The Tournament Of Power Continues...!
Everyone on Earth glued their eyes to the screen, right now having a pretty shit eating smile on their face after witnessing Kuzuku's victory first hand. They were so happy that Bulma decided to give everyone an ice cream sundae to celebrate, even giving the kids some despite it being past their bedtime. Meanwhile, the eliminated fighters of universe 7 seemed anxious because they were still aware of Jiren's power. His strength after observing him from afar is just massive: to the point where victory isn't truly achieved until he is defeated and at this point it's become a definite fact.
"Kuzuku better hurry up and go aid Goku and Vegeta. There's no telling what he might do next with time winding down to zero," Zugo noted.
As soon as he said that, a loud boom erupted, shaking the arena even more as multiple shockwaves followed with it. Out of one of the shockwaves came a red figure, his feet sliding against the ground while look straight ahead at his pursuers. Two contrasting auras, rocked straight towards him, their fists ramming into his guard and pushed the gray warrior through the rubble behind him. He pushed their fist off him, exchanging a few punches between both of them before socking the prince in the jaw. Goku looked to his left, seeing that Vegeta was sent flying: doing numerous flips in the air before slamming into the boulder behind them. He gritted his teeth, continuing on with his assault without his ally's help. The hero of Earth roared, throwing to helicopter kicks towards Jiren's head, forcing him to duck under them in order evade. Knowing this, Goku quickly regained ground, throwing a series of kicks with in between back kicks to try and throw him off. Noticing this, he began deflecting the strikes accordingly, growing slightly annoyed by the Saiyan's ploy. Punishing him like numerous times before, he grabbed his ankle and hoisted him over his head. Goku's eyes widened, his surprise turning into pain quickly as he was slammed into the ground, "GAAAAAAAGH!".
He gagged, coughing out some blood before realizing the position he was in. Ignoring how much his body was hurting right now, Goku used his free leg and kicked Jiren hard in the neck: the blow having enough effect to set his captured leg free from Jiren's grasp. He then flipped himself onto his legs, his eyes noticing something approaching from the side. Once he caught a clear visual at who it was, he leapt backwards to get away of what would happen next. The gray warrior turned slowly until a Kamehameha crashed into him, the attack erupting a large explosion that engulfed his entire body. The shockwaves blew Goku further before he came to a complete stop, his one knee hovering above the ground in squat position.
"Did you get him?" Goku asked as Kuzuku teleported next to him.
Kuzuku watched the light dial down, waiting to get a visual of him. The smoke cleared rather quickly, revealing universe 11's strongest with no damage on him. Kuzuku couldn't help but look annoyed, already feeling the frustration that Goku and Vegeta had to go through, "Nope...". Jiren glared at them before hearing a voice came from behind.
"You're mine, Jiren!" Vegeta roared, his fist hurling out towards him as it picked up speed. Jiren caught the blow, the gust of wind generated from it ripping through the ground easily. They stared into each other, one impassive while the other aggressive. The prince spat growled, kicking him away before chasing after him. Kuzuku and Goku followed, the three of them now rushing Jiren from all sides. Fists were flying from Jiren from nearly impossible angles, though, he was deflecting them with ever so increasing annoyance. His face showed it, indicating that his mind was getting at least irritated from dealing with the three of them at once. Noticing this, Kuzuku maneuvered behind him, his fist already hurling a wind shredding hook towards Jiren's head. The gray warrior huffed at this, ducking under the strike while kicking the Saiyan hard in the chin with a back kick. At the same time, he brushed off Vegeta and Goku's attack before kicking the prince to the side. By the time Kuzuku had recovered, he noticed Vegeta preparing his signature attack once more, the yellow and blue energy raging from his palms. He got ready to leap away, only to have Goku wrap his arms under his in order to hold him in place while Kuzuku leapt far enough to get next Vegeta. His hands came together, forming a red energy orb in his hand as well, "X10...!".
Vegeta's eyes grew wide, his attack now fully charge as he roared it's name, "FINAL FLASH!".
"KAMEHAMEHAAAAAAAAH!" Kuzuku shouted along with him, unleashing his energy wave as well. The yellow and red beams meshed together, the dangerous pressure destroying the pillars of rock that it passed by without so much as touching them. Jiren growled as he watched it draw closer to them. Out of spite, he broke free from Goku's stranglehold and slammed him into the ground before clenching his fist. Red blazing aura surrounded it once more, his punch increasing in strength as he punched the blast into oblivion with it's shockwave. Both Saiyans watched with shock until the shockwave hit them so hard that they were blown back a bit by the pressure.
Not too long after, Jiren kicked Goku towards them while sending an energy blast into his gut: accelerating him fast enough to ram into Kuzuku and Vegeta before it exploded. All three of them rocketed through pillar after pillar, their speed only coming to a complete stop when they crashed into a thicker one. The impact left a huge crater on the side, the smoke diminishing to reveal the three Saiyans indented into it side by side. The sound of a pebble falling made them wake up from their two second nap, the pain washing over their bodies to remind them about how they got throttled in a short amount of time. Kuzuku broke his arms free from the rubble, "I've only fought this guy in less than a minute and he's already proving to be far more difficult than anyone I've met.". As just to prove his point, Jiren blew away the wall of rubble with just a flare of his Ki: walking towards them slowly as he was just taking his time.
"Tch, the bastard is still not out of breath!" Vegeta growled.
The three straightened themselves up, the rubble covering the rest of their bodies falling along the crater. Goku chuckled, amused at how strong of a fighter he was, "That's what makes him amazing, Vegeta. We both knew this wasn't going to be easy.".
