Realm of the Gods of Destruction.
"Hahaha! I never thought I'd wake up one day to receive a disciple like this!"
Beerus stood by the lake, laughing heartily. To have someone as monstrously gifted as Gran become his successor candidate for the God of Destruction — it was hard not to be in a good mood.
Whis rolled his eyes from the side. Seeing Beerus so delighted, one might think Gran had volunteered to become his disciple. But in truth… Beerus had forced him into it.
Still…
"Oh-ho-ho~~"
Whis also burst into laughter, raising his head toward the sky. Now that Gran was a candidate for God of Destruction, that meant he was officially part of the divine realm.
In other words, he could now eat Gran's heavenly cooking every day. How could Whis not be happy?
But unlike those two
The little Gran looked utterly devastated. Dressed in the traditional God of Destruction robes, he looked down at himself in misery.
What a disaster.
He had come to the Realm of Destruction just to train under Whis — not to become Beerus' disciple!
Who could've predicted that his training would wake Beerus up… or that Beerus would take a liking to his talent?!
Now what?!
If Beerus were to die — or if Supreme Kai Shin died — then he would have to take up the mantle of God of Destruction!
That meant his life would become linked to the new Supreme Kai's! What kind of twisted fate was this?!
"You brat," Beerus said, grabbing Gran by the scruff of his neck and lifting him up to eye level. "You get to be the successor of the Seventh Universe's God of Destruction. You're not happy about that?"
Gran stared at him with a bitter face. "Lord Beerus… is there any way to fix the life-link between Gods of Destruction and Supreme Kais?"
"What do you mean?" Beerus blinked, confused.
Whis quickly caught on. "Ah, you're referring to the fact that the God of Destruction's life is tied to that of the Supreme Kai?"
"What?! You know about that?" Beerus nearly jumped.
Whis, however, looked unfazed. By now, he knew this little Saiyan seemed to know all kinds of cosmic secrets. For him to know this was hardly surprising.
Gran nodded, looking pitiful.
Beerus finally set him down and realized, "So that's why you refused me earlier — because of this?"
"Of course! If it weren't for that weakness, I'd have loved to be your disciple!"
Now that he was officially a successor, Gran wasn't as fearful. His tone lost its earlier deference.
"You little brat…"
Beerus didn't take offense. Instead, he sat down on the grass beside him and chuckled. "I don't know how you found that out, but you really don't need to worry about our mortality."
"...?"
"Maybe you don't know this — as long as one Supreme Kai remains alive, the God of Destruction won't die."
Gran twitched his lips. Of course he knew that. He also knew that Beerus, being terrified of dying, had sealed the Old Supreme Kai in a sword to keep himself safe!
As expected.
"As long as we seal one of the Kais," Beerus went on, "we'll never die."
His eyes glimmered with nostalgia. "I wonder how that old geezer's doing now."
Gran sighed. "But what if… the Kai you sealed also dies?"
"That's impossible! My seals can't be broken!"
Gran nearly rolled his eyes. You don't even know how fragile that seal really is. In just a few years, when Gohan and Goku visit the Realm of the Kais, the Old Kai will be released!
Of course, Gran didn't say that out loud. He merely looked up at the sky, expression calm.
"I mean if, Lord Beerus. What if someone does break it?"
"Then…" Beerus' expression darkened. "Then our lives would be left to fate."
That was the unshakable weakness of every God of Destruction — even Beerus, the strongest of them all, couldn't change that.
For the first time, a flicker of guilt crossed Beerus' eyes. With Gran's talent, he would one day surpass even him… yet now, he'd saddled the boy with such a fatal flaw.
"There really isn't any way to fix it?" Gran asked, unwilling to accept it.
"There is," Whis said suddenly.
Both Beerus and Gran's eyes lit up. "What way?!" they asked in unison.
Whis smiled. "Rules exist to be broken. When you grow strong enough, you can shatter even this law."
Beerus: "..."
That was as good as saying nothing!
Even angels couldn't break the laws set by Zeno — how could they, mere Gods of Destruction, possibly do so?
But suddenly
Gran stood up, his small face serious, eyes blazing with determination. "I've decided!"
Both Beerus and Whis turned to him, exchanging puzzled looks.
"Since Lord Beerus has given me this weakness," Gran said, pausing, his voice firming with resolve, "then one day — I'll be the one to break this rule!"
That rule had been set by the Omni-King himself.
But Gran's ultimate goal in this world… was to punch Beerus and kick Zeno!
So really, breaking the rules and kicking Zeno's face weren't all that different.
BOOM!
The seven-year-old Saiyan stood there, small in stature yet towering in spirit. His fierce words made both Beerus and Whis tremble slightly in awe.
"I'll keep training!"
Without another glance, Gran turned and walked back to his usual training spot. His grasp of the "Selfless State" was still unstable — he needed to master it completely.
Watching that small figure in the distance, Whis swallowed hard. "Lord Beerus… it seems we've taken in quite the extraordinary disciple."
Beerus clenched his fists. "This kid…"
From that day forward, Beerus stopped taking naps.
Especially after realizing he'd given Gran a mortal weakness, he began taking his duties as a mentor seriously.
Time passed. Half a year went by in the blink of an eye.
During that time, both Beerus and Whis continued to guide Gran, and he finally learned to enter the "Half-Selfless" state at will.
Though it was only a half-step, it already showed hints of Ultra Instinct.
Now, what Gran lacked was raw power, battle experience, and higher-level combat instincts.
When he gained those, when his body moved with lightning reflexes born of countless fights — and combined it with his Selfless State — he would enter the first stage of Ultra Instinct Omen!
As for Complete Ultra Instinct... that would come only after he reached true "Selflessness" and elevated his combat instincts to divine levels.
In these six months, Beerus and Gran had grown close.
And Whis hadn't exaggerated — Gran's cooking was divine.
His dishes deserved the title of "Most Delicious in the Universe." It was no wonder Beerus had grown so fond of him.
At this point, Gran could probably do anything — even stand on Beerus's head and pee — and Beerus wouldn't get mad.
"Brat," Beerus muttered, glaring playfully, "don't tell me you actually want to stand on my head and pee?"