Elimination announcements continued to echo across the God of Destruction Arena, which served as the Tournament of Power stage.
"Universe 3: Majikayo eliminated."
"Universe 2: Hamira eliminated."
"Universe 2: Prum eliminated."
"Universe 3: Paparoni eliminated."
"Universe 3: Borareta eliminated."
"Universe 3: Pancéa eliminated."
"Universe 3: Koitsukai eliminated."
"Universe 10: Gohan eliminated."
...
More and more announcements echoed throughout the tournament, and one person was responsible for nearly all of them, Z Broly of Universe 6.
He had practically become the tournament's cleanup crew.
Even after beating Gohan Black senseless and eliminating him, Z Broly showed no intention of stopping. Instead, he turned his attention toward the edge of the volcanic zone.
His goal was to keep searching the other zones for his brother, Super Broly.
What he didn't know was that Super Broly had already advanced to the next round. No matter how long he searched, he wouldn't find him.
...
Snowfield Zone.
Inside the Space Prison, the group cut their discussion short as the flood of elimination announcements caught Trunks's attention.
He closed his eyes, sensing outward to identify the person responsible.
"What happened, Boss?" Super Perfect Cell asked.
Trunks slowly opened his eyes and relayed what he'd sensed.
"Z Broly did it. He's using Destruction Energy to travel between the different zones. It looks like he's searching for someone, otherwise, he wouldn't have crossed through so many of them."
Trunks already had a good idea who Z Broly was looking for. It was most likely either his counterpart, Super Broly, or Son Goku.
"What should we do next, Boss?" Super Perfect Cell asked.
The Universe 6 fighters and Lytus waited for Trunks's answer as well.
Trunks looked down at Gohan and Piccolo, thinking carefully before replying.
"We'll wait until Gohan and Uncle Piccolo wake up. Time already flows differently inside the Space Prison than it does outside."
As soon as Trunks finished speaking, Piccolo's body twitched, as if on cue.
"Tr... Trunks..."
His voice was weak and raspy, but he managed to force out the words.
"Uncle Piccolo! That's great, you're still alive!" Super Perfect Cell exclaimed, leaning down to look at him.
"I'm right here, Uncle Piccolo." Trunks crouched beside him.
Piccolo's eyes snapped open. Once he confirmed that the person before him truly was Trunks, he held out a hand, silently asking for help getting up.
Trunks understood immediately and pulled him to his feet.
Piccolo's energy was extremely faint, so Trunks transferred some of his own power into him. Only then could Piccolo barely manage to stand upright.
A layer of green light suddenly wrapped around Piccolo, and in the blink of an eye, his body returned to normal.
Everyone from Universe 6 stared in shock. What kind of ability was that?!
The Namekians from Universe 6 quickly focused their attention on Piccolo, sensing something unusual about his body. He was also a Namekian who had grown stronger through assimilation, yet they couldn't gauge his power at all. Piccolo was clearly on an entirely different level from them.
The moment he recovered, Piccolo urgently warned, "Trunks! Did you sense it back then? The energy that struck Gohan and me was Destruction Energy!"
Piccolo had sensed Destruction Energy before. When Beerus first came to Earth, Piccolo himself had nearly been erased by it. That made him exceptionally sensitive to its presence.
Trunks nodded. "I sensed it too, Uncle Piccolo. That's why what I'm about to say is so important.
"I've formed an alliance with Universe 6 on behalf of Universe 7. The people you see here are all of Universe 6's participating fighters. Z Broly is also representing Universe 6, but we'll leave him alone for now.
"You all heard the announcements just now, right? A Gohan from Universe 10 was eliminated, which means Universe 10 has only one fighter remaining. I don't know who that final fighter is, I just checked, but he's already advanced to the next round.
"So here's what I propose."
Trunks deliberately paused, and everyone immediately gave him their full attention.
"First, we can't allow anyone to discover the Space Prison. I think Hit's original method of hiding people could work."
Trunks glanced at Hit, the de facto leader of Universe 6. Hit nodded, pleased that Trunks had acknowledged his plan.
Then Trunks's very next sentence shot that approval right down.
"However, I don't think there's any need to use it."
Hit froze, and Caulifla immediately asked, "What do you mean? Didn't you just say it was a good plan?"
"The basic idea is sound," Trunks explained, "but there's one thing you haven't considered. The rules clearly state that whichever universe has the most fighters remaining will win. There's no question about that. But eventually, you'll still have to release everyone inside the Space Prison, won't you?
"Let's use Universe 6 as an example. Suppose our two universes hadn't formed an alliance. Hit and I are fighting, and I defeat him. Just before Hit is eliminated, he releases all of you from the Space Prison...
"Think about it. If I eliminated Hit, what could the rest of you possibly do against me? Tricks like this are nothing more than child's play in the face of overwhelming power. And if Hit defeated me instead, he would win without ever needing to release you. That's why strength is ultimately what matters most."
