"Aren't you running away? " Asked Lavender.
Simply looking at the yellow wolf, Shang-Chi retorted.
"I don't see why I would get mad."
"Don't you understand that during this fight, nothing prevents me from killing you."
"I repeat...I don't see why I would run away."
Then, he traced a semi-circle with the tip of his foot, before positioning himself in a combat position. Then, he showed only a calm and serene face, while he showed that he was waiting for Lavender to make the first move.
Continuing to smile, the yellow wolf began to walk quietly towards him, while noticing.
"You seem very sure of yourself! Are you starting to believe in a miracle just because your friend managed to beat Basil? Don't get the wrong idea! Compared to him, I don't count having fun with you."
Shang-Chi stands still. Finally growling, Lavender was annoyed at his silence and rushed at him. Aiming his fist at his opponent's face, he attempted to knock him out in one blow.
Unfortunately, provoking himself to the side at the last moment, Shang-chi simply felt a current of air pass near his face, while carried away by his momentum, Lavender's body passed beside him as well.
Taking advantage, the edge of Shang-Chi's hand hit the back of Lavender's neck, who moaned in pain. Then taking two awkward steps forward, the yellow wolf dropped to one knee, before turning around.
"You little..." he roared.
Immediately getting up, he again tries to punch Shang-Chi in the face. Nonetheless, catching the wolf's fist in the palm of his hand, his opponent jerked his own arm back, before using his good hand to strike Lavender's elbow.
Startled, the yellow wolf was ejected on his side and fell to the ground. This time he hadn't been hit. However, Shang-chi had pushed him away without the slightest difficulty. Then, the human gets back into his combat position and he gives the impression of not having moved since the beginning of their confrontation.
"Lavender, what are you doing?" Roared Rô. "Do you think it's time to further humble our universe?" »
" Shut your mouth. " Roared Lavender, in himself relevant.
Then running towards Shang-chi, he attempts to hit him with his fists and feet. Yet, still remaining calm, Shaun only moved his arms to counter each of his attacks.
"Stop thinking you're invincible." Lavender roared, reaching to rip him open with his claws.
Unfortunately, gripping his arm with both hands, Shang-chi performed a perfect spin, as he forced his opponent to follow him. Then he tossed him to the side and knocked him back to the ground.
Only seeming to defend himself, Shaun had managed to push him away a third time, with disconcerting ease.
Showing a much more serene countenance than in the first game, Doctor Strange asserted.
"I prefer this way of fighting, rather than the one where I felt like I was seeing a wild beast attacking its opponent stupidly."
"Strangely, I feel targeted." Emil stated. "At least I won my match."
"Huh?" Do you think he's going to lose? " Asked Strange.
Simply having his arms crossed, as he saw Shaun continue to counter Lavender's attacks, he finally said.
"You can't win a fight with defensive techniques."
"Don't worry." Wong retorted. "Shaun is just studying his opponent's moves and coming up with the right strategy to defeat him."
Noticing the same, Goku affirmed.
"Someone with such a mastery of martial arts...I'm sure he has no show of his offensive power."
Pinching his cheeks, Beerus roared.
"Why are you so excited? Anyway, even if this universe manages to qualify for this damn tournament, you won't be able to fight this guy."
"Exactly..." Goku asserted, retaining his fighting spirit. "If the people who will be in the tournament are stronger than him, then I would have a lot of fun fighting them."
at that moment, Lavender was pushed aside again.
"DAMN IT!" he roared, hating this feeling of humiliation he was experiencing.
"Do you understand now?" Shang-chi questioned him. "I have no reason to be afraid of you."
Hearing this, Lavender immediately stood up. Then he puffed out his cheeks. Finally, fixing his hands, he covered them with a purple mist.
"Huh?" Shang-Chi wondered, finally showing a new expression on his face.
And again, the wolf charged at him. Seeing Shaun on the fist countering his punches, with his hands, Wong retorted.
"BACKWARDS."
"Huh?" Shang-chi wondered.
Suddenly feeling a sense of danger, the warrior jumped back. Unfortunately, the ends of Lavender's claws managed to nick his skin.
Growling, Shang-chi lifted his foot and kicked his opponent's midsection. Managing to position her arm in front of his chest to protect him, Lavender took the attack. Then he counterattacked.
Unfortunately, Shaun had already crossed his arms in front of him and let the force of the impact throw him back, to put some safe distance between them. Then, he gracefully lands on his feet, before resuming his fighting stance.
