novelden Chapter 354 354: The Universe Tree Appears!
Chapter 354 354: The Universe Tree Appears!
Levos's arena.
His opponent, Geene, the God of Destruction of Universe 12, was already sweating heavily the moment he stepped onto the field.
Geene did not dare attack first. He simply stood there, waiting for Levos to tell him what to do.
Between him and his opponent, there was an absolute gap.
Facing Levos, he even felt the helplessness of an ant gazing up at a dragon.
And yet he was supposed to be the god.
"I... I concede."
Geene forced the words out with difficulty.
He knew that attacking would only humiliate him. It was better to surrender cleanly and preserve his strength.
Levos gave a faint nod, accepting it.
With Geene's surrender, this became the fastest match to end in the entire first round of the lower bracket.
The moment Levos returned to the platform, he heard Goku asking Vados,
"What's a Universe Seed? Is it strong? Can you eat it?"
"Of course you can't eat it," Vados explained patiently. "To put it simply, it is a seed capable of giving birth to a brand-new universe."
"What?!"
Everyone cried out in shock, their faces full of disbelief.
Creating a universe?
That concept was far beyond their understanding.
Chronoa and Aeos's expressions darkened at the same time.
"As expected!"
That was a domain belonging to Lord Zeno.
The two of them secretly glanced at the expressionless "Monaka," but failed to detect any unusual reaction from him.
Vados continued, "The conditions for a Universe Seed's birth are extremely harsh. It must absorb an unimaginable amount of energy, and only in an extremely stable environment does it have a chance to sprout."
"Once it grows into a Universe Tree, a new universe will be born along with it."
"The cubes behind Hearts are containers that carry and drive the power of the Universe Seed."
After hearing this explanation, everyone fell silent.
That man called Hearts was actually carrying an unformed universe with him.
On the battlefield.
Hearts seemed to have heard Vados's explanation. He laughed, his voice spreading across the entire venue.
"You're half right, Miss Angel."
As he spoke, he walked toward the immobilized Sidra.
"The Universe Seed can indeed create a universe."
"But its birth is not purely dependent on luck."
"It is the result of countless experiments."
Hearts spread his arms, his expression fervent.
"For this goal, we created many Universe Seeds. Some of them have even successfully grown into Universe Trees."
The entire venue erupted again.
More than one?!
There were already successful Universe Trees?!
A sharp gleam flashed through Emperor Vegeta's eyes.
The power to create a universe... If he could take that power for himself, his empire would become truly eternal.
"You lot."
"At your command, Your Majesty," his guards answered in unison.
"Find a way to get that thing."
"As you command."
The way everyone looked at Hearts changed.
Elsewhere, Levos's expression shifted slightly.
The instant Hearts used that power, the Universe Seed inside Levos produced a faint resonance.
So that was it.
Hearts also possessed a Universe Seed.
And from the sound of it, he was not the only one.
There were even Universe Trees that had already been born!
No wonder Fu had so calmly agreed to participate in this game.
As the host, Full Metal Cell Max merely curled his lips faintly when he heard this news.
...
In Bardock and Son Goten's arena, the battle had already reached a fever pitch.
The grandfather and grandson had both transformed into Super Saiyan 4 and were clashing madly across the field.
Bardock's battle experience was seasoned and ruthless. His techniques were wide and forceful, filled with the killing intent forged on real battlefields.
Goten, on the other hand, was more agile. He had briefly received instruction from Beerus, so his use of power was more refined.
"Not bad, kid!" Bardock said, forcing Goten back with a punch, his face full of praise.
"You too, Grandpa! You're really strong!"
Goten wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his fighting spirit burning even hotter.
Watching this powerful grandson before him, Bardock felt countless emotions rising in his chest.
Without Levos's appearance, he might still have been under Towa's control, unable to reunite with Gine, Kakarot, Goten, and the rest of his family.
Having once followed Towa through many timelines and distorted histories himself, what he wanted now was to protect this timeline and stop that woman's schemes.
Thinking of the cold, ruthless Kakarot and Beast from Emperor Vegeta's timeline, Bardock's eyes darkened, and the weight on his shoulders grew even heavier.
...
In another arena, the battle between Master Roshi and Ginyu was equally spectacular.
With Ginyu's current body, his battle power completely overwhelmed his opponent.
