Jayr POV - Dragon Ball Universe, Null Realm - Age 780
As the now asleep Gohan and Piccolo crash on the ground under the tyrannical effects of Orphèe's Death Trip Serenade, the Supreme Kai Shin can't help but exclaim in shock, "How is this possible!? Gohan and Piccolo fell asleep just like that!? This is astounding! How could such a terrifying technique exist?"
However, Krillin quickly explains, "It actually isn't that rare of a technique. I clearly remember that Muten Roshi-sama also mastered a technique that makes the opponent fall asleep. He called it the Sleepy Boy Technique, which is a hypnosis technique that puts their opponent to sleep by using hand motions and weird voice sounds. It can be very effective if an opponent isn't ready for it. However, once one knows more about it, it is also quite easy to counter, as they need some time to truly affect a target. One just needs to stop the enemy before he can fully execute the technique, or use your willpower and Ki to overcome the technique, or even simpler, force oneself awake through pain using some self-inflicted harm."
Krillin's explanation is followed by Whis, who says, "Indeed, Krillin-san is correct, this kind of technique is quite common and usually not so difficult to overcome as long as one is strong enough, is able to react quickly, or is prepared for it. However, I don't think that the technique used by that Silver Saint is so simple."
Hearing that, Krillin nods in agreement before his expression turns serious and says, "That's right. Neither Piccolo nor Gohan is so naive and inexperienced that they would easily fall for those kinds of techniques. On top of that, they did fall asleep quite quickly to the point that they didn't even have the time to react to it."
At this point, Beerus clicks his tongue and comments with clear annoyance in his tone, "Tch! Those Saints are indeed very troublesome opponents. Each one of them seems to be quite difficult to deal with."
At the same time, the Zenos also seem to be quite interested in what Orphèe did as they cheerfully talk about it.
"Woah! They fell asleep!"
"They did!"
"Why are they sleeping now?"
"How? Why?"
""Jayr, tell us!""
Hearing their request, I smile and calmly answer, "This is the effect of Orphèe's technique called Death Trip Serenade, and it uses a combination of music and energy to make the target fall asleep. But it isn't a normal sleep because all those who heard his melody fall into a very deep sleep, because not only their minds but even their very spirits are sleeping. People affected by this technique can remain in this state for ten days, leaving them completely vulnerable to any other attack. Moreover, the Death Trip Serenade can have an even stronger effect, making the spirit of those affected endlessly wander the dream dimensions, making them sleep eternally."
After saying that, I add with a smirk on my face, "But without doubt the most frighting aspect of this technique is that as long as a target listens to Orphèe's melody then no one can escape it effects, not even Deities." making the Zeno exclaim in wonder while the Grand Minister calmly comments, "If that is true, that it is truly a frighting technique. Especially for those who are not ready for it."
At this point, my son Galen looks at me and asks, "Dad, why did Mister Orphèe only use his technique on Mister Gohan and Mister Piccolo? I mean, if it is really so powerful, couldn't he use the Death Trip Serenade to put all the other warriors on the fighting stage to sleep and win in one swift move?"
Hearing his question, I gently rub his head and explain, "The reason why he didn't do it is because it wouldn't work. Like many techniques in the Omniverse, the Death Trip Serenade isn't absolute. As I said before, the necessary prerequisite for the Death Trip Serenade to work is that the target must be able to listen the melody, and with the chaotic battles happening all over the fighting stage that just isn't possible, and not because he isn't able to make so that the melody can be heard by anyone in the middle of those chaotic battles and explosion, but because they are too focused on the battle and he can't force them to listen to his melody."
Seeing the confusion on his face, I calmly further explained, "You have to understand that hearing and listening are two very different things. Hearing is an involuntary process through which noise and vibrations cause the fluid in the ears to move, sending the sound to the brain. It is a natural passive process that requires no attention or will. In contrast, listening is a voluntary action whereby one makes conscious efforts to understand the sound once it reaches the brain. It is an active process that takes will, time, and effort. And as such, it leaves one open to outside influences. The main reason why the Death Trip Serenade worked so well on Gohan and Piccolo is that they were focusing all their attention on Orphèe. Because he was their opponent, they were carefully observing his every single movement, sensing his energy, and listening to every single sound to make sure that no detail could escape them. However, that worked against them as they also left themselves open to these subtle but powerful effects."
