(Outside Goku and Chi-Chi's house, three days later, noon)

The fighters were gathered outside Goku's house along with their friends and families. When Gohan arrived with Videl and Pan the only people there were Goku, Chi Chi, Goten and Ox King, but soon afterwards the others started showing up. Bulma, Vegeta, Trunks and baby Bulla came first, accompanied by Mai, Pilaf, Shu, and, for some reason, the alien policeman Jaco and the robotic version of Goku.
Dende, Piccolo, Korin and Yajirobe materialized moments after Bulma and her three minions finished setting up the massive barbecue tent. Yamcha and Puar arrived by air-car after picking up Roshi and Oolong. Tien and Chaotzu flew in soon after, still wearing their dojo robes. 17 arrived, flying a large helicopter that also seated Krillin, 18, and Maron. As the little blond girl ran out to play with Trunks and Goten, an extremely massive, noisy flying truck heralded the coming of Mr. Satan and Buu.
Mr. Satan wisely decided to bring vast quantities of food, enough to appease even the hungriest, angriest god.
And finally came the moment Gohan dreaded. He hoped they wouldn't come, but Whis and Beerus appeared in a rainbow flash just before the cooking staff hired by Hercule finished setting up the food stalls.

Vegeta was leaning against a tree, as far away from everyone else as possible, apparently ignoring the preparations other than greeting Whis and Beerus. Goku was busy inspecting his robotic counterpart while the silver android did the same to him, the pair mimicking each other's movements almost perfectly, much to the delight of Maron, Goten and Trunks. Vegeta's eyebrows twitched every time he heard his son utter the name "Kakarobot".

Bulma, Chi Chi, 18 and Videl relaxed around one of the tables after Hercule's staff took over most of the work. Videl held a red ribbon that was tied around Pan's waist and shoulders, with the baby hovering around the four older women like a floating balloon. "She keeps flying around all the time, I'm worried that her legs won't develop if she doesn't crawl like a normal baby", said Videl. The others looked at her curiously. "Funny," said 18, "but I think she'll turn out fine."
Chi Chi looked worried, and Bulma asked "So Videl, how's Gohan doing now?"
Videl sighed. "He left the university, so he's not working anymore. Every day he's out there training, sometimes alone and some days with Vegeta, Goku or Piccolo."

Bulma leaned closer, curious. "Yeah, Vegeta and Gohan had a few training sessions lately. So how are you with money, is your father helping?"
"Well, he gave us some money when we got married, but that was it. Now Gohan bought some ground outside the city and hired a contractor to build a couple of apartment buildings there. The apartments are already rented out, and he even hired a few people to manage everything. I only have to take care of special emergencies, and that's it."
Bulma and 18 were impressed, and Chi Chi smiled with pride. "Wow," said Bulma, "I didn't know Gohan was into real estate."
"He really isn't," replied Videl, "it's just something he got into lately, probably so we could have some income."

A shadow fell over the four women, and the flying baby squealed happily. Piccolo and Dende approached them, and Piccolo turned to Videl while gently holding Pan. "Videl, do you have some of that spring water with you?" He asked.
"Oh yeah!" Videl got up, gave her ribbon to the Namekian warrior, and entered Goku's house to bring the water.
She came back moments later, pouring two glasses for Piccolo and Dende. They both sipped politely, and Dende's eyes widened in surprise. "This is really good!"

Across the large tent, a team of professional chefs and waiters were entertaining Whis, Beerus and Buu. Beerus and Whis were given a table of their own, while Buu shared a table with Hercule. Gohan watched the god and his angel from farther away, hoping against hope that they would ignore him. Beerus was eating huge amounts of food, and as each plate or bowl was emptied, two smiling waiters brought new ones full of more delicacies. A short, rotund chef stood nearby, answering all of Whis' questions about the various dishes.

