Inside the wide, dimly lit Promotion Channel, Super Perfect Cell, Hit, and Trunks walked side by side, their footsteps echoing through the silent passage as the only sound breaking the stillness.
"Boss, do you think Laitses will catch up with us?" Cell turned toward Trunks, curiosity and uncertainty in his eyes.
Trunks already had an answer in mind, but he didn't respond immediately. At this point, whether Laitses managed to catch up no longer mattered much to him. His main priority had been advancing successfully, and they had already accomplished that.
As for what happened to Laitses from here on out, that was entirely up to him.
There were simply too many unpredictable things about the guy. He was volatile, impulsive, almost like a child, and there was always a chance he might suddenly turn against them. Then there was his sheer strength. From everything Laitses had shown so far, he was anything but harmless. In fact, if he failed to advance, that might actually mean one less unpredictable threat for Trunks to worry about.
An ally that powerful, and that uncontrollable, could easily become a danger down the line.
"I don't know," Trunks answered calmly after a brief pause. "It all depends on his luck."
His eyes remained fixed ahead, clearly unwilling to waste any more thought on Laitses.
---
The three continued forward until the dark passage gradually began to brighten. Ahead stood a structure closely resembling the waiting room from the arena before the tournament began. Like a beacon in the darkness, it immediately drew their attention, and they hurried toward it.
Passing the building, Trunks glanced inside and was surprised to discover several stamina-restoration devices, advanced, complicated machines with faint lights blinking across their surfaces.
Then he noticed a large timer hanging above the waiting room, steadily counting down beside a clear warning:
'"When the timer reaches zero, the waiting room will disappear."'
Trunks checked the remaining time, only a few dozen seconds left. He quickly estimated how long it would take to fully restore their stamina: at least five minutes. In other words, the waiting room was completely useless to them. Still, fighters who had advanced earlier probably had enough time to take advantage of it.
Not that Trunks was particularly concerned. They had Piccolo, whose healing ability made these recovery machines irrelevant anyway.
"Boss, this waiting room is about to disappear!" Cell stared anxiously at the walls, which were already beginning to fade.
"Alright, don't panic," Trunks replied, quickly forming a theory. "Let's stay right here and not move. Maybe this works like the waiting room at the start, it might actually be a hidden teleportation gate."
Trunks, Cell, and Hit exchanged glances. Almost in perfect sync, the three reached out and held hands, standing perfectly still as they waited for the teleportation to trigger.
A few seconds later, the waiting room completely vanished.
And... nothing happened.
All three of them were still standing in the exact same spot.
The tense anticipation instantly gave way to an awkward silence.
Cell was the first to speak. "B-Boss... I think something's wrong. That waiting room doesn't seem to have been a teleportation gate."
Hit, who had remained quiet until now, nodded. "Yeah, Trunks. Looks like we guessed wrong this time."
Trunks frowned before reluctantly giving a nod. "Yeah, my mistake. But it's fine. The waiting room may be gone, but the path forward should still be nearby. Let's look around for another clue or exit."
Before he even finished speaking, Trunks's sharp gaze swept across their surroundings and caught a faint light shining in the distance. Though dim, it stood out immediately against the surrounding darkness.
Trunks headed toward it without hesitation, drawing close enough to reveal a mysterious teleportation gate glowing with faint, rippling waves of energy.
"Look. That should be the gate we're looking for," Trunks said, pointing toward it.
"Oh! I see it, Boss!" Cell shouted excitedly before shooting forward like an arrow. Reaching the gate in the blink of an eye, he stepped inside without holding back his curiosity. The instant he entered, a powerful force wrapped around him, and he vanished.
"Mm. Just as I thought," Trunks muttered, narrowing his eyes slightly before turning to Hit. "Alright. We're running out of time. Let's go."
Hit nodded, cautiously stepped up to the gate, and went through.
'Whoosh!'
His figure was swallowed by the light and vanished without a trace.
Seeing that Hit had gone through safely, Trunks prepared to follow, but just as he was about to step inside, his body stiffened. He quickly turned his head, staring back in the direction they had come from.
This passage was clearly a special space capable of blocking outside auras, yet Trunks could faintly sense enormous energy fluctuations coming from down the hall, violent, surging waves disturbing the quiet void. They were far away, with a teleportation gate separating them, but Trunks could still feel the distinct vibrations.
