For whatever reason, it seemed that both Roshi and his sister had an unusual knack for showing up on King Kai's planet unannounced. It was beginning to get rather tiresome.
"AGH WHAT THE...oh!" King Kai remarked, initially scared out of his wits at the sudden appearance of Master Roshi in a blur of motion before he noted the two fingers on his forehead and put the pieces together. "Huh, right, you can do that now. Hrm," he said, unsure how to feel about it before realizing that he ought to move on to more serious matters. "Anyway...I take it that you've come looking for answers to your questions," he said, a part of him nervous despite knowing that he couldn't keep avoiding this conversation forever.
"Indeed," Roshi said simply, regarding the diminutive god before him with a hard look.
"And I'm willing to bet that you may end up causing a ruckus if I don't cave in and tell you what you want to know," King Kai added, getting an uncomfortable idea of the lengths Roshi would go to. Master Roshi chuckled at that, not wholly denying the accusation.
"I won't do anything unseemly, I promise. I'm not...exactly that person anymore," he said truthfully before getting a familiar glint in his eye. "However, that princess who stopped by here did seem like she might be interested in a bit of...companionship from an experienced charmer like myself, out there on Snake Way all by her lonesome. I have a feeling King Yemma wouldn't be too enthused about a mortal man like myself visiting his ex-wife...and he'll probably make that your problem, seeing as your ki signature is what allowed me to teleport here." King Kai could only groan at Master Roshi's insinuations, imagining the headache such a situation would entail for him.
"You are many things, Roshi, but a charmer is not and has never been one of them," King Kai replied dryly, knowing he was somewhat cornered all the same. "Very well! I'll tell you what I can, if only to spare myself and my colleagues from your brand of...trouble," he conceded, causing Master Roshi to move a bit closer to him in order to listen. "I think I have an idea of what's been weighing most heavily on your mind, but is there anything else you wish to know?" he asked. Roshi paused for a moment as he thought about which questions were the highest priority.
"What was it that you couldn't tell our Vegeta about the good king's plans?" Roshi asked, causing King Kai to noticeably tense up.
"I-I'm afraid I can't tell you that," he answered honestly. Roshi put a finger to his chin.
"I wonder if I can project my thoughts over such a vast distance," he mused aloud before taking on an exaggerated expression reminiscent of his less-than-noble days. "Oh princess~! I would very much like to make your acquaintance~!" he called out while also projecting the message telepathically, only for King Kai to suddenly appear in front of him with an incensed look in his eye.
"Now look, if you think that knowing the secret of Instant Transmission means you can come here and do as you please, then I may just need to demonstrate why they call me King Kai," King Kai said in a threatening tone. Roshi knew that King Kai wasn't all that impressive in a physical sense, at least not when compared to the students he'd recently trained...but Roshi also knew better than most that raw power wasn't everything. Thus, he backed down and held up his hands.
"Forgive me, King Kai. I acted out of turn," he said, giving King Kai a gesture of respect which the god seemed to accept with a resigned sigh.
"If you must know, the reason I can't answer your question is because I have been sworn to secrecy on the matter by order of my superiors," King Kai admitted rather evasively. "Unless things spiral out of control, I don't see that situation changing anytime soon." Without elaborating on anything of what he was talking about, King Kai continued. "Now then, let's get to what you really came here for, hm? My hands aren't exactly tied when it comes to that, but even so, there are reasons why I have been less than willing to speak on it until now...reasons which should soon become apparent. I'd advise we speak on this matter in a slightly more private environment," he remarked, glancing over his shoulder in a few different directions before appearing to be satisfied and walking towards his modest house, prompting Roshi to follow him inside with an inquiring look.
"Well, alright then, but just so I know, how much of a problem is this other thing you won't tell me about? Does King Vegeta actually have a shot at whatever he's planning?" Roshi asked, the slightest hint of worry in his voice. After closing the door behind him, King Kai deliberated over this for a second before shaking his head resolutely.
"No," he said with certainty in his voice. "We've made sure of that."
"What do you mean you can't find anything?!"
As King Vegeta seemed just about ready to break something, Berryblue did her best to restrain herself from rolling her eyes as she dutifully played her part.
