180 minutes left...

"Damn it, what's taking them so long?"

"We have to leave for the Tournament any moment now."

"Yeah, I know, I know."

Both Sidra and Roh were beginning to feel some doubt in their minds about taking Quitela's advice, but then again, the mouse had literally sent spies to every single universe and got accurate reports so if they declined, his team would have known what they could accomplish, on the other hand, Goku and Frieza were both much too powerful of an adversary for anyone of their team to defeat.

"Don't worry," assured Honest, chomping on a slab of meat. "As much as it pains me to say so myself, Akame is an incredibly skilled assassin and there are few who are on par with her skills, and considering the fact she can kill whoever she touches, as well as the humble Run assisting her along with my son and his team, Goku and Frieza will soon be but a distant memory, and victory for us will be assured."

Mohito personally didn't really care, either way, he was content. "I can only imagine what would happen should we lose two valuable keys to the door that is triumph. If they were to be defeated, we would be short of two, and Grand Zeno will wipe us out on the spot."

"You're worrying too much, there is no problem," Honest assured. "All you have to do is resurrect them again."

"Well, yeah but in order to do that, they have to be killed first, which is what we're betting against. Plus, some of them are already dead so if they're obliterated again, they ceased to exist completely," the bearded Destroyer sighed, as their crystal ball began to glow a bright lime catching the attention of all.

"Ooh, finally! They must be done!" exclaimed Sidra in relief, hoping that was the case, co... wait, why was there a purple cat?

There's no way...

The deities of the Ninth paled.

"Oh, good evening, Sidra," Beerus sarcastically greeted. "Surprisingly, I actually thought these assassins were sent by Quitela, I never saw you as the type to play so low and dirty."

"That's quite an interesting story, but what proof do you have?" taunted Roh.

"Oh, I think the Energy of Destruction your henchmen used on Frieza will be evidence enough, as well as the fact one of your friends named Run admitted it himself."

Beads of sweat were dripping down the sides of both the Destroyer and the Supreme Kai's foreheads, as the former attempted to ease the tension, but he already knew they were the ones who commissioned the attack on two of their strongest fighters. "Beerus, I can absolutely assure you that was for an entirely unrelated matter-"

"Don't even bother," he cut off, a dark gleam present in his onyx orbs to match his low tone. "I don't plan on being a tattletale and informing Grand Zeno about this, all I'm curious about is why you thought it was a good idea to send members of your team to come and kill Goku while being very ill-prepared, despite knowing just how strong he is."

Damn it...

Damn it. Damn it! DAMN IT!

"You had better find two more members quickly…" Beerus darkly teased in a sing-song voice, before returning to a ruinous voice. "Or else you won't get a chance to survive before the Tournament even begins."

The call ended then and there as Beerus crushed the communicator in his grip.

They knew unless they got two more, they were done for.

160 minutes left...

They managed to move things along quickly, finding out they had only three hours before the Tournament officially commenced. They had quickly disposed of Honest sending him back to the depths of Hell, and went on to find Wave and Tatsumi, who had just finished working on a new technique that could ultimately be their personal trump card if they were to ever work together. It apparently took them six months to perfect and they had gotten it all down, but there were some backsides to it.

Mohito had taken the boys to Hell to find some suitable replacements, one of them being in Hell, a former member of the Jaegers named Bols, who quite frankly was very friendly, but he was still to go through his sentence, which was complete solitude, where he was placed in a deserted part of Hell, all sorts of communication cut off from everyone, everything.

He knew he deserved a punishment such as this, he was forgotten in the eyes and minds of all, left to reflect on his sins, but there were still two people he would have given anything just to be with again, that being his loving wife and daughter.

"Bols! Over here!"

He heard it... but he didn't want to believe it!

Was he hallucinating? Was this actually a voice other than his own? Had he actually heard words that didn't come out of his own masked lips?

What's more shocking was he recognized this voice from somewhere!

"Wow... you look like you've seen better days," whistled Wave. Even behind the mask, he knew what his former ally was feeling and all of those that were bottled up deep inside.

"I... I-I... I don't know what to say..." He actually didn't, he wasn't prepared for anything like this, nor did he ever expect it to happen.

"Well, my being here is only beginning."

150 minutes left...

