Beerus caught Goku's punch on his arm, let the force roll past him, then answered with an open palm to the stomach.
The blow folded Goku in half and sent him flying backward across the yard.
"Don't wreck the buildings," Ken called from the banquet table.
Goku twisted in midair and glanced over his shoulder. Capsule Corporation's walls were coming up fast. "Ah… right!"
His aura flared, and he shot upward instead of crashing through the building. Beerus gave Ken a brief look, then vanished from the ground and reappeared above Goku, chasing him into the sky.
Goku barely steadied himself before Beerus was on him again. A kick caught him cleanly and sent him spinning through the air, but the red fire of Super Saiyan God wrapped around him before he lost control. He recovered, turned the spin into momentum, and drove a fist back toward Beerus.
Beerus slipped aside without effort.
After that, the sky above Capsule Corporation filled with streaks of red light and sharp bursts of force. Goku attacked from every angle, shifting direction again and again, while Beerus kept just enough distance to make every strike miss or land where he wanted it to. For about a minute, Goku pushed harder, faster, trying to force even a real guard out of him.
Beerus finally appeared above him.
Goku felt it too late. "Not good—"
"Down you go."
Beerus flipped in midair and brought his heel down across Goku's shoulder. Goku dropped like a meteor, but before he hit the ground, his aura flared again and slowed his fall. He landed in the open area with both feet dragging through the dirt.
Beerus descended in front of him, calm and almost cheerful. "Well? Can you transform again?"
Goku rolled his shoulder, then let out a helpless laugh. The red flame around him faded, and his hair returned to black. "Nope. Doesn't matter what I turn into. I'm not beating you, Beerus-sama."
Beerus liked that answer more than he expected. "At least you know your limits. Still, if that's all the Super Saiyan God can do, it's a disappointment."
"That's because you're too strong," Goku said, grinning.
Goku's praise was so open and shameless that Beerus decided he was no longer irritating. He turned away, the fight already finished in his mind, and went back to the banquet.
Goku followed just as naturally, picking up a braised pork bone from another table and gnawing on it as if he had not been kicked out of the sky a moment ago.
At Ken's table, Merus watched Beerus return to the food and let out a small breath. "Beerus-sama went easy on him."
"Goku has that effect on people," Ken said.
Merus nodded after a moment. "He does. Even someone like Vegeta changed after spending enough time around him."
"Piccolo tried to rule the world once too," Ken added, glancing toward the Namekian. "Goku and Gohan pulled him out of that."
Merus looked at Piccolo with new interest. He would not have guessed that quiet, stern Namekian had once been that kind of threat.
"That's the charm of Goku and the people around him," Ken said. "They make enemies forget they're supposed to stay enemies."
"Impressive," Merus murmured, though his gaze soon returned to Beerus. "Still, I don't think Beerus-sama is done. I have a bad feeling."
"Broly should be back soon," Ken said. "Let him handle it."
With Broly around, Ken had no reason to personally deal with someone like Beerus. If Broly somehow failed, Ken was still there.
Merus looked up at the sky. "Broly must have improved a lot over the years."
"We'll know when he gets here."
Across the yard, Vegeta stared at the end of the match and felt cheated.
That was it?
That was all?
He had expected Kakarot to get beaten into the ground, not exchange a polite spar and return to eating. Worse, Kakarot had clearly not used everything he had. That idiot had held back and still managed to turn the whole thing into a friendly test.
Sneaky bastard.
Beerus, meanwhile, stopped caring about the Super Saiyan God surprisingly quickly. The fight had not met his expectations, but the food still had his full attention, and there were enough dishes left to repair most of his mood.
Then he noticed Buu.
The fat pink nuisance was sitting with Bardock, happily eating something soft and pale from a little cup. It looked smooth, tender, and sweet.
Beerus walked over.
"What are you eating?"
Buu glanced up. "Pudding."
"Give me one."
"No."
Beerus's eye twitched. "No?"
"You're not the big fat cat. We're not close."
Beerus's temper started rising again, but his attention shifted when he noticed Bardock sitting beside Buu. The Saiyan looked too much like Goku to ignore, and the clothes he wore were even harder to ignore.
"You," Beerus said. "Who are you? You look like that Saiyan I just fought."
"I'm his father," Bardock said.
Beerus narrowed his eyes at Bardock's outfit. "And why are you dressed like that? Those are God of Destruction clothes."
"They are," Bardock replied.
"I don't remember a God of Destruction like you."
"There's plenty you don't know," Buu said lightly.
Beerus turned back to him. "Fat fool, give me a pudding before I lose patience."
"No, no, no." Buu pulled the remaining puddings closer, then stuck out his tongue and licked each one in quick succession. "Now they're mine."
For a second, Beerus simply stared.
Then something in him snapped.
He grabbed Buu by the antenna and slapped him across the face so hard Buu's head warped sideways and several teeth flew out. "You hit me three times earlier. I've been putting up with you for too long."
