Part 36, Chapter 176.

PART THIRTY SIX: DECEITFUL MAGICIANS

Chapter 176

Translated by npberryhill, edited by Guilarai

Meanwhile.

In the kitchens, chaotic disorder reigned, much to the despair of the Vargas, who could only watch helplessly as the disaster unfolded. Initially, everything had started so well. Their willing workforce had complied willingly, some more than others, with their instructions.

"To begin," one of the cooks told Son Gohan from Universe 18, "you're going to chop these carrots. There are thousands of them; you'll have to put in some effort."

"Don't you have a tool for that?" the Saiyan exclaimed.

"Are you kidding me? You don't understand anything about haute cuisine! The art of cooking is about the tips of your feathers, it's a delicate caress with the tips of your claws, it's about treating ingredients with gentleness and respect! And it's also because we broke the machine due to the overload…"

Son Gohan raised an amused eyebrow as the Varga regained his composure after a moment of distraction.

“Anyway!” he continued. “Do as I told you. The sooner you—” A brief gust of wind felt like a light whip crack on the tip of his beak. He couldn't have known that thousands of movements had just taken place before his eyes.

“…start… Uh…” On the table in front of him lay the aforementioned thousands of carrots, freshly cut into perfect, even pieces. Chopped in less than a second.

“And then?” Son Gohan asked, his tone feigning innocence. The Varga nearly lost some feathers. How could such a feat have happened? He knew that the warriors from the participating universes were incredibly strong and fast, but this guy was just a spectator! What forces of nature lived in these worlds?

While he was busy directing Son Gohan, as well as his wife, who had just joined them, their daughter, along with her Universe 16 counterpart, was busy cooking various vegetables in a huge tub of hot water, under the watchful eye of a kitchen assistant.

"Your pot is huge!" exclaimed Pan from Universe 18.

"Well, it's our jacuzzi, we took it from the break room…" admitted the Varga, her expression betraying her burgeoning depression. "We made do with what we had." The two Pans looked at each other and giggled. Without a doubt, they were now the best of friends in all the universes. They were, in fact, the same person, but the divergence between their two worlds was enough for them to feel different from one another. But one of them wasn't taking it so well.

“Hey, Pan…” the one from Universe 16 said, “what’s life like with Grandpa Goku?”

“It’s really great!” the other Pan replied cheerfully. “I’m learning so much with Uub and Uncle Vegeta, and Grandpa is a fantastic teacher! Dad encourages me to get stronger, and Mom isn’t too strict with me about it—she even works out with me!”

“Sounds good…” said Pan from Universe 16 with a sigh.

“What’s wrong?” asked her twin, startled by her sad expression.

“It’s just… I don’t know, when I see you and everyone from your universe, you give the impression that everything’s fine, that you’ll never have any problems. At home, Grandpa Vegetto is a hero throughout the universe and handles all the problems, and my parents are amazing, but… I didn't realize everything that was wrong because of Son Bra…”

“Hey!” Pan from Universe 18 reacted, grabbing her by the shoulders. “You heard it like everyone else, it's not her fault! It's that magician's fault. He already controlled Uncle Vegeta before, and he hurt a lot of people who didn't do anything wrong! Your Bra is the same!”

“Maybe, but… I've been hearing Grandpa complain for a long time about how she causes problems, how Grandma Chichi gets annoyed when she listens to him, and what we saw earlier…” She started crying over the Vargas' jacuzzi. The kitchen assistant squealed, worried that she'd get tears in the food. Pan from Universe 18 gently took her friend and led her aside, under the watchful eyes of the two parents from Universe 16.

“It’s going to be hard for her to move on,” Videl observed bitterly.

“She’s still just a child,” said Son Gohan. “Son Bra was her hero, and Babidi destroyed everything she represented to her. I hope that piece of trash ends up in hell back home soon.”

“What are we going to do, Gohan?” his wife asked. “Vegito’s not wrong. If your half-sister loses control again, things could end very badly for us. Can’t you feel the tension here? Everything is falling apart, and… I’m scared…”

“It’ll be alright,” Son Gohan said with a smile. “Son Bra has always had a good heart; we just took the wrong approaches. I can see it in her eyes now, she understands. We've all been wrong, we've all made mistakes, I know what I'm talking about. Vegetto knows it too. It will take time, but Pan will understand that too. She needs to grow up.”

Videl smiled slightly and rested her head on her husband's shoulder. She trusted his words. If their universe possessed a marvel of purity, it was her man. She couldn't dream of a better partner, no matter which universe she found herself in.

A few meters away, Son Goku of Universe 18 was happily cooking alongside his son, Son Goten. Although he had focused his attention on his student Uub and his granddaughter for the past ten years, Son Goku had made it his mission to make up for lost time with his second son.

