"The Grand Priest really has a point. This is a good way to settle the dispute," he praised with a smile. "It's an excellent solution."
"I agree!" Zeno immediately raised both hands in support.
Seeing that things were already decided, the Supreme Kai of Universe 9, Roh, suddenly felt uneasy.
His expression darkened. "Since it was someone from Universe 7 who proposed this martial arts tournament, their universe must take part as well."
"No problem!" Goku answered before anyone else, practically bouncing with excitement.
Beerus was dumbfounded. Is this guy missing a few brain cells?!
Universe 7 had just dodged annihilation, and now they were volunteering to jump right back into the fire?
Levos could only feel helpless. Yeah… that's very Goku.
He didn't blame Goku, though.
After all, from the very beginning, their plan to avoid Universe 7's erasure involved dragging other universes into a contest, piquing Zeno's interest, and changing the "punishment" into a game.
It was just that, if Universe 7 also joined the tournament, they would definitely be targeted turned into everyone's common enemy. That meant a lot more variables.
Zeno tilted his head, curious.
"Goku, why do you want to compete?"
Goku replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"I like fighting strong guys. That's the only way to force out my potential."
"Just thinking about how big the universe is, and how many powerful fighters are out there… it makes me really excited."
The gods all looked at him with contempt.
Barbaric. Absolutely barbaric.
No wonder Universe 7's mortal development level was so low.
The Grand Priest smiled.
"In that case, we'll let three universes fight it out for now."
"Wait, Grand Priest our Universe 10 would also like the chance to participate."
Cus, the angel of Universe 10, suddenly spoke up. Her previously dim eyes now shone with a faint light.
"You're unwilling to accept Universe 10's erasure?" The Grand Priest's smile deepened with subtle meaning.
Cus nodded lightly.
"Oh! The more fighters we have, the more fun the tournament will be!" Zeno's face lit up.
He paused, then said excitedly, "Why don't we just have all the universes join?"
"What?!"
The gods were stunned. In the next instant, furious gazes snapped toward the deities of Universe 7.
"This is all Universe 7's fault, meddling in things and dragging us into the mess!"
"These people do nothing but cause trouble!"
The Grand Priest cleared his throat lightly.
The gods shut up immediately and could only stare at him anxiously.
"Omni-King, if we summon fighters from all the universes, the preparations might take quite some time," the Grand Priest said mildly. "Not to mention that the official rules of the tournament haven't been decided yet."
"How about this: we hold an exhibition match first. Then, once everything is fully prepared, we host the true Grand Tournament. What do you think?"
Zeno thought seriously for one whole second, then nodded happily.
"Okay."
"In that case," the Grand Priest continued, "I will now ask the gods of Universes 6, 7, 9, and 10 to return and gather fighters from their respective universes."
"Remember, you only have one hundred taks of time. If the countdown ends and you haven't found any contestants, it will be treated as forfeiting the match."
One hundred taks about forty-eight minutes in Earth time.
"So short?!"
The gods of the four universes all began to panic a little.
"Oh, right, Grand Priest," Shin couldn't help asking, "how many contestants does each universe need to prepare?"
The Grand Priest paused to think, then said casually, "Considering how rushed the time is, we'll set it at five for now."
"Yes!"
"Then I'll send you all back to your universes," the Grand Priest said, lifting his hands slightly.
Whoosh !
In the next second, Levos realized that he, Goku, and the others were already back on Earth.
He glanced around. All of his companions were there.
Only Champa and Vados had not returned with them.
Everyone immediately rushed over, anxious to know what had happened.
"Relax, everyone," Levos reassured them. "Our universe is safe for now, at least. We won't be erased that easily."
"Hmph! We were already safe," Beerus snapped, visibly annoyed. "Then someone just had to stir things up and make everything uncertain again!"
He jabbed a finger right at Goku's nose and launched into a tirade.
Whis chuckled. "Even so, Lord Beerus, as long as Universe 7 is participating, we have a very high chance of winning."
"That's true! But I'm still annoyed! I have to teach this reckless idiot a lesson!" Beerus gritted his teeth. "You brat, just because you're friends with the Omni-King now doesn't mean you can do whatever you want "
"Lord Beerus, I know I was wrong…" Goku said weakly.
"If you dare pull something like this again, I'll destroy you!" Beerus roared.
He went on and on, grumbling and cursing without pause.
Even the others started to feel a little embarrassed listening to him.
"Um, Lord Beerus," Shin finally cut in carefully, "who do you think our universe should send as the five contestants?"
Beerus frowned, suddenly pulled back to the main topic.
He muttered, "I wonder how strong Frieza is now…"
Whis arched a brow.
"Oh? I didn't expect Lord Beerus to value Frieza that highly. In that case, I'll help you locate him right away."
As he spoke, Whis leaned closer to the scrying orb at the tip of his staff.
So we're fighting alongside Frieza again already?
The Earth warriors all felt worried at the thought mixed with a faint sense of strangeness.
Levos spoke up. "Let's skip Frieza. In our group, his power only ranks about sixth. If you look at Universe 7 as a whole, he's even less impressive."
In terms of raw level, Buu, Piccolo, Cell Jr., Puar, and the others each had at least one whole tier on Frieza.
Even if the emperor worked himself half to death, he wouldn't be able to close that gap in such a short time.
Hearing Levos evaluate Frieza so bluntly, Beerus's expression hardened.
"So, you're saying that aside from you, that Namekian, and the pink fat one… there are still others in this universe stronger than Frieza?"
"Yup," Levos answered.
"Then… are you and that Namekian the strongest in our universe?" Beerus pressed.
Levos and Piccolo exchanged a glance, then shook their heads at the same time.
They still hadn't truly clashed with Cooler, Moro, the Heeter Organization, the Saiyan Empire, and the other rising forces.
No one dared to claim the title of "strongest in the universe."
Unlike in the original timeline, all the villains in this era were grinding strength like mad.
Cooler had at least reached his black-and-gold form that could one-shot Ultra Instinct.
Moro had used Porunga to grant himself three separate boosts in power.
The Heeter Organization had a method to dodge the side effects of the Two-Star Dragon Balls and could make wishes with no cooldown.
As for the green-haired corps of the Saiyan Empire… they were clearly tied to the old-generation Broly in some way. On top of that, the mysteries behind them ran deep.
Seeing Levos deny it, Beerus was left stunned.
"This is bad. Really bad. I just took a nap, and now it feels like the entire universe has gone to hell…"
"Hey!" Beerus rounded on Shin again. "Brat, do you at least know who is the strongest in our universe?"
"I–I don't…" Shin admitted miserably.
Beerus exploded. "Unbelievable! You're the Supreme Kai! This kind of information is literally your job! What good are you if you don't even know that?!"
Shin protested weakly, "Even though I'm the Supreme Kai, my strength really isn't enough to oversee everything in the lower worlds. And besides, you've already seen what happened to me when I got too involved…"
"In the end, it's still your fault!" Beerus barked. "Now hurry up and tell me how the hell are we supposed to pick our contestants?!"
Shin shrank into himself like a scolded elementary schooler, head lowered, unable to answer.
Beside him, Whis smiled, eyes crinkling.
"Even if there are many other strong fighters scattered across the universe, we simply don't have the time to go search for them. It seems, for this tournament… we'll just have to rely on Earth's warriors once more."
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