But once the fight actually began, things were nothing like Ginyu had imagined.
Under his storm-like assault, Roshi remained unexpectedly composed.
Roshi constantly shifted into strange stances.
"Young man, your strength is indeed impressive. But your technique is far too lacking, and your use of power is crude!"
He seized an opening and pointed one finger at Ginyu's chest.
Bang!
A simple finger strike left Ginyu with the feeling that there was nowhere to dodge.
The fingertip struck, and his entire body suddenly stiffened.
Then he flew backward, carving a deep trench through the ground.
"Master Roshi's battle wisdom seems to have fully blossomed under the boost of Saiyan blood. He's reached an entirely new realm."
Krillin was deeply moved.
Piccolo nodded in agreement.
"That old man combined the power of Super Saiyan 3 with his muscular form. That's what allowed his martial arts style to shine so brilliantly."
"However, Master Roshi has one fatal weakness. I'm afraid he has no chance of winning..." Yamcha reminded them.
"True!" Goku agreed immediately.
That easy-to-overlook, almost unreasonable flaw was simply too fatal.
...
Fu's arena.
His opponent was Iwne, the God of Destruction of Universe 1.
Iwne's furry body contained one of the strongest powers among all the Gods of Destruction.
Every attack was simple and direct, carrying incomparable destructive force.
Fu danced lightly through Iwne's berserk assault, his face never losing its relaxed smile.
In his hand was a dark-red short blade.
Each time the short blade collided with Iwne's fist, it released a crisp ringing sound, easily dissolving the Destruction Power attached to it.
"Hey, Lord God of Destruction."
Fu dodged a punch and appeared behind Iwne.
"After fighting this long, don't you find it boring?"
As he spoke, he extended one finger and lightly tapped Iwne's back.
Iwne's body instantly froze.
A strange energy invaded his body and temporarily sealed the flow of his divine power.
"Just as Hearts said, you so-called gods know nothing about true power."
Fu's teasing voice echoed through the entire arena.
"The Universe Seed, the Universe Tree..."
"All of those are merely tools we use to create the perfect universe."
His gaze seemed to drift toward the highest point of the arena, where Full Metal Cell Max stood.
Those words sounded more like they were meant for him.
"To gather data and filter out the most perfect genes, we put in quite a bit of effort."
"For example, the one in my hand is a Universe Tree in its early stage."
Fu opened his palm.
A miniature sapling glowing with rainbow light slowly rotated in his hand.
A life aura far vaster and deeper than Hearts's Universe Seed spread from it.
A Universe Tree!
He really had a Universe Tree!
Levos sensed that aura, and his pupils contracted slightly.
The Universe Seed inside him was now resonating more violently than ever before.
Fu also possessed the power of a Universe Seed, and he had already cultivated it to the tree stage.
Hearts, Fu...
Their objective was likely to use the forced participation in this game to turn the situation around, dividing up the combat energy of all these powerful fighters to perfect their plan for a perfect universe.
They might even have already laid their groundwork on this tournament planet.
For example, they may have reached cooperation with Fused Zamasu long ago...
Levos suddenly recalled what his companions had told him about Turles's invasion of Earth while he was away.
The Tree of Might in their hands seemed to have been strengthened by the Universe Tree.
After eating those enhanced Fruits of the Tree of Might, their strength had soared so greatly that even Gohan and the others had struggled to withstand them.
In that case, Fu's group had likely begun laying out their plans for this timeline a long time ago.
Perhaps even Cooler, Moro, and the rise of the Saiyan Empire had their shadows behind them.
The question now was whether Full Metal Cell Max was also part of their plan.
Beside Levos, Monaka continued to watch the match expressionlessly.
As if the Universe Tree Fu mentioned was nothing more than an insignificant toy.
That calmness, however, made every person who knew the truth feel an inexplicable chill.
The Gods of Destruction were already speechless.
One carried a Universe Seed, and another held a Universe Tree.
Just what were these mortals?
And what kind of terrifying organization was this "we" they spoke of?
The gods looked at Vados with questioning eyes.
Vados merely shook her head slightly, indicating that she did not know either.
Emperor Vegeta had unconsciously clenched both fists.
"Fu... Hearts..."
He carved those two names firmly into memory.
...
