On the stage.
The mountains that once defined this landscape had been leveled to the ground, and the very floor of the arena had shattered into countless floating fragments. On one of these jagged rocks, Gran stood firmly in front of Hit, shielding him from the lingering shockwaves of the explosion.
"That slime... do you have any idea when this guy showed up?"
Hovering in the sky, Rosa—the Goddess of Love—drifted closer to Belloc. Her expression was uncharacteristically grim.
"I have no clue!" Belloc the slime replied, shaking his head.
The two had been bickering moments ago, but in this instant, they reached a silent, mutual understanding to drop the subject.
"There's something wrong with this guy," Rosa whispered, her eyes locked onto Gran. "His power jumped from the Initial Sixth Tier to the Peak in a heartbeat. No one knows if even that is his limit."
Belloc blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected this three-hundred-pound woman to be so observant.
"He is definitely a mystery. It's no wonder the Destroyers ordered us to gank him. But..." Belloc scanned the horizon. From the northern reaches of the stage, six silhouettes were closing in fast.
They were:
Bert, the lion from Universe 1.
Harry, the mummy from Universe 5.
Joel, the fox from Universe 8.
Primo, the muscle-bound master from Universe 10.
Jiren, the Pride Trooper from Universe 11.
Blair, the golden sea-beast from Universe 12.
"They're finally here," Belloc noted, his eyes narrowing. "No matter how mysterious or powerful he is, he can't possibly stand against all of us. Once we take out the Universe 7 candidate, the real battle begins—and these guys are no slackers."
As the two waited for Jiren's group to arrive, Hit, still slumped on the rock behind Gran, coughed up another mouthful of blood.
"So this is the will of an assassin? I saw it. Impressive," Gran said, turning back to look at the fallen warrior.
During Rosa's devastating strike, Hit hadn't simply resigned himself to fate. At the final microsecond, he had tapped into an unprecedented surge of willpower, forcibly breaking free from Rosa's Domain of Love. He had used Time Lag to shift his body just enough so that the blast hit his back instead of his vitals.
Cough!
Hit tried to speak, but the blood gushing from his mouth made it impossible. His life force was flickering out like a guttering candle. In the spectator stands, the Gods were convinced he was a dead man.
"The pain is about to stop," Gran murmured.
He reached down, tucked Hit's protruding organs back into his abdomen with clinical efficiency, and pulled a small pouch from his belt. He took out a single Senzu Bean, crushed it into a powder, and pressed it into Hit's mouth.
The moment Hit swallowed the fragments, the horrific wound on his back vanished instantly. His ki surged back to its absolute peak. The Gods of Destruction watching from above were stunned. What was that bean? How could it have such a miraculous effect?
"Hahaha! I told you! Once Gran arrived, my candidate wouldn't die even if he wanted to!" Champa roared with laughter.
"That's cheating! This is a total foul!" Heles screamed, her teeth gritting as she turned to the Grand Minister. "Grand Minister, this is a violation! How can he be allowed to use external items in this match?!"
"Why shouldn't he?" Champa sneered. "Before the match started, you said it yourself—this is a battle royale with no rules! Whoever stands at the end wins!"
Beerus, seeing his brother actually use his brain for once, barked out his support. "Exactly! The Grand Minister said there are no rules. How is this a foul?"
The bickering of the twin cats echoed through the Null Realm. The other Gods and Supreme Kais were livid. These two were being absolutely insufferable.
"Beerus, if that's how you want to play it, can we provide our candidates with healing items too?" Quitela asked coldly.
"Go ahead," Beerus replied, a smug smirk stretching across his face. "If you actually have anything like that. Feel free to use them."
He knew these "items" were magical healing tools created by the mysterious Angel of his universe. They didn't exist anywhere else.
"You—!" Quitela shook with rage. He obviously didn't have anything comparable.
"Grand Minister, I believe the use of external healing items should be banned," Liqir of Universe 8 protested. "This is a Battle Royale for Destroyer candidates. If everyone has a stash of those beans, will anyone ever get eliminated? It defeats the purpose."
The other Gods joined the protest. It was clear Gran had plenty of those beans, and if he could keep his team at 100% indefinitely, they were all doomed.
From the central bench, the Grand Minister scanned the assembly. The Gods fell silent instantly.
"You make a fair point," the Grand Minister said, glancing at the twin cats. "From this moment forward, no one is permitted to use such items."
The Gods were taken aback. They usually felt the Grand Minister favored Universe 7, so his quick agreement was a pleasant surprise.
"Good!"
"Hahaha! That's more like it!"
"Beerus, Champa—now you're really finished!"
The cheers reached the ears of the brothers. Beerus and Champa shared a look. They had expected the ban; the Senzu's effect was indeed game-breaking.
"So what if we can't use Senzu anymore!" Champa yelled back. "It's our turn to strike! Watch as Gran wipes the floor with you!"
