PART TEN: VEGETTO'S LAST RESOURCES.

Chapter 47

Translated by American Vigor

The Vargas in the arena’s main control room had not predicted that any of the Multiverse Tournament’s competitors would choose to fight outside the arena. They especially had not anticipated that any battles would occur millions of kilometers away.

One of the main reasons the Vargas had not forseen this circumstance was that they had not imagined that any of the competitors would be foolish enough to break one of the tournament’s precise cardinal rules, that each tournament participant, when not in an official match, is “forbidden to fight, even far from the arena.”

The Vargas had clarified with the participants before the start of the tournament that such a violation of the Multiverse Tournament’s rules could result in not just an infringing participant’s disqualification from the tournament, but disqualification of all other competitors from that participant’s universe, with all members of that universe forced to return there.

However, the Vargas were thoroughly unaware of the present conflict between Vegetto and Buu in space, especially since they rationally had not thought there to be a legitimate reason to install surveillance cameras millions of kilometers away from the location of the tournament.

The Vargas had, however, monitored Broly’s trajectory for a few minutes, but after the brief observation, they had redirected their attention toward coordinating repairs of the arena and healing those who had been wounded as a result of the fight between Vegetto and Broly.

One of the Vargas, who was wearing a red shirt with blue overalls, but who was sporting a white bandana instead of a red cap, then returned to the main control room while holding a few metallic items with his right hand.

“I’ve got the spare parts!” he said, right before using his left hand to wipe away some of the sweat from his forehead, as he had arrived after running from a storage room that was relatively far from the main control room.

This particular Varga was considered to be an especially gifted technician among his people, and he was especially familiar with the mechanics of multiverse teleportation technology. The other Vargas were eager for him to repair the mechanism that had failed to return Broly to Universe 20, and the technician began his preliminary diagnostics for the mechanism.

“I can repair this thing in about five minutes,” he said, after relaxing his breathing, which still was somewhat heavy from the run.

“Please do so as quickly as possible,” said another Varga, who was the principal supervisor of the main control room’s personnel. “We need to return that monster back to his universe sooner rather than later.”

The supervisor remained somewhat quiet while the mechanic further worked. With Broly ostensibly far from the arena, he felt somewhat safer than he had minutes ago, which also was true of many of his fellow Varga. However, as he did not want to be overconfident with his greater sense of security, he was especially eager for no one to interfere with the technician’s work.

The technician opened part of the command console to reveal a cluster of circuits, of which there were 15 different bright colors among them. Although he did not possess design schematics for this particular unit, he was applying his significant knowledge of advanced technological engineering to the situation.

A Namek approached the supervisor while the technician was in the midst of his nimble work.

“Sir, it seems that the next randomly selected match will not occur because one of the fighters left with the others from his universe,” the Namek said.

“Lumaca from Universe 10, right?” the supervisor asked.

“Yes, and unfortunately, this is the fourth scheduled fight so far that – “

“I know,” the supervisor said, interrupting him. “But we should announce anyway that Lumaca forfeited. That will keep the audience’s attention focused on speculation regarding whom the next contenders will be, while we continue to work on fixing the multiverse transfer device.”

The Namek then nodded his head in affirmation of the supervisor’s desires and walked toward two other Vargas. They were speaking with one of the tournament’s four-armed announcers with sunglasses, who seemed distraught.

“We don’t want to go near the arena anymore!” the announcer said. “When many good fellows of my species and I agreed to help announce this tournament, we hadn’t realized that we would be putting our lives in such risk! We’ve lost enough of our brethren, and we no longer want to risk our lives through being close to the arena and all those energy blasts. If it wasn’t for your promise to revive everyone after the end of the tournament, we would be having a very different conversation right now.”

The announcer was especially afraid of what might further happen because so many of his fellow announcers had been killed by Broly’s erratic attacks and he was uncertain of what the other fighters, in their upcoming matches, might unleash.

“We’ll need to replace you with someone else,” one Varga quietly said.

“Actually, after we bring all the announcers inside, we can announce the tournament ourselves from right here,” the second Varga said. “We can use the main control room’s microphone, which is connected to the stadium’s speaker array, to broadcast everything, and we’ll be able to see what’s happening through our electronic visual enhancers.”

“This could have saved much bloodshed,” the announcer said.

“We apologize for what happened, but remember, we’ll bring them back with the Dragon Balls after the tournament,” the second Varga said.

“We sure will,” the Namek said. “And now, my Varga friend, when you first use the microphone here, in the main control room, you can announce the result of the next fight. One of the fighters forfeited by default.”

