"I… I'm…?"
Hit slowly pushed himself up from the ground. He stared at his hands in disbelief.
"Shouldn't I be dead?"
"Dead from what?"
Gran withdrew his gaze and replied teasingly,
"Without my permission, who could possibly kill you?"
The words were domineering—so domineering that Hit's heart trembled.
At the same time, he recalled the final moment before losing consciousness. He vaguely remembered Gran feeding him something.
That must have been what saved his life.
"Thank you, Lord Gran, for saving me."
Hit bowed deeply.
"Enough. Since we're allies, I won't let them kill you."
Gran swept his eyes across the battlefield.
The other God of Destruction candidates were closing in.
"They're coming. Stay behind me."
"…Understood."
As Hit looked at Gran's back, he suddenly felt something strange.
It was—
An overwhelming sense of security.
Suddenly
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The sound of air tearing echoed from all directions.
The remaining six candidates had finally arrived.
Rosa's earlier explosion had shattered the arena completely. Massive fragments of stone floated in the void. Gran and Hit stood atop one such slab.
Around them, more rubble hovered in the emptiness.
Jiren and the other six stood on separate floating stones, forming a circle around the two of them.
No one spoke.
The arena was terrifyingly silent.
Truthfully, every one of these candidates feared Gran.
He was the chosen successor of the strongest God of Destruction.
His dimensional level and raw power had reached astonishing heights.
Especially his strength—he had jumped from Early Sixth Tier to Peak Sixth Tier in a short span of time.
No one knew whether that had been his full power.
While they observed Gran—
Gran observed them.
In the anime, aside from Jiren and the earlier Bergamo, none of these individuals had appeared during the Tournament of Power.
Yet now, so many unfamiliar faces stood before him—and none of them seemed weak.
Then again
In the anime, the Grand Priest had given the Gods of Destruction only thirty-nine hours to prepare.
But these candidates here had been selected after ten full years of searching.
Among them were beings on the level of ancient lifeforms.
Especially the champions from Universes One, Twelve, Five, and Eight
None of them had participated in the Tournament of Power.
Based on universal rankings alone, their strength could not possibly be inferior.
As for Jiren.
His body's instinctive reactions were formidable, already reaching Fourth Tier.
But in Gran's estimation, Jiren's raw power shouldn't be excessively high. After all, in the anime, Jiren had already revealed his full strength.
Even if he trained for another two thousand years, his pure physical power shouldn't rise beyond reason.
"Your strength and talent are indeed frightening."
The golden lion from Universe One stepped forward.
"But the eight of us united—there is no scenario where you win. You should surrender."
The golden sea monster from Universe Twelve also advanced.
"For so many of us to surround you—consider that an honor. If you don't want to die, concede."
The mummy from Universe Five crossed his arms and grinned wickedly.
"Or you could resist. I'm actually quite curious whether you truly used your full power earlier."
"Don't be ridiculous,"
said the silver fox from Universe Eight, his eyes shifting cunningly.
"A guy only a few hundred years old? I don't believe his strength has reached Seventh Tier."
Rosa, the Goddess of Love from Universe Two, nodded.
"I don't believe it either. If he truly possesses Seventh Tier power, then even if I lose, I'll accept it."
The moment she said that, several candidates smiled.
Only Jiren remained expressionless.
He stood with arms folded atop a massive stone, watching Gran with undisguised caution.
Under the gaze of eight supreme powerhouses, sweat trickled down Hit's forehead.
Instinctively, he edged closer to Gran.
"You all want to see my true strength?"
Gran gave Hit a reassuring look.
Then he crooked his finger at the group.
"Enough talking. Come at me. All of you."
The arrogance in those words was overwhelming.
The candidates' brows tightened.
So in his mind—
He had already planned to fight eight alone.
"How arrogant. Very well—then let's begin."
Lion Lambert scanned the group coldly.
"I know you all have ulterior motives. But surrounding him was the order of our Gods of Destruction. Whatever schemes you're hiding, save them until after we eliminate these two."
No one responded.
Their eyes flickered with strange intentions.
Lambert snorted.
He knew none of them were trustworthy.
But—
Until the candidates from Universes Six and Seven were eliminated, he doubted they would dare act on their own ambitions.
"Stop holding back," Lambert said. "Reveal your true strength."
At last—
They moved.
A crimson shockwave erupted from the muscular warrior's body, like an ancient beast awakening from slumber. The terrifying aura churned the entire arena.
Crackle! Crackle!
Bolts of lightning descended from the void above. Instead of dissipating, they wrapped around him like living serpents.
He stood three meters tall, muscles grotesquely defined. Long crimson hair flowed down his back.
With thunder ripping through the air around him
He looked like a god of lightning incarnate.
This was Universe Ten's God of Destruction candidate
Primo.
"Early Fifth Tier power!"
On the viewing platform, the Gods of Destruction cast peculiar looks toward the elephant deity, Rumsshi.
His candidate's aura carried the weight of ancient origins—clearly another primordial being.
Clown Belmod's expression darkened.
He had thought Jiren reaching Early Fifth Tier was already terrifying.
He hadn't expected Rumsshi's candidate to reach the same level.
Based on what had been revealed so far—
Jiren and Primo were actually at the bottom tier among these candidates.
"What are you staring at?!"
Rumsshi snapped irritably.
"Are only you allowed to recruit ancient lifeforms?"
After speaking, he glanced toward Universe Seven's platform.
Even with someone like Primo—
He still couldn't defeat Gran.
The thought deflated him instantly.
His dislike for Beerus deepened yet again.
The other Gods of Destruction found Rumsshi's sudden mood shift strange—
But at that moment, another terrifying aura erupted from the arena below.
Their attention shifted immediately.
END OF CHAPTER
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