The Universe Chat Group had exploded.
Although Cloud Strife's strength wasn't considered top-tier among the current contestants, his opponent was Gintoki, who was publicly recognized as a super easy opponent. How could he possibly lose like this?! And in such an absurd way?!
The Avalanche's members in the Seventh Heaven on the Planet Fantasy were utterly dumbfounded.
[Barret: God damn it! Cloud, you useless piece of shit! How could you lose like that!?]
[Biggs: Ah, this... we, we can't entirely blame Cloud, right? After all, who would have thought a wooden sword could spray soy sauce?]
[Okita Sogo: Arara~ Who was it that said they had victory in the bag just now? Oh my, I don't think I heard clearly. Could you perform that again?]
[Kagura: This blondie is truly useless~]
[Jessie: Wait, if Cloud lost, doesn't that mean...]
The people of the Planet Samurai couldn't wait to kick them while they were down. There was no helping it, who told the Planet Fantasy folks to pop the champagne early?
Just as the natives of the two planets were preparing for a long-distance verbal battle, Jessie, one of the Avalanche members, suddenly remembered something.
'If Cloud lost, then didn't their planet have to...?' Jessie sharply looked up towards the top of the live stream screen. She saw the Grand Kai, seated on the main throne, lightly raise his hand, and the next second, he made a casual swatting motion as if shooing a mosquito.
Instantly, the entire Planet Fantasy froze.
Even dressed plainly, Aerith Gainsborough, walking down the street, couldn't hide her outstanding aura. She looked up towards the sky. At the zenith of the heavens, a point of the purest destructive energy burst forth. This was followed by a violent shaking of the entire world.
Crash-
Looking out, the opposite world crumbled to pieces in an instant. The boundless continent on the other shore broke apart like a cookie being snapped by a giant hand.
"Oh my god!" Aerith's face, a blend of innocence and beauty, was filled with shock. This power was too terrifying!
If one looked down at the planet from space, they would see that the originally spherical planet had now become hemispherical.
[Jessie: @Tifa, Tifa, only half our planet is left. Whether we survive depends on you now.]
Jessie had initially thought it would be better if their planet had only sent Cloud as their representative. That way, if he just defeated the easy opponent Gintoki, their planet would be safe. But she never expected Cloud to actually lose to that curly-haired guy!
The situation had completely reversed. Now they could only pray that Tifa could secure the remaining victory.
[Barret: Damn it! So many people died, why didn't Shinra get taken out with them!?]
What made Barret even angrier was that half the planet's regions had been blown to cosmic dust by the Grand Kai, yet Shinra, the primary culprit ruining the planet, wasn't affected. Damn it! Was this the so-called 'the wicked live for a thousand years'?
Tifa bit her pink lip tightly, glaring resentfully at her childhood friend Cloud.
Putting aside the matter of sleeping with his brother's woman, how could he mess up such a guaranteed winning start?
The pressure on Tifa at this moment was no less than what Gintoki had felt earlier. After scanning the remaining contestants, she realized there probably wasn't anyone she could reliably defeat either.
"Cough... the next group is..." The commentator flipped through the list, and his expression suddenly froze. After a few seconds of silence, the commentator jogged over to the Grand Kai's side and whispered, "Grand Kai-sama, is it really time for this pair to appear so soon?"
The Grand Kai chuckled. "Of course. At this point in the tournament, we need a high-level match to open the eyes of everyone in the universe."
The commentator nodded, ascended the platform again, put the microphone to his mouth, and announced: "Next match: Lott from the South Galaxy versus the unaffiliated contestant, Cell."
When the priest called out these two names, the entire universe was shocked.
[Kocho Shinobu: Oh my heavens, th-this is only the first round, and these two are already facing each other?!]
[Ace: Although I'd love to see these two fight, I'd prefer to see that Teach guy get killed.]
[Marco: @Ace, Ace, calm down. Teach is our planet's representative now. If he dies, our planet will be in big trouble.]
[Shinpachi: This completely breaks the pattern! Shouldn't a matchup like this be saved for the final round?]
Even Bulma and the others on Planet Terra were stunned. After all, everyone thought the fight between these two should be saved for last.
But now, with only half the contestants having fought, they were being brought out. Wasn't this a bit too rushed?
"I thought I'd have to wait much longer. The Grand Kai is more considerate than I imagined," Cell said, using Instant Transmission to appear on the ring, sneering incessantly.
"In such a hurry to die?" Compared to Cell's imposing entrance via Instant Transmission, Lott seemed more relaxed, as if taking a stroll after a meal.
He tossed the last bite of his meat bun into his mouth and leisurely walked onto the ring.
"Quite confident, aren't you? To still say such things in the face of my perfect self, who has absorbed the cells of countless powerful beings," Cell sneered.
Lott raised an eyebrow, scoffing without any sense of tension. "An ugly final boss who was written out because his spots were too hard to draw and never appeared again actually has the nerve to call himself 'perfect'..."
Cell frowned upon hearing this, not quite understanding Lott's meaning, but he instinctively felt it wasn't a compliment.
"Cough, are the two of you re... ugh!" The commentator didn't even get to finish the word 'ready' before Cell suddenly raised his hand. A powerful attractive force surged towards Lott, like an invisible giant hand grabbing him and pulling him towards Cell.
[Bansho Ten'in!]
Although he failed to successfully revive and absorb Otsutsuki Kaguya, Cell's trip to the Planet Ninja wasn't wasted. He had still acquired many useful skills.
"What's the point of a broken move like this?" Halfway through being pulled, Lott raised his hand and instantly fired dozens of emerald-green energy bullets.
Countless dark green energy bullets, each containing destructive power capable of easily obliterating a continent, shot forth. They didn't even need deliberate aiming, as guided by the attractive force of the Universal Pull, they flew accurately towards Cell from all directions as if equipped with auto-targeting.
Cell immediately changed his hand gesture, lightly waving his other hand.
[Shinra Tensei!]
A powerful repulsive force erupted, forming the sturdiest defense. The same technique, when used by different people, produces different effects. It definitely wouldn't achieve this level if used by Nagato or Sasuke.
"Hah!" Cell let out a low shout. The repulsive force increased to its limit, deflecting the vast number of Eraser Cannons into the sky above the Grand Kai's planet.
Boom Boom Boom Boom-
Two seconds later, deafening roars continuously sounded overhead, erupting with a light as bright as daytime.
The Grand Kai covered his forehead with his right hand, looking at the sky through his sunglasses, and pursed his lips. "Ooh~ How many planets did that destroy in one go? Saves me the trouble of deliberately erasing them."
The camera panned to the sky. The entire universe saw the deflected Eraser Cannons traverse the star river, striking several planets and instantly blowing them to fragments.
The live audience and group spectators felt suffocated.
'My god... just the first exchange between these two, and the commotion they caused already far surpassed any previous pair.'