'Snowfield Module'
Inside Hit's Time Prison...
The black-clad Saiyan's eyes twitched.
Super Perfect Cell immediately went on full alert, every nerve in his body tensing as if he were facing a mortal enemy. He turned sharply toward Hit and demanded, "Hey! Are you absolutely sure you've got him locked down?"
Distrust flashed plainly across Cell's face.
Hit also looked toward the imprisoned Saiyan, a trace of unease creeping into his heart. Although he appeared calm on the surface, even he wasn't completely certain. After a brief pause, Hit closed his eyes again, concentrating as he poured more power into maintaining the Time Prison.
"Relax," he said confidently. "He's not Trunks. With my strength, I can freeze him completely. It'll be just as easy as when I immobilized you earlier."
His words weren't just reassurance; they were also a subtle jab at Cell for doubting his technique.
Cell let out a cold snort. "I hope you're right."
He crouched beside the black-clad Saiyan for a closer look, slowly extending one hand and waving it back and forth in front of the Saiyan's face. After carefully watching him for a while, Cell finally confirmed that the man's eyes had stopped moving entirely. Only then did he relax slightly.
Nearby, Cell turned respectfully toward Trunks. "Boss, I think we should eliminate this guy now. The longer we wait, the more trouble we'll have."
Trunks nodded. "I agree."
He slowly closed his eyes, gathered his concentration, and opened them again before swinging one hand.
At that instant, the Time Prison created by Hit began to shake violently. Hit's expression immediately changed, his eyes widening as he stared at the prison in disbelief. Although it was only a few dozen square meters in size, the entire space was moving.
As Trunks slowly walked forward, the pocket dimension itself moved with him.
The surreal sight was astonishing, but more importantly, by carrying the prison along with him, Trunks ensured that everything trapped inside remained imprisoned. The black-clad Saiyan had no way to escape.
Hit blinked in surprise.
'Just as I thought... I wasn't wrong about him. He's accomplishing something that even I couldn't do so effortlessly.'
Watching Trunks from behind, Hit couldn't hide a trace of admiration.
Trunks continued walking toward the edge of the arena. "Come on, Hit. What are you standing around for?"
Hit snapped out of his thoughts. "Right." He quickly caught up.
Meanwhile, Super Perfect Cell slowly crouched beside the unconscious Saiyan again, carefully studying every detail of his face. Remembering the fierce battle they'd just fought only reignited his anger.
This was the guy who had pushed him into a desperate fight, he'd even been on the losing end for a while.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. Unable to hold back anymore, Cell raised his fist.
'Bang! Bang!'
He punched the unconscious Saiyan twice.
"Hmph. So where's all that arrogance now, brat?" Cell sneered.
Only after venting his frustration did he finally take a deep breath. His emotions gradually settled, and he looked down at the Saiyan's face once more.
Then... a strange feeling washed over him. He frowned.
'Huh? Why does this face seem so familiar? Where have I seen him before?'
No matter how hard he searched his memory, he couldn't remember.
Just then, Trunks called out impatiently, "Hey, quit dragging your feet."
Cell immediately snapped back to reality. "Coming, Boss!"
He bent down, effortlessly slung the unconscious Saiyan over his shoulder, and hurried after Trunks and Hit.
As he caught up, he asked, "Boss, if we eliminate this guy now, doesn't that mean Universe 10 will be down to its last fighters? If that's the case, our job just got a whole lot easier."
Trunks narrowed his eyes as he recalled the elimination announcements. There had been seven announcements for Universe 10. Add the black-clad Saiyan they were about to eliminate... that would leave only two fighters from Universe 10.
"...Yeah. That should be right."
His voice remained calm, but what truly occupied his thoughts wasn't the number, it was the identity of those last two survivors.
'Who are they? Are they like the others... people who've stolen the bodies of fighters from different universes?'
Unable to contain his curiosity any longer, Super Perfect Cell finally asked, "Boss... who do you think those last two are? I've got a really bad feeling about this."
Without taking his eyes off the path ahead, Trunks answered, "Good question. I think Hit should be the one to answer it."
As soon as he finished speaking, both he and Cell turned toward Hit.
Hit hesitated for a moment before replying. "At this point, the situation is fairly clear. Most of the other universes' fighters have already been eliminated."
He stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"Almost everyone still competing belongs to Universe 7... Universe 6... or Universe 11. And under normal circumstances, Universe 10 should still have two fighters remaining."
He paused, a puzzled look crossing his face. "But for some reason, whenever I try to locate them with my abilities, I can't sense them at all. It's as though some mysterious force is completely blocking my perception."
His expression grew increasingly serious.
Trunks immediately focused on him.
"Oh? Is this one of the modules you mentioned before, the ones you couldn't investigate at all?" He thought for a moment. "So you're saying... the people hiding there must be incredibly troublesome."
Hit slowly shook his head. "Not exactly. It's more complicated than that. The reason I can't detect them... is because the entire module they're in has been completely isolated by an extremely powerful force."
He continued, "And after studying it carefully, I realized that barrier isn't created by just one source. It's formed by two completely different powers. My guess is that those two energies have intertwined and merged together, creating an impenetrable barrier around the entire module. Because of that, even my perception can't penetrate it."
Cell's eyes immediately glazed over as he looked completely lost. Turning toward Trunks, he blinked several times before asking, "Boss... did you understand any of that? What in the world is he talking about?"
As he spoke, he scratched the back of his head in confusion.
After thinking it through, Trunks finally answered. "To put it simply, the two remaining Universe 10 fighters are inside a module that's positioned between two other modules. And those neighboring modules are what's preventing Hit from sensing what's inside."
After explaining, Trunks looked toward Hit. "Did I get that right?"
Hit nodded firmly. "Exactly."
Cell immediately slapped his hands together. "Oh! So that's what he meant! Now I get it!"
By then, the Time Prison had reached the edge of the arena. Gathering energy into his arm, Super Perfect Cell swung the unconscious black-clad Saiyan off his shoulder and hurled him toward the void outside the ring.
But at that very instant, something changed.
An enormous aura suddenly erupted from the black-clad Saiyan's body. His eyes snapped open.
Then he shouted, "What are you all talking about?!"
(End Of This Chapter)
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