Over on Gran's side.
Everything had happened far too quickly.
From beginning to end, the assassin Hit had only made a single move. And yet, inexplicably, he stood frozen behind Gran, his hand poised like a blade aimed at Gran's back.
However…
For an assassin, a single fatal strike was the ultimate principle.
If the first move failed, then it meant Hit had truly lost.
"Impossible!!"
Seeing Hit halted behind Gran, Roz's eyes widened in disbelief.
That could only mean one thing—
Hit's Time-Skip had been broken.
"Hit, you're the strongest among us! How could your Time-Skip possibly be countered?!"
Roz roared unwillingly.
Hearing his voice, Hit merely glanced at him calmly. He lowered his hand and stepped back two paces.
"How did you do it?"
The fact that someone had broken his Time-Skip had indeed shocked him at first. But as a professional assassin, he regained his composure almost instantly.
"That technique of yours… it's called Time-Skip, isn't it?"
Gran spoke meaningfully.
"To others, it may appear as if you stop time. But I know it isn't that simple. What you're actually doing is forcing time to leap forward."
"During that leap, only you can move. Your opponent is briefly pushed into a 'future' state—unable to perceive or respond to anything you do."
"Am I right?"
Gran clasped his hands behind his back, looking every bit like a grandmaster.
"..."
A storm surged within Hit's heart once more.
Yet his expression did not change. That was the discipline of a true assassin.
"You can freeze—no, leap through three seconds of time now. Is that the result of your two thousand years of training?"
Gran asked again.
Just moments ago, Hit had leapt through three full seconds.
Three seconds might sound insignificant.
But in the anime, Hit had initially only been able to skip 0.1 seconds—and that tiny gap had nearly taken both Vegeta's and Son Goku's lives.
Later, he grew to 0.5 seconds.
Time manipulation itself was incredibly difficult. Every slight increase multiplied the difficulty exponentially.
And now—
Hit could skip three whole seconds.
Truly impressive.
While others trained their raw power, Hit had devoted everything to refining his Time-Skip.
Just how determined was he to kill with that technique?
"As Lord Champa once said… you are truly strong."
Hit exhaled slowly.
"Yes. This is the result of my training in the Time Chamber. Can you tell me—how did you break my Time-Skip?"
"There are three methods to counter it."
"Three?"
Hit frowned.
Even one countermeasure would have shocked him.
But three?
"Would you tell me what they are?" Hit asked calmly, though his fists tightened slightly.
"Teach you?"
Gran smiled.
"Sure. I still have thirty seconds left to play. Use your Time-Skip again and attack me."
"..."
Hit was speechless.
Just how badly did this man want to "play"?
Still—
His Time-Skip had been broken. He needed to understand the flaw.
So Hit activated it again.
They stood less than two meters apart. For ordinary opponents, such distance would guarantee death.
But Gran merely tilted his body slightly—
And avoided Hit's punch with ease.
"The first method is to analyze your attack patterns and predict your next move."
"With your Time-Skip extended to three seconds, however, this method is no longer very effective."
Gran had just demonstrated the method Son Goku once used.
He stepped back lightly.
"Twenty-seven seconds left."
Hit's furrowed brows loosened slightly.
Without wasting time, he attacked again.
He already knew he was no match for the man before him.
This time, he aimed for Gran's heart.
Gran did not get angry. During Hit's first strike, he had shown restraint. That alone proved he was not an enemy.
"The second method is overwhelming speed."
"In martial arts, speed conquers all!"
Gran twisted his body.
His speed surpassed even Hit's three-second leap.
In an instant, he appeared behind Hit.
This was the method Dyspo from Universe 11 had used.
Hearing Gran's voice from behind him, Hit's fist froze midair.
So extreme speed was another solution.
"Ten seconds left. Come again."
Gran patted Hit's shoulder teasingly.
But instead of attacking—
Hit suddenly spoke.
"I concede. Would you kindly tell me the third method?"
Someone capable of such speed—faster than his three-second leap—
That alone proved how terrifying this opponent was.
And earlier, Roz's battle had revealed something else.
Gran had blocked a Third-Tier God-Level attack with a single finger.
Perhaps…
"Terrifying" was no longer sufficient to describe him.
Perhaps he had already reached the level of a God of Destruction.
"Oh?"
Gran raised an eyebrow in slight surprise.
"I humbly request that Lord Gran tell me the third method."
Hit bowed deeply.
In the distance, Roz's eyes nearly popped out.
Hit… conceding voluntarily?
And even addressing a fellow God of Destruction candidate as "Lord"?
Had he gone mad?!
By the lakeside, Beerus and the Old Supreme Kai burst into laughter.
They understood.
Hit had been completely won over.
Unlike Beerus, Champa's face darkened instantly.
That bootlicker Hit—he didn't even have as much backbone as Roz.
What Champa didn't realize—
Hit was simply wise enough to recognize the situation.
"A third method? It's actually very simple."
Gran glanced at the gathered gods by the lake before withdrawing his gaze.
"You should already have guessed it."
Hit pondered briefly before shaking his head.
"Please enlighten me, Lord Gran."
Gran answered calmly.
"Absolute power."
"As long as one possesses absolute power, your Time-Skip becomes irrelevant."
In the anime, when Hit faced Jiren, he encountered exactly that.
Jiren's overwhelming strength rendered Time-Skip useless.
With that, Gran turned and walked toward the lake.
Hit remained standing there, stunned.
Absolute power…
"So Lord Gran possesses not only supreme speed, but absolute power as well."
Hit stared at Gran's back, murmuring to himself.
At the lakeside.
With Whis and Vados protecting the area, the battle had not affected this part of the Destroyer Realm.
"Gran, you're amazing!" Shin shouted excitedly.
"To think of three countermeasures—you've got talent, kid," the Old Supreme Kai nodded in satisfaction.
"As expected of Big Brother Gran. You're still as strong as ever," Broly grinned foolishly.
"Hmph. Playing around with weaklings for that long—how embarrassing."
Though Beerus spoke critically, the smile on his face never faded.
"Humph. Showing off again, are we? Happy now?" Champa grumbled.
Gran chuckled lightly.
"Not bad."
He scanned the surroundings.
The Destroyer Realm had been reduced to ruins.
"It hasn't even been three minutes yet. Miss Vados, please restore everything first."
Vados nodded and waved her staff.
The shattered realm instantly returned to its original state.
Gran turned toward Hit.
"Since Hit has joined us as well, let's prepare to head to the World of Void."
END OF CHAPTER
Disciple of Beerus - MrBehringer's Secret
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