The Fights Continue In This Chapter...!
Kuzuku and Barabatos remained staring in the same direction as soon as the explosions and sounds of battle simmered down. The Saiyan's eyes were wide, filled with worry and surprise while he sensed the battle from afar, "Something must have happened. At first, Vegeta's energy skyrocketed to unbelievable levels. But,...now it just dropped like a heavy ball falling off a cliff. Just what in the hell happened!?". In the middle of Kuzuku's stunned state, Barabatos snapped out of it, realizing what most likely happened and began to laugh a bit: gaining his opponent's attention.
"Well I'd be damned. I was worried for a second but I guess Jiren is far stronger than we give him credit for," Barabatos grinned, giving Kuzuku an eye. The Saiyan scrunched his eyebrows in seriousness, intriguing him to the point of innocent amusement, "What's with that facial expression? Don't worry, you won't have to worry about those two who are fighting Jiren right now. They will be taken care off quickly.".
"Don't underestimate them, they are easily some of the most resilient warriors you'll ever meet," The Saiyan warned while slowly taking a stance. Barabatos chuckled, grabbing onto his damaged uniform while smiling with his eyes closed. In one fell swoop, he tore off the top of his own Gi, the shredded parts flying off as he released his grip. Kuzuku stayed on guard, sharpening all of his primal senses in an assumption of his opponent plotting something. However, Barabatos merely stood there, his eyes opening to reveal ruby red pupils that he contained in his base form. His smile was aloof, while his eyes seemed to be distant, almost as if he wasn't there. The Saiyan raised an eyebrow, "What's with this guy? Is he giving up? No, that can't be. But he must clearly recognize the clear power difference between us now.".
"May I ask you a question?" Barabatos said, shocking the Saiyan with the sudden inquiry. He didn't reply, rather, he didn't seem to say any words to his opponent's question. Instead, he listened, waiting patiently on what he may want to know. Barabatos smirked, "Do you have any clue on what it is like being an orphan?". Kuzuku's was completely taken back by this, his eyes widened for a second while processing the question. The Saiyan shook his head up and down, keeping his composer in check during his reply.
"Yeah, my parents sent me to another planet before they died and I was too young to remember. From there I was taken in by an orphanage until it was pillage and burned to the ground," Kuzuku replied simply.
Barabatos tilted his head towards the sky, remembering something about his childhood, "I see, so yours was different from mine but yet so similar. We both didn't have an easy time. For me, I was also born unaware of who my parents were or what family ties I had. All I knew was that I was me and I was alone.". Barabatos grinned at him, giving Kuzuku a cold chill for a split second.
"But, that solitude and loneliness taught me one thing. The power to survive on your own is what matters most in this world. If I needed food, I needed speed and agility to steal. If I needed to fend myself from beast, power was necessary to fight back and if my life was ever in danger of being killed by someone...then I need strength to kill." Barabatos elaborated, his tone dark and sharp while his eyes narrowed and glowed red. The Saiyan was disturbed, almost cringing at his words as he went back to his aloof expression. He twirled his finger around nonchalantly, "Now that I look back then, I was a rather violent person. Eventually I grew so strong that not even the military force on my own planet could stop me and I took over the whole rock with my strength alone. I had a powerful and unstoppable gang with money, wealth, and power at such a young age. It was as if I was living every fool's dream...". The universe 11 warrior looked down at his hands, clutching them into a fist while finding the words to put together.
"It soon turned out that it wasn't satisfying. Everything got so damn boring, my life losing all meaning to the point where my attitude towards things seemed so damn lifeless. I just wanted to end it all until that one fateful day...," Barabatos quivered, only to look up at the Saiyan with a smile. "Because of my gangs accelerating growth, I eventually gained the attention of the pride troopers. We fought, my side nearly succeeding to push them back until those two came...". Kuzuku knew who he was most likely referring to. There was no other universe 11 warriors besides him and his allies that posed a great threat. However, the Saiyan figured full well that there were two obvious choices that came to mind.