Both of the Vargas who had been talking with the announcer and the Namek nodded to each other. They mutually knew whom among the Vargas would be the one they would ask to further announce the events of the Multiverse Tournament, using the main control room’s microphone. One of the Varga had made announcements for the tournament at its beginning, and they were going to ask him to resume announcing.

It was quite fortunate for him that he was to become the tournament’s only host, as it surely would boost his popularity with the ladies!

After they asked the announcer Varga to resume his role, he eagerly obliged.

The two Varga then headed to their positions near the command console, each of which offered an excellent view of the arena.

After pressing a button on the computer in front of him, and while speaking into the microphone, the Varga announcer revealed the news of what would have been the next fight.

“We can now announce the next match, and in fact, we already have a result,” the announcer said. “XXI from Universe 5 was to fight against Lumaca from Universe 10, but as all of Universe 10 exited the tournament, Lumaca automatically forfeited.”

The announcer then deactivated the microphone and observed the list of tournament participants who had not yet fought.

Indeed, he was looking forward to seeing many of these participants demonstrate their capabilities in the arena.

While the announcer was in the midst of anticipating the tournament fights ahead, the technician was still in the midst

of fighting the battle to repair the multiverse transfer device.

Reactions among members of the audience were mixed as to the fact that Lumaca’s automatic forfeit had resulted in the next randomly selected fight not occurring.

Many were quite displeased, as they were eager to see another battle that was as grandiose as the one they had most recently seen.

Others, however, were welcoming the brief reprieve from the fights, especially since they had considered the fight between Vegetto and Broly to have been too extreme. The thought of anyone possessing the ability to destroy another in an instant with one attack had seemed foreboding enough, and witnessing the capabilities of Vegetto and Broly had increased the sense of apprehension among many.

In the Sixth Universe Balcony, Bojack looked toward his left, directly at the Fifth Universe Balcony. There appeared to be no one there.

The tournament participant whom the Varga had announced, XXI, had according to Bojack’s recollections not been present for quite some time.

“They don’t even know that the guy from ‘The Five’ is gone, too?” Bojack asked his fellow berserkers from Universe 6.

“These birdies really don’t control anything,” Zangya said, with an inflection of boredom.

Bojack, Zangya, and Bujin had seen XXI prior to the formal beginning of the tournament, soon after they’d arrived in the stadium’s Sixth Universe Balcony. XXI also had been present when the green giant from Universe 7 arrived in his balcony, but after the Namek’s arrival, Bojack, Zangya, and Bujin had not seen XXI.

It seemed to Bojack that XXI had almost certainly left the tournament. Bojack surmised that XXI had left after witnessing how powerful his potential competitors appeared, similar to what had happened with regard to the participants from Universe 10, although they had at observed – and in many cases experienced – what their opponents’ capabilities.

Bojack felt confident in his ability to defeat anyone, and from his perspective, XXI would not have been a challenge.

“Why are we even bothering with staying here?” Bujin suddenly asked. “In addition to the fact I lost, we’ve seen how powerful the other fighters are here. That monster I fought, Majin Buu, was very dangerous himself, and Bojack, you’ve seen what Vegetto can do. You and Zangya are strong, but neither of you can win this thing.”

“Your lack of courage is bothering the hell out of me, and no, we’re not leaving,” Bojack said, while keeping his arms crossed and looking straight ahead. “I’m going to crush everyone else I fight, and the wish with the Dragon Balls will be mine.”

“Yeah, well, I give up,” Zangya said. “If you want to stay and get killed, that’s your call. You’ll follow us in separate boxes!”

“I will not lose,” Bojack said, sounding quite resolute. “And I forbid your from forfeitting, Zangya. If you do not fight in the arena, I will make you wish you had.”

Bujin observed his two compatriots with focused attention, and he perceived that the tension between them was more profound than it appeared. He was, in a way, thankful that he had already lost, as Bojack could in no way force him to continue fighting in the tournament. He recognized Zangya’s peril: if she fought, there was a chance she would fight an especially dangerous opponent and be killed, and if she refused to fight, Bojack might kill her himself.

Zangya decided to cope with the hardship of her situation by concentrating on making a plan to gain some sort of advantage. She was well aware that as long as Bojack’s belligerent intentions regarding the tournament persisted, her life was at risk. She had been tempted by desires to overcome Bojack’s power and replace him as the strongest of their universe, and his most recent words had encouraged Zangya to strongly consider whether the time had at last arrived for implementing her plans. She kept these notions to herself, however, as despite her desire to work with him for this purpose, she did not trust Bujin.