He had missed his birth, and their meeting had quickly gone awry with the resurrection of Majin Buu. The Saiyan already regretted that Son Gohan's innocence had been taken from him early in his youth, and Son Goten had also experienced tragic events. He wanted to be there for him, and for his family. Looking back on his life, he was happy with the person he was now. The peace in their home had never been so beautiful.

While they cooked, he and his son laughed happily. Son Goten was amazed by his father's culinary skills.

"I take it back," he said, watching his father cook a huge fish over the grill. "I didn't think you'd know how to handle food. I've never seen you do it; Mom always does the cooking!"

"Your mother is the best cook I know," Son Gokû replied with a smile. "As for me, when I lived with your grandfather, and after he passed away, I always fished for myself in the waters of Mount Paozu, and I had to fend for myself. I can cook, you know... in my own way."

"You proved me wrong, and I'm glad," his son said happily. "I'll try it then!"

He and his father each took a slice of fish and devoured it greedily. But while Goku was enjoying his meal, his son started spitting and grimacing in disgust.

"It's... disgusting."

"Oh, like I was saying, Chi-Chi is way better than me!"

"But you didn't prepare the fish?"

"Prepare it, what do you mean?"

"Ugh, that's right! You cooked it with the guts on! You didn't gut it, you didn't even clean it!"

"A fish comes straight from the water, so it's already clean."

"No! And what was that super bitter taste? Was it bile oozing out? Yuck, I'm going to throw up... Dad, you don't eat everything in an animal!"

"Of course you do! And everything in fish is good!"

As they went on, the Saiyans of Universe 13, for their part, were making life difficult for the cooks around them. Especially Kakarotto, unsurprisingly.

“We’re going to prepare a large portion of meat and sauces,” a Varga told him, opening the freezer. “For that, we’ll gather all the ingredients. First, take a piece of meat.” Kakarot helped himself to the appliance and removed a large, frozen leg of lamb. He examined it, perplexed. He had never seen frozen meat before. He had always hunted fresh game, or else helped himself to other people’s pantries. This strange cold temperature on food was curious. But why not?

“Now, we have to take it to the—” Before the Varga could finish his sentence, Kakarot took a big bite out of the block of ice. The Varga’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. The Saiyan chewed with a loud grinding noise that made everyone around turn around, stunned by the scene.

"It... It needs to thaw!" the Varga shouted.

"Meh, it's fine," the Saiyan said. "It's not bad like this." He walked off with his catch, leaving the cook speechless. A little further away, Nappa, on the other hand, was thoroughly enjoying himself. He had always hidden it, but his great passion was cooking. Although he was a true Saiyan at heart, brutal and impulsive, he had acquired this fascination for gastronomy on one of the worlds they had invaded, when they were under Frieza's rule, and Vegeta was just a young prince. The battles and conquests had left Nappa little time to indulge in this simple pleasure. Under Vegeta's rule as emperor, it was even worse. Today, he was being given the opportunity to showcase his art and talent! He didn't even have the slightest thought of violence in his mind; he fit in perfectly with Vargas's team. Only, they didn't share the same vision of gastronomy…

“There you have it!” he said, adopting a proud air, holding a plate in his hand. “I present to you the sirloin steak: with a thick slice of ham around the potato, it looks like a big piece of meat!”

“But we have meat…” said the cook beside him, sounding dejected.

“Tch tch tch! That’s how you save money! Less food is wasted, the customer is delighted, and that leaves even more for us! Admire the ingenuity!"

"I think I'll call in sick," the Varga cook lamented.

"Pfft, what a dirty trick!" a voice said nearby. Nappa turned around and saw, with displeasure, the Trunks from universes 18 and 16 facing him.

"What did you say, brat?" he snarled.

"Why stockpile food through trickery when you can produce twice as much? I built a machine that creates meat!" Indeed, next to the two Trunks, a large vat filled with a black liquid was connected to a device with a sliding outlet, from which beef and other types of meat emerged. Varga examined the viscous liquid and said, shocked:

"Is that... oil?"

"Exactly, it's the future of the food industry!" Trunks declared proudly. "I'm thinking of opening a branch called Trunkatel; I think it sounds good. I'll solve the resource shortage by doubling our production!"

"What an idea," Nappa retorted. "It must be inedible! We'd be better off halving the quantities, or simplifying things and eliminating half the consumers; the other half will be better off!"

"That idea doesn't surprise me, coming from a space tyrant," Trunks hissed contemptuously. Lightning flashed in the eyes of the two Saiyans as the Varga cook despaired at the situation.

Just then, an explosion rang out from the other side of the kitchen.

"No fireballs on the oil!!" shrieked Varga's high-pitched voice.

