"I know everything about you," Shin said with a calm smile. "You should be careful in this match."
"You heard what they said, didn't you?" Piccolo snorted. "I'm going to be a Supreme Kai too."
"Oh? And?" Shin asked.
"I'm not losing to you," Piccolo said, clenching his fist. "This is my first step toward becoming one."
"So if you beat me, you think that makes you a Supreme Kai?" Shin said, finally understanding what he meant.
"Beating you won't make me one right away, but this is still something I need to go through," Piccolo said. "Come on, Supreme Kai of Universe 7."
"You were only Earth's Kami. Are you really trying to challenge a Supreme Kai?" Shin smiled faintly, his eyes filled with contempt. "Do you understand how far apart our ranks are?"
"You're from Universe 7. I'm from Universe 6," Piccolo snapped. "Don't lecture me about ranks. They mean nothing here."
"Begin!" the referee shouted.
Piccolo's aura erupted.
His energy poured out from him and swept across the ring.
"So this is your power?" Shin smiled. "Then let me show you what real power is."
"Shin thrust both hands forward, and an invisible force wrapped around Piccolo in an instant."
Piccolo froze in place.
"Do you understand the gap now?" Shin sneered as he walked toward him.
He struck Piccolo in the chest with one palm.
Piccolo slid backward, his feet scraping harshly across the ring, but he dug one foot down and forced himself to stop.
"Hmph. That wasn't anything special," Piccolo said.
"Really? That was only the start." Shin smiled. "Next, I won't even give you a chance to fight back."
"He raised both hands again, sending another invisible force toward Piccolo."
Piccolo vanished before it could touch him.
"You think I'd fall for the same trick twice?" Piccolo's voice rang out from above. "That won't work on me."
Shin seemed to know exactly where Piccolo would appear. He turned sharply, glared up at him, and hit him with another burst of invisible pressure.
Piccolo was caught off guard and sent flying, tumbling several times through the air before light flared around him and he stopped himself.
The crowd stared in shock.
The fight did not look flashy, but it felt dangerous.
"That's your attack?" Piccolo said, still calm.
"Not bad. You're stronger than I expected," Shin said with a smile. "As expected from Earth's former Kami."
The moment Shin finished speaking, he disappeared.
Piccolo's expression changed.
In an instant, Shin used Kai Kai and appeared behind him.
Bang!
Shin struck Piccolo in the back, sending him crashing toward the ring.
Just before Piccolo hit the ground, his aura burst out again, and he stopped in midair.
Shin descended across from him and floated there calmly, his feet hovering above the ground.
"Well? Earth's former Kami, give up already," Shin said with the same easy smile. "You're not beating me."
"Not happening," Piccolo said, landing back on the ring.
In the waiting room, Goku and the others were all watching closely.
"What do you think, Goku?" Krillin asked, rubbing his head. "That Supreme Kai looks pretty strong."
If Piccolo can't beat him, I'll have to fight that guy next round.
Guess I'm only winning one match.
Top eight, then done.
No prize money at all.
That's depressing.
Wait… Android 21 and Android 16 should both win their first matches too.
But after that…
Android 21 gets Goku or Vegeta.
She's definitely losing.
And Android 16 gets Kale, the Legendary Super Saiyan…
Krillin suddenly felt terrible.
This time, nobody in my family is getting any prize money.
"Hmph. Piccolo is taking too long," Vegeta thought, annoyed. "It's just a Supreme Kai. If I were in there, I'd have already slammed him into the ground."
"Piccolo, you can do it!" Gohan shouted toward the ring. "You're not losing to him!"
"This may be rough," Goku said, shaking his head. "With Piccolo as he is right now, there's still a big gap between him and Shin."
"Goku… are you saying Piccolo might lose?" Krillin asked anxiously.
"Hard to say," Goku said.
"You mortals should stop judging the Supreme Kai like that," Kibito said with a cold snort. "Shin is far stronger than you think. Frieza, the so-called emperor of the universe you all feared so much, was once knocked out by a single glance from him."
"Huh? Shin is that strong? That's amazing!" Goku said, impressed.
"Tch. So what?" Vegeta said with a cold laugh. "Was he the one who finally killed Frieza?"
Kibito fell silent.
No, Shin had not killed Frieza.
As for who did, Kibito did not know.
But why was Vegeta nitpicking that?
"Gohan, Kale, what are they talking about?" Videl asked curiously. "That guy is a god?"
"Well…" Gohan did not know how to explain.
"Supreme Kai? I heard them say he's a Supreme Kai." Videl grew even more curious, her eyes fixed on Shin in the ring. "And he called the green guy Earth's former god."
Gohan gave up and stayed quiet.
"Kale, tell me what's going on," Videl said.
"You're better off not asking too much," Kale said, shaking her head.
"About seven years ago, Zeno-sama came to my house," Videl added. "I heard he's the greatest god in all the universes."
Kale went silent.
She quietly wiped away sweat.
