What happened in the inner ring briefly caught the Grand Minister's attention, but since the situation didn't escalate, he soon lost interest.
Zeno, standing behind him, was even less concerned. He was busy using his divine tablet to rewatch highlights from the first match, thoroughly enjoying himself as the tablet gave him a much clearer view by slowing down exchanges that had originally been too fast to follow.
Suddenly, Zeno stopped laughing and called out, "Grand Minister."
The Grand Minister lowered his hands from behind his back, turned around, and bowed. Seeing Zeno pointing at the tablet, he walked over. "What is it, Lord Zeno?"
Zeno slowed the footage and paused it on the wasteland zone. Every contestant who had appeared there had been swiftly knocked down by an incredibly fast shadow, but once the footage was slowed, Zeno could make out a yellowish-brown figure.
Pointing at it, he asked, "Should we erase him?"
The Grand Minister shook his head. "No, Lord Zeno. He hasn't broken any rules. Koniko already asked for your permission regarding this. Have you forgotten?"
Zeno tapped his head as he searched his memory. "Oh, right! I remember now!"
At that moment, a small figure suddenly appeared beside them and bowed. "Lord Zeno."
She then nodded respectfully to the Grand Minister.
"Grand Minister... No, Father," the angel Kusu said. "Doesn't what they're doing count as cheating?"
The Grand Minister's expression grew solemn as he continued looking at the divine tablet. "No. They haven't cheated. They've merely exploited a loophole in the rules."
"But, Father," Kusu argued, "isn't that excessive interference in the development of mortals?"
"Not quite, Kusu," the Grand Minister replied patiently. "You needn't concern yourself so much. I promise you, the tragedy from billions of years ago will not happen again."
Kusu studied her father's dignified, unwavering expression. Knowing his judgment was rarely wrong, the tension in her brow gradually eased. "I understand, Father."
Then, just as suddenly as she had appeared, Kusu vanished.
...
Inside the inner ring, Frieza's foot remained planted firmly on Frost's back, pinning him down in the most humiliating position imaginable. Suddenly, a small bottle landed beside them, filling Frost's eyes with confusion.
Then he heard Super Perfect Cell's voice nearby. Cell had always been loud, and watching Frieza mercilessly beat Frost had gotten him excited, so there was no chance Frost could miss hearing him. "Frieza's going to use the Evil Containment Wave on him!"
Frost shuddered. He had no idea what the Evil Containment Wave was, but the name alone filled him with dread.
Caulifla turned to Super Perfect Cell. "The Evil Containment Wave? What's that?"
Cell smirked proudly. "Heh. It's time to show you people from Universe 6 one of Universe 7's secret techniques! Just watch; we've already sealed away several people we couldn't stand with it. Still, I never expected Frieza to know the Evil Containment Wave too."
Trunks stared at the small bottle near Frieza's feet, knowing the bottle alone wouldn't be enough.
"Hey, Frieza!" he called.
"Yes?" Frieza glanced back.
Trunks used his energy to send a sealing talisman floating over to him. "You'll need this."
Frieza plucked the talisman from the air and examined the writing on it. Trunks's action made his stance on the matter perfectly clear, though Frieza already knew that the Evil Containment Wave required a sealing talisman.
"My, my. Who would have thought you and I would work together so perfectly?"
Trunks held two fingers together and gave a casual wave. "Just finish this quickly. That guy disgusts me."
"Hmph. I hardly need you to tell me that," Frieza replied with a dismissive curl of his lip.
Green light erupted around Frieza's body as he lifted his foot from Frost's back. Frost thought he had finally found an opening and tried to trigger his self-destruction again, but in the next instant, a strange force drained what little strength remained in his battered body.
A powerful suction pulled at his limbs and clouded his mind. His body twisted and distorted, making him feel as though his soul were being ripped free. His heart clenched as he looked at the bottle, that was where the pull was coming from.
No—that wasn't right. The true source was Frieza!
Frost finally looked up at him. Frieza stood with both hands raised, clearly controlling the technique.
"What the hell is this?!" Frost screamed at the top of his lungs.
The next moment, his vision went completely black as he was sucked inside the tiny bottle. As absurd and impossible as it seemed, it had really happened.
Frost saw a thin beam of light coming through the bottle's opening and desperately rushed toward it, but before he could reach it, the light vanished. He had been sealed inside.
...
The bottle rocked violently in Frieza's hand, swaying from side to side, only settling once he placed the talisman over its opening.
"Ho ho ho! It seems the bottle I stole from Piccolo has finally proven useful." Frieza smiled in satisfaction, then produced another small bottle from behind his back, Baby was sealed inside that one.
Hearing Frieza's remark, Piccolo checked his belongings and realized his bottle was missing. After thinking it over, he concluded that Frieza must have stolen it several days earlier when Baby arrived on Earth and the two of them passed each other.
Piccolo stared at Frieza and drew a sharp breath. He hadn't expected Frieza to possess such nimble fingers to steal the bottle without anyone noticing.
Frieza looked down at the newly sealed Frost. "Ho ho ho! I may not be allowed to kill you right now. But once the Tournament of Power is over... you're a dead man."
It was exactly the sort of thing everyone expected from Frieza, he was ruthless, vicious, and never showed mercy.
The fighters from Universe 6 could only stare in stunned silence.
Caulifla was especially shocked, having never imagined that Frieza could be even more vicious than Frost. Then she glanced at Trunks, remembering how perfectly he and Frieza had just worked together, and quietly moved several steps away from him.
(End Of This Chapter)
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