novelnext Chapter 346 346: The Tournament Begins!
Chapter 346 346: The Tournament Begins!
In the end, Yamcha stabilized at Super Saiyan 3.
But that was only the limit of his body.
Right after that, the transformation seemed to slip out of his control. He dropped out of Super Saiyan 3 in an instant.
Then red flames flared up around him. His muscles slimmed down a little, and the irises in his eyes turned crimson.
"This... this power..."
"That's right. This is Super Saiyan God."
The auras of Krillin, Tien, Master Roshi, Chiaotzu, and the others underwent the same change.
Because they had no hair, however, their appearances barely changed apart from Master Roshi's beard turning red.
For the companions who were already Saiyans, the difference was not much greater than it was for the Earthlings.
The only real distinction was that, thanks to their potential having been raised by Aodebiao, the improvement in their auras was even more obvious.
Gohan, Goten, Trunks, Caulifla, Kale, Cabba, Bejita, Latirits, Nana ba...
The limit of their bodies had likewise been pushed all the way to the level of Super Saiyan 4.
The whole process came quickly, and ended just as fast.
When the light faded, the Earth warriors were still standing there, all of them dazed, as if they had just woken from a dream.
Yamcha lowered his head and looked at his hands. A sense of power he had never experienced before surged through every corner of his body.
He could feel that the nature of his ki had changed.
It was no longer just energy. It had become something on a higher plane, something divine.
"So... this is Super Saiyan God?"
Beside him, Krillin's bald head gave off a faint red glow. He clenched his fist, feeling that vast power, both familiar and unfamiliar, and for a moment he could not speak.
"Incredible."
Tien opened his third eye. The world reflected in it had never looked so clear.
He could even see every strand of hair drifting on the body of Heles in the distance, even every pore of her skin.
"Before, I couldn't even sense the gap between Levos and me. Now, it feels like I can finally touch that level." Piccolo's expression was the most solemn of all. He understood the essence of this power more deeply than the others.
"He didn't simply pour strength into us. He forcibly raised the upper limit of our level."
"That means from now on, our training efficiency will multiply. Breaking through bottlenecks will also become much easier."
"As long as each of us keeps training, then even if it takes thousands or tens of thousands of years, we all now possess the qualifications to become gods."
Piccolo's words made everyone suck in a cold breath.
Bejita felt the explosive power flowing through her and all the helplessness she had felt in front of those monsters vanished.
What replaced it was endless confidence and pride.
"Hmph. Now that's more like it."
She shot a glance toward Time Patrol Vegeta in the distance, then toward Emperor Vegeta's ship.
"Gods of Destruction or Saiyan Emperor, it doesn't matter. I, Bejita, will surpass all of you sooner or later!"
Frieza stood at the edge of the group. The energy waves rolling off his dark gold body were several times stronger than before.
He said nothing, but inside, his emotions were already surging like a storm.
"So Levos has already reached the point where he can mass-produce gods?"
His gaze shifted toward Cooler, and a delighted smile curved at the corner of his mouth.
Cooler looked back at Frieza, the coldness in his eyes deepening.
That sudden change had made the upcoming battle between them far more unpredictable.
The one who had changed the most, however, was Android 21.
As an artificial human, her ability to withstand energy was far beyond ordinary limits.
And Levos's energy, to her, was the most perfect tonic imaginable, madly filling the hunger for power in her body.
At the same time, those incomparably pure, high-level energies began refining every single one of her cells the moment they entered her body.
Her Black Gold Mechanical Form, Majin Form, and Legendary Super Saiyan Form intertwined and fused perfectly within her.
Even her appearance began to shift, changing from that of a mature, alluring older woman into a more divine, youthful girl.
"Levos's energy... it feels incredible..." she murmured with her eyes closed, intoxication written all over her face as she savored the power.
This mass strengthening lasted a full ten minutes.
Among everyone, Android 21 absorbed the most energy by far.
When the light finally disappeared, the people standing there were no longer the same.
They had become warriors with utterly transformed auras.
For a moment, no one said a word.
They simply stood there, silently feeling the reborn power inside themselves.
Then all of them turned their eyes back to the match chart.
The other areas of the viewing platform had long since erupted.
"You've got to be kidding me!"
Quitela, the God of Destruction of Universe 4, had shock written all over his face.
"The auras of those mortals... they're divine!"
"How did he do that?!"