"As I have already explained, my lord, I surveyed all uncharted space within three hundred light years of the coordinates you gave me for this 'Planet Sadala,' and I have found nothing which would indicate the presence of Saiyans anywhere within that region at any point since the time of the planet's destruction," Berryblue replied simply. "No abnormally high power levels, no significant energy emissions, nothing that could indicate the presence of a civilization comparable to Planet Vegeta at the time of first contact." King Vegeta did his best to repress a growl and tamper down the urge to smash something. He was already unpopular enough as it was, especially with this recent string of losses at the hands of the Galactic Patrol which he had just been informed of. The last thing he could afford to do was fly off the handle at a well-respected member of the previous regime, especially when they weren't alone in the halls of his castle. After taking a deep breath, he tried a different angle in the hopes that perhaps there were possibilities that had yet to be explored.
"What about a civilization that isn't comparable? One whose technology has not progressed beyond that of the lightspeed ships used to escape Planet Sadala's destruction all those years ago?" King Vegeta asked, only for Berryblue to shake her head once more.
"Even if that were the case, surely a planet of Saiyans would merit at least a B-class rating, would it not? And yet, I found only C and D-class planets within that survey region," Berryblue said, trying to sound consoling and succeeding in disheartening King Vegeta all the more.
"Well, um, perhaps their pacifist ways have left them...soft. Yes, soft! And easily conquered!" he said, trying to remain confident even as Berryblue voiced the thought he was trying to avoid.
"Or perhaps, my lord...perhaps you were simply mistaken," Berryblue remarked, as though she were hesitant to bring up that possibility. King Vegeta couldn't help but scowl: they both knew she was enjoying this, no matter how expertly she hid that fact from the handful of soldiers who fearfully shuffled around the pair as they discussed the matter en route to the new gravity chamber.
"Perhaps," he said through gritted teeth. "Still, there will be time enough to conduct a more thorough search of the area once the Galactic Patrol has been dealt with," he remarked, to which Berryblue carefully hid a smirk. Now was the time to begin laying out the hook for her trap.
"And how do you plan to deal with these new Galactic Patrol officers, my lord?" she asked. "They seem far stronger and more organized than they have been in the past. Rather unusual, wouldn't you say?" King Vegeta paused, mulling over the situation for a moment.
"Yes, it is rather odd..." King Vegeta said, beginning to form a hypothesis in his mind before discarding it. The reports he'd received made it somewhat ambiguous how exactly these Galactic Patrol officers had made it past their targets' planetary defenses, let alone how they had all gotten strong enough to overcome even the Bonyu Force as easily as Chidoru fearfully reported from the king's private shuttle. That they had decided to launch such a widespread and coordinated attack so soon after he had taken power was all a little too convenient, admittedly, but it wasn't inconceivable that the Galactic Patrol had indeed been secretly training their agents in preparation for an assault upon Frieza's empire the moment some major shake up occurred that would allow them to strike without fear of immediate reprisal. Without enough evidence to prove his hypothesis correct for now, King Vegeta figured the best course of action was to assume he was dealing with perfectly ordinary self-righteous weaklings and plan a counter-offensive on that basis.
"My lord?" Berryblue asked, prompting King Vegeta to respond at last.
"Yes, well, my answer depends somewhat on the results of the other half of the assignment I gave you, Berryblue," King Vegeta replied rather pointedly, to which Berryblue smirked. Showtime.
"Well, my lord, I was unfortunately only able to track down four stragglers left unaccounted for by the destruction of Planet Vegeta and...subsequent operations," Berryblue replied evasively. "Based on what is known about the planet he was sent to as a child, we can infer that Prince Tarble is likely alive...and did not complete his mission," she said, once again trying to sound like she regretted being the bearer of bad news. King Vegeta sighed, expecting as much.
"No matter. He will join me whether he wants to or not," he replied coldly. "And the others?" he asked without missing a beat, but Berryblue was more than ready with her answer.
"Now that's a far more interesting tale. Tell me: does the name 'Paragus' sound familiar to you?" Berryblue asked, causing King Vegeta to pause and think for a moment.
"Now that you mention it...yes, it does," King Vegeta remarked. "He was a colonel in my father's army, a good one, up until he suddenly went rogue and disappeared with one of his soldiers for reasons my father would not explain to me," he added. Berryblue simply nodded along.
"Hm, I can understand why he wouldn't, given what I've uncovered," Berryblue said. "As it turns out, Paragus' son Broly had been sent off to die on the planet Vampa, likely because...well. Because your father believed that the boy's potential was even greater than yours." King Vegeta's eye twitched at that, a part of him irritated and another part intrigued.
