Hey, everyone, Lion here with another update post. Not gonna make this one quite as long and drawn out because there isn't quite as much to say, other than one unfortunate thing: the next chapter is gonna need to be delayed. Between personal stuff and other projects, I put this one off a bit too long to get it finished in time for the first Sunday of June, and with my free time during the rest of June being a bit uncertain as well, I wasn't positive I'd have enough time to get through the next one even if I did somehow manage to finish the current upcoming chapter. As such, I figured the best move was to push Chapter 46 to the first Sunday of July and give myself more breathing room. Hopefully this news isn't too disappointing to hear: I was really hoping I'd be able to keep up the monthly uploads, but hopefully this will be the last time things just didn't work out on that front, at least for a while.
Still, if nothing else, I refuse to leave y'all empty handed for this month, so aside from covering the most recent reviews, I've also included a little sneak peek at what I have completed so far for this particular chapter. But before we get to that, review time!
Zeon Paralysis Crystal says:
"Quite a surprise to see this again. How's everything" Eh, fairly good, all things considered. Still missing the "r" key, though, so that's annoying.
"1. New and Old Players. Tarble, Paragus, Broly, Jamba, and Kibito. Can't wait to see how the former four blow things up. Especially with the universe at a very critical. And Badibi, Buu, and Dabura are like a Damocles's Sword and a Loose Noose over everyone." Mhm, those confrontations will definitely be interesting, although probably not happening for a few chapters yet.
"2. Poking the Cat. King Kai is certainly being serious and well...it's Beerus, I'm surprised something like this didn't happen sooner in Fanfiction. You don't think Janba will join Badibi." Well, we'll have to see on that front, won't we? And yup, this is one cat whose nap you do not wanna mess with.
"3. Vegeta's House of Glass. Well we get the odd sight of Vegeta contemplating his life choices and his pride being kneecapped a bit." Yup. That whole scene can basically be summarized as:
Vegeta Sowing: Ha ha, yes! YES!
Vegeta Reaping: Well this sucks. What the hell?!
Emrys Akayuki says:
"Great chapter! Roshi on the potential UI path, is always fun, nothing actually preventing anyone form getting to any level of power, after all.
Although on a side note, it is a weird thing that UI is described as a reaction improving thing, but so obviously gives an increase in power and defense... and silver hair, even for non-saiyans, as the angels prove. Idk, maybe I missed an explanation at some point."
Yeah, hopefully my explanation lands a little better as far as what exactly UI is, at least under my interpretation. Tying it at least indirectly to the notion of unlocking dormant potential seems like the right move, especially since this is something that theoretically anyone could accomplish eventually. Idk, maybe I missed something too: although I pull a lot from Super, I haven't watched it in full or read the whole manga, so my perspective is sorta skewed.
Finally, Shahryar says, rather aptly: "Roshi meeting with Kibito is King Kai setting him up to fail lmfao good chapter." To which I reply...we'll see. ;)
Thank you all for your patience, as always, and I hope you enjoy what I've got so far, at least.
"Was there truly no other way for us to go about this?"
Roshi had waited a remarkably long time to ask this question, a wait which spoke to the remarkable patience which one would naturally expect from someone who has lived for so long. Still, even a man such as himself has his limits, and being asked to stay put on King Kai's planet with nothing whatsoever to do was beginning to test those limits. Hence, the question.
"I'm afraid not, my friend," King Kai said placatingly, and Roshi did his best to make sure that his host did not feel he was being ungrateful for the hospitality he had been given so far.
"I understand that these things would ordinarily take quite some time to arrange, but you've told me this man teleports just like Dende can," Roshi began as diplomatically as he could manage.
"He does," King Kai confirmed.
"And you've told me that you contacted him immediately to request an audience," Roshi continued, and even King Kai couldn't quite stop himself from sighing tiredly at the delay.
"I did," he said in a more resigned tone.
"And yet, I've been stuck here meditating-"
"Dozing."
