In the distance, Cell hacked off his broken arm and gritted his teeth as he regenerated it.
"You're done, Cell," Jiren said flatly. "You never should've attacked Zeno-sama. You could've died quickly."
"You think you can kill me?" Cell roared. "Don't forget—I can regenerate!"
Jiren moved.
In an instant, he was right in front of Cell.
Thud!
Jiren struck with a single palm.
Some of the onlookers swore they saw Cell's body split for a moment—as if something like a soul was knocked loose and flew out.
Then it snapped back in.
Cell crashed to the ground, coughing up blood.
The yellow-green light around him vanished completely.
One strike.
That was all it took to knock Cell back to normal.
Cell lay there, eyes unfocused, shaking his head until he managed to regain clarity.
For a second, it felt like his spirit had been ripped out.
How is that possible?
Crack!
Jiren stomped down and shattered one of Cell's arms.
Cell screamed like he was being butchered.
"Cell," Jiren said, expression cold, "you're arrogant. Even I wouldn't claim to be the strongest in the universe."
He stomped again, crushing Cell's other arm.
Cell's screams turned ragged and desperate.
"Ever heard of levels?" Jiren asked, stepping toward Cell's legs.
Cell turned his head toward him, biting back pain as he forced out, "Levels?"
"Strength can be measured in levels," Jiren said, not rushing. "When the Cell Games started, you were already around level 1."
"Level 1?" Cell wheezed. "What's the max level?"
"Level 100," Jiren answered.
Cell: "…"
Cell's mind short-circuited.
Max level 100, and I was level 1?
Are you mocking me?
"Then you absorbed Kale's Legendary Super Saiyan cells and reached level 5," Jiren continued.
Cell didn't want to speak.
I absorbed Legendary Super Saiyan cells and only hit level 5?
You're definitely messing with me.
"After that, you rebuilt yourself through self-destruction," Jiren said. "That brought you to level 8. Honestly, that's impressive."
"Just tell me what level you are!" Cell snapped, glaring through the pain.
"Level 30," Jiren replied calmly.
Cell's face went pale.
He nearly cursed out loud.
You bastard.
You call me level 8, and you're level 30?
But the more he thought about it, the more it fit.
There was no other explanation for the gap.
Cell felt a deep, crushing despair.
I got this strong… and I'm still only level 8?
And he's level 30?
"See those gods over there?" Jiren asked, voice flat.
Cell looked toward the ridge.
"Do you know what levels they are?" Jiren asked.
Cell said nothing.
"Merus is at least level 50," Jiren said.
Cell's eyes went wide. "Wasn't he supposed to have disappeared? How did he come back?"
"The disappearance was just to trigger Kale's transformation," Jiren said with a cold laugh. "If Merus wanted you dead, it would be easier than crushing an ant."
Cell fell silent, shaken to his core.
After a brief pause, he forced out, "What about Bardock? What level is he?"
"I don't know exactly," Jiren said. "But he's definitely higher than me. I'd guess at least level 45."
Cell: "…"
"And Broly?" Jiren asked again.
Cell didn't answer.
"About level 59," Jiren said.
Cell went silent.
"And Ken?" Jiren continued.
Cell didn't speak.
"People say Ken is level 70," Jiren said.
Cell took that like a direct hit to the spine.
Level 70.
"And the one on the throne—Zeno-sama," Jiren said. "Do you know his level?"
"Stop," Cell choked out. "Just kill me."
"I don't know Zeno-sama's level either," Jiren said quietly. "But I've heard that even a god as strong as Ken can be erased with a wave of Zeno-sama's hand."
"Erased…?" Cell whispered, eyes wide.
So that's it.
That's why my attack vanished earlier.
Zeno-sama erased it.
"If Zeno-sama wanted to," Jiren added, "he could erase an entire universe."
Then he lowered his voice further. "Long ago, there were 18 universes. Zeno-sama personally erased six of them."