Beerus dropped his "composed master" act entirely. He pumped his fists and screamed toward the stage, "Gran! Go for it! Kill them all!!!"
His voice thundered through the void. On the stage, Gran looked up. No more Senzu? Fine by me. He didn't really need them anyway. Seeing Beerus acting like a rowdy fan, Gran's lip twitched. My God is a bit childish.
He turned his gaze back to Belloc and Rosa. Since Lord Beerus had given the order to go all out, it was time for some blood.
"I... what happened?"
Hit slowly pushed himself up, staring at his hands in shock. "I should be dead."
"Dead?" Gran looked back with a teasing smirk. "Who can kill you without my permission?"
The sheer dominance in his voice made Hit's heart skip a beat. He remembered a blurry vision of Gran feeding him something just before he blacked out. That had to be it.
"I owe you my life, Lord Gran," Hit said, bowing deeply.
"Forget it. We're allies. I won't let them take you out." Gran scanned the area as the other candidates closed in. "They're here. Just stay behind me."
"Understood." Looking at Gran's back, Hit felt a sensation he hadn't felt in a very long time: a total sense of security.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The remaining six candidates finally arrived. The arena was a shattered mess of floating debris, with Gran and Hit standing on one of the larger chunks. The eight opponents took positions on surrounding rocks, encircling them. No one spoke. The silence was heavy and oppressive.
The candidates were wary. This was the representative of the strongest Destroyer. His dimension and power were staggering, especially that jump to Peak Tier 6. They had no idea if he was still hiding something.
As they sized him up, Gran did the same. Aside from Jiren and Bergamo, he didn't recognize any of these faces from the Tournament of Power in the anime. But these were candidates hand-picked over ten years, not the rush-job team from the 39-hour window.
Several of them felt like ancient, primordial beings. Specifically, the representatives from Universes 1, 12, 5, and 8 were wildcards. Based on their universe rankings, they wouldn't be weak.
As for Jiren, his physical instincts were impressive—Level 4. But Gran suspected his raw power might not be as overwhelming here as it was in the anime. Even with an extra 2,000 years of training, pure power had its limits.
"Your strength and talent are indeed frightening," the golden lion from Universe 1 said, stepping forward. "But with the eight of us allied against you, you have zero chance. Give up."
The golden sea-beast of Universe 12 took a step forward as well. "It's an honor to be ganged up on by so many, but if you don't want to die, just forfeit."
The mummy from Universe 5 crossed his arms and let out a wicked chuckle. "Or you can try to resist. I'm actually curious to see if that was really your full power."
"Don't be stupid!" the silver fox from Universe 8 interjected, his eyes darting around. "He's only a few hundred years old. I don't believe for a second he's reached Tier 7."
Rosa, the Goddess of Love, nodded. "I don't believe it either. If he truly has Tier 7 power, I'll accept defeat right now!"
The candidates chuckled at that. Jiren remained silent, arms crossed, watching Gran with guarded eyes. Surrounded by eight of the multiverse's strongest, Hit felt cold sweat beading on his brow. He instinctively shifted closer to Gran.
"So, you all want to see my real strength?" Gran gave Hit a reassuring look before beckoning the candidates with a single hand. "Then stop talking. All of you... Come at me together."
The arrogance of the statement left the candidates fuming. He really intended to fight eight-on-one.
"Fine! If you're that eager to die, let's go!" Bert the lion roared. He Granced at the others. "I know you all have your own agendas, but our Lords ordered us to take this guy down. Put your schemes aside until these two are gone."
The others didn't respond, their eyes glinting with hidden motives, but Bert knew they wouldn't dare defy their Gods until the primary threat was neutralized. "Stop holding back! Show your true colors!"
Finally, the candidates began to react.
A crimson aura erupted from Primo, the muscle-bound warrior. It felt like an ancient beast waking from a long slumber, the pressure instantly churning the air across the entire arena.
Crack! Snap!
Bolts of lightning fell from the void, but instead of vanishing, they coiled around Primo like living serpents. Standing three meters tall with bulging muscles and long crimson hair whipping in the wind, he looked like a God of Thunder.
This was Primo, the candidate from Universe 10.
"Initial Stage of the Fifth Tier!"
In the stands, the Gods looked at Rumsshi, the elephant Destroyer. His candidate's aura felt ancient—clearly another primordial being. Belmod's face darkened; he thought Jiren being at Initial Tier 5 was impressive, but even Rumsshi's pick had reached that level. Based on the auras being unleashed, Jiren and Primo were currently the "bottom" of this elite group!
"What are you looking at?" Rumsshi barked. "You think you're the only ones allowed to dig up ancient monsters?"
He glanced at the Universe 7 stands. Even with an ancient like Primo, he doubted they could beat Gran. His mood soured. I really, really hate Beerus.
Rumsshi's bitterness went ignored as another surge of power erupted from the stage, drawing everyone's attention.
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