"You could say that a hundred times and I'd agree with you. At least he got rid of the cramps in my hands after my fight against Barabatos." Kuzuku agreed, cracking his neck in an attempt to loosen himself up.
"Oh, you're injured? Maybe you should take a rest in the back along with Kakarot while I take Jiren on my self," Vegeta suggested coldly.
Kuzuku smirked, "Nah, I'm good. I'm far from reaching my limit.". He peered down at Jiren, his eyes burning with a desire to defeat him. His Saiyan love for battle was taking into effect, jumping down alongside his seniors to combat this overwhelming force. Now, it was a face off between the three. The heat in the air seemed to have increased, the winds growing wilder from their presence, and the ground seemingly shaking. However, despite all this, Jiren eyed Kuzuku with curious eyes.
"So, the third Saiyan has finally decided to join us...," Jiren muttered.
Kuzuku cracked his fist, the wounds from his previous battle have already closed, "Yeah, sorry it took me so long. I had to deal with your student who was being difficult. He was extremely powerful.".
"I see, I should of expected defeat from someone who lacked discipline. I should of been harder on his training so maybe he wouldn't have lost in such a pathetic way," Jiren said, his tone harsh and blatant. It seemed like he didn't care about how hard his pupil fought, nor did he even compliment him on his strength. Kuzuku was sure he notice his power spike, so why...
The young Saiyan's eyes narrowed in on him, "That's pretty harsh to say. At least have a little encouragement for him fighting so hard.". Jiren eyed him with confusion, unable to understand what he was talking about.
"Why should I? He lost, which means he was just too weak. I drilled it into his mind that strength and power is all he needed, nothing more, nothing less. He had that drive since he was young but all I did was bring it to the surface. If you lose, then that just means you were weak and that you have no choice but to get stronger on your own," Jiren theorized, his tone remaining the same throughout his explanation.
Kuzuku felt his temper start to rise, his words for some reason having an effect on him, "Are you insinuating that true strength is acquired without help or trust?". The gray warrior's facial expression didn't show any signs of denial.
"Precisely it, if you are able to shatter those connections and focus on becoming stronger, then you'll find an even greater strength than your current state. Close connections will only get in your way and may sometimes bring you to your downfall...," Jiren said, getting ready to fight as he noticed his opponents do the same.
Kuzuku eyed him dangerously, wearing to prove him wrong with not words but his fists, "If that's what you believe then I'll show you just how strong you can become when you believe in the side that goes against your ideals!". That said, the three universe 7 warriors charged in all together, the three different color Ki ramming into universe 11's strongest fighter head on. A bright light shined until a series of shockwaves erupted, revealing the four of them engaging in high speed combat. Their fists were flying at increasing speeds to overwhelm the titan's defenses. However, before they could reach that point, Jiren let out a shockwave by merely flaring his Ki: blowing them all away into three different directions. He looked around, waiting for one of them to charge back into combat. Just as expected, Kuzuku rushed in with a straight punch aimed for his chest. He sidestepped it, back fisting him in the nose before kick him hard in the stomach. While he was dazed, the gray warrior also back kicked him away and turned towards the already approaching Vegeta. Before his fist could even connect, Jiren grabbed his hand and pulled him inwards, socking him hard in the gut as he soon tossed him to the side. Now it was Goku's turn, coming in with multiple flying helicopter kicks that forced him to backpedal in order to evade it. Swiftly, Goku touched ground, using the momentum of his spinning body to hurl a chop towards the side of his neck. He blocked it, brushing it off along with two extra punches that followed. The gray warrior glanced down below, noticing that Goku was trying to aim for his legs. Cleverly, he blocked the calf kick with his shin, his arms still deflecting the Saiyans strikes that were aimed at his core. His awareness was impeccable, catching a glimpse of Kuzuku coming from behind somehow. Seeing this, he weaved under Goku's punch and reverse roundhouse kicked him across the face before kicking him away with a firm side kick. Following this, he then flip backwards, bicycle kicking the Saiyan in the back of his head before using a crescent kick to wrap his leg around his neck, slamming him to the ground in the process. His body was warming up, handstand flipping away from sensing an attack aimed at his back. Once his feet retouched ground, he was met with the fierce eyes of Vegeta who was readying an uppercut towards his chin. However, before he could even do it, the universe 11 warrior literally caught his fist before he could do it and socked him once in the jaw: the single blow soon turning into multiple punches to the face before he was sent flying with a powerful right hook. Kuzuku heard the crash from where he was laying, mentally frustrated by his opponents strength.
The Saiyan pushed himself up, swiftly going for a low sweep to trip the warrior before him. Though, he jumped over his leg, his battle senses seemingly in overdrive. Kuzuku used the motion of his kick to bring him back onto his feet, his body now throwing a flurry of punches that were blocked effortlessly. Seeing that this wasn't exactly working, he decided to go for a palm punch aimed for his gut, the amber Ki bestowing it even greater power. But the blow didn't connect as Jiren stopped it with his forearm: the impact causing a powerful shockwave. Kuzuku's eyes widened, feeling his body shift towards the ground, "He kicked my leg without me realizing it?!".
