the previous match between Universe 6 and Universe 7," the Grand Priest said. "Why don't you arrange a match for Zeno-sama now?"
Ken thought about it briefly before smiling. "Then let's have the Gods of Destruction fight. A match between Gods of Destruction should be entertaining."
Both Zenos immediately nodded in excitement.
"First, let's turn this place into an arena."
Ken pointed his staff toward the open space, and a massive square fighting ring appeared almost instantly. Several spinning-top-shaped viewing platforms materialized above it, and with another motion of his staff, Ken distributed the gods among them.
Ken, Merus, Bier, Broly, and Buu were placed together on one platform, while the remaining gods were grouped according to their respective universes. The two Zenos occupied the central position, where thrones had been prepared to give them the best possible view of the match.
Goku suddenly found himself standing with Universe 6 and looked around in confusion. "Huh? How'd I end up over here?"
"Goku! You bastard! What exactly did you do?" Champa demanded, glaring at him.
"I didn't do anything!" Goku protested, scratching his head.
"Now then, all Gods of Destruction, please enter the arena," Ken announced with a smile.
Broly immediately bowed in acknowledgment, then grabbed the still-sleeping Buu and carried him down to the ring without the slightest hesitation.
"Wait!" Gowasu hurriedly called out. "A battle between Gods of Destruction? What does that have to do with the Tournament of Power? Are the Gods of Destruction expected to participate too?"
"You're residents of your respective universes as well," Ken replied pleasantly. "So there's nothing strange about having you compete as representatives."
That answer sent another wave of alarm through the Gods of Destruction, and anxious discussion immediately broke out across the viewing platforms.
"A fight between Gods of Destruction?"
"This could get bad..."
Champa clutched his head, his face turning miserable. "I'm screwed... I haven't seriously trained in ten years!"
[End of chapter]
[Thanks for your support!]