Majin Buu had survived through sheer adaptability. Broly battled Toppo and Dyspo in a desperate holding action. Goku and Shazazero lay fallen on shattered ground. Vegeta, Frieza, and Casserale stood paralyzed by uncertainty.
Every top-tier combatant had been brought low before Jiren's overwhelming might. How could anyone fight someone who surpassed even Gods of Destruction?
"It's over! WE'RE FINISHED!" Champa covered his face, voice climbing toward hysteria.
"Impossible to win," other universe deities muttered. Even Universe One's observers acknowledged defeat with grim resignation.
Only Universe Eleven's God of Destruction breathed easily. His laugh rang across the stands. "I thought there might be some surprise, some hidden trick. But the result is exactly as expected." His smile was insufferable. "Victory is assured."
"That's not necessarily true." Raditz's voice cut through the celebration—cold, precise, deadly serious.
The words weren't loud, but they carried across every section of the spectator stands with perfect clarity.
"Does Lord Raditz have some other brilliant strategy?" Universe Eleven's deity asked, smile widening. He took Raditz's statement as desperate denial. "Please, enlighten us."
"Only as a last resort." Raditz's eyes locked onto the battlefield. "BROLY! HIT THAT BASTARD!"
Broly?
Everyone froze at the sudden command. On the arena, Broly and Jiren's eyes met across the fractured landscape. Was the berserker Saiyan the final trump card? Did he possess some hidden technique no one had witnessed?
Not even Broly knew who he was supposed to target—but when he saw Jiren looking at him, instinct took over. He charged.
Simultaneously, Jiren took a single calm step. Then his figure exploded toward Broly, closing distance at impossible speed.
At that exact moment, Raditz hurled the Potara earrings with all his strength. The golden ornaments sailed through the air toward Vegeta and Goku—the motion so dramatic, so deliberate, that both Saiyans noticed immediately.
When they caught the objects, recognition struck like lightning.
Potara earrings.
Vegeta and Goku's heads snapped up. Their eyes met across the battlefield, an indescribable brilliance flashing between them.
Would they fuse as one, just like Kefla? The thought sent conflict surging through Vegeta's chest. His pride screamed to defeat this enemy through his own strength, to prove his individual superiority—
But what he carried now transcended personal dignity. Bulma's hope. Trunks's future. His unborn child. The survival of their entire universe rested on this decision.
Victory required more than reaching top four. They needed to claim first place and secure the Super Dragon Balls.
"Vegeta." Goku pressed one earring to his ear, looking at his conflicted rival.
"Kakarot." Vegeta's jaw clenched. "This is the only time. Never again."
He attached the earring to his own ear.
The attraction was immediate and irresistible. Light engulfed both Saiyans as they were pulled together, bodies beginning to merge.
Understanding finally struck Universe Eleven's deity. "That's what he meant! The final move isn't Broly—it's POTARA FUSION!" Panic cracked through his voice. "JIREN! THEY'RE FUSING!"
The warning echoed across the arena. Every eye turned toward the brilliant light.
Jiren's fist drove into Broly, launching the Super Saiyan 4 across the battlefield. His head turned, grey eyes widening slightly—
The overlapping silhouettes had already vanished into radiance. An overwhelming, chaotic aura oppressed the entire void, shaking the World of Void to its foundations. The presence was vast as galaxies, broad as the universe itself, deep beyond mortal comprehension.
Toppo felt shock paralyze his body. Frieza's eyes widened. Casserale trembled. Every deity in the stands gasped. Even the Grand Priest—eternal, serene, unflappable—showed genuine surprise.
An unprecedented existence was being born within that light. Something that transcended the gods, rising to an entirely new level of power.
"Vegito," Raditz whispered, emotion thick in his voice as he watched the dazzling radiance. His chest throbbed violently with recognition. "He's the strongest warrior on this battlefield."
The light receded like an ebbing tide.
A single warrior stood where two had been moments before. His appearance combined Goku and Vegeta perfectly—spiky hair swept upward in a style uniquely his own, wearing an orange gi with blue accents and white gloves. Around him flowed wonderful energy—white light moving like silk, seeming to steam from his very existence.
The breath of divinity itself.
Super Saiyan Blue Vegito with Ultra Instinct Sign.
"That fusion is stronger than Kefla!" Caulifla gasped from Universe Six's stands. "No... it's not even the same concept of power!"
