The dark purple aura swirling around Emperor Vegeta made even the air feel viscous.
With a single step, the entire planet seemed to wail.
His gaze looked down upon everything.
"I am curious. Who gave you the courage to believe that if you all joined forces, you would be qualified to stand before me?"
"No matter how many insects gather, how can they shake a towering tree?"
The allied warriors gritted their teeth as they endured that mountain-crushing, sea-splitting pressure.
Frieza crossed his arms and took the initiative to shoulder most of the pressure, looking thoroughly displeased.
"I never imagined there would come a day when this king would fight side by side with Saiyans. What a revolting experience."
Goku turned to glance at him, his expression strange. "Frieza, why do you look like you're not scared at all?"
"Hmph! Since when has this king ever feared Saiyan monkeys?"
Frieza seemed utterly unconcerned on the surface, but deep down, there was still a trace of nervousness.
If no one really stepped forward to stop Emperor Vegeta, then he would probably be the first one to suffer again.
Piccolo's eye twitched as he listened from the side.
But just then…
At the very moment this war involving nearly every top fighter was about to erupt…
An emotionless voice rang beside everyone's ears.
"Arena 23, Bulma wins."
"The first round of the losers' bracket elimination matches has concluded."
Immediately afterward, the barrier covering the final arena vanished, and Bulma and the unconscious Raditz were teleported back to the damaged viewing platform.
The enormous screen above the platform flickered once, then displayed the final results. Every eliminated contestant's portrait went completely dim.
At the center of the battlefield, the frozen atmosphere loosened slightly.
And at that very moment…
Full-Metal Cell Max slowly descended into the center of the battlefield, placing himself between the two opposing forces.
"This farce ends here."
"All contestants, prepare yourselves for the next round."
Everyone's gaze gathered on him.
Full-Metal Cell Max merely stood there quietly, without making any move.
Yet the terrifying auras grinding against each other between the two sides, twisting space itself, seemed to be separated by an invisible hand and smoothed away.
Emperor Vegeta frowned and looked at this so-called tournament organizer.
"You intend to interfere?"
Full-Metal Cell Max turned his head.
"Your actions will seriously affect the remaining matches. I said before that no grudge may interfere with the normal operation of this game."
"Whatever disputes you have can be settled after the tournament. I can even provide you with a dueling ground."
"Besides…"
He paused, his gaze locking onto Emperor Vegeta.
"You are not my opponent."
His tone was as calm as water, as though he were merely stating a fact.
But to Emperor Vegeta's ears, it was the most direct provocation possible.
"Rules are shackles the weak use to bind themselves. To this king, they exist only to be broken."
"Out of respect for the strong, I originally had no intention of making an enemy of you. But since you insist on stopping me from wiping out these insects, I will have to deal with you first!"
Before his voice had even fallen, Emperor Vegeta vanished from where he stood, his fist driving straight toward Full-Metal Cell Max's head.
Full-Metal Cell Max remained where he was, unmoving.
He spoke calmly, his voice clearly entering everyone's ears.
"I understand your strength very well."
"I have already analyzed the entire foundation of your power system."
"First are the wishes made with Earth's Dragon Balls."
"Through the Dragon Balls, you obtained an extreme amplification of the Saiyan near-death growth talent, enhanced battle learning ability, inexhaustible stamina, eternal youth and vitality, an unkillable immortal body, and other abilities…"
Emperor Vegeta's fist stopped abruptly less than one centimeter from his cheek.
A trace of shock appeared on his face.
"So you saw through it?"
Full-Metal Cell Max ignored his reaction and continued in the same flat tone.
"Second, you collected twelve God of Destruction earrings."
"You fused the power of those twelve earrings into one, gaining perfect control over the Power of Destruction. Using that as your foundation, you cultivated Ultra Ego to an unprecedented perfect state."
The moment they heard this, every God of Destruction felt their heart tremble.
"No wonder… No wonder his Power of Destruction is so pure, even far above ours!" Belmod's expression turned extremely ugly.
Only now did they finally understand where that terrifying strength came from.
Emperor Vegeta's expression shifted between dark and uncertain.
If the first secret being exposed only surprised him, then the second secret being revealed made him feel an unprecedented wariness.
These were his deepest secrets.
They were the foundation upon which he had built his vast empire and conquered twelve universes.
What exactly was this Full-Metal Cell Max?
How could its analytical ability be so terrifying?
And yet, it was not over.
With every sentence Full-Metal Cell Max spoke, Emperor Vegeta's expression grew uglier.
"After gathering all the God of Destruction tokens representing the twelve universes, once you wear them, you can instantly obtain the destructive origin power of all twelve universes and release your final form. Correct?"
"Unfortunately, my conclusion is that even if you use every means available to you, your odds of winning against me do not exceed five percent…"
Emperor Vegeta's body stiffened slightly.
How did this creature know?
His greatest trump card had been listed out by the other party like items on an inventory, without a single mistake.
That feeling of being completely seen through made him feel a long-forgotten emotion…
Wariness.
And at that moment, another elegant, smiling voice rang out.
"There is one more point. I also learned a little about the process behind how you became so powerful."
Everyone followed the voice.
The speaker was none other than Hearts.
Hearts slowly stepped forward, a playful smile on his face, his gaze also locked onto Emperor Vegeta.
"Just now, I tried reading your mind. Although you are deep and heavily guarded, I still managed to catch some rather interesting images."
"Lord Vegeta, aside from the accumulation of external powers, there was one other thing that was absolutely vital to your strength."
Emperor Vegeta's heart sank.
Mind reading…
Hearts lifted a finger and tapped his temple.
"A pillow."
"A pillow that allows you to carry out infinite simulated battles and training within your dreams."
"Whenever you sleep on it, your consciousness enters a special mental space."
"In that space, you can simulate any opponent you wish to challenge. You can fight endless life-and-death battles. You can train any technique without restraint."
"There, you are killed again and again, then awaken carrying the experience of death and the insights of breakthrough. Your perfect Ultra Ego was largely tempered through that pillow, wasn't it?"
"Most importantly, the flow of time inside the dream is completely different from the real world."
"You may train for a hundred years in the dream, while perhaps only one night passes in reality."
"Your so-called perfect combat skills and vast battle experience were not actually gained through two hundred years of conquest. They were obtained through that pillow, by training in dreams for tens of thousands, perhaps even hundreds of thousands of years."
"Am I right, Lord Vegeta?"
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