A white, glowing semicircle with rainbow sparkles appeared on the ground, fading away to reveal the passengers hailing from the Ninth Universe, and they were all nothing short of mesmerized.
The Null Realm was completely void of anything, just like they had said, and the ring itself was a giant structure built like a children's top with a giant pillar in the middle, and it seemed to still be under construction, the reason being the Destroyers of the First, the Fifth and Eighth Universes had a go at each other to test out the ring's durability and were charged with the tasks of repairing it.
The sky was, strange... it was like it was actually moving, and it was nothing but a sight with the numerous arrays of the darkest sludge of colors swerving around at random intervals. The wielder of Incursio began to walk around large arena, seeing just how big it was, and damn, he was sure it was bigger than his entire village.
His wife almost fell off the platform, and she would have had she not been paying attention at the last moment.
"WOAH!"
Tatsumi quickly ran over to Mine, sensing her fright.
"What's wrong?"
He soon found out, there was literally nothing below them, just an empty void of nothingness.
"Please tell me we go on those stands when we fall," pleaded Tatsumi. "I don't wanna be stuck falling for eternity."
Sidra looked up at the stands. "I'm quite positive it's the former."
Everyone surely hoped so. Falling down there for eternity seemed to be an even worse fate than being trapped in Hell.
"So, is there anything else we should know about this ring?" Najenda asked, her eye gazing at the Destroyer, who replied.
"As far as I know, if you're capable of flight, you'll only be allowed to stay airborne for a short period of time at once, and for fairness, every contestant will feel the same gravity from their birth planet."
That definitely made things much more fair. Still, there was always the chance one would be able to fly quickly enough to avoid being thrown off. She regretted asking Sidra about how to unlock this ability, it would've been a great advantage to them, and she was sure a good number of competitors already learned this. She hoped she was wrong.
"Well, we wish you all the best of luck," Sidra prayed to all ten of his fighters, as he, Roh and Mohito flew to the stands and took a seat. A good number of the team didn't feel like luck was going to be enough, especially with what they endured and realized during their training.
Wave took a look behind him as he patted the shoulder of the only father in Night Raid, as he pointed in another direction. "Hey... look."
The entire Ninth Universe group watched as another team had arrived, specifically Team Universe Seven, with all ten members holding hands it seemed. All of them looked to appear none the worse for wear.
So Akame and Run really did fail... Tatsumi thought, knowing it wasn't a good idea to try and cheat, but of course the deities just had to take chances. He also wasn't sure if Akame and Run were dead permanently, but if they lost this tournament, it wouldn't matter. Let's hope neither Goku or Frieza go for any of us immediately.
Right after that, the warriors of the Sixth Universe arrived, and they had a wider variety of species than the Ninth or Seventh teams had.
Esdeath, already had two people on her radar she wanted to test her abilities against: Hit from the Sixth, and Frieza from the Seventh.
She could feel the distinct, yet familiar aura emanating off the purple alien, with his eyes closed and arms crossed. Even though he was motionless, he still exuded it, and Esdeath adored it, knowing she was looking at an experienced, cold-hearted assassin who got the job done.
As for Frieza, she related to him more than the purple assassin. They were both sadists, they both took pleasure in inflicting any form of torture on the weaker and lesser lifeforms. She directed her smile towards Frieza, who was scouting the area himself, before he laid his crimson eyes on Esdeath, smirking back, both pleased knowing they weren't the only black sheep amongst the heroes.
The next team to arrive was the Second Universe, the deities immediately heading for the stands without a word, everything already spoken between them before they departed.
Following was the Third, with Luffy taking in his surroundings like an excited child, unlike some of his other teammates.
The Fourth wasn't far behind, with Boros reminiscing with the view he was granted.
"What a beautiful sky, it's feeding my mind nostalgic memories of my home world," he sighed.
Saitama just gazed about like a newborn baby as the other contestants appeared one by one, spotting the giant from the Third Universe: Big Mom. "You know Genos, it's seeing these kinds of women that make me happy people don't practice forced marriages anymore. Don't know why those existed in the first place."
"I can indicate if anyone our size was to spend any quality time with her, he would have a 78% chance of being crushed by her mass," added Genos with no humor intended.
Up next, the Tenth arrived, the deities heading to the stands immediately after they arrived, as the mortals also took the time to be amazed at what was around them and discuss their strategy.
"Alright, let's go through this one more time," announced Erza. "Natsu, Gajeel, Cobra, Jellal, you're be focusing on scouting other fighters and being able to beat them, and throw them out of the ring. If any of you are injured, we'll try to stick with Wendy so she can heal you back up to speed. Am I clear on this?"
The team made their acknowledgement to the plan known, but soon after...
