Paparoni ran a hand over the robot's crumpled frame as if soothing a child.
The next second he rammed his staff straight through its chassis.
Crack.
A gaping hole split the robot's torso. The orb at the head of his staff began to change, flaring with a blinding light.
On the ground the robot's body started to blur, its edges thinning and fading.
In the end it was completely absorbed into the staff.
"Ha ha ha, tremble, humans."
Paparoni laughed like a madman. He flicked his wrist and the crystal at the tip of the staff popped free.
Then he tossed the crystal into his mouth.
Gulp.
He swallowed it.
Light burst from Paparoni's body, swallowing him whole.
The ruined arena lit up like day. Through the glare everyone could see his body undergoing a grotesque transformation.
Within that light Paparoni swelled, each part of his body warping in a way no living thing should.
A bestial roar rolled out of the radiance.
Even Beerus widened his eyes at the stands, staring into the blaze.
"That ki. Something is wrong."
Feeling the twisted aura bleeding out of the light, Beerus knew this was bad. He cupped his hands and shouted down to the arena. "Goku, Vegeta, this opponent is strange. Do not relax."
Both men nodded, their gazes turning even heavier.
The light dimmed. A colossal figure stepped into view.
A giant more than ten meters tall, its whole body split starkly into black and white, a warrior fused into a monster. Anilaza.
Vegeta's throat tightened despite himself. That warped aura gnawed at his thoughts.
He shook his head, angry at his moment of fear. "Hey, monster. I will test you."
He roared, flared to Super Saiyan 2, and hurled a razor ki disk.
The shining blade flashed gold as it tore across the air toward Anilaza's arm.
Anilaza looked at it, lips curling in disdain. A casual sweep of his hand kicked up a gust that shattered the disk in midair.
Boom.
The attack detonated harmlessly.
"Looks like we go together," Vincent Fox said coolly, standing with the others. His eyes ran once over Anilaza and in an instant he had picked out weak points.
Goku, exhausted but steady, nodded. "His ki is too strong. One on one might not cut it."
"Tch." Vegeta folded his arms and scowled. "For Universe 7's sake I will humor you. But do not think you can order me around."
For all his bluster, he agreed.
Goku erupted into divine crimson and slipped into Super Saiyan God, a form he could now hold with minimal drain.
The four moved as one.
Android 17 leaped high, flooding the air with a hail of energy blasts that blanketed Anilaza's face.
Anilaza did not budge. He pursed his lips and blew. The barrage unraveled into glimmering scraps.
"What a big mouth," Beerus muttered, face darkening. This trump card from Universe 3 was absurd. Speed, power, everything spiked past the others. A perfect hexagon on a battle chart.
Anilaza struck back. He cocked a massive fist and drove it at 17 still hanging in the air.
In that instant 17 snapped a barrier into place.
The giant's punch slammed down.
Boom.
Crack.
The barrier touted as absolute defense split with spiderweb lines.
Anilaza wound up again and hammered at 17 as he fell.
"Damn it."
17 kicked off hard and slipped aside, the killing blow missing by a hair.
The giant fist crashed into the arena.
Stone screamed. From that single impact the fighting stage fractured outward in all directions.
"No wonder Universe 3 dared to call this their ace," Piccolo whispered, skin gone sallow as sweat trickled down his brow.
Beerus clenched his fists. "This is bad."
Anilaza went wild, flailing with terrifying fists and feet. The platform that had endured so many battles finally started to tilt.
Jiren stared ahead, eyes sharpening as they settled on the raging giant.
"Jiren, are you moving?" a fellow Pride Trooper asked behind him.
Jiren shook his head and wrapped a barrier around them both with a thought. "If Goku cannot overcome that thing he is not worthy to be my opponent."
Center stage, Universe 7's four fighters tightened the noose, surrounding Anilaza in an instant.
"Go," Vincent snapped and moved first.
"No one tells me twice," Vegeta barked, diving in alongside him.
Goku and 17 attacked from opposite angles.
Anilaza still did not panic. His enormous frame blurred.
Before the four could land cleanly the giant's limbs lashed out, fists and kicks slamming toward all four.
"Guard," Vincent shouted. His danger sense flared. It was not overwhelming, but he could not assume the others could tank what he could.
He crossed his forearms and poured Armament Haki over his chest in a thick shell.
Thud.
The blow caught Vincent head on and hurled him backward.
The others fared no better, flung like kites with cut strings.
"So fast," Vegeta groaned, forcing himself up. A creature that huge should not move like that, yet all he saw was a blur before the impact ripped him away.
Seeing that gulf in raw power, despair crept over the faces in the stands.
----------------------------------------------------
The deeper he goes, the more the truth unravels. Don't wait read ahead and witness Vincent's rise before the world catches up!
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