Dragon Ball: Ascension

"Honored Supreme Kai," Karnel interjected politely, waiting for a lull in their argument. "I believe I might have a solution to your dispute, if you're interested in hearing it."

"Oh!" North Supreme Kai finally noticed Grand Kai's arrival, momentarily setting aside his quarrel with Kibito. "Grand Kai, you're here too! I've told you countless times that you don't need to be so formal with us, but you never listen!"

East Supreme Kai Kibito breathed a sigh of relief as the tension defused, turning his attention to their visitor. "You must be Karnel. Grand Kai just informed me that you managed to defeat him in both combat and rock-paper-scissors. That's genuinely impressive."

Before Karnel could respond, North Supreme Kai, apparently named Todd, spun around eagerly. "Karnel, what was this idea you mentioned?"

Karnel paused, realizing he'd stepped into the middle of a divine domestic dispute. Well, might as well play mediator to a couple of cosmic gods. "Since he claims you don't know how to care for fish properly," Karnel said, gesturing between them, "why don't you catch a few more fish and let East Supreme Kai tend to them for several days? If he kills them, that proves the fish in your pond died from his interference. If he keeps them alive, then your original fish must have died from natural causes."

It was complete nonsense, but Karnel delivered it with the confidence of someone solving a mathematical theorem.

Grand Kai nearly choked on his own saliva. "Karnel! How can you suggest something so ridiculous? You can't ask the Supreme Kai to become fish-keepers!"

But both Todd and Kibito's eyes lit up simultaneously as they declared in perfect unison, "Excellent! It's decided!"

They immediately glared at each other and snorted disdainfully.

"My lords, please don't listen to this young man's foolishness," Grand Kai pleaded, stepping between the two Supreme Kai.

Kibito waved him off dismissively. "No need for further discussion, Grand Kai. You can't stay here any longer, return to your planet immediately!"

"I'm going to find the other Supreme Kai to serve as witnesses," Todd announced, already rushing toward the temple. "Kibito, don't even think about cheating this time. You definitely killed my fish!"

Todd was clearly worried that Kibito might try to weasel out of their agreement, so he was determined to gather the remaining Supreme Kai as neutral observers. He didn't dare disturb the Grand Supreme Kai for such a trivial matter, but the other two would suffice.

After taking only a few steps, Todd doubled back and practically dragged Grand Kai toward the temple, eager to send him back to his own planet and eliminate any potential interference.

With Grand Kai's departure, the Supreme Kai realm fell into blessed quiet, leaving only Karnel and Kibito in the courtyard.

"Karnel, you're quite extraordinary," Kibito said, studying him with renewed interest. "You possess an aura similar to ours, though it's so faint it's barely perceptible, I can still sense it."

Karnel felt a jolt of surprise. Kibito must be detecting the trace of divine energy he'd spent three grueling years learning to comprehend and manipulate. Currently, he could only utilize that minuscule spark of divinity for his instant transmission technique, which seemed like a waste of such a precious resource.

But even that tiny fragment had taken years to understand and control. Divine energy was clearly something beyond ordinary comprehension, perhaps the key to reaching even greater heights of power.

Scratching his head awkwardly, Karnel wasn't sure how to respond to such an observation.

"Anyone who carries that familiar energy signature can't be truly evil," Kibito mused thoughtfully, making his own assessment.

Turning to address Karnel's obvious discomfort, he spoke more warmly. "I haven't had a chance to introduce everyone properly. I'm Kibito, the East Supreme Kai. The one who just ran into the temple is Todd, the North Supreme Kai. There are two others inside, South Supreme Kai Barro and West Supreme Kai Leila. As for the Grand Supreme Kai, he typically remains on the temple's highest floor, guarding the Z Sword. He only emerges for matters of cosmic importance."

The Z Sword, Karnel thought to himself. That must be the blade with the Old Kai sealed inside it.

Seeing that Karnel remained silent and seemed lost in thought, Kibito felt increasingly awkward. Assuming their visitor needed assistance with something urgent, he quickly asked, "By the way, Karnel, Grand Kai mentioned you have something important you need our help with. Would you mind sharing what it is?"

"Ah? Oh, sorry about that," Karnel replied, snapping back to attention with embarrassment. "May I just call you Kibito? I do have something very important I need to ask of you."

The kind-hearted Kibito didn't mind the informal address at all. In fact, he seemed pleased by it. "Of course! That group of old traditionalists from the Grand Kai's generation have been stuck in their conservative ways for eons. They're far too formal for their own good."

Karnel's mouth twitched slightly. 'Those 'old traditionalists' are technically your subordinates. How can you talk about them so casually?'

"Leila! Barro! Come here quickly!" Todd's voice echoed from the temple as he returned with the other two Supreme Kai in tow. "You absolutely must serve as witnesses this time. Kibito deliberately killed my goldfish and refuses to admit it!"

