"Ken, now that Zarek's gone over to Universe 9, we're one fighter short," Goku pointed out.
"Then Android 17 can take his place," Ken replied, turning toward the stands.
"Sure, why not?" Android 17 agreed.
Android 18 brushed back her blonde hair, suddenly looking interested in the tournament herself.
"Hey, anyone else feel like giving up their spot? I'd be happy to take it."
She looked around at the Universe 6 fighters, but nobody volunteered. Apparently, they were all quite happy with their places on the team, leaving Android 18 with nothing to do but click her tongue in disappointment.
Around that time, Broly and Buu descended onto the arena, landing on either side of Ken.
Over on Universe 7's side, Ize stopped dead when he saw Broly.
There was no mistaking him. That was the Saiyan who'd torn him in half years ago, and Ize had been waiting for a chance to return the favor ever since.
"Dad!" Ize hurried over to Frieza, barely able to contain his anger.
"What is it?"
"That guy over there! He's the one who ripped me in half!" Ize pointed toward Broly, trembling with rage. "I swear I'll never forgive him!"
Frieza narrowed his eyes as he examined the Saiyan standing beside Ken.
"Is he participating in the tournament? If he is, I'll deal with him myself."
"Just make sure you don't kill him, Dad. That's against the rules!" Ize reminded him with a grin.
"Of course, of course!" Frieza laughed. "But there's nothing stopping me from beating him so badly he'll never be able to look after himself again!"
"Then let me finish him off!"
"Hahaha! Very well, my son. We'll do exactly that!"
The two were having a wonderful time imagining Broly's miserable fate when something unusual caught their attention.
Several Gods of Destruction had gathered around Broly, and every single one of them was bowing respectfully. These weren't the casual greetings one god might offer another, either. They were practically bending over backward to show their respect.
Frieza stopped laughing.
Ize looked from Broly to the bowing gods, then back again. Something about this situation didn't seem quite right.
"Whis, what's going on over there?" Frieza asked, his smile slowly disappearing.
"Oh? Are you referring to Broly, the Great God of Destruction?" Whis asked pleasantly.
"The Great God of Destruction?" Frieza repeated.
"Yes. He's the one who oversees all the Gods of Destruction across the universes. You could say he's their superior."
Frieza stared at him, then cautiously pointed toward Broly.
"You're telling me that Saiyan over there is the Great God of Destruction?"
"That's right."
Ize felt as though he'd just been struck by lightning.
The bastard who'd torn him in half had somehow become the Great God of Destruction? The same guy he'd been planning to take revenge on?
How the hell was he supposed to fight someone like that?
Ize had trained hard and become far stronger than before, but none of that seemed particularly impressive anymore. Even the Gods of Destruction were bowing to Broly!
Frieza wasn't taking the news much better. He glanced at his son, thought about their conversation a moment earlier, and gently patted him on the shoulder.
"My son... I think you should forget about that whole business of being torn in half. The sooner, the better."
Ize rubbed his eyes, but it was no use. The tears had already started falling, and all those wonderful plans for revenge had gone straight out the window.
"Oh, and there's something else you might find interesting," Whis continued cheerfully. "Buu over there is known as the Little God of Destruction, although that isn't an officially recognized position."
"Little God of Destruction?" Frieza looked toward Buu.
"It's quite simple. When Broly gives an order, Buu is usually the one who carries it out. If anyone refuses to cooperate, he beats them up until they change their mind!"
Frieza didn't bother asking anything else. Between Broly's position and Buu's rather straightforward approach to enforcing his orders, he'd heard more than enough.
...
With the last few arrivals accounted for, all the gods and competitors had finally gathered at the Tournament of Power venue.
Ken flew above the center of the arena, looking over the assembled fighters before addressing everyone.
"Now that we're all here, let's give a warm welcome to Zeno-sama and the Grand Priest!"
There was a brief silence as everyone processed his announcement, followed by a thunderous round of applause.
On the raised platform facing the stands, the two Zeno-samas appeared with their guards. The Grand Priest stood to their right, looking perfectly at ease as the attention of the entire arena shifted toward them.
For many of the competitors, this was their first time seeing both Zeno-sama's in person.
Those two little figures were the supreme rulers of the multiverse, capable of erasing entire universes with a wave of the hand. The Grand Priest standing beside them was said to be among the most powerful beings in existence.
It was quite a sight, although the fighters had mixed feelings about being so close to gods who could wipe them out whenever they pleased.
"Hello, everyone!" Zeno-sama greeted them with an enthusiastic wave.
"Hi, everybody!" Future Zeno-sama added, waving along with him.
The fighters hurried to acknowledge them, suddenly looking even more respectful than before. Meeting one Omni-King would have been intimidating enough, but standing before two of them was another matter entirely.
Once the greetings were over, Ken returned everyone's attention to the arena.
"The tournament will begin shortly! Everyone who isn't competing, please head to the viewing stands!"
The gods and spectators began clearing the battlefield, leaving the fighters with a few final words of encouragement.
Champa approached Goku and Vegeta, looking far more serious than usual.
"Goku, Vegeta, I'm counting on you two. Don't mess this up!"
"You got it, Champa-sama!" Goku replied with a determined nod.
"And don't forget to work together," Fuwa reminded them. "You'll need to cooperate if you want to win."
Vados had nothing to add, so she accompanied Champa and Fuwa to their seats, leaving Universe 6's fighters to prepare for the competition.
Universe 7 was receiving a somewhat different farewell.
"Listen up!" Beerus growled at his team. "I don't care what happens out there. If you fail to win this tournament, I'll destroy every last one of you myself! Got that?"
Whis chuckled beside him.
"Hohoho! I'm afraid that threat doesn't mean very much, Beerus-sama. If they lose, Zeno-sama will erase them anyway."
Beerus fell silent, clearly annoyed that Whis had ruined his attempt at intimidation.
"Whatever! Just make sure you fight with everything you've got!" he snapped. "You're all strong enough to win this thing, so I expect nothing less than first place!"
"Exactly!" Shin added, clenching his fists. "We went through a lot of trouble to gather all of you here. You're the strongest fighters we could find, so please give it your best!"
Unfortunately, GT Goku had caught something rather troubling in their conversation.
"Hang on a second," he interrupted, scratching his head. "What was that about getting erased?"
Shin hesitated. He'd deliberately left that little detail out when recruiting the fighters from the GT timeline, but with the tournament about to begin, there was no point pretending any longer.
He reluctantly explained the rules.
Any universe that lost the tournament would be erased by Zeno-sama, along with its inhabitants and gods. There would be no second chances, and Universe 7 was no exception.
GT Goku stared at him, unsure whether to laugh or complain.
"Come on, Supreme Kai! You can't invite us to a tournament and leave out something that important!"
GT Vegeta had an even more pressing question.
"Hold on. If your universe gets erased, what happens to us? We're not even from this timeline, much less your universe!"
"Well, you've entered the tournament as representatives of Universe 7," Shin explained. "That means you're considered part of Universe 7 for the competition. If we lose, you'll disappear along with everyone else."
GT Vegeta couldn't believe what he was hearing.
GT Broly and Uub were equally stunned. They'd come here expecting to face strong opponents in an exciting tournament, only to discover that they'd been dragged into a competition where losing meant being erased from existence.
GT Vegeta's expression grew darker as he considered just how badly they'd been misled.
"Hmph! We can still withdraw, can't we?"
He'd agreed to fight, not gamble his life on whether Universe 7 survived. And these idiots had known the consequences all along!
Was this some kind of joke?
He'd treated them like friends, and they'd brought him and the others here without even bothering to explain the danger.
What the hell kind of friends did that?!
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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