Seeing that Lott did not express opposition, Goku's frown deepened. Being able to fight strong opponents from across the universe was originally something he greatly looked forward to.
However, the outcome being tied to the life and death of an entire planet was something Goku found difficult to accept. Even though he had witnessed Mark's fate firsthand and learned of the ugliness of human nature, he still couldn't bear the thought of an entire planet's population being wiped out just because of a single battle.
It wasn't just Goku… over ninety percent of the entire group, or even cautiously speaking, besides Earth and Planet Terra, the populations across the entire universe were panicking.
After all, their planets didn't have two monsters like Goku and Lott guarding them. Nor did they have Dragon Balls for revival.
On the Planet Ling Cage, in the underground base, Erika, the former Hunter now under Bai Yuekui's command, and Xia Dou, both lolis with impressive assets and black straight long hair respectively, frantically @-ed King Yenma: [King Yenma-sama! Is, is this really okay? So many people dying at once, won't it cause you trouble? Shouldn't the Afterlife do something?]
Ran Bing, Yamagata, and others nearby, even Bai Yuekui herself, were terribly frightened.
After all, they knew that while their planet had some combat capability, compared to other superpower planets, it was a weakling!
If they participated, their only outcome would be death!
Planets facing similar situations included the Planet Samurai where Gintoki and Katsura were, the Planet Demon where the Butterfly Sisters were, and others.
People on these planets were also frantically @-ing the King Kais. They didn't want to participate in this kind of martial arts tournament!
The King Kais in the group, King Yenma, and other gods governing life and death remained silent.
After a long while, King Yenma finally spoke: [The Grand Kai-sama has approved. He feels that since the [Universe Chat Group] appeared, inter-universal communication has become increasingly frequent. He thinks it's a good opportunity to eliminate a portion of the planets.]
The North King Kai helped explain: [The Grand Kai-sama is the Kai who commands the four galaxies.]
Hearing the responses from the two deities, countless group members across the universe were dumbfounded. N-no, this, this is so casual?!
"Heh, it seems the gods aren't as boring as imagined." The corner of Cell's mouth lifted as he looked up at the sky. "Then what about the location? Grand Kai?"
At this point, the existence respectfully referred to as 'Grand Kai-sama' by King Yenma and the North King Kai finally spoke in the group: [The Grand Kai's planet. As for the time... let's set it for one month from now. Each planet, please quickly select your respective planet's representative and report them to the King Kai of your galaxy. Afterwards, I will transport the representatives to the Grand Kai's planet. Oh my, I'm getting a bit impatient. After all, since this [Universe Chat Group] thing appeared, managing the various galaxies has become increasingly complex. More and more people are running around between galaxies. Taking this opportunity to reduce a few isn't bad...]
From the Grand Kai's tone, he sounded like a chatty little old man. However, for the populations of planets not confident in their own strength, this answer was like a nightmare.
'We're really going through with it!?'
Afterwards, whether it was the Grand Kai, the four King Kai of the four galaxies, or King Yenma who governed the cycle of life and death, all fell silent.
All group members also knew. This so-called [Universe's Number One Martial Arts Tournament] was definitely happening!
Planet Ling Cage. Whether it was the Upper and Dust citizens on the Lighthouse or Bai Yuekui's team on the surface, all were terrified.
'W-wait, do weaklings like them have to participate too?'
"...I'll go." Bai Yuekui was the first to speak. Although she knew very clearly that her strength compared to the monsters in the group was that of a weakling among weaklings, someone like her was indeed the strongest existence on this post-apocalyptic planet. There was no other choice!
At the same time, Bai Yuekui also @-ed the Lighthouse's Lord, Morgan, asking them to provide her with the best weapons. This was no longer an issue of surface vs. underground… everyone on the planet must unite to fight for themselves, for the survival of this planet!
The situation on the Planet Amanto was similar to the Planet Ling Cage.
