SANS AUS VS ANIME
CHAPTER 1 — THIRTY
There was no warning.
Yuji Itadori stepped forward—
—and his shoe struck black carpet.
He recoiled.
"What?!"
Rows of seats descended toward a gigantic blank screen.
No windows.
No visible doors.
A ceiling disappearing into darkness.
"Megumi?"
"Here."
"Nobara?"
"Unfortunately."
Yuji exhaled.
Nanami stood nearby.
Gojo stood farther ahead.
That should have helped.
It didn't.
Gojo wasn't smiling.
"Don't move far," Nanami ordered.
Nobara already had her hammer.
Megumi scanned the walls.
Yuji looked past him—
and froze.
They weren't alone.
Dozens of strangers occupied another section.
Then hundreds.
A green-haired man drew a sword.
Yuji stiffened.
Then noticed the other two.
"…Three?"
Sanji stepped between Zoro and the unknown crowd.
"Don't start."
"I haven't."
"You're drawing a sword."
"I'm prepared."
Nami grabbed his shoulder.
"Put it back."
"No."
"Zoro."
Her fist rose.
The sword slid back into its sheath.
Usopp pointed across the theater.
"WE'VE BEEN KIDNAPPED!"
"Quiet!" Nami snapped.
Robin studied the walls.
"No entrance."
Franky stared upward.
"No obvious machinery either."
Luffy ignored both.
His eyes landed on Yuji's group.
"HEY!"
Yuji jumped.
"Yeah?!"
"You do this?"
"No!"
Luffy stared.
Yuji stared back.
"Okay."
He sat down.
Nobara blinked.
"That worked?"
Apparently.
Another group appeared.
Goku looked around.
"Huh."
Vegeta immediately turned.
"Where are we?"
Gohan moved closer to Piccolo.
Piccolo was already searching.
Frieza's tail curled.
Beerus's expression soured.
Whis tapped his staff against the floor.
Nothing.
Again.
Nothing.
His smile remained.
His eyes didn't.
Vegeta noticed.
"Well?"
"How peculiar."
"What is?"
"I don't know."
Vegeta stared at him.
"You don't know?"
Goku looked across the theater.
He could sense several people.
Others felt faint.
Some felt strange.
Some didn't fit what he expected at all.
His attention stopped on Gojo.
"I can't really sense that guy normally."
Gojo tilted his head.
Yuji whispered,
"Sensei?"
"Don't know."
That bothered Yuji more than a joke would have.
Frieza smiled.
"How delightful."
Vegeta glared.
"Don't start."
Gohan shifted between them.
"Not here."
Frieza looked at him.
Goku stopped examining the room.
"Frieza."
The smile remained.
Frieza went quiet.
Another section filled.
Ichigo landed with Zangetsu already in hand.
Rukia recovered beside him.
Renji drew immediately.
Byakuya didn't.
Urahara stared toward the screen.
Ichigo searched for an exit.
Nothing.
"Anybody know where we are?"
Luffy raised his hand.
"No!"
Ichigo stared at him.
"…Right."
Rukia leaned closer.
"Too many unknown presences."
"I know."
Some people felt human.
Some clearly weren't.
Others gave him nothing useful.
That bothered him.
Renji's eyes drifted toward Beerus.
Beerus looked back.
Renji slowly looked elsewhere.
Then—
BOOM!
Several people ducked.
Others drew weapons.
Smoke drifted from Bakugo's palm.
Aizawa's capture weapon instantly wrapped around his arm.
"LET GO!"
"No."
"I was testing the wall!"
"And now you've tested it."
Bakugo stared at the surface he'd struck.
Nothing.
No crack.
No scorch.
Todoroki approached.
"No heat damage."
Midoriya stared.
"The explosion definitely connected. If the material absorbed the impact, then there should still be—unless the energy was dispersed somewhere else, or—"
"Midoriya."
Aizawa looked at him.
"Breathe."
Midoriya stopped.
Then his eyes widened.
"Shigaraki."
All Might had already seen him.
The villain stood several rows above.
Shigaraki stared at his hand.
Then at the wall.
"Interesting."
"Don't touch it," All Might said.
Shigaraki looked at him.
"You think I brought us here?"
"No."
That made him pause.
All Might continued.
"I think none of us understand what brought us here."
Shigaraki raised one hand.
"I could find out."
Midoriya stepped forward.
"Don't!"
Shigaraki's eyes shifted toward him.
Midoriya locked for half a second.
Decay.
Hands.
People disappearing.
Then he moved between Shigaraki and the others anyway.
Shigaraki noticed.
"You're still doing that?"
Bakugo's palm sparked.
"Touch something."
"Enough."
Aizawa's eyes reddened.
Neither moved.
Then Tanjiro appeared.
He inhaled—
and nearly staggered.
Fear.
Confusion.
Anger.
Hundreds of scents.
Nezuko stood beside him.
His hand immediately found hers.
Zenitsu looked around.
His face drained.
"No."
Inosuke drew both swords.
"WHO'S STRONGEST?!"
Tanjiro grabbed his shoulder.
"We're not fighting anybody!"
