"Mom..."

  Gohan sighed. Accelerated toward the Lookout.

  Minutes later, he arrived. Perilla floated cross-legged in midair. Eyes closed. Meditating.

  She sensed him. Opened her eyes.

  Gohan felt her hidden Ki. "You broke through again?"

  She grinned. "Lucky me. I spent another night in the Time Chamber."

  She'd reached Super Saiyan 2. Still couldn't transform into a regular Super Saiyan. But she felt close.

  "Better catch up, Gohan. Or I'll surpass you."

  "I'd welcome that. We could spar. Push each other further."

  Gohan didn't mind. In fact, he was excited.

  Perilla's Saiyan blood stirred too. She looked forward to that day.

  "Let's go."

  "Go? Uh... how?"

  "Take my hand."

  "Huh?"

  Before he could react, she grabbed his hand. Soft. Warm. His heart skipped.

  FLASH.

  They vanished.

  The Afterlife.

  Perilla smiled. "Congrats, Gohan! Welcome to the underworld!"

  "That's not something you congratulate someone for!"

  He tried to sound annoyed. Mostly to hide his flustered state.

  "Look at you. Learning to talk back. I'm so proud."

  Two small oni in suits approached. Horns jutting from their heads.

  "Hey, you two—get in line—"

  "Wait. These are living people!"

  The oni stared. Living visitors weren't common.

  Perilla released her divine aura.

  The oni's attitudes shifted instantly. "Oh! A deity! Which planet are you from, miss?"

  "Earth."

  "Earth?!"

  Gohan blinked. "Is Earth famous here?"

  "Famous? Yesterday, two people from Earth showed up. Seventeen and Eighteen. They went berserk. Kept screaming they weren't dead."

  Gohan frowned. Even in death, they cause trouble.

  "What happened to them?"

  "They picked on us small fry. But King Yemma stepped in. One wave of his hand—bam. Suppressed them both. Sent them to the deepest level of Hell. Eternal punishment. No reincarnation."

  Gohan relaxed. "King Yemma sounds impressive."

  Perilla chuckled. "His combat power isn't high. But he's a deity of the afterlife. Here, he has absolute authority. Immortal. Unkillable. Any dead soul is suppressed by his divine jurisdiction. Unless they held higher divine authority in life."

  "So gods can be that powerful..."

  "Of course. Don't underestimate gods. It's just that Saiyans arrived on Earth and the power scaling escalated too fast. Gods couldn't keep up."

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  "Could you two take us to King Yemma?"

  "Of course!"

  King Yemma's Palace.

  A long line of souls stretched before the massive desk. But Perilla and Gohan had a fast pass. They walked straight through.

  King Yemma's jaw literally dropped when he saw Perilla. "A planetary deity this strong?! What's happening to the universe?!"

  "Thank you, King Yemma."

  "No, no—" He turned to Gohan. "You must be Son Gohan. The one who destroyed Seventeen. Like father, like son. Excellent work."

  "Thank you, sir. Is my dad in Heaven?"

  Yemma sighed. "According to the Book of Life and Death, Goku earned a place in Heaven. He even qualified to keep his body. But the virus ravaged him. His body was unusable. So he chose reincarnation instead."

  Gohan's face fell. He'd expected this. But it still hurt.

  "Father..."

  "Don't be too sad. But I do have good news. Piccolo still has his body."

  Gohan looked up. "Uncle Piccolo? How is he?"

  "After arriving here, he and Kami fused again. Now he's training with King Kai on King Kai's planet."

  "Kami and Piccolo fused?!" If they'd done that when they were alive, we could've beaten the Androids years ago.

  "King Yemma," Perilla said. "Dead people can return to the living world for one day, right?"

  "Yes. But only those with great merit. On Earth, only Goku qualified. Even the previous Kami—because of King Piccolo—had his merits canceled out. He can keep his body and go to Heaven. But no return trip."

  So that's why Piccolo couldn't come back.

  "What about people without merit? Or even villains? Can they return?"

  Yemma thought. "Only in the case of a universe-level extinction crisis."

  "Universe-level..."

  That's why Vegeta and Frieza came back in the main timeline. The Tournament of Power. Universe 7's survival.

  This timeline only faced planetary threats. Not universal ones.

  This world really is unlucky.

  "Can we visit King Kai's planet?"

  "Of course. You both have great merit. Take the Snake Way."

  An oni opened a door. Beyond it: a long, winding yellow path.

  "Let's go, Gohan."

  "Yeah!"

  The thought of seeing Piccolo lifted his spirits.

  They took off. Two streaks of light vanishing down Snake Way.

  Yemma watched them go. "So fast. Earth's warriors are all cheating now, aren't they?"

  He shook his head. Returned to his paperwork.