"Next, everyone please listen to the solemn address from the Grand Zeno."

"Everyone, please remain quiet."

Sweeping his gaze across all the contestants on the arena, the Grand Priest on the floating platform continued:

A magnificent palace slowly descended from the sky, and then, holding hands, the present Zeno and the Future Zeno suddenly leapt out of it together.

"Everyone, welcome!"

"I've been really looking forward to this grand event. Please do your best, and let's have a lively and exciting tournament!"

Watching the two Zenos dancing and waving excitedly, Yuujin couldn't help but chuckle inwardly, while the girls around Gokumi were all tongue-tied.

To think that the supreme rulers of all universes would act like this—there wasn't a shred of overwhelming aura from them. They looked cute and almost baby-like. If they were on Earth, people would probably mistake them for kindergarten toddlers!

"Thank you, Grand Zeno, for your wonderful speech. Next, allow me to explain the rules of the tournament."

Bowing respectfully to the two Zenos, the Grand Priest continued:

"The time limit for this tournament is 100 tacks. The central pillar on the arena will sink as time passes. When it reaches the ground, the tournament will be declared over."

"During the tournament, no weapons are allowed, and killing opponents is strictly forbidden. A contestant will be eliminated if knocked off the arena."

"However, those who lose the ability to fight and are incapacitated, as long as they don't fall off the arena, are not considered eliminated."

"Also, no floating or flying techniques meant to prevent falling are allowed. But those with wings may still fly."

"Even if your life is in danger, all healing tools or items are absolutely prohibited."

"Finally, if all contestants from a universe are eliminated, that universe will be erased by Grand Zeno!"

"These are the complete rules of the Tournament of Power."

With a solemn face, the Grand Priest finished explaining the rules, and the entire venue immediately erupted into noisy discussion—

"The rules are simple: no killing, no weapons, no tools. Just knock the other universes' fighters off the arena."

"But if a universe loses all its fighters, it gets erased? That's too cruel."

"There's no helping it. Out of all the participating universes, only one is allowed to survive."

"There's killing intent everywhere… It's so intense!"

Everyone could feel the overwhelming hostility from the other universes. Although the fighting hadn't started yet, the atmosphere had already reached its breaking point.

Satisfied, the Grand Priest nodded, then turned to the two Zenos in the palace:

"Grand Zeno, shall the tournament begin?"

"Mm-hmm! Start! Start now! Let's begin already!"

Both Zenos urged excitedly.

With a slight nod, the Grand Priest looked back toward the contestants on the arena:

"Then, I hereby declare—the Tournament of Power—"

"Officially begins!"

With the Grand Priest's announcement, the charged atmosphere finally exploded, and all the fighters on the arena moved simultaneously.

"Yaaaahhhhh!!!!"

Boom boom boom boom boom!!!

Other than teammates from the same universe, everyone else was an enemy. Energy erupted as chaos broke out, with wild attacks flying everywhere. The entire arena was instantly consumed by a storm of raging energy blasts.

The two Zenos in the palace watched wide-eyed, exclaiming continuously in excitement, while the gods in the stands were all sweating nervously as they stared at their own universe's fighters.

"This is getting lively! I'm going to test myself against some of the other universes!"

"Dad! Teamwork—we need to work together!"

"Hmph! You guys take your time with that."

"Hehehe, I'm going to go have some fun too."

In Universe 7's camp, Goku, Vegeta, Frieza, and the others quickly took off, flying into the battlefield in search of opponents. In the blink of an eye, half their team had scattered.

"Our battle strategy..."

As the team leader, Gohan was left dumbfounded. Everyone had agreed to work together as a team, but now most of them had just run off. How were they supposed to coordinate anything now?!

And just as he spoke, Android 17 and 18 also darted off.

"Gohan, don't worry about those guys. This was all expected," Master Roshi consoled him, while Beerus up in the stands clutched his head in despair.

None of these guys followed orders or strategy—this universe really seemed doomed!

"Hahaha! This is so much fun!"

In Universe 6's camp, Caulifla laughed wildly while firing ki blasts all around her.

"There! I found that bastard!"

"Kale, come with me!"

Spotting Yuujin and the others in the distance, Caulifla's eyes lit up, and she exploded with energy as she rushed toward them.

"Big sis, wait for me...!"

A flustered Kale hurried to catch up.

Crack crack crack crack crack!!!

In Universe 13's camp, Yuujin and the girls around Gokumi formed a circle, firing off ki blasts in all directions.

However, everyone in this tournament was a top-tier fighter from their respective universes. Basic attacks like this had little effect. Several universes had already set their sights on Yuujin's group and were closing in rapidly.

"Alright everyone, let's clean up these small fries first."

"Understood!"

"Aaaahhhhhh!!!"

Yuujin shouted, then unleashed his energy along with the girls. A violent surge of power burst out, sending nearby fighters—including the charging Caulifla and Kale—flying with shocked cries.

"Just you wait!!!"

Watching the unwilling Caulifla vanish from sight, Yuujin chuckled. This fiery girl really had her eyes on him.

Hopefully, she had some luck and didn't get blown off the arena from that blast.

After clearing the area, no one dared to approach them for now. Yuujin turned to the girls and said:

"This is a rare chance to be part of such a grand event—go have some fun."

"But don't waste too much energy. The real battles are yet to come. When half the time is left, let's regroup here."

This tournament's time limit of 100 tacks equaled about 48 minutes in Earth time.

The early stages were for clearing weaker opponents. Those who lasted to the second half would mostly be elites. That's when the real fight would begin.

"Gokumi, let's team up."

"Sure, sure!"

"Dark 18, let's go too."

"Yay! Time to play!"

One by one, the girls around Gokumi took off, leaving only Broly and Android 21 at Yuujin's side.

To be continued...