After everything was explained to Bols, even the fact his family was dead, they decided to give him time to process everything while Mohito and Tatsumi took a trip to Heaven, to look for one more member.

"Well... I always thought Heaven would just be whatever we wanted it to be, but I guess this is a bit beautiful," sighed Tatsumi, gazing around the many varieties of flowers, and the butterflies looming around it.

Then, Tatsumi saw a few people even when their backs were turned, he was able to recognize them. If it was his younger, immature and mentally weaker self, he would have burst into tears just seeing them, but he kept his composure, even though he was slightly shaking, proceeding towards them steadily with the Angel following behind, able to hear in on the current conversation, able to see them from a distance, enjoying a nice picnic to themselves.

A girl with short blond hair and two long tuffs. "But Beorgen is barely any fun these days, that's for sure."

The 100 Man-Slayer of Night Raid. "What do you expect, he's like the girl version of Akame, but isn't an assassin or is socially awkward, he's just so serious all the time, and with King Kai always-"

A young man with shoulder-length green hair that covered his left eye. "I'd love it if you didn't mention him, please. Plus, aren't there already like four of them?"

A slender yet curvaceous woman with long purple hair and purple eyes. "Well I for one, think she's quite humorous and I enjoy her company."

Finally, a girl with pale skin, auburn hair and red eyes, who noticed Tatsumi's arrival. "Hey, guys, look who's here!"

The four of them turned to see two people, only recognizing one of them, a weird blue-skinned guy with a ring around his neck, and the other?

Tatsumi in the flesh! And without a halo!

"You guys..." he muttered, still hardly able to believe he was talking to them, his past friends and mentors. An arm wrapped around his neck, almost suffocating him, as Leone snuggled up against Tatsumi, pushing his head towards her breasts, before he broke free and waved his hands around frantically.

"NONONONO! I HAVE A WIFE AND DAUGHTER, I HAVE A WIFE AND DAUGHTER, I HAVE A WIFE AND DAUGHTER!"

It then blew into an all out pointless argument.

"YOU STUPID BASTARD! IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE ME AND YOU, HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO ME?!"

"YOU'RE DEAD! WHAT DO YOU EXPECT FROM ME?!"

"WELL EXCUSE ME, EVER HEARD OF A LITTLE SOMETHING CALLED LOYALTY?!"

"I DON'T REMEMBER PROMISING YOU JACK SHIT AB-"

It ended, with Lubbock bonking both of them on their heads and ferociously grabbed their necks as they begun chocking dangerously, before he released them seconds later.

"You know, I expected this to happen, and at the same time, I didn't," Lubbock exasperatedly sighed, retracting his threads back as Tatsumi and Leone slightly glared at the green-haired pervert before they breathed in and out to relax themselves, then calmly exchanging helloes.

"So, I noticed you're not crying like a big baby anymore from seeing us after half a decade," Leone teased, remembering how emotionally weak Tatsumi used to be.

"Well, when you've been doing the stuff I've been doing for all these years, it kinda matures ya," Tatsumi replied, unfazed by Leone's little game to get a reaction from him.

Chelsea giggled. "So guess what, we all watched what happened when we were dead, you turning into that dragon thing because of Incursio? Man, I had an adrenaline rush that day!"

Mohito quickly interrupted, clearing his throat to gain the attention of the Night Raid group. "As pleasant as this is, Tatsumi, you may only choose one of your former allies to be the final member. Decide wisely."

In the end, Bols and Leone had been selected and Sidra and Mohito had begun explaining the rules of the Tournament to them, as well as the prizes and stakes. Their Imperial Arms were returned to them and although they voiced their concerns about killing, the Destroyer eased their worries with reminding the pair of the levels of strength they'll be facing, so using their full power wasn't going to be of any immense danger.

As for their training regimen? Sidra fighting them nonstop as Mohito healed them constantly, hoping for them to improve during battle.

140 minutes left...

Before the Tournament began, the competitors from each of their respective universes were allowed some time to themselves before the big event started.

In the Second Universe, Toriko and the majority of his team were dining on a huge feast on the Sacred World of the Kai's to fill themselves up. Starjun, Midora and Joa were the only one's who didn't attend, as they preferred to keep training until the designated time of departure. Everyone seemed to be in quite a jolly mood, but Komatsu, which Toriko noticed as he sat next to him.

