Prelude to the Tournament of Power

Jayr POV - Dragon Ball Universe, Null Realm - Age 780

The Null Realm, also known as the World of Void, is an isolated place outside of the Dragon Ball Multiverse with literally no time or space but despite that it is still connected to it.

The Null Realm is the setting of the Tournament of Power chosen by the Grand Minister, as the fighters can take advantage of the void to use the full extent of their powers without worrying about casuing any damage or involving innocent people.

At the moment, the only lifeform present are the Zenos, their attendants, the Grand Minister, Patamon, and I as we all are admiring and inspecting the arena constructed by the Grand Minister for the Tournament of Power in these 7 days.

The arena is a giant spinning top-shaped arena that is made up of many quadrilateral, triangular, and circular bricks constructed in a 360-degree fashion, which is used to form the arena.

Made up by a stack of cylinder bricks, it also has a cylinder in its floor's center which acts as a clock.

All the bricks of the arena are made from Kachi Katchin steel, a very tough and hard steel that is harder than Universe 7's Katchin steel, because of that the Kachi Katchin steel is obviosly the hardest material in the Dragon Ball Multiverse and I immediately notice that its hardness is easily comparable to a Gold Cloth which means that to damage it or even destroy it, one needs to unleash enough power to destroy a whole universe in a single blow.

It was obviosly used while constructing the arena so that the arena can be more durable and withstand multiple battles between teams of very powerful fighters, for a longer period of time.

Next to and above the arena there are the throne room of the Zenos, where we will watch the Tournament of Power and the Zenos will determine the fate of the competing universes, which are basically top-shaped floating platforms.

Also next to and above the arena is the spectator stands for the Deities, including deities from exempt universes, who are in attendance and watching the battle between the competing universes in the tournament.

Fighters who get eliminated from the arena will be sent to the spectator stands, where they are left to watch and spectate the tournament until their fate is determined, given if there are still remaining fighters from their universe left in the arena competing that haven't been eliminated yet, or where they get erased completely, if all fighters from their respective universe are in the stands and got eliminated.

Lastly above the arena in the distance there is a huge lightbulb also built in mostly Kachi Katchin steel that function as an artificial sun to inlluminate the area and the surrounding areas, after all, without it this area would be in complete darkness making it difficult for some to battle and most importantly for the Zenos to enjoy the show.

(Image Here - Tournament of Power Fighting Stage)

After admiring the result of the Grand Minister's work for a few minutes from Zeno's throne room, the Grand Minister looks at us and respectfully asks, "Is the arena for the Tournament of Power to your liking, Zeno-sama? Jayr-sama? Do I need to change anything?" which makes the Zenos reply.

"Un...!"

"It's amazing!"

I also smile and praise the Grand Minister, "You did a spetacular job here, Grand Minister. This is truly an arena worth of such important event." which makes the Grand Minister smile slightly, bow, and say, "I'm grateful for your praise."

After that, I realize that it is about time for the Tournament of Power to begin and thus I gather my team and family with my Digimon Incarnation while my Main Body I look at the Zenos and say, "Since the Tournament of Power is about to start, I think it is time for me to introduce my team and family to you all." making the Zenos exclaim in perfect sync, "Yay...!!"

Without wasting any more time, I immediately focus on my Digimon Incarnation and Seed of Culture before I manipulate my Spiral Cosmo and use Perceptual Teleportation to create a massive, swirling gate.

For a moment, nothing happens, but soon, the very familiar and upbeat music of the theme song of the last part of Dragon Ball Super, Genkai Toppa X Survivor, starts blaring out from within the portal.

[♪Koufun suzzo! Uchuu e GO! Saisentan no "muchuu" o dou! Kono te ni tsukamuyo. Suttonkyou ni waratte tai! Chinpunkan wa narekko dai! I can't get no satisfaction...♪ (Get excited! To space, let's go! The latest obsession! Join the flow? I'll hold in my hand. I wanna laugh like a crazy! I'm used bein' confused! I can't get no satisfaction...)]

