The entire audience was left breathless.
Too strong!
Pikkon had already demonstrated overwhelming strength in his previous match against Vegeta. Yet facing Setsuna, he was thoroughly defeated without any suspense. The gap between them seemed to belong to different dimensions entirely.
Even King Kai couldn't help but marvel: "Although I guessed Setsuna would win, I never expected it to be this effortless."
The other semifinal match began shortly after.
Goku and Trunks stepped onto the stage.
Although Trunks gave it his all, even momentarily suppressing Goku with his exquisite swordsmanship, Goku's terrifying combat talent was fully unleashed under the pressure.
With a long roar, his aura surged once more, turning the tables and suppressing Trunks.
"I lose." Trunks sheathed his sword quite decisively and conceded gracefully. "Congratulations, Goku-san."
Vegeta, watching from below, frowned deeply: "As a Saiyan, he actually conceded!"
After Trunks came down, Vegeta said in a harsh tone: "I don't know what kind of weakling your father is. Didn't he teach you what Saiyan pride means?"
His intention was to provoke Trunks, but he found Trunks's expression peculiar.
"Um... actually..." Trunks lowered his voice slightly, his gaze shifting. "My father... well, he's actually very assertive and very proud."
Vegeta snorted coldly: "Hmph, judging by how weak you are, your father is definitely the type who acts tough on the outside but is actually very weak on the inside! A useless waste!"
His words grew increasingly harsh, practically cursing him out to his face.
Krillin quickly tried to mediate: "Vegeta, that's not right. How can you insult Trunks's father right in front of him?"
Even as Krillin tried to mediate, he was inwardly puzzled, 'Weren't Saiyans supposed to have fiery tempers? Trunks was far too docile. Even with Vegeta insulting his father like that, he could still calmly explain things to Vegeta.'
Fortunately, the upcoming finals drew Vegeta's attention away, allowing Trunks to breathe a sigh of relief.
Setsuna stepped onto the stage. Looking at the eager Goku across from him, he felt quite emotional. At the Tenkaichi Budokai back in the day, he had lost to Goku's sudden surge of power and had to settle for second place.
Now, times had changed, and he could finally accomplish what he had failed to achieve back then.
"Match begin!"
As the referee's voice fell, space above the empty stage trembled violently. The spot where Goku stood erupted with dazzling light, the shockwave exploding outward like a supernova. He appeared before Setsuna almost instantly, and ripples spread across space wherever his fist passed.
Setsuna didn't dodge. His right fist shot out as well.
Boom!
It was like the collision of two stars. The asteroid clusters floating above the stage shattered instantly, and the terrifying energy storm nearly tore apart this special space.
"Space reinforcement!" The Grand Kai quickly acted to reinforce the space. As a god, his personal strength might not be immense, but he held authority, allowing him to freely utilize the power of the afterlife within its bounds.
At the center of the shockwave, the stalemate lasted only a moment. Setsuna was the first to change his technique, leaning forward at an impossible angle, his left elbow crashing down like a meteor towards Goku's temple.
Goku raised his arm to block, his arm shaking violently as he redirected the force, his right knee driving towards Setsuna's abdomen like a battering ram.
Within this area less than ten meters in diameter, the two engaged in a high-speed exchange so intense that even space struggled to register it. Fists, elbows, knees, shoulders… every part of their bodies became weapons of destruction. Each collision sent out a ring of destructive energy waves. In just 0.01 seconds, they had already exchanged over ten thousand blows.
Above the stage, dense afterimages of fists hadn't even faded before new afterimages layered on top. In those afterimages, some fists collided, some elbows crossed, some knees met... as if ten thousand Gokus and ten thousand Setsunas were fighting simultaneously.
"It's too fast!" The sole East Galaxy quarterfinalist's voice was dry. "I can't even see the afterimages of their fight..."
"Kakarot! You've gotten ahead of me again!" Vegeta's expression was complex. He both hoped Goku would win, proving the strength of a Super Saiyan, but also hoped Goku wouldn't leave him too far behind.
Boom!
Another full-power punch exchange. This time, Goku was sent flying backward, tumbling seven times in the air before landing abruptly.
His arms were torn open, blood dripping from his fingertips, instantly evaporating into a fine mist in the high heat. Setsuna was also pushed back two steps, his martial arts sleeve torn, revealing a faint bruise on his forearm… the first time he had been injured in the entire fight.
Setsuna inwardly praised Goku's talent. In that storm-like exchange of pure physical techniques, Goku had managed to use his combat instincts and physical intuition to find an opening in a gap of one ten-millionth of a second and actually land a hit on him.
"Hah... haha!" Goku panted heavily, but the golden flames in his eyes burned ever brighter. "This is great! This is really great!"
But his stamina had clearly reached its limit, even the golden aura around him began to fade. Just as Setsuna thought the match was about to end, Goku's hair suddenly turned from gold to silver. An aura completely different from that of a Super Saiyan erupted from within him.
"Another Ultra Instinct?" The Grand Kai on the high platform widened his eyes, 'Wasn't this supposed to be a domain even the gods found difficult to reach?'
"What incredible talent!" Even Setsuna was uncharacteristically astonished. He had seen many prodigies… Zaraki in Bleach, Regulus in Saint Seiya.
But in terms of combat talent, no one could compare to Goku. Having merely seen him use Ultra Instinct, Goku had actually touched the threshold of this divine technique in the heat of life-and-death combat.
After a brief moment of shock, Setsuna's mind quickly cleared. Upon reflection, it wasn't so unbelievable. Compared to the original work where Goku comprehended it without any reference point, he at least had Setsuna's 'demonstration' as a template, making it less exaggerated.
Moreover, Ultra Instinct was ultimately just another power-enhancing mode like Super Saiyan... what mattered was the base power level.
Just like a warrior with a base power level of 100 million, even if they could only transform into Super Saiyan Grade 1, their actual combat strength would far exceed an opponent with a base of 10 million who could transform into Super Saiyan Grade 2.
"Hah... haha..." Goku panted heavily, his silver pupils burning with unprecedented fighting spirit. "I think... I'm starting to understand this feeling..."
Before he finished speaking, his figure vanished from his spot. It wasn't the explosive movement of a Super Saiyan, but a more natural disappearance, followed by an abrupt reappearance.
When Goku reappeared, his fist was already heading straight for Setsuna's face.
Facing this nascent Ultra Instinct attack, Setsuna finally held nothing back.
Hum!
A purer silvery-gray glow bloomed from Setsuna's body. The reflections of cosmic stars being born and dying appeared in his pupils.
If Goku's current Ultra Instinct was like a toddler's curiosity and imitation of the world, then Setsuna's was like that of a youth beginning to explore the path ahead.
Setsuna shifted his body slightly, Goku's fist brushing past his clothes. He raised his hand, as if anticipating it, placing it in the path of Goku's next attack. He took a half-step forward, perfectly timed to intercept Goku's shift in center of gravity.
His movements were even more concise, even more 'natural' than Goku's. The seamlessly natural imprint of his fist landed on Goku's chest. Power, like the Big Bang, transmitted through the fist into every cell of Goku's body.
Thud.
A sound so dull it was barely audible. Goku's body seemed to endure tens of thousands of impacts from different angles and forces in an instant. The silver glow around him completely extinguished, reverting to his normal state, falling outside the stage.
The referee paused for a few seconds before announcing loudly: "Son Goku has fallen out of the stage and lost the ability to fight! The final champion of this Four Galaxies Otherworld Martial Arts Tournament is… North Galaxy representative, Chiaki Setsuna!"