Zangya then looked toward the group of four girls who also were from Universe 6, among which was Kat, the brave soul who had earlier fought Kakarotto of Universe 13. The four girls were against the wall bordering the audience section, and Kat was sitting in a curled position. They were discussing the fight between Vegetto and Broly, expressing awe at what they had seen.

“It’s hard to believe that those guys were doing all that,” said one of the girls.

“Yeah, they’re just all mind-blowingly strong!” said another.

They were not experienced or skilled enough to distinguish the stark differences in power between Super Saiyan 3 Vegetto, Legendary Super Saiyan Broly, and many of those who had fought before them, including Cell and Bojack. For the four girls, there already was a tremendous gap between their power levels and those of most of the others in the tournament, such that slight or significant differences in power among those who were much stronger than them were not readily perceivable.

In the 12th Universe Balcony, #16 turned toward Trunks.

“Do you want to forfeit?” #16 asked.

“Since the beginning, I didn’t expect to win,” Trunks said. “Nothing has changed. I still want to fight against my father. That’s my most important goal right now. I want to fight him with all my strength.”

#16 smiled at Trunks’ determination, and recognized that Trunks had a clear goal.

However, what was his own?

He had wanted to kill a version of Goku, but it seemed increasingly unlikely that he would get the chance to do so. He knew that even if he somehow eventually did manage to fight Vegetto in the semifinals of the right-hand side of the tournament bracket, Vegetto did not sufficiently look like Goku and was not truly him, and that a miracle victory over him would not truly fulfill his desire. Indeed, Vegetto would likely defeat him easily, hence rendering the thought of even a partial victory over a version of Goku further reduced in potential. But even if his processors were incorrect, and his chance of victory over Vegetto was at least slightly more than an infinitesimal percentage above zero, fighting a full-fledged version of Goku would depend upon either Goku of Universe 18 or Kakarotto of Universe 13 winning the semifinals of the left-hand tournament bracket, which were significantly uncertain outcomes themselves.

In fact, he had even missed the opportunity to fight Baddack from Universe 10! Baddack had at least looked like Goku, and killing him could have sated #16’s one deathly desire.

As a result of all these considerations, #16 decided that he would continue to fight out of the goal of simply doing so for fun, as so many others had decided they would do.

Some, however, were fighting for the simple purpose of winning, regardless of fun.

Babidi was among them, as his desire for victory in battle was being achieved by proxy, with Majin Buu as the implement of his plans.

“They are all surprised by the fight they just witnessed, but Buu can do better. Right, Buu?” Babidi asked, with his hands on his hips, while turning toward Majin Buu.

“Uh …,” Buu said with a linger of the filler word, using it as a substitute for an outright answer.

Majin Buu often did not provide full answers to Babidi’s questions when he either didn’t fully understand them or felt as though there might be some sort of consequence for doing so. He was by no means the only entity across the many universes who responded as such, and in fact, many of those who would consider themselves to be far less childish than Majin Buu also were culpable of not directly answering such questions.

Majin Buu considered himself to be in the tournament simply because Babidi had told him to participate, and for all his life since he had reemerged on Earth in Universe 11, he had understood his role to be such that he would fulfill Babidi’s desires when asked, even if his orders were sometimes very unpleasant.

Because of all his experiences with Babidi, Majin Buu knew that with regard to honestly answering Babidi’s question and expressing his own opinion as to whether he was more powerful than Broly or Vegetto, refraining from answering was the most desirable option, especially since he would avoid Babidi’s yelling.

In the Eighth Universe Balcony, the Frost Demons were in the midst of assessing their power levels in comparison to those of their competitors, and for some time had acknowledged the evident truth.

“Father, I think … that we’re outclassed!” Freeza said.

“It seems impossible, but yet …,” Coola began to say, while standing relatively still and appearing almost frightened.

“This all does seem rather challenging,” Cold said, while uncrossing his arms.

Freeza then decided to whisper an important strategic consideration to his father, and he moved closer to King Cold so the message could be received.

“However, let’s not forget that our goal isn’t necessarily to win this tournament, but to acquire the Dragon Balls regardless of who wins,” Freeza said, through whispering.

Cold nodded in acknowledgement.

If they had the Dragon Balls, they could fulfill any of their desires!

Nearby, in the Seventh Universe Balcony, the Super Namek was in the midst of quite different considerations.

“Compared to the other fighters, Vegetto and Broly have an infinite strength,” he said, while looking up at the starry sky. “But strength is nothing. I need my wish. My determination shall not waver.”

The Super Namek had only one wish to make – just one. Unlike the Frost Demons, he was not the type to deceive others for the purpose of stealing valued privileges and prizes, or for achieving other objectives. He was not insidious, and rather, he was smart and strong, … and lonely.