"If he gives away his divine power to other people, then won't his own strength drop?" Heles could not make sense of it.
Champa's face looked awful. He felt as if Levos had abandoned him.
Something this good, and Levos had not brought him along.
Inside the spaceship, Vegeta, who had originally been lounging lazily on his throne, had at some point sat up straight.
"Interesting... this man seems quite interesting as well."
At his side, Kakarot, Wild Beast, and the others all wore guarded expressions now.
Full Metal Cell Max paid no attention to any of it.
"The thirty minutes of preparation time are over."
"And now, the first round matches of the upper bracket officially begin!"
The moment those words fell, images of sixteen battlefields appeared on the giant screen above the viewing platform.
"All contestants, proceed to your designated arenas."
On the screen, each pair of names had already been assigned an arena number.
"All sixteen matches will take place simultaneously!"
"Yamcha, give it your all!" Levos called out to the Desert Bandit God.
"Young Master Yamcha, even if you lose, lose with dignity!" Puar cheered.
Yamcha stole a glance at his opponent, Champa.
The God of Destruction was lazily digging at his ear with all the impatience in the world, as though this match was nothing more than an irritating chore.
Yamcha's eyes sharpened. He had no idea whether the advice his companions had given him would work.
His figure flashed, and he appeared on the assigned battlefield.
Champa yawned, drifted over at a leisurely pace, and landed on the opposite side of the arena.
"Hey, kid. You know the difference between us, right?"
Yamcha said nothing. He simply raised his hands and took the opening stance of the Wolf Fang Fist.
Seeing that attitude, Champa nearly laughed out loud.
"Since you're insisting on this, I'll humor you."
He stretched out a single finger.
"I'll use one finger to show you what the insurmountable gap between a god and a mortal really looks like."
A barrier slowly descended from above, sealing off the entire arena.
"The match begins!"
The instant Full Metal Cell Max's voice rang out, all sixteen matches began at the same time.
Champa could not even be bothered to move.
He planned to wait until Yamcha charged, then flick him away with one finger and end this boring farce on the spot.
But Yamcha did not move either.
He simply stood there and slowly closed his eyes.
The next second, a crimson aura exploded upward from his body.
Boom!
The aura of a god.
It was still immature, but it was undeniably divine power.
The contempt on Champa's face lessened by a fraction.
"Interesting. So you really did grasp godly power."
"But that alone won't amount to much!"
Champa still kept only one finger raised, his posture as arrogant as ever.
Yamcha suddenly opened his eyes.
"Spirit Ball!"
The energy sphere in his hand vanished instantly!
Too fast!
Champa's pupils contracted slightly.
He actually failed to catch the Spirit Ball's trajectory right away.
Bang!
A muffled explosion rang out.
The Spirit Ball detonated against him, making Champa stagger forward half a step.
The look on his face remained one of pure disbelief.
Meanwhile, Yamcha was still standing exactly where he had been before.
He grinned and raised his hand, pressing his index and middle fingers together.
A rapidly spinning energy sphere formed at his fingertips.
"Come on then. Hit me."
"Spirit Ball!"
Champa had taken the hit. He was completely unharmed, yes, but he had still been hit.
And after that, Yamcha had gone and openly provoked him.
In that instant, Champa got angry.
"You little..."
Whoosh!
This time, Champa saw it clearly.
The energy ball curved in an absurd arc, looping behind him.
Champa snorted coldly and swung his hand backward, intending to swat it away.
But right as his palm was about to touch it, the sphere suddenly accelerated and changed direction again at an unbelievable angle, circling around to his other side!
"What?!"
Champa froze for the briefest moment.
He had never seen an angle that tricky before.
And in that split second of distraction, Yamcha's figure vanished again.
"Take this, God of Destruction!"
"Wolf Fang Fist!"
Yamcha's voice echoed from all directions at once.
Countless red afterimages surrounded Champa completely.
Punches and kicks crashed down like a rainstorm, all of them wrapped in divine power, all of them landing squarely on Champa's body!
Bang bang bang bang bang!
The dense barrage of blows merged into a single roaring string of impacts.
The entire arena shook violently!
On the viewing platform, everyone was dumbstruck.
The Earthling they had all written off as a complete weakling was now pressing a God of Destruction into a full-on pummeling.
Of course, anyone with eyes could tell that those attacks had not dealt real damage to Champa's thick, durable body.