"Oh?" he asked, to which Berryblue smiled. She had him now.
"Oh yes. Paragus strongly objected to his son's punishment, hence why he betrayed your father and left for Vampa in order to save him from the monsters of that horrible planet," Berryblue said, perhaps laying it on a bit thick judging by King Vegeta's reaction. "I was able to locate the interstellar transmitter of the ship he stole, suggesting that the three of them managed to survive even after all of this time. And, well, if this boy was powerful enough to give your father pause as a mere child...imagine how much stronger he could be at your age, my lord," Berryblue finished, knowing that such a question would almost certainly entice her arrogant new master to investigate the matter personally. And indeed it did, albeit perhaps not for the reason she hoped.
As King Vegeta mulled the whole thing over, one thing seemed patently obvious: this was Berryblue's plan to betray him. It was all far too good to be true and far too tantalizing to resist for his liking, so the only conclusion he could draw for why Berryblue was telling him all of this so readily was that she wanted him to fall into her trap. Given that she mentioned a working transmitter, it was possible that she had come to some arrangement with Paragus to lure King Vegeta to Vampa so that his son Broly could kill him. It made sense: King Vegeta's father had been the one who sent Broly to die precisely because the boy's power had supposedly eclipsed his own. It made sense that Paragus would try to kill him in order to avenge that injustice, and yet...perhaps there was still an opportunity to be found here. Berryblue had to be confident that Broly would destroy him, and although King Vegeta could not abide the prospect of a Super Saiyan who was not a part of his royal line, the fact remained that he needed more Saiyans if he was to establish any kind of hold over his new empire. If he could get Broly and Paragus to submit to his will, either through diplomacy or force if need be, then he could take steps to ensure that Broly's remarkable power was passed down to his descendants without giving them the ability to become Super Saiyans, thereby guaranteeing that any threat which Broly and his future descendants might pose to his empire would ultimately be minimal. And, in the meantime, if he succeeded in bending them to his will, he would have several powerful agents under his command: pure-blooded Saiyan warriors who must have grown powerful to survive on Vampa for so many years. They would only grow stronger under the training regimen he was already beginning to observe through the use of his new gravity chamber, and as long as he kept them satisfied with his reign...he could use that strength to close the gap between himself and his many enemies.
He could use them to destroy Kakarot and the rest of those fools, once and for all.
King Vegeta smirked. Berryblue might think she's got him in a devious trap, but he knew exactly how this little scheme of hers was going to end. First, he would order her to accompany him to Vampa as soon as the Bonyu Force returns, making sure that they stay alert to any coups which may be attempted by Berryblue's agents in his absence. Then, he'll meet with Paragus and see if they can't come to an arrangement without coming to blows. If a battle cannot be avoided, then, well...he'll win, easy as that. And once he's knocked out Broly, he'll make sure to vaporize Berryblue and beat the other Saiyans into submission before taking them all back to Planet Chilled in triumph. With them at his disposal and Berryblue lost to Vampa's vicious predators, his claim over the Cold family's former holdings will be that much stronger, allowing him to put an end to these pesky Galactic Patrol raids and refocus his attention back onto more important matters:
The restoration of the glorious Saiyan race.
"Why, yes," King Vegeta said eagerly. "Imagine, indeed..."
Once King Kai had drawn up the blinds, muttered some words in a strange language, and secured the small dwelling to his satisfaction, Roshi was emboldened to speak up once more.
"So," he began simply, yet firmly. "What is it that you suspected about me before?" he asked pointedly. King Kai sighed as he thought about just where to begin with such a loaded topic.
"Okay, well, the reason I was taken aback by your remarkable skill when we first met was because it...reminded me of something. Something sacred, something I'd long thought was only known and taught by the gods themselves. That is...until you came along, with an ability which was so eerily similar that even someone like me couldn't be certain whether or not it was the same thing."
"Oh?" Roshi asked, his curiosity more than piqued after four months of waiting.
"It's been referred to by several grandiose titles since time immemorial: 'The Power of the Gods,' 'The Path to Ultimate Mastery,' and other things like that," King Kai began somewhat dismissively. "For the sake of simplicity, the common name we use for it is...Ultra Instinct," he said, evidently expecting the name to carry some sort of weight with Roshi, who simply smirked.