"Holy crap, are those guys actual aliens?!" Natsu reckoned, running up to meet Team Universe Six, running into Luffy who was also ecstatic to meet the otherworldly beings. Magetta was the first to suffer, but these weren't actual insults, so he was unaffected by their voices.
"Are you a real robot?"
"What planet are you from?"
"Do you shoot fire?"
"How long do you live?"
"Can you fight me first?! I wanna try my fire against you!"
"..wait..."
Natsu and Luffy each got a good look at each other, before coming to the same conclusion. "WAIT, YOU'RE HUMAN TOO?!"
Caulifla was one of the unfortunate ones as her ears had no issue with picking up their nagging from afar. She growled and covered them up, turning away while Cabba and Kale sighed. Speaking of the Saiyans, perhaps he should reacquaint with Master Vegeta, and maybe even take the chance to introduce the female Saiyans to him and Goku.
"The both of them are like children," Saonel, a Universe Six Namekian said to his brother in arms.
"Hopefully we don't have to deal with them, I don't think my ears can take any more of their screeching," agreed Pilina.
"Same, and who knows, maybe they'll take each other out for us."
The Second was next to arrive, half the team aweing up at the sky, while the deities took to the stands. The whole realm itself was monotonous. It was all flat, but no doubt giant boulders and rocks would form from all of the damage the arena would eventually take. They didn't have a whole lot to say, all of them knew their objective and would stop at nothing from achieving it.
"..it looks nice, I suppose..." shrugged Sunny with a roll of his eyes. The black and gloominess of the sky wasn't to his liking, but he knew it could've been worse.
The next team to arrive was that of the Twelfth. Nearly all of the U.A. students were in shock of the surrounding landscape, and the kinds of competitors all around.
"Wow... this is the Null Realm?" gasped Kirishima, cranking his head up to see the stands and the Grand Zenos getting into their chairs. "Looks pretty cool. Hey, Tokoyami, you loving this?"
"It certainly seems like a humble abode for my liking, but I don't think anyone can actually live here," responded Tokoyami. This was the perfect place for him to use Dark Shadow as well, but he still wasn't sure how high of a power boost he could get, there was no indication of the actual strength of most of the competitors.
Tenya carefully made his way to the edge of the arena, seeing the nothingness all around him, the sheer emptiness and void of free space let him know where the Null Void got it's name from.
"So, the arena is floating around in an endless void?" said Tenya. "H-how is this, this isn't scientifically possible!"
"Who cares about that?!" roared Bakugo, pumping his fists together. "All that matters is we're winning this thing and going home! All we gotta do is beat these losers to the ground, simple as that!"
"Let's not act rash, Bakugo," advised Todoroki, his steel glare gazing over his classmate. "We can't just win this with brute force alone."
Hitoshi Shinso and Momo Yaoyarozu couldn't agree more.
Midoriya focused his eyes on Goku, who was greeting Caulifla and Kale, offering a hand to the former. He still couldn't believe someone like him could possess such divine strength that could be able to surpass that of the gods. The very thought of it still frightened him, and he knew he couldn't contend with that sort of magnitude.
Plus, the thought of the event himself was getting to him.
The Tournament's about to begin, the Tournament's about the begin! his mind worryingly mused over and over as he tapped his feet in rapid succession while hugging himself tightly.
"Midoriya, we're about to finalize our game plan, are you coming?" called Yaoyarozu from behind.
"Oh, uh, yeah, coming!" Midoriya called back, running back to the team as they huddled into a circle.
Todoroki went up to speak for the team. "Alright, we had a basic rundown of our abilities, so here's how it's going to go. Shinso, Kendo, Yaoyarozu, while you help us fight, you'll be in charge of coming up with strategies on the battlefield. Kirishima, you'll be our line of defense in case things go south, Iida can scout the arena and warn us of any oncoming fighters and can surprise some others with his speed, and everyone else will be focusing on offense, myself included. Does that seem fair to everyone."
His teammates all agreed in one way or another. The important thing was they all needed to stick together for this, having an advantage in numbers was going to play a huge factor in this, no doubt about it.
As for the deities...
"Grand Minister," Agu called to his superior.
"Yes, Agu? Is there something that I can help you with?"
"We were just wondering if you could grant us permission to broadcast this Tournament and all of its information to the planet which we've taken all of our fighters from using Martinu's staff, if it's alright with you."
The Grand Minister merely smiled. "Oh it's not a problem at all, my fellow Supreme Kai, in fact I do believe an event as grandiose and momentous as this warrants such an audience."
"Thank you, Grand Minister," Agu bowed, as the Angel began to tinker with her staff to make preparations for the broadcast.