Shortly after that, the familiar spaceship form of Bidi, which resembles a cross between an old-fashioned galleon and a Dai-Gun battleship, colored in the light brown that reminds one of the usual ships' color, and in a light sand color, emerges in all her glory from the swirling gate.

As the music quickly continues, Bidi slowly moves out of the portal fully revealing herself while the Zenos happily swing their bodies following the rhythim of the music while enjoying the scene with stars in their shining eyes.

[♪(Woo-Hoo) Taikutsu wa. (Woo-Hoo) Ishi ni naru. Omokute ochichau mae ni. (Let's fly high.) (Woo-Hoo) Waku-Waku no. (Woo-Hoo) Hane hiroge. Tsugi no sekai e ikou.♪ ((Woo-Hoo) Boredom. (Woo-Hoo) Becomes a stone. Before it gets too heavy and falls. (Let's fly high.) (Woo-Hoo) Let's spread. (Woo-Hoo) Our wings of excitement. Let's go to the next world.)]

The back of the ship is in the shape of an ornate galleon stern, and from below the stern are a pair of large boosters with two rudder-like winglets each.

A pair of wings protrude from above this, forming a booster on each side that ends with a propeller that can be used to move on water, underwater, in the air, and even in space.

In front of the stern, on the quarterdeck there is another thin wing, but vertically tall like a mast, that ends in a wingtip pod with two extensions out the side of it, resembling the shape of owl's head, and another thin wing with this same wingtip pod also juts out of the ship's keel.

The keel also features four short fins and a bottom-mounted cannon turret on the bilge vent.

The bridge is situated on a tall structure, with fluorescent green lights shining through the windows, and atop it is a command center or "secondary bridge" featuring specialised antennae, radar, sensors, and other instruments and at the very top is a small observation deck, the roof of the bridge is branded with a stylized Bidoof's head.

The structure and quarterdeck are lined and bristling with plenty of small guns and missile ports.

The hull is long and solid, extending far forward, and is also peppered with many panels and vents.

The main deck features two main cannon turrets, the second higher elevated than the first and behind the second turret and built into the structure's base is another set of cannons, primarily used to intercept enemy below the ship, and of course, one can't forget about the hangar from which my Gunmen can deploy.

But right now, most of these structures are hidden behind two huge cigar-shaped bags that can be hidden and deployed in an instant using Spiral Cosmo to take flight.

The forecastle of the ship is very sharp and noticeably protrudes from the bow, with large vents similar to that of the wing bases behind it and end with a sharp pointed tip.

Soon the Athena's God Bidoof fully emerges from the portal and at the same time, my Digimon Incarnation with the rest of the team behind it appear on the deck of the ship that quickly approaches Zeno's throne room while the song reaches its conclusion.

[♪Kanousei no doa wa rokku sareta mama. Yareyare... Kondo mo kabe wo buchiyaburu. Ima da! Genkai x Toppa! Sakebe! Heno-Heno Kappa. Muteki no oira ga soko de matteiru. Doragon Bouru Suupaa. Zen-Oh sama mo ottamage~!!♪ (The door of possibilities is still locked. Oh well, I'll break through the wall again. Now! Shoot past the limit! Shout "It's piece of cake"! The invincible me is waitin' there. Dragon Ball Super. Even Zeno-sama will be blown away!!)]

As soon as the last note of the music echoing in this infinite space fades away, my Digimon Incarnation jumps from the deck and quickly merges back into my body before I turn around, spread my arms wide open, and theatrically introduce, "Ladies, Gentlemen, and Divine Being. This is my personal ship in all her glory! The Athena's God Bidoof!"

The response is immediate as the Zenos cheerfully clap their hands while exclaiming.

"Yay! That was amazing, Jayr!!"

"Incredible! I'm blown away!!"

Even the Grand Minister isn't able to hide the big smile on his face as he also claps his hands and genuinely praises, "That was an excellent entrance and presentation, Jayr-sama. Even the music itself was quite a nice surprise to listen to. Maybe we should even use it as the anthem for the Tournament of Power from now on..."

Shortly after that, the ship stops next to Zeno's throne room and a ramp forms that connects the ship with the floating platform before the team followed by my family walks on the ramp and arrive on the platform.