"I see," he said with a slight degree of bemusement, as if to say "That's it?" King Kai bristled somewhat before nervously glancing over his shoulder as though he were afraid of being watched even in the supposed safety of his own home.
"I'll try and explain it as simply as I can, so that you understand why we go to such lengths to keep this information secret," King Kai continued, grabbing Roshi's attention once more. "As I'm sure you know, all fighters, mortal and immortal alike, have physical limits which are rooted into their nature as living beings. How fast they can move, how quickly they can react to oncoming attacks, things like that. These limits can be surpassed again and again through training and dedication, even for a fighter as long-lived as yourself...but everyone hits a wall eventually. There are heights of power which a person simply cannot hope to reach, not even with centuries or...or millennia of training." King Kai seemed lost in thought for a moment, as though he were reflecting on something that was personally troubling to him. Roshi couldn't tell exactly what it was, of course, but he sensed that King Kai had more investment into this 'Ultra Instinct' thing than Roshi had initially assumed. Perhaps this was something he was trying to achieve for himself?
"Believe me, I'm well aware of my limits," Roshi said with a mirthless chuckle. "But after testing myself by sparring with Gohan for the past year, I have been experiencing these...glimpses, moments in which I seem to get visions of an attack happening before the attack is even made. Is this sacred technique of yours the cause of this, would you say? Is it the key to truly overcoming these physical limitations?" he asked, to which King Kai sighed.
"Yes. With enough experience and training, a martial artist could theoretically reach a point where their body, mind, and spirit act in perfect harmony, allowing them to access their full potential strength as their body acts entirely on its own. Rather than needing to think about moving before doing so, someone who has mastered this technique would move at near-instantaneous speeds to avoid attacks and respond in kind, all within the same motion. They may not even necessarily be aware that they are in any danger, but their body will still react to it anyway, before their conscious mind can process what is happening. Historically, this sort of power has only been achievable for divine beings, and yet, what you've developed, what you're describing...it's very similar. It may honestly be Ultra Instinct, or at least your own mortal spin on it in a very nascent stage. Something like that should be impossible, but, well, you Earthlings have shown yourselves to be rather good at doing the impossible," he finished with a bemused, yet slightly nervous chuckle of his own, to which Roshi replied in kind before his mind returned to another question he hadn't quite gotten answered.
"And the reason you didn't feel comfortable telling me all of this until now?" Roshi asked, leaving King Kai a little more nervous before he decided that he might as well get to the point.
"Speaking of these things with a mortal isn't forbidden, exactly, just...improper," King Kai began. "I'm frankly not sure how my superiors would react to these abilities you have developed, which is why I dropped the subject as soon as I first got an inkling of what you could do. I had hoped that you would leave well enough alone, but now it seems as though you're intent upon pursuing this to the end." He said it as though it were an established fact, which Roshi supposed it was. "And if my superiors were to discover that a mortal had developed their own version of Ultra Instinct, even if it may not be nearly as refined, the simple fact that it exists is still-"
"A threat?" Roshi asked with an unimpressed look in his eyes, to which King Kai paled.
"Ah, m-more of a...challenge, I suppose," King Kai said instead. Roshi simply chuckled.
"Well, you can tell your superiors that I have no interest in challenging them: I don't want their job, and I don't have any particularly pressing issues with the way they run things," Roshi replied rather cheekily, causing King Kai to groan somewhat nervously at his irreverence.
"That may be so, but-"
"Tell you what: since I clearly don't mean to challenge them, why don't we ask them if it's still going to be a problem?" Roshi cut in before King Kai could finish, scaring him even further.
"I beg your pardon?! Do you realize who my superiors are?!" King Kai exclaimed. "They're the lords of creation, destruction, and the entire universe itself! You don't just drop into their sanctums uninvited! Heck, you don't drop in on me uninvited; I just can't stop you now!"
"I didn't say I'd be dropping in uninvited," Roshi explained patiently. "I just want to make my case for why they should let me figure out this 'Ultra Instinct' business for myself."
"And what is your case?" King Kai asked rather pointedly, to which Roshi smiled.
"Simple. It's my understanding, based on my previous interactions with you people, that the gods generally stay out of mortal affairs, yes?" Roshi began, to which King Kai nodded.
"That is generally the case."