In the arenas, the only battles unaffected by the tense atmosphere were the Cell Jr. matches.
Dore's opponent was Cell Jr. Number One.
He had just transformed into a Super Saiyan and had not even had time to strike a pose.
The little fellow across from him flashed forward.
Jigu!
A hand chop landed precisely on the back of Dore's neck.
Dore's eyes rolled back, and he cleanly fainted.
Chiaotzu's opponent was another Cell Jr.
He had also just transformed into a Super Saiyan and was about to use his psychic power to bind his opponent.
Cell Jr. Number Two had already appeared in front of him, stretched out a tiny hand, and lightly flicked his forehead.
Chiaotzu instantly lost consciousness and was eliminated.
The fight between Arak, God of Destruction of Universe 5, and a Cell Jr. was not quite so one-sided.
Arak opened with a Destruction Energy ball.
The Cell Jr. did not dodge. It opened its mouth.
Guji!
It swallowed the Destruction Energy ball in one bite and even burped.
Arak: "???"
The next second, the Cell Jr. appeared in front of him and headbutted his stomach.
Arak's entire body flew backward and slammed into the barrier.
Humiliation.
Unparalleled humiliation.
This little monster, whose intelligence was only about that of a three-to-five-year-old child, had actually made him, a dignified God of Destruction, suffer!
Mosco, the God of Destruction of Universe 3, also suffered an early setback against a Cell Jr.
Their intelligence was not high, but their power level was monstrous.
For a God of Destruction, this sort of fight was far too frustrating.
They were usually the ones who overwhelmed others through power.
Now the situation was reversed, and they were being suppressed through absolute strength.
Thankfully, there was a way to counter them.
Use intelligence!
For a dignified God of Destruction to be forced into a battle of wits against such an opponent was a deep disgrace.
But losing would be even more humiliating.
Therefore, in order to win, Arak and Mosco fought with extreme difficulty.
They could only rely on experience and intelligence, slowly wearing down the Cell Jr.s' stamina while ensuring they were not beaten, searching for a chance to win.
Bulma and Kale, on the other hand, had a much easier time against their Cell Jr.s.
Whether facing Bulma or Kale, the Cell Jr.s refused to fight.
Instead, they actively came forward seeking head pats, letting out obedient cooing sounds, acting as well-behaved as could be.
Even when sternly ordered to fight seriously, they merely put on a symbolic performance, then pretended to be defeated and collapsed unconscious.
Their acting was as fake as it could possibly be.
These two Cell Jr.s ended their matches almost as if directly surrendering.
Then they happily flew back to the viewing platform together with their opponents.
"It's obvious. These little things are extremely biased! As for the reason, well, everyone should... understand what there is to understand, right?"
Chiaotzu, who had been eliminated, could not help grumbling about the difference in treatment.
"Careful, Chiaotzu. I'll sue you for slander," Levos quickly stopped him from continuing.
Seeing the Cell Jr.s surrender so cleanly almost made Arak and Mosco spit blood while they were still struggling.
Why don't they have to fight?!
Why do I have to work this hard against these little monsters?
The moment they were distracted, both of them were immediately ambushed by the Cell Jr.s.
The small advantage they had painstakingly built vanished at once.
"Damn it! We have to start over again..."
Arak and Mosco were about to lose their minds.
...
In the arena where Bejitena faced Time Patrol Pan.
"I won't go easy on you just because you're a woman."
After saying that, Bejitena instantly transformed into Super Saiyan 3.
"..."
For some reason, Time Patrol Pan still could not transform into a Super Saiyan.
Perhaps it was because she was only one-quarter Saiyan, or perhaps she was still too young.
In any case, against Super Saiyan 3 Bejitena, although Pan had excellent combat technique, the gap in power left her with no chance of victory.
Their battle lasted only a short while before it ended.
The winner: Bejitena!
Bejitena crossed her arms and gave a smug little snort.
"I am a genius among Saiyans, the reincarnation of Prince Vegeta. Losing to me is your honor."
Time Patrol Pan had nothing to say.
You transformed into Super Saiyan 3 to fight me. What does that have to do with being a genius?
When Emperor Vegeta heard Bejitena expose her own identity, the corner of his eye twitched.
Then he gave a cold order.
"That one must be eliminated."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Kakarot and the others answered in unison.
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