Zenitsu suddenly pointed.
"WHAT IS THAT?!"
Frieza slowly turned.
Zenitsu grabbed Tanjiro.
"WHY DID IT LOOK AT ME?!"
"You pointed at him!"
Beerus closed his eyes.
"This place is intolerable."
Whis smiled.
"It has been less than five minutes."
"Exactly."
Another group materialized.
"—SASUKE, I SWEAR—"
Naruto stopped.
Sasuke appeared beside him.
Sakura behind them.
Kakashi landed silently.
Naruto looked around.
"…Okay."
Sakura stared at him.
"What?"
"For once, I don't have anything."
Sasuke's Sharingan activated.
Several heads turned.
Megumi's fingers shifted.
Todoroki watched.
Midoriya's lips moved.
"His eyes physically changed…"
"Don't," Aizawa said.
Midoriya stopped.
Naruto formed a hand sign.
Sakura caught his wrist.
"No clones."
"I was gonna check the room!"
"Someone already tried."
Bakugo heard that.
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING—"
"Naruto."
Sasuke's voice cut across him.
Naruto stopped.
Sasuke wasn't looking at Bakugo.
He was staring ahead.
A white point had appeared on the black screen.
Robin noticed.
Gojo noticed.
Aizawa followed their gaze.
Rukia stopped speaking.
Piccolo's arms uncrossed.
The dot stretched horizontally.
Then vertically.
Conversations died unevenly.
Usopp was still whispering.
Zenitsu was breathing too loudly.
Bakugo's palms still crackled.
Then the first words appeared.
⚪ OBSERVATION AREA ESTABLISHED
Nobody spoke for several seconds.
Ichigo finally broke the silence.
"Observation?"
Urahara opened his fan.
"That appears to be our role."
Ichigo looked at him.
"You sound too comfortable saying that."
"I assure you I'm not."
Nami stared at the word.
"Who are we observing?"
Robin crossed her arms.
"Perhaps that's why the screen exists."
Luffy stood.
Sanji grabbed his shirt.
"Don't."
"I was gonna ask it."
"It kidnapped us. I doubt manners are its weakness."
Gojo watched the screen.
His expression had lost nearly all amusement.
Nobara crossed her arms.
"Well?"
Nothing answered.
The white vanished.
Blue replaced it.
🔵 ACTIVE MATCHES CANNOT BE INTERRUPTED
"Matches?"
Gohan said it first.
Goku leaned forward.
"A fight?"
Vegeta glared.
"Don't get excited."
Ichigo stepped closer.
"What kind of matches?"
No response.
Bakugo pulled against Aizawa's capture weapon.
"If somebody's fighting, take me there."
Aizawa tightened it.
"That's exactly why you're staying here."
Tanjiro's grip around Nezuko's hand tightened.
Zenitsu noticed.
"Tanjiro?"
Tanjiro didn't answer.
Fear was increasing around him.
Even from people whose faces hadn't moved.
The blue vanished.
Green appeared.
🟢 THIRTY BATTLES HAVE BEEN SELECTED
"Thirty?"
Yuji stared at the number.
Nobara looked around.
Hundreds of people.
Her expression changed.
"No."
Megumi noticed.
"So did I."
Yuji looked between them.
"What?"
Nanami answered.
"If they're selecting participants from this room…"
Yuji stopped breathing for a second.
Across the theater, Nami reached the same possibility.
She caught Luffy's sleeve.
He looked down.
She didn't release him.
Zoro stood slightly straighter.
Sanji stopped moving.
Robin watched them.
Ichigo looked immediately toward Rukia.
Rukia met his eyes.
Renji swore.
Midoriya looked at All Might.
All Might's jaw tightened.
Shigaraki stopped scratching his neck.
Naruto glanced at Sakura.
Then Sasuke.
Then Kakashi.
His grin was gone.
Tanjiro moved half a step in front of Nezuko.
Inosuke noticed.
For once, he didn't complain.
The green disappeared.
Yellow replaced it.
🟡 PARTICIPANTS WILL BE SELECTED FROM THE OBSERVING SIDE
Yuji stood so fast his seat snapped upward.
"No!"
Nobara was beside him.
"Who gave you permission?!"
Megumi didn't shout.
His hands formed the beginning of a sign.
Nanami caught his wrist.
"Not yet."
Megumi looked at him.
Nanami's face was tight.
"Not until we know what attacking it does."
Luffy surged forward.
Zoro grabbed the back of his vest.
"Wait."
"Let go!"
"No."
"If it takes one of you—"
"I know."
Zoro's grip tightened.
"That is why you wait."
Sanji stepped between Nami and the screen.
She shoved his shoulder.
"Don't do that."
He didn't move.
Ichigo raised Zangetsu.
Rukia caught his sleeve.
"Don't."
"What if it chooses you?"
"I know."
"Then don't tell me not to move."
"Ichigo."
Her voice cracked.
He stopped.
Midoriya didn't move.
He froze.
All Might.
Aizawa.
Bakugo.
Todoroki.
Everyone.
Bakugo didn't freeze.
He blasted the screen.
BOOM!
The explosion vanished.