"Toppo and Jiren, the two most destructive and powerful forces of justice that universe 11 has ever seen. In a matter of seconds, my first combat division was wiped out and by the time an hour had passed, everyone was completely defeated. While I was the last one surviving, I couldn't help but feel excited! The feeling of being pushed to my limits and forced to struggle for survival and freedom was what electrified my spirit again!" He said, his facial expression revealing a smirk forming on his mouth while his eyes shook with excitement. Kuzuku could feel his power grow, startling him a bit as he listened to him talk. Barabatos chuckled under his breath from that reaction, "Through that battle, I've been pushed to the brink of death over and over, coming back several times in order to become stronger by the end of it. I eventually lost myself in violence and managed to push back Toppo for a second. But, it was all for nothing due to the fact that Jiren was so overwhelmingly powerful and through that defeat I learned to appreciate that there are still those who can bring excitement in my life. I idolized those who come to be stronger than me, with Jiren becoming the pinnacle of strength. He was the physical manifestation of who I strive to be. It gave me a new goal to reach for!". Barabatos, flared his Ki, blowing the Saiyan back with it increasing rapidly. Kuzuku looked up to see what exactly was happening, curious as to where all this power came from. Meanwhile the audience itself, was try to comprehend the same thing Kuzuku was trying to understand.
"Where's all this strength coming from? He wasn't nearly as strong as when he fought me and I could of taken him if I was at one hundred percent," Zugo asked, sweating a little from how fast his power was growing.
Whis's demeanor grew serious, knowing full well as to what was happening, "When someone is on the verge of life and death or rather most appropriately, their safety is threatened to the point to where their potential could be awakened in the most dire moments.".
"So that's it, huh? The bastard is forcefully drawing out his hidden strength!" Beerus wondered, annoyed with the new predicament.
Whis looked up to get a clearer look at the situation, "In some cases, some beings obtain even greater power compared to how they were before. At this moment, after being pushed to the edge by Kuzuku's own power, Barabatos has finally gained the opportunity to release all of his survival instincts in one go. I could tell by the boy's eyes, the sharpness told me that he was holding this back for years and was completely unaware of his own potential.".
Kuzuku watched as black lightning struck the ground next to him, shattering it into pieces. The Saiyan caught glimpses of his opponents new transformation. His hair spiked out into all directions, flowing along with the gales that he emitted. White, glowing crack-shaped markings began to cover all over his body, forming an upside down triangle in the center of his pectorals. His knuckles hardened into what seemed to be steel that shined with the light. When it all settled down, Barabatos revealed a new form in full glory, his body seemingly shining as if it was lustrous. He seemed to be smiling at the Saiyan slyly, looking at his hands to see the new markings and glow. He laughed, almost as if he was becoming drunk on strength, "So, I have finally reach this strength that he was talking about. This power is overflowing.".
"Just what are you talking about?" Kuzuku asked, irritated at the fact that he was simply talking too much.
Barabatos chuckled and decided to humor him, "Nothing, nothing at all. Just recalling a faint memory during training. For now, let us enjoy this battle to the fullest!". He let out another roar, his Ki flaring even larger than before. Kuzuku's face grew serious as he watched his opponent grin, baring fangs as he snickered.
"The time has come!" Barabatos shouted, charging directly at Kuzuku with his Ki enveloping all around him before disappearing completely. The Saiyan's eyes widened, quickly realizing what had happened and leapt away off one leg before he could reappear again. In a mere instant, Barabatos manifested with his fist already striking the ground: a slight pause being present before the surface shattered into a large crater between them both. The shockwave was powerful enough to blow Kuzuku backwards, his feet practically touching the occasionally before transitioning to him back peddling between the rubble. In the midst of this, Barabatos chased after him, closing the distance quickly while hurling his energized fist towards the Saiyan. Swiftly, it was blocked with one arm, a shockwave blowing the rubble surrounding them. Barabatos snickered, the power giving him overwhelming strength and tenacity, "Nicely blocked, but how about you try this, Phantom Rampage!".