West Supreme Kai Leila was the only female deity in their pantheon, distinguished by her flowing white hair. She followed Todd with an exasperated expression, one hand pressed to her forehead in obvious frustration.

South Supreme Kai Barro was a powerfully built man of few words, known as the strongest fighter among the four directional Supreme Kai.

"Kibito, I've brought Leila and Barro as witnesses," Todd announced triumphantly. "Just wait here while I go catch more fish!"

He was already preparing to head to his favorite fishing spot, a mountain stream on the Supreme Kai planet where he'd spent countless peaceful hours.

"Hold on, Todd," Leila interjected, grabbing the impatient deity's arm. "Your petty squabble with Kibito has been going on for years, a few more minutes won't matter. But why is there an additional person here? And he's clearly alive."

Todd froze mid-step, slapping his forehead as he finally noticed their visitor properly. His gaze lingered on the tail visible behind Karnel. "Oh, right! I completely forgot in all the excitement. This is Karnel, the being Grand Kai brought here. Probably human... though I'm not entirely certain."

"If it has a tail, it's definitely not human," Barro observed with his typical blunt directness, offering one of his rare verbal contributions.

Karnel took a deep breath, suppressing a sudden urge to demonstrate why annoying a Super Saiyan was inadvisable. "I'm a Saiyan from the Northern Galaxy," he said with strained patience. "We're essentially identical to humans except for our tails."

"Oh my! Saiyans? Is that really a species?" Leila asked with genuine curiosity, her melodious voice carrying a note of wonder.

Todd's expression went blank, he generally didn't concern himself with galactic civilizations and had never encountered the term before.

"Let me check with North Kai," Todd said with an embarrassed smile, closing his eyes to establish telepathic contact with his subordinate deity.

After a few moments, he opened his eyes with a puzzled frown. "Strange. Even North Kai says he's never heard of any Saiyans!"

"What Saiyans?"

The group of Supreme Kai had been studying Karnel like he was some exotic specimen when a new voice interrupted their discussion. They all turned toward the source, watching as a short, rotund figure in Supreme Kai robes approached them.

"Grand Supreme Kai!" they exclaimed in unison. "Why have you come down?"

The Grand Supreme Kai was a deity of both profound wisdom and immense power. Seeing the four Supreme Kai's attention focused on him, he smiled benevolently. "Even gods need to stretch their legs occasionally. Besides, it seems we haven't had visitors to the Supreme Kai realm in millions of years. What were you all discussing so animatedly?"

East Supreme Kai Kibito gestured toward their guest. "Grand Supreme Kai, this is Karnel, a Saiyan from the Northern Galaxy. The problem is, none of us have ever heard of Saiyans existing in the Northern Galaxy."

"Hmm... Saiyan..." The Grand Supreme Kai regarded Karnel with thoughtful curiosity.

Seeing that the Grand Supreme Kai seemed to recognize something, Leila asked hopefully, "Grand Supreme Kai, do you know about the Saiyan race?"

"I'm afraid not."

'What the hell are you doing then?!' Karnel thought in frustration.

"However," the Grand Supreme Kai continued, "I can sense something very special about him. He possesses divinity, the kind that only gods can manifest, though it's incomplete, just a trace."

The knowledgeable deity noticed the four Supreme Kai staring at him as if he'd grown a second head and quickly elaborated.

Upon hearing this revelation, North Supreme Kai Todd could barely contain his shock. "What?! Grand Supreme Kai, are you saying that Karnel is also a god?"

Leila and Barro fixed Karnel with curious stares, as if seeing him for the first time.

"So that's what I was sensing," Kibito said with sudden understanding. "That familiar aura I detected..."

"He possesses only a trace of divinity but hasn't truly achieved godhood," the Grand Supreme Kai explained with a gentle smile. "You've all been isolated in the Supreme Kai realm for so long, interacting only with each other. You've never encountered someone capable of cultivating divinity independently, so naturally you couldn't identify it precisely."

He turned to address Karnel directly. "You are extraordinarily gifted to cultivate divinity through your own efforts. Though it's merely a fragment now, you will undoubtedly become a god in the future, one with tremendous destructive potential."

These words filled Karnel with guilt. Without the assistance of his unusual circumstances, his own system and intense training, it would have been impossible for him to develop even this tiny spark of divine energy through normal comprehension alone.

Quickly deflecting the praise, Karnel said somewhat shamefully, "Grand Supreme Kai, I've endured countless hardships to reach the Supreme Kai realm. I need to ask if you have any method to return me to my original location."

Without waiting for a response, he continued his explanation. "I come from a time period millions of years in the future, which is why you've never heard of the Saiyan race. I was battling a powerful enemy who, realizing he couldn't defeat me, chose to self-destruct. The explosion somehow transported me to this era, millions of years before my own time."

"What?! You're from where?!" Todd exclaimed, then turned smugly to the other three Supreme Kai. "See? I told you the North Kai wasn't lying to me. If he says there are no Saiyans, then there aren't any!"