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In the cosmic recording, the Grand Priest formally addressed the Gods of Destruction from all twelve universes, detailing the stakes of the Zeno Expo and the looming Tournament of Power.
When the revelation hit—that losing meant the total erasure of their entire universe by the Omni-King—a wave of suffocating dread washed over the deities. Except for Universe 7, who had already been briefed, the gods and their attendants were left in a state of paralyzed shock.
The tension spiked when the Grand Priest revealed that the architect of this survival-of-the-fittest nightmare was none other than Son Goku. Across the multiverse, cold gazes fixed upon the Saiyan.
Summoned to speak, Goku remained blissfully oblivious to the boiling resentment directed at him. He simply smiled, stating his desire to test his limits against the strongest warriors in existence. To him, this was the ultimate challenge; to everyone else, it was a death sentence he had signed for them all.
The Zeno Expo commenced as a three-round exhibition between Universe 9 and Universe 7. For the Trio of Danger, the news that this was merely a "practice" round brought a brief, desperate sigh of relief—no immediate erasure would follow a loss.
The opening match featured Basil the Kicker, the youngest of the wolf brothers, against Majin Buu. Despite Basil's ferocious agility, Buu's "buggy" regeneration and unpredictable Ki rendered the wolf's efforts futile, securing the first win for Universe 7.
The second bout saw Gohan face off against Lavender. The middle brother utilized a lethal poison gas that blinded and crippled the scholar-warrior. Gohan, refusing to back down, pushed his senses to the limit to track his opponent's movements.
He managed to force a draw by taking Lavender down with him as he collapsed from the toxins. Finally, the main event featured Son Goku against the eldest brother, Bergamo. Through a display of overwhelming tactical prowess and escalating Ki, Goku secured the victory. Universe 7 stood tall as the winners of the Expo.
However, the peace was short-lived. A massive figure draped in a black robe from Universe 11 stepped forward, his interest piqued by Goku's performance. With Zeno's delighted permission, he discarded his cloak to reveal a barrel-chested warrior with a magnificent white mustache and arms like pillars. This was Toppo, leader of the Pride Troopers. To him, Goku was the ultimate villain—a selfish man who gambled the lives of trillions for the sake of a fight.
The clash was intense. Toppo's Grappling techniques were formidable, allowing him to hold his own even against the divine pressure of Super Saiyan Blue. When Toppo locked Goku in a crushing bear hug, the video feed shifted focus. Akira, watching the screen with the analytical mind of a transmigrator, noted the shift in tone. On the sidelines, Gohan wore a faint, comforted smile that seemed out of place given the danger.
Suddenly, the narrator's voice cut through the tension as a split-screen appeared. On the left, Goku was being squeezed by Toppo while Gohan watched with a relieved smirk. On the right, a classic image from the Cell Games flickered into view: a young Gohan being crushed by Perfect Cell while Goku looked on with that same confident, almost hauntingly calm smile. The composition was identical.
"The boomerang Goku threw back then has finally come back to hit him," the narrator remarked dryly. Across the dimensions, viewers erupted in laughter. Even Tien Shinhan, watching from his dojo, couldn't help but crack a smile at the poetic irony. It was the ultimate display of Saiyan "filial piety"—the son finally getting a front-row seat to the father's struggle.
At the Pride Troopers' headquarters, Toppo watched the footage with a furrowed brow. He was surprised the confrontation happened so early, but his sense of justice remained firm. He realized now that Goku wasn't truly evil, but his recklessness was still "unseemly." Toppo knew, however, that even if he failed, Universe 11 held a trump card. He looked at the glimpses of the silver-eyed "Ultra Instinct" in the preview and wondered if his universe would be framed as the antagonists of this grand play.
As the battle in the video wound down, Toppo left Goku with a chilling warning: he was not the strongest in his universe. There was a monster named Jiren who stood above all. The Grand Priest then finalized the rules.
The Tournament of Power would take place in the "Void of Non-Existence," a realm of infinite nothingness. Each of the eight participating universes—2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, and 11—would send ten warriors into a 48-minute battle royale. No killing, no items, and no victory unless you remained on the ring.
The ultimate prize? The Super Dragon Balls. The penalty? Immediate erasure. The Grand Priest concluded with a chilling truth: Zeno had originally intended to erase all eight universes due to their low "Human Level." It was only because of Goku's request that they were even being given a chance to fight for their lives.
Rather than a villain, Goku was, in a twisted way, their accidental savior. They shouldn't be hunting his head—they should be thanking him for the glimmer of hope.