Hearing Vegeta's question, Zeru merely smiled and shook his head.
Vegeta had clearly been intimidated by Jiren. Otherwise, he wouldn't have asked such a silly question.
"How would I know if I can beat him unless we actually fight?"
Zeru answered casually before turning his attention back to the arena.
Boom!
After being battered by Jiren once again, Hit finally unleashed the full extent of his formidable abilities.
But in front of Jiren's overwhelming strength, Hit seemed insignificant.
Jiren closed the distance in an instant, his terrifying power surging forth. A sharp crack split the air as Hit was sent flying once more.
The sight caused an uproar.
In Universe 6's spectator stands, Champa's face turned dark. Around him, Cabba and the other Universe 6 fighters wore expressions of pure shock.
Jiren…
Was simply too powerful.
Even someone as strong as Hit was being completely overwhelmed, unable to retaliate at all.
"How is this possible? Hit's Time-Skip has clearly evolved. So why… why does he still look so helpless against this guy from Universe 11?!"
Watching Hit get blasted away again, Champa shot to his feet. His round face trembled, and his eyes widened like saucers.
"Jiren has completely neutralized Hit's Time-Skip…"
In Universe 7's stands, Beerus narrowed his eyes as he watched the one-sided battle.
"Hit's Time-Skip is indeed powerful," Whis added, his gaze fixed on the arena. "But Jiren is even stronger. Strictly speaking, he hasn't just countered Time-Skip. Hit's attacks and movement techniques simply have no effect on him."
Whis smiled faintly.
"As everyone knows, in the face of absolute power, all tricks and abilities become meaningless. Zeru once said it best: one force can break all techniques. That is exactly what Hit is experiencing right now."
In the arena, Goku scratched the back of his head and sighed in admiration.
"Jiren is really amazing. He can handle Hit's Time-Skip so easily…"
Bang!
Two minutes later, with a final impact, Hit collapsed to the ground, completely out of strength.
"It's over."
Jiren walked slowly toward Hit, his expression calm and detached.
"Jiren!"
Just as Jiren was about to kick Hit off the stage, Son Goku stepped forward in Super Saiyan Blue, staring at him with blazing excitement.
"Fight me!"
Jiren glanced at the unconscious Hit beneath his feet.
Then he smiled, took a few steps back, and faced Goku directly.
"As you wish."
Boom!
Whoosh!
The moment Jiren finished speaking, Goku attacked.
"Haaa!"
"Dada da da da!"
The two clashed head-on.
In Dragon Ball, the strength of a fighter is most clearly displayed through direct combat.
At this moment, Goku and Jiren appeared evenly matched, and their exchange was fierce.
Zeru only watched for a moment before losing interest.
At this stage, Goku was little more than an appetizer for Jiren.
He was nowhere near being Jiren's true opponent.
"Hm?"
Suddenly, Zeru raised an eyebrow.
Vegeta had gone to confront Toppo.
In the original story, Toppo had ultimately lost to Vegeta's full power. Since their battle wasn't particularly interesting to him, Zeru paid little attention.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Just as Zeru settled in to wait for the conclusion of the fight, Goku's aura suddenly surged.
His energy skyrocketed, and his power rose to an entirely new level.
Sensing this change, Jiren's eyes narrowed.
It wasn't fear.
It was excitement.
The previous Goku had only barely caught Jiren's interest.
Now, however, Goku had ignited a genuine desire to fight.
Zeru found it somewhat odd.
They had only been exchanging blows for a short while, yet Goku had already pushed himself to a higher level.
In the arena, Jiren stared at Goku, his eyes flickering.
So this Saiyan hadn't been fighting seriously until now.
"Hey! Didn't anyone ever tell you not to lose focus while fighting someone strong?"
Goku suddenly rushed forward and smashed his fist into Jiren's face.
"You're way too arrogant!"
Bang!
Jiren was sent flying dozens of meters and crashed into a pile of rubble.
Goku hadn't held back at all.
He hated it when an opponent let their mind wander during battle.
To him, that ruined the thrill of combat.
And that feeling annoyed him immensely.
"Cough… cough…"
Jiren rose from the rubble, a trickle of blood running from the corner of his mouth.
He wiped it away and exhaled deeply.
The calm expression on his face disappeared, replaced by something much more serious.
"Son Goku."
His voice was low and steady.
"I hope you can help me truly warm up."
"Only then will I dare challenge Zeru."
As soon as he finished speaking, Jiren vanished.
Whoosh!
When he reappeared, his fist was already in front of Goku's face.
Bang!
"This punch…"
Jiren's cold voice rang in Goku's ears.
"…is payback."
The blow sent Goku hurtling backward.
But Jiren wasn't done.
Pressing the advantage, he appeared behind Goku and unleashed a relentless barrage of punches into his body.
Goku cried out in pain.
Jiren's strikes were terrifying.
Each blow felt powerful enough to destroy a small planet.
That alone showed just how monstrous his strength was.
"Son Goku, you're not enough."
Jiren sent Goku flying again and spoke with unmistakable disappointment.
"I need to build an unstoppable momentum before I dare challenge Zeru."
"At your current level, you cannot help me achieve that."
"If this is truly the extent of your power…"
Jiren closed in once more.
"…then I'll see you below the arena."
Boom!
Just as Jiren prepared to finish him off, Goku suddenly reverted to his base form.
However, silver-white specks of light began to flicker around his body.
Seeing this, Zeru's eyebrows shot up.
"Omen?"
In Universe 7's stands, Beerus' pupils contracted sharply.
"Goku… that brat seems to have grasped something extraordinary."
To Read 60+ ahead advanced Chapters, head over to P@treon
patreon.com/DarkVerse146