"And so, it is therefore the responsibility of mortals to oppose evil throughout the universe, and the gods are perfectly fine with supporting them in that endeavor if they are judged to be worthy," Roshi continued, to which King Kai nodded again, a little more hesitant this time.
"Yes, that is how these things are done, but what you propose is a fair bit above-"
"Hold on a moment," Roshi said plainly, yet firmly, causing King Kai to fall silent. "You would agree with the notion that mortals these days are stronger than they were in the past, wouldn't you?" Roshi asked, causing King Kai to think for a moment before nodding a third time.
"Yes, this era has produced some remarkable champions of good...and remarkable adversaries for them to overcome, in turn," King Kai remarked, and soon understanding dawned. "So that's it then. Your argument is that you should be allowed to refine this technique so that the universe will always have someone who can fight against the rising tide of evil, even long after your students have passed on," King Kai guessed, to which Roshi at last nodded in response.
"More or less," Roshi remarked. "There was a time when I was content to leave the future of martial arts and the safety of the world in the hands of my students, but, well...my world was a lot smaller back then," he said wistfully, thinking back on much simpler times for a little too long before he shook his head and returned to the present. "In recent years, I've found myself embroiled in several conflicts bigger than anything I could have imagined, and although we may not be in extraordinary peril right now...that may not be the case forever." Roshi sighed as he sifted through memories that were not his own, memories that made the logic of his position all the more painfully clear. "Thanks to our new Saiyan acquaintance, I now am very acutely aware of what could have happened to us had we been caught off guard the way our counterparts were in another life. I want to make sure that we don't end up making that mistake even further down the line, and if that means I have to jump through hoops and push myself past the breaking point in order to figure out this 'Ultra Instinct' technique...then so be it. I have been blessed with multiple second chances at this point: I don't intend to waste them by resting on my laurels now. Not anymore." With his speech concluded, Roshi stared King Kai down as if daring him to object, but the minor god could only sigh in resignation as he held up a conciliatory hand.
"I can understand your logic, and if it were up to me, I'd be inclined to agree with you, Master Roshi," King Kai began. "Unfortunately, it's not up to me, and my superiors are far too busy to entertain any arguments from mortals, but...there is a path forward for you, albeit a risky one."
"Oh?" Roshi asked, intrigued.
"There is a Kai of higher authority whom I should be able to arrange a meeting with: the attendant of the Supreme Kai, whose name is Kibito," King Kai explained. "If you could convince him that you are worthy to possess such power, he might vouch for you. However...earning his support won't be easy, or particularly quick, let alone earning the support of those above him. It may be better for you to go back to Earth and continue pursuing this on your own." Although Roshi sensed that King Kai was attempting to spare him from a rather grueling process, he shook his head.
"I've literally spent a year ruminating on this, and yet I'm not much closer to understanding it than I was when I last set foot here," Roshi said matter-of-factly. "Sure, maybe I could figure things out on my own with enough time, but I'm not certain that time is a luxury I can afford. Not as long as King Vegeta can't be taken off the board and this 'Jamba' fellow is still out there, so-"
"I'm sorry, did you say Jamba?" King Kai asked, his concerns about Roshi's own plans momentarily forgotten as he thought back to a problem he had been tracking as of late.
"Yes," Roshi said, a little hesitant himself over how urgent King Kai sounded in response to that name. "He was something of a loose end after the business with Frieza's family was done with. Goku couldn't quite figure out what his plans were, and neither could the former Ginyus. He's a mystery wrapped in an enigma, and a remarkably slippery one at that," Roshi remarked. "I take it that you know something I don't?" he asked with a raised eyebrow, to which King Kai nodded.
"Yes. I'm afraid I do," King Kai said, not sounding especially pleased about that. "I looked into him once Goku was rescued and the Cold family was dealt with, and between you and me, I think my colleagues have underestimated that man a little too much," King Kai continued nervously, quickly moving on to another point before Roshi could ask for clarification. "In any case, as long as you're here, and as long as we're planning to meet with Kibito anyway, then perhaps it would be simpler to recruit you in Goku's stead and hope that we can take care of this loose thread on our own. To do so would require telling you even more about us than you already know, but, well...bit late to worry about that, now isn't it?" he finished dryly. Roshi chuckled a little awkwardly before volunteering what information he had been told about the man from Goku.