Kuzuku became shock at what happened next. The universe 11 warrior's body seemingly split into countless other copies of himself, each one readying their fists to strike at different angles. At first he thought they were afterimages until he blocked the first punch while feeling pain in his ribs at the same time. Knowing this, he crossed both of his arms and tightened his muscles, tanking and blocking blows from all sides before Barabatos cocked his final punch back to break through his defenses. Kuzuku, was launched back, his arms tingling in pain as he landed on his feet, skidding while he watched his opponent continue to chase him. He noticed he disappeared into a black smoke again, anticipating immediately for another attack from the side. His arms came up quickly to defend, putting an abrupt halt to a right hook to his side while leaping away once more. Then, he sensed another attack coming from his left, blocking the kick aimed at his head while also leaping over a low sweep. He looked down, noticing that he had disappeared again and instinctively looked up to see him coming down to sledgehammer him to the ground. The Saiyan placed his arms up and defended against the heavy strike, peering into Barabatos's eyes at the same time while they rotated upside down. The Saiyan caught glimpse of a kick going for his stomach, countering it with a knee strong enough to rocket them both into two separate pillars only for them both to immediately charge back at each other. The clash sent sparks of energy across the ground, rupturing it before it settled down at the same time they both touched ground: their backs facing each other. Barabatos turned around, feeling a slight pain in his ribs as he watched the damage he did on the Saiyan. It was evident that he was hurt, however, he seemed to be holding his own despite him powering up this much. He couldn't help but smile, "Even though I've gain access to this hidden strength, you are still able to keep up.". Kuzuku turned to face him, his expression showing clear signs of sweat along with blood leaking from the side of his mouth.
"Now that you have obtained this level of strength, what do you hope to do with it?" Kuzuku asked, his tone displaying sternness in it. Barabatos gave him a quizzical look, wondering what begs him to ask this question.
Kuzuku's glare intensified, his orange eyes beginning to glow, "I said, what do you hope to obtain with this new found power of yours!?". Barabatos paused for a moment, thinking about how he wanted to answer that question. He thought hard, harder than he ever could recall in his life. But nothing, nothing came to mind. Why did he want to reach such higher levels of power. It's not like he's a battle maniac like the Saiyans and he didn't suffer any trauma in the past to push him. He was just an orphan, a small boy in the world that was just trying to survive and once he finally gained the strength necessary...what does he have left. He remained frozen, his inability to answer the Saiyan's question frustrating him. Kuzuku sighed, his expression hidden by his bangs.
"Maybe, power wasn't what you were seeking. You were already strong before, you survived on your own without anyone's help. Something that most people can't even hope to achieve in a situation such as yours. Not even I was capable. But...aren't you seeking a reason why you exist rather than searching for excitement?" Kuzuku questioned, his eyes revealing to be sincere. Barabatos was taken back by this. His expression drawing a wall of perplexity as he stared into his eyes. For the first time in his life, someone has shown...empathy towards him. He began to lower his guard, gaining the attention of not only universe 7 but also his own team.
"What's going on? Why did they stop fighting?" Hudo asked.
Piccolo merely smirked, folding his arms as this was typically what Kuzuku does, "I guess it can't be helped. The kid was always one to empathize with others despite his emotions taking the lead over his actions.". Kuzuku watched as Barabatos remained frozen at his question, believing that he most likely hit the mark. He was about to say something to snap him out of it until he heard someone scream from afar.
"What in the hell are you waiting for, continue the fight Barabatos!" Vermoud shouted, a vein clearly threatening to pop at any moment. The universe 11 warrior turned to see his deity's expression, unable to put up that aloof facade in front of him. Vermoud gritted his teeth before shouting at him again, "Hurry up and knock him off the stage. Block out anything that he has to say. Strength and victory is all that matters for survival, you hear me?! Survival! If you lose then that's one step closer for us all to be doomed!". Barabatos's eyes widened, the word "Survival" echoing in his head numerous times until it trailed off into nothingness. His spiked bangs covered his face, shadowing his facial features as his body shook. Kuzuku instantly took guard, knowing full well what was about to happen. The universe 11 warrior's body began to shake as a smirk formed on his face.
Slowly, he looked up, revealing hungry eyes for battle, "Heheh, what an idiot I was, falling for your small talk. I forgot that this was a tournament for survival. It should of been simple from the beginning. Heheh...HAHAHAH! All I simply have to do was just knock you off! I mean, I am a pride trooper now so consider that a reason why don't ya?!". He curled his fingers into a fist, powering up again as Kuzuku did the same.
"I think it time for this chit chat of ours to come to an end. From here it'll be nothing else but our fists!" Barabatos roared, dashing towards Kuzuku with frightening speeds.