After a particularly tasty bowl of spiced ramen, Beerus took a little break and asked for a glass of water. As the waiter poured him a glass, Beerus looked around, saw Gohan and called him over. "You, come here!"
Gohan started walking towards the divine pair, trying not to think about his plans. He knew Beerus and Whis were extremely perceptive, and might unmask him here and now if he was unlucky. This was the first challenge he had foreseen, and there was nothing he could do about it other than ask Videl's father to bring as much food as possible, and make sure Beerus and Whis were in the best of moods.

"So," Beerus began after Gohan arrived at the table, "you want to be a god as well, now?"
"Yes, lord Beerus," answered Gohan as calmly as he could.
"You look nervous, boy," Beerus looked into Gohan's eyes, and the half-Saiyan imagined the catlike god sifting through all his secrets.
"I am, lord Beerus," he answered after a few moments, trying to calm himself.
"What's the matter? You think there's a reason to be nervous?" Beerus started tapping on the table with one of his claws.
"Oh, lord Beerus, leave the poor boy alone," Whis intervened with a smile. "He's obviously afraid because of the ritual, let's not scare him even more and ruin the whole thing."
"Eh, whatever", Beerus shrugged, raising one of his eyebrows. Immediately afterwards a waiter brought a fresh tray of sliced meat, and the god of destruction lost interest in Gohan. "Good luck with your super saiyan god ritual, boy," he said, and dove into the new dish. Whis smiled at Gohan and resumed eating his own food, the angel's eyes closing in bliss as the short chef standing next to him practically radiated professional pride.

Before the ritual itself, Whis and Beerus excused themselves and left. To Gohan surprise, it appeared that Beerus ate too much, and was now sleepy and unresponsive. Whis was supporting the god of destruction with one hand while holding his staff with the other. Before they left, their personal chef ran over and handed Whis a capsule full of more dishes they haven't tried yet. The sleepy Beerus made a half-hearted move to snatch the capsule and open it then and there, but Whis quickly raised and lowered his staff, hitting the ground gently and sending the pair on their way.
Gohan waited for a few moments after they vanished, holding his breath, but it appeared that the massive amounts of food prepared by Hercule's staff worked even better than expected.

The time for the ritual came, the cooking staff left, and the participating warriors with Saiyan blood gathered in the shade beneath a tall tree. Vegeta, who kept to himself for most of the event, was the first to speak.
"Gohan, remember what I told you about the ritual." The younger half-Saiyan knew that if Vegeta used his proper name, he was being serious.
The prince continued. "The god transformation will run its course after a few minutes. While you have the power, don't waste time, fly to the edges of the atmosphere and there we will spar. As we fight your body will absorb the divine ki and become much stronger, but it won't happen unless you're pushing your limits. I won't be holding back, understand?"

Gohan nodded, but a slightly annoyed Goku intervened. "Wait a second, how come you get to fight him?"
Vegeta's smug half-smile returned. "Now now, Kakarot, we don't know if you're fully recovered from your mighty ultra instinct transformation at the tournament. We wouldn't want your son to fight against an opponent who isn't at full strength in such a crucial moment, now would we?"
"But Vegeta," complained Goku, "it's been months since then, of course I'm recovered."
Vegeta's smiled vanished. "Well I don't want to gamble on it. I should be the one to fight."
Goten and Trunks started laughing as their fathers stared daggers at each other. Over at the tent, where the others were relaxing, Roshi muttered "These two never change, do they."
"Dad," Gohan stepped between the two rivals. "It's okay, I'll fight Vegeta this time and spar with you later, alright?"
"Okay, Gohan," Goku smiled, relaxing. "It's your big day."

Videl stood next to the warriors, holding Pan close to her as if refusing to let her go join the others. "Guys, I'm not sure about this, what if Pan gets hurt during the ritual?"
"Impossible", said Vegeta. "Your daughter is absurdly powerful for a baby. Look at her, already flying even before she can walk. I'm certain she could take on a Saibaman or two right now." Vegeta sounded slightly offended by this. "She participated in the first ritual while barely able to form a coherent thought, there's no doubt in my mind that she'll be fine."
Sensing the attention, Pan seemed to agree with the Saiyan prince. "Ooo! Ooo!" she raised and lowered her arms, forcing Videl to use her own ki to prevent her baby from flying up.
Disgusting, thought Vegeta to himself while looking at the tiny girl in Videl's arms. The legendary power of the Saiyan race, now reduced to the level of a mere toddler's toy. He almost smiled then, imagining his father and the royal advisers trying to make sense of Pan's inexplicable power. How weak they all were, how ignorant of their true potential.