"Goku got the gist of the man's story, assuming it wasn't all a lie," he began. "According to him, his homeworld was destroyed by a god-like being simply known as 'The Destroyer,' but Goku seemed to think that was just an alias he used to refer to someone else, someone who-"
"Someone whose true name cannot be uttered, lest you wake him from his slumber," King Kai remarked, his voice sounding more grave than it ever had throughout this entire conversation.
"Why? What exactly could uttering his name do?" Roshi asked with a quizzical expression.
"You know that fanciful human notion that 'If you can't sleep, it means that someone's thinking of you?'" King Kai asked, to which Roshi nodded. "Well, with The Destroyer, it is terrifyingly literal. He's a divine being who sleeps for years, even decades at a time, on the planet where he lived when he was mortal eons ago, but any mention of his true name will immediately startle him out of his sleep and let him know just who it was that woke him up all at once! Nobody's sure why that is and let me tell you, nobody is eager to find out, least of all me!" King Kai said frantically, which Roshi supposed was fair. "All you really need to know about The Destroyer is that he's a necessary evil, a primal force of destruction whose sole purpose is to keep the force of endless creation that us Kais represent in check. None of us like him, and we certainly don't agree with how he conducts his task, but...it's not up to us," he finished somewhat glumly as he caught sight of Roshi's disapproving look. Perhaps this was the first time in centuries he had been made to reflect on how unfair the system he was charged with maintaining really was at its core.
"And what task is that, exactly? What gives him the right to decide that a world like Jamba's has had its fill of living?" Roshi asked a little more pointedly, only intensifying King Kai's shame. Good, Roshi thought. Perhaps it was due to his mortal limitations, but he was having trouble understanding why a being that could blow up planets on a whim was a necessary evil to begin with.
"Well, we Kais are charged with overseeing all life in the universe, and the Supreme Kais are those of us deemed worthy enough to actually create new planets on which life can develop," King Kai began for the sake of establishing context. "In contrast, The Destroyer is tasked with sweeping away any...undesirable planets from the face of the universe, allowing their raw materials to be used again in the creation of new planets. The planets he destroys - or, more accurately, the ones he's meant to destroy - are planets that are judged to be beyond any hope of redemption. He's left to his own devices on how to carry out his assigned duties, and the way he goes about it is...rather vain, but I-I'm certainly not about to challenge him on it!" King Kai said hastily, wiping a bead of sweat from his brow. "The fact is, you don't want to mess with The Destroyer! His power is beyond mortal comprehension, beyond our comprehension! His temper is such that there's no telling what he'll do when he wakes, which is why nobody is willing to risk even talking back to him, let alone waking him! He might not be perfect at his job, but not even the Supreme Kai can stop him from doing as he pleases. The last one who tried, well...no one else knows what became of him," he finished reluctantly, leaving Roshi to ponder the whole situation for a moment before sighing much more deeply.
"So, Jamba's out for revenge then, is he?" Roshi asked, to which King Kai nodded. "And why does his revenge plan hinge on taking Goku and the others out of the equation? I mean, frankly, if his deeds hadn't put so many innocent people in harm's way, I'd kind of be rooting for him...no disrespect intended," he finished, mostly meaning it, but King Kai was too appalled at what Roshi was saying to respond, even if he understood the sentiment to an extent.
"It's not so cut and dry, my friend!" he said in that same urgent tone of voice. "Jamba has gone to great lengths in pursuit of his revenge, to the point where he has concluded that Goku and the others would feel morally obligated to stop him. He's not a good person, Roshi," King Kai said firmly, causing Roshi to sputter out a response in his own defense.
"Now, hold on, I didn't say that-!"
"But you believe he is the lesser of two evils," King Kai finished, causing Roshi to pause mid-sentence before reluctantly nodding. "You may not be wrong, necessarily, but believe it or not, Jamba is the greater threat of the two. We know The Destroyer. We can handle The Destroyer. But Jamba? Jamba is a mortal who commands an army of one: weak individually, but almost impossible to isolate and outmaneuver as a whole. My superiors could track him down and take care of him easily, but they're barely aware that he exists, let alone that he's unknowingly devoted a lifetime towards arranging their demise." At this, Roshi paused, finding himself even more confused.
"Hang on, I thought his issue was with The Destroyer alone?"