"You're scared, aren't you?"

Komatsu said nothing, only staring at the plates of food that laid in front of him, and laid his head down against the wooden table.

"I don't really blame you, I expected at least one of us to be afraid."

Komatsu sighed in despair. "The Tournament starts in less than three hours and I'm so stressed that I can't even cook! How do you manage to be so fearless in the face of something as life threatening as this?!"

Toriko chuckled. "Don't get us so down in the dumps, we've technically been preparing for ten years, so it's been a while since we stopped worrying."

Komatsu chuckled along with his friend, as he rummaged under his clothes, before handing Toriko a knife. "You guys are amazing, you know that? So I want you to take this. Weapons are allowed, so we'll never know what to expect from the other universes."

Toriko grimaced. "I don't like to fight with stuff like this."

"Please, I insist," Komatsu retorted. "We're a duo, a team, and I want to fight by your side, no matter what."

He didn't even bother trying to act surprised, as Toriko smiled at his life long friend before taking the knife from his slim hands. "Man, you really know how to get to me, don't you..."

120 minutes left...

One punch after another.

Another punch after another.

Another punch after another.

The cycle went on as over seventy robots surrounded Luffy had been utterly dismembered, destroyed and one-shotted by the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates, as only two or three of them were still operating functionally, relaying the battle in their implanted supercomputers to find any room for improvement.

They couldn't find anything... any more improvement for Luffy was strictly impossible.

He smirked and clenched a fist. "Now, I'm ready."

100 minutes left...

"Master..." said. Genos, wiping the furniture with a rag.

For the past few days, his teacher had just been watching some random shows on television without a care in the world, as if the Tournament was only for sport and not decided the fate of their existences.

"How do you manage to remain so relaxed? Are you not afraid that you'll face defeat?"

Saitama turned his head around. "Do you think I'm gonna lose?"

"No, of course not, I would never suggest something so preposterous! It's just… to save an entire universe, I can't stop thinking about the outcome if we-"

"See, that's what needs to stop," Saitama cut off his student, the cyborg turning to him in confusion, as he turned off the TV, and stood up to face him, all dressed up in his costume.

Genos was confused. "What needs to stop?"

"All this... you keep thinking of the bad things, how's that gonna help you at all? If you keep thinking you'll lose, you won't be able to pay attention if you're fighting. Just make sure your head is always in the fight, pretend as if we aren't gonna die, how about that? Makes sense enough? I kinda copied that speech from a video game so I know that ain't the best thing, but maybe that'll help you."

Genos contemplated over Saitama's words and processed them before he smiled, seeing and knowing his master was being honest about all this.

"So, wanna take a quick jog before we leave?"

80 minutes left...

"TO FAIRY TAIL!"

They all followed after Makarov.

"TO FAIRY TAIL!"

They all began to drink and feast.

Jura had gone to Lamia Scale, while Jellal and Cobra had gone where no one really knew. And for the members of Fairy Tail, they had all returned to the guild, waiting for the tournament to start.

Sitting on the bar counter, Kusu had a drink in his hand and just watched the warriors savor a moment of bliss, before heading to the void world. Still, each of them was partying, as if being back here made them forget the fear they might feel once in front of the other teams.

60 minutes left...

Sidra's ears picked up the sound of feet taps, as he finished meditating, and got up from the ground, knowing Mohito, Roh and everyone from his team was behind him.

The Destroyer spoke, turning around. "I hope you all know the trip to the Null Realm will take a while, so if there is anything to say, I highly advise speaking up now."

The deceased, barbarous sadist was resisting the urge to spill blood early in the game. "My eyes are waiting to feast on the real Goku and Top."

Wave stretched his arms to the side a few finals times. "I'll confess, I'm a bit scared, and excited."

Leone pounded her fists together. "I don't care if I really am a substitute, I ain't goin' down easily, you can bet on that."

All of the others agreed, Sidra and Roh hoping for the best.

"We're counting on you all... save our universe!"

50 minutes left...

The Saiyan Prince's feet tapped against the ground impatiently, almost as anxious as his teammates as he and the other members of Team Universe Seven waited for the arrival of Goku and Frieza since Beerus and Whis decided something was taking too long and went to collect the two themselves, especially since they sensed something peculiar in the air.

