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Which Kaioshin Is Beerus’ Life Linked To In Dragon Ball Super?

WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers from The Galactic Patrol Arc of Dragon Ball Super Manga. Read ahead at your own discretion!

Many of us already know that there exists a life link between Beerus and the Supreme Kai. But, there seems to be confusion amongst fans on which Supreme Kai is Beerus’ life linked to? The Kid Buu Saga of Dragon Ball Z mentioned that around 5 million years ago, 5 Supreme Kais existed. On the order of Bibbidi, Majin Buu killed the North and West Supreme Kais and absorbed the South Supreme Kai and the Grand Supreme Kai (Dai Kaiōshin).

Kibito Kai mentions the 5 Supreme Kais who were existing in the past
Dragon Ball Z Chapter 314 – The Supreme Kais of Universe 7

Also, there’s the Old Kai, who accidentally fused with a witch. Currently, there are 3 Supreme Kais who are active. Shin, Old Kai, and the Grand Supreme Kai (Inside Majin Buu). Which of these Kais Beerus shares a life link with? This article will attempt to clear this confusion once and for all.

Some theories suggest that there’s a link between Beerus and all 6 Supreme Kais and only when all of them die, he dies. We think this is NOT true. We believe, Beerus had his life linked with 3 Supreme Kais. Let’s discuss who they are and while we’re at it, we’ll explain how Beerus is not linked to the other 3 Kaiōshin.

The Supreme Kais Beerus had been linked with so far

Old Kai/Rō Kaiōshin

As we all know, Old Kai was the Supreme Kai 15 generations before Shin. “A terrible bad guy” sealed him into the Z-Sword.

A terrible bad guy (Beerus) sealed away Old Kai into the Z-Sword
Dragon Ball Z Chapter 285 – Old Kai was sealed in the Z-Sword by a “terrible bad guy”

This “bad guy” was Beerus. Toriyama confirms this in an interview:

Q: Who was it that sealed the Elder Kaiōshin away in the Z Sword?

A: The Kaiōshin (who create planets) and the Gods of Destruction (who destroy them) have never gotten along that well, but once every 1,000 years they go to each other’s realms and hold a coordination meeting. At this time, they got into an argument over some trifling thing, and a certain short-tempered God of Destruction sealed Elder Kaiōshin away inside a sword. Naturally, it wouldn’t have been proper for him to destroy the Kaiōshin Realm itself. By the way, that God of Destruction was Beerus.

Akira Toriyama, “Twel-Boo Mysteries”, Saikyō Jump June 2014 Issue

This shows Beerus was indeed having a link between the Old Kai. But this link was severed after he was sealed away in the sword. Since Old Kai was inactive, there was a need to appoint another Supreme Kai. Beerus or Whis probably chose the next successor.

The Grand Supreme Kai/Dai Kaiōshin

Fast-forward to the time before Majin Buu attacked the Kaiōshins. During this time, there were 5 Supreme Kais. But, there existed a life link only between the Grand Supreme Kai/Dai Kaiōshin and Beerus. Yes, you heard it right. What’s more, the other 4 Supreme Kais were his apprentices. Now, the Manga did not directly mention this but just hear me out!

In the Zamasu arc, Whis mentions a key detail that differentiates the actual Supreme Kais from their apprentices. He says there’s a particular color of the Potara Earrings that only the Supreme Kais wear.

the color of the Potara earrings which only the Supreme Kais wear
Dragon Ball Super Chapter 18 – The color of the Supreme Kai’s Potara

Zamasu was the apprentice of Gowasu, the Supreme Kai of Universe 10. He had a different color of the Potara than Gowasu or Shin.

Zamasu's Potara color is different than Gowasu's
Dragon Ball Super Chapter 17 – Comparing Zamasu’s and Gowasu’s Potara colors

Although the Manga says there were 5 Supreme Kais long ago, the 4 Supreme Kais (North, South, East and West) were in actuality only Supreme Kais partially.

It was an unusual situation where he had more than one person who he considered qualified to succeed him. So he tasked them each with overseeing a quadrant of the universe in order to determine which would be his ideal successor.

Or maybe because Universe 7 had such a low Mortal level (3.18. Second least Mortal Level amongst all 12 Universes), The Grand Zeno and Grand Priest may have instructed the Dai Kaiōshin to have multiple apprentices to improve the Mortal Level. The other Universes may have had more than one Supreme Kai and what we saw in the Tournament of Power might be the Dai Kaiōshin of their Universes.

So how do we know the other Supreme Kais were just apprentices to the Dai Kaiōshin? The South Supreme Kai had a Potara color different than the color mentioned by Whis. It looks similar to Zamasu’s. Don’t believe me? See for yourself:

Comparing South Supreme Kai's Potara color with Grand Supreme Kai's
Dragon Ball Super Chapter 43 – South Kaiōshin’s Potara (marked with blue ink) and Dai Kaiōshin’s Potara (marked with brown ink)

Moreover, in Chapter 24, Shin said he was once the apprentice to the “Old Kaiōshin” (Mark the words “Old Kaiōshin”). In Episode 277 of Dragon Ball Z, Kibito Kai said that he and the other Supreme Kais lived under the instructions of the Grand Kaiōshin.

Also in the above image, we can clearly see the Grand Supreme Kai’s Potara Color is exactly the same as what Whis mentioned.

Putting together all of the above, we can safely conclude that our previous assertions do make sense.

Shin/Supreme Kai

After Majin Buu absorbed the Grand Supreme Kai, there was a need to find a replacement. The appearance of a special golden fruit of the World Core’s giant World Tree [Kaiju] is a rare event so we can’t wait for a new Supreme Kai to be born from the tree.

If a Supreme Kai is inactive for a certain period of time, the higher-ups choose a successor amongst the remaining active Supreme Kais. Since the only active Supreme Kai left is Shin, they chose him to become the new Supreme Kai.

It’s very clear Beerus shares a link with Shin. We know the fear Beerus has if Shin died on him. Also, in Future Trunk’s timeline, when Future Shin died, Future Beerus died as well.

Which Supreme Kai Beerus currently shares a life link with?

After a rigorous analysis, we have concluded that Shin is the only Supreme Kai with whom Beerus has a life link now. How so?

The Old Kai cannot be having a life link to Beerus right now. That link was severed as soon as a successor was chosen after he was sealed within the Z-Sword. Also, when Old Kai died to give his life to Goku in order to save the Earth from Buu, Beerus did not die. Whis did not say anywhere that Beerus died anytime during his tenure as a God of Destruction.

The Grand Supreme Kai too cannot be having a life link to Beerus in the present moment. He exists within Majin Buu. During the Moro arc, the Dai Kaiōshin switched places with Buu. He is active but partially. In Chapter 48, he specifies that he will only be switching places with Buu until Moro is defeated. So it’s a temporary thing. But, he may give his appearance from time to time in the future.

Take the example of Kami and Piccolo. When Kami fused with Piccolo, he no longer held the position of Earth’s Guardian (he is alive, but inactive or partially active). Later on, Dende became the Guardian. Even with Kami’s existence within Piccolo, Dende is still the Guardian and has God Ki and everything. Using this logic, we can conclude that Shin is the only Kaiōshin with the life link at the present. Kibito is not a Kai and only attends to the Supreme Kai.

If you feel that the above explanation doesn’t make sense, you can consider the simplest and straightforward answer. Toriyama didn’t conceive of Beerus during Dragon Ball Z and he didn’t think through the entire story right from the beginning. So there will be retcons and plot holes.

What did you think of this theory? Do you agree with it? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

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