"Ken, you can make the announcement now," the Grand Priest said with a smile.
Ken wasted no time. He rose above the arena and looked across the platforms where the gods of all twelve universes were gathered.
"Everyone, after considering the matches we just watched, we've decided on the rules for the Tournament of Power," Ken announced. "Each participating universe will choose ten fighters. Gods of Destruction and Supreme Kais are excluded."
A wave of surprised murmurs immediately spread through the stands.
"Ten fighters?"
"That's more than I expected."
"They're putting that many people into one tournament?"
"We've also simplified the victory conditions after watching the previous matches," Ken continued. "There's only one way to eliminate someone: knock them out of the arena."
Goku had already returned to the Universe 6 platform, and he raised his hand curiously. "What if somebody gets knocked unconscious but stays in the ring?"
"Then pick them up and throw them out," Ken replied. "Killing is forbidden, of course. The tournament will last for one hundred taks."
"One hundred taks?" Goku tilted his head. "How long is that?"
"Approximately forty-eight Earth minutes," Vados explained.
"Forty-eight minutes?" Goku scratched his head. "Isn't that kind of long? If everyone's fighting one match at a time, we'll be here forever."
Broly immediately flew over and smacked Goku hard enough to knock him flat.
"Just listen," Broly scolded him. "Stop arguing about everything."
"Oh... right." Goku obediently nodded from the floor.
"You don't need to worry about the tournament dragging on," Ken said, amused. "There will only be one match. Every fighter enters the arena at the same time."
Goku froze.
"So... everyone fights everyone at once?"
That revelation stunned the gods far more than the ten-fighter requirement had. Eight universes sending ten fighters each meant an enormous number of competitors would be sharing a single battlefield.
"I'll make the arena large enough to handle it," Ken assured them.
The gods fell into thoughtful silence as they began imagining the scale of the battle. Whatever else happened, the Tournament of Power was clearly going to be unlike anything they had ever seen.
"Everyone fights until the time limit expires," Ken continued. "When time runs out, whichever universe has the most fighters remaining in the arena wins. If every fighter except those from a single universe is eliminated before then, that universe wins immediately."
Quiet discussions broke out across the platforms.
"Ten fighters from every universe... That's an enormous battle."
"Teamwork is going to matter just as much as individual strength."
Champa clicked his tongue. "Great. Teamwork has never exactly been our specialty."
Ken waited until the conversations settled before continuing.
"The Super Dragon Balls will be awarded to the most outstanding fighter in the Tournament of Power. That fighter may use them to have any wish granted."
That immediately caught everyone's attention.
The Super Dragon Balls were being offered as the prize.
After a brief silence, one of the Supreme Kais raised his hand to ask a question. Ken acknowledged him politely, allowing him to speak.
"We understand the reward for the most outstanding fighter," the Supreme Kai said. "But what does the winning universe receive?"
"Nothing," Ken answered calmly.
The Supreme Kai blinked before suddenly smiling in understanding. "Ah! I see. The honor of victory itself is the reward."
"No. I mean you literally receive nothing." Ken smiled. "And that's the best possible reward for the winning universe."
The Supreme Kai's smile vanished.
Everyone stared at Ken, unable to understand what he meant.
"The winning universe will be left alone," Ken explained. "Every universe that loses will be personally erased by Zeno-sama."
The entire gathering fell silent.
Faces drained of color across the platforms as the meaning of his words sank in. A few seconds later, panic erupted everywhere.
Beerus was among the worst affected, trembling visibly as he stared toward the two Zenos.
"Zeno-sama had already decided that there were too many universes and that managing all of them was troublesome," Ken continued calmly. "The original plan was to erase eight universes immediately and leave only four. But because Goku brought up the Tournament of Power, one of those eight universes will now be given a chance to survive."
"How can that be?!"
"This is a disaster!"
The gods who had been discussing strategies only moments earlier now looked as though the ground had disappeared beneath their feet.
"This turned into something far more serious than expected," Whis remarked.
"Far more serious?" Beerus growled. "Seven of the eight universes are going to disappear!"
Belmod's face had gone pale as well. "Only one of the eight survives..."
Champa suddenly looked around. "Wait. Which four universes are exempt?"
"Universe 1, Universe 12, Universe 5, and Universe 8," Ken answered.
Heles frowned. "Why those four?"
"Their mortal levels are all above seven, so they are exempt from participating in the Tournament of Power."
The mood on those four platforms changed instantly. Gods who had been moments away from panicking now looked almost giddy with relief.
"So all that work actually paid off."
"Unlike us, most of the other universes barely bothered managing anything properly."
"At least our universe is safe!"
The exempt gods openly celebrated their good fortune, suddenly feeling very grateful for every bit of effort they had put into developing their universes.
Rumsshi, meanwhile, still had one important concern.
"Um... what happens to us if our universe gets erased?"
"Don't worry," Ken said with a reassuring smile.
Rumsshi and several other gods visibly relaxed.
For a moment, they assumed that even if their universes disappeared, the Gods of Destruction and Supreme Kais would simply be reassigned somewhere else.
"Except for the Angels, every God of Destruction and Supreme Kai will disappear along with their universe."
The relief vanished instantly.
The gods stared at Ken in horror. His pause between those two statements had given them just enough time to feel safe before crushing that hope completely.
Beerus hurriedly turned toward Whis. "What's Universe 7's mortal level?"
"Currently, Universe 7's mortal level is only 3.11," Whis answered. "That's quite low. In fact, we're currently ranked last among all twelve universes."
Beerus went completely still.
"W-What did you just say? Last?!"
"We should originally have been second from the bottom," Whis explained with a small sigh. "But after Universe 6's Earth was exchanged with ours, we dropped into last place."
Beerus slowly turned toward Shin and the Grand Supreme Kai, fury rising across his face.
"This is all because of you two idiots! Instead of developing the universe properly, you spent all your time worrying about Majin Buu!"
The Grand Supreme Kai responded with an awkward, good-natured smile, but Shin wasn't about to accept all the blame.
"You've got some nerve blaming us! What were you doing all that time? Sleeping!"
Beerus's expression twisted.
Shin glared straight back at him.
Within seconds, the two were shouting directly into each other's faces, spraying each other with spit while the fate of Universe 7 hung over their heads.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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