Chapter 159 – Kibito and Supreme Kai Shin
Lin Qi lost interest at a glance. The junior division of the tournament was less of a competition and more like a game of make-believe between children.
It was mostly just a formality, but likely no one expected that Trunks and Goten—those two little monsters—would sneak their way into the lineup.
With those two superpowered anomalies in the mix, the speed at which contestants were eliminated and finalists selected was like riding a rocket.
"Haah! Hyaa!"
"Dah dah dah! Hah!"
In the blink of an eye, the destined battle between Trunks and Goten was underway!
The two boys, initially just playing around, gradually got serious. They clashed from ground to sky, fists and feet flying, evenly matched in strength.
The spectacle left the entire audience wide-eyed and speechless. The packed crowd fell utterly silent.
"Whoa?! Those two little guys can already turn Super Saiyan? That really caught me off guard!" exclaimed Goku in amazement. Thinking back to himself at that age, he was probably still fishing on Mount Paozu just to fill his belly.
"Hey! Kakarot!" Vegeta snapped from the side, pointing to Goten in the ring. "Your son just broke the rules…"
But Goku just scratched the back of his head nonchalantly. "What can I do about it? I'm not the one fighting!"
Vegeta was about to get angry, but in the end, he found it hard to argue with Goku's casual attitude. Especially with Goten starting to gain the upper hand.
This only made Vegeta more irritable. Arms crossed, he kept huffing under his breath. "That Trunks… I clearly haven't trained him hard enough!"
"Oh come on, Vegeta. They're just kids playing around. Why are you being so serious?" Goku thought Vegeta was making too big a deal of it.
"Hmph, I'm not like you with that half-hearted attitude!" Vegeta was downright obsessive about this.
Anything that involved Kakarot—even their sons—had to prove his superiority. His son had to be stronger than Goku's!
Gohan stood off to the side, exchanging awkward glances with Krillin. In the end, all he could do was offer a stiff smile. "They're both… really giving it their all, huh?"
"You guys go ahead, I'm gonna wander around a bit," Lin Qi said, turning to wander off. Maybe he'd bump into Supreme Kai Shin!
Poor guy... maybe he should clue him in on Beerus' existence, so he wouldn't get scared out of his wits by Majin Buu.
After all, to Lin Qi, Buu was little more than a pesky fly.
As for Babidi's whereabouts, Lin Qi had tried to sense him, but something was interfering with his ability. Otherwise, he would've just used Instant Transmission to end things right then and there.
Reaching the entrance to the adult division area, Lin Qi had originally wanted to track down those two, but instead, he caught sight of a man and woman bumping into each other.
Gohan, in a full disguise, seemed to be in a rush to go somewhere. As he turned the corner, he collided head-on with a girl, knocking her to the ground.
"Ah—ow! That hurts!"
The girl got up, rubbing her butt, and was stunned when she saw it was Gohan!
The girl was Videl—Satan's daughter, Gohan's future wife, and currently his classmate in high school!
Videl was dressed in a tight black T-shirt and loose sweatpants. She stared in surprise at the dazed Gohan standing in front of her.
Then she exclaimed excitedly, "Gohan! So you are competing in the tournament!"
"You're here too?" Gohan had just been wondering why he hadn't seen her. He never expected to run into her like this.
"I was just looking for you! Finally found you!" Videl beamed and clung to Gohan's arm.
Before long, the two wandered off together, heading toward the junior division…
Back in the contestants' area, the place buzzed with chatter and noise.
As Lin Qi casually scanned the area, he finally spotted the people he'd been looking for.
Supreme Kai Shin—and his attendant, Kibito!
These two might not be very capable, but their status... well, it was definitely something.
After all, as one of the true high gods of the universe, the Supreme Kai was born with a transcendent status above all beings in existence. Not only that, but he was soul-bound to the God of Destruction—live and die as one!
Otherwise, Beerus wouldn't have gone out of his way to seal the Old Supreme Kai in the Sacred World of the Kais for causing so much trouble.
Although, Beerus probably never expected the Supreme Kai position to be transferable like that.
So when the old one retired, Shin inherited his role. Tsk... who knows if that's a blessing or a curse?
Just as Lin Qi was pretending not to recognize them and was about to walk past, Supreme Kai Shin greeted him with a kind smile.
With eyes squinting into narrow lines, Shin extended a hand toward Lin Qi and asked, "Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you. Are you a friend of Son Goku's?"
"Not exactly... We're just the same race, and I happened to end up here by coincidence," Lin Qi replied coldly, without taking his hand.
"Supreme Kai!"
That single phrase made both Shin and Kibito's minds go blank, question marks practically popping out of their heads.
They stared at Lin Qi for a long moment before Kibito came to his senses, instantly growing guarded. "Who are you!? How do you know our identities?"
"You're the ones who got in my way, and now you're asking who I am?" Lin Qi looked at Kibito with an amused smirk.
"Relax. I've got no interest in you two."
Honestly… faced with an arrogant Kibito who looked down on mortals and a Supreme Kai who wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed…
Lin Qi really couldn't be bothered. They were just two so-called gods scared witless by Majin Buu?!
"Is that really so? I hope so," Shin replied, trying to sound composed, but in truth, he was letting out a huge sigh of relief inside.
As for the idea of asking this Saiyan for help—he promptly dropped it. Anyone he couldn't see through was someone best left alone.
Seeing everything written plainly on Shin's face, Lin Qi shook his head in resignation. So this is the current Supreme Kai…
Where was the dignity of a god? He was practically just a frightened mortal in fancy clothes.
After a short silence, Shin tried to offer a gesture of goodwill.
"I can tell you possess great power—worthy of the Saiyan race. In the future, could I ask for your help? I hope you'll understand."
Lin Qi raised an eyebrow and dropped all pretense of sympathy. "So this is what it's like when a fool tries to get another idiot to join in his mess, huh?"
Shin didn't quite follow Lin Qi's cryptic insult, but Kibito definitely caught the unfriendly tone.
"What did you say!?" Kibito's expression darkened as he suddenly stepped forward.
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