As soon as the last person got onto the floating platform, the Athena's God Bidoof shone brightly for a moment before she disappeared and in her place appeared Bidi in her human form who calmly joined the rest of the family on the platform.

At this point, I start to introduce them, "Zen-chan, Grand Minister. Let me introduce you to my family. These are my wives, Saori Kido, also known as Athena, Goddess of War, Widsom, Justice, and many other, Seika Kido, the Equuleus Bronze Saint, Eri Nakamura, Goddess of Death and Queen of the Underworld, Tio Klarus, Princess of the Dragonman, "Iron Mace" Alvida, and Nico Robin."

In response to my introduction, all my wives politely greet the Zenos and the Grand Minister who reciprocate before I move on to introduce my children, "These are my precious children. My olderst daughter Kharna, her younger brother Galen, and my youngest Seiji." which makes them cheerfully greet the cute Zenos and the charming Grand Minister with a big smile on their faces.

After taking a look at them, the Grand Minister can't help but smile and honestly praise them, "As expected from Jayr-sama's children... They are all exceptional and have limitless potential. In fact they are already much more powerful than the majority of the mortals and even Divine beings living in all 12 universes, my own children included."

Shortly after he says that, I move on with my introductions by picking up Python in my hand and gently patting Bidi's head with the other, "These cute ones are Python, a Divine Beast created by my father-in-law as present for the birth of his grandson and who is now the guardian of my children, and Bidi, she is the ship that accopanied me during my very first adventure when I was still a mortal. I took great care of her, and with time, I transformed her into a Divine Artifact, and now she is not only my ship but part of my family."

At this point, I take a few steps back aligning with the team rapresenting my home universe and calmly start to introduce them starting with Patamon, V-mon, and Wormmon who are the closest to me since V-mon is right next to me, Patamon is lying on top of my head, and Wormmon is standing on my shoulder, "Now let me introduce the warriors that make up my team. You guys already know Patamon, so there is no need to introduce him. On the other hand, this cute one on my shoulder is Wormmon, and this one beside me is V-mon. They are Patamon's brothers and my other Digimon Partners."

In response to my introduction, Wormmon lowers his head and calmly says, "Nice to meet you..." followed by V-mon, who waves his hand and excitedly says, "Hello! This is going to be fun!"

In response, the Zenos casually wave their hands and greet them back while the Grand Minister simply nods with a polite smile on his face.

Then I point at Koby standing right next to V-mon and say, "This young man is Koby, my student. He is still quite inexperienced but he got the heart in the right place and a very strong sense of Justice." followed by Koby who bows at 90° and stutters, "I-It's an honor being here!"

At the same time, I take a moment to appreciate Koby's growth. Due to the passage of time and his training with Poseidon's Marinas, Koby has grown much taller and more muscular, standing close to 1.80 in height.

He has also gained his "canonical" cross-shaped scar above his right eye, presumably earned under Poseidon's Marinas' heavy-handed tutelage, or maybe fighting some powerful pirate.

His hair has grown longer and shaggier since his growth spurt, but it has retained its kobi pink color.

(Image Here - Koby)

Despite the clear external change he went through, I appreciate much more the internal ones, not only he has fully mastered his 6th Sense giving him a mastery of Cosmo that is comparable to a Silver Saint, but he also completely awakened his Observation Haki, and Armament Haki mastering them to a very high level, taking advatage of both Power Systems to their fullest.

The Grand Minister studies Koby for a few seconds before he hums, "Hmm... Not bad for a pure mortal so young..." followed by the Zenos who cheerfully greet him, "Nice to meet you!" "Yo!"

After that, I move next to Rigel, who is carrying his Pandora Box on his back, and introduce him, "Next is one of my close friends. He is Orion Rigel, a Silver Saint of Athena. He is called Orion because of the Cloth he dons, which is named after one of 88 constellations existing in our home universe. The Orion Silver Cloth is an armor that protects a Saint and allows them to safely unleash all their power. He is a true noble warrior who fights for justice and to protect the world and humanity as a whole against any threat, even those of Divine origin."