Watching the light of understanding shine in Galen's eyes as he looks at me and nods, I smile produly and add, "In addition to that, there is also the fact that Orphèe may be a bit wary of using his techniques too openly as he is used on fighting while keeping in mind the well-known pricipe in our universe that says: 'The same attack does not work twice on a Saint.' Which basically means that once a Saint has seen the enemy's technique, the Saint will know how the enemy's technique works and how to defend against it unless the enemy is able to change it by becoming faster and more powerful."
While I'm saying that, Orphèe uses his Telekinesis to lift the bodies of the sleeping Gohan and Piccolo before calmly throwing them off the fighting stage, making the Grand Minister announce, "The contestants Gohan-san and Piccolo-san from the 7th Universe are eliminated."
This is quickly followed by the Zenos, who, as usual, marked their elimination on their GodPads before casually saying a few words in a cheerful tone.
"Oh, two more warriors are out!"
"Two more! Two more!"
"Their numbers keep decreasing!"
"Fewer! And fewer!"
Elsewhere, Caulifla and Kale are resting far from the other battle, and Caulifla notices the worried look on her protegè and says, "Hey, enough with the frowny face!"
In response, Kale looks down at the ground and says, "But Jiren's power is on a completely different level," which makes Caulifla state, "Well, losing confidence won't help."
Hearing that, Kale looks at her mentor and asks, "Think about it, Ane-san. Aren't you even a little bit scared?"
In response to her protegè's question, Caulifla openly admits, "Yeah, I'm majorly scared!" before she smiles widely and adds in a confident tone, "Scared of my own unlimited potential! Hehee!"
Then, as Kale laughs nervously, Caulifla continues by explaining, "I mean that was my biggest takeaway from watching Son Goku and Jiren duke it out! You and I are Saiyans too, right, Kale? If Son Goku can reach that crazy level, then so can we!"
Kale smiles wryly and tells her mentor, "You're so positive, Ane-san. Like always."
Suddenly, a portal opens in front of them, and from it, Peppars walks out as he looks at the two Saiyan women and smirks, making Caulifla yell, "Hey! You come to start somethin', stranger?"
Peppars continues to smirk and in a confident tone he states, "I have come to play with some easy prey," which makes Caulifla reply, "If you're itchin' for a fight, that's fine by me." before she tells her protegè, "I'll take him. You sit this one out."
Peppars takes his fighting stance, chuckles, and asks in a confident tone, "Hehe. Are you ready?" While an equally confident Caulifla replies, "Come and find out."
However, just as they are about to start their battle, Cabba suddenly arrives and puts himself between Peppars and Caulifla, making the latter exclaim, "Hey, Hero Boy! You're standing in my way."
In response, Cabba tells them, without taking his gaze away from Peppars, who calmly watches what is happening with an amused expression on his face, "Let me handle this, please. You two should go and hide somewhere safe until I've finished him."
Hearing that, Kale mutters, "Cabba-san..." while an annoyed Caulifla exclaims, "No way, small guy! You're not the boss of me!" which makes Cabba say in a softer tone, "Please, trust me, and do as I ask."
At this point, Peppars asks, "Is this some kind of mating ritual of your race? Or are you just worried about them? Oh well, it doesn't matter, for all I care, all three of you can come at me together, the result won't change."
In front of Peppars' unconcerned attitude, Cabba remains calm and says, "Thanks, but I'm confident my power is more than enough," which makes Peppars chuckle and say, "Hehe. We'll see."
The next moment, Peppars charges toward Cabba, who does the same in response, and then the two engage in a power-lock, but it is immediately clear that Peppars is physically superior as Cabba is struggling a lot while he looks almost relaxed.
Peppars laughs lightly, watching Cabba struggle and say, "Huhuhu. After all that barking, I was expecting something more, maybe a bit more bite, but this is quite lackluster."
In response, Cabba continues to struggle to keep up with Peppars' superior power, and with a grunt, he admits, "You've got some real strength, I'll at least give you that."