Before he knew it, he was first struck with a back fist across the face with a palm strike across his face until he was blow away by two hard punches to the chest. His feet skid backwards until he fell onto one knee coughing up blood. Jiren was about to proceed further in the beating until he noticed several energy blast fly towards him. He turned around, weave pass each of them only to notice Goku's fist nearing his face. Quickly he put up a guard, blocking the punch but failed to prevent it from pushing him back a bit. He dropped his arms slightly to see the Saiyan's moving side to side until he closed the distance. Immediately, Jiren went on to brush his heavy attacks to the side. The Saiyan started out with a low gut punch which was stopped by the grabbing of the wrist. Using his free hand, the hero of Earth hurled another punch at his face, only to have it get brushed off by the wave of Jiren's forearm. In order to not lose momentum, Goku kicked Jiren in the stomach, using his foot as a well to propel his arm free from his grasp by performing a flip on his opponent's stomach. He landed on his hands, twisting his body in order to throw a roundhouse kick at Jiren's ribs while upside down. He blocked it with his knee, a shockwave sound coming from it while he saw Goku flip onto his feet: nearly getting behind him in the process. He turned into a flurry of punches that came in a matter of seconds, his arms deflecting them and pushing them to the ground with skill. Seeing an opening, Jiren struck him with a palm strike to the chin: spinning around shortly afterwards to side kick him away. Goku groaned loudly, tumbling to the ground a couple of times as he gained new scrapes along his body. Shortly, a dark blue stream of energy shot out of the smoke and made its way towards Jiren dangerously.
"HRAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Vegeta roared, firing a barrage of Ki blasts while rushing at him. Jiren sighed, turning his back to him before disappearing from his sights. The prince stopped in shock, his blast hitting nothing but an afterimage. He didn't have much time to think about it since Jiren was already in front of him in no time. His fist turned red, socking Vegeta across the face left and right before ramming his fist into his gut. The prince gagged, losing some oxygen in the process until the sight of a blazing red fist sent him flying through a boulder once more. Jiren huffed, already sensing Kuzuku come from behind and try to kick him in his skull. It was useless as he sidestepped his strike easily and punished him with another punch to the stomach. Kuzuku levitate in the air for a moment, pain clearly visible on his face. Before he knew it, Jiren punched him twice in the stomach, uppercutting him immediately after before socking him twice across the face. The moment the sound of Kuzuku's feet touching ground was heard, the gray warrior bashed him hard in his chest again and sent him flying into rubble with a barrage of invisible energy blasts that came from his eyes. His shining red eyes simmered, now looking around to see that Goku was getting up from the blow he just took while Vegeta was walking back into the field. His face was deadpanned, the sound of Kuzuku coming out of the rubble not changing his expression.
"Come...," Jiren muttered.
The cockiness and confidence emitting off him made the prince angry, his aura flaring as he got ready to charge, "You don't have to tell us that, bastard!".
He rushed in with a flurry of punches that didn't meet their mark in the end as Jiren weaved under his punches with little movement. Kuzuku followed up from behind, hoping to get a blow in but Jiren seemed to be quick enough to not only grab Vegeta by the arm and sock in the face but he also managed to turn around in time to kick away is arm while delivering six blows to his stomach and ribs. Knowing he was going to be left stun long enough, Jiren turned back towards Vegeta and gave him a few quick jabs to the face: grabbing by the head and so he could knee him in the stomach before he could stumble away. Swiftly, while the prince was left struggling with the blow he was dealt, he avoided Goku's karate chop that was aimed for his neck, punishing him with a bone breaking elbow to the stomach along with an uppercut to go with it until he grabbed his arm and tossed him at Vegeta like a human weapon. Immediately, he jumped spinning into the air, only to generate enough motion to side kick Kuzuku in the face. The young Saiyan felt his feet skid across the ground, the blow definitely causing some blood to spew out. He touched ground once more, still unimpressed by their efforts. They each straggled to their positions with Goku helping Vegeta up off the ground. All three of them then disappeared from Jiren's sight, annoying him a bit as he could still track their movements despite going at that speed.
"Impudent gnats, it's futile..." the gray warrior muttered, disappearing along with them. From afar, the whole field was littered with explosive debris erupting from the ground, signifying that the battle was growing to be intense by the minute. Everyone watched in awe, marveling the battle from afar.
"Damn, Jiren is still unaffected by their attacks despite Kuzuku being added to the mix. He's an amazing guy that's for sure," Hudo commented. Whis observed the fight as clear as day, the three unleashing a barrage of punches at Jiren collectively while the gray warrior was slowly beginning to show his annoyance to it. He smirked, feeling that there might be nothing to worry about but things could still go south if they aren't careful.
Now Moving Onto Gohan and 17's Fight With Toppo...
Gohan flipped backwards a few times as if he were trying to get away from someone. That someone would soon be revealed as Toppo as he was diving towards the Saiyan from above with folded hands. Noticing this, leaped slightly backwards to allow his sledgehammer punch to smash the ground into multiple squares. Impressed by his raw strength, Gohan was going to leap away again, however, the shattered ground delayed his jump due to the unbalanced flooring. The half-breed rattled from realizing this when he felt his foot twist in another direction. Though, he didn't have much time to dwell on it as his eyes darted towards Toppo's fist that was fast approaching his face. At this point, he thought he was going to be in for a world of hurt until he heard 17 shout from behind, "Move out of the way, Gohan!". His body reacted to his command, swiftly ducking under the pride trooper's fist and dashed over to the side as fast as possible.
"Don't think you'll escape, Son Goha-!" He shouted until a barrage of energy blasts pummeled his body. He crossed his arms to defend, his feet sliding against the ground ever so slightly as 17 was barraging him endlessly with attacks. Gohan couldn't help but marvel at the sight, the infinite Ki the android had was astounding. 17 roared, his Ki output reaching its maximum in order to guarantee that his pressure wouldn't let up. The pride trooper growled, annoyed by this as his eyes glowed yellow.
"Don't think this will be enough to hold me, universe 7!" He shouted in a long yell. His reddish aura flared, mixed with a hint of purple as he easily destroyed the barrage of 17's attacks. The two universe 7 warriors were shocked at what he had done, the sheer power leaving even Beerus slightly impressed. Toppo lowered his head to face the two warriors, his cat-like eyes glaring at them intensively, "I grow tired of this, I will use all the justice within me to send you both off! HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!".
