"I understand."
The Grand Priest smiled and nodded at Zeru's request.
With a wave of his hand, layers upon layers of divine barriers enveloped the Tournament of Power arena.
From that moment on, no matter how terrifying the attacks unleashed on the stage became, not a single ripple would spread into the Void beyond.
"Come on."
Zeru lifted his head and looked toward the sky, where Vegito hovered with blazing blue aura.
Whoosh!
Boom!
Without any warning, Vegito attacked.
He flicked his fingers, releasing a barrage of Spirit Sword-like finger blasts.
This was merely one of his lesser techniques, but every blast carried enough force to obliterate worlds.
Yet to Zeru, it was meaningless.
He casually waved his hand.
All the blasts were sent flying.
"That was just the appetizer!"
Vegito shouted.
"The real attack is this!"
"Final Kamehameha!"
Boom!!!
An incomparably brilliant blue beam roared downward.
But when it was still several meters away from Zeru, it detonated.
Vegito had intentionally triggered the explosion early.
He knew Zeru could simply swat away the beam if it came directly at him.
So he sacrificed some penetrating power in exchange for a massive area-of-effect explosion.
A gigantic mushroom cloud of black smoke rose from where Zeru stood.
In the multiverse chat group, everyone panicked.
"It's all black! Is Boss Zeru okay?!"
"Would turning on immersive mode right now be suicide?"
"Relax! Dragon Ball follows the sacred law of 'if there's smoke, there's no damage.' And with Boss Zeru's strength, Little Vegito can't hurt him!"
"@Zeru Boss, hurry and come out! I want to see you beat up Vegito!"
The group had grown much bolder by now.
After witnessing battle after battle at this level, they no longer cowered in silence.
Some even dared to tease Zeru directly.
"Gigantic Burst!"
Before the smoke had cleared, Vegito unleashed another finishing move.
This was his upgraded Big Bang Attack, a devastating sphere of compressed blue energy.
Its power was far greater than before.
"So terrifying!"
Hidden in the distance, Toppo and Jiren both turned pale.
The aftershocks alone from Vegito's earlier attacks had injured them.
If they stepped even a few dozen meters closer, they would almost certainly be obliterated.
In Universe 7's stands, Beerus frowned deeply.
"What do you think?"
He could tell this attack was vastly more dangerous than the last.
If Zeru took it head-on, he might actually be forced to defend seriously.
Whis smiled calmly.
"Let's keep watching."
"Don't worry, Bulma-mama, Lazuli-mama."
Android 18 sat beside Bulma, both visibly tense, while Su Liuli smiled confidently.
"Dad is far stronger than even me."
"Really?"
Android 18 still looked worried.
"Vegito is using killing moves. Can your father really withstand attacks like that?"
Su Liuli simply grinned.
"Of course."
Boom!
As Vegito's Gigantic Burst descended, an overwhelming aura suddenly erupted from within the smoke.
Then Zeru emerged.
He flew upward, slapped the incoming attack away with one hand, and pointed a finger.
In an instant, the colossal energy sphere vanished completely.
He had used his erasure ability.
Not because he was cheating, but because the redirected blast would have struck Jiren, Toppo, and the unconscious Hit.
Even Zeru felt it would be embarrassing to accidentally kill them.
"Ha da da da da!"
In the next moment, Zeru appeared before Vegito.
The two resumed close-quarters combat in midair.
Fists and knees collided.
Shockwaves rippled across the reinforced arena.
They fought for several minutes.
But the contrast became increasingly obvious.
Vegito was drenched in sweat.
Zeru remained relaxed.
Another punch exchange sent Vegito flying backward.
Zeru did not move an inch.
Vegito's face was filled with disbelief.
"Zeru…"
He panted heavily.
"You're ridiculously strong."
Even as the fusion of Son Goku and Vegeta, he still could not force Zeru to use his full power.
"You've reached your limit."
Zeru returned to his silver-haired base state and smiled.
Vegito, now also reverted to base form, nodded with a wry grin.
"Yeah."
He exhaled deeply.
"You're a monster."
"I wish I could keep fighting you forever."
Then his expression softened.
"But… my time is up."
Although born from Goku and Vegeta, Vegito possessed his own unique personality and will.
In every meaningful sense, he was his own person.
Zeru's gaze flickered.
"There will be another chance."
Vegito blinked.
"What do you mean?"
Zeru smiled.
"Perhaps one day, you'll become a truly independent existence."
"No longer a temporary fusion."
"But a real lifeform."
Vegito stared at him in shock.
Then he laughed.
Blue light enveloped his body.
The fusion split apart.
Son Goku and Vegeta reappeared in the sky, both unconscious.
Thud!
Thud!
They crashed onto the arena below, kicking up clouds of dust.
Zeru remained floating in the sky.
Then he slowly turned his gaze toward the distant rubble.
From the shattered stones, Jiren and Toppo stepped forward.
They looked up at Zeru.
Their expressions were incredibly complicated.
Because after witnessing everything…
They finally understood just how vast the gap between them and this man truly was.
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