In the First Universe Balcony, the kaio shins were reconsidering whether they had been severely mistaken in not only enabling the Multiverse Tournament to occur without protest, but deciding to participate as well. They had recognized the potential dangers of the tournament even before it had begun, as after all, some of the strongest fighters from across 20 universes had been gathered in one place.

They had considered before the start of the tournament whether they should attempt to “close” the universes so that travel could no longer continue among them, but they ultimately had decided to not restrict the travel.

What had been done could not be undone, and the Multiverse Tournament had proceeded. However, the tournament had highlighted for the kaio shins the true dangers posed to all universes as a result of mortals being able to freely transport entities from one universe to another.

“This is why we’ll close the universes after the tournament!” said North Kaio Shin.

“Yes, the sooner, the better!” said South Kaio Shin, while Grand Kaio Shin nodded in agreement.

They each dearly hoped that none of the fighters who had yet to fight would prove to be as crazy as Broly, or beyond even that level …

In the 18th Universe Balcony, Trunks and Goten were showing that they were no longer truly eager to continue participating in the tournament.

Witnessing the bout between Vegetto and Broly had been breathtaking, indeed.

After all, they mutually thought, why should they continue to fight if they were almost certainly going to lose?

“Well, I’ve got some contracts to sign!” Trunks said, while he began to head toward the exit.

“I have a date with my girlfriend!” Goten said, while also attempting to leave.

Vegeta and Son Goku caught up quickly to their sons, and before Trunks and Goten could blink, Vegeta was grabbing the top of the back of Trunks’ shirt, and Goten had been likewise restrained.

Vegeta and Goku knew that despite the apparent challenges to even their own powers, they would stay and fight. The opportunity to overcome challenges, after all, was the foundational essence of what made combat thrilling!

After extensive contemplation of all he had seen so far in the tournament, Uub approached Goku.

“Sensei, we’re really outclassed, aren’t we?” Uub asked. “Why continue?”

“We should continue precisely because of how challenging it will be to fight many of our upcoming competitors!” Goku said. “The greater the challenge, the greater the victory. We’ll meet Vegetto in the final round. I’m sure we’ll be much stronger by then!”

Goku exuded calmness and confidence, and he truly was certain that after several battles, he and his fellow warriors of Universe 18 would be stronger.

However, he acknowledged that it would be very difficult, with just four more full rounds before the final round, to become able to successfully compete with Vegetto.

Pan considered her grandfather’s words, although she knew that the magnitudes of power that Vegetto and Broly had exhibited were well beyond any she had witnessed before the start of the tournament.

“Grandpa … we can’t improve much in such a short time …,” Pan began to say, with concern more than evident in her voice.

Goku finally released his grip on Goten’s shirt, then attempted to comfort Pan by reiterating the principle that fighting can improve one’s strength considerably depending on how one approaches fighting.

While Goku was talking with Pan, Vegeta considered what he had seen of his fused counterpart in action.

‘I shouldn’t be surprised that Vegetto is stronger than us … but by so much!’ Vegeta thought to himself. ‘Fortunately, I’ll face Goku before the finals!’

In the 17th Universe Balcony, another fighter reflected aloud upon what he had heard of the conversations among those in the 18th Universe Balcony.

“In the finale … yes, so many things can happen until then!” Cell said. “As per my Saiyan cells, I can rely on the strength of my upcoming opponents to become stronger! I hope these two fools here will give me a true challenge, because I’ve been looking forward to one! First I’ll defeat Vegeta, and then I’ll defeat Son Goku! After I vanquish them, I’ll then defeat Vegetto! It’s a perfect chain of battles, and I shall be victorious!”

The technician had finished reconnecting all the hardware that had needed to be adjusted, and after reconfiguring the software codes, the multiverse transfer device would be restored to functional use.

After the repair’s completion, all that would need to be done to send Broly back to Universe 20 would be to push a button!

“It seems the gravity is operating normally, at least,” one of the Vargas said from his seat by the command console.

“The multiverse transfer device is almost operational again,” another Varga said. “All seems to be going rather well!”

The Varga supervisor then considered how best to proceed with the further matches.

The preparations for the next battle were almost complete, and he acknowledged that more time without fighting had passed since the end of the most recently finished match than was desirable.

He seriously wondered if he should start the next fight, especially since he knew the multiverse transfer device was projected to be soon complete. He also considered that neither of the fighters who had been randomly selected for the next match was likely to cause a debacle the way that Broly had.

While acknowledging to himself that a slight risk remained, he told the announcer Varga that he could soon initiate the next match.

“There should no longer be any risk …,” the supervisor said.