His claim would prove to be not a bluff as his aura erupted, his hands extended outwards as two energy orbs with spiraling purple energy formed in his hands. It's wild, red electricity crackled a few times in front of him to display the eminent danger that awaits them. Gohan didn't think twice but got into his stance for a Kamehameha. His arms came together quickly to form the iconic blue orb in his hands while 17 prepared his own energy wave as well: extending his hand out in all fives with a worried expression on his face. The pride trooper huffed at their attempts to stop this attack, "Hmph, nothing you can do will stop this, there is no use running! HAAAAAAAAAH!".
In a span of seconds, the pride trooper unleash a devastating, flaming red energy wave shrouded in purple Ki at them. The ground shattered apart as it drew closer and closer, fear slightly installing itself into them but their courage overridden immediately as Gohan was the first to fire back with 17 following him, "HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!".
"PHOTON FLASH!" 17 roared, their green and blue attacks slamming into Toppo's without remorse. They struggled, the pressuring winds forcing them back inch by inch as the pride trooper continued to apply more power into the wave. The ground was slowly breaking around them as the soles on their shoes were starting to lose ground. Eventually, they got to the edge their shoes made tracks against the ground, the void wait for them both to fall into it. Toppo chuckled as victory was in his grasp.
"It ends with this! Now fall off, universe 7-GRAGGGH!" He growled, feeling an excruciating pain coming from behind. He turned around to see who would even dare to have done that, only witnessing another blast strike his back. He let out a cry of pain, the sizzling feeling faltering his attack enough so Gohan and 17 can push it back a bit. The wave of pressure from the added force nearly made him tumble over, his footing struggling to regain ground as another blast hit thigh. Finally, after some heavy breathing, he turned to see who his attacker was, revealing himself to be none other than the galactic emperor of universe 7 himself, Frieza. He growled, not saying a word as he tried to focus on the predicament in front of him.
Frieza chuckled at his inner frustrations, "Oops, did I come at a bad time for you, warrior of justice? Pardon me, but I heard of your deeds and I must see you in person...". He fired another three death beams into his back, earning some muffles of pain as a reward. He chuckled and continued to mock him some more.
"Impressive, you really do fight to the end. It sooth my heart knowing that more people like you are in the universe. I at least can sleep comfortably knowing that there are more people like you I can torture!" Frieza cackled, unleashing a barrage of endless Death Beams into the pride trooper's back. The warrior of justice groaned even louder as the pain continued to pile up, his energy wave losing strength in the process. Gohan and 17 noticed this and roared, pushing Toppo back without knowing about Frieza's meddling. Toppo felt his feet slide backwards, his resolve forcing him to maintain ground at all cost. Seeing this, Frieza stopped with the Death Beams and spread his hands wide in order to produce a more powerful attack. He grinned with sinister intent, "I think I'll put you out of your misery with this last attack. Promise me something, don't die from this okay?". In one fell swoop, the diabolical emperor fired a blood red energy wave into his back, the pain unleashing his cries of agony as his blast was inevitably consumed by the Saiyan and Android. Despite that, he remained determined: tightening his muscles as he pushed against the force in order to lessen the damage as much as he could. All he could see was the a blue light until everything exploded around him. The large explosion was destructive enough to rattle the arena with his blast wave, worrying those of universe 11 for his safety.
The dust quickly cleared, etched in trail extending as far as to the edge where 17 and Gohan were standing. They stared in awe as the warrior of justice was still standing, battered but showed enough strength to keep himself from falling. He was staring at the ground as the clothes he wore as a symbol of his justice fell off, revealing his large figure. The warrior was emotionless, his expression seemed to be hidden while Frieza vanished in front of him, his amused grin widening at the sight, "How unsettling, you look as pathetic as the tattered clothes that you hold so dear on ground. I guess it couldn't be helped as tattered clothing that is worn by someone who holds such weak justice deserves to be put in the trash bin after all.". Toppo was expressionless, not even bother to respond to his trash talking.
"Hmph, not even going to retaliate? Then I'll stop talking and proceed into knocking you off gently. How's that as a sense of mercy?" Frieza mused, chuckling at his own feign act to try and anger him some more. However, he soon realized something was off, the mood suddenly changing into an ominous warning.
Unexpectedly, Toppo clenched his fist hard, startling the emperor a bit, "Justice...it's worthless right now...I've...made up my mind!". His body grew tensing as purple aura began to shroud him dangerously. Frieza instinctively jumped over him to get away, flipping in the air a few times before landing a few meters apart from the justice warrior. He turned slowly, revealing pure glowing purple eyes that seemed to be glaring angrily into his soul.
Meanwhile, while the Goku, Kuzuku, and Vegeta were fighting Jiren: all four of them sensed the change in the air as a skyrocketing energy caught their attention. They all separated, coherently trying to figure out what was going on. The gray warrior glanced in the direction of the source of this new power, quickly realizing who it was, muttering "You've finally made up your mind, Toppo". The three Saiyans on the other hand, realized what type of energy this was as they dealt with something all too familiar before.
"You guys feel that? It's not only massive but...," Goku asked, looking at the other two Saiyans for confirmation. They both nodded, having no doubts that this energy is identical to him.
Kuzuku couldn't help but have a flash of the entity in his mind, "Yeah, there is no doubt about it. I know it's not from anyone from our team so it has to be Toppo.".