Kuzuku growled, figuring that there was going to be no other choice in the first place, "Fine, us Saiyans preferred it that way anyways!". Immediately he lunged forwards as well, clashing fists with the universe 11 warrior. Suddenly, a large explosion erupted in the middle of the area, rocking the arena for a second before the smoke settled down. Both warriors glared into each other's eyes before breaking out into a clash of blows, each strike intended to leave a fatal wound on the other. Each time their punches would so much as to graze each other, the ring shook with ferocity. Barabatos growled, fading away into darkness to avoid a straight punch. The Saiyan quickly anticipated it, however, he reacted too late as he already reformed behind him: kicking him hard in the back. The Saiyan stumbled forward before getting another blow dealt across his cheek and stomach before two more strikes connected from the opposite side. Kuzuku groaned, having enough of the sneak attacks and focused even harder. He closed his eyes for a moment, only to turn around to slug Barabatos hard with a left hook. The universe 11 warrior was left dazed for a second until he earned another blow to the chin, this time being an elbow. He flew, hurling towards the pile of rocks before making a complete stop by flipping himself onto one of them. He extended his hand out, a static dark energy orb forming in his palms, "Phantom Eraser Missiles!". In a fraction of a second, numerous energy blast shot out from his hand, disappearing into nothingness as they made their way towards Kuzuku. The Saiyan stayed on high alert, ready for anything coming his way. Though it proved to be useless due to the fact that he could seem to sense the blast let alone see them coming. He blindly leaped into the air, only to feel the pain of one of the attacks ramming into him. He flew backwards a bit, crashing into another blast that sent him forward. He groaned in pain, the blast markings oozing off smoke while two more blast collided into him from both sides, eventually turning into a series of explosions as more soon followed up. Everything erupted into a giant dome of dark energy before sizzling down with Barabatos smirking at himself.
"What are you smiling for?!" A voice asked, startling him enough to turn around with pure shock. Before he could catch glimpses of the Saiyan, Kuzuku had already socked him hard across the face, rocketing him through several pillars and into the air. The moment his foot touched the ground, he proceeded on chasing after him, his aura shrouding him to increase his speed. In mere moments, he found himself above Barabatos: sledgehammering him to the ground so hard that the impact caused an explosion of debris while his feet touched solid ground again. He waited for the smoke to clear, only to have his eyes catch a glimpse of a faint figure rush out of it. He put up a guard quickly, blocking the jab from the elbow to where it only made his feet slide back a few feet. Barabatos screamed with power, kicking him hard with a point blank roundhouse. While he was stunned, the universe 11 warrior followed up with a high kick to the chin, launching him towards a rock at high speeds. Kuzuku gritted his teeth, flipping himself several times in mid air before leaping off the side of the rock and towards Barabatos with a flying kick, shocking him with his tenacity. Barabatos weaved to his right to avoid the kick but what he didn't expect was for Kuzuku to twirl around in mid air to land he blow to his jaw with his leg coming from below. He was so stunned by the feet that he didn't notice the following knee to the side of his skull, the blow hard enough to send him crashing into a boulder in that direction while Kuzuku flipped himself onto one leg with his knee still raised. He looked over to see if any moments were coming through the smoke, although, he didn't suspect an attack from behind when he felt tendrils grab onto his arms and legs. He looked around, struggling to free himself until he felt a sharp pain in his gut. The Saiyan looked down to see Barabatos smirking at him, blood clearly leaking out the side of his mouth as well, "Didn't expect that didn't you?".
Immediately, he went on to pummeling Kuzuku all over his abdominal area. The Saiyan gagged from each blow, gritted his teeth occasionally in order to bare with the pain. He balled his fist, his amber aura sizzling off of him before he let out a roar, blowing the tendrils along with Barabatos away. The universe 11 warrior was taken back a bit, shock that he still had this much power left before he felt Kuzuku's fist strike him in the jaw. Left dazed, Kuzuku followed up with a hard knee to his liver before kicking him directly in his stomach and chin. Barabatos stumbled back a bit, regaining his control over his body quickly until he saw Kuzuku place his hand out, his expression stern and serious: almost cold looking. Before he knew it, Kuzuku unleashed a Kiai to blow Barabatos a good distance back, forcing him onto one knee from tanking the technique. He looked up, panting heavily with bruises covering his body. His expression was slightly angered, frustrated with the look that the Saiyan was giving him and growled at him, "Don't...think this is over!". He stood up and began to power up even further, forcing his own body to output more power than it's use to. Kuzuku was impressed, shielding his arms from the gales while he was impressed with how far Barabatos was pushing himself.
