On the far side of the arena, Goku ran into old enemies from Universe 9.
"Son Goku, long time no see. The match barely started and your Universe 7 already eliminated one of ours. Feeling proud, are we?"
Basil, the red wolf, spoke in a grating singsong, eyes narrowing as he circled.
Tap. Tap.
Footsteps fell in behind him. Two teammates approached, one in yellow, one in blue.
Back at the Zeno Expo, combat had been strictly one-on-one. Basil felt his true ability had never been shown. This time he brought the partners who moved best with him.
In a blink, the trio hemmed Goku in.
They attacked in the same heartbeat.
Goku did not shy away. He flared his ki just enough and rushed to meet them.
He was fast. Even without going Super Saiyan, his speed outstripped theirs by a mile. He clamped down on one opponent and drove him back with sharp hands and heavy kicks. Only when the other wolves dove in did the pressured fighter catch a breath.
"This back-and-forth is getting us nowhere. Use that formation,"
Lavender said to Basil, and the yellow wolf and his red brother whipped around to encircle Goku alongside Bergamo.
Crack.
Basil's heel chopped across Goku's spine from behind.
"Nice,"
Bergamo barked, forcing his way in to complete the triangle.
The three took their places, forming points of a rotating wedge that locked Goku in from all sides.
"Danger Triangle."
On the stands, Universe 9's Supreme Kai sprang up, thrilled. It was their strongest team technique. Grind Goku down, he thought, then punt him clean off the stage.
Crack.
Just the way the Kai imagined, the pattern made it hard for Goku to track targets. He could not tell when or where the next strike would fall. Basil's kick hammered his back again, staggering him. When Goku turned to answer, Basil had already slipped back into the formation. No angle to hit.
Trouble, pure and simple.
Fists and feet rang inside the triangle. Aside from the rare parry, most of the attacks were landing hard.
"Ha. Son Goku, if you can't handle it, just give up,"
Basil crowed from the blur, smug and loud.
"That idiot,"
Beerus ground out, watching Goku take hit after hit.
"Why is he still holding back? He hasn't even gone Super Saiyan."
Goku stayed stubborn, exactly as expected.
"This is very much Goku,"
Whis said with a small smile, straight-backed on his seat.
"Fine. He loses here and I will personally make him pay for it,"
Beerus hissed, fangs bared.
On the floor, Goku punched and kicked through the storm. Normally he read an opponent by sensing their ki, but Universe 9 fought with a strange power divorced from life force. His usual method failed. He was left relying on his eyes alone.
"Goku, Goku. Same old bad habit."
A light voice floated down. Someone dropped between him and the circling wolves.
Vincent Fox.
After dealing with a fish-headed fighter elsewhere, Vincent had split from the team to hunt high-threat targets. He had not gone far before spotting Goku pinned under three-on-one pressure. The man still refused to transform.
No point letting this drag out.
Vincent vaulted into the triangle.
"Well now, another fool,"
one wolf sneered.
"Looks like Universe 7 has a talent for them. Two at once,"
another laughed.
"Wrap it up fast. There are stronger ones to try after this. That Jiren from Universe 11 looks fun,"
the third said, not even bothering to lower his voice.
Goku rubbed the back of his head, a bit sheepish at the help. Vincent's eyes flicked, almost casually, toward the distant giant of a fighter.
Jiren sat cross-legged, unmoved. Any attack that wandered within ten meters of him simply stopped and fell away. He was the final boss of this stage, and he did not need to say a word to make that clear.
Goku felt it too and his blood warmed. The challenge pulled a grin to his face.
"Then let's make this quick,"
he said, and let his power rise.
Boom.
He snapped to the most basic Super Saiyan state and yet the jump in pressure was real. The surge rocked the trio for a breath, but once they steadied, they spun faster.
Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.
They wound themselves into a tighter drill, building force for a killing strike.
Back to back with Goku, Vincent closed his eyes for a breath and opened them again.
His pupils had gone white.
Byakugan.
The world slowed to threads and angles. Every twitch of muscle on the wolves showed bright, their weak points mapped in plain sight.
He moved.
One instant he was there. The next he was gone. His heel hammered into Lavender's knee.
Crunch.
Bone gave with a sick crack. Lavender's leg folded at a wrong angle and he crumpled.
The triangle broke the moment a point fell.
Basil and Bergamo saw their brother drop and went wild. They lunged together.
Up in the stands, Universe 9's Supreme Kai shot to his feet.
"So you want to bring in help? We can do that too."
More figures spilled from the edges of the melee. Then two others broke cover and rushed in as well.
What had been three-on-two swelled to six-on-two, then to eight.
"Pathetic,"
Beerus spat, appetite gone.
"When they cannot win straight, they pile bodies."
Whis scratched a purple ear on his staff-top.
"Relax. They brought numbers, not quality. A bunch of fives on the scouter, at best. If either of those two takes this seriously, there will be no path left for Universe 9 to run."
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The deeper he goes, the more the truth unravels. Don't wait read ahead and witness Vincent's rise before the world catches up!
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