"Tch, that damn bastard was holding out on something this big huh? Well, according to you guys I guess we should of expected that much since he is a candidate for a God of Destruction. Just like Kugeki," Vegeta spat, the memory flashing that man's sinister grin.
Toppo turned towards Frieza, growling at him while his body seemed to bulge even larger. Lightning began to rage around him as a yellowish glow illuminated his surroundings as he roared while powering up. His roar soon erupted into a pillar of yellow Ki, the pulses of energy destroying anything in its path. Frieza merely stood there, his arms folded as he watched the light enveloped him. He was unimpressed, amused even since he wasn't frightened by the slightest any more. He observed his body growing darker, changing into a dark brown color while his body became more proportionate and slimmer. His eyes were closed shut as he tried to gain the power under his control, eventually making the red symbol that represented his universe appear on his chest. When the light dispersed into energy particles, his full figure was revealed to be extremely muscular, hardened as if he were made out of stone. The purple aura shrouded him, becoming clear as to what he was when he opened his eyes, the cat-like pupils becoming shrouded by his purple sclera. Gohan was shocked, panicking at the turn of events, "Not good! He's...!". Out of nowhere, Vermoud started laughing under his breath, gaining the attention of those surrounding him.
"Won't you look that, Toppo finally decided to show the results of his training," Vermoud laughed, knowing full well as to what he's become.
"Yes, it seems he's cast aside his justice and decided on focusing on survival...," Cae noted.
Zugo was confused as to what they were talking about, noticing the frustrations in Beerus's eyes. The god of destruction of universe 7 couldn't help but mutter, "Whis...". The angel already knew what he was thinking, simply nodding as he stared at Toppo's figure.
"Yes, Beerus-sama. There is no doubt about it that he's using the powers of a god of destruction. His power far surpasses Kugeki in every way," Whis confirmed. Everyone quickly understood what was going on. That form Toppo took wasn't just a mere transformation. In fact, the feeling was all too familiar to them anyways. He was using the power of a god of destruction at levels far greater than Kugeki.
Frieza stared at him before laughing at his new appearance, "I'm sorry but is that supposed to scare me? You're but the least of intimidating. I've dealt with one of your kinds before and to say, I was very disappointed.". Toppo remained impassive, only extending one hand out before uttering the words that sealed Frieza's fate.
"Hakai...!" the new god of destruction muttered, a dark purple and black orb of energy flying out of his hands in an instant.
Frieza chuckled at it, dealing with a similar technique before and merely put his hands out to stop it, "Really, this again? How boring.". The orb stopped the moment it made contact with Frieza's hands, an immense pressure raging around due to the friction between the two. Frieza cackled, believing that he stopped the attack completely in the palm of his hands like he did last time against Sidra.
"How's that? This just proves that not even the power of a god of destruction is capable of harming m-WHAT!" Frieza began to mock until suddenly the Hakai orb began to encase his arm. He started to feel the excruciating pain in his arms, struggling to pull away as he was being sucked in, telling himself numerous times "It isn't capable of beating me! Don't think that this will be enough! It's meaningless I tell you! Meaningless!". But, in no time the emperor was consumed by the blast, his body being dragged into the air as his screams of terror filled the air. The orb lingered there, symbolizing itself as a dark sun that illuminated the stadium.
Eventually, it expanded, bursting out into a white and black explosion that encased the arena with it's light. Everyone was forced to shield their eyes, as it condensed for a moment before exploded once more, this time enveloping the entire void in the process. The angels had to put up a barrier as the force grew more intense than it seemed. Once it settled down completely, everyone un-shielded their eyes to see that the void had change color again, this time becoming a space field with multiple shades of purple. They were left in shock that his Hakai alone warp the entire space into a different color with its energy alone. However, the carnage wasn't done there as the arena seemed to have been shaking violent until it literally split in half from an eruption of Ki trailing along the middle: settling down till it finally ended. Now, floating in the World of Void was the tournament stage split into two and floating rubble surrounding it. Kuzuku couldn't help but be impressed by the feat.
"Okay, maybe comparing him to Kugeki is an insult. He's just a straight up monster!" Kuzuku noted.
Gohan and 17 watched him turn his attention towards them, his impassiveness showing that he's done messing around. The android could feel the beads of sweat coming down his face, nervous at the pressure he was feeling, "So, he didn't just get stronger. He's become terrifyingly more destructive than he was before, great.".
"Tsk, you're right. If what I heard was correct then this guy is far beyond what we can deal with alone. We have to coordinate our attacks in order to fight him," Gohan planned, gaining a nod of approval from the android. He took a stance, his resolve not backing down from this fight. With incredible speeds, 17 and Gohan both dashed towards the candidate without any fear holding them back. Toppo initially took guard until he noticed them both split in opposite directions. His eyes traced them, noticing that they were both about to unleash a barrage of energy blast. Knowing this, he dropped his guard seeing that at this point, stuff like that would be futile against him. To prove it, they both unleash an energy volley of both blue and yellow Ki, each one seemingly doing nothing as Toppo merely stood there and watch them disappear before him. Noticing that their attacks were working, Gohan put an abrupt stop to his endless attacks and decided to settle for a more powerful one. His hands together, quickly forming an energy orb in his hands. With amazing footwork, Gohan took Toppo's blind spot so that he can land a direct hit, "KAMEHAMEHAAAAAAAH!".
His roar unleashed the powerful stream of energy towards his back, the blast rupturing the ground below. The candidate merely closed his eyes, point his hand towards the wave while he was still getting bombarded by 17.