"He's amazing, truly. Despite unleashing his full potential, he's still trying to push his body further! If I am not careful, he might eliminate me...," Kuzuku complimented all the while debris flung pass him.
Now Back With Goku and Vegeta...
Goku could hear the violent sounds of Kuzuku's battle from afar while he kneeled down next to Vegeta, learning that the young Saiyan was indeed too busy to come and help at the moment. He took a glance at Jiren who was merely waiting patiently for his next move while Vegeta laid flat on the ground. The Saiyan prince's conscious slowly came back to him as he struggled to pick himself up, only collapsing again when his body refused to move. All he could do was glare daggers at the gray warrior's eyes.
"I commend you for your efforts, warrior...," Jiren muttered, giving praise to the prince's last attack.
Vegeta growled at his comment, taking it as pity more than a compliment, "Tch, cocky bastard. I'll...show hi-...him!". He groaned in pain, before Goku assured him to stay put with a small gesture. Goku took a few steps forward, taking a stance as he got ready to fight.
"Vegeta, get some rest for now. I'll buy you some time," Goku assured, his tone serious with a bead of sweat trickling down the side of his cheek. Jiren didn't show any signs of concern, his demeanor remaining calm and still. He was unfazed by the Saiyan's bravery when he watched him slide his feet closer inch by inch.
Zugo watched intently, the aftershock of what happened the moments prior fading away, "Now it's Goku's turn. I wonder what he will do after witnessing Jiren tank such an attack of that magnitude.".
"There's probably not much he can do other than try his best to create an opening for him to knock Jiren off. That monster just took an attack stronger than Vegeta's Final Flash without a scratch," Piccolo added.
When Goku entered the vicinity for an on front attack, a heavy gust of wind emission from the pressure between their auras. The wind ruffled the audience's hair, signaling that things will only get heated from here. Hudo couldn't help but gulp down some saliva out of nervousness, "If that's the case then taking him on would definitely mean that there is no room for error. Kuzuku's gotta finish his fight fast so he can at least come and help.".
Goku scrunched his eyebrows, flaring his pure blue Ki with purple electricity all in one go before charging straight in. In fractions of a second, Goku and Jiren's eyes were dead close to each other before the hero of Earth disappeared from his sights. The gray warrior remained unimpressed, ducking under the kick aimed for his head easily and elbowing Goku hard in the stomach. Goku gagged for quick second, baring with the pain to throw another kick at point blank range. Foreseeing this, Jiren leaped backwards to avoid the kick with Goku quickly touching the ground to pursue after him. The gray warrior caught the hurling fist he threw and got ready to counter attack with one of his own. Predicting that he was about to hit him again with another one of his heavy blows, Goku retracted his punch out of Jiren's grip and quickly performed a step vanish backwards to gain some distance. Jiren pulled his punch back, seeing how Goku decided to take the defensive and smart approach by running numerous circles around him. He tracked him down, disregarding the afterimages he was creating. He watched carefully, noticing that he had teleported behind him with instant transmission. In one motion, Jiren step to the side to avoid the straight kick aimed at his back and grabbed Goku's foot, tossing him towards a pillar rock.
"Tch, direct attacks are not going to work on this guy. I have to try something different," Goku muttered, flipping himself onto the rock while firing several Ki blast at the gray warrior. Jiren stood there without budging an inch, his eyes glowing red in order to unleash an invisible attack to destroy the blast before they even connected. Smoke shrouded his vision like a fog. He listened closely, hearing the Saiyan's footsteps that were as light as a feather. First he ducked under a right hook while kicking the Saiyan in his ribs. Then after that, he brushed off a punch to the side and rammed his fist into his gut: sending the Saiyan back into the smoke that surrounded him. He waited again, sensing an attack from behind this time and grabbed Goku by the throat and tossing him away like he was a rag doll. Jiren was beginning to grow tire of this until he sensed several blue energy blast coming from above, forcing him to leap into the air and out of the smoke as they crashed like a bunch of comets. The explosion blew the dust away while the gray warrior landed onto his feet, his expression still calm as usual while Goku was standing on a rock from above.