Again, Lavender ran towards him and bombarded him with punches. Continuing his defensive moves, Shang -Chi pushed him back again without difficulty.
"Tssss! He's going to make me admit I was wrong." Emil growled.
However, this time it was Strange and Wang who were skeptical. Indeed, seeing Lavender continue to attack Shang-chi, they saw that the wolf managed to push Shang-Chi back, while their ally moved his feet more and more to maintain a safe distance. Then he started getting hit.
"Huh?" Emil wondered. "This wolf is getting stronger?"
"No, it's the opposite." Wong retorted. "It's Shaun getting weaker."
"Huh? Is he already tired from having moved so little?"
"The mist…" Strange growled, realizing that she wasn't there to merely color the yellow wolf's hands.
"Looks like he's starting to get it." Whis remarked, also seeing Shaun starting to have some difficulty countering Lavender. "Toxin ... an inglorious method ... but very effective.
Attempting to strike his opponent, Lavender's fist finally managed to reach Shang-chi's chest, who felt his feet slip backwards as he spat out some drool. But he didn't even have time to resume his combat position when Lavender found himself in front of him, to attack him again and again. His method of fighting was simple: he refused to give him a moment's respite.
Trying to protect himself again, Shang-chi felt his arm movements getting slower and slower. And the more Lavender hit them, the more Shang-Chi felt like his skin was burning.
"Tsss! Poison? Do you really feel proud winning like that."
"No matter how, all that matters is winning." Lavender retorted. "It's your fault! You didn't have to let your guard down! The Trio of Dangers never loses! Because at the end of the day, we always manage to kill those who resist us! It's the only way to to be able to survive in a universe like ours."
Then, puffing out his cheeks again, he spat out a purple cloud that touched Shang-Chi's cloud. Knowing full well what he was doing, Shaun jumped back. However, the damage was already done. Feeling like his eyes were burning, the man was forced to close them, while his eyelids rapidly turned purple.
"My eyes! It burns."
Seeing his warrior finally take the lead, Rō regained some of the confidence he had displayed during Basil's match against Emil, and took the opportunity to taunt his opponents.
"Bunch of fools! Overestimate Lavender's abilities and the worst mistake to make! His poison is capable of weakening the most powerful warriors in existence! And in the face of him, what can a wounded blind man do? "
"That fool..." Emil growled. "It's for this kind of thing that I would have attacked my opponent from the start! He tried to play it safe and he is paying the consequences."
"Guess we can't even call it cheating." Strange growled.
"Compared to the first fight, this weapon is an integral part of Lavander-san." Affirmed The Tribunal. "There is therefore nothing that could prevent him from using it."
"Never mind." Wong affirmed.
Still showing serenity on his face, he declared.
"I don't think Shaun has any interest in adopting a defensive style anymore."
Seeing his opponent take a few steps back, while unable to open his eyes, Lavender smirked, before running towards him, claws out.
"Try to put me down, now."
However, feeling a shock hit him in his stomach, the yellow wolf spat out some slime before flying backwards and crashing to the ground.
"What?" Ro wondered.
Having resumed his fighting stance, Shang-chi now had several rings flying around him. Moving his arms to control them, Shaun made them move with perfect synchronization.
"I don't need to see you to touch you."
"Grrr! Stop laughing at me." Lavender roared, running towards him again.
"Such a bestial fighting style doesn't stand a chance against Shaun." Wong asserted.
"The way this animal fights vaguely reminds me of someone." Strange stated. "
"Strangely, I feel insulted." Emil remarked.
Hearing the sound of Lavander's footsteps, Shaun positioned five rings in front of him and moved them, one after the other, to block Lavander's punches.
"What are these weapons?" Lavander asked. " This is cheating. "
"You're the last person allowed to say that." Shaun retorted.
Fit doing his second arm, he moved his other five rings, which fell towards Lavander. Seeing this, the yellow wolf pirouetted backwards, to get away from the path of the rings, which hit the ground.
Seeing his rings miss their targets, Shang-Chi used the others to continue the attack. Seeing five new rings flying towards him, Lavender used his arms and legs to block them.
But while he felt the greatest pain to stop them all, he suddenly lowered his gaze and found the ground being pulverized, all around him. After hitting the ground, Shaun's first five rings punctured the ground and took advantage of Shaun's other weapons attracting Lavander's attention to pull themselves out of the ground, all around him.