"It's useless, Hakai!" Toppo muttered, creating a sphere of destruction out of nothing and used it as a shield. The wave collided into the blast, only to be shredded into nothingness through contact alone. Gohan's eyes widen through surprise seeing that one of his best attacks was beaten so easily. Toppo then pushed the sphere forward, destroying the wave completely while also hurling it towards the half-breed. Remembering what happened to Frieza when he tried to take the attack head on, Gohan slid to right, allowing the wave to pass without so much as touching it. The sphere destroyed the rubble behind him but for some reason, despite it's direction initially going straight. This didn't go unnoticed, the half-breed only thinking of one thing. After coming to a conclusion, he went back on the offensive and started running around Toppo so he wouldn't have an easy target: placing his hands in front of his forehead to prepare another attack. His hands glowed yellow electricity as he got ready to fire, "SUPER MASENKO!".
He thrust his hands forward, unleashing a powerful yellow and orange beam of energy as it collided into Toppo's body. This only confirmed his suspicions as continued to run around him while keeping up the pressure, "17! Don't let up, he may have gotten far stronger than before but he doesn't have full control of the power he holds! He needs time to charge up for those sphere of destruction!".
"If you say so then I am most certainly up for the job. HAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" 17 shouted, unleashing his maximum output without worry. The pressure intensified, the attacks somewhat holding Toppo down in that one spot.
Beerus smirked, impressed by their strategy, "Goku's son is something to behold of himself. He quickly understood that Toppo needed time to charge his Hakais and planned a counter strategy in no time. But, attacks like those won't be able to damage him, which means he's...".
"Yes, he's trying to stall until the timer runs out. He's placing his hopes on Goku-san and the others to hold off Jiren while they deal with Toppo," Whis said, finishing his sentence.
Hearing this, Vermoud got up from his seat to yell at his candidate for destruction, "Toppo, just what are you doing?! It's about time that you started to fight back!". His loud tone was enough to wake Barabatos from his nap, his eyes opening to the image of the god of destruction candidate. He smirked, finally being able to see the power that Toppo had been hiding from him before.
Toppo's eyes glistened as he roared loudly, his Ki flaring to the point where the pressure alone was able to completely diminish their barrage. He turned his leg towards 17, dashing towards him so fast that he didn't even have time to react as he was punched hard in the gut. He gagged as he flew through the row of pillars lined up for him. Gohan gasped with worry, "17!".
The moment he said that, Toppo had already appeared in front of him: his Saiyan instincts already forcing his body to put up a guard against his barrage of punches. He groaned, feeling the limpness in his arms starting to weigh him down. Eventually, he saw an opening to escape and dashed to the side in order to get some breathing room. But, Toppo was too fast as he caught up to him quickly. Their eyes met, each one staring into the other. Gohan couldn't help but grit his teeth out of frustration, his fist clenching as he was getting ready to engage.
"So I can't escape you, huh? Well, then I'll just have to fight you the old fashion way!" Gohan roared, his body stopping suddenly as his fist flew towards Toppo's chest. The candidate did the same, his large fist picking up speed as well until they met midway. The shockwave ripped itself through the ground, digging a deeper crater for the two to stand on. Gohan's eyes showed a clear struggle as his arm was shaking to win control, the sleeves on his Gi ripping from the increasing force. Toppo huffed at his attempt, shouting shortly as he applied more power into his punch. Gohan's eyes widen from the sudden change in force that would send him flying into the air. He let out a cry of pain, his arm nearly crushed from the applied pressure. While he was in the air, Toppo vanished above him and sledgehammer him to ground hard. His body bounced off the floor leaving a cracks beneath him until Toppo stomped him into the ground. The half-breed howled in agony, his screams settling down to somber. Toppo kept him down by his foot until he felt an energy blast hit him in the back of his head. He was about to turn around until a barrage of more energy blast followed with it. He watched them get erased before his eyes while also noticing 17 who was circling him again, "You didn't learn from last time, did you?". He was about to take a step forward until Gohan kicked his leg off balance and rolled away from under his foot. Once he got into a good amount of distance, he decided to try a different approach.
"17, we gotta make our movements harder to read otherwise he'll chase us down!" Gohan suggested. 17 nodded, the two now leaping onto each of the rocks surrounding them before using them to circling him similar to how Kakunsa would. In seconds, the candidate was hit with an onslaught of more energy blasts from all directions, though he only stood there and watched as they were being erased all around him. Toppo's eyes began tracking their movements carefully, noticing how they changed them up in a short amount of time and trying to figure out the pattern as fast as possible. Once he did, he premeditated: rushing towards the spot where 17 was going to be before he could even get there himself. However, the android noticed this, pausing himself mid-air as Toppo rammed his fist into the pillar he was going for next and shattered it in one go.
"He figured out the pattern and rhythm to our movements that quickly?!" Gohan panicked. 17 sucked his teeth and fired an energy wave to propel himself upwards in an attempt to get away, however, Toppo had already leapt on top of another pillar with his fingers pointing towards him, "Justice Flash!".
17 nearly went pale from the barrage of energy blasts rushing towards him, his instincts already telling him to put up a barrier in which he did. However, as the blasts splattered hard against his barrier, he noticed how much stronger his energy blast truly got until his shield shattered before his very eyes. Using the force that had blown him backwards, he twisted his body in order to avoid a direct hit, landing on one of the floating rocks in order to use it as a shield instead. The moment he saw this, Toppo turned his aim on Gohan: the half-breed already dashing towards him in the process. Gohan watched him fire his Justice Flash at him, his body and mind steering itself to the left in order to temporarily get out of the way until he dash again, this time closing the distance with a single step. He aimed for his calf muscle first, kicking it so he'd be off balance enough to drop his guard, though, Toppo just simply used his other arm to hold himself up right enough to side kick him in the stomach. Gohan groaned as he was sent flying towards rubble, flipping himself as blood leaked out of his mouth. He didn't have time to wipe it away as the first thing he saw was a sphere of destruction orb rushing towards him, forcing him to leap above it in order to let it pass by. However, Toppo read this and predetermined where he was going to flee to next and kicked him hard across the face without him being aware of him. The half-breed rocketed like a missile, impacting the ground so hard that it shattered the surface into squares before exploding due to pressure. The smoke covered his status as the candidate landed on the ground once more, waiting patiently to see if the half-Saiyan was down for the count or not. That was until he felt a familiar type of energy blast hit his destruction aura from behind, the beam disintegrating as usual.