Beerus did not stop with one slap. He dragged Buu in by the antenna and hammered his face again and again until the pink flesh was smashed completely out of shape. The party froze around them, everyone watching as the God of Destruction finally lost the patience Buu had spent the last hour testing.
Beerus finished by driving a kick into Buu and launching him high above the yard.
The guests stared up after him.
So he really dared to do it.
This was Ken's side of the party. Bulma's birthday. Everyone here knew very well what Ken had said about not causing trouble. Beerus might have been terrifying, but several people were already looking at him with pity instead of fear.
That cat was going to have a bad time.
Whis glanced over from the food table. "Oh my."
Amarella smiled faintly. "Aren't you going to stop Beerus-sama?"
"I warned him before we came," Whis said, still calm. "I told him not to cause trouble. Beerus-sama is not very good at listening."
"That does sound like him."
Whis looked at her more closely. "Your Angel power has recovered quite well, Amarella. At this pace, in a few years you might be near your former peak again."
"Returning completely to where I was will not be so easy."
"Ken must be taking very good care of you."
Amarella paused. The words sounded odd, though she could not quite say why.
Whis smiled and moved on before she could question it. "What level is Ken now?"
Amarella took a bite of cream cake. "At least level 80."
Whis's smile held, but his hand paused. "Oh my. Level 80…"
"He's already stronger than the two guards fused together," Amarella said. "He beat their fusion properly last time."
Whis decided he did not need to comment.
Ken's growth was ridiculous.
Beerus-sama really was heading toward disaster. And if Whis's feeling was right, Ken would not even need to step in himself. Broly would likely be back soon, and Broly alone might be enough to handle the current Beerus.
High above Capsule Corporation, Beerus appeared in front of Buu before he could finish recovering.
Buu's face twisted back into shape, smoke venting from his body as his regeneration patched him up. He had barely reset his head before Beerus punched him in the face again and drove his nose deep into his skull.
The beating continued in the air. Beerus struck from every direction, and Buu, for all his strange durability, could not keep up. His body bent, stretched, and dented under the blows until he looked less like an opponent and more like a punching bag.
"Buu!" Mr. Satan cried from below, terrified.
Videl clasped her hands near her chest, eyes fixed on the sky.
Beerus drew back after another strike, watching Buu's body repair itself yet again. "You can take a hit. I'll give you that. A fat fool like you actually reaching God of Destruction strength is more impressive than I expected."
Buu's body puffed with white steam as his anger rose.
Before he could rush back in, Bardock appeared beside him.
Beerus turned his eyes toward the Saiyan. "You came up here too? Planning to challenge me?"
"Yes," Bardock said.
Beerus smiled and beckoned to both of them. "Then come together."
Red fire burst around Bardock. His hair rose and turned crimson as he entered Super Saiyan God, and Beerus's eyes sharpened at once.
The memory came back clearly this time.
"You."
Bardock smiled. "You finally remembered."
"You're the Super Saiyan God from my dream." Beerus's voice turned colder. "I thought it was your son."
"It was me," Bardock said. "And I know this form still isn't enough. That's why I kept training."
"What are you trying to show me?"
Bardock answered by pushing his power higher. The red fire around him thickened, lightning crawling through it in sharp crimson arcs. His hair grew longer, falling past his back, while his divine pressure rose into something far heavier than before.
Super Saiyan God Three.
Beerus studied the form with open interest. "It resembles your son's Super Saiyan Three, but his was mortal ki. Yours is God ki."
"Exactly."
Beerus raised a hand. "Then both of you, come on."
Bardock glanced at Buu. "Little God of Destruction, I'll go first."
"You're not beating him alone," Buu said. "The only real way is for me to absorb you."
"Let's not rush to that," Bardock said dryly. "Didn't you say the Great God of Destruction will be back soon?"
Buu thought about it, then nodded. "Right. Then go ahead. I'll cheer for you, and I can heal you if you get hurt."
"Thank you, Little God of Destruction."
Buu grinned. "Say it again. I like hearing it."
Bardock did not. His expression had already turned serious.
Beerus looked between them, confused despite himself. "What is this 'Little God of Destruction' nonsense?"
"Details you don't need," Bardock said. "For now, I'll be your opponent."
"Then stop talking and come."
Bardock moved in a streak of red light. He crossed the space between them instantly and drove a fist straight at Beerus. Beerus caught it in one hand, but Bardock did not stop there. Beerus brought his knee up and slammed it into Bardock's stomach, forcing a harsh cough from him, but Bardock answered through the pain with a backhand across Beerus's face.
Beerus's head snapped slightly to the side.
The surprise lasted just long enough for Bardock to kick him and send him rolling once through the air. Bardock closed in again, an uppercut catching Beerus under the jaw and forcing him backward.
"We fight here, and we'll ruin Ken's meal," Bardock said, bringing both hands forward.
A surge of God ki swallowed Beerus and blasted him away from Capsule Corporation. His body shot across the sky, past the city, and toward the distant mountains.
Ken watched the red trail vanish into the distance, then glanced at Merus.
"Merus, put up a projection so everyone can watch."
Merus looked at him.
He really knew how to order people around.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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