Vegeta laid on the ground, watching the fight with one eye lid open, "Damn! That bastard is most definitely holding back his strength! All of those tricks and attacks aren't even making him winded!". Goku clenched his fist and rocketed himself forward, tossing a elbow strike towards his skull. Jiren blocked the blow with his forearm, kicking the Saiyan hard in the face and launched him into another boulder. Immediately, Goku shot right back at him with a barrage of punches that were deflected effortlessly with subtle movements. In one swift movement, Jiren kicked Goku hard in the chin, causing him to flip several times in the air as he was flown backwards. Goku stumbled a bit, losing his balance when he touched ground. He looked up to see Jiren chasing after him with a fist already picking up winds as it made its way towards his face. He ducked under it quickly, staring into the warrior's eyes before vanishing from his sights. Jiren looked up to see a similar series of movements, this time being a triangular pattern rather than a circle.
"How about this, Jiren!" Goku shouted, firing a barrage of energy blasts from all directions. Jiren started to weave at lightning speeds, avoiding the barrage of Ki blast narrowly. His movements were impressive, causing the Saiyan to become slightly frustrated with his flexibility before smirking as soon as he stopped firing, "All according to plan.". Jiren was confused a bit until he noticed something rather peculiar. He looked around him to see numerous energy blast colliding into each in coordinated fashion until they all eventually hurled towards him from all sides. His eyes widened with surprise before for the blast rammed into him one by one, a series of explosions detonating as if they were a chain reaction.
Vegeta was watching the fight from afar while he slowly picked himself up onto one knee, "Using a barrage of energy blasts to bounce off of each other in order to fully close off any room for escape. Leave it up to Kakarrot to pull something off like that, but...". The smoke cleared to reveal Jiren to have little to no damage on his body, only staring at the Saiyan while waiting for his next move. He extended his hand out, firing a casual energy blast to force the Saiyan to jump onto a large rock, the explosion resulting in the creation of a crater below. They continued to stare into each other's eyes, the Saiyan out of breath from all of the moving around. Jiren scrunched his eyebrows and took a step forward as he was getting ready to was until numerous Ki like explosions detonated beneath his feet like landmines, shrouding the area below with smoke through the countless explosions.
"Landmines? When could he have placed that down?" Krillin wondered.
Roshi thought for a moment before replying, "He must of have done it through all of the moving around. Also when the energy waves he used to attack with continuously exploded, they must of been intended to fling tiny balls of explosive energy to the ground: only detonating when it detects Jiren's energy.".
"I see, so that's why he charged straight in. I guess Goku has to resort to such tactics when dealing with someone this strong," 18 commented.
Meanwhile, Goku stared down into the smoke, hunting for signs of faint movement in order to prepare for some sort of defense. After some time of waiting, he placed his fingers on his forehead and teleported next to Vegeta in order to regroup, thinking that he had bought enough time with that strategy, "Are you alright, Vegeta?".
"Tch, focus on your fight. Even if you managed to catch him off guard, that won't defeat Jiren!" Vegeta scolded.
Goku nodded, knowing he was right about that, "Yeah, but I planted several more bombs for him to deal with. That should buy us enough time to think on strategies to deal with this gu-". He didn't even get to finish his sentence as the sound of numerous explosions detonated from a distance, the gales blowing his hair a bit to gain it's attention. The hero of Earth ran up to get a closer on what could possibly be happening, only to be left completely shocked at what he was seeing, muttering with pure disbelief, "You gotta be joking, he's literally coming through the Ki mines!".
In a few moments, Jiren popped out of the smoke, revealing to be casually walking towards him with blazing red Ki shrouding his body. Vegeta was also stunned to see him step on another mine with any care in the world, showing how little Goku's well planned attack did to him, "Th-That monster!". By the time the last mine diminished, Jiren stopped walking, pausing to stare at the Saiyan's perplexed face. In a matter of moments, Jiren rocketed towards Goku, his body already in motion for his fist to connected his Goku's face. The Saiyan had little time to process what had happened before he had a thunderous right hook across his face, flinging him away while Jiren chased after him. What soon followed after was a detrimental kick to his stomach, gaining some gags before he was uppercut hard in the chin in which it caused the hero of Earth's feet to slide until his back hit the wall. Small cracks formed behind him as he groan from the pain. He looked up, his facial expression almost growing pale as Jiren leaped into the air to throw another punch. It was so frightening that Goku's feet instinctively leapt into the air to avoid the punch.