It didn't take too long for them to arrive, with some extra unconscious individuals in tow, in between Beerus' arms, both of them tied up.

Appearing in front of the rest of the team, Frieza and Goku had appeared, with injuries.

"Dad? What happened?" wondered Gohan.

Krillin added on. "Yeah, we've been waiting for you guys forever, it's almost time to go!"

Beerus sighed, throwing the tied up Akame and Run in front of the team. "You can blame them."

"Apparently, the Destroyer of the Ninth Universe went as far as to send fighters from his own team along with hundreds of assassins to eliminate Goku and Frieza in hopes of getting our universe erased before the Tournament," explained Whis, wondering how his own brother must be thinking of this.

"Wow..." Android 18 sighed. "I didn't think the Gods would be so petty."

Goku was actually impressed by their strength, he had been forced to enter a state that rivaled Lord Beerus' own power, but obviously that girl he fought was taken out in one or two punches, but he remembered the Grand Minsiter saying the Ninth Universe had the lowest mortal level, and he automatically assumed that was in terms of strength, but maybe he was wrong. Looks like it was meant in another way.

Bulma raised an eyebrow. "Okay, but why did you bring them to my place?"

Beerus wasn't so pleased either. "It's Goku who didn't want me to kill them. According to him, far too many people had died because of Frieza."

Vegeta smirked, looking at his former boss. "Compared to before, the opponents that Frieza can kill are becoming rare, it's normal that they want to have fun with second-class fighters who are more or less at their level."

Frieza, for once, not wanting to anger Beerus, didn't make a snarky comeback, but he was quickly annoyed by the nervous Supreme Kai who wanted to ease any tension. "Alright everyone, now that we're all finally in one spot, let's discuss our strategy for winning the Tournament."

"There's nothing more to discuss. We down the strongest fighters as soon as we can, that's our strategy," the aristocratic Saiyan snarked. While this was his answer, he was obviously well aware of the stakes, Trunks, Bulla and Bulma would be eliminated, right alongside the rest of the Seventh Universe if they lost.

Gohan replied. "It's not that simple. Look, I know we all have complicated relationships with each other, but if we're gonna win, we're gonna have to do it would good old fashioned teamwork."

Goku agreed with his eldest son. "Gohan's right. We're going up against eighty warriors, and they're all bound to be super strong."

Frieza found this a but humorous as he giggled out loud, vexing Vegeta so. "Leave it to my old slave to cut to the heart of the matter, we're both of the same opinion on this."

To counter, Vegeta, reluctantly, decided to listen to the strategy, much to the Kai's relief. "Just say it already, since all of you are so desperate, I'll listen."

Shin smiled, before going on. "As you know, the Tournament of Power's a battle royale between team from nine distinct universes. It's important you conserve your strength, so form up in a group right away. When enemies approach, fight as a team, avoid all duels, if one enemy wants to fight, two of you should engage, and if it's two enemies, then three of you should counter."

He didn't take notice in some of the faces that looked like they didn't really care for the rules much, both of the Androids and Frieza were perfect examples, and even Goku spoke out of the simple fact of having a fair fight. "Uh, avoiding one-on-one fights is kinda cowardly."

Vegeta agreed with the other full-blooded alien. "Yeah, you forget that we Saiyans are a proud warrior race, we don't rely on numbers to win our fights."

"I DON'T CARE IF IT'S AN HONORABLE FIGHT OR NOT! ALL THAT MATTERS IS THAT WE WIN!" the outraged Destroyer screamed in the ears of the Saiyans present.

Now they knew there was going to be some trouble amongst themselves. Goku and Vegeta couldn't ignore their Saiyan blood, so they would obviously fight based on instinct rather than logic. Even with this assumption, there was still everyone else to work with, albeit a few others wouldn't be as cooperative also.

To make a long story short, Beerus hoped to prevent anyone from fighting alone, but he couldn't actually enforce it.

This was going to go horribly wrong the moment the Tournament started and he knew it all too well.

Looks like they had to hope for the best, as Whis began waving a red flag with the number '7' on it calling on all of them incredibly enthusiastically. "Alright, Team Seventh Universe, it's time to go to the Null Realm! If it isn't a problem, I'd like everyone to join hands, and form a circle."

