"You're right," Buu said with a nod. Then his eyes suddenly landed on Uub, and he broke into a grin. "Hehe, that kid looks pretty funny. Let me laugh for a bit."
Broly did not know what to say to that.
"Huh? Aren't you Buu?" GT Goku came over and studied Buu curiously.
Buu nodded his round head.
"So in this timeline, you never fused with Uub," GT Goku said.
Buu stared at him. "Who's Uub?"
GT Goku waved Uub over.
Uub had noticed Buu long ago. He walked over with visible excitement, his eyes already turning red.
"Hey, kid," Buu said, suddenly getting a bad feeling. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"He's your reincarnation," GT Goku explained with a smile. "In our timeline, there was an evil you and a good you. We defeated the evil you, and he reincarnated as Uub. The good you later fused with Uub during another battle."
Buu froze.
Everything about that sounded awful.
"Thank you, Buu," Uub said, bowing to him. "In our timeline, because you merged with me, my strength increased by a lot."
"Go play somewhere else. I don't like you!" Buu snapped, his face darkening.
Frieza watched the scene in silence.
He had been ignored.
"Huh? Isn't that Frieza?" Goku finally noticed him and looked pleasantly surprised. "Did he come from your timeline too?"
Frieza nearly burst into tears.
At least Son Goku remembered him. For a moment, he had thought he had truly been forgotten.
"Hmph. Son Goku." Frieza stepped forward, his face cold. "This time, no matter what, I will defeat you."
"He isn't from our timeline," GT Goku said. "The Frieza from our time is already dead. Although… this timeline's Frieza is dead too, or he wouldn't have that halo."
Frieza's face darkened.
Were all versions of Son Goku this irritating?
"I didn't expect you to join the tournament," Goku said, circling Frieza with open curiosity. He even pinched Frieza's arm. "Not bad, Frieza. You feel a lot stronger than before."
Frieza's expression twisted with disgust.
Who gave this fool permission to touch him?
"Hmph!" Frieza shoved Goku away and glared at him.
"Frieza, let's both do our best!" Goku said, offering his hand with a friendly smile.
"Get lost."
"Hahaha. You're still as unfriendly as ever."
Vegeta glanced over and sneered. "Looks like Beerus really couldn't find anyone decent in Universe 7. Otherwise, he would never have dragged an outdated fossil like Frieza into the tournament."
"Vegeta, you forget pain quickly," Frieza said coldly. "Have you forgotten how I beat you until you cried?"
Vegeta's face stiffened. A vein bulged on his forehead, and rage filled his eyes.
"Vegeta, Frieza made you cry?" Goku asked, genuinely curious.
GT Goku leaned in too, clearly just as interested.
Both Gokus looked at Vegeta at the same time.
Vegeta's face turned even uglier, his whole body shaking with fury. GT Vegeta sensed danger and quietly moved away.
Two Kakarots.
Twice as annoying.
"Everyone, quiet down."
Ken clapped his hands. His voice was not loud, but the energy behind it rolled across the venue and smothered every conversation at once.
The entire arena went silent.
"First, a brief introduction. My name is Ken. I initiated this tournament, so you can treat me as the organizer." Ken hovered above the arena with his staff in hand.
Most people present already knew him. Only the fighters from the GT timeline were unfamiliar with him, so there was no need for a long explanation.
"You've all had enough time to get a general idea of each other. The tournament will begin now."
The fighters on both sides immediately grew serious.
"This tournament will use a numbered match format," Ken said. "Each universe has five contestants. When your name is called, come up and draw a number. Fighters with the same number will fight each other in order from one to five. Number one against number one, number two against number two, and so on. Any questions? Ask now."
Uub raised his right hand.
"Go ahead," Ken said.
"Ken, if number one loses, will the winning number one continue and fight number two?" Uub asked.
"No." Ken shook his head. "There will be no number one against number two. Each matching pair fights once. The universe that wins that match gains one point. After all five matches, the universe with the higher score wins."
"I understand." Uub bowed.
"Beerus, Ken is doing this to take care of your universe," Champa said smugly.
Beerus frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Think about it. Our Goku could run through your entire team by himself," Champa said, grinning wider. "If we did it that way, Universe 7 would lose every shred of face."
"What did you say? Don't talk nonsense!" Beerus snapped.
"You'll know once the matches start."
"You still have the nerve to say that? They were originally from Universe 7!"
"They're Universe 6 now. Gahahaha!" Champa danced in place, delighted beyond measure.
"Beerus-sama, please calm down," Shin said carefully. "Universe 7 may not lose."
Beerus grew angrier the more he thought about it and punched Shin on the head.
Shin yelped and clutched his skull. "Why? That hurt…"
"This is all your fault. If you had protected Universe 7's Earth, would I be in this situation?"
Shin lowered his head and stopped talking.
"Now, all contestants, please come up and draw your numbers," Ken said.
Two drawing boxes were placed out. The fighters from each universe came forward one by one and drew their number plates. Once the draw was finished, Ken waved his staff, and a large screen appeared above the arena.