As I introduce him, Rigel simply nods in silence while the Zenos let out an impressed, ""Ohhh..."" followed by the Grand Minister, who casually comments, "Impressive..."

Next, I move between Juan, Algol, and Isaak, who also casually carry their Pandora Boxes on their back and introduce them, "These three are also Silver Saints like Rigel. And just like him, they too are my close friends and comrades who fought by my side to protect the world and humanity. They are Scutum Juan, Perseus Algol, and Dorado Isaak. And just like with Rigel, it is easy to deduce that they are the warriors who don the Scutum Silver Cloth, Perseus Silver Cloth, and Dorado Silver Cloth."

Following my introduction, Juan, Algol, and Isaak respectfully greet the Zenos, and the Grand Minister, who also greet them back.

At this point, I move next to Kiki and introduce him, "This handsome lad is Kiki, the Aries Gold Saint." which makes Zeno-1 ask with curiosity in his tone, "Gold Saint...?"

Hearing that, I calmly explain, "As I told you guys before, the Saints are the 88 Warriors of Athena that fight wearing armors called 'Cloths' of different power and endurance according to the rank of the specific Saint. Athena's Saints are divided into three different classes: Gold Saints, Silver Saints, and Bronze Saints wearing Gold Cloths, Silver Cloths, and Bronze Cloths, respectively. Bronze Saints wear the Bronze Cloth and possess the basic skill of a Saint. There are 48 Bronze Saints, which makes them the largest in number among the 88 Saints. Their role during the battle is merely to assist higher-level Saints, to perform missions involving the gathering of information, or to defend civilians. Then there are the Silver Saints, who are the Saints that wear Silver Cloths, the second most powerful of Cloths. Silver Saints are specialists in battle. There are 24 Silver Saints in total. When they receive assignments from the Sanctuary, they will go to any part of the world to fulfill them at whatever the cost, using all their power and sometimes bringing along some Bronze Saints as support. And lastly, there are the Gold Saints. The Gold Saints are a group of twelve most powerful and highest-ranking warriors in Athena's army. Their main duty at Sanctuary is to defend the Twelve Houses of the Zodiac. They are the last line of defense and the ultimate warriors in the service of Athena and of the Grand Pope, from among whom the Pope is generally selected."

At the end of my explanation, Zeno-1 nods and exclaims, "I understand! He is the strongest!!" followed by Zeno-2, who also exclaims, "So cool!"

In response, Kiki smiles wryly and corrects them, "While it is generally true that a Gold Saint is much stronger than a Silver and Bronze Saints, that isn't absolute. For example, I know five exceptional Bronze Saints who are actually much stronger than many Gold Saints. Those five fought and even defeated many Deities despite the fact that they are mortal. They're the prime example of a well-known saying in our universe, "The power of a Saint is not related to the Cloth he wears but to his Cosmo." In fact, Jayr himself was a very powerful Silver Saint... technically still is... but I don't know if his Silver Cloth can even still be considered a Silver Cloth at this point..."

Hearing that, I can't help but realize a small issue that I ignored until now, 'Wait... Crateris became in all effect my Divine Cloth and a part of my Divine Being as a symbol like Athena's Nike's Staff and Aegis Shield, or Poseidon's Scale and his Trident... This means that currently there is no "true" Silver Cloth connected to Athena and the Sanctuary... thus there won't be another Crateris Silver Saint ever again if I don't fix this! After this Tournament of Power, I will talk with Crateris and find a way to create a "child" Crateris Silver Cloth that will inherit Crateris' duty so that our legacy may continue to protect Athena, the Sanctuary, and the world.'

While I'm thinking that, the Grand Minister and the Zenos seem to be quite impressed by Kiki's humilty and praise him by giving him a few encouraging words.

In the end, I move next to Orphèe and introduce him, "Last but not least is the leader of the team representing my universe, Lyra Orphèe. He is the Lyra Silver Saint, but as Kiki explained before, this does not means that he is weaker than the Aries Gold Saint Kiki or any other Gold Saint for the matter... Orphèe isn't any simple Silver Saint, he is a LEGENDARY Silver Saint who was regarded as one of the strongest Saints of Athena before I even started my training to become a Saint. He is the man who, in order to rescue the woman he loved, risked his life and traveled into the Realm of the Dead, the Underworld, on his own."