He frowned. 'Looks like Laitses and Z Broly are really going at it. This place is strange, though. It feels like this passage has always been here... I wonder if it'll remain after the Gate of Advancement closes.'
Pushing the thought aside, Trunks stepped directly into the gate.
'Whoosh!' He disappeared.
---
'Inner Ring of the Arena.'
Trunks reappeared on the vast arena floor in a flash. Compared to the crowded, energetic scene from before, the place now felt almost deserted, with a huge number of contestants nowhere to be seen.
"Trunks!" a familiar voice called out.
Trunks turned to see Son Goku standing nearby, grinning and waving at him.
"Uncle Goku," Trunks greeted calmly, unstartled by his presence. With Goku's strength, making it through the first round was a given.
"Hehe! Nice one, Trunks! I knew you'd make it through too!" Goku looked genuinely pleased.
Trunks smiled and nodded, then shifted his gaze past Goku toward Super Perfect Cell. Goku followed his line of sight.
"Huh? Little Cell made it through too?" A trace of surprise flashed across Goku's face.
Cell immediately took offense, pouting dramatically. "What's that supposed to mean?! Is it really that unbelievable that I advanced? Hmph! Even if I hadn't been with Boss, I could've made it through on my own!" He proudly raised his chin, determined to prove his worth.
While Cell complained, Goku's relaxed expression suddenly shifted. His sharp senses had picked up Hit standing a short distance away. A moment earlier, Goku had been laughing casually, but now his eyes locked onto Hit with absolute caution and seriousness.
Not long ago, Hit's distinctive aura had briefly flared inside Goku's module before disappearing almost instantly. It had only lasted a fraction of a second, but that was more than enough for Goku to notice.
Goku stared closely at Hit, suspicion flickering in his eyes before he turned to Trunks. "Trunks, who is this guy? Why is he with you?"
Before Trunks could answer, a loud, familiar voice cut in from the side.
"Kakarot, so you felt this guy's aura too?"
Everyone turned to see Vegeta standing with his arms crossed, his expression ice-cold, with Bulla and Son Goten right behind him.
"I only had my suspicions at first," Vegeta continued with a snort, "but it looks like I wasn't the only one who noticed."
Goten looked completely refreshed and energetic compared to before, having fully recovered thanks to the waiting room's advanced equipment.
Bulla quickly walked over to Trunks, rising slightly onto her toes to whisper in his ear, "Big Brother, is that guy a friend of yours? Dad said he sensed someone suspicious appear briefly in his module, and he even asked me and Goten if we ran into anyone like that."
With everyone staring at Trunks waiting for an explanation, he looked over the group before turning to Hit.
"Uncle Goku, Dad, Bulla... I think we really do need to explain something important," Trunks said, then looked directly at Hit. "Hit, tell them everything. Explain what happened, including the alliance between our universes."
Hit nodded and calmly recounted everything that had taken place. Finishing the main points, a trace of genuine guilt touched his face.
"There's also something I need to apologize for. When the fighters from Universe 6 appeared to be eliminated, I was actually the one secretly rescuing them. I'll admit that, at first, I was acting purely for my own universe's sake. But after meeting Trunks, things changed. We eventually reached an agreement and formed an alliance."
Just as Hit finished, a mocking laugh echoed from across the ring.
"Ohohohoho!"
Frieza stood there, narrowing his eyes. "This Great King knew something was wrong. When that useless Frost was defeated and supposedly eliminated by me, there wasn't even an official announcement." He shifted his gaze to Hit. "So that's what happened. You were the one who saved that insignificant fool. But what does it matter? A weakling like him can be erased again with a single finger."
Frieza slowly raised a hand as a brilliant point of energy gathered at his fingertip, growing brighter by the second. "Bring him out. Don't waste This Great King's valuable time."
Goku immediately frowned. "Hey, Frieza! We're allied with Universe 6 now! They're on our side, how can you treat an ally like that?"
Frieza gave a disdainful snort. "Hmph. Son Goku, This Great King doesn't need you telling me what I can and cannot do. Once this tournament is over, it'll finally be time to settle everything with you damned Saiyans."
Goku's expression turned serious. "Is that so, Frieza? Then I'd like to see you try."