Trunks's explanation immediately cleared things up for everyone.
"Then what do we do?" Caulifla asked. "What's your plan?"
"I'll admit that Hit's strategy was useful during the first round," Trunks replied seriously. "It allowed most of you to advance safely to the second round. But as I just said, strength will be the deciding factor. Anyone who isn't strong enough will only be cannon fodder."
Trunks turned toward Universe 6's Namekians, Magetta, and the Yardratian. "Sorry, but I think the three of you should withdraw. Cabba as well. As for Frost, he can decide for himself."
Cabba knew he was among the weaker fighters, so he quietly joined the others without protest.
"Caulifla, don't you and Kale have a pair of Potara Earrings?" Trunks asked, staring directly at her.
Caulifla suddenly felt an immense pressure bearing down on her. Even so, she forced herself to remain calm and desperately tried to hide her unease.
She blinked innocently. "What Potara Earrings? What are you talking about? I have no idea what you mean!"
Her shifting gaze had already betrayed her.
Trunks knew Caulifla's personality well enough to be certain she had brought the Potara. Rather than expose her immediately, however, he merely sighed in apparent disappointment.
"Oh, never mind, then. I only thought they might prove useful in an emergency."
He slowly looked away from her before turning to Piccolo with trust and expectation in his eyes. "Uncle Piccolo."
Piccolo nodded. "All right. I'll follow your plan."
Trunks drew a deep breath, his expression growing even more serious.
"After thinking it over, I've decided to leave the Space Prison entirely in your hands, Uncle Piccolo. I'll also grant you full control over it. There's only one reason for that: I want you to remain here and provide everyone with medical support whenever they need it.
"This place is relatively safe and difficult to discover. Combined with your long-range healing technique, it should give us a much greater advantage in the second round."
"Healing technique?!" Caulifla exclaimed, staring at Piccolo and Trunks in disbelief.
She replayed what she had just witnessed. Piccolo's energy had been barely detectable, and he had looked ready to collapse at any moment. Yet the instant that green light appeared, he had completely recovered.
Caulifla fell into thought, trying to understand what kind of miraculous technique it could be. She had never heard of anything like it.
Super Perfect Cell scoffed beside her. "Look at you, acting like some country bumpkin who's never seen anything."
Caulifla rolled her eyes at him. "Hey, so what if I haven't seen it before?"
She frowned, clearly annoyed, before asking, "Still, there are a lot of us. Will he really be able to heal everyone when the time comes?"
"You don't need to worry about that," Super Perfect Cell declared confidently.
Caulifla pointed at Gohan, who was still lying on the ground. "If this healing technique is so amazing, why hasn't he healed that guy yet?"
Only then did Piccolo remember that Gohan still hadn't regained consciousness.
Green light once again erupted from Piccolo's body, and Gohan slowly opened his eyes.
He looked around in confusion. His injuries had been even worse than Piccolo's, leaving him completely unconscious. Piccolo, on the other hand, had retained some awareness and knew that Trunks had come to rescue them.
"Trunks?" Gohan asked blankly. "Where are we?"
Trunks briefly explained everything that had happened.
"Of course I'll help, Trunks," Gohan said with a smile. "I think your proposal is excellent. So, what do we do next?"
"Next, we prepare to advance." Trunks's expression was focused and determined.
"Hit, Lytus, my underling, and I will leave together. Once our alliance is officially recognized, the passage to the next round should appear. Then comes the crucial second round. At that point, I'll personally release all of you from the Space Prison.
"However, anyone who feels they're too weak to continue can simply jump out of the arena."
Trunks raised a hand and gave it a casual wave.
In an instant, their surroundings changed completely. Trunks, Super Perfect Cell, Hit, and Lytus returned to the snow-covered Snowfield Zone.
As expected, a huge, dazzling portal had already opened in the distance.
But while everyone was focused on the swirling gateway, a long crack suddenly split the clear sky without warning.
It resembled a jagged bolt of black lightning tearing through the heavens, casting an eerie atmosphere over the entire area.
A remarkably familiar aura began drifting from the rift.
Super Perfect Cell blinked, surprise and uncertainty appearing on his face. "This aura... Could it be Z Broly?"
Although he spoke softly, everyone heard him clearly.
Hit frowned at the name. "Z Broly? I thought his name was simply Broly. Where did that strange prefix come from?"
"There are two different Brolys in this universe," Trunks explained gravely, his eyes fixed on the sky. "To distinguish between them, we added 'Z' to one Broly's name. The other one is called 'Super Broly.'"
Hit shoved his hands into his pockets and frowned. "Strange prefixes."
While everyone was still considering Trunks's explanation, the usually silent Lytus suddenly trembled.
His eyes shook uncontrollably as he stared fixedly into the depths of the sky.
(End Of This Chapter)
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