Giin, meanwhile, had a weary face, dreading a fate of failure, a thought that's been lingering ever since he, Martinu and Agu found their place in the stands, as it and the arena were undergoing the final stages of it's construction. He figured his team was arguably the weakest and most inexperienced out of the entire bunch, it was going to be very overwhelming for his team regardless of how perfect their strategies were. This wasn't to say he didn't have any faith in them whatsoever, but he was afraid he was fighting a losing battle after seeing the capabilities of the Seventh and Eleventh.
Speaking of which...
"Greetings, Grand Minister. The warriors of the Eleventh Universe are ready for transport."
"Splendid."
A shiver ran down nearly everyone's spines, especially those who could sense ki, as the amount of power exuding from the final group that arrived was overflowing.
Team Universe Eleven were all wearing the exact same clothing, as if they were part of a previously orchestrated unit, and the aura they exuded from them was one of solemnity.
"Well look at that," chortled Caulifla. "You Seventh Universe Saiyans sure act like you're all high and mighty, but those guys look like the real deal to me."
Vegeta snarled at the shorter fighter. "What did you-"
Gohan intervened in hopes of stopping the conflict from escalating. "Alright, calm down, let's not fight before the Tournament, alright?"
The Saiyan Prince made sure to get a closer look in hopes of properly deducing their strength, and the one in gray was the odd one out. He must have been the one they called Jiren. He was having a hard time reading his ki clearly, but he was definitely not like the others.
Goku, was busy looking for someone else, immediately being able to spot Top in the group. Knowing the capabilities of his power, he couldn't be more happy to see him.
"I'll be back, I'm gonna go say hello," said Goku as he took off to the Eleventh Universe team.
Gohan protested, but it was too late. "Wait, Dad, come back!"
Natsu and Luffy had stopped their little game to get a glimpse as well, and to say their power shook them to the core was an understatement.
"Man, those guys don't look like they're kidding around," said Natsu.
"Yeah, no doubt about that," Luffy agreed.
Many of the other teams had heard stories about Goku and Top, but often heard about their Destroyer muttering about someone named Jiren, an ally of Top. Most knew who to avoid from the get go, while some were hoping to take advantage somehow.
"Wow... they look like superheroes..." Seryu gawked, hoping to meet them, seeing as how she was striving to be a much better person and thought about taking inspiration from them. "Maybe I can-"
"Don't even think about it, witch," snarled Mine as she cleansed her weapon, not even sparing the dead girl a glance. Although they had spent a lot of time together during training, the pink-haired girl's thoughts of Seryu hadn't changed in the slightest. "I wouldn't count on them liking you one bit. After all, a hero's job is to destroy all evil, remember? Think about that for a moment."
All Seryu could do was glare at her, but it wasn't like she would care.
Midoriya on the other hand was ecstatic, he could immediately infer they were heroes of some sort. Their dress code said it all, and how they wore it with pride and exuded an aura of such a feeling. He quickly took off as well, with his team noticing as well, but they couldn't do anything to stop him.
"He-hello, sir!" he called out to Top, who he assumed was the leader of this elite squadron. Some of the other Eleventh Universe members quickly noticed Midoriya. "I-I'm Izuku Midoriya from Universe Twelve, s-sorry if I'm disturbing you, but I-I couldn't help but notice the way you all looked. You guys wouldn't happen to be heroes, would you?"
"That's... correct," mused Top, impressed with the boy's deduction skills. "How did you come to this?"
"Oh, well, your dress code gave it away, plus there was your heroic statures and demeanors, it all screamed heroism!"
"Hehe, ya got that right, kid!" Dyspo, a purple bunny-looking humanoid boasted as he raised his arms. "In our home, the Eleventh Universe, we are an elite force of heroes called the Pride Troopers, and our one goal is to keep peace and order in our universe and bring justice to evildoers alike!"
"THAT'S SO COOL!" he squealed in his fan boy mode. "I'm actually in training to become a great hero just like all of you are!"
"Well, I would certainly wish you the best of luck in your endeavors, if it weren't for our current circumstances," sighed Top, which also brought Midoriya down, neither of them were fond of the situations they were in, and they didn't want to be responsible for the death of countless of others, but what choice did they have?
"YO! What's up?" a cheerful voice called that seemed to be getting closer. Midoriya immediately gasped when he saw it was Goku who was coming about to greet them, and it seemed his attention was directed at Top. But he did notice the teenager standing before them.
"You... you're Goku..." nervously muttered Midoriya.
"Yep, that's me!" the Saiyan responded quickly. "Hey, are you with these guys or a different team?"
"Hey, is this the guy?" Dyspo asked Top, who nodded in response. Upon arriving in his home universe, he shared some details about the Tournament, as well as mentioning how he fought Goku as a way to get the Grand Zenos excited for the upcoming event.