At a time like this, forget about the shogunate, the Joui patriots, or whatever. Everyone must unite to fight for survival. And when the Shinsengumi, representing the shogunate, and Katsura, Takasugi, representing the Joui patriots, thought about their planet's representative, an image of a silver-haired, curly-headed figure's back involuntarily surfaced in their minds.
Although they didn't know what was going on in that guy's head, in terms of individual combat prowess, he was indeed the strongest on their planet.
…
Planet Pokémon. The Pokémon League President, Charles Goodshow, gathered the regional League Presidents, Champions, Elite Four members, and Gym Leaders to the headquarters for a meeting.
In the past, convening a general meeting usually only required the Presidents and Champions to attend, and generally, they wouldn't call all the Elite Four, let alone the Gym Leaders.
Mainly, after the incident with Pryce, Charles Goodshow always fantasized whether there might be other strong individuals secretly holding back their strength within the various Leagues, similar to Pryce.
Perhaps among the League's Elite Four or Gym Leaders, there were still people hiding their abilities? Maybe they actually had 'Master-level' strength?
"Now is a time concerning the survival of our planet. If any of you have been hiding your strength, please don't hold back now, okay?" Charles Goodshow asked earnestly.
Cynthia shook her head with a bitter smile. She had also guessed Charles Goodshow's thoughts. But how could a monster like Pryce appear anytime?
"How about having my cousin Lance as the representative?" The strongest Gym Leader of the Johto League, Clair, suggested.
But when mentioning this title, Clair herself felt somewhat ashamed. Mainly, she never expected Pryce to be so good at hiding!
"Wouldn't Leon be more suitable?" Rose said discontentedly. Both were at the peak Champion level, so naturally, both had the qualification to be representatives.
"Since there's still a month left, why don't the two of you fight first, and the winner becomes the representative?" Steven blinked twice and suggested.
"No," However, Cynthia raised an objection at this point, "If we're selecting a representative, of course we should choose the strongest one."
"Is there a trainer stronger than those two on our planet? Cynthia, you're not talking about yourself, are you?" Her close friend Diantha asked curiously.
"Has everyone forgotten? During the previous struggle over Goh, there was another person, second only to Pryce, who also came." Cynthia reminded them.
Lance's expression changed drastically. He had already guessed who Cynthia was referring to.
…
Planet Pirate.
After several years, Whitebeard's lifespan was also nearing its limit. Originally, his body was already almost at the point of exhaustion.
Even without participating in the Marineford War like in the original work, holding on for another four or five years would already be a miracle.
"Ace... after I die... you... you will be the new captain of the Whitebeard Pirates..." Whitebeard lying on the sickbed spoke in an extremely weak voice, glancing sideways at his 'sons' waiting by his bedside.
"Pops! What nonsense are you talking? You won't die!" Ace held Whitebeard's large hand and cried out.
"Gurararara~ Don't be sad, you brat. Everyone dies eventually. And my life... has been happy enough. I just don't know if I'll go to hell or reincarnate directly after I die..." Whitebeard laughed.
It had to be said Whitebeard was quite self-aware… he knew that as a pirate, he wasn't qualified for heaven. Not going to hell and reincarnating normally would be pretty good.
"Pops..." Ace, Marco, Vista, and the others lowered their heads, shedding tears and sobbing.
Thud!
Just then, an apprentice pirate from the Whitebeard Pirates burst into the sickroom. The commanders all shot angry looks at him, as if saying, 'What the hell are you doing at such an important moment?'
"N-no, it's bad! Commander Ace, Commander Marco, outside-" Before this apprentice pirate could finish his report, a maniacal laughter that was all too familiar to everyone in the Whitebeard Pirates came from outside the ship: "Zehahahaha! Pops! I heard you're about to die!"
…
"To be honest, I still dislike you." In the Las Noches, the new Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13, Kyoraku Shunsui, fiddled with the bamboo hat on his head and looked up at Aizen on the throne, saying with narrowed eyes: "But for our planet, there really isn't any other candidate at the moment."
The corner of Aizen's mouth lifted slightly, sneering: "This isn't the attitude of someone asking for a favor, new Captain-Commander."