The list of matches appeared on it, complete with the contestants' names and portraits.
"That's amazing," GT Goku said. "It can even do that?"
"Hmph. There's plenty you don't know," Vegeta said, shooting him a sidelong glance.
The screen displayed five matches.
Piccolo vs. Frieza
Hit vs. Uub
Vegeta vs. GT Goku
Kale vs. Broly
Goku vs. GT Vegeta
The match list surprised more than a few people.
Both timeline versions of Goku and Vegeta had been dragged into direct collisions after all.
"Hmph. You may not be from my universe, but I still don't want you losing to Kakarot," Vegeta said to GT Vegeta.
"Worry about yourself first," GT Vegeta replied. "I'll defeat your universe's Kakarot."
The two Gokus were already whispering to each other.
"We're both fighting Vegeta," Goku said, scratching his head.
"Then let's both do our best," GT Goku said, offering his hand.
They shook hands.
"Hahaha. Holding your hand feels like holding Goten's," Goku said.
GT Goku had no idea how to respond.
The others were discussing the list too, but the most surprising match was Kale against Broly. Two Legendary Super Saiyans had been paired together.
"Kale, you can do it!" Gohan shouted from the stands.
"Kale, good luck! Beat him!" Videl called from beside Gohan.
Kale stared at them.
Why were those two sitting so close?
And why were they sharing sunflower seeds?
That was too much.
She puffed her cheeks, suddenly unhappy.
"Oh? My opponent is a Namekian?" Frieza snorted, contempt filling his eyes. "Universe 6 must truly have no decent fighters left if even a Namekian is competing."
Piccolo remained calm and ignored him.
"First match," Ken announced. "Universe 6's Piccolo against Universe 7's Frieza. Both fighters, enter the arena. The rules are simple. Surrendering or falling out of the ring counts as a loss. Killing is forbidden."
"Frieza, fight properly," Beerus said. "Set an example for the rest of them."
"Leave it to me, Beerus-sama." Frieza smiled with utter confidence. "I thought I might be facing Son Goku, but instead I get a mere Namekian. A tiny fraction of my strength will be enough to turn him into cosmic dust."
"It had better be."
"Piccolo, good luck!" Gohan shouted from the stands.
Piccolo raised a hand in response.
"Piccolo, something feels off about Frieza," Goku warned. "His strength has improved a lot. He definitely isn't as simple as he looks."
"I feel it too. I'll be careful."
"Don't lose the first match to Universe 7," Vegeta said with a snort.
"Don't look down on me."
Piccolo flew onto the arena. Frieza stepped up as well, standing across from him with a relaxed smile.
"Begin!"
Piccolo immediately settled into a fighting stance.
Frieza, however, simply folded his arms and stood there, smiling as if the result had already been decided.
"Ken, who do you think will win the first match?" Vados asked beside him.
"Ours, of course," Ken answered.
Vados paused.
That phrasing sounded a little odd.
"What do you think?" Ken asked, smiling at her.
"Frieza appears quite strong and should be hiding a good deal of power," Vados said thoughtfully. "Piccolo will not have an easy time winning."
"Speaking of which, Vados," Ken said, looking her over, "I haven't seen you in a while, and you look even prettier than before."
"Oh my. Do I?" A faint blush appeared on Vados's face.
Ken's gaze drifted lower, and he nodded as if making a serious evaluation. "Your figure is better too."
Vados's cheeks reddened further.
Inside Ken's body, the Grand Priestess trembled with anger.
Shameless.
Flirting with her daughter right in front of her.
The little demoness burst into giggles, laughing so hard she almost shook. The Grand Priestess could not bear it anymore and lunged at her. In no time, the two women were fighting fiercely inside Ken's body again.
Ken quietly enjoyed the show and made no attempt to stop them.
On the arena, Frieza looked at Piccolo with a cold smile.
"I remember you, Namekian. Back on Namek, you were beaten so badly by me that you didn't dare make a sound."
"Frieza, after all this time, is that really worth bragging about?" Piccolo asked calmly.
"Universe 6 is even worse than I expected. Someone like you is actually competing." Frieza's smile widened, his confidence overflowing. "Against you, I don't even need to transform. I can beat you until you can't tell left from right."
"Then try it."
Frieza did not hesitate. His aura erupted wildly across the arena.
He remained in his first form—the form he once used while seated in his hover pod—but even so, his power shot upward at a terrifying pace.
Piccolo's expression turned more serious as he sensed the surge.
"Not bad," Piccolo said. "Your first form is already much stronger than your old final form."
"Of course. I am a genius. I never even bothered to train before." Frieza lifted his chin. "To defeat Son Goku, I was forced to lower myself and train for a little under four months. Impressive, isn't it? Be shocked. You should be."
"Four months?" Piccolo froze slightly.
"Frieza, you got this strong after only four months of training?" Goku asked, eyes bright with curiosity.
"Ohohoho!" Frieza's laughter rang across the arena. "Son Goku, you should be grateful you weren't matched with me."
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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