"Meditating on and off for the last-!" Roshi began before pausing. "Damn, how long has it been?" he asked, which was a fair question on a planet that existed outside the bulk of creation.
"Three days," King Kai replied frankly. "Believe me, I'm not happy about it either, but it is not my place to question the decisions of my superior. I'm certainly not about to risk disrespecting him by potentially making him wait even a second for your arrival; we must operate on his timetable, not your own. Having you remain here until he makes his decision was the safest possible option." Roshi sighed, knowing that King Kai probably couldn't do anything about this, but still finding himself growing bored all the same. Wishing to stretch his legs after hours of arduous meditation, he got up from the porch and lifted his arms up over his head.
"Well, that's his prerogative, I suppose, although I'm unclear on what exactly is taking him so long," he remarked somewhat grumpily. "You said he was the Supreme Kai's attendant, yes?"
"Indeed," King Kai replied, unsure where Roshi was going with this.
"And that this makes him similar to the Supreme Kai in terms of status?" Roshi continued, to which King Kai nodded again, finding himself growing a little nervous.
"Right," he added with the slightest hint of trepidation...particularly when Roshi smirked.
"So then, what exactly does this 'highly respected position' entail aside from going where he goes and looking imposing until a fight breaks out?" he asked dryly, causing King Kai to sputter a hasty reprimand for his guest's impudence, hardly for the first time.
"I can't believe-we do not say such things about the great Kibito!" King Kai cried out.
"Because it's disrespectful or because it's true?" Roshi sniped back cheekily, his amusement only growing as he watched King Kai's antennae curl in uncertainty before responding.
"...Yes," he ground out, unwilling to concede the point, yet also unwilling to lie. Roshi laughed for the first time in three days and attempted to give him a bemused, yet reassuring smile.
"Well, not to worry, King Kai. I'll be sure to control my insolence by the time he finally-" Roshi began, only to watch as King Kai was suddenly left trembling in place, his face a perfect recreation of the kind of face one gets when they have been called into the principal's office. Roshi may not have heard a sound, but he could now sense a significant ki signature from behind him, one that was nowhere to be found a second ago. Similarly to what he had observed during his time with King Kai, Roshi couldn't quite get a solid read on the strength of the red-skinned, white-haired humanoid he locked eyes with as he turned around. Unlike mortal ki, which generally remained stable, the ki of divine beings like King Kai or this Kibito fellow was constantly in flux, thereby defying any form of measurement attempted by machine and mortal alike. All Roshi could tell when sensing the two minor gods in his vicinity was that, between the two of them, Kibito was stronger.
Much stronger.
"'Master' Roshi, I presume?" Kibito said stiffly, speaking with a well-practiced formality of tone which carefully disguised just how much he had debated the merits of coming to King Kai's planet and hearing them out in the first place. Able to recognize this without the need for telepathy, Roshi did his best to put on the charm and put his best foot forward, such as it was.
"Why, yes, I am he!" he began amicably. "A pleasure to meet you, Lord Kibito!" he added, complete with a respectful bow. The Supreme Kai's attendant, looking especially imposing with his massive shoulder pads and perfectly-pressed robes without a single thread out of place, did not seem to be particularly impressed with Roshi's show of respect, nor was he particularly displeased. Taking this as a good sign, Roshi got up from the bow and kept his eye on the man who towered over him.
"Yes, well, it is good to put a face to the name, I suppose," Kibito said in that same stiff tone. King Kai saw Roshi beginning to smirk and break character even before he himself realized it, and frantically waved at him not to say anything.
"Ohoho, so my reputation precedes me, then!" he said, sounding a bit more like his usual self. Kibito didn't outwardly react...but Roshi could have sworn he noticed the ghost of a smile.
"In a manner of speaking," he replied. "From what I was able to gather over the past few days, it seems that some of the lower servants of Other World have a betting pool regarding your inevitable demise." King Kai noticeably tensed up at the somewhat casual manner in which Kibito delivered this information, and even Roshi had to admit he was a little perturbed.