Not blocked.
Not reflected.
Gone.
"BAKUGO!"
"COME GET ME THEN!"
Nothing happened.
Aizawa wrapped him again.
This time Bakugo fought hard enough to drag a seat sideways.
Naruto's chakra surged.
Sakura grabbed his jacket.
"Naruto!"
"If it picks one of you—"
"I KNOW!"
Her shout stopped him.
Sakura's eyes were wet.
She looked furious about it.
Sasuke didn't move toward the screen.
He moved closer to them.
Kakashi noticed.
Said nothing.
Tanjiro pulled Nezuko behind him.
Zenitsu backed away.
"No."
His voice was tiny.
"No, no…"
Inosuke stared at him.
"Hey."
Zenitsu's legs struck a seat.
"I don't want to fight something I can't see."
Nobody mocked him.
Vegeta's aura flared.
Gohan stepped closer to Goku.
Piccolo moved between Gohan and the screen.
Goku's fists tightened.
"Whoever's doing this…"
Frieza remained seated.
His smile was gone.
Beerus rose slowly.
No shouting.
No aura.
Just an expression that made Vegeta stop speaking.
Gojo lowered his blindfold.
His eyes opened fully.
Nobara looked at him.
Gojo stared at the screen.
"This is the part where I stop being polite."
The yellow disappeared.
Orange replaced it.
🟠 OPPOSING PARTICIPANTS WILL NOT BE IDENTIFIED BEFORE SELECTION
Vegeta stared.
"We fight something we aren't even allowed to know?"
Piccolo frowned.
"That's an advantage."
Goku looked at him.
"For them?"
"Possibly."
Frieza finally spoke.
"Or perhaps they know equally little."
Nobody could prove either possibility.
Megumi looked toward Nanami.
"They could be prisoners too."
"Could."
"Or volunteers."
"Could."
Nobara snapped,
"Helpful."
Nanami didn't react.
"Certainty would be more helpful. We don't have any."
Tanjiro breathed slowly.
Unknown opponents.
Thirty battles.
People here.
His stomach turned.
The screen hadn't said the worst thing yet.
He knew that without knowing how.
Orange disappeared.
Red burned across the black surface.
🔴 A BATTLE ENDS WHEN ONE PARTICIPANT CAN NO LONGER CONTINUE
Some shoulders loosened.
Only slightly.
Yuji noticed.
"So… knockout?"
Megumi didn't answer.
Nobara exhaled.
Gohan looked toward Goku.
Naruto whispered,
"Okay."
Sakura closed her eyes.
Even Zenitsu stopped retreating.
For three seconds—
the theater breathed.
Then the red sentence distorted.
Letters fractured.
Rearranged.
The screen changed again.
Violet.
🟣 FINAL VICTORY CONDITION DEATH
Nobody screamed.
Not at first.
That was worse.
Yuji stared.
His mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
Inside him—
laughter.
Low.
Cruel.
Sukuna.
Yuji's hand slammed over his mouth.
Megumi saw.
"Yuji?"
Yuji didn't answer.
Nobara's face had gone pale.
Nanami removed his glasses.
Cleaned them once.
His hand wasn't completely steady.
Luffy stopped pulling against Zoro.
Nami still held his sleeve.
Luffy covered her hand with his.
Zoro watched the screen.
His jaw tightened.
Sanji's cigarette burned untouched between his fingers.
Robin looked down.
Thirty.
Ichigo lowered Zangetsu by inches.
Not because he accepted the rule.
Because Rukia was still holding him.
Rukia stared forward.
Renji looked at Byakuya.
Byakuya gave nothing away.
Except his hand had moved closer to Senbonzakura.
Midoriya sat down.
He hadn't meant to.
His knees simply folded.
All Might turned toward him.
Midoriya looked up.
"What if it's you?"
All Might didn't answer quickly enough.
Bakugo stopped fighting Aizawa's restraints.
Todoroki stared at the violet word.
Shigaraki's expression became unreadable.
Tanjiro felt Nezuko grab the back of his clothing.
He turned immediately.
She looked at him.
He couldn't promise anything.
So he didn't.
Zenitsu sank into a seat.
Inosuke remained standing beside him.
Naruto's chakra vanished.
Sakura still held his jacket.
Neither noticed.
Sasuke watched Naruto instead of the screen.
Kakashi watched all three.
Gohan's voice was quiet.
"Dad."
Goku didn't smile.
"I know."
Vegeta folded his arms.
His fingers dug into them.
Frieza looked around the theater.
For the first time since arriving—
he studied the people instead of mocking them.
Beerus stared at Whis.
"Can you leave?"
Whis looked at his staff.
Then the walls.
Then Beerus.
"No."
Beerus's pupils narrowed.
That answer frightened Vegeta more than the screen had.
Gojo remained standing.
His eyes moved across his students.
Yuji.
Megumi.
Nobara.
Then back to the screen.
His expression was empty.
The violet letters remained.
Thirty battles.
Unknown opponents.
No interference.
One side chosen from this room.
One confirmed victory condition.
Nobody knew whose name would appear first.
The screen went black.
END OF CHAPTER 1