" What ? "
The ten rings hit Lavander and ejected him towards the edge of the field. Growling, the yellow wolf dropped to one knee, while he placed a hand on his abdomen. Then, looking up, he saw Shaun walking quietly towards him.
Still having his eyes closed, the man let his rings float around him, while he showed no fear on his face.
"A warrior who fights with the methods of a coward... if I lose to him, I can never rest in peace when my universe is erased."
"But when are you going to die?" Lavandder roared, pointing his leg at him.
Imitating, Shaun covered his own leg with four rings, which increased the durability of his attack. Feeling his shin slam into the hard surface of the rings, Lavender winced in pain.
Then, letting his other six rings cover his right arm, Shang-Chi aimed his fist at the yellow wolf. Reacting in time, Lavender crossed his arms in front of him to halt the attack. Unfortunately, the impact of the ring-powered double blow shattered his defenses, and Lavender's feet slipped back several meters, as he was struck down. impression of feeling his arms being pulverized.
Seeing him recoil, Shaun tossed his rings into the air and made them connect with each other to create a weapon resembling a giant whip. Seeing the end hurtling towards him, Lavender jumped aside to avoid it, while the ring that was on the end of the whip pulverized the ground. Then running at full speed towards Shaun, Lavender again created poisonous gas, which shot towards his opponent.
Hearing him blow the same way he poisoned him, Shang-chi understood the danger and even though he was still blind, he jumped back to avoid getting poisoned further.
Unfortunately, breaking through the cloud of smoke, Lavender now had his whole body surrounded by a poisonous mist and he managed to put the palm of his hand against Shang-chi's face, before gripping his head with his fingers.
Then, with all his might, he smashed Shaun's head into the ground.
"AAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!" the man cried, feeling his skull crack.
"And finally…" Lavender assured, raising her second hand.
Unfortunately, making a sudden movement with his hips, Shaun managed to direct his foot towards the muzzle of Lavender, who ducked her head to avoid getting hit.
"Missed." He asserted, with a mocking smile.
However, he screamed in pain, feeling two rings slam into his back like rams and eject him several feet from Shaun. Feeling her body lying on the surface of the arena again, Lavender slammed into the ground, before getting up.
"I am a member of the trio of dangers! I am the elite of Universe 9."
Turning to see Shaun already up, he affirmed.
"You're just a human from an outdated universe that doesn't even deserve to exist! There's no way..."
Disappearing, he appeared right in front of Shaun, with his leg raised in the air.
"...so that I can lose to you."
Suddenly, the heel of his foot struck Shaun's elbow, who had swung him forward to block his opponent's attack.
"You just talk, over and over again! In the end, I doubt that it was your power that killed your former opponents! They are just bored to death from hearing you talk to talk bullshit. "
However, Lavender's fist was already moving towards his face, and Shaun positioned the palm of his hand in front of him to stop him. Despite his first two misses, Lavender continued to punch Shaun, who continued to block his attacks.
Still, flashing a confident smile, Lavender saw Shaun doing a lot more blocking with his body rather than dodging his attacks like he was doing at the start of the fight.
Shaun's reaction time had deteriorated due to Lavender's poison and the more he blocked his attacks the worse his body's condition became.
So even though Shaun seemed to be getting the upper hand, the truth was that Lavender was the one who was going to win this match if things kept going like this.
Locking one of his fists, Shaun lifted his leg to hit him in the chin. Unfortunately, lacking in precision, his attack only grazed the muzzle of Lavander, who had tilted his head to the side.
Then, seeing a perfect opening, he put his hand on Shaun's chest, before shining his hand which was covered in a purple aura. Then, the next moment, Shaun was hit by a ki blast, which sent him flying backwards.
The next, Lavender leapt into the air again, before falling back towards Shang-chi, with her leg pointing towards her face. Sensing his presence again, despite being in the air, Shaun reached out his arms to him, and immediately his rings slammed into Lavender.
"You won't fool me with your damn rings anymore." Retorted the yellow wolf.
Then, moving at the speed of sound, he put his feet on the rings which slammed into him and bounced off each one, while avoiding getting hit. With no more defenses, Shaun could only position his arms, in front of him, while Lavender was only a few centimeters from him.
"You have no weapon if your rings are away from you." Lavender asserted, pointing his foot at Shaun.
Unfortunately, he was startled when he felt Shaun's hands close around his foot and stop his attack.
" What ? "
"Being unarmed does not mean being harmless."
Then, seeming to dislocate his spine, Shang-Chi aimed his upper body towards the arena, before launching Lavender in that direction.