Seeing this scene, Caulifla exclaims, "Aw, come on, he's overpowering him!" before she yells, "Move it! I'll handle him!" but Cabba refuses without any hesitation, yelling, "No please, don't! We need you both to save your strength for bigger fights!"
This makes Caulifla yell back, "Don't worry, I've got tons to spare! Fighting him won't tap me out!" However, Cabba doesn't relent and shouts while still struggling against Peppars' power, "There's no room for error... Don't be careless!"
At this point, Kale takes Cabba's side and says, "Just hold on, Ane-san. I think we should listen to him."
Meanwhile, Peppars outputs even more force as he sadistically says, "Are you sure? If this continues, I'm gonna keep pushing until you break and you beg me to stop!" However, Cabba ignores him and continues to struggle and yells, "Let me do this! I can defeat him!"
Hearing that, Caulifla growls, still undecided on what to do, but then Kale yells, "He has a point... There are stronger foes! You should use your energy to fight them instead!"
Finally, Caulifla reaches a decision as she growls in agreement, "All right, fine, whatever." Then she looks at Cabba and yells, "Just don't get crushed!" before she and Kale quickly leave.
With the two of them gone, Cabba fully focuses on his opponent and with a smirk, he says, "Pay attention, I'm a Saiyan and no pushover. So I will not let you look down on me!"
At this point, Cabba transforms into Super Saiyan and breaks free from Peppars's hold before the two quickly start to exchange blows pushing Peppars back until he finally lands a couple of heavy blows that make Peppars spit blood and then he quickly follows up with a Ki Blast that sends his opponent crashing on the ground before exploding causing even more damage.
However the next moment a portal opens behind Cabba and from it a completely fine Peppars jumps out and lands a huge blow on Cabba that sends him crashing on the ground, and then, he jumps in the air and lands on a grounded Cabba with his knee, hurting him and causing him to revert to his base form.
Seeing Cabba groaning in pain under him, Peppars chuckles and comments, "Hehehe. It seems that you aren't all that great, Saiyan. I'll enjoy breaking you."
As Peppars is saying that to Cabba, I notice something and take a closer look at him before immediately realizing, 'As expected, that is a different body. Peppars was indeed hurt badly after taking those heavy blows and a point-blank Ki Blast. However, the Peppars that came out of the portal are in perfect health. It is clear that it is the body of a Mirror Peppars that is now housing Peppars' soul. This may be quite tricky to deal with. Even more so if one considers the fact that he can create as many Mirror Dimensions as the number of his tentacles, which means that he has at least six other spare bodies at his disposal.'
Shortly after coming to that conclusion, I take notice of a few more details, 'Luckily, this powerful ability also has its limitations, like the fact that he can have a max of 7 Mirror Dimensions at any given time. I also noticed that when the soul transferred to the Mirror Body and came out of the portal, his previous body was completely eradicated together with the Mirror Dimension of the Mirror Body and at the same time, the black tip of one of his tentacles also returned to the same color of the rest of his skin. More importantly, since he didn't immediately create another Mirror Dimension, it is also likely that to create them, he needs a very significant amount of time and energy. This means that once he is forced to replace his body 6 more times, he would become unable to use this ability at least until he recreates one of his Mirror Dimensions.'
While I'm thinking that, Peppars jumps in the air once again, but this time, he waves his hands and opens a very big portal, and from it, a meteor shower of massive boulder-size pieces of the fighting stage are ejected that fall toward Cabba with incredible speed and momentum, enough to crush him and deal severe damage.
In response to that, the aching Cabba immediately reacts and fires a Ki Blast to propel himself out of the way in order to dodge the meteor shower; however, when they crash onto the ground, they break into smaller pieces.
Suddenly something strange happens as small cubic portions separate from both the pieces flying around and the surrounding broken pieces of the fighting stage and quickly start to fly toward and collide and merge with each other, before they are eradicated completely with an implosion, laying waste of everything in the immediate radius of the collision which obviosly includes Cabba who is painfully sent flying once more, this time towards the edge of the figthing stage.
Cabba quickly regains his bearings and positions himself very close to the edge of the fighting stage while Peppars lands on the ground and immediately charges toward him as he gathers his Ki in his fist, ready to deliver another devastating attack.
