"The Tournament of Power will be held in the World of Void," Ken continued. "I'll build a special arena there, and when the time comes, the Grand Priest will transport everyone to the venue. Gather your teams anywhere within your respective universes and wait for the summons. Anyone who's late will be disqualified, so don't lose track of the time."
Goku turned toward Vados beside him. "How long do we have left?"
"Less than thirty nine hours," Vados replied calmly.
"One more thing," Ken added. "Weapons and medicine are forbidden during the tournament. If anyone is caught using either, their entire team will be disqualified."
Once the rules had been laid out, Ken looked toward the Grand Priest. The Grand Priest floated forward and swept his gaze across the assembled gods before asking whether everyone had understood. After receiving a chorus of confirmations, he reminded them that there was little time left and told them to begin preparing immediately.
With a sweep of his arms, invisible Angel power spread across the gathering. Broly, Buu, Merus, Bier, and the gods from every universe disappeared along with everyone else, each returning to their respective universe. In moments, only Ken, the Grand Priest, the two Zenos, and their guards remained at the Palace.
"Zeno-sama, Ken and I will go prepare the arena now," the Grand Priest said.
"Okay." Zeno-sama nodded.
"Let's go."
The Grand Priest snapped his fingers, and the Palace vanished from Ken's sight. An instant later, the two of them were standing within the endless emptiness of the World of Void.
"We can build the new arena here," the Grand Priest said, gesturing toward the chaos stretching ahead of them.
"Sounds good."
Ken pointed his staff into the distance, and an enormous arena immediately materialized before them. Its overall shape resembled a gigantic spinning top, with a tall pillar rising from the center. During the tournament, that pillar would gradually sink as time passed, and the moment it became level with the arena floor would mark the end of the forty-eight-minute time limit.
Ken explained the idea, earning an approving nod from the Grand Priest.
"Very good. That's almost exactly what I had in mind." He studied the surrounding emptiness for another moment. "Although it still feels like something is missing."
"Then let's add the spectator stands and a sun."
Another wave of Ken's staff created a long viewing area around the arena for the gods of the participating universes. Above it, he formed a brilliant light source that slowly revolved around the battlefield like an artificial sun, illuminating the otherwise empty World of Void.
"We'll also need to adjust the gravity individually for every competitor," Ken said. "Each fighter should experience the same gravity as the planet where they were born."
That was simple enough with Angel power. Ken infused the arena itself with his power, allowing it to respond to each competitor and alter the gravity affecting them according to their individual information. Once that system was in place, the Tournament of Power arena was essentially complete.
The Grand Priest inspected everything carefully before giving Ken another satisfied smile.
"Excellent. I'll leave the Tournament of Power in your hands this time." He reached over and patted Ken on the shoulder.
Ken looked at him in surprise. "What about you? You're not staying for the tournament?"
"I'm planning to go somewhere."
"Where?" Ken asked, immediately suspicious. "You're not going to the Demon Realm, are you?"
"No." The Grand Priest shook his head. "I'm going to visit another timeline."
Ken's interest immediately returned. "The timeline with the Space-Time God of Destruction candidate? I'll come too. I'm an Angel, and even if that guy's level is as high as mine, that doesn't mean I'd lose to him."
"That's not the timeline I'm visiting." The Grand Priest paused before explaining, "I'm going to the timeline where Belsai, the candidate for Supreme Kai of Time, lives."
Ken's enthusiasm disappeared almost immediately. "What's so interesting about that timeline?"
"Apparently, its overall mortal levels have developed to an extraordinary degree."
That caught Ken's attention again. "How extraordinary?"
"The highest-ranked universe there has reached a mortal level of 32.8," the Grand Priest answered quietly.
Ken stared at him.
In their own timeline, even the highest-ranked universe only had a mortal level a little above seven. Yet somewhere in another timeline, a universe had somehow pushed that number all the way to 32.8.
"How the hell did they manage that?" Ken asked, genuinely interested now. "All right, I'll go too. I want to see this for myself."
"That's fine."
"When are we leaving?"
"We should contact them first."
The Grand Priest raised his staff and activated the crystal sphere at its tip. Ken leaned closer out of curiosity, only to discover that the person appearing inside the sphere was... the Grand Priest.
Or rather, another Grand Priest from the timeline they intended to visit.
"All right, then. I'll bring Ken over so we can have a look around and learn a few things," the Grand Priest said with a smile.
"You're very welcome, though I suspect we're the ones who should be learning from you," his counterpart replied politely. "When should we expect you?"
"Give us around one hundred taks to prepare."
"In that case, I'll have Belsai come and welcome Ken."
"There's no need to make such a fuss," Ken cut in. "If everything works out, we'll all be fellow space-time deities eventually."
The other Grand Priest laughed. "Ken is already essentially the candidate for Space-Time Angel. Belsai, on the other hand, still has a very long way to go before his position is settled."
"Then we'll leave it there," the Grand Priest said. "Ken and I should arrive in roughly one hundred taks."
"Understood. I'll be waiting for you both."
The connection ended, leaving Ken staring curiously at the Grand Priest.
"Why wait that long before leaving?"
One hundred taks was roughly forty-eight minutes, which seemed like an unnecessarily long delay when they could presumably depart whenever they wanted.
"If we're visiting another timeline, we should at least bring them a gift," the Grand Priest replied with a smile.
Ken immediately frowned. Gifts were one of the things he hated dealing with most, largely because he never knew what he was supposed to bring. Besides, anything their timeline possessed should theoretically exist in the other timeline as well.
"It doesn't have to be anything extravagant. It's the gesture that matters." The Grand Priest glanced at him before turning away. "Think about it after you go back. We'll meet here again in one hundred taks."
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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