Hearing that, Zeno-2 tilts his head and asks, "Underworld...?" followed by Zeno-1, who also asks, "Like the Other World...?"

In response, I calmly explain, "Well, it is somewhat similar to the Other World... If I remember well, the Other World is divided into three levels: Heaven, accessible to those who have done good deeds in their life. Hell, where the souls of the wicked and damned go after they die. And the level that exists between the two. This level contains the personal planets of deities such as King Kai and Grand Kai, as well as the celestial bureaucracy who are in charge of running the day-to-day activities of the Other World, such as King Yemma. The Underworld has a somewhat similar structure and function, but the main difference is that it is almost impossible for a mortal to step into the Underworld as the rules of the Underworld impose that no life is possible in the Underworld without the blessing of a God or some special device."

After explaining that, I continue to narrate his legendary story, "But that didn't stop Orphèe who resolute in saving his lover awakened the 8th Sense that allowed him to oppose the rules of the Underword and the will of its ruler to step into that land as a living person only to beseech Hades the God of the Underworld to return her soul to the world of the living, even at the cost of his own life. To persuade the powerful God, Orphèe didn't fight but used his art and played his lyre for Hades. The heartrending melody Orphèe played on his lyre moved even the cold heart of the God of the Underworld who accepted to revive his lover and allow her to return the world of living, but in exchange he had to put his faith in the God of the Underworld and not once turn back to check on her as they got out from the world of the dead to the land of the living, failure to comply would result in his lover becoming part of Underworld, becoming permanently attached to it until the end of times."

It is very clear that the Zenos are completely entranced by Orphèe's story and even the Grand Minister seems intrigued by it as I continue to narrate, "Unfortunately, one of the servarnt of the God of the Underworld noted that Orphèe's abilities could be very useful, after all, not even the darkest of Gods was able to resist his music. Thus, she devised a plan to trick Orphée into remaining in the Underworld and ordered one of the loyal soldiers of the Underworld to carry it out, a despicable plan. Regrettably, the plan worked flawlessly as Orphèe was tricked into believing that he and his lover had finally gotten out of the Underworld, and when he turned around to rejoice with her, only to find out 80% of her body had turned into stone."

After telling them this very emotional story, the Zenos couldn't help to frown and comment in an upset tone.

"Nooo! That's so bad...!"

"We should erase such Gods...!"

In the end, I smile and conclude the story, "Orphèe... He stayed behind to play his lyre for his lover, as he once vowed he would do for many years until one day a group of Saints of Athena invaded the Underworld in order to stop Hades who wanted to turn the world of the living in a copy of the world of the dead making it fall into eternal darkness."

Suddenly, Orphèe speaks up, telling everyone the conclusion of the story, "Among those Saints, there was obviously also Lord Jayr, who at that point was still a mortal but one with astonishing powers and abilities. He met my lover Eurydice, and once he learned of our story, he didn't hesitate to help us. He revived my lover and sent her back to the world of the living with the help of other Gold Saints. After that, I rejoined with my fellow Saint and fought against Hades and his forces by their side defeating the evil God once and for all before returning to the world of the living enjoying my leaf at life with my lover while being eternally grateful to Lord Jayr, Lady Athena, and my fellow Saints for what they have done for me."

Hearing the end of the story makes the Zeno exclaim in wonder while the Grand Minister nods and comments in an impressed tone, "This is very admirable..." before his gaze quickly moves across the whole team and adds, "Jayr-sama, you have built an incredible team. Without any doubt, thanks to their presence, this Tournament of Power is going to be something truly unforgettable."

Shortly after that, my family all calmly moved to the viewing room of the floating platform within Zeno's throne room while the members of my team and I got on the stage, waiting for the other teams to arrive.

We don't have to wait for too long as the Grand Minister casually says, "It's time..." before he casually waves his hand and teleports all the other competing teams from the other universes on the stage.