High above—one hundred thousand meters in the void—Gran's blood, which had only just cooled, began to boil once more.
Like a hunting eagle, he dove downward.
At extreme speed, he tore through the void, dragging violent winds and crackling lightning in his wake. In an instant, he appeared right in front of Quitela.
Their fists collided.
BOOM!!
It was as if flames ignited at the point of impact. The sheer heat twisted the surrounding void itself.
Their legs struck next.
BOOM!!
The overwhelming force threw the entire region into chaos—so much so that even time itself froze for half a minute.
And yet..
Within that frozen half-minute, their battle did not stop.
Gran, fully restored, and Quitela—who had forcibly dragged his power back to the early Seventh Level at the cost of his life—were now evenly matched.
BOOM!!
After another clash of supreme martial principles—
Quitela endured the agony brought on by entering his heightened state, and his attacks suddenly grew savage.
Gran began to fall into a disadvantage, forced to cross his arms before his chest in a defensive stance.
"Hahaha! Weren't you arrogant just now?!"
Quitela's fist, wrapped in violet divine energy, slammed into Gran's crossed arms.
"AAAGH!!"
The pain—born from early Seventh-Level power—pierced through Gran's arms and shot through every nerve in his body.
The impact sent him flying across countless light-years.
But in the next instant—
Quitela caught up.
"Wasn't this exactly what you did to me earlier?!"
Appearing behind Gran, Quitela clasped his fists together and brought them down like a battle-axe.
CRASH!!
"Pffft!"
Blood burst from Gran's mouth.
That blow carried Quitela's God of Destruction will—its destructive force instantly rupturing Gran's internal organs.
"Gran!!"
Seeing this, Champa's eyes flared with fury as he prepared to charge in.
"Stop right there, you fat pig!"
A voice echoed from afar.
Champa and Fuwa froze, turning toward the source.
From the direction of the Seventh Universe, a figure streaked over—carrying two "chicks" in his hands.
"Skin-and-bones, you finally decided to show up?!"
Recognizing the figure, Champa rushed forward excitedly.
"Your disciple is about to get beaten to death and you only arrive now! What kind of master are you?! If you don't want him, then let me take him instead!"
Beerus: "..."
This damn fat pig is trying to poach my disciple?
"Explain," Beerus said coldly, glancing at the battlefield. "Why did Gran end up fighting Quitela?"
Seeing that Quitela had not yet been pushed into a true corner, Beerus quietly relaxed.
Besides..
He knew Gran still had Senzu Beans. Injuries like this weren't fatal to him.
Beerus then tossed the Old Supreme Kai and Shin toward Vados.
With an Angel protecting these two "deadweights," he could act without concern.
"Gran came to the Sixth Universe to collect the Super Dragon Balls," Champa explained. "But for some reason, Quitela also showed up…"
Hearing this, Beerus stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"If nothing unexpected happened… Quitela likely came to steal the Super Dragon Balls from our universes."
As expected—his guess hit the mark.
Champa's expression changed.
"You mean… he wanted to use them to heal his injuries?"
"Exactly."
"He must've seen how terrifying Gran was during the Candidate Gods of Destruction battle. So he wanted to recover first—then kill Gran before Gran could surpass him."
"That sewer rat is courting death!!"
Champa trembled with rage.
"That has to be it… So what do we do now?"
Beerus crossed his arms, watching the battle ahead.
"No need to worry—for now."
"As long as Quitela hasn't been pushed to absolute desperation, he won't resort to a final suicidal counterattack."
"Besides…"
"You've seen it too—Gran's bodily instinct bottleneck is loosening."
"He can use this life-and-death battle to break through his limits."
"When that happens—once he reaches the Fourth Level of bodily instinct…"
"…combined with his Angel-level Ultra Instinct…"
"…even if Quitela makes a final stand, Gran will be able to handle it."
Hearing this, Champa finally let out a breath of relief.
At that moment.
Beerus and Champa suddenly looked up.
From above the void, ten streaks of light were rapidly descending.
Vados spoke calmly:
"My elder sister and the others have arrived."
As her voice fell—
The ten lights landed one after another beside them.
"Elder Sister."
Vados greeted Kusu.
Beerus, the Old Supreme Kai, and the others also nodded in acknowledgment.
"No need for formalities,"
the petite Kusu replied with a smile.
The God of Destruction of Universe 1, Iwan, looked toward the battlefield and suddenly understood.
"I thought the destruction of Universe 6 was caused by Beerus and Champa… turns out it's Gran fighting Quitela."
Sidra, the God of Destruction of Universe 9, exclaimed in shock:
"So our earlier guess was right… Gran can actually fight a true God of Destruction. No wonder our candidates lost—we didn't lose unfairly at all."
The God of Destruction of Universe 12, Giin, sneered coldly:
"A mere candidate daring to fight a true God of Destruction? He's just courting death."
Ever since Gran destroyed his chosen candidate during the tournament, Giin had disliked him.
"Giin, I think you're being rather foolish,"
Belmod, the God of Destruction of Universe 11, said calmly.
"Didn't you see? Quitela has to use Ego Instinct just to suppress Gran."
"If it were you facing Gran…"
"…you probably wouldn't last even a hundred exchanges."