The fighters from Universe 11 arrived shortly afterward, descending onto the arena as Belmod and the other gods turned their attention toward Universe 6.
"Belmod-sama, why does Universe 6 have so many people?" Khai asked, looking across the arena in confusion. "There are definitely more than ten over there!"
Belmod had noticed the same thing. Universe 6 seemed to have brought an entire crowd, and he couldn't understand what they were trying to accomplish.
"Perhaps the extra people are just spectators," Marcarita suggested with a smile.
"Oh, spectators!" Khai laughed, finally understanding. "I thought they were all competing."
Jiren, meanwhile, had already spotted Goku among the Universe 6 fighters. Their eyes met across the arena, and Goku immediately raised a hand in greeting.
"Hey, Jiren!"
Jiren stared back without responding. They barely knew each other, yet Goku was waving at him as though they were old friends. He had no intention of encouraging that sort of familiarity.
Goku, however, was much more interested in how different Jiren felt compared to their first meeting.
Back then, Jiren had seemed like an enormous mountain towering above him, something so far beyond his reach that he couldn't imagine ever overcoming it. Now, although that mountain was still there, Goku felt as though he might finally be able to soar right over it.
"So that's Jiren?" Vegeta remarked with a snort. "He certainly looks different. He's the one who's supposed to rival you, right?"
"Yep!" Goku nodded and clapped his hands together. "I'm gonna go say hello."
Before Vegeta could object, Goku had already started walking toward the Universe 11 fighters. Vegeta watched him go with an exasperated expression, wondering why Kakarot always felt the need to make friends with everyone he was supposed to fight.
"Hey, Toppo!" Goku called, waving as he approached.
"Goku!" Toppo turned toward him, clearly surprised to see him walking over so casually.
Goku grinned and shifted his attention to Jiren. "Hey, Jiren! Remember me? It's Goku!"
Jiren remained silent, giving him nothing more than a cold stare.
"Come on, Jiren! We're finally getting that fight we promised each other!"
"Get lost. I'm not interested in you," Jiren snapped.
Goku blinked at the harsh response, but his enthusiasm barely faded.
"Don't be like that! We agreed to fight a long time ago, remember?"
Jiren gave an irritated snort and refused to engage with him any further. Seeing that he wasn't going to get a proper conversation out of him, Goku simply laughed and waved goodbye.
"All right, then! See you during the tournament. Let's both do our best!"
He returned to Universe 6's side, where Vegeta was waiting with a thoroughly amused expression.
"Looks like they weren't exactly happy to see you, Kakarot."
"Hahaha! Yeah, I guess not!" Goku laughed, apparently completely unbothered.
Before Vegeta could say anything else, another group descended onto the arena. This time, it was Universe 7.
Goku and the others immediately turned to examine their opponents. Most of the faces were familiar, although there were two fighters they didn't recognize.
Vegeta's attention quickly settled on a pair of particularly unwelcome arrivals.
"Cooler? King Cold?" he muttered, frowning.
Piccolo followed his gaze. "Isn't that Frieza's father?"
"That's right. King Cold. And the other one's Cooler, Frieza's older brother."
"Cooler?" Goku repeated.
He thought about the name for a moment before suddenly remembering something. His face lit up, and he waved enthusiastically toward the other side of the arena.
"Hey! Cooler!"
Cooler's expression darkened the moment he recognized the Saiyan calling out to him.
Goku walked over with an apologetic smile. "Man, I've been meaning to say sorry about what happened back then. I think I killed you with one punch, didn't I? I've owed you an apology ever since."
Cooler began trembling with rage. Of all the things Goku could have said upon seeing him again, casually reminding him that he'd been killed with a single punch was probably the worst.
King Cold wasn't much happier. His fists tightened as he watched Goku speak to his son, and for a moment, he looked ready to rush forward and tear the Saiyan apart himself.
Ize was also scanning the Universe 6 fighters, though his attention was on a different enemy.
Broly. Where the hell are you?
He hadn't forgotten how Broly had torn him in half years ago, and now that he'd grown stronger, he was determined to settle that score.
Vegeta and the others could only stare at Goku in disbelief.
Did Kakarot seriously think that was an apology? He'd practically walked over just to remind Cooler how humiliating his death had been. No wonder Frieza and his family hated him so much.
"Goku!" Cooler snarled, glaring at him with murderous fury. "I'll never forget that punch! You're going to pay for what you did to me!"
"What's the big lizard getting so worked up about?" Zarek cut in, sounding thoroughly unimpressed. "You do know killing isn't allowed in this tournament, right? If you deliberately kill someone, your entire team gets disqualified!"
Cooler's expression changed immediately.
"What did you just say?"
"Didn't Beerus tell you the rules?" Zarek asked, making no effort to sound respectful.
His father was a God of Destruction too, so as far as he was concerned, there was no reason he had to treat Beerus as someone untouchable.
Cooler turned toward Frieza with an irritated frown. "Who the hell is this brat?"
"No idea," Frieza replied coldly. "Judging by his appearance, another Saiyan."
"Of course I'm a Saiyan!" Zarek declared proudly. "I'm Zarek, Goku's little brother!"
"Goku's brother?" Frieza repeated, genuinely surprised.
He hadn't expected Goku to have a younger brother, much less one who seemed perfectly comfortable provoking his family.
Before the argument could escalate any further, another familiar voice called out from the Universe 7 team.
"Hey, other me! Good to see you again!"
GT Goku approached with a friendly grin, and Goku immediately brightened upon recognizing his counterpart.
"Hey! Good to see you too!"
The two Gokus greeted each other enthusiastically and shook hands as though meeting an old friend.
Vegeta watched the exchange with a disgusted expression. They were practically the same person. What exactly was the point of shaking hands with yourself?
"I heard you've gotten pretty strong," GT Goku said with a smile.
"Hahaha! I guess you could say that." Goku scratched his head modestly. "I just mastered Ultra Instinct, that's all."
"Oh, really? Then you've gotta show me during the tournament!" GT Goku laughed.
"Sure! No problem."
GT Vegeta finally couldn't stand listening to them anymore.
"Tch! Are you trying to be humble, or are you just showing off?"
Both Gokus turned toward him at exactly the same time, earning themselves an irritated glare. The sight of two Kakarots looking at him together only made GT Vegeta's mood worse.
Goku ignored the complaint and leaned a little closer to his counterpart.
"What about you? Have you unlocked something new too?"
GT Goku answered with a mysterious grin.
"Hehehe!"
Goku's expression grew more serious. He knew that smile well enough to understand what it meant.
"I knew it! You've gotten stronger again!"
"Sure have. But you know something?" GT Goku lowered his voice. "I'm not even the strongest fighter on our team."
"Huh? You're not?" Goku looked genuinely shocked. He immediately began studying the Universe 7 fighters again, trying to figure out who could possibly be stronger than his counterpart.
After looking around for several seconds, his attention settled on Gas.
"That's Gas," GT Goku explained. "He's incredibly strong."
"Really? I've never met him before."
"And there's that guy over there too," GT Goku continued, pointing toward Granolah, who was standing near Gas.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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