"It is, and even I don't know what Jamba is thinking by setting himself up against such a powerful entity, but any plan to kill him must by necessity target the Supreme Kai as well," King Kai said, causing Roshi's eyes to slowly widen in understanding as he went on. "He is much weaker than The Destroyer, and they are bound to each other through a life link just like the one that once existed between Kami and Piccolo. This was done at the dawn of creation in order to keep the forces of creation and destruction from undermining each other...not that this has stopped them from disagreeing rather strenuously in the past," King Kai said nervously. Given what he'd been told, Roshi thought it best not to ask. "The point is, it's easier for Jamba to kill the Supreme Kai than it is for him to kill The Destroyer, and if he knows that, if he succeeds in killing them both at the same time...then the fundamental order of the universe itself will be disrupted." King Kai said, speaking as though he were talking about the end of all things. Probably because he was, Roshi realized. "We cannot allow that to happen," he reaffirmed, causing Roshi to nod with a hint of reluctance. Whatever moral concerns he might have about the order of the universe as it currently stood...he didn't want to see what it looked like when that order was suddenly torn asunder.
"Alright," he said simply. "What would you have me do?" he asked, to which King Kai searched the old man's expression for a moment before offering him a nervous smile.
"First..." he began as he ushered Roshi outside. "First we will see what Kibito thinks."
King Vegeta had lost count of how long he'd spent in the gravity chamber.
He'd barely vacated the facility from the moment it was fully operational, save for when he elected to eat and rest only as much as he absolutely needed to, or when something like Berryblue's report required his full attention. With his empire already starting to strain under the pressure of mounting internal tension and outside invasions, not to mention the plotting of his most cunning new subordinate to deal with, King Vegeta was more eager than ever to grow stronger. Unfortunately, while the circumstances of his reign meant that he was most definitely making progress in adjusting to the power of the Super Saiyan form for extended periods, his efforts in actually growing stronger through his gravity training were rendered less successful than they could've been as a result. He wasn't yet confident enough in the stability of his reign to risk falling out of Super Saiyan while he was conscious, so the form's power let him shrug off much of the adverse effects of the chamber whether he really wanted it to or not. Still, he was at least making some progress: he just had to hope that it would be enough to prepare him for the dastardly trap which Berryblue had in store for him. His pride wouldn't allow him to admit that there could be another Saiyan greater than him, but at the same time...Kakarot had taught him not to underestimate the power of any Saiyan, low-class or otherwise. If Berryblue was correct, if his father had indeed ordered the discreet assassination of this "Broly" child simply because his power may have been greater than his own...King Vegeta had to be prepared for anything.
He had to ensure victory...even if that meant drawing upon something he'd rather forget.
With a disgusted snarl, King Vegeta elected to stop his routine exercises and try for a different approach, letting the gravity chamber run at its current level of 100 gs while he adopted a meditative stance. He never would have thought he'd resort to such meaningless drivel as a means of growing stronger, but he knew well by this point that Future Vegeta had miscalculated with his attempt to show his past self the error of his ways. In his desperation, he had shown King Vegeta everything that he had experienced in the future, and although he'd been far too preoccupied with avoiding the evidence of his counterpart's growing sentimentality to really process it...he realized now that this included the techniques he had forcibly extracted from Pybara. The techniques which King Vegeta had been trying to learn for himself, only for the Armored Squadron to kill the old bastard before he was anywhere close to following in his counterpart's footsteps, for better or for worse. On the plus side, they had ensured that he would never succumb to such wretched sentimentality in the way his counterpart had done, but they had also made it so that reviewing the life of that pathetic disgrace was the only path available to him to obtain that knowledge now.
King Vegeta sighed, not exactly happy about his current situation or accustomed to the mental discipline it required to properly meditate instead of just closing one's eyes and sitting down without moving. Even as he sat in this position he had acquired for himself, ostensibly the ruler of much of the known universe...the euphoria of his initial triumph had begun to fade. His territory was already shrinking: first with the twenty planets that had already defected even before he showed up, and now with the other dozen or so that had become emboldened when his attempt to bring them under heel backfired. His subordinates were loyal insofar as they feared his power and the reputation he had stolen from his counterpart too much to openly oppose him. His efforts to rebuild the Saiyan population seemed less and less likely to succeed, and the only real positive thing which had come from his new circumstances was...Bonyu. The one person whose loyalty was more or less genuine, even if rooted in self-interest. The one person he could count on at the moment. The person least likely to concoct some method of stabbing him in the back.