"Yes, well, I imagine it would be a little tricky to figure out when I'll finally kick the bucket," he said, hoping to salvage that line of discussion in some way. The ghost of a smile became more of a smirk, one that only worsened the others' apprehension.
"That is not what the denizens have been betting on," he said simply, leaving it up to them to guess before moving on. "In any case, let us dispense with these petty frivolities and get to why you have requested my presence here." With that, King Kai did his best not to stutter as he finally spoke up, intending to kick things off as smoothly as possible for Roshi's sake.
"Ah, yes, of course, Lord Kibito! I know it's difficult to believe, but if you allow me to fully explain, you will see that my student here is perfectly capable of-" King Kai began, only for Kibito to hold up a hand in order to silence him.
"There is no need for this," Kibito said. "We may not have spoken often, but I trust your judgment, King Kai. As outlandish as your claim seemed to me at first, my own research has led me to conclude that this man has indeed developed an inferior version of Ultra Instinct. However, that is not what is up for debate here, is it?" he asked rhetorically before turning to Roshi and really taking full advantage of their considerable height difference to loom over the mortal master. "You wish to learn more," he added imperiously, knowing that they both knew this already.
"That's right," Roshi said anyway, for the sake of decorum.
"You believe that you are capable of mastering Ultra Instinct on your own. You, a mere mortal," he followed up, to which Roshi attempted to stand up a little straighter.
"I do," he replied, his voice filled with determination.
"And you believe that, with this power in hand, you are worthy of one day acting as protector of the universe," Kibito finished, his skepticism evident. Roshi took a deep breath as he looked up at the massive divine being standing before him...and suddenly had a very good idea of what was about to happen the moment after he gave his final answer.
"Yes," Roshi said, speaking with a resigned air which left King Kai incredibly nervous.
"I see. Well then..." Kibito said, pausing for a moment as he tucked a hand behind his back. While King Kai felt his antennae curling in fear and anticipation over what he now suspected was about to happen, both Kibito and Roshi knew there was no point to the gesture. Both of them knew that, as Kibito rushed forward at lightning-fast speeds to slash at Roshi's face with a palm strike, Roshi would leap backwards to try and avoid it, having predicted the attack before they even finished talking and even glimpsed it several seconds ahead of time. However, this did not mean that he wasn't caught off guard by just how fast Kibito moved: faster than Gohan could, albeit not by much. This also didn't mean that he could fully process how quickly Kibito moved to teleport behind him after the attack, although he predicted that as well.
And it certainly didn't mean that he dodged the first strike completely.
As Roshi landed a good ten feet away from where he had started, he was momentarily distracted by a small spurt of blood which suddenly burst from his forehead. Only once that had happened did he notice a small, yet painful gash had formed in the wake of Kibito's attack, with the resulting spurt of blood clearly intended to blind him even if he managed to dodge. Frantically moving to clear away the blood with a kiai and cauterizing the wound with a quick, yet similarly painful burst of ki, Roshi almost missed the sound of Kibito's teleportation. He wasn't positive that it made a sound at all: it happened so quickly and seamlessly that, between Kibito's Instantaneous Movement and his own Instant Transmission, it was obvious which technique was superior. Still, he quickly sensed Kibito's ki appearing behind him, and he had a funny feeling that this was only the first of many attacks to come. As he turned around to face his attacker, he found what he expected to find: the imposing divine warrior looking down upon him with his hand outstretched in what would soon become a scything motion, red blood still dripping from where he sliced into Roshi's face earlier. Roshi had faced down many threats before and lived to tell the tale, and he was reasonably sure that he would live to tell this one too. Even so, just because this wasn't likely to become a fight to the death didn't mean that Kibito had any intention of pulling his punches.
And if Roshi wanted to earn the respect of the gods, he was going to have to do the same.
"Let's test that, shall we?" Kibito asked before bringing his hand down upon Roshi's head.