Obviously, Vegeta had absolutely zero approval of this idea, forming some sort friend circle with Frieza, as he watched everyone hold hands. Gohan was holding Piccolo's right hand, Piccolo was holding Tien's, Tien was next to Android 17, who was next to Android 18, followed by Krillin, Master Roshi, Old Kai, Supreme Kai, Beerus, Whis, Goku, and finally Frieza who only held on to Goku's wristband.

Vegeta was still in denial.

"Are you planning on joining us, Vegeta? We can't leap away until we all form a circle," Whis called out.

Before Vegeta could continue, Beerus already knew what was in the Saiyan's mind, as he quickly moved over to Frieza and held his hand. "How's that, are ya happy now?"

He could at least accept this, as he walked to hold hands with the Destroyer and Goku.

"Wait!" Bulma exclaimed, frightened while she remained alone with Yamcha. "What about these two?! What are you going to do with them?"

"What else? Just leave them here for the time being!" Beerus snarked, quite frankly getting tired of answering all of these pointless queries. "Once we win, there's a chance they'll disappear, or maybe they won't. Don't know, don't care."

Then, looking to the moonlight night, Whis called out to the blank open space, speaking to his father and referring to him by his renown title. "Greetings, Grand Minister. The warriors of the Seventh Universe have assembled and are ready for transit."

"Stand by, please," the more mature voice called out, as a giant, glowing white and blank circle enveloped them, a quaint rainbow shadowing it as they were all lifted into the sky, as everyone took one last look on their beloved Planet Earth.

Tien stared out at the mountains, where his students and Chiaotzu resided.

Krillin, 17 and 18 looked towards the island where the male Android worked as a park ranger, where Marron, the child of Krillin and 18 was.

Master Roshi got a good look at the ocean, but still couldn't see his secluded home as they rose up.

Piccolo had his eyes gazed up where the Lookout was, knowing Dende and Mr. Popo would manage without him.

Goku and Gohan took a final look towards their homes, where their families, Chi-Chi, Videl and Pan lived, the full-blood thinking of the island as well, where his youngest son, Goten was.

As for Vegeta, he took one last look at his beloved mate Bulma, before they all disappeared in a brilliant white glow, bound for the Null Realm, as she, Yamcha, Puar and Oolong just watched, knowing the fate of the world... no, the fate of their entire universe rested on those ten mortal souls.

"You can win this... I know it..." prayed Bulma.

40 minutes left...

"We are now just a few short moments away before our very own 10 U.A. High students head off to take part in the forty-eight minutes that will forever go down in our history, hosting the Tournament of Power. Many have voiced their concerns over this whole event, especially with the high rise in crime, and the sudden plummet during yesterday and today, and even some parents and Heroes had a chance to speak with us, concerning the safety of the students, and their children-"

She muted it.

Sometimes, life just threw everything at you fast.

That's what it usually felt like, especially when you were completely powerless to do anything.

Inko Midoriya would know these best, as for the first eight days after the Tournament of Power was revealed to the world, chaos, disorder, pandemonium ensued all across the globe, and came to a complete halt.

Plus, her only son, her joy, was going to be fighting against almost a hundred strong people, possibly aliens to save her, and the lives of trillions across the universe.

Just when, and why did everything have to get so complicated for her and her family?

"Mom..."

Inko knew that meek, quiet voice all too well, as she saw her son, Izuku Midoriya at the door, closing it behind him with a key in his hand.

This was very awkward for both of them, since they didn't know what to say to each other.

What could they even say?

Good luck on preventing the destruction of our universe?

I hope you'll be cheering me and my friends on, all the way?

It was almost too predictable, but the reason for the visit was as plain as day, as the night sky beamed behind their window.

Her son wanted to see his mother one final time before the Tournament.

"Mom... I..."

She walked calmly to her son.

They gazed in each other's iris', before opening their welcoming arms, as they held each other tightly with tearful eyes, breaking apart a minute later.

"I..." she muttered, trying to go on without the tears interrupting her. "I know I can't do anything anymore... and it hurts... I watched you grow, every step of the way... to have it... taken-"

"Mom..." Izuku shushed, putting a finger of her mouth, close to tearing up again. "I swear to you, I'll protect you, everyone, I'll world... I still have to see my dad again before I go... I still have so much to do... to prove everyone I can be a Hero everyone can look up to..."