At the last moment, Cabba dodges hoping that the momentum of Peppars' charge would launch him off the ring or at the very least destabilize him enough to create an opening and take advantage of it, however, Peppers quickly reacts and turns to Cabba's direction, and with a punching motion her fires the Ki he gathered on his fist hitting Cabba knocking him off the ring.
While Cabba curses himself for not being able to drain the opponent's stamina at all as he is about to fall into the bottomless abyss of the Null Realm, a frown forms on my face as the scenes of Peppars' battles come to my mind and I immediately come to a conclusion, 'I'm not wrong... Peppars became much faster and stronger after one of his Mirror Dimensions was destroyed; in fact, everything about him doubled. This is quite surprising as he was already a quite powerful warrior before, one at around the same level as Cabba in his Super Saiyan form, which is very impressive. But now his power just straight up doubled. This isn't good news for Cabba, especially if his power increases again when another one of his Mirror Dimensions gets destroyed.'
Before falling off completely, Cabba is suddenly caught by Vegeta, making him exclaim, "Uh? Master!?"
Cabba is relieved that his "master" saved him, and Vegeta rudely throws Cabba back in the ring while Peppars calmly approaches him and says, "You again? I already let go of you once because I thought it was a waste of precious time dealing with someone like you, and instead of being grateful for my mercy, you come here and interrupt my fun?"
In response, Vegeta simply snorts and fires off a Ki Blast at him without saying a word, forcing Peppars to block, but the power behind the Ki Blast is enough to blast him off in the distance.
Seeing this scene, Beerus can't help but question, "Why would he rescue someone who's not on our team?" which makes Whis gleefully explain, "Those two have forged something of a 'teacher-student' dynamic, Beerus-sama."
At the same time, Champa cheerfully exclaims, "Vegeta's a stand-up guy, I've always said that!" followed by Vados, who comments, "Yet again, one of our fighters has been aided in battle by someone from your brother's universe, Champa-sama."
Hearing that, Champa happily says, "Yeah, yeah, I'll be sure to pay him back. You know me, I'm Mr. Magnanimous."
Meanwhile, Cabba bows and thanks Vegeta, "Thank you for saving me. I am in your debt- Urgh!" Suddenly, Vegeta knees him in the stomach with such force that makes him kneel and wheeze on the floor and says, "Don't get the wrong idea. I didn't pull you back out of kindness. I just can't let a Saiyan embarrass our race by losing so easily."
Cabba recovers from Vegeta's knee, gets up, and says, "I understand. I'm sorry." Before Vegeta asks him, "You aren't planning to get eliminated and break your old promise to me, are you, you punk?"
Baffled, Cabba mutters, "My... promise?" which makes Vegeta send him one of his patented glares as he says, "You really don't remember? You said you'd take me to Planet Sadala."
Hearing that, Cabba suddenly remembers, before he gloomily says, "But only one universe can survive. That means no matter how hard I fight, there's no way to keep that promise."
In response, Vegeta states in a confident tone, "I'm going to win this charade. And when I do, I'll use the Super Dragon Balls to bring you and your universe back," which makes Cabba snap back and ask, "What? You would do that?"
Vegeta then plainly says, "I'm not going to let a Saiyan break his word." Cabba is delighted to hear this and exclaims, "You're the best, Master!" before he promises, "And if by some chance our universe ends up winning instead, I'll make sure we bring back the 7th Universe, Master!"
At this point, Vegeta boldly yells, "Don't be ridiculous! I'll win this, not you!" which makes Cabba gasp and say, "Uh! Of course, yeah. Yeah, sorry, sir."
Watching this scene makes the highest authorities of this multiverse casually talk among themselves.
"Are those two friends or not friends? It is confusing."
"It is confusing to me as well!"
"It appears they have the relationship of a teacher and student, sires."
"Teacher and student!"
"How neat!"
Vegeta finally says a few more words to encourage his student, "Fight with all you have, bring honor to yourself and our kind!" which makes Cabba exclaim, "Okay, I will."
Then, Vegeta leaves, and shortly after that, a portal opens a few meters away from Cabba, and from it, Peppars walks out wearing a scowl on his face.