And he had sent her away almost immediately.
Really, it was a miracle that she and the others not only survived, but had been allowed to flee without any lasting injuries, if only to send a message. He knew that the Galactic Patrol tended to favor imprisoning their enemies over killing them, but even so, it had certainly been a relief to hear that Bonyu and the others were still alive, much as King Vegeta was loath to admit it. He tried telling himself it was nothing more than logical concern for subordinates who would be difficult to replace, especially in his currently shaky position and especially when considering Bonyu's status as his consort. It seemed that her support was one of the very few things keeping the rank and file soldiers under his command in line, and if he got her killed on some backwater planet, that might be just the sort of thing that would convince many of them that death was better than serving under a renegade Saiyan who had already killed many of their comrades in arms. And sure, King Vegeta could take on his own empire single-handedly, but if he was forced to do so, what would be left to rule over but a smoldering ruin where the shining jewel of the universe had once stood? No, it was objectively for the best that Bonyu survived and ensured that his reign remained mostly stable until he could turn the tide of public opinion more decidedly into his favor than it was at the moment.
He would continue to pretend that this was the only reason he was concerned for her safety.
Quickly seeking to banish whatever foolish notions his counterpart had no doubt infected his mind with when they fought on that blasted world, King Vegeta turned his attention back to the task at hand, as much as a part of him strongly resisted the idea. Instead of desperately trying to keep these foreign memories out of his head, he did exactly the opposite, delving deeper into them as soon as one occurred to him, followed by another, and then another. He pushed past the ones he'd glimpsed before, past a thousand others like them which showed every moment in the lives of those half-human brats his counterpart had sired, and continued to dig in reverse as he tried desperately to isolate the memories that held the knowledge he needed to turn the tide. It wouldn't be easy, and he could already feel his stomach curdling at having to experience so many infuriating memories of a life he'd never had, a life he couldn't have if he wanted to remain himself. Even so...he had worked himself half to death in order to get to the position he was in now. He wasn't about to lose it just because his pride demanded he rebuke the knowledge gained by his foolish counterpart. He wouldn't let that sanctimonious fool triumph in the end. He'd sift through every last memory his counterpart had prepared for him and remain the same as he always had been, more or less. He'd uncover the memories he needed, study them until he had mastered everything his counterpart had done, and with those powers at his disposal...he would rule the universe. He would.
It was only a matter of time.
Well, that was a whole lot of information in one chapter. And believe it or not, it used to be more expositiony. xD
Gonna keep my author's note somewhat short this time around: dealing with some minor technical problems that make typing out anything with too many uses of the letter "R" an enormous headache that I'd rather not spend too much time doing when I've got end of semester projects to finish in like a week. Suffice it to say this whole chapter is a bit last minute on account of how it was originally solely focused on Roshi and King Kai in a way that was, as mentioned, far too expositiony. Hopefully I've managed to cut down on that a touch by shifting the focus in between Roshi and King Vegeta to set up various things. We've got the king hooked onto a much earlier version of Paragus' schemes with the intervention of Berryblue, along with a much earlier introduction to the cosmic stuff expanded on in later arcs and hints of the changes I've made to how things work in this particular version of the Dragon Ball universe. I'm hoping the stuff I've established so far lands okay, along with the stuff I plan to build on later.
In any event, not much to add to the usual power level listings other than King Vegeta getting a bit stronger: we can check in on how that ends up going later on. With that kicked down the road for now, though, it's time for reviews! Of which there are two, which, y'know what, makes my job easier this time around.
Zeon Paralysis Crystal says: "Nice to see you again. And nice chapter we have here. The Z-Fighters: Revolutionary Division, it seems." Indeed! Turns out a revolution is pretty easy to conduct when you can teleport everywhere and effortlessly trounce the opposition while minimizing casualties and property damage, lol.
And Shahryar says: "Great stuff. Really liking how this arc is going so far. Only (sorta) gripe is that I'm wondering where Goku is." Yeah, I'll figure out some good places to cut to what he's doing. He'll play a bigger role towards the end of this arc, but for now he's just kinda taking a break for once and learning how to be a teacher, lol.
Anywho, with all that said, thank you all for reading, stay safe, wear a mask and get vaccinated if possible, have yourselves a fantastic night, and take care.