"So, you survived that attack without getting eliminated? Impressive," Toppo muttered, turning towards the owner of the energy blast. His tail slapped the ground, revealing himself to be Frieza who had numerous scars on his body, his breathing heavy and his left eye weak from absolute exhaustion. In his state, he looked like he couldn't continue fighting.
He growled, infuriated at the warrior of justice who inflicted the damage onto him, "So what you're a equivalent to a god of destruction? I'll destroy just like how your worthless title implies you bastard!". Toppo merely turned to him, his face remained unthreatened by the enraged emperor.
"Just what can you do in your feeble state? At this point you are making empty threats in order to blow away some fumes. I'll indulge you and allow you to come at me with everything you got left," Toppo said coldly, his face showing no signs of interest but rather wanting to beat the arrogance out of him.
Frieza laughed, raising his hands into the air as a sun-like energy ball formed between them, "Ohohohohoh, you will regret that you'd ever cross me! I'll destroy you with the power to destroy a solar system a thousand times over in an instant! You're the one with nowhere to run!". The energy ball grew larger, it's pressure weighing Frieza deeper into the ground. At this point he looked insane, almost as if rage had completely taken over his rationality. Toppo didn't even bother, merely closing his eyes as he waited for him to just throw the damn thing.
"What rubbish, especially when you know exactly what your up against," Toppo muttered.
"Now, disappear!" Frieza roared, throwing the sun-like orb at Toppo with visible anger on his face. Toppo merely stood their with a tiny sphere of destruction in his hand, Without hesitation, he balled his hand into a fist and flicked it into the blast, vaporizing it into nothing back harmless particles. The emperor watched with pure disbelief, his eyes shaking from the sight. In no time, the wave became nothing, revealing Toppo to be causally standing there without a single bit of damage dealt to him.
Before Frieza could even react, Toppo rushed at him with frightening speed, his enormous body bestowing absolute fear in Frieza's eyes. Without mercy, he rammed his fist into the villain's gut, earning some hard gags as he coughed out blood from the blow. His eyes contorted with pain nearly fading into complete white until the candidate of destruction grabbed him by the face and rammed him through a pillar: slamming him hard against the ground. His eyes glared at him and his twitching body, lifting him up by his head as he squeezed hard enough to earn his screams of torture. He didn't look the least sympathetic for his situation, "A power to destroy a solar system a thousand times over? That's nothing against me even before I used this power. I could have easily destroyed you with that Hakai blast earlier but that would mean I would of been disqualified.". He squeezed harder, the screams coming from Frieza intensifying significantly until it became but a faint whimper.
"What did you say before again? Trash belongs in the trash bin, was it not?" Toppo asked, dropping him to the ground like a used up wash cloth. Frieza shivered in pain as he lay on the ground while waiting for his demise. Harshly, Toppo kicked him hard in the gut, rocketing him into the air as he crashed through numerous pillars of debris before tumbling all over the ground, rolling until he reaches the edge of the stage. His body lingered there until he inevitably fell off, unassumingly indicating that he's been eliminated instead he merely just feel on top of a cliff below the stage. Unaware of this, Toppo could sense he was still there, annoyed that he didn't completely fall off and decided to walk towards the edge of the ring in order to finish the job.
He continued his march towards him for about thirty seconds until he felt an energy blast hit him from behind. He turned noticing the android standing there with an emotionless expression while he dusted off his hands, "Now where do you think you're going?".
"Don't you see that it is pointless to fight me?" Toppo asked, his sense of justice still trying to stir him away from pummeling the android into the ground. 17 clenched his fist, powering up to his maximum to give a clear indication of his resolve.
"Sorry, but we don't really understand the concept of giving up just yet," 17 retorted.
Gohan stirred against the ground next to him, groaning as he felt his muscles torture him with cramps, "17, do-don't do this! He's too strong to engage right now!". Toppo closed his eyes, raising his hand into the air to generate a larger energy blast that was far bigger than Frieza.
"So be it, I'll knock you both off in an instant. Just like how it was supposed to be before," Toppo proclaimed, danger filling his voice. Without a second thought, 17 formed the strongest barrier he could put up at the moment while also wrapping one around the half-breed. He looked back at Gohan, giving him a reassuring smirk.
"I know that, Son Gohan. But, leaving someone who is supposed to be my comrade behind isn't like me. Hmph, I think it was the same for 16...I-I like that human that is," 17 said before turning his focus back on Toppo.
The god of destruction admired his will to fight, only silently closing his eyes as he decided to put an end to it, "Now, fall off with your pride intact!". He unleashed the energy ball at the two, the android bracing himself for impact as Gohan watched with worry and shock. Once it met his barrier, the immense pressure became absolutely clear to him that he didn't have the strength to keep it up but as long as he can buy Gohan a little time then it was worth it. He groaned loudly, the force pushing his body back as the sleeves on his arms began to tear. Just when he was feeling comfortable from holding the blast despite nearly slipping numerous times, another gust of wind hit him out of nowhere: his barrier beginning to crack little by little. He fell to one knee, still holding on as much as possible despite knowing it was inevitable.
