Radiance flooded the World of Void and detonated in a towering blast. The shockwave swallowed the arena in an instant.
"Did Kakarot lose?" Vegeta stared at the collapsing sphere, fury and unwillingness tightening his jaw. "Kakarot, you idiot." He slammed a fist into the tiles. Shards skittered.
All around, fighters took in the ruin the clash had left and felt a chill. Beerus clenched both fists, searching for even a flicker of Goku's ki and finding nothing.
"No way… it can't be."
"No," Krillin snapped back, grasping at the only hope in reach. "He hasn't been beamed back up here. That means he hasn't fallen out of bounds."
Beerus's teeth ground. "But I cannot sense him anywhere on the stage."
"Maybe being that close to the blast erased him on the spot."
"Erased?" Master Roshi's eyes went wide. In a breath he looked years older.
Champa rubbed his chin. "Erased as in dead?"
His eyes lit with a perverse spark. "Grand Minister, if Jiren killed him, does that mean Jiren is disqualified?"
The Grand Minister's reply was cool. "Being consumed by your own technique is not killing. It is self-destruction. Jiren of Universe Eleven will not be penalized."
"Uh, so Goku is out?" On the dais, one Zeno peered up like a child waiting for story time to continue.
"Yes. Son Goku has been defeated by Jiren of Universe Eleven and has lost his eligibility."
"What a shame."
The tiny kings' fingers hovered over their tablets to gray out Goku's portrait.
The world lurched.
The World of Void trembled. The sun above flickered like a failing bulb. On the shattered arena floor, threads of white light winked into being and braided together until their glow washed over everything.
Not far away, Vincent Fox watched the lattice of power knit itself. He let out a breath. "Finally."
He turned away. If his hunch was right, what was coming next would swallow everything near it. Best not to be in the splash zone.
The light thinned.
Goku stepped out.
His orange gi had been torn away, leaving the black undershirt beneath. An oppressive pressure rolled off him and spilled across the arena. Under the gaze of all the universes, he had burned and returned.
He stood in a calm, ordinary stance, yet silver-white energy flowed over his skin. His eyes had gone the same argent shade, emotionless and fixed ahead.
He took a single light step. In an eyeblink he was in front of Jiren.
His movements had not just become faster. They had slipped past anticipation. Even for Jiren there was no tell, no windup. Caught by the sudden resurgence and the attack that came with it, Jiren raised both arms to guard.
Crack.
They met and rebounded. Using the recoil, Goku drifted back and landed lightly.
Before his soles fully set, two figures dropped from above. Toppo and Dyspo came diving in, boots scything toward Goku.
They meant to test him. They discovered he did not need testing.
Goku caught both kicks like a parent stopping two unruly children, crossed his arms, and flung them in opposite directions.
"So strong…" Toppo grunted, steadying himself in midair. He leveled one thick finger and began to charge crimson light. "Justice Flash."
Explosions stitched the floor in a chain, but Goku only turned his shoulder and walked forward through the storm. Bombard as you like. I walk as I please.
"Those movements…" Gods up on the balcony began murmuring, their eyes alight, their faces sober.
"That flow…" one said slowly. "For a mortal to reach it…"
"Even for us, that state is not easily attained."
Jiren flicked his gaze at Toppo. The message was clear. Stand down.
Goku closed on Jiren. The true battle resumed.
Goku's fist snapped out. Jiren's eyes flashed crimson and telekinetic blows lanced toward Goku like invisible spears. In the air Goku tilted and slid, letting them all brush past. Then he was there, right in front of Jiren, unleashing his own storm.
His speed defied words. Fists became falling rain, each drop a hammer, drumming Jiren's barrier.
Crashes rolled one into another. In heartbeats the shield shattered to dust. Jiren had to meet him barehanded.
But Goku's onslaught now was not something hands could easily stop. For the first time Jiren's immovable stance gave ground. His heels plowed furrows through the stone.
"You have grown much stronger," Jiren said evenly. He rose and met Goku in the air. They traded fists and feet, a blur of brutal technique that stole breath from every throat watching.
"Ah-reh, ah-reh, Goku showed up again."
"Ah-reh, ah-reh, Goku got stronger."
"Grand Minister, what happened to him?" Both Zenos turned together. Even the Grand Minister watched, momentarily lost in thought.
In Universe Seven's stand, Beerus stared and could barely make the words leave his mouth. "That is… Ultra Instinct."
On the stage, power had crept past the line mortals rarely glimpse. The pressure was godlike. Where fists met, space frayed and lightning cracked.
A bolt split the floor with a deafening snap. Smoke swelled.
Toppo studied Goku through the haze. Then his eyes widened. Understanding clicked. He had seen the weakness.
He opened his mouth to shout a warning to Jiren.
A boot slammed into his side and hurled him away.
Toppo bounced across the tiles like a rolling boulder and skidded to a stop at the very edge. "Who dares?"
He surged up and raked the air with Justice Flash again, explosions chewing the ground to grit. He drew a breath.
The figure was already there again.
"Toppo the would-be God of Destruction, huh? How about I try you on for size."
----------------------------------------------------
The deeper he goes, the more the truth unravels. Don't wait read ahead and witness Vincent's rise before the world catches up!
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