The punch made a larger indent in the wall, showing how much force was behind the punch. Goku flipped himself onto his feet, only to lock faces with Jiren again in mere seconds. The gray warrior's speed was seemingly impeccable, out pacing Goku with his punches that almost seemed like a blur. Goku struggled to keep up, blocking blow for blow with narrowly getting hit in almost every moment. Eventually, he saw an opening and purposely fell backwards the avoid a punch while firing a kick with both legs from below. The blow connected, a pulse of Goku's Ki emitting off Jiren's chin. Goku was about to smirk until he felt his legged grabbed, a feeling of worry washing over his body. Jiren glared at him, seemingly unaffected by the attack as he hoisted Goku into the air.
In no time, Jiren lifted him over his head and slammed him hard enough create another crater in the ground. The Saiyan gagged, losing some oxygen from that. As he laid there, Jiren stepped on his stomach, gaining more moans of pain before raising his fist into the air, his eyes showing clear intent to pulverize Goku into dust. Quickly the Saiyan placed two fingers on his forehead and teleported away just in time, leaving Jiren to further destroy the crater with his absurd strength. Goku stumbled a bit, the pain slowly making his body tumble a bit while he felt the area grow hotter. He looked up to see Jiren turn around, flaring his Ki into a large pillar that emitted gales that would make the typical hurricane look like an infant. Goku was taken back by this, almost losing his footing from the initial shock. Jiren stared at him, his body shrouded in his heavy Ki while he teammates were left in awe.
"What fierce and heavy Ki," Cae, the Supreme Kai of universe 11 commented.
Belmod took a closer look, his eyes reflecting Jiren's energy. A smile formed on his face, "I can feel Jiren's Ki slowly erupting. I haven't seen him like this in a long time!".
Goku gritted his teeth from the pressure. Even though it settled down, it was still enough to make his body weigh a ton, "Amazing, Jiren. You're power is almost suffocating, however, that only makes me want to try even harder!". With one hard push off the ground, Goku propelled himself towards Jiren at high speeds. By the time Goku got into striking distance, Jiren was ready to counter. A loud boom overtook the arena, their fist colliding with such force that the ground beneath shattered under their might. They stared into each other's eyes, disappearing without a trace before reappearing again to trade blow for blow. Goku ducked under a punch, throwing a heavy right uppercut towards Jiren's chin. The gray warrior saw this, putting up a guard to protect that area, however, the fist seemingly vanished without a trace, as if it was all an illusion. From the corner of his eye, Jiren notice Goku was behind him with a kick ready to strike the side of his head. Swiftly, he shifted his guard to block, the kick causing him to actually slide a bit. Goku mumbled under his breath, touching the ground with one leg quickly and chased after him. In a blink of an eye, Goku managed to land a blow on Jiren's stomach, pushing him through several pillars before delivering another powerful kick across the chest. Despite that he was still standing, the two blows he taken sizzling off his body, though his expression remained unaffected. Goku was about to rush in again until he felt someone take his back. Immediately he ducked under another punch as it was none other than Jiren with his tremendous speed. The Saiyan was slightly impress, crossing his arms high to prevent his head being smashed in by a Karate chop. Goku could feel his feet sink into the ground, his arms shaking from the blow.
"Why continue to fight it? Do you truly believe you can win at the level you are now? My power far exceeds yours," Jiren muttered, getting real close into Goku's face.
Goku scrunched his eyebrows, slightly annoyed by what he just said to him, "Is that what you think? Just know that I am not the only one fighting here. In do time, we'll eventually catch up to where you stand!".
"'We'? Don't think you can defeat me by completely relying on your allies. You can only reach to where I stand by yourself, no one else. That's what it means to gain absolute power," Jiren argued, kneeing the Saiyan hard in the stomach. Goku let out a cry of pain, the wind exited his body all at once as he flew just a bit above the ground: his back skipping a few times before flipping himself onto his feet. He panted, gaining his breath as blood dripped off his chin. He looked up angrily at the calm warrior.
Jiren stared him down, "For justice to be achieved you need an absolute and unstoppable power. One that lies beyond what common people would call 'strength'. I trained for years to hone my skills to get closer to that level, without relying on others advice as they would only get in the way. A set path is only acquired by your own means and I will make you understand that, Son Goku...". Goku got up, flaring his aura even higher. Jiren's words and his whole attitude seemed to tick him off for some reason. He couldn't stand hearing them and he couldn't find a reason why. He clenched his fist, lunging forward at the same time his opponent did. The two clashed in the center, creating an explosion of blue and red Ki mixing together. The light immediately diminished as soon as the first blow connected, revealing Goku to be struck hard across the face with an elbow. His eyes flickered, almost fading until he regained consciousness and charged back into the exchanges. Fists flew pass his face in a fraction of a second, his fighting instincts and reflexes narrowly avoiding Jirens fists as they flew by.
