"All of Universe 9's fighters are out already?"
Champa stared at the now-packed Universe 9 bleachers, an ugly premonition flashing through his mind.
High above, the Grand Minister turned to the Zenos, gave a slight nod, and said, "Grand Zenos, all Universe 9 combatants have been eliminated."
"Huh, that fast?"
One Zeno blinked, genuinely curious.
"So fast, really fast. Does that mean we clear them now?"
The other Zeno's voice was childlike, but the words sent a cold sweat trickling down the backs of the assembled gods.
"Yes, Grand Zenos may act at any time." The Grand Minister inclined his head.
With the tactician's confirmation, the two Zenos exchanged a bright, innocent smile.
"Then…"
"Clear them."
They raised their left hands and gently clenched their fists.
"Clear."
A sheet of white blazed over Universe 9's section.
"No, no, please!" Supreme Kai Roh's face twisted as he begged. Around him, several fighters who could not accept the end cried out in panic.
"Grand Zenos, mercy!"
"Please, one more chance. We promise to show you the most exciting battles."
The clearing had already begun. Mercy was never on the table.
In an instant the white brilliance washed over the Void, turning everything stark and shadowless.
The next heartbeat, Universe 9's spectator stands were empty.
"G… gone?"
"No. Cleared."
Whis's expression remained composed. He glanced at Beerus and spoke gently.
"Really? Don't play games with me, Whis."
Beerus still refused to believe it. His voice was hoarse as he pressed for an answer.
Whis did not argue. He handed over his staff.
Beerus lifted it. The crystal orb bloomed with an image.
A dead silence. A slice of space with nothing in it.
Gulp.
Cold sweat gathered along Beerus's spine. He swallowed and rasped, "That is… Universe 9?"
"Correct. The moment they vanished, Universe 9 itself was cleared with them."
Whis's tone did not change.
Beerus handed the staff back, stepped to the railing, and stared down at Universe 7's fighters still crowding the arena.
"You must hold out to the end."
On the stage, the shock stopped everyone cold. No one threw the next punch.
The fate of Universe 9 made one thing clear. Lose here and you are erased.
For a while, no one dared to move. Fighters drifted to whatever felt like a safer corner and hunkered down.
Evan Fang stood in the rubble and looked toward the blank space where Universe 9's bench had been.
"So the Zenos are absolutely serious. If Universe 7 loses… will I be wiped out along with them?"
It was the only question that mattered. He had no answer.
"Forget it. If I don't know, then I just stay on the stage as long as I can."
He swept the ring with his Byakugan.
Universe 6's Kale, Caulifla, and Hit. Universe 11's Toppo. And Jiren, the one who mattered most.
Those were the real problems.
Suddenly every hair on his arms lifted. His scalp prickled.
Danger Sense.
Evan exploded into motion, slipping from where he stood.
A heartbeat later, a boulder in front of him punched through with a neat tunnel.
It didn't stop there. The invisible force ricocheted through broken stone and air, bending its line toward him again.
"Parlor tricks."
His forearm turned ink-black with Armament Haki as he drove his fist into the oncoming force.
Boom.
Air buckled. Cracks spidered over the floor, crossing and recrossing in a jagged web.
"It's you, isn't it, Hit."
Evan didn't even turn. He spoke to the empty air.
He slid his Byakugan fully open, all angles and blind spots swallowed by a white field of view.
"The assassin of Universe 6. Your ki is buried deep."
He smiled, and a thin thread of presence resolved at the edge of his vision.
"Someone has hired me to eliminate you," Hit said, shifting his stance. "Will you do it yourself, or shall I do it for you?"
"What do you think?" Evan pivoted to face him. Their eyes met.
Staring into Evan's near-colorless irises made Hit mildly uncomfortable, as if someone had already read his next ten moves. He did not like the feeling.
Evan's vision wavered. Hit's outline smudged.
Crack.
Time stopped.
Hit could freeze a full second now, and in a battle like this, a second decided everything.
Inside the skip-space he slid to Evan's back and struck.
Time resumed. Evan saw Hit vanish from before him and Danger Sense screamed again.
Byakugan flared. The angle of attack from behind was already there in his mind.
"So this is your best trick?"
He slipped aside and let the punch pass. The taunt came out without effort.
"You evaded it."
Hit glanced at his empty fist, honestly surprised.
"That blow should have landed. But he anticipated it. He even caught my approach from his blind side."
He murmured the analysis to himself, and in the space of a breath he had already mapped what he sensed.
Evan heard him and could not help the quiet respect that rose inside. The famed assassin who had floored Goku once. One exchange and he had already deduced what Evan had shown.
"In that case, I can't keep playing defense."
Evan said it aloud, not bothering to hide it. Perhaps it was a message for Hit too.
He moved first.
Ten thousand points of speed turned him into a smear of afterimages. In the next instant he was there.
A serious punch.
Boom.
He threw it without mercy.
As expected, his fist passed through Hit's body without resistance.
Danger Sense fired again.
"Got you."
Evan spun and drove a steel-hard right cross straight into the line of Hit's counter.
Their fists met with a crack that became a blast.
Dust swallowed them both. From the outside, it was nothing but a roiling cloud and the thud of detonations. No one could see which way the tide was turning.
----------------------------------------------------
The deeper he goes, the more the truth unravels. Don't wait read ahead and witness Vincent's rise before the world catches up!
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