Gohan stared helplessly at the android, the feeling of uselessness bringing him back to memories of his childhood, "Again, I couldn't win...I wasn't able to do a thing. I was useless...Damn it! Did I not progress from last time. Why does someone always have to sacrifice themselves for me?! Damn it!".
Gohan balled his hands into a fist, pushing against the ground as he tried to get up. His aura flared white for a moment before turning into now a lavender purple, the gray electricity raging all around him as if it were a spiral. His body was slowly but surely gaining strength as he rushed forcefully broke through 17's barrier and rushed to his aid. Everything was happening in slow motion, the barrier shattering as 17 was getting engulfed in the blast. His eyes widened along with his mind starting to race over one hundred miles per hour. However, it all came to a singularity, one thought and action coming to his mind, "Save him...otherwise it'll be just like 16…." .
The moment that thought passed, the explosion happened, blinding everyone with it's light. When they uncovered their eyes, all they were met with was the giant cloud of smoke that extended far above the time itself. They all watched in horror, worried that they were critically injured or worse. Piccolo couldn't help but stand from his, shouting out his pupil's name in hopes that he will get a signal, "GOHANNNNNN!".
His echoes reached the end of the void before it returned to nothing. He clenched his fist in frustration, now believing that there was no way they could have survived that. All they could do was wait for them to fly out of the smoke since they doubted that Toppo would actually kill them. But, the waiting took forever. They were all confused, now fearful of the fact that he actually did do it.
"Don't tell me...?" Zugo muttered, looking around to see whether or not they've teleported or not. Nothing, absolutely nothing was there. He growled, feeling a bit of anger towards the candidate if he really did kill them. When he turned to glare at him, his face soon morphed back to perplexity as the god of destruction candidate seemed to be bewildered by something towards his left.
"What's he looking at?" 21 wondered, noticing his expression as well. Piccolo soon caught on as well, turning his attention towards the direction where he was facing. His eyes went wide, unable to fathom the power he was sensing himself. It was similar but also different, his mind not quite believing it despite the facts presented before him. He was at a lost, so much that he didn't notice both Old Kai and Supreme Kai stand up in disbelief. The elder looked closer, using his enhanced vision to get a clearer view so he can confirm it, "I don't believe it. He actually managed to pull it off!". Beerus eyed the old man, seeking answer immediately.
"What do you mean by that, old fart?" Beerus asked.
Old Kai didn't bother giving him the eye, only staring at the sight before him, "Before this tournament, the boy came to me seeking advice on getting stronger. I told him that he had to access a power deep within himself that was far from my own reach. But, this is something I didn't expect.". The smoke started to clear slowly, revealing the flowing, torn Gi along with ripped pants: a lavender Ki flickering around him while a grayish-purple electric aura coated the body. Below him was 17 who was passed out after suffering major damage from being engulfed in the blast.
"A mutation? No, more like a combination. His Ki has morphed into something similar to that of a Kai but also contains Saiyan attributes. But, how is that possible?" Shin wondered, cupping his chin as he began to think.
The Old Kai couldn't help but smirk, "It must of been from that ritual I did on him a while back. It really wasn't just for mortals but also it was used to find and recruit new Kais into the ranks of Supreme. I didn't think it was possible and it was only in theory but if gods of destruction can train mortals to have the power of a destruction god then in vice versa, this may be the very first time a mortal has trained to have the power of a Grand Supreme Kai!".
As he said that, the smoke fully cleared to reveal Gohan's new form. His body was laced with gray, glowing markings resembling a saber tooth. It traced his pectoral with what seemed to be three claw markings while his abdominal had to long claw markings going upwards while in the center of his stomach was a diamond. Adding to this, his chest bore the universe 7 symbol in the center and horizontally, a rectangular line passed through the center of his palms. His eyes were similar to that of a Super Saiyan 3 but gray in color like his eyebrows. As for the half-breeds hair, it seemed to have grown long, similar to that of a Super Saiyan 4 instead he had two long bangs draping over his forehead. He was topless, turning his battered body that was leaking blood from its wounds toward Toppo: his expression steel and showing strength. His Ki flared, revealing more power than it initially let on. Everyone covered their faces from the raging winds emitted until it settled down, leaving Old Kai even more impressed. Whis smirked, finally figuring out where all this power was coming from, "This form, it's not just a combination of the Ki of a Supreme Kai and Super Saiyan abilities but also his Ultimate Form that unlocks his potential. This must mean that by transforming into this state, he's not only gain a power increase but now he's finally gain access to a deeper potential with in him that not even you could see, Old Kai-sama.".
Gohan carefully lifted the unconscious 17 and placed him on the side of a rock where it was safe. Once he made sure he was comfortable, his eyes glared at Toppo, "Let's go, Toppo...We both have something we are fighting for and we know that there is no avoiding this. But, I won't sit here and allow someone to get hurt because I wasn't strong enough. I can't throw away my will to try and protect them just like you did to your codes of Justice...". Toppo stared at the Saiyan, the last part of his speech getting to him.
"That so...then I'll show you how meaningless it is to believe in anything else right now but survival," Toppo declared, his voice laced with danger. Their eyes glared into each other, neither daring to look away as a means to show how serious they were.
A/N: Fair warnings, the last few chapters are packed heavy for the sake of lessening chapter space. There are only three chapters left for this arc before it comes to an end. Also, I've had a pretty neat SSJ4 design that I have no clue to do with. Perhaps I can use it later down the road if I ever make another grade or something to compete with KKX20 or Blue Evolution. For now, it'll be in the air...for now...