Zeno-sama was right.
He really was the greatest god in all the universes.
Who would believe it if you told them he could erase a whole universe with one little wave?
"What are you talking about?" Kibito immediately stepped forward and snorted at Videl.
Videl stared at him, confused.
Why is he talking to me like that?
"The greatest god in all the universes is the Supreme Kai," Kibito said, gritting his teeth. "I've seen that Zeno you mentioned. He's working with the magician! He even tried to control Majin Buu!"
Videl looked lost.
So Zeno-sama is a magician?
That doesn't sound completely wrong.
He did make things disappear.
Everyone else stared at Kibito in stunned silence.
"Ken was right," Vegeta snorted, his eyes full of mockery. "If you meet a dumb Supreme Kai, he's probably from Universe 7."
"Hahaha… yeah," Goku said with a nod.
"Good thing we got moved to Universe 6," Krillin said with a laugh. "Living in Universe 7 would be kind of embarrassing."
"Who are you calling dumb? You people are beyond rude!" Kibito shouted.
No one bothered answering him.
In the ring, Shin stared at Piccolo with endless confidence.
"Earth's former Kami, give up. You're no match for me. If you were truly Earth's god, you should know how far above you a Supreme Kai stands. Even a King Kai ranks far above you. You only governed one planet. A King Kai governs a whole region of the universe."
"I already told you," Piccolo said calmly. "I'm going to be a Supreme Kai in the future. I may have only been Earth's Kami before, but one day, I'll go far beyond you."
"Arrogant fool," Shin said coldly. "Looks like you won't understand a Supreme Kai's power until I teach you properly."
Shin glared at Piccolo again, trying to pin him down with the same unseen pressure.
"Is that all you can do?" Piccolo smiled and slipped out of its path.
In the next instant, he appeared behind Shin and kicked at his backside.
Shin reacted quickly, twisting away just in time.
Shin swung both hands, sending another invisible blast toward Piccolo, but Piccolo slipped past it and charged straight in.
Shin blinked away to create distance, then tried again to lock Piccolo in place.
Piccolo avoided it again.
"How long do you think you can keep dodging?" Shin shouted, waving both hands again and again.
Piccolo moved from side to side, avoiding the binding attacks by a hair each time.
After several exchanges, Piccolo had burned through a lot of energy and was breathing hard.
"Looks like you're running out of stamina," Shin said with a smile. "I told you, you can't beat me. Give up."
"If I want to win this…" Piccolo's face turned serious, and his teeth showed slightly. "Then I'll have to get serious too. I was saving this move for Goku, but I didn't think I'd run into someone like you in the first round."
"Oh? So you still haven't been serious?" Shin asked with a mocking smile.
"Watch closely." Piccolo took a deep breath.
The next moment, golden light burst from his body.
Piccolo's body began to change.
In an instant, he grew larger and more muscular, his presence becoming far heavier than before. His skin turned orange, and his eyes became a deep blood-red.
Orange Piccolo had awakened.
Goku's eyes widened in the distance, and a grin of surprise spread across his face.
Even Vegeta paused.
"Piccolo, that's amazing!" Gohan shouted, genuinely happy for him.
"Piccolo transformed…" Krillin said, stunned.
"Gohan, is this the special power Piccolo got from Shenron?" Kale asked quietly.
"Yeah," Gohan said with a small nod.
"His aura really is strong," Kale said, happy for Piccolo too.
As long as Gohan was happy, Kale felt happy as well.
Shin's pupils shrank as he stared at Piccolo's transformed body in shock.
"Shin, you shouldn't have provoked me," Piccolo said.
"You think changing your appearance will scare me?" Shin snorted, still refusing to back down.
To be fair, the Supreme Kai of Universe 7 had courage.
He was the kind of Supreme Kai who dared to provoke Zeno-sama, after all.
"You'll know soon enough." Piccolo smiled and rushed at Shin.
He was so fast that Shin's smile slowly froze. His face turned ugly in an instant.
Shin gritted his teeth and swung both hands, forcing that invisible pressure around Piccolo again.
Piccolo stopped in midair for one second.
Boom!
Then Piccolo shattered the restraint with pure power.
"Wh-What? How?" Shin stared in shock.
For the first time, Shin felt it clearly.
Earth's former Kami now had power close to Majin Buu.
Bang!
Piccolo shot forward and slammed his forehead into Shin's face.
"Aaagh!"
Shin cried out in pain, feeling like his nose had been flattened.
Piccolo grabbed Shin's arm with one huge hand and drove his knee into his stomach.
"Guh…"
Shin coughed up blood, his face going pale.
Then Piccolo held onto his arm and smashed him back and forth, slamming him around like a rag doll.
The crowd was scared silent.
Even the referee could not get a word out.
"Supreme Kai!" Kibito shouted, completely stunned.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
[Check out my Patreon to read 20+ chapters ahead]
[[email protected]/BellAshelia]
[Thanks for your support!]