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A surging black tide of billowing smoke spread rapidly in every direction.
Within that dense, suffocating cloud, an astonishing sight gradually emerged.
A gigantic crater, over one hundred metres in diameter, appeared before everyone's eyes!
The pit was so deep that its bottom was barely visible, and its steep, perilous walls rose up around it.
If the arena had not been specially reinforced beforehand, this enormous crater would likely have continued to expand with unstoppable force, causing even greater destruction.
At that moment, Jiren Zamasu was lying on his side at the bottom of the crater.
His body was covered in wounds and drenched in blood, and the powerful aura he once possessed had become faint and unstable.
Even so, he was still alive.
However, he had clearly lost the ability to move and could only lie on the cold ground, clinging desperately to life.
...
Meanwhile, in the spectator room of Universe 10, Rumsshi stared fixedly at the giant screen in front of him.
A trace of confusion and worry appeared in his eyes.
Frowning slightly, he muttered:
"Did... did it succeed?"
At the bottom of the crater, Jiren Zamasu struggled to move his arm, using the last of his strength to try and pull himself out.
Each movement sent waves of agony through his body, but he gritted his teeth and persevered nonetheless.
After tremendous effort, he finally managed to raise his head little by little, as though it weighed a thousand pounds.
His neck moved stiffly, as if it were rusted shut.
Then he began to look around in all directions.
At that moment, he was searching for Son Goku.
Over and over, he asked himself:
"Did it work?"
His heart was filled with anxiety and anticipation, but suddenly, an unexpected wave of heat swept over him from behind.
Instead of making him feel warm, it sent a shiver racing up his spine.
Despite the intense pain caused by the spasms racking his body, he gritted his teeth and forced himself to turn around and look.
Fortunately, there was nobody behind him.
"A false alarm?"
"Hmm... it must be. No matter how strong that guy is, he couldn't possibly have withstood an explosion like that."
Jiren Zamasu comforted himself as he slowly turned back around.
Then he cautiously scanned both sides once more. After repeatedly confirming his surroundings, he finally came to a conclusion.
He was truly the only person left here.
With that thought, he let out a long breath.
Closing his eyes, he sighed deeply in relief.
However, when he opened his eyes again, he was instantly left completely frozen by the sight before him.
His mouth hung wide open.
Terror filled his face.
It was obvious that he had been scared out of his wits.
Son Goku had appeared before him once again and he was completely unharmed. The mysterious, flowing light surrounding his body had protected him perfectly.
His sharp, piercing eyes were fixed on him.
Supporting himself with one arm and dragging his legs behind him, Jiren Zamasu shuffled desperately backward.
"H-How is that possible?!" He cried out in disbelief, utterly unable to trust his own eyes.
Yet the truth was right in front of him: Son Goku had not been blasted off the arena.
He was still standing there, alive and well. Jiren Zamasu tried once more to stand up, but his body could no longer support him.
His entire frame trembled violently.
The pain was so intense that he could barely endure it, let alone move.
Eventually, his body shuddered and he collapsed back into the crater.
"N-No... damn it! Let me stand up again! Bastard! At this rate, our universe's chances of winning will become even smaller!" Jiren Zamasu gritted his teeth in fury, to the point that tears nearly welled up in his eyes.
Such a reaction genuinely surprised Son Goku.
After all, he could hardly believe that these were words Zamasu would ever say.
[Isn't this guy supposed to be a complete madman? A demon determined to wipe out all humanity?]
Seeing that Jiren Zamasu no longer had the strength to resist, Goku canceled his transformation.
"You no longer have the ability to continue fighting, Zamasu." Goku delivered his final judgment.
It was as though all the strength had been drained from Jiren Zamasu's body. He stopped his futile struggles and let his head droop weakly, remaining silent like a lifeless puppet.
Yet deep within his heart, a trace of unwillingness still drove him to make one final attempt.
Gritting his teeth, he painstakingly gathered the last remnants of power left within his body.
In an instant, a rose-pink aura erupted from him like a blazing flame.
But the power was like a shooting star crossing the night sky—brilliant yet fleeting.
Moments later, the dazzling light rapidly dimmed until it vanished completely.
Jiren Zamasu was utterly exhausted.
He no longer even had the strength to lift a finger.
In the end, he could only abandon all resistance and slowly lie back down within the seemingly bottomless crater.
Staring up at the vast and distant sky above him, his eyes were empty and unfocused, as though his soul had already left his body and drifted off toward some unknown place.
From beginning to end, he did not speak another word.
At this point, any words would have been meaningless.
Yes.
This fierce battle had ended in his defeat.
Even after using every trick and ounce of strength at his disposal, he had still been unable to overcome Son Goku.
Since defeat was inevitable, accepting the outcome was the only choice left to him.
Standing at the edge of the crater, Goku kept his gaze fixed on the Jiren Zamasu lying at the bottom.
For some reason, this person gave him a completely different feeling from the Zamasu he had known before.
The Zamasu he had encountered in the past had been cunning, sinister, and consumed by ambition.
Yet this Jiren Zamasu, after suffering defeat, revealed a kind of despair and confusion that was difficult to describe, making Goku somewhat curious about him.
His aura was undeniably Zamasu's.
However… There wasn't the slightest trace of evil within it.
"Go ahead and do it. I no longer have the strength to fight, Son Goku," Jiren Zamasu said.
Goku nodded.
Then he extended his hand and gathered his aura into his palm.
Spreading his five fingers, he aimed them at Jiren Zamasu. Immediately, Jiren Zamasu's body began to rise out of the crater. He gradually drifted away from the ground and eventually floated into the air.
Under Goku's control, he was moved toward the edge of the arena.
In the blink of an eye, Jiren Zamasu's body fell off the platform.
『Universe 10, Jiren has been eliminated!』
The announcement echoed throughout the God of Destruction Arena.
…
Plain Module
Vegeta, who had been wandering around with nothing to do, suddenly heard the announcement.
He thought to himself:
"Oh? Universe 10's Jiren."
Logically speaking, both Jiren and Toppo should have belonged to Universe 11.
Yet the ones being eliminated now were all from Universe 10.
"Which means Universe 10's Zamasu swapped bodies with more than just one person."
"Heh. A leopard can't change its spots."
"Just don't let me run into him next."
Having already eliminated Toppo Zamasu, Vegeta currently had nothing to do.
So he began casually strolling around the Plain Module.
However, the moment he left the area, the passage leading to the next stage quietly revealed itself.
By then, Vegeta had already wandered several thousand meters away.
(End Of This Chapter)