Seeing the ground approaching him, the yellow wolf growled in displeasure, before performing a multitude of pirouettes. Finally, a crash sound was heard as his feet landed on the arena, cracking several slabs around him.
"If you think such a weak attack can defeat me, you're wrong." He asserted, looking up.
Nevertheless, fear showed on his face, as Shaun had already anticipated his gesture. Arms once again directed towards him, he had gathered his rings in front of him, before twirling them around.
Forming a perfect circle, spinning as quickly as a top, Shaun sent his attack hurtling towards Lavender who could only scream, before being violently hit by the swirling circle.
And when Shaun set foot on the ground, he saw only a cloud of dust in front of him, where Lavender was. Breathing heavily, Shang-chi finally dropped to one knee as his rings came back to him.
The poison had damaged his body more than he thought. Nevertheless, he had just won.
"Yeah! 2-0!" Emil affirmed. "We won the competition."
"No." Strange retorted.
Staring at the dust cloud, he and Wang affirmed. "
" It is not finished. "
Indeed, appearing out of the cloud of smoke, Lavender was still standing. Admittedly, he staggered while walking seemed to be a difficulty. Certainly he was bleeding and many wounds had been caused to him by the last attack of Shaun. Nevertheless, he showed that this fight was not over.
But seeing Shaun's stance, he knew he could end this fight quickly. Again, he jumped in the air, before reaching his hands towards Shaun. Then, gathering his remaining energy, he created a double ki-blast, which flew towards his opponent.
"Here's your reward for daring to humiliate me! You couldn't win against me."
Then, his attack hit Shaun who in turn disappeared in the smoke caused by the explosion.
Standing still, his three companions and The Tribunal said nothing. Then, finally, they finally understood the obvious.
"He lost." Strange affirmed.
"YEAH!" Rejoices Lavender raising his arms to the sky.
"GREAT JOB, LAVENDER." Rô assured.
" You have to admit, this kid had some interesting weapons. " Belgamo stated. "Nevertheless, it wasn't enough for him to win."
Yet he fell silent, seeing a flash appear through the cloud of smoke.
" Quoi ? "
Chasing the smoke around them, Shaun's rings were gathered in his hands, as Shaun whirled them around. Having positioned them in front of him, Shaun had used them as protection.
"That's impossible." Lavender asserted.
Letting out a battle cry, Shang-Chi managed to get to his feet, before throwing his rings at him. Frightened, Lavender saw eight rings separate, before hitting him in various directions.
Unable to fight back, the yellow wolf got thoroughly hammered hundreds of times. Unfortunately for him, Shaun's latest attack was still in preparation.
Running towards him, the man had leaped into the air, before letting his two remaining rings position themselves under his feet, before propelling him into the air.
Seeing Lavender unable to stop him, he then made various gestures with his arms, and immediately, gusts of wind seemed to appear around his arms. Growing stronger and more violent, the gusts of wind swirled around Shaun, before taking the form of what looked like a huge sea serpent.
"What...?" Rô and Sidra wondered.
"OOOOOOOHHHHHHH!" Shouted the two Zenos.
"Amazing." Wang said.
Finally, Shang-chi propelled himself at full speed towards Lavender, while his snake descended with him.
"Lavender, above you." Bergamo shouted.
Seeming to sense the threat, Lavender suddenly cried out and conjured up an aura around him that ejected the rings to the sides. Then, turning to Shaun, he clasps his hands together, before creating a massive ki-blast.
" DIE ! "
Unfortunately, hitting him first, the serpent's head pulverized his attack and allowed Shaun to head towards Lavender, before positioning both fists on his chest.
" DUSHE ZHI XI! "
Immediately, a huge crater appeared in the center of the arena and, paralyzed, Rô and Sidra saw Lavender at the bottom of the hole, while her eyes had turned completely white.
For his part, Shang-chi was still standing, while he displayed a confident smile.
"Even though I come from a pseudo-universe considered weak, that doesn't mean I'm weaker than you."
Then, finally, he collapsed to the ground.
"What...?" Rô wondered.
"His nervous system is completely destroyed." Strange realized.
"Hey, he fell after the wolf." Emil stated. " He won. "
Nevertheless, approaching the two bodies on the ground, Grand Priest eventually declares.
"Both fighters are unable to fight! So it's a draw."
" Match nul ? "
Then, the next second, Lavander and Shaun disappeared before landing in their respective bleachers.
"Oye, Shaun! Are you okay?" Wang questioned, crouching down in front of him.
