The second round of the tournament's final battle is

about to begin. The two warriors charge at each other,

both pulling back their fists and going for a punch. As

they approach each other, imagine the scene in slow

motion and Goku's greyish eyes becoming black again

for a fraction. Alas, Jiren is much faster and his punch

connects, hurling Goku away.

Roshi corrects his glasses, troubled.

'Did you notice too, senior fellow?' Whiss asks.

'Yes,' Roshi nods. 'Goku hasn't removed all his mental

blocks yet. His ultra instinct state is not perfect yet.'

'WHAT?' most of Universe 7 fighters cry in unison.

'Goku has already surpassed gods and you're saying

that he can become even stronger?' Yamcha wonders.

'When will that kid cease to amaze me?' (Yamcha called

him a kid because that's what Goku was when they

first met.)

Meanwhile, Jiren has managed to speedblitz Goku and

go behind his back. He's about to throw a punch. The

defensive aspect of Goku's ultra instinct state kicks in

and Goku's body automatically turns around and blocks

the hit by raising its arm.

Right after that, Goku tries to counterattack with a punch

of his own, but, that moment, his ultra instinct falters;

as a result, before he can throw the punch, Jiren grabs

him by the shoulders and headbutts him on the forehead.

Then he tosses him high in the air.

Jiren appears right above the ascending Goku, ready

to finish him off with an energy charged punch when

he comes close. 'You're mine,' the warrior from Universe

11 thinks, sparks around his pulled back fist.

Time slows down from Goku's perspective. He thinks.

He recalls what his old masters told him. Come to think

of it, there is one thing that all of them said to him at

one point or another, just in different words each...

Roshi: 'Your goal as a martial artist is not to win. It's

to live your life the way you want to and have fun.'

Korin: 'You waste too much energy on excessive movements.'

Mr Popo: 'Crouch as quietly as the sky and strike as fast

as lightning.'

Goku opens his eyes. He's still ascending in the air, as

a result of the last blow he received from his opponent.

He manages to turn around and look at Jiren, who was

waiting, with his fist pulled back, to finish him off. And

then... Jiren is shocked!

Goku has changed. Again! His hair is now white and his

aura has become more intense. He has just perfected

Ultra Instinct! The pure hearted Saiyan smiles.

He fires a blast that knocks Jiren away. Then, before

the pride trooper can correct himself, he receives a barrage

of blasts that shroud him in a cloud of smoke.

'That's my boy!' Roshi exclaims, delighted.

When Goku has finally stopped and the smoke cloud

has dissipated, Jiren is seen, with the upper part of his

uniform destroyed. He seems angry!

'At last, you show some emotion, something that indicates

you're a living thing,' Goku comments and bursts into

laughter.

'Am I funny to you?' Jiren demands to know, raising his

clenched fist. 'Do you get joy out of ridiculing others?'

'At least I do get joy out of something, as opposed to

you,' Goku answers, getting a more serious expression.

'Look at me. I'm enjoying this battle. Why don't you do

the same?'

Jiren seems taken aback. A long silence follows. Everybody

in the stands are eagerly waiting to see Jiren's reaction.

Jiren smiles! Then he laughs! For the first time in his life!

Goku joins him and they share a good laugh, as if they're

two friends that have known each other for years.

'Let's enjoy this battle, Son Goku!' Jiren says. 'But, I'm

warning you, I'm still going to win.'

'I want to see you trying,' Goku replies, bracing himself.

The two warriors charge at each other and start moving

so fast that they become invisible to almost everyone

in the stands!

'IMPOSSIBLE!' Champa cries. 'I, a god of destruction,

cannot track their movements!' Then he turns to his

angel. 'Vados, can you see them?'

'Yes, Lord Champa. But just barely,' the astonished woman

answers.

And the most exciting battle in the history of omniverse

goes on. Goku and Jiren are moving around, creating

shock waves that shake even the Void! From time to

time, Daishinkan or Zeno's guards create barriers to

deflect blasts that missed their target and are going

towards Zeno, though they do this mostly for precautionary

reasons; the truth is that even they do not know whether

those blasts could do any harm to Zeno if they actually

hit him.

Finally, the two warriors return to the ground and charge

at each other. At this point, though, Goku suddenly collapses.

He coughs out blood. His hair and eyes return to their

normal, black hue.

Everyone in the stands gasps. 'Heh. It seems time's up,'

Marcarita comments. 'That's how long he could maintain

his ultra instinct state at his current level of training it.'

'YES!' a delighted Belmod hits his palm with his other

hand's fist. 'I was worried for a while, but now it's all

over. FINISH HIM OFF, JIREN.'

The fallen Goku raises his eyes to Jiren and smiles at

him. 'Heh. I lost, buddy,' he says. 'Go ahead and shove

me out of bounds.'

The pride trooper stays standing there, silent, for a while.

'What are you waiting for, Jiren?' Belmod impatiently

yells.

'I give up!' Jiren declares.

'SAY WHAT NOW?' almost everybody in the stadium cries

in gag unison.

This time, even Daishinkan and Zeno's guards were a

little surprised. The only one not surprised at all is the

King of Everything, who smiles, knowing why Jiren gave

up.

'I'M GONNA KILL HIM!' Belmod yells, even though he knows

he couldn't if he tried. Even if he ordered his angel, Marcarita,

to do it, it's not a sure thing she would manage to take

Jiren's life.

The pride trooper looks at the Void's sky and explains:

'All my life, I've suffered from pathological depression.

I couldn't recall a happy moment from my past. I never

enjoyed anything. I entered this tournament hoping that

Super Dragonballs would help me discover something

that would make me happy and give a meaning to my

existence. But Goku taught me that no magic means can

do that. Happiness is something that only you can find

in yourself.'

He lowers his eyes to the still dumbfounded Goku: 'Accept

this wish to the super dragonballs as my way of thanking

you for that.'

The Saiyan smiles.

Everyone is now silent, with mixed feelings. 'In any case,'

Daishinkan says and descends. He heals the two finalists.

The planet sized super dragonballs appear around the

stadium.

'Son Goku, you are the winner of the tournament of power,'

the arch angel rhetorically announces to Goku as the

latter stands up. 'So what is your wish?'

Goku looks at Universe 7 stands. Everybody's expressions

give off the same message: 'Fulfill our desires.'

The Saiyan laughs and strokes his head. 'Well... umm...'

Announcement: When I started writing this fic, 4 months

ago, I intended to end it at TOP Saga, with Goku making

a certain wish. But then DBS Manga continued with

Moro Saga. I'll study that saga at my leisure sometime

in the future and decide whether it's worth including

in my story. In any case, for now, this fanfic goes on

a hiatus.