"Goku of the Seventh," Top greeted, getting the Saiyan distracted from his conversation with Midoriya.
"Oh, hey," the naïve warrior said back. "I'm still thinking about our little match from before, I'm looking forward to finishing what we started back at the Expo, Top!"
Top, while not having hatred towards Goku, was not fond of his irrational way of seeing things. "Let me make something clear Goku, my team and I are only here because the fate of the Eleventh Universe depends on it! If you believe I care about some personal duel, you are SOLELY MISTAKEN!"
"Fine, but I doubt we'll be able to avoid each other in the ring."
Top crossed his arms and huffed. "If it happens, so be it."
Now, there was still one person Goku wanted to see, and he was standing far from everyone, but it was obvious this was him.
"Hehe... and you must be-"
"Get lost."
He was right behind him... and he couldn't even sense him move. He wasn't alone in this, as Midoriya also felt something in him, and that something... was fear.
"How'd you, do that..." Goku immediately got back and faced Jiren, as if he was waiting for him to make a move. Jiren only stared, what his intentions were, were unclear, but the Saiyan and the hero in training both knew he wasn't one to be trifled with. This Tournament seemed like it was only going to be more stressful for them if anything.
Every television set, or giant monitor on the planet was set to one news channel, where the Tournament of Power was going to be broadcast for all to see. Even the movie theaters from around the world were filled to the brim with people wanting to see this in the big screen. As for U.A., the students were all placed in one giant auditorium that was normally used to announce the instructions for the Entrance Exam.
Eraserhead and Present Mic had went on to become the spokesmen as they did in the Sports Festival to provide sometimes necessary, and unnecessary commentary, depending on which way someone would put it. Now, the channel was switching from the news broadcast about how people felt about the Tournament, to the blue screen, now showing the symbols of the nine universes on the side, while the rest had become a slideshow of all of the fighters from each competing universe.
"And we're just moments away from the Tournament of Power, ready for 90 fighters to go all out against each other! Anybody here on the edge of their seat? Because I know I am! I mean, after all-"
"We're not doing this, Mic," Eraserhead sighed to his partner. Despite everyone knowing what was going to happen should they lose, no one wanted to be reminded of it and just focus on the here and now.
Everyone on the planet had their eyes glued to a screen, having their anxiety amped up to an 11.
Inko was uncontrollably tapping her feet, wanting the Tournament to start since waiting for it was more of an issue than watching it happen. Many others around the globe, especially the U.A. students were conversing with each other about the other teams, and their own as well.
Ochaco Uraraka was one of the only ones who was keeping to herself, she couldn't do so much as utter a single syllable with how nerve-wracking all of this was, the anxiety constantly creeping onto her as if there was a Villain in the vicinity about to pounce on them.
"HEY, LOOK IT'S GOKU!" Hiryu Rin, a Class 1-B student hollered, pointing at the screen, which did show a hologram of Goku, nearly freaking out everyone, since they had all seen the Zeno Expo, and were in awe and fear of his unfathomable power, and his mere existence gave them the reminder they had a good chance of losing, and this didn't help Uraraka at all.
She still had some of her friends around her to help with her stressed, but she wished one of her other classmates was here to comfort her, since he was always very remarkable at getting people to feel better, no matter the situation but he was about to fight in the Tournament.
Deku...
As the screen scrolled through everyone, the spectators began to notice a few select had some sort of halo sitting above their heads. Some of the Heroes, as well as Present Mic wondered this as well. "Uh, hey I have a question? We saw some of the fighters having halos above their heads, why is that?"
Giin and Agu had only recently noticed this as well, with most noticeable, one from the Seventh and a few from the Fourth and Ninth Universes sporting them.
"Huh... so they actually went and did that," mused the fish-like Destroyer. "Those halos signify their deceased state, so some of these Destroyers went as far as to bring back the dead."
Sure enough, everyone was flabbergasted. Not only them, but everyone else in the arena that was competing managed to catch wind of these thanks to their curiosity and information from their own Destroyers.
"W... what... they, they can do that..." squeaked Mineta, his small form shaking rapidly. "Why? Why is that allowed?!"
They didn't have enough time to process this as the screen in front of them was now set to the Tournament arena.
"It looks like the teams from all the competing universes have arrived," Arak noticed, as they still haven't finished rebuilding the arena, although they were very close to completing it.
Liquiir's hands grew a purple aura and raised them high as he replied. "Then let's pick up the pace before we're out of time."
Whatever building blocks that remained in the air began to have the same hue surrounding them as well. Swiftly, as fast as the Destroyer of the Eighth Universe brought his hands down, the blocks zoomed down and zigzagged around to the still empty spaces of the arena, rather dangerously. So much so that the competitors had gotten wind of the noise and purple streaks above then, and it looked like they were headed straight towards them. Most of them were able to dodge the incoming projectiles themselves, while others had to be saved by their companions.