"I know... do what you have to do... I'll be watching you, and cheering you on..."

He smiled, as they embraced each other's arms one more time.

35 minutes left...

Gran Torino, Toshinori and the deities of the Twelfth were waiting outside for Midoriya to finish saying goodbye to his mother, and he was in there for about five minutes, and they hoped he wouldn't take their long.

They were comforted when Izuku came out the door and jumped off the railing, landing in front of the quad.

"Now can we leave?" Giin pleaded, now wanting to get moving since there was supposed to be some sort of interview before they left for the Tournament.

"Wait," Izuku pleaded. "I only have one more favor to ask of you."

30 minutes left...

"This fight will determine the official leader of Team Universe 12! If Midoriya wins, he takes part in the Tournament, as planned! If All Might wins, he will replace him!" Gran Torino announced as a referee, standing on a grassy mountain top looking above Izuku who was feet across from the hulking muscle mass that was the former Symbol of Peace. Martinu, Giin and Agu were watching by the now old Hero's side as well.

Both combatants activated One For All and put their inputs to the best they could take, waiting for their teacher to give the signal.

"And... BEGIN!"

Immediately, using the same Quirks, Deku and All Might let the muscles in their limbs grow larger before they pounced on each other, as their collision of fists created a shockwave so power the area was ravaged by it, and Martinu had to pull up a barrier around them to prevent Gran Torino from falling on the rocky debris.

25 minutes left...

If the female Angel hadn't reversed the damage done to the arena, it would have looked like a near replica of the disaster of Kamino Ward, but at a smaller scale, obviously.

Both Toshinori and Izuku would have been heavily banged up with almost completely torn clothing as well if not for Martinu. Now, before they left, they sat on the cliffside gazing at the starry night... perhaps... and they hoped... not for the final time.

"So... do you think you're ready?" queried Toshinori to his ever vigilant successor.

Izuku didn't say anything for a few seconds, he was just staring at the moonlight night, as black as one's vision under their blanket on their warm mattress. "I... I really don't know... but do you know why I wanted this fight to happen?"

Now that Toshinori thought about it, he never actually knew why the green-haired teen wanted to switch places with him. Sure they had both been training at the same time, but Izuku had gotten the better fruits and gains from this than his now fragile body ever could.

"You're capable of handling yourself, you're a great strategist, I'd say you're more than on par with Yaoyarozu in that field, so what is actually the issue here?"

"It's not that I'm not strong enough! I know there are some people I can't beat, and we can rely on other universes to do that! But... just to save my own... we... w-w-we have to... we have to..."

He gulped. He didn't dare say it.

Toshinori wanted to help him, but he didn't even know what he was even talking ab... oh... right... now he remembered. He could definitely sympathized with him on that matter.

"Your master... Nana Shimura... she told me there were some people that can't be saved, and she said Tomura Shigaraki was one of them, but her mind was mostly focused on the Tournament. All the other predecessors were too... they never knew anything about the Gods or the multiverse... but they still said to fight my hardest, even while dealing with the consequences... but I know there's a way to reverse all of this."

If he won those Super Dragon Balls, he already knew what one of his wishes was, and nothing was going to change that. He don't care if he going against the will or the wishes of those Grand Zenos, they don't have any right to toy with life like this. He was in no way going to be mercurial about this.

But... the thing was, he actually spoke with most of the predecessors of One For All during his training, he didn't expect to see all of them so quickly, even after the Joint Training Battle, where he spoke with the Sixth holder of the Quirk, who was the wielder of Blackwhip, the Quirk Izuku sprung out during the fifth match, and both Ochaco and Shinso had to help him snap out of it.

"You know we've been helping you every step of the way... don't ever see yourself as a liability again... once this is over, you'll have a much wider prospect of things hopefully..." Toshinori consoled.

Izuku hoped he wouldn't be a liability once again, he had gotten much better control over his new power, as well as his others. Before the final hours, he knew it was inevitable, so he only told his teammates about One For All, not all of Class A or B, to save the explanation of him using more than two Quirks throughout this.

"Thanks... for all of this All Might... I just hope I'm ready..."

A lot of pressure was being put on his shoulders... but he was confident he could break through those soon to be weak brick walls.

They both stood up, and headed back to the deities, heading to a specific location for Izuku's departure.