But the sheer sight of it was overwhelming.
It was far beyond anything they had imagined.
"That's all?"
Yamcha's voice carried a trace of provocation.
And just like that, Champa's anger was fully ignited.
"You arrogant little brat!"
Boom!
Purple destructive energy erupted from his body like a volcano.
The terrifying blast of wind instantly blew away all of Yamcha's afterimages.
Yamcha himself was hurled backward, tumbling through the air more than a dozen times before he barely managed to steady himself.
His chest churned violently and his face went pale.
"Hah... that was close."
Just the pressure of Champa's aura alone had nearly injured him.
A God of Destruction was not so easy to deal with after all.
"I admit it. I underestimated you."
Champa slowly rose into the air, his body wrapped in rings of destructive purple light.
"But as a reward for succeeding in making me angry, I'll let you experience what true despair looks like."
He slowly raised one hand and aimed it at Yamcha.
A purple sphere of energy, condensed to its absolute limit, took shape in his palm.
Hakai power.
"It's over."
...
In another arena, the battle had become even more heated.
This match was the one truly drawing all eyes.
Most of the viewing platform's attention had shifted to this one fight.
Son Goku versus Kakarot.
One had clear eyes, blazing battle intent, and was wrapped in the pink aura of Super Saiyan 4.
The other had wicked eyes, murderous intent overflowing from him, and was surrounded by the violet glow of Ultra Ego.
"The other me." Goku spoke first, his voice full of curiosity. "Why do you always look so unhappy?"
Kakarot's mouth twisted into a cold, sinister smile.
"Once I tear you apart, I'll naturally feel much better."
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Their figures collided again and again in midair.
Every punch landed solidly. Every move aimed to kill.
A thunderous explosion erupted at the center of the battlefield.
Their fists slammed together, hard.
The shockwave spread out in every direction, grinding the already-hard arena floor into a spiderweb of cracks.
Fast.
Far too fast.
From the viewing platform, aside from a handful of top-tier experts, most people could not even follow their movements.
All they could see were two streaks of light, one pink and one violet, smashing into each other across the arena.
Every clash erupted with world-shaking force.
"So... so strong!" Gohan stared without blinking. "Dad and that Kakarot... they're both incredible!"
If Goku had not gone through Levos's strengthening beforehand, things never would have looked this balanced.
Piccolo was quietly sweating for Goku.
"It's not just that they're strong. Look closely at the way they fight."
Everyone focused hard.
Goku's attacks were broad and forceful, full of passion and raw power. He was clearly enjoying every second of the fight.
Kakarot's attacks, on the other hand, were all killing moves. No wasted motion at all. Every punch. Every kick. Precisely aimed for Goku's vital points.
His battle was not for sparring.
It was for slaughter.
Boom!
The two clashed once more and were blown apart.
"So awesome!"
Goku shook out his slightly numb arm, and the smile on his face only widened.
"Your moves are amazing. I've never seen them before, but every single one is vicious."
"Enough chatter."
Kakarot's eyes turned colder still as violet aura rose around him.
"The warm-up's over."
He brought both hands together before his chest, condensing dark-violet energy between his palms.
The stance was one Goku knew all too well.
But the aura filling that power was violent and ominous.
"Die!"
"Destruction Kamehameha!"
A dark-violet beam roared toward Goku.
The space it passed through twisted visibly.
"Kamehameha!"
Goku's expression sharpened as he took the same stance.
A blue beam blasted forward to meet it.
Boom!
Blue and violet, two entirely different torrents of energy, slammed into one another at the center of the arena.
A terrifying energy storm instantly engulfed the entire battlefield.
Full Metal Cell Max raised one hand slightly, and a barrier absorbed all the leaking aftershocks.
In the middle of the beam struggle, Goku's brows slowly drew together.
He could feel it.
His opponent's Kamehameha was more condensed than his own, and mixed within it was the power of destruction.
...
At the same time, several of the other matches had already ended one after another.
Krillin, fighting Lagss, ultimately lost, but through his constantly shifting tactics he still managed to keep her occupied for quite a while.
Tien, against Liquiir, the God of Destruction of Universe 8, even used the Neo Tri-Beam to shatter his opponent's defense.
Though he still lost in the end after exhausting all his energy, he had earned his opponent's respect.
The Earth warriors, who had once seemed laughably weak in the eyes of the strong, were now displaying strength great enough to make even gods take notice.
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