"Because both fusees exist within the divine realm," Vados explained, her perpetual smile tinged with awe. "And the relationship between the two individuals affects fusion potency. These warriors are either the closest of friends... or the fiercest of rivals."
Silence gripped the spectator stands. The very air seemed to have solidified.
"Dyspo!" Toppo recognized Vegito's extraordinary nature immediately. "We have to help Jiren!"
The Justice Trooper sprinted toward his strongest ally, Dyspo following—
"DON'T COME HERE!" Jiren's shout was raw, desperate—the first time he'd shown such emotion.
Toppo and Dyspo were strong. But they weren't on Vegito's level. Approaching would accomplish nothing but their elimination.
Even as Jiren screamed the warning, two beams of light grazed past his body—one targeting each Universe Eleven warrior.
The speed was terrifying. The power, astronomical.
Dyspo's legendary velocity meant nothing—he couldn't dodge. Toppo's God of Destruction-level strength proved insufficient—he couldn't resist. Both were struck by Vegito's casual energy waves and launched off the arena, carving long trails through the air before vanishing into darkness.
"IMPOSSIBLE!" Universe Eleven's deity shot to his feet, face pale with shock.
Golden light flashed. Toppo and Dyspo materialized in the spectator stands, eliminated. The crowd erupted in disbelief.
Vegito walked forward, each step measured, deliberate. Each footfall made Jiren's heart sink deeper.
"My name," the fusion warrior said, voice carrying both Goku's warmth and Vegeta's edge, "is Vegito. You are indeed powerful, Jiren. Forcing us to take this measure proves your strength." His eyes gleamed. "But now the game changes."
"Hmph." Jiren's expression hardened. "Only one's own strength deserves trust. Borrowed power through fusion is—"
He didn't finish the sentence.
His feet shattered the ground beneath them. His figure vanished, closing distance in a fraction of a heartbeat. His fist drove toward Vegito's face with every ounce of power he possessed—muscles tensed to their absolute limit, flames burning bright enough to pierce the void, eyes blazing with determination.
Vegito didn't move.
Stood perfectly still.
As stable as a mountain.
THOOM.
Jiren's fist connected with Vegito's face—and the fusion warrior's head didn't even turn. The impact that had demolished Broly, that had stripped Vegeta's transformation, that had defeated Goku's Ultra Instinct—it accomplished nothing.
Shock flooded Jiren's features. His mind reeled. He was the one who stood unmoved under others' attacks. He was the one who remained indifferent to enemy assaults. But now—hitting Vegito—his arm had gone completely numb. A terrible sense of powerlessness washed over him.
What is this?
SNAP.
Vegito's hand closed around Jiren's wrist. In one smooth motion, he lifted the grey-skinned warrior and slammed him into the ground. Once. Twice. Three times. Each impact created deeper craters, shockwaves spreading outward.
Then Vegito hurled Jiren downward with devastating force, shattering what remained of the arena floor.
Every eye locked onto Vegito. This single figure had completely dominated the battlefield. Jiren—invincible moments ago—now looked like a child being disciplined by a parent.
"My god," Frieza breathed, applauding despite himself. "What an endless fountain of surprises. Magnificent!"
Behind him, Casserale trembled, hellfire flickering weakly. The overwhelming pressure from Vegito was suffocating.
Then opportunity presented itself.
Frieza stood completely absorbed in Vegito's performance, guard lowered, attention focused elsewhere. Evil thoughts bloomed in Casserale's mind. If he could eliminate the tyrant now, while everyone watched the fusion warrior—
Casserale struck without hesitation.
WHOOSH.
Vegito materialized before him—not Frieza, but the fusion warrior himself.
After finishing with Jiren, Vegito had crossed the entire battlefield instantly. Impossible speed. Inconceivable awareness.
Casserale's eyes widened in horror. Frieza jerked backward, equally shocked.
"Sorry," Vegito said, his tone almost apologetic.
Then his fist drove forward—a simple, compact strike that connected with Casserale's abdomen.
BOOOOM.
The void itself exploded. The World of Void tore apart, reality ripping like fabric. Fine points of white light like stars spread into a vortex of dimensional tears. Casserale spun through countless spiraling distortions before finally being ejected from the arena.
Wind pressure from the attack transmitted to the spectator stands, making even gods tremble.
People gasped. Thinking stopped. Breathing became difficult.
The power differential wasn't just vast—it was incomprehensible.