A flash of white light, and the three of them landed on a wide terrace.
Bulma's place.
By now, Universe 7's representatives had gathered in full.
"Seventeen? Why are you here?"
Vegeta's eyes fell at once on the tall, lean youth standing beside Eighteen. The boy's face was cool, gaze lifted to the sky as if lost in thought.
Under Vegeta's question, Android 17 only glanced over once and said nothing.
"You "
Vegeta's temper spiked at being ignored.
But someone else stepped out of the crowd, shocking him even more. "Frieza?!"
Among the group, the one who looked least human stood with arms folded, eyes glittering with wicked amusement.
"Easy, Vegeta. I brought them," Goku said with a grin.
"You brought Frieza?"
Vegeta was stunned.
If you asked him who had doomed planets and ruined lives, the first name would be Frieza. Because of this tyrant, the Saiyan headcount in Universe 7 had dwindled to what a single hand could tally.
"Well now, Vegeta. Long time no see," Frieza purred, halo gleaming over his head.
"You "
Vegeta's anger boiled over. Blue light erupted around him as he vaulted into Super Saiyan Blue, ready to strike.
"How rude to your former employer. Allow me to refresh your manners."
Frieza's aura shifted. It was different from his earlier forms. Power warped the air.
Boom.
Bulma's terrace shuddered under the pressure, smoke billowing off the railings.
In the next heartbeat, Frieza's body was swallowed in gold.
Golden Frieza.
His strongest form right now, the same one that had fought Goku's Super Saiyan Blue to a standstill.
"Enough."
A calm, imperious voice sliced through the tension as Beerus appeared between them. Purple destruction energy gathered at his fingertip and bled menace over the two combatants. One twitch from them and the Hakaishin's blast would fly.
Faced with Beerus, both paused at once. Vegeta let his blue aura gutter out. Even the mighty Frieza dismissed his golden sheen. He might have toyed with a God of Destruction's energy before, but fighting Beerus was another matter entirely.
Seeing the two back down, Beerus turned away, drifting to Whis's side.
"Everyone is present. We should depart "
He stopped mid-sentence, eyes narrowing at the man standing beside Whis.
Vincent Fox felt different. Stronger.
"Whis, what did you put this one through? His power has jumped," Beerus asked, curious.
Hearing that, Goku hustled over, eyes bright as a kid in a candy shop, staring at Vincent.
Whis tapped his chin, then smiled. "Ten kilometers a day. One hundred push-ups. And "
He ran through Vincent's routine. A few mouths twitched in unison.
You call that training?
Even the weakest present, Krillin, could breeze through that without breaking a sweat.
Goku believed it. He leaned in, grinning. "So Whis is telling the truth, huh?"
Vincent nodded.
"Whoa, your training is really something special," Goku said, delighted.
Before he could pepper Vincent with more questions, Beerus cut in. "Time is up. We are leaving. If we keep the Omni-King waiting "
A chill went through him. He chose not to finish that thought. One bad mood from that sovereign and Universe 7 could be erased.
Whis nodded. The opening of the Tournament of Power was close. He gathered everyone into a tight cluster and raised his staff.
They vanished.
A breath later, they stood in a place without horizon.
The Null Realm.
They stood on a vast, floating disc. Other universes were already arriving on similar platforms in the distance.
"Oh? That feels familiar. Are those... Saiyans?"
Goku pointed toward Universe 6, curiosity cranked to full, and asked Vegeta.
"How should I know? Go ask them yourself."
Vegeta snorted and looked away.
"Master!"
Cabba from Universe 6 rushed over the moment he spotted the newcomers.
Vegeta spared him a cold glance and a second snort. He had no interest in coddling an untested pupil.
"Ah, Cabba. Your teammates are Saiyan women?"
Goku pointed at Caulifla and the timid Kale.
At being pointed at, Kale immediately ducked behind Caulifla's shoulder and refused to meet Goku's eyes.
"Yeah. We're all Saiyans," Cabba said, nodding as he flared into Super Saiyan to prove it.
"So there really are female Saiyans. That's rare. Nice to meet you "
Goku offered his hand.
Smack.
Caulifla slapped it aside without a word.
Goku only laughed. That kind of attitude never bothered him. If anything, it made things more interesting.
"Son Goku."
A low voice sounded at his back. Goku's smile faded.
It was a familiar pressure.
He turned and met a smooth, bald head.
Jiren of Universe 11.
Goku's eyes widened. He stared, trying to figure out how Jiren had appeared behind him without a ripple.
Suddenly, trouble.
Chunks of stone swaddled in purple destruction energy came whistling down from above, arcing straight toward the two of them.
"Look out!"
Goku shouted. If those hit, they would be hurt before the first bell.
He leapt high, but kept one eye on Jiren, curious how the other would respond. Would he evade like Goku, or meet it head on?
The deadly rocks slammed down. Jiren neither moved nor raised a guard, standing there as if nothing existed.
Boom.
The stones blasted the platform and coughed up a wall of smoke. Not one touched Jiren.
"Unreal..."
Suspended in midair, Goku felt a cold thrill.
He could not tell if Jiren had diverted the stones with some invisible technique, or if he had known from the start they posed no threat to him.
Terrifying, either way.
Vincent had been watching too. His eyes sharpened.
Right now, he could hold even with Goku in Kaio-ken. But Jiren was not someone Goku could handle in his current state.
Vincent let his gaze sweep across the gathered fighters from every universe. Faces slotted into names and abilities in his mind one after another.
At last, he closed his eyes.
Aside from Jiren of Universe 11, the rest were manageable.
Movement rippled through the crowd as everyone began to press toward the center.
There, floating above them all, was the referee of this entire event.
The Grand Priest.
----------------------------------------------------
The deeper he goes, the more the truth unravels. Don't wait read ahead and witness Vincent's rise before the world catches up!
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