"Alright," said Goku, "let's do this." He put one hand on Gohan's back, below his son's right shoulder. Vegeta nodded and moved to the opposite side from Goku. The saiyan prince then put his hand on Gohan's back as well, below his left shoulder.
Trunks and Goten stood facing each other, each child holding his father's hand. Between them hovered the tiny Pan, holding Trunks and Goten's hands and completing the circle. Videl stood right behind Pan, still slightly worried.
Goku smiled at his son's wife. "Don't worry, Videl, Pan will be fine. She's a natural at this." Videl nodded, Goku's confidence calming her fears. She took a few steps back and waited for the ritual to begin.

"It's time," Said Vegeta.
"Go ahead, everyone," said Goku. "Remember, it's not just about giving your ki to another, it's about sharing your heart."
The three men and two young boys closed their eyes and began to concentrate. Baby Pan, feeling curious, opened up her ki sense and looked around in wonder. Her eyes closed as well, and she began to mimic what the others were doing with their energy, guided by her saiyan instincts.

Trunks imagined Gohan when he came back to Earth, during the fight against the evil version of Buu. He still remembered sensing that power for the first time, it was like a sun lighting up a dark room, eclipsing even Goku's earth-shaking transformation from earlier. The young boy could never reconcile that memory with the weaker, more passive Gohan he knew these last few years, but now, looking at Gohan's more muscular back, Trunks remembered that feeling of overwhelming strength. "You can do this, Gohan," the purple-haired boy smiled as he concentrated on the memory.

Goten imagined Gohan even before Goku came to visit them at the world tournament. His big brother was the coolest, the biggest, the strongest ever. He saved the world once, he could do anything. He even became a superhero, wearing the coolest outfit ever, and later married the prettiest girl Goten has ever seen. Goten didn't put his thoughts into words, he simply knew Gohan was the best, and concentrated on that feeling.

For pan, her father was always the strongest man in the universe. He could do anything. She was absolutely certain of it, no doubts whatsoever. Pan had no words, but the baby's innocent faith in her father poured into Gohan effortlessly.

Vegeta imagined Gohan as he best remembered him. A young boy, bruised and bloodied, surrounded by the incredible aura of his perfected super saiyan transformation. He remembered the awe he felt back then, and poured this memory into Gohan's back. "Grow strong and powerful, Gohan, become the warrior you were meant to be. Show the universe what it means to be a Saiyan," Vegeta thought as he concentrated on the memory.

Goku imagined Gohan all throughout his life. A baby, an innocent child with power hidden deep within, a young boy fighting bravely at his side, a young man protecting his first love, a scholar doing things Goku could never understand, a father to a precious granddaughter, and finally a warrior again, standing up against terrible opponents to save their entire universe. "Continue on your path, my son. Never stop improving. You still haven't come close to discovering your true potential," Goku thought as he concentrated on the memories.

Gohan could feel the others' energy pouring into him, their ki warm with years of hopes and memories. He could only breathe silently while a river of energy flowed into his soul.

The sky darkened and the wind picked up. Soon the clouds covered the sky from horizon to horizon, the only light coming from a clear patch directly above the gathering, the eye of the storm. Remembering the last ritual, the spectating non-saiyans either retreated into the tent or put on their rain coats. Krillin, Tien and 17 were the only ones who remained outside and without any protective gear. Tien's expression was unreadable, while Krillin thought back on all the adventures he and Gohan shared. 17 didn't seem to notice the storm at all, simply watching the ritual.

