The Arena.
On the Plateau Module.
A massive surge of purple energy shot toward Piccolo and Gohan, surrounding them and eating away at their bodies. In an instant, the two were completely swallowed by the terrifying sphere of energy.
Jiren's eyes widened in disbelief. He couldn't comprehend what he was seeing.
Then, a pair of agonizing screams rang out, sharp and piercing enough to make one's ears ring. It was Gohan and Piccolo inside the energy sphere. Their desperate cries echoed across the arena, sending chills down his spine.
Jiren struggled to raise his head and stared toward the edge of the arena. He watched helplessly as the overwhelming power closed in on Gohan and Piccolo like a savage beast opening its jaws to devour them. Seeing that they were about to be forced out of the arena and eliminated, Jiren's heart tightened.
Without warning, the seemingly calm sphere of energy exploded like a barrel of gunpowder.
'BOOM!'
A dazzling light burst forth as though a sun had exploded, releasing an endless wave of heat and destructive force. The light was so intense that Jiren couldn't look directly at it, instinctively raising both hands to shield his eyes. Even so, the brilliant glow stabbed painfully through the gaps between his fingers.
Amid the blinding light, Gohan and Piccolo gritted their teeth, their faces twisting in agony as they endured the tremendous torment. The mysterious, powerful energy bound their bodies tightly like unbreakable ropes, leaving them unable to move. At the same time, it felt as though ten thousand vicious ants were relentlessly gnawing at every inch of exposed skin, sending waves of excruciating pain through them.
"Uncle Piccolo! Do you feel it? This terrifying power...!" Gohan let out a desperate roar.
Piccolo endured the pain, clenching his teeth and forcing the words out. "I feel it!"
"This evil power seems to follow a pattern. The closer we get to the edge of the arena, the more the damage decreases, even if only slightly!" Gohan gasped, struggling to shout over to Piccolo. "Damn it! Whoever used this technique clearly intends to force us out of the arena and eliminate us!"
Piccolo roared in fury, but even he was helpless against such bizarre, overwhelming energy. They had figured out the secret behind it, but the power was simply too destructive. They could barely move, let alone break free.
"I'll never let him have his way!" Gohan shouted, his eyes widening with rage as he suddenly powered up.
A tremendous wave of energy erupted from his body. He unleashed his aura without holding anything back, surging outward in raging waves to resist the terrifying energy ravaging him.
Piccolo refused to be outdone. Gritting his teeth, he poured out every last bit of power he had left. An orange light shone brilliantly around him, intertwining with Gohan's aura as they fought the energy sphere together.
"AAAAAHHHHH!!!"
Their deafening cries echoed across the sky like thunder rumbling over the Plateau Module. Both were fighting with everything they had, but after only two seconds, their bodies were already reaching their limits under the pressure.
Gohan's consciousness began to fade. Images flashed through his mind like scenes from a movie, studying as a child, fighting alongside his friends, and the countless life-and-death battles he had survived over the years.
Piccolo was also on the verge of passing out. His mind felt buried beneath a thick fog, leaving his thoughts muddled and making it almost impossible to think clearly. Yet amid the chaos, hazy figures began appearing before him. As the silhouettes grew clearer, Piccolo was stunned to see Dende, the old Kami, and even Kiru among them.
Just as he felt he was about to hit his limit, a clear, childish voice drifted into his ears like a heavenly melody.
"Piccolo, hang in there! You can do it!"
Piccolo summoned every last bit of strength to slowly raise his heavy head. He struggled to open his eyes and gazed hazily ahead. To his disbelief, the person calling out to him was Kiru.
It made no sense. Normally, after assimilation, his own consciousness remained dominant. It had been the same when he assimilated the old Kami and Dende; even though he could sense their presence, at most he would occasionally hear their voices. But now, Kiru had not only appeared in his mind as clearly as if she were truly there, but she could actually communicate and interact with him.
Kiru reached out and gently placed her hand on Piccolo's shoulder. Waving her left hand in front of his eyes, she shouted desperately, "Wake up, Piccolo!!"
Piccolo's foggy consciousness gradually began to clear. When he finally opened his heavy eyelids, the sight before him startled him. Standing in front of him was someone he knew well, a young man with center-parted hair. Even more astonishingly, a massive white void floated behind him, radiating a dazzling light. The mysterious scene gave the entire area a fantastical, otherworldly atmosphere.
"Trunks...?" Piccolo whispered in an extremely weak, exhausted voice.
A sharp sound tore through the air.
'Whoosh!'
At astonishing speed, Trunks transformed in an instant, entering his Limit-Breaking Super Saiyan 4 form. Without hesitation, he unleashed every bit of power within his body. A thick light erupted from him like a raging flood, rapidly expanding into a massive protective barrier.
The purple energy that had posed such a threat to Piccolo and Gohan was miraculously weakened by the power Trunks released.
Nearby, Gohan sensed Trunks' familiar yet incredibly powerful aura. His face was filled with disbelief as he stared blankly at his younger timeline counterpart.
Trunks took the full force of the overwhelming purple energy head-on. With all the strength he could muster, he shoved Piccolo and Gohan toward the mysterious white portal.
"Let's go!" he gritted out.
At the same time, his sharp eyes glared furiously in the direction the purple energy blast had been fired from, his gaze filled with boundless anger.
"Final Flash!!"
Without a second thought, Trunks fired a Final Flash straight into the sky. He gave Gohan and Piccolo one last push forward before following them into the white portal. The three of them vanished from the Plateau Module.
The thick purple energy sphere remained suspended at the edge of the arena, lingering for a long time without dispersing. The sight immediately caught Jiren's attention. He slowly got to his feet and stared at it.
He could no longer hear Gohan and Piccolo's screams. Closing his eyes, Jiren sensed for their energy signatures.
"..."
"Did they fall?"
Remembering the terrifying energy sphere from moments ago, Jiren couldn't help but shudder inwardly.
Suddenly, a golden beam of energy shot up from the edge of the arena, doubling in size every second as it expanded rapidly. Jiren followed the sound and looked up. Its target was the sky, the exact spot the purple energy sphere had been fired from.
Jiren went on high alert as a thunderous explosion rang out, brilliant fireworks bursting across the sky. But in the very next second, the purple mist began spreading once again. It surrounded the golden light and completely devoured it, as though it had never existed.
"This power... Could it be Vermoud's Energy of Destruction?"
What happened next completely threw Jiren into confusion.
The previously calm surroundings erupted into chaos as an overwhelming energy wave surged forth. Jiren's expression changed instantly. On extreme alert, he fixed his sharp gaze ahead, not daring to blink. He could clearly feel the purple mist carrying an intensely dangerous aura, surging toward him like a raging tide.
And it was moving fast. In the blink of an eye, it was right in front of him.
As the aura grew stronger, the uneasiness in Jiren's heart intensified. He could sense that this mysterious energy, the same power that had effortlessly eliminated Gohan and Piccolo moments ago, was not here to help him, as he had initially thought. On the contrary, the energy was opening its jaws and slowly closing in on him.
"No... This isn't Vermoud's."
His mind was in turmoil as he unleashed the rest of his power to defend himself. However, he no longer had the strength to fight. His resistance was nothing more than a drop in the ocean.
The massive purple mist swept over Jiren with incredible speed, dragging him straight into its depths.
(End Of Chapter)
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