Hit's eyes snapped open.
The confusion and drowsiness vanished instantly, replaced by a sharp, icy gaze.
His body reacted on instinct. He staggered backward several steps, his boots carving deep tracks into the snow until his back slammed against the towering, frozen mountainside. Only the solid wall of ice behind him gave him any sense of stability.
As he looked at Trunks, he saw something that left him stunned.
Spiritual power.
Not just a little; Trunks possessed even greater spiritual power than he did.
It surrounded Trunks like tangible light, radiating a mysterious, overwhelming aura.
To Hit, spiritual power was the key to controlling his Space Prison. It was an incredibly rare ability.
Now he finally understood why his Space Prison had failed.
It wasn't that the technique was flawed.
It was that his opponent possessed even stronger spiritual power.
The strange part was that Trunks clearly had no idea he even had such an ability.
"Why didn't you dodge?"
Trunks' voice pulled Hit out of his thoughts.
Hit lowered his head slightly before letting out a faint smile. It carried admiration, relief... and acceptance.
It felt as though he had just figured something out.
"I didn't expect you to be this strong."
He spoke quietly before adding without hesitation, "I surrender."
The two simple words carried an enormous weight.
For someone as proud as Hit, admitting defeat was never easy.
But he said them anyway, as if setting down a burden he had been carrying for far too long.
"Oh? We only just started, Hit."
Trunks frowned, confused. The fight had barely begun.
Hit looked him straight in the eye. "No. It's already over."
There wasn't a trace of hesitation in his voice.
"None of my abilities work on you. Without those advantages, I can't fight a Saiyan like you."
Taking a deep breath, he continued, "You're Trunks, right? I've heard Broly mention you."
That immediately caught Trunks' attention. "You mean that lunatic?"
The moment Broly's name came up, the image of that terrifying, battle-crazed Saiyan flashed through his mind.
Hit nodded with a helpless smile. "Yes. He really is a madman."
A flicker of lingering fear crossed his face as memories of fighting Broly resurfaced.
"I've fought him before, a Saiyan from Universe 7. If I didn't have my special abilities, I doubt I could have lasted even ten exchanges against him."
He looked back at Trunks. "It seems every Saiyan from Universe 7 is monstrously strong."
Trunks smiled awkwardly. "You're giving us too much credit. By the way, did that maniac end up representing Universe 6 too? He absolutely hates his brother."
Hit nodded again. "He did."
"You really mean it?" Trunks asked, his tone turning serious. "You're surrendering?"
He searched Hit's expression for any sign of deception. With the fate of entire universes at stake, he couldn't afford to take anyone at their word.
"I surrender."
Hit's answer remained calm and unwavering.
Trunks frowned. "Then you're just giving up on fighting for your universe's survival?"
Hit shook his head. "No. I'll keep fighting."
He paused before clarifying, "What I mean is... we can both advance."
That only confused Trunks more. "But the rules say the winner advances, don't they?"
"I'm not denying that," Hit replied. "But the rules never say only one person is allowed to win. We can advance together."
"In other words..."
"We can form an alliance."
Hit continued, "I've already observed another arena where someone did exactly that. The person happened to be a friend of mine. And it worked."
Now Trunks was genuinely interested. "'Observed?' What do you mean? Are you saying you can see what's happening in the other arenas?"
If Hit really had that ability, then the tournament was even more complicated than he had thought.
Hit smiled calmly. "Of course. You Saiyans from Universe 7 have truly exceeded all my expectations."
"The Saiyan named Son Goku defeated Universe 10's Jiren, as well as Kale and Caulifla from our universe."
"The one called Vegeta defeated Universe 10's Toppo."
"And there's more. He even broke through the barrier between arenas to help his daughter in the neighboring one."
"Oh, and one more thing. A guy named Frieza defeated Frost from our universe."
Trunks listened carefully, secretly amazed by the feats of his father, Goku, Vegeta, and the others.
He never expected his dad to break through the arena barrier just to help Bulla.
Then again... the more he thought about it, the more it sounded exactly like something his father would do. Goku had always been the kind of person who would do anything for his family.
Still, it was the latter half of Hit's words that caught his attention.
He clearly remembered hearing the announcements that Toppo and Jiren from Universe 10 had been eliminated.
But if Goku had really defeated Kale and Caulifla, there should have been elimination announcements for them as well.
The same went for Frieza defeating Frost.
Something wasn't adding up.
The realization hit him almost immediately.
Back when he and Super Perfect Cell had fought the Universe 6 Namekians, Magetta, and that Yardratian, none of their eliminations had been announced either.
"Are you certain, Hit?" Trunks asked.
"Absolutely," Hit replied without hesitation. "I saw it with my own eyes."
That only made Trunks more intrigued.
"My special ability allows me to travel between different arenas."
Trunks' pupils contracted.
That was exactly what he had been waiting to hear. Now everything clicked into place.
Hit wasn't lying. Trunks was almost certain of it now.
The reason those fighters from Universe 6 hadn't actually been eliminated... was most likely because of Hit.
Getting straight to the point, Trunks asked, "Where did you hide the members of your universe?"
Hit's body stiffened. A few seconds later, he smiled. "As expected of you. You figured it out."
Trunks gave him a thumbs-up. "You're not bad yourself. With someone as calculating as you in Universe 6, it's hard to imagine your team losing."
"The rules say the universe with the most surviving fighters at the end wins. So you hid your teammates and created the illusion that they'd been eliminated. Then, after everyone else exhausts themselves fighting, you bring your people back."
"You'd have the advantage in numbers, and they'd all be fresh while everyone else is worn out."
"When it comes to strategy... you're better than I am."
The two looked at each other with newfound respect.
But it lasted only a moment.
Trunks' expression turned serious. "That said... do you really think your plan is foolproof? I already know your trump card. So why should I form an alliance with you?"
"If you want my cooperation, you'll have to offer me something. Some kind of reason. Or some sincerity."
"You're not the only one with a plan."
Hit's face grew equally serious. "I can tell you this much: we have to form an alliance. Sharing this information with you is my show of sincerity."
"There's something else you should know. There are some arenas that even my ability can't observe."
"That means there are monsters in this tournament far beyond anything I imagined. That's exactly why I believe we need to work together."
Trunks' expression hardened. "You can't see into some of the arenas?"
Hit nodded, his face grave. "That's why I'm willing to teach you my ability and let you investigate them yourself. But you have to agree to our alliance."
"My goal is simple. I'm doing this for the sake of Universe 6. From what I've seen, the strongest universes in this tournament are Universe 7 and Universe 11. So I've decided to tie Universe 6 to Universe 7."
"I'll have all of Universe 6 support your actions. My instincts tell me that those arenas I can't observe are hiding opponents far more dangerous than anything we've seen."
"And once it's all over... whether Universe 6 wins or Universe 7 wins, we'll use the wish to restore the losing universe."
(End Of This Chapter)