"Ho-How could this happen..."
In utter disbelief, Hop's face turned deathly pale.
It was one thing for the others to be eliminated, but even the powerful trio—Bergamo, Lavender, and Basil—had been knocked out!
Although Hop had always been confident in her own strength, it was only after participating in this Tournament of Power across the entire multiverse that she truly realized: there's always a higher sky, and stronger beings beyond oneself. Compared to those true powerhouses, her abilities could at best be considered mid-tier among all the contestants—possibly even among the weakest.
Now that she was left with no other teammates, there was no way she could survive on the stage alone!
And the current situation was dire: the moment she too fell off the stage and lost eligibility to compete, Universe 9 would be erased by the supreme being, the Grand Zeno!
"Looks like you've finally realized your situation."
"If I hadn't saved you just now, your universe would've already been wiped out by Lord Zeno."
Though incredibly unwilling, Hop had to admit that what Yuujin said was true.
Clenching her teeth, her heart filled with turmoil.
"Hop, you're the last contestant from our universe! You absolutely must not fall off the stage, do you hear me?!"
The voice of Universe 9's Supreme Kai, Roh, rang out from the spectator stands as he shouted at Hop.
"Supreme Kai-sama…"
Tears welled in her eyes. Supreme Kai-sama, what use is it even if you entrust such a heavy responsibility to me? With my strength, there's no way I can last till the end of this tournament. Besides, I'm already practically someone else's prisoner!
As if reading her mind, Supreme Kai Roe's voice came from the spectator seats again:
"Even if you become that guy's prisoner, it doesn't matter. As long as you remain on the stage, our universe won't be erased."
"No, for the sake of our universe, I order you to become that guy's prisoner!"
"You must stick with him no matter what—don't fall off the stage, do you hear me, Hop?!"
Willing to go to any lengths to ensure the survival of their universe, Universe 9's Supreme Kai Roh went all in.
The other universes' spectators cast looks of disdain toward him. Universe 6's God of Destruction, Champa, even burst into open laughter—
"Hahaha!!!"
"The guys from Universe 9 are absolutely disgraceful! To save their universe, they're actually having their contestant become someone else's prisoner."
"How utterly shameful! Pathetic!"
"Ahahahahaha!!!!!!"
Champa's grating laughter echoed throughout the entire arena, and the people from Universe 9 were overcome with embarrassment.
But honestly, Universe 9 had already suffered so many humiliations today that this was just one more to the pile. As long as it meant their universe could survive, what did it matter if they lost a bit of face? Heck, if it meant Hop had to become Yuujin's prisoner, or even his slave, so be it!
With this mindset, the people of Universe 9 became unexpectedly bold.
They had no hope of becoming the final victors of this tournament. Every extra minute they survived was a win.
And if the people of Universe 9 could come to that conclusion, others could as well—
"Though I'm not sure what that contestant from Universe 13 is really after, having Rylibeu stay by his side does seem to ensure her safety."
"Kekeke, let Caway stay with that boy too. Though we of Universe 3 won't stoop as low as Universe 9, consider it an extra safety measure."
"Jiren from Universe 11, Son Goku from Universe 7, and now Yuujin from Universe 13... This Tournament of Power is getting more and more interesting!"
Yuujin wasn't aware of the growing attention from the gods at this moment. He was simply enjoying the adorable expression on catgirl Hop's face. After receiving the Supreme Kai Roh's command, she was thrown into complete mental chaos.
Their own Supreme Kai had ordered her to become Yuujin's prisoner. What even was that supposed to mean? Was she being royally ordered to surrender?
Something about this just feels so wrong!!!
"Well then, Miss Hop, will you continue to resist—or submit?"
Yuujin asked with a cheerful smile, and Hop felt incredibly awkward inside.
What the hell would I even be resisting at this point!
Letting out a small sigh, Hop finally made her decision. She got down on one knee and bowed to Yuujin:
"Lord Yuujin, I am willing to submit to you and obey your every command. But please… save our universe."
"I can't promise to save your universe," Yuujin said, shaking his head, "but as long as you behave, I can guarantee that your universe will last until the very end of this tournament."
He would never promise something he couldn't guarantee.
Besides, everything he was doing right now was just on a whim. He had no duty or obligation to save other universes.
A flicker of disappointment appeared in Hop's eyes, but she understood this was already the best outcome she could hope for.
She had done everything she could. As for the final fate of her universe—well, that would be left to destiny.
Without another word, Hop walked over and stood beside Rylibew and Caway.
And just like that, Yuujin's group of "captives" gained a new member, now including contestants from Universe 4, Universe 9, and Universe 10. Only Universes 2, 3, 6, 7, and 11 remained.
Yuujin had previously seen Android 18 from Universe 7 and Cocotte from Universe 11 fighting against 18 and Dark 18. He had already used [Telepathic Voice Transmission] to instruct 18 and Dark 18 to capture them, so he didn't need to act personally for those universes.
Universe 3 was a technological civilization, and its contestants were mostly robots, scientists, and justice-enforcing police—not a single pretty girl among them. Let them go to hell.
Having or not having them made no difference. That universe wasn't worth bothering with.
Which left only Universes 2 and 6. Yuujin figured he could still capture a few cute prisoners from those.
But just as he was wondering whether to go after Universe 2 or Universe 6 first, someone else made the decision for him.
Boom!!!
A few ki blasts suddenly flew toward Yuujin and the girls. They quickly dodged, and the place they had just been standing exploded into a series of massive craters.
"Bastard! I finally found you!"
An angry voice shouted, and two figures leaped out from the rubble on the edge of the arena.
It was none other than Caulifla and Kale from Universe 6!
Seeing Caulifla's gritted teeth and Kale panting heavily, Yuujin chuckled:
"So it's you two… Hothead and Kale-chan!"
To be continued...