Vegeta turned to Trunks. "Trunks, I actually think an alliance between Universe 6 and Universe 7 is a good idea." His thoughts briefly drifted back to the promise he had made to Cabba. "But there's one problem: the rules say only one universe can win. So which universe are you planning to let take the victory?"
Before Trunks could reply, a voice called out from the distance.
"Obviously, your universe will win. We were the ones who proposed the alliance, so naturally we have to make some concessions. Hit and Trunks should have already discussed what wish to make with the Super Dragon Balls in the end, right?"
Everyone turned to see two figures approaching. One was Super Broly; the other was a man Trunks had never seen before, carrying a commanding, imposing presence that suggested he was the Universe 6 Saiyan Prince Hit had mentioned.
Seeing the confusion, the newcomer introduced himself. "My name is Sarada. I'm a friend of Hit's, and I worked with him to arrange the alliance with Universe 7. As I said, Universe 7 can take the victory. Afterward, you just need to use the Super Dragon Balls to restore our universe."
Sarada spoke plainly and with absolute confidence.
Hit nodded. "Sarada is right. He's also the Prince of the Saiyans from Universe 6."
Vegeta stiffened slightly, his eyes immediately sweeping over the man before him. So this was Universe 6's Saiyan Prince. From his presence alone, Vegeta could tell Sarada was dominant and proud, much like himself. The realization made Vegeta's blood boil with excitement. If given the chance, he definitely wanted to test his strength against him in a battle between two Saiyan princes.
Just then, Super Broly cut in with an unrelated question. "Um... has anyone seen my brother?" He looked expectantly at Hit, knowing Hit could travel between modules.
"Your brother... is Z Broly?" Hit asked, verifying the resemblance and remembering Trunks mentioning they were twins.
Super Broly nodded.
Hit found himself in an awkward spot, unsure how to explain it, and glanced at Trunks for help.
Trunks didn't bother sugarcoating it. "He's fighting some kid right now. From the looks of it, they're having a pretty intense battle. I don't know whether he'll make it through in time. But don't worry too much about it, as long as we win the tournament, we can deal with whatever happens afterward."
Super Broly fell silent, accepting Trunks's word for now.
"Wait... everyone's here, but where are Brother Gohan and Uncle Piccolo?" Bulla suddenly raised an important question. "There's no way they failed to advance, right?"
"They advanced too," Trunks replied.
"Then where are they?"
Trunks simply gestured, and a strange light flashed over the arena.
'Whoosh!'
Several figures appeared at once: Piccolo, Gohan, Caulifla, Kale, and the rest of Universe 6's team.
"Everyone! Did all of you make it through?!" Gohan excitedly surveyed Universe 7. All ten of them were standing there, not a single person missing.
"Hehe! Brother Gohan, it wasn't easy, but we all made it!" Bulla glanced proudly toward Vegeta. "Goten and I only made it because of Dad."
"Gohan! Piccolo!" Goku hurried over, clapping a hand onto Gohan's shoulder. "Gohan! Why do I feel like you've gotten even stronger?"
There was a good reason Goku sensed a difference: the Saiyan ability to grow stronger after recovering from near-death had triggered. Gohan hadn't experienced many near-death Zenkai boosts in his life, but thanks to Piccolo's intervention this time, he had fully reaped the benefit.
"Huh? Really, Dad?" Gohan scratched his head. "I didn't even notice..." He then glanced at his younger brother. "Wait, Dad. Don't you think Goten seems a little different too?"
Goku turned toward Goten and saw that his aura was indeed noticeably stronger. "Huh?" Goku looked puzzled. "Goten, what happened?"
Before Goten could answer, Vegeta spoke up. "Kakarot. There's something I want to discuss with you."
Goku scratched his head. "What is it?"
Vegeta pulled him aside. "Kakarot... what do you think of Bulla?"
Goku answered without hesitation. "She's really strong! Compared to the female Saiyans from Universe 6, Bulla is definitely impressive!"
Goku had completely missed the point of Vegeta's question, his mind going straight to fighting and power levels as usual. Vegeta stared at him in utter speechlessness. After seeing how desperately Goten had fought to protect Bulla, Vegeta had begun to acknowledge the boy, but Goku's oblivious response left him completely out of words.
(End Of This Chapter)
You can read ahead up to 60 chapters on my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/darkshadow6395