"GET DOWN!" Wave hollered as he pushed Tatsumi and himself to the ground to avoid the piece that inserted itself into the stage just yards ahead of them. Many others took to the ground and ducked as the blocks came raining down.
Goku and Midoriya both noticed the four to five blocks above them and the Eleventh Universe diving down towards their direction. The former leaped high in the air, while the latter ducked down, while they both kept their eye on Jiren. To their astonishment, he didn't bother to budge an inch, he closed his eyes without a care in the world, as the blocks diverged paths and swerved around the Gray, barely even flinching as they zoomed by. It's as if he knew exactly where those blocks were going to land.
A few others from separate teams caught a glimpse of this as well, taking even more note as to let anyone who could content with Jiren handle him, as this was someone, they didn't want to have any business fighting unless there wasn't another viable option.
Goku had landed back near his team, more excited than ever to eventually face him. Midoriya on the other hand, was still in awe and shock, as he was staring at two of the blocks now slowly moving into their place.
"What are you still doing here?"
Midoriya's head snapped to the harsh tone that came from the foe that seemed practically invincible, it was like staring death in the eye. Was he really this outclassed? Did he and his team have that small of a chance of winning?
He soon found Top and Dyspo were staring at him as well.
"Hey kid, not to be rude, but if Jiren says you gotta go, you gotta go," Dyspo said, tilting his head towards the Twelfth Universe team. Having seen plenty, Midoriya frantically nodded and sprinted back to his friends with the big three of the Pride Troopers closely eyeing him, as he begun conversing with his friends about Team Universe Eleven, with some of them sparing glances at them.
Dyspo solemnly sighed. "It's too bad, he's just a kid, you know."
"I share the same sentiments, my friend, but we must remind ourselves that we have children and families in our own universe to save as well," added Top. The purple rabbit nodded in agreement solemnly, and while Jiren didn't vocally express it, he couldn't agree more with his fellow Pride Troopers.
Finally, the final piece was put into place at the corner of the stage, and by this time, all spectators on the Twelfth Universe's Earth could see the ring in full, and to say they were astounded was an understatement.
The Grand Minister was more than pleased, as he could finally get introductions underway, and could see all of the teams getting together with their own members. "At last, the arena is finished... again... and the teams from all competing universes are here and are ready for introduction."
"The Second Universe..."
Toriko and Midora cracked their knuckles in anticipation, while Sunny flicked his hair about dramatically. The other members, while nervous, kept their stature up and professional.
"The Third Universe..."
Nearly everyone seemed to be separated from each other. Big Mom took a space next to Katakuri, Akainu hung next to Kizaru, and Law stood by Luffy, while the others isolated themselves completely. It was clear from the beginning teamwork was not going to be their forte.
The Second Universe's Supreme Kai noticed all of the fighters from the Third were normal mortals and not overgrown pieces of machinery. And yet, he spoke so highly of their technological advancements.
"Hey brainiac, where are your robots?!" Pell questioned, having fun teasing the Third Universe. "I thought you guys were all about technology and not bones and flesh!"
"Go ahead and chortle as much as you please, my warriors have been trained by the best and now possess immense strength that will surely give your fighters a fright!" passionately responded Eyre.
"Oh yeah? Well, the way I see it, we'll let our fighters decide who's right here!"
Eyre didn't push it further, but he knew Pell was right about one thing, they'll let each other see their fighters' capabilities for themselves.
"The Fourth Universe..."
Sea King strutted over to Saitama, who had been with Genos for the time being, calling him over. "Hey Saitama, when all of this is over, I'm gonna make sure I pummel you to the ground. You hear me?"
Saitama slowly darted his eyes to the ruler of the Seafolk, raising his nonexistent eyebrow. "I'm sorry, who are you again?"
Veins began to grow on both sides of his green head, as he growled, forming a fist. "Why, YOU FRICKIN'-"
His hand was effortless caught by the one-eyed alien, who lightly pushed it back with his own, the humanoid Seafolk stumbling backwards and trying to regain his balance.
Boros groaned. "Don't even think about stirring up a scene when we haven't even begun. You don't want to risk disqualification this early on. But Saitama..." his eye shifted to the caped hero in question. "I came here for two reasons, to ensure my own survival and to personally see that I beat you one day."
Saitama looked through him and could tell he was dead serious. He didn't train all that much, but he knew Boros must have gone through intense preparation himself. If he was honest, he welcomed the prospect of another fight.
"Lookin' forward to it," he smiled with a friendly gesture of a thumbs up.
"The Sixth Universe..."
