After that brief, suffocating silence, the atmosphere froze.
Super Perfect Cell was the first to speak. His eyes widened as he looked around, his voice trembling slightly with anxiety.
"Boss! What the hell happened? Was it really that terrifying Destruction Energy that hit Brother Gohan and the others?!"
Trunks frowned, lost in thought.
Based on what Hit had revealed earlier, he pieced things together and realized Vegeta must have successfully reached the module Bulla was in.
More importantly, Vegeta had mastered Ultra Ego. With his current strength, using Destruction Energy was well within his capabilities.
That made one thing easy to deduce: if Destruction Energy could penetrate the barrier between modules, Vegeta was certainly capable of attacking someone in another module.
But Trunks knew Vegeta would never attack people from his own universe.
Whoever did this had to be someone else.
Then a thought flashed through Trunks's mind.
There was another person in Universe 11 who possessed an astonishing ability to wield Destruction power, someone who hadn't appeared yet.
In the original timeline, that person was Toppo, Universe 11's God of Destruction candidate.
"I think... I know who attacked Brother Gohan and the others."
Trunks's expression darkened, his tone grave.
His words sent a sudden shock through the group. All eyes turned toward him, everyone holding their breath for an explanation.
Trunks took a deep breath before laying out his reasoning.
"Based on what I've seen and thought through, the person responsible is most likely Toppo."
At the sound of that name, several people gasped. Super Perfect Cell even jerked back in surprise.
"Toppo?!" But a moment later, Cell shook his head and muttered, "Never heard of him..."
Hit, silent until now, finally spoke up.
"I'm somewhat familiar with him. According to my information, Toppo is a God of Destruction candidate in Universe 11." He paused briefly before continuing. "He's also the captain of the Pride Troopers and one of their strongest warriors. If Gohan and the others were fighting Jiren, it's not impossible that Toppo stepped in to help him."
Hit's words hit everyone like a hammer.
Yet right then, Trunks felt a wave of uneasiness.
Toppo helping Jiren?
The more he thought about it, the more wrong it felt.
In the original story, Toppo was nowhere near Jiren's level. Sure, he held the title of God of Destruction candidate, but once consumed by Destruction power, he became little more than a pseudo-god who had lost his rationality.
Trunks still remembered the look on Jiren's face when Toppo transformed in the original timeline, Jiren had looked almost disgusted.
Besides, Gohan and Piccolo were both considerably stronger here than in the original story. Gohan had unlocked Beast Form, while Piccolo had achieved his Orange form.
More importantly, Trunks had briefly sensed Jiren's aura earlier. Jiren was in terrible shape, far weaker than either Gohan or Piccolo at that moment.
If Gohan and Piccolo could handle an opponent as powerful as Jiren, wouldn't dealing with Toppo be simple?
After all, to Trunks, Toppo had always been the so-called "eternal runner-up", someone whose reputation far exceeded his actual ability.
Even if Trunks's presence in this timeline had caused changes and made Toppo considerably stronger, there was no way he could have surpassed current Gohan. And Piccolo was right there backing him up.
Unless Toppo had spent all this time training relentlessly to become a true God of Destruction, reaching a level on par with Vermoud, Universe 11's God of Destruction... only then would defeating Beast Gohan make sense.
But when Trunks first encountered Universe 11's warriors, he had carefully observed Toppo. After assessing him, Trunks felt Toppo was still a long way off from that level.
Jiren, on the other hand, had given off an unfathomable, mysterious pressure.
Judging from everything he'd seen, Toppo was still destined to remain the "eternal runner-up."
Suddenly, Trunks shifted his tone.
"No... Now that I think about it, something isn't right."
Another sudden turn left everyone thoroughly confused.
"Boss, what the hell is going on?" Cell asked impatiently.
Caulifla lost her patience too. "Yeah, Trunks! Can't you just finish your thought for once?"
Trunks frowned deeply, continuing in a serious tone. "Based on what I know, I don't think it was Toppo. With his current strength, there's no way he possesses that much power. The energy fluctuation we felt was far beyond anything Toppo could produce."
He slowly shook his head, convinced of his conclusion.
If it wasn't Toppo, then who was it?
That question weighed on Trunks's mind as well. His gaze suddenly snapped toward Leitesus.
Leitesus caught Trunks looking at him and frowned, looking bewildered.
"Why are you looking at me like that? If even you can't figure it out, how would I know?" A hint of annoyance and helplessness edged his voice.
Trunks had hoped to extract something useful from Leitesus, suspecting whoever attacked Gohan and the others might be connected to the remaining two members of Universe 11.
That was why he'd looked over, hoping for a clue. But Leitesus had already made it clear he knew nothing, as far as he was concerned, he was just an outsider who had secretly infiltrated Universe 10.
Judging by his utterly clueless look, Trunks decided there was no point asking.
Still, Trunks wondered if one of Universe 11's remaining members had somehow taken over Vegeta's body after he mastered Ultra Ego. It wasn't an entirely impossible theory.
Yet a moment later, Trunks dismissed it. Even someone like Zamasu wouldn't be able to severely injure Gohan and Piccolo just by taking over Ultra Ego Vegeta's body. Besides, why would anyone from Universe 11 bother helping Jiren in the first place?
While Trunks pondered, Kale, silent until now, finally spoke up.
"Um... could it be Broly?"
Trunks snapped his head toward her. "What do you mean? Broly?"
At the same time, Leitesus turned and stared intently at Kale. Trunks caught the subtle reaction, causing Leitesus to quickly stop himself before acting any more suspicious.
Kale's suggestion broke the deadlock.
Hit picked up the thought. "Broly has been learning Destruction from Lord Champa. Given his personality, that's entirely something he would do."
Hit's words clicked for Trunks. If it really was Z Broly, everything made sense.
Just as the pieces fell into place, Leitesus cast a doubtful glance over and muttered, "Is he really that kind of person?" His eyes burned with intense curiosity.
Trunks couldn't help chuckling. "What? Are you that interested in him?" He added teasingly, "Still, I can tell you with complete confidence that this theory makes way more sense than my earlier ones."
Leitesus fell silent.
Trunks frowned slightly, his expression turning serious again. "If it's Z Broly, and he's mastered a powerful Destruction technique, there's a very high chance he'd attack Brother Gohan and the others. The guy is a total lunatic, and more importantly, he already holds a grudge against us."
Leitesus looked thoughtful, but a moment later, he slowly turned away in silence, his expression growing gloomy.
Then Trunks dropped another bombshell, shaking his head firmly.
"Actually... it wasn't Z Broly."
The tension in Leitesus's face eased slightly, and he looked back at Trunks.
Trunks took a deep breath. "If I hadn't gone to support Gohan and the others myself, I probably would've believed that theory too. But I sensed the aura. It wasn't Z Broly's. We can be certain this theory is wrong."
The moment Trunks delivered that conclusion, silence fell over the group once again.
Then, without warning, a thunderous voice echoed down from the sky, shaking the area:
"Universe 11 - Jiren eliminated."
The announcement roared through their ears like a bolt of thunder, leaving everyone stunned.
The previously noisy Space Prison instantly went dead silent.
One by one, they raised their heads and looked up at the sky.
(End of Chapter)
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