20 minutes left...

Breath in...

Breath out...

Breath in...

Breath out...

Breath...

Yeah, this wasn't gonna work.

Kinda hard to do so when there's always so much noise.

Eijiro Kirishima didn't know how All Might and most of the others handled this so well.

In the middle of Musutafu Square Park, there were about three helicopters surrounding the area, with constant lights surveying the area, filled with hundreds of news reporters and trucks in the nearby parking lot, as well as many Pro Heroes, mainly being in the top ranks and the teachers of U.A. High. They hoped to get this interview with before the Tournament started so they could all get out of the area and find a good place to watch the Tournament at, or get home quickly since the event was supposedly going to be broadcasted worldwide... they hoped at least.

He had just watched Momo Yaoyarozu finishing hugging her parents tightly before they disappeared back into the crowd, as the teenage heroine went to her other eight classmates, having bid goodbyes to their families a short while ago, as they now waited for Izuku to arrive.

Speaking of which, a spectacular white light shot down onto the grass, and they already knew who was onboard. All Might was back at U.A. High getting to his seat to watch everything unfold, which left Izuku and the Gods of the Twelfth.

"Sorry for taking so long," he apologized sincerely to his teammates, slightly bowing to them before walking up to them. "I just wanted to say goodbye to my mother."

Tenya Iida smiled warmly. "We understand perfectly, Midoriya, every one of us were escorted to our individual households to bid farewell to all those we hold dear to us earlier before yourself via Ms. Martinu."

All of them were now prepared, with all of their Hero costumes modified to the best settings.

Then, a well-built man with a black mask over his eyes, and attire similar to the armor Spartans would wear, including a green hooded cape and a black shirt that appears to be stitched down the middle with a red pattern walked over to the group.

"It's time," Crust, the Shield Hero said as he led the teens to a giant, built-in platform one would see during a regular high school graduation in an auditorium with stairs build in at each corner, and a podium at the front with a microphone to address all those within a nearby vicinity. The rectangular back wall was filled with the emblem of the Twelfth Universe in a purple background.

They heard all of the reporters talking at the same time each trying to get their own scoop while some Heroes made sure they kept some distance before the interviews even started.

It seemed all ten of them were all going to give some sort of speech one at a time before they all left. Tenya recalled hearing that they were going to get a few lessons on this even if this Tournament never happened in the first place, he guessed now was a better time than any and never.

If they knew any better, they'd say Mr. Aizawa was probably watching them via television.

Once the Destroyer stepped onto the podium, everyone quieted down.

They were all aware of his capabilities and certainly didn't want to boil any anger from him.

"Here's how it's going to go," Giin growled at the reporters. "They will go one at a time, you will give them a chance to speak, and we are on a tight schedule so they each have two minutes maximum to say whatever they like, or answer any questions. If they put their hand up, they are asking for silence, need I say more?"

"NOO!" It was pretty much a chorus, like in a classroom of elementary school children.

Giin then stepped back going next to his fellow deities, as the reporters eagerly awaited for the first representative to make their way to the podium, that being Class 1-C's Hitoshi Shinso, who was soon to be put into the Hero Program next year.

Most of the calm mob were somewhat clueless about him since he only had a minor appearance during the Sports Festival, but they were given all of the details involving all ten of the students.

"Some of you may recognize me, some of you may not, but quite frankly, publicity isn't my thing. My goal is to be an aspiring Hero the country can look up to, and that's what I intend to do now. If I was a lost cause, I wouldn't be standing here speaking, so I have a special someone to thank for this."

He knew who he was.

The mob tried to swarm him with questions, but he walked off the podium just in time before they could ask anything, leaving Ibara Shiozaki to have her turn, as the audience was once again silent.

"I truly can't express the many emotions that are travelling through me, every day I trained, I've prayed for some miracle hoping this Tournament would be cancelled, I was appalled by the lack of consideration the Omni-Kings had on mortal lives, trillions at stake over something so trivial! A tournament of all things! I couldn't stand how solicitous the rulers of everything could be! Well here's a message, I'll prove them wrong! I'll show them our lives are WORTH LIVING!"

She received a myriad of cheering, and she couldn't hear much questions being arisen, so she took that as her cue to leave, allowing Itsuka Kendo to take center stage, as everyone quieted down.