Everyone seemed to be collected and confident with their abilities, even Kale, to an extent. As the rest hung back, standing together proudly, Hit took it upon himself to be the de facto leader of the team, standing out front between Cabba and Frost.
"The Seventh Universe..."
From left to right, Vegeta, Goku, Gohan, Piccolo, Krillin, Master Roshi, 17, 18, Tien and Frieza stood side by side, none of them wearing even a confident smirk, ever aware of the scale of the predicament.
"The Ninth Universe..."
Tatsumi got one good look at himself through Encursio's shine, twirling it around and hold it forward proudly as everyone else readied their weapons.
"The Tenth Universe..."
Natsu with his eyes closed, took a deep inhale, and exhaled through his mouth with a small amount of fire breath leaking through it. He slammed his palm and fist together, opening his eyes, confident in the abilities of himself and his Guild.
"The Eleventh Universe..."
Everyone but Jiren, begun to strike a pose, to represent not just their team, but the glory of the Pride Troopers.
"And last, but certainly not least, the Twelfth!"
Everyone was checking their support gear one final time, going to stand by each other as a single unit. Bakugo readied his Grenadier Bracers and Midoriya quickly fixed up his gloves, in front of everyone sporting a look of courage and valor.
"And that's all of the teams. Now then-"
"HEY, WAIT A MINUTE!" hollered Champa, standing up as he pointed at Tatsumi and his team. "I SEE 11 PEOPLE FROM THE NINTH UNIVERSE'S TEAM, AND SOME SORT OF ANIMAL! WHAT'S GOING ON OVER THERE?!"
The Grand Minister, disappointed in being interrupted caught wind of this as well. "Yes, this is quite interesting. Deities of the Ninth, how do you respond to this?"
Sidra got up in their defense. "Grand Minister, despite their looks, they are not inherently organic beings, but rather biological weapons. They are two of many powerful relics called Imperial Arms, some can be purely weaponry, but others can look like the average mortal as well as a trained pet."
The Grand Minister studied Susanoo and Koro, as the rest of the team shivered, knowing this wasn't breaking the rules, but there was always the chance they could be wrong, and this was a special case where this wasn't allowed, and a select few were beginning to feel second-hand embarrassment from nearly everyone staring at them.
"I do believe Sidra is correct, they are no more than weapons to stand at their owner's side," concluded the Grand Minister, much to the relief of everyone from the Ninth Universe.
Najenda ran a hand through her head as she sighed. She dreaded the possibilities of what could've gone down should this have been against the rules. "Thank goodness."
Roh took the opportunity to laugh at Champa's face, pointing at the growling cat-like God. "HAHA! Like you actually thought we were stupid enough to risk our own elimination by bringing more fighters than we were supposed to!"
The the Destroyer of the Sixth screeched. "Oh, and I suppose you planned to keep quiet about this?!"
"So that dog and the other guy are weapons, I couldn't even tell at first glance," Gohan observed, still slightly puzzled. It seemed the other universes each had secrets of their own as well. He should've expected much. They didn't look all that powerful, but he knew better than to judge a book by its cover.
The Grand Minister now reclaimed everyone's attention. "And now, ladies and gentlemen, I ask for a moment of silence as we will now hear some words of welcome from the Omni-Kings themselves."
Everyone on the arena looked up at the small dome high above them, which they assumed was the residence of their gracious majesties, looking more like a small abode, as sparkles began to dance around the seats, with two lean, teal-skinned guards standing in between them. Most of the competitors heard about the melon-headed rulers but never actually saw the pair themselves. They've seen glimpses of them during their viewing of the Zeno Expo but couldn't actually tell what they were.
Now they were able to see them both excitingly getting up from their chairs, cheering about like children, sometimes speaking in unison.
"THANK YOU ALL! THIS WILL BE SO FUN!"
"We've been looking forward to this very much!"
"So fight well!"
"AND GIVE US A GOOD SHOW!"
Being blissfully unaware of exactly how the Zeno Expo proceeded, those who didn't see the fight were dumbstruck at the Grand Zenos' inane behavior towards all of this, and even the ones who did could barely believe it themselves.
"They're... they're children?!" sputtered Erza.
"There's two of them..." gawked Tatsumi.
"Y-you're kidding..." nervously babbled Midoriya as his eyes were glued up above him, not noticing Tenya profoundly bowing for them next to him, sweating heavily.
The chatter eventually died down with the shock beginning to fade, but the signs of it were very much present even now.
"Poetry, thy name is Zeno. Thank you, your Majesties," expressed the Grand Minister, as he and his podium lowered down to the pillar in the middle just above the arena. "Now then, for those who neglected to go through the rulebook assiduously, I'll lay out the basic guidelines for the battles."
"Are you kidding me? We already know the rules, those Gods already explained them to us!" snarled Bakugo in impatience. "Just start with the damn Tournament already!"