Cell went blank. His mouth opened, but no sound came out.
"And this universe you're in is Universe 6," Jiren said. "I'm from Universe 11."
Cell's expression twisted.
"You shouldn't have attacked Zeno-sama," Jiren said, almost amused. "If you hadn't, you wouldn't be dying like this."
Cell didn't respond at all.
If this is a dream, wake me up.
A bunch of gods bullying one mortal—how is that fair?
"Looks like your pain is settling down," Jiren said. "So let's continue."
He stomped down and crushed one of Cell's legs.
Cell's scream turned inhuman.
"A tiny bug like you," Jiren said, shaking his head, "calling yourself the strongest in the universe?"
"I'LL KILL YOU!" Cell roared through the pain. "So what if you're level 30? I'll blow you up!"
His body started swelling again.
Jiren lifted a hand. A heavy pressure dropped over Cell instantly.
Pop.
Cell's swelling vanished on the spot.
"How… how is that possible?!" Cell shouted, stunned. His ki felt locked down, like he couldn't trigger self-destruction at all.
"Self-destruct?" Jiren snorted. "Not happening."
He stomped again and shattered Cell's last leg.
Cell's scream echoed across the sky.
Jiren kicked him up into the air.
"Die," Jiren said simply.
He flicked his hand, and a massive wave of energy rushed up and swallowed Cell whole.
Cell's voice broke in sheer terror. "No… you animal! I won't die!"
Boom!
The energy erased him completely.
Then Jiren controlled Cell's severed limbs and crushed them into dust as well.
Cell was dead.
This time, truly dead.
Jiren's expression didn't change. Killing Cell felt like crushing an insect.
In the next moment, Jiren returned to Zeno-sama's ridge at high speed and knelt to bow.
"Well done," Zeno-sama said, satisfied. "Future Supreme Kai."
Jiren bowed again.
"You said you wanted to challenge that future Supreme Kai named Goku," Zeno-sama said with interest.
"Yes, Zeno-sama," Jiren answered, excited.
"Go ahead," Zeno-sama said, waving a hand.
"Thank you, Zeno-sama," Jiren replied, then dropped down in front of Goku.
Goku: "…"
"Goku," Jiren said, looking at him directly.
"You're Jiren, right?" Goku said, eyes bright with excitement. "You're amazing! Can I fight you and see what happens?"
"That's why I'm here," Jiren replied coldly. "A spar."
"Alright!" Goku nodded hard. "Let's start now!"
He powered up immediately, entering Super Saiyan God.
Jiren watched in silence.
"Jiren, I won't hold back," Goku said, taking a fighting stance.
Jiren nodded slightly.
Whoosh!
Goku became a streak of flame and fired a powerful punch straight at Jiren.
Jiren lifted one hand and caught it on his palm.
Smack!
Goku's fist pressed into Jiren's hand—and couldn't move forward another inch.
Jiren stood there, unmoving.
"Goku," Jiren said with a faint smile, contempt in his eyes, "is this all you've got?"
Goku: "…"
"You'd better work harder," Jiren said with a cold laugh. "We've got ten years left in the assessment, right?"
"Yeah," Goku said, nodding.
"If this is your level," Jiren said, "then you can forfeit the combat portion."
He grabbed Goku and yanked him forward.
Thud!
Jiren drove his knee into Goku's stomach.
Goku gagged and collapsed, stomach acid spraying out as he hit the ground.
His Super Saiyan God aura scattered, and he returned to normal.
"Goku!" Krillin shouted, rushing over.
But when he got close to Jiren, fear stopped him. He didn't dare take another step.
Jiren glanced at Krillin, snorted, and walked away.
In an instant, he was back on Zeno-sama's ridge.
"Well… uh…" Merus laughed awkwardly, looking embarrassed as he turned to Ken. "Looks like Goku really needs to train properly."
"Yeah," Ken said, nodding, and gave Bardock a quick look.
