The recent episodes of Dragon Ball Daima have added a tragic wrinkle to the origins of Shin and the rest of the Supreme Kais. The series revealed that Shin and the other Kais are actually a species called Glind that grew on trees. The Glind originated from the Second Demon World in the Demon Realm, existing before most other life forms in the main multiverses. This revelation fundamentally changes everything we know about Shin and the other Kais. It was assumed beforehand that the Kais were some sort of primordial deities, but it turns out they are sub-species of ancient beings from the Demon Realm.
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Sadly, the Glind Trees have all dried up, meaning once the remaining Kais pass away, their species end. That makes Shin and the Kais the last of the Glind. The Glind’s endangered species status is similar to Goku’s and Vegeta’s station as the last of the Saiyans, offering a neat parallel between the characters. Glind also have naturally long life spans, being able to live for hundreds of thousands or potentially millions of years. So, while Shin may be one of the last of his kind, his species still has millennia left before they die out. Given this new tragic backstory for Shin, Daimaย mayย be setting up a potential solution to the death of the Glind Trees.
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How Does the Hierarchy of the Kais Work in Dragon Ball?
The Glinds left the Demon Realm to escape from the Demon monarchy at the time and went to the twelve main universes. From there, one Glind would be declared the Supreme Kai, nurturing and protecting their universe from godly threats. However, other Glinds exist throughout the different universes. King Kai is a lower-rank Glind who lives in the Universe 7 afterlife at the end of Snake Way, and Kibito is an acting attendant to Shin. Zamasu, the main antagonist of the Goku Black arc in Dragon Ball Super, was the north Kai and later the attendant for the acting Supreme Kai in Universe 10.
Universe 7 had, at one point, five active Supreme Kais. There was a Supreme Kai of East, West, North, South, and Grand. Majin Buu slayed four of the five Supreme Kais, leaving Shin, the East Supreme Kai, the lone survivor. It’s later revealed that the previous Grand Supreme Kai was still alive within the Z-Sword. He was later freed and became an advisor to Shin as Old Kai.
Every Supreme Kai in the twelve universes is directly linked to the Gods of Destruction of their respective universes. If either one dies, the other one will perish as well. Confusingly, Dragon Ball Daima doesn’t cover how this life link works, especially since it is revealed that Shin and the other Kais existed long before the Gods of Destruction. Universe Seven has had multiple Supreme Kais, making the situation even more puzzling. It’s possible God of Destruction Beerus only ceases to exist if all Supreme Kais perish, but it has yet to be clarified.