"BAKUGO!" shrieked Tenya, smacking him across the face, and bringing him and himself down to one knee in front the father of all twelve Angles. The Turbo Hero was quite positive his teachers and many of his schoolmates were shaking their heads about them. "Please forgive my teammate's brashness and impudence, Grand Minister, he's merely hoping to get the Tournament underway just as much as we are in order to ensure our survival!"
The Grand Minister held up a hand and playfully chuckled at the cocksure teenager and his more mature classmate, as they slowly got up, with Bakugo aggressively knocking his hand away. "It's quite alright contestant Tenya, I simply figured one more elaboration and a fresh reminder of the regulations would do us all some good. Now then..."
All of the competitors begun to listen very closely, not allowing a single detail to slip through their minds.
"The competition will last one hundred Takks, which is equivalent to what many of you would consider, forty-eight minutes. The column in the center will descend as time elapses, and once it reaches the ground, all fighting will officially conclude. Special techniques are allowed, as well as the use of weaponry, but any use of lethal attacks or maneuvers are strictly prohibited. However, you may force your opponents out of the ring, and must do so to win, for even if someone is rendered unable to fight, they will not be eliminated unless they are out of bounds. Energy based flight techniques that would prevent you from falling will be accessible to you here, but they can only be used for a brief period of time. Lastly, regardless of how wounded you may be, the use of restorative implements is expressly forbidden."
Many of the deities shivered and shook in fear and anticipation, knowing just how much was at stake during this grand event. Some of them had even forgotten to explain the rules thoroughly to their own team over fretting about their possible erasure. The Gods of the select few universes that weren't participating were excited to watch it all unfold for the pure sake of it. The only group of deities involved with the Tournament that weren't remotely nervous where those of the Eleventh, holding their team in high reverence, Jiren especially.
"And that concludes our review of the rules."
Chatter quickly broke out amongst the teams to discuss their strategies one final time, with the Gods themselves conversing with each other.
"Do you think our Universe actually stands a chance as they are?" asked Shin, understandably nervous as his hands tightly gripped his knees.
The older Supreme Kai attempted to ease his successor. "All we can do now is hope that's the case."
Whis delightfully chimed in. "You are correct to recognize you're impotence in the situation as all three of your fates rest solely on the hands of those mortals now."
Beerus inwardly growled at his attendant. Stop talking like that, Whis. Just because you're not at risk of disappearing doesn't mean you get to tease us about it.
Vermoud laid back on the bench with a smile, as if he didn't have a care in the world. After all, why wouldn't he be? His team was assembled of the best of the best, the greatest fighting force the multiverse had to offer, and with the big three, Dyspo, Top and Jiren in the game, it was all in his favor so why bother worrying?
Quitela was extremely confident, more so than he had ever been before, and it was all thanks to Saitama, someone who still remained an enigma to him, but was lucky he was as strong as he was. I can't wait to watch him wipe the floor with Beerus and Vermoud's little star players. There's no way the Fourth can lose with him on our side.
Giin was perhaps the only one who could barely keep his composure up, as it's been made very clear just how outclassed his team was in terms of power and resources. It wasn't like their gear had any extra perks or weaponry on them.
The Grand Minister and his platform rose to meet the Omni-Kings face to face. "At last, Grand Zenos, it is time to begin! Are we ready?"
The Zenos themselves could hardly wait. "Yes! Hurry!"/"Hurry, hurry, hurry!"
Their personal advisor respectfully bowed, and turned to the mortals below them. "Very well then, now if all competitors from each of the nine universes could assume their starting positions..."
A majority of the fighters quickly readied themselves, each of them anticipating the start of, what the Omni-Kings essentially perceived it to be, a game.
The Grand Minister raised his hand high dramatically. "LET THE TOURNAMENT OF POWER..."
Everyone tensed up.
Fighters.
Spectators.
All were on edge.
All were keyed up.
But they all had courage.
They had to prove themselves.
It was all or nothing.
This was to save their lives, and all those who they cherished.
His hand lowered.
"BEGIN!"
Chaos ensued the moment the word was given, with many fighters from all over the arena running towards the closest opponent they could find, the ground rumbling beneath them as if a stampede was in the midst.
Saitama was one of the quickest of the bunch as he wasted no time making his way to the Second Universe batch, already having clenched a fist, throwing it at Jiro's cheek at such a speed no one was aware of his presence until the fist made contact with it's target. Jiro was launched far back, stopping just near the edge of the arena, a few inches more and he would have been the first fighter to be eliminated.
What speed! I barely had time to feel his presence! mused Starjun, pacing himself back from Saitama, who was looking at his fist, with... disappointment?