The weather got worse, and the chaotic skies filled with lightning, rain and hail. As the lightning strikes grew more and more powerful and the wind threatened to blow the tent away, 17 looked around at the others. "Is it supposed to be this bad?", he asked.
Krillin looked at him and shook his ahead. "It wasn't this bad last time".
17 sighed. "Fine." Without moving a muscle, he caused a green force field to appear around them, even creating a smaller one around Videl, who stood closer to the saiyans. The field protected everyone from the wind, the rain, the hail and the lightning, although Krillin noted it was still a little bit chilly inside.
Tien looked at 17 in surprise. "Thanks, 17, I wasn't sure if we could remain here, to be honest."
17 looked at Tien and nodded, remaining silent.

A few minutes passed. Through the force field, the assembled group could see the full, destructive force of the unnatural storm, with many lightning strikes hitting the nearby forest and blasting trees into wooden shrapnel. Although they could barely hear the thunder through the field, they all felt tremors and a change in the air. Several of them swallowed to release the pressure building up inside their ears.
Maron became restless, so 18 took her outside to stand next to 17. "You know, maybe you were right not to bring your wife and children here," she said.
17 smiled. "I'm pretty sure they would have loved to see this, but yeah, this is getting crazy."

Finally, a beam of pure, blinding blue light formed around the circle of saiyans, shooting up into the sky. The beam grew wider and wider, engulfing the entire area. It seemed to go on and on forever, until they could barely tell how much time had passed.
Eventually the beam receded, and the sky began to clear. 17 canceled the force fields as the last vestiges of the storm faded away. The saiyans were no longer holding hands, and Videl rushed forward to hug her daughter.

Vegeta, Goku and the others seemed to snap out of a deep trance. Pan was exhausted, and immediately feel asleep in Videl's arms.
Where Gohan stood there was only an aura of intense red flame, with an outline of a human form in its center.
"Amazing," Krillin said. "I can't sense Gohan's energy anymore, but his power... you can feel it in the air..."

The aura faded slowly, revealing Gohan's new god form. He was slender now, as slender as he was before he started training with Piccolo, and his hair and eyes were a startling, bright red. Gohan looked around in wonder, raising his head to stare at the sky and lowering it to look at himself and the rest of the group. "I... this is amazing...", his senses were magnified beyond anything he could ever imagine. He could barely make sense of it all. "So this is... this is divine ki..." Gohan whispered, in awe of what he was experiencing.

Vegeta spoke harshly, dispelling Gohan's wonder and replacing it with urgency. "Don't lose yourself, boy, you'll have plenty of time to admire the scenery after I punch some sense into you. Follow me, right now." Without waiting for an answer, Vegeta's aura flared and he launched himself into the sky. Shaking his head to focus, Gohan's aura of red flames rekindled and he shot up after Vegeta, followed after a few moments by a proud Goku.

"This is so cool, Trunks!" Goten smiled at his friend. "Let's go watch the fight!" Trunks nodded, but then had second thoughts. "You go ahead, Goten," he said while sneaking a look at Mai. "I'm going to stay here, okay?" Goten looked at Trunks curiously but was too enthusiastic to question his decision. "Okay Trunks, see you later!" Goten said and flew away.

17 took off as well, followed by Krillin and Tien. Before leaving, Tien looked back and called out to Yamcha. "Hey, you want to come?"
"No thanks," smiled the scarred ex-bandit. "I'm good right here. You go ahead and have fun."

On the ground, a proud Chi Chi half-joked about having two gods in the family, compared to Bulma's one. "Oh yeah?" Bulma answered while walking to her robot, "well, we still have Trunks and Bulla, you better hope Goten can keep up".

Bulma knocked on the robot's metallic back. "Hey, you in there?"
"Yes, Bulma," answered the robot in his mechanical voice.
"Well, don't just stand there. Fly up after them and transmit the battle to us, I want to see what's going on. And don't get destroyed, keep your distance."
The silver robot nodded and flew up into the sky. Bulma set up a large computer screen that everyone crowded around, and they all sat down to watch the fight.