15 minutes left...

"I'm... in a position just like most of you, I'm quite worried, frightened, curious, envious... it's like Ibara said, there's so many things swarming throughout my head, and we've never heard of all these things involving the multiverse up until now. I'm also baffled by the lack of empathy from the Grand Zenos, but I hope maybe after this Tournament, they can see things how we see it. That is all."

Everyone seemed to relate to her opinions, and quite frankly, there isn't many questions to ask during an event like this. The best they could say was ask of their opinions and how will this change them, but they seemed to be unaffected.

Up next, was the youngest son of the No. 1 himself, Shoto Todoroki, whom the community as a whole had high hopes for.

"I'll try not to lose."

Most of the reporters sweat-dropped at Todoroki's inadequate response, and didn't bother asking for a secondary comment. How reassuring.

"I said it once and I'll say it again, I'll win this thing."

Like Todoroki, no extra comment was requested from the hot-tempered student.

Up next would have been Eijiro Kirishima or Fumikage Tokoyami, but they decided not to deal with the media just yet, maybe when they were official Pros. So, Momo Yaoyarozu was next, then Tenya Iida, and finally Izuku Midoriya.

"I've always wondered what was beyond the stars, if there was any sentient life... we haven't dug into so much involvement of interstellar travel after Quirks had first emerged from the surface," Momo sighed, not revealing the true origin of Quirks. "Now I do know... I still want to see it for myself, and erasure is what will prevent me from doing such, as well as being a Hero! So I swear on my life, and honor! I will perform to the best of my capabilities to ensure the Twelfth Universe emerges victorious!" she finished proudly with a booming voice, receiving many cheers and claps from the audience.

"Not too shabby, I don't know how you guys are able to do these things," Kirishima muttered, a hand rubbing the back of his head. He knew was pretty inadept when it came to major interviews like this, but he wondered how Midoriya would do since he was sometimes incredibly nervous and stuttered lots.

Actually, he was just now noticing his green-haired classmate muttering to himself, twiddling his fingers in a random fashion, and he was speaking so fast what he was saying couldn't be deciphered. The holder of the Hardening Quirk ignored the 'tch' from Bakugo as he decided to try and put Midoriya at ease, but again, considering everything, it was probably gonna be difficult.

"Hey, you there?" Kirishima tried snapping his fingers in Midoriya's ears, and in front of his face which successfully pulled him out of his trance.

"I did it again, didn't I?" he upsettingly sighed, disappointed in himself.

Kirishima shrugged. "Yeah, you kinda did. Look, just be manly, talk with a straight face, maybe... ask yourself a question and answer it. I think that's how some people do it."

Midoriya thought of it as good advice, but it didn't seem like there was any way to fit such a formula into a speech relating to a matter like this.

Their ears were both ringing with the claps from Iida finishing as he pridefully stomped to Midoriya. "It's your turn now."

The green-haired boy nervously nodded, as he walked up to the podium as calmly as possible, but there were still hints of nervousness showing.

"H-Hello... my name is Izuku Midoriya..."

Giin took the opportunity to approach the rest of the team as ninth holder of One For All spoke. "I hope you all know even with your training, perhaps half of these opponents still eclipse you all in strength, and some of them have abilities either somewhat like yours, or something of which the likes of you have ever encountered."

"We expected that already," growled Bakugo. "All these people are gonna be different, we're gonna be all the same to them. I'll take them all down."

The Destroyer wasn't fond of this overconfident façade, they both knew well that Goku at full power would completely stomp on their entire team, so it's best that they avoid him at all costs. If anything, they should go for the weaker links, and then perhaps hide out somewhere, and provide assistance to other teams if there is a bigger threat that puts all of them at risk.

"I'm still shaking in my boots, you know," sighed Kirishima. "I'm still having a hard time coming to terms with all this."

They were stopped by a ridiculous amount of clapping, louder than the rest of the speakers combined. Two minutes had already passed since he walked up, and he stomped back with his own confident and brave façade, as all ten of them stood next to each other, side by side, with the deities going to the front, the mortals in front of them cheering and waving farewell, good luck, best wishes, etcetera.

"Good evening Grand Minister, this is Martinu of the Twelfth Universe speaking, all the combatants to represent our universe are prepared for transport."

"Superb."