Saitama, after constantly hearing about how strong everyone in this Tournament was going to be, expected much more, and this was the first thing he had to fight? To make matters worse, Jiro was almost eliminated just like that, so there was no point in wasting time with him.
Is this a joke? There has to be more people that just that Goku guy who can fight me for more than two minutes! Saitama looked towards the one of the highest rock points nearby, and began to jump towards it, which had been slowly forming overtime, either possibly from all the fights slowly destroying the ground below them and building up formations, or the Grand Minister elevating them to make the game more interesting. It was probably the first, but what mattered was what he was going to do with it.
As he landed on it, he bellowed out to nearly the entire arena. "EVERYONE! LISTEN UP!"
This no doubt got nearly everyone to stop fighting and gaze at him. Some of the fighters hadn't even moved at all, with a majority of them being from Universe Twelve. It was thrilling for him to know that nearly everyone saw him almost take out one of the Second's warriors with just one hit. "I AM SAITAMA FROM THE FOURTH! LET ME BE CLEAR, I DON'T CARE IF I SURVIVE THIS TOURNAMENT OR DIE AFTERWARD! I WAS PROMISED TO FIGHT THE STRONGEST PEOPLE IN THE MULTIVERSE, AND ALL I SEE IS PEOPLE I CAN BEAT WITH JUST ONE PUNCH! EITHER FIGHT SERIOUSLY OR I'LL JUST TAKE OUT ALL OF YOU NOW!"
As expected, he caused quite the commotion.
"Quitela, you might wanna control your fighter," Liquiir playfully advised, throwing him a taunting smile. "You wouldn't want your supposedly "best fighter" to be the first one ringed out, would you?"
The yellow mouse said nothing in response, he wasn't going to give that sly fox any satisfaction, it wasn't worth the effort.
Android Seventeen curiously raised an eyebrow. "Rather assertive, isn't he?"
His sister replied. "Definitely reckless though, but we'll have to watch out for him either way."
Esdeath was enamored by his forthright methods. Saitama, huh? I'll be sure to keep an eye on you.
Saitama finally got some responders as a select few raced towards him, including Natsu and Cabba, with the former's teammates calling him out for his impatience, and the latter becoming a Super Saiyan right off the bat.
"FIRE DRAGON'S WING ATTACK!" Natsu's arms became encased in large streams of red hot fire, springing up to Saitama, who gracefully ducked under his and Cabba's attack.
He stepped to the side and as if he was swatting away a housefly on the living room wall, the Caped Baldy slapped the pink-haired Dragon Slayer sending him tumbling far away into another stone pillar, not paying attention to where exactly, before he grabbed the scrawny Saiyan's shot-out arm, and used his other to elbow his abdomen. He witnessed the saliva fly in front of his face and land below him, and used both arms to swing Cabba around and throw him towards the giant pillar.
"Well that was boring," he sighed as he hopped off, going off to look for someone more worthy of his time and effort.
Goku was enthralled seeing him in action, was bumbling with sheer joy as his onyx eyes darted to and fro, witnessing other ongoing battles in the midst. Hit, Top, that guy and Jiren... all of these crazy fighters are here, with so much power and potential. I'm surrounded by 80 people who can fight like crazy!
"ALL RIGHT!" Goku quickly took off to join in on the action, much to the displeasure of his team.
The Grand Zenos were enthralled from up above, with all of the colorful lights illuminating the arena from everyone's array of techniques and abilities. It hadn't even been a full minute yet and this was already one of the best things that's ever happened to them.
This was going to be so much fun!
I swear, a lot of this sounded better in my head.
Now we're finally getting into the event we've all been waiting for. So, before we start, I believe it's a good idea to incorporate the exact times of where the other shows are, so we aren't confused. Although this probably won't be important since we can just consider this an alternative timeline for all of these shows.
U2/Toriko: A few years after the end of the manga.
U3/One Piece: During the Wano Country Arc.
U4/One-Punch Man: After the end of Season 2.
U9/Akame Ga Kill: 6 years after the end of the manga.
U10/Fairy Tail: A few months after Zeref's defeat in the manga.
U12/My Hero Academia: After the end of the Joint Training Arc.
Additionally, to keep track of where we everyone stands in the Tournament, there will be a ranking system based on the number of contestants in the ring. Here's an example.
1 = Universe 9(# of Total Eliminations): Contestant, Contestant(# of Eliminations), Contestant, Contestant, Contestant, Contestant, Contestant, Contestant, Contestant (# of Contestants) Eliminated: Contestant
2 = Universe 3(# of Total Eliminations): Contestant(# of Eliminations), Contestant(# of Eliminations), Contestant, Contestant, Contestant, Contestant, Contestant (# of Contestants) Eliminated: Contestant, Contestant(# of Eliminations), Contestant