To speed things up, Kakarot had lost his patience and unleashed his energy to cook the food faster. But the device couldn't withstand the heat from his Ki blast, and a powerful blast erupted, incinerating the food, the premises, and everyone's clothing. No one was injured, apart from a Varga suffering second-degree burns.

Chef Etchecoin clapped his hand over his face, exhausted.

"Okay, I understand. Everyone out. We'll serve you. Get out of here..." He ushered the various universes out and slid to the ground, devastated by the events. Five battles remained, right? Potentially one last meal. Just one more, and he'd be going home. It shouldn't be so bad...

While his companions were in the kitchen, Universe 13 Vegeta had gone to Universe 9's space and was heading towards the Earthlings' quarters.

He flung open their door and cried out, “Where’s Raditz?!” The Earthlings turned to look at him. They weren’t surprised; they’d been expecting him. Yet, they feigned innocence and looked at him warily. Vegeta glanced at them all, his eyes lingering for a second on Trunks from Universe 9, who was staring at him, terrified. From what he could tell, this offspring didn’t have a drop of Saiyan blood in him. Despite having their name and their face, he had nothing to do with his sons from Universes 12, 16, and 18. Clearly, there was nothing to have for Universe 9 but contempt. “Answer me!” he continued. “I know he came to see you. I saw him enter the apartment with you.” “We told him to get lost,” Kulilin replied, frowning. “We don’t want to argue with you Saiyans. And even less with you.”

“In that case, where is he?” Vegeta repeated, his voice more aggressive. “He hasn’t left your space. I don’t see your wrinkled old god either. Where did he go?”

“What do I know? I’m not his mother,” Videl retorted, her voice equally contemptuous. “I can’t stand that old man. He must have gone for a walk.”

“I’ve heard better lies than that,” Vegeta said, clenching his fists.

“Ah, I get it!” Yamcha exclaimed, pointing a finger at him. “He thinks the Old Kai is giving his buddy magical powers without him!”

“He is, isn’t he? I’ll tear you to shreds, you worms.” “Calm down, Saiyan,” Tien interjected. “Just move, and the Vargas will send you home. Look around you; you can see they’re not here.” Vegeta scanned the room. Indeed, he sensed neither Raditz’s presence nor the presence of the deity, either in the bedrooms or the bathroom. He would have sensed their energy if they were in the apartment.

“You seem to be telling the truth,” Vegeta admitted angrily. “If you run into Raditz, tell him to come back. I hate it when my subordinates are missing.”

“You can count on it,” Videl said sarcastically. The Saiyan cursed and left the apartments, leaving the Earthlings sweating.

“Phew,” Bulma said, “that was a close call. And you’re telling me that in other universes, I had children with that cantankerous guy?” “So it seems,” Yamcha replied. “One might think he did something horrible to you, but in some universes evil has turned to good, and vice versa. This #18, who massacred all of humanity in Universe 14, is a loving mother to Kulilin in others! This Saiyan, Kakarotto, is a monster, but he's the hero of his universe in Universe 18! I have trouble imagining Vegeta with Bulma, and yet, there's still hope. People can change.”

"I confess I'm curious, Mom and Dad," Trunks called out to them. "I'd like to get to know these universes I'm in. This Trunks from Universe 12, he's so cool with his sword! Just like Videl!"

"Pfft," she replied. "The sooner we leave, the better. Even if there are good people, too many universes have fallen. Look at Cooler, or Cell, or Babidi—his ambition knew no bounds! As soon as the tournament is over, good riddance." “Speaking of which,” Tenshinhan interjected. “Where are the Saiyan and the Supreme Kai at? It would be best if we wrapped this up and went home.”

“If I understand correctly, it will take several hours,” Kulilin explained. “The Supreme Kai insists on completing his ritual. We’ll see what we do after that.”

In the neighboring apartments of Universe 10.

The Old Kai sat with outstretched arms, facing Raditz, who remained motionless. They had demolished the wall separating the apartments of Universes 9 and 10, which were connected. The Supreme Kai had sensed Vegeta’s arrival. He had quickly masked their energies with his divine magic to avoid being detected. Now he could complete his ritual in peace; he doubted Raditz’s leader would come looking for him there. He didn't need to focus on Raditz to unleash his potential. As long as he concentrated his mystical power within his body and mind, he could do other things. And he took advantage of this to visualize the arena in real time. The next fight preoccupied him immensely.

It couldn't be a coincidence; this XXI wasn't the one he knew, but the powers he possessed were surreal. He had neutralized Vegetto, who seemed untouchable. His next opponent, Buu from Universe 4, was far better prepared for magic. He could withstand him, perhaps even defeat him. And, at that moment, the Old Kaioshin would have the confirmation he'd been waiting for, hoping he was wrong.