"Tssss! How do you expect him to be okay when he's been poisoned?" Emil questioned.
Suddenly, he was surprised to see The Tribunal pointing his finger at Shaun before having his body light up. Seeming to wash away all the poison inside him, The Tribunal then lowered his finger, just as Shaun opened his eyes and sat up.
" Que ... ? "
"Do you know how to use healing spells?" Strange wondered.
"I never claimed otherwise," assured The Tribunal.
"HEY! Why didn't you fix me, asshole?" Emil roared, pointing to his still broken arm.
"You never showed the slightest sign of politeness."
"I'm saving your ass, isn't that enough?"
"The match!" Shaun shouted suddenly, standing up. "How did the game end?"
"Equality." Wang affirmed.
"What? But I..."
"Good job, kid." Strange assured him suddenly.
Turning to Universe 9, he assured.
"By managing to draw, you have kept our lead! Now, even a victory for Universe 9 will only allow them to obtain a simple equality against us! From now on, no matter the result of the last match, it is certainly not Universe 9 that will be able to challenge our participation in the tournament."
"I would have preferred to win." Shaun retorted.
"You are the least experienced among us." Wang retorted. "And yet, you exceeded my expectations! Especially with your last move! Shaun, if your opponent managed to put you down, it was only because he wielded poison! Against someone like Basil, you would have won! AND if Emil had faced Lavender, he would have lost."
"Hey." Emil growled.
"All of you here, I would like your attention." Grand Priest informed suddenly.
Immediately, deities and mortals stared at him, as he declared.
"I have an announcement from Zeno-sama! He says he is very moved that the lower level mortals managed to put up a great fight."
"Oye! Who's he calling low level?" Emil roared, before getting punched in the stomach by Wong.
"Since the creation of the universes, Zeno-sama has evaluated the quality of the 12 universes, as well as that of the pseudo-universes! And as you know, when a score is much too low, it is doomed to disappear! This is what which happened for three pseudo-universes. Nevertheless, he also found that some universes have a quality of life that is far too low to hope to be able to continue to exist."
Hearing this, several deities put on shocked faces, as they began to whisper among themselves.
"To give you an idea, the pseudo-universe still present among us has a score of 2.15 out of 10! It's very bad! However, a universe has a score even worse than it! It's the Universe 9."
"WE?" Ro yelled, nearly having a heart attack.
"Indeed." Affirmed Grand Priest. "Your average is 1.86! While the penultimate universe is 7, which has a our of 3.18."
"WHAT?" Beerus shouted. "We are eleventh out of twelve?"
"Regarding the Tournament of Power, Zeno-sama has said many times that there are far too many universes! And so, Son Goku-san's proposal from Universe 7 was a perfect opportunity! By his hand , Zeno-sama will destroy all the universes that lose the tournament and leave only the winner."
" What ? "
" It's a joke ? "
"Only One Universe Will Survive?"
"Oye, what is this bad joke?" Emil asked. "The other universes are also threatened?"
"If that's the case, the tournament will be even more complicated for us." Confirmed Strange. "We knew in advance that we would be killed if we lost this tournament! But if it's the same for the others, we can't hope for the slightest negotiation with them to avoid losing."
"Destroy the universes?" Wang repeated, swallowing, while looking at Zeno. "Are they really capable of this?"
"As announced, the only thing undecided is whether we're going to let the Pseudo-Universe participate in the tournament as well." The Grand Priest affirmed, while glaring menacingly at Universe 9. "But from what I see , it seems much deserving of another universe."
"Are you...are you saying that the pseudo-universe will take our place and that we will be destroyed if we lose the next match?" Ro asked.
"No! unless Zeno-sama imposes this decision! We just want to see the capabilities of the pseudo-universe! Nothing more."
"Grand Priest." Shin called suddenly, dropping to one knee. "There is something I would like to confirm."
" I'm listening to you. "
"You said that the losing universes will be destroyed! So that means that, without counting the pseudo-universe, only one universe will survive out of the twelve?"
"Not quite! Indeed, Universes 1 and 12, as well as Universes 5 and 8, are exempt from the tournament! The quality of life level exceeds 7, so, to reward their good work, they will not be not destroyed."
"I see." Whis said. "So whether or not Goku offers you this tournament or not, you were planning to destroy the universes with the lowest ratings, right?"
"Indeed! But at the moment, it matters little."
Returning his attention to the two universes fighting today, he declared.
"It is time for the last fight to begin."