The freezing wind howled past, slicing through the air like icy blades.
Son Goku's trademark black hair whipped wildly in the gale as if joining the wind in a furious symphony.
At that moment, a figure slowly emerged from a dark corner.
Jiren's appearance instantly drew all of Goku's attention.
"Jiren."
Goku stared fixedly at the man before him and calmly said his name.
"You've surprised me a little. Your aura doesn't contain even a trace of evil, yet you've done something even more disgraceful than Frieza."
There was a hint of astonishment beneath Goku's calm tone.
Although he had only met Caulifla and Kale once, as the saying goes, an interesting soul is one in a million.
In other words, Caulifla's personality was similar to his own in some respects.
Moreover, Jiren's actions this time were far from honorable, causing the flames of anger within Goku to burn even more fiercely. However, Jiren, with his eyes as big as those in a Kazilan mascara advert, couldn't have cared less.
With his arms crossed over his chest, he stood motionless, staring coldly at Goku without saying a word.
Second after second passed, and the atmosphere became unbearably tense.
Finally, after a long silence, Jiren broke the stillness.
"I merely wanted to secure victory as quickly as possible, and if I could swiftly eliminate potential threats, why wouldn't I do it?"
"Besides, it was all just a coincidence. I hadn't been teleported here for long before I happened to run into the two of you."
Goku observed Jiren's aura carefully. Judging by it, this aura had not been present when he had been fighting Kale and the others earlier. Perhaps Jiren really had arrived by chance. Of course, it was also possible that he had deliberately concealed his aura beforehand.
However, when Jiren spoke, his words struck Dyspo in the spectator room of Universe 11 like a bolt of lightning, causing him to freeze in place.
His eyes widened as he stared at the large screen displaying Jiren's imposing figure.
He remained motionless, gazing at Jiren.
It took him a long while to finally snap back to reality, and then he couldn't help but cry out:
"Th-This is Jiren after his special training?! Why does it feel like he's become a completely different person?!"
"Not only has his personality changed dramatically, but even someone as taciturn as him has suddenly become talkative!"
Before he had even finished speaking, Dyspo became so excited that he could hardly contain himself. He raised his fist high above his head and continued cheering enthusiastically.
Standing nearby, Marcarita turned her head slightly, shot Dyspo a somewhat helpless look, and gently shook her head.
...
Jiren slowly lowered his arms, which had been tightly crossed over his chest, and stared expressionlessly at Goku, who was standing not far away.
Then he gradually raised his right hand and pointed it directly at Goku.
At the same time, he lightly curled his finger in a beckoning gesture, as if openly provoking Goku.
Seeing Jiren make such a gesture, Goku's eyes instantly became razor-sharp. Every muscle in his body tensed as he assumed a battle stance, fully prepared for combat.
The next moment, a sharp whoosh tore through the air. Goku's figure flashed like lightning, and he appeared in front of Jiren in the blink of an eye.
Having closed the distance, Goku did not attack immediately. Instead, he swiftly twisted his entire body backwards, allowing himself to gather maximum power.
This would enable the next punch to unleash its greatest possible force.
As he rotated his body, a dazzling golden radiance gradually emerged from his tightly clenched fist.
The light grew brighter and brighter until it shone directly into Jiren's eyes.
At this critical moment, Jiren, who had remained motionless the entire time, finally made his move. He shifted his body slightly backwards and to the side, effortlessly avoiding the sharp edge of Goku's frontal assault.
Immediately afterwards, he swiftly raised his right hand. His arm traced an arc through the air before his hand clenched into a fist and collided head-on with Goku's incoming punch.
In an instant...
BOOM!
A thunderous explosion erupted, as though the entire arena had trembled.
An incomparably powerful energy storm burst forth from the point where their fists met, sweeping wildly in all directions.
The surrounding air became grotesquely distorted under the impact of that violent force.
Meanwhile, Jiren's and Goku's arms remained locked in a perfectly straight line. Neither was willing to yield an inch.
Wave after wave of shockwaves spread outwards from the center of their clashing fists.
Rumble!
After this exchange, the rolling landscape of endless hills underwent a complete transformation.
The winding contours of the hills were nowhere to be seen.
In their place stretched an endless plain, stretching as far as the eye could see.
Across this vast expanse, only a handful of lonely mountains stood, scattered here and there like tiny specks in an ocean.
...
Meanwhile, Zen'ō, the supreme spectator, was so excited that he could barely contain himself.
With a curious look on his face, he raised one of his eyebrows.
Then he exclaimed in amazement:
"Ooooh! These big eyes are amazing, Great Priest!"
Like a mischievous child, he bounced around continuously in front of the Great Priest.
However, the Great Priest's attention was completely captured by the spectacular battle unfolding on the giant screen.
"Great Priest?"
Seeing no response, Zen'ō called out again, but still received no answer.
Refusing to give up, Zen'ō continued to call out. Flapping his tiny wings, he flew quickly right in front of the Great Priest.
He stared directly at the Great Priest with his watery, Kazilan-style big eyes.
Only then did the Great Priest seem to awaken from a trance.
He paused briefly before replying respectfully:
"Zen'ō-sama is absolutely correct."
"Zen'ō-sama, it seems this Tournament of Power is far more exciting than I originally imagined."
"By the way, Zen'ō-sama, regarding Marcarita and Cognac's request... you've already approved it, haven't you?"
The Great Priest asked respectfully.
Zen'ō tapped his head as if trying to recall something.
A moment later, he simply nodded.
"Mm, that's right."
(End Of This Chapter)
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