Seeing that his opponent is back, Cabba takes his fighting stance and mutters in a determined tone, "Master. This time I'll remember my Saiyan pride, I promise!"
Peppars hears him and snorts out loudly before he asks, "Ha! You call that guy your master?" before he quickly moves and attacks Cabba sending him crashing against the wall of a nearby boulder while saying, "After I'm done with you, I'll finally deal with that annoying Vegeta, too!"
Then Peppars chases after him and attacks him again, breaking through the boulder and pushing Cabba further while continuing his speech, "And then those Saiyan women who ran away!" which makes Cabba, who is barely able to defend himself, yell, "I'm never gonna let you touch them!"
However, the current Peppars is just too strong compared to a base form Cabba, and so, he continues to smack him around a few more times before sending him crashing to the ground with an axe kick.
As Cabba is gasping in pain on the ground, Peppars snorts and continues to taunt him, "Ha! You are just too weak! And I thought that you Saiyans were supposed to be great warriors! You're frauds! Quitters and cowardly pests! And the same is true for that Vegeta too!"
Cabba, enraged by his words, starts to stand up as sparks of energy run around his body while saying, "Don't you dare to say that... about master!" which makes Peppars chuckle and say, "But it is true. After all, he just sneak attacked me and ran as soon as I appeared in front of you! He is nothing but a worthless chicken!"
At this point, Peppers continues to taunt Cabba as he exclaims, "The only reason why I'm wasting so much time with you guys is that I truly enjoy the look on your faces when you realize that you have absolutely no chance and that because of your weakness, your entire universe is going to be erased!"
As soon as he finishes saying that, the completely enraged Cabba let out a roar as his Ki spikes to unprecedented levels, attaining his Super Saiyan 2 form, but Peppars is unimpressed by it as he continues to mock him, "Is changing your hair color supposed to scare me? I have already seen this."
Cabba suddenly lands a huge blow on him that blows him back by a few meters while making him spit some blood.
Angered by Cabba's sudden retaliation, Peppars tries to crush Cabba by opening another big portal and ejecting a huge boulder from it at astonishing speed. However, Cabba quickly reacts and fires an Energy Wave, strengthening it enough to completely eradicate the boulder and hit Peppars behind it, causing a massive explosion that heavily damages Peppars and blasts him over the edge of the fighting stage, making Champa exclaim, "Way to go, Cabba! You knocked that creepy squid out!"
Seeing Peppars about to fall into the bottomless abyss, Cabba returns to his base form, breathes heavily, and with a grin on his face, he mutters, "Ha... Did you see that, Master? I did it."
Vegeta silently compliments his student on his victory, and prepares to fight Jiren, who is calmly standing with Top and Dyspo after he defeated Hit.
However, as Peppars is falling into the abyss of the Null Realm, a portal opens right in front of Cabba and from it a completely fine Peppars calmly walks out, and at exactily the same time, the black marked tip of another one of his tentacles fades away together with the other falling body of Peppars much to the shock of many who finally witnessed this for the first time.
Peppars then chuckles and says, "Hehe. Your type is just so predictable. A few taunting words, and you do exactly what I want. I have to admit that the participants of this Tournament of Power surprised me. I never thought that I would see so many powerful warriors all gathered in one place. It was so surprising that for the first time in a very, very long time, I felt forced to let myself almost be killed to unleash a bit more of my power. In any case, I'm grateful for your unwilling help."
Seeing Cabba clearly confused by his words, Peppars calmly says, "Since I'm in a good mood, I'll be a bit more specific. You see, my technique is very powerful and useful, but it also comes with a few annoying and very precise restrictions. Oh well, nothing is perfect."
After saying that, Peppars smirks evilly and says, "Anyway, now I've no need for you any longer, so I'm going to crush you and knock off from this fighting stage, and after that, I'll play with those girls and then that master of yours."
At this point, Cabba angrily goes Super Saiyan 2 again and fires his Galick Cannon, which hits its intended target, but Peppars emerges from the smoke completely unharmed, and then, he assaults Cabba with a fierce rush of attacks.
An injured Cabba shows that his Saiyan spirit has not wavered, and Peppars then simply chuckle and kick Cabba out of the fighting stage, eliminating him from the Tournament of Power.