Bardock immediately understood. His mouth curled upward with excitement.
"I'm heading back," Zeno-sama said, standing and stretching with a yawn. He swung a leg over Majin Buu's back and sat down.
Majin Buu: "…"
Weren't you going to let me go?
You're so used to riding me now?
"Zeno-sama!" the Right Guard blurted, suddenly anxious.
You promised my spar with Ken.
I wanted to teach that brat a lesson.
"What?" Zeno-sama side-eyed him.
"Zeno-sama, my spar with Ken…" the Right Guard said carefully.
"Ah," Zeno-sama said, remembering. "Didn't we say we'd fight in the World of Void?"
"Yes," the Right Guard replied.
"Then let's go," Zeno-sama said, not objecting. He swept his gaze across the group. "Merus, Bier. You two come as well."
"Yes, Zeno-sama!"
Merus and Bier bowed at once.
"Everyone else, disperse," Zeno-sama ordered. "You don't need to follow."
Broly rushed forward and knelt before Zeno-sama.
Ai followed him down and lowered herself too, treating it as kneeling.
"You want to come too, Broly?" Zeno-sama asked.
Broly nodded.
"Fine. Come," Zeno-sama said.
He used Instant Transmission.
Whoosh!
Zeno-sama vanished first, taking Majin Buu with him.
The Right Guard turned to Ken with a provocative grin. "Before we spar, how about we race? Let's see who reaches the World of Void first."
"Sure," Ken said.
"Ready?" the Right Guard asked, smiling.
Ken nodded. "Yeah."
"Go!" the Right Guard barked.
He shot into the sky and vanished in an instant.
Left Guard: "…"
"Why aren't you moving?" the Left Guard asked Ken.
Ken tapped his forehead. "I just remembered something I forgot to take care of. You go ahead. I'll leave in a moment."
The Left Guard didn't know what to say.
I feel like Right Guard launched a little too early…
Instead of leaving, the Left Guard stayed behind to see what Ken was about to do.
Merus: "…"
Bier: "…"
Merus and Bier had been ready to take off—starlike auras already flaring—but when Ken didn't move, they stopped too.
Ken flickered and appeared beside Krillin.
"Ken?" Krillin blinked and instinctively hugged Android 21 even tighter.
This is my Android 21.
Don't you dare steal her.
Krillin watched Ken like a hawk.
Smack.
Ken lifted his hand, and a tiny chip appeared—no bigger than a pinky fingernail.
"What's that?" Krillin squinted.
"Android 16's core chip," Ken said, smiling as he patted Krillin's shoulder. "It has a neural network and memory. Give it to Android 21. You might just create a romance."
Krillin's eyes went wide. He reached out with both hands and accepted the chip like it was treasure.
Ken didn't say anything else. He simply glanced toward Bardock again.
Bardock nodded, understanding immediately.
Ken flickered back beside the Left Guard.
Left Guard: "…"
You're still not leaving?
Right Guard is probably already past the galaxy Earth is in.
"Guard," Ken asked calmly, "how long will it take Right Guard to reach the World of Void?"
"At his speed, less than ten minutes," the Left Guard answered.
"Then let him fly for a while," Ken said with a grin.
"…Didn't he challenge you to a race?" the Left Guard asked, speechless.
"He wanted a race," Ken said, smiling. "I'm just cooperating."
The Left Guard fell silent.
"There's an easier way to reach the World of Void," Ken continued. "So why fly the whole way?"
"There's an easier way?" the Left Guard blinked. "What way?"
Ken calmly raised his staff and used the crystal orb to contact Universe 6's Supreme Kai.
"Supreme Kai Fuwa, hello," Ken said. "It's Ken."
Left Guard: "…"
Merus: "…"
Bier: "…"
Amarella: "…"
Shameless.
"Oh—Ken!" Fuwa greeted warmly. "Hello, hello. Long time no see."
"Supreme Kai Fuwa," Ken asked, "are you busy right now?"
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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