On Another Area Of The Arena...
Meanwhile, an explosion from afar erupted into a giant cloud of smoke. It was completely random but was also evident that another fierce battle was going on over there. In the epicenter, two fist clashed into each, blowing away whatever was surrounding them in a single blow. Gohan struggled fighting off Toppo's giant fist, his strength wavering as time went on. The large pride trooper snickered, putting more pressure into his punch with confidence, "Don't tell me that all the will power you've got!? I'd expected more from universe 7.". Gohan growled at the commented, powering up even more while pushing back Toppo's fist with his own. The force between the two started to spew electricity around them. Neither of them were giving way to the other, showing how much resolve they had on winning. Gohan smirked, finally putting himself in the position he needed to be in.
"NOW, 17!" Gohan shouted, alerting the large pride trooper of what was happening. On cue, 17 leaped out from behind a piece of rubble with both arms raised above his head. Static, dark green electricity formed between his palms before roaring as he unleashed his attack, "Nice work, Gohan! Let's see if you tank this big guy, Super Electric Strike!". In one motion, 17 fired two arcing energy blast at Toppo, causing worry to be plastered over his face. While he was distracted, Gohan broke the struggle and reverse roundhouse kicked him across the face with his heel while also kicking him a few times in the stomach before leaping out of the way. Toppo was left dazed a bit, his eyes opening to the energy blast instantly. With no time to dodge, Toppo extended both his hands outwards and pushed against the blast. He groan as he struggled, his hands growing hot while his feet skid across the ground so hard that it left trails indented into it. Sweat poured over his face, his cat like eyes dilating as he drew closer to the edge by each passing second, "DRAAAAAAAAAAAGH!". From Toppo's palms, two flat energy blast started to press against the blast, his fingertips gripping it so that he could attempt to tear it apart.
"Don't think this will be enough to knock me off!" Toppo shouted, his hands beginning to tear the wave apart. 17 and Gohan looked with shock, his sheer power alone impressing them both. Toppo screamed to the sky, tearing the wave into nothing and causing numerous flickers of green energy to disperse. He smiled widely, looking straight at his opponents with triumph on his face, "Impressive attack but it was all for naught.". Gohan landed next to 17, sweat of nervousness trickling down the side of his face from the feat Toppo displayed.
"Don't worry, we'll just have to try something different," 17 assured, his fighting stance taking a more offensive position. Gohan did the same, flaring his Ki as a signal of powering up.
Meanwhile, With Another Fierce Battle...
Behind them was numerous eruptions of debris, this time coming from the clash between Kuzuku and Barabatos. Their punches and kicks destroyed the rubble around them, sometimes even when they missed. Kuzuku weaved under a jab, vanishing from Barabatos sites so fast that a chunk of the ground was destroyed from the force alone. The universe 11 warrior's eyes widened, just noticing that the Saiyan he dodge his punch. Before he knew it, a hard elbow rammed itself to the side of his head. Barabatos skipped off the ground a couple of times, only to land on the side of a pillar and propel himself back at the Saiyan. Kuzuku got reach and blocked a firm straight punch aimed for his jaw before blocking another kick at his right side. Barabatos was about to grit his teeth out of annoyance until he saw an oncoming knee from below. Quickly he caught the knee while also catching a punch aimed at his face. The two stared at each other, adrenaline taking over before proceeding to break out into a flurry of punches and kicks: each strike having sparks of their Ki flying everywhere. Suddenly, Barabatos vanished, startling the Saiyan for a moment until he noticed the lingering dark Ki from the corner of his eye. With premeditation, Kuzuku ducked under the side chop with ease before vanishing from beneath him. Barabatos groaned, sensing him coming from his side and disappeared again to avoid a kick. Now it was the Saiyan's turn to be annoyed, vanishing for a second to where it left them both seemingly gone from the arena until they caught each other's opposing fist in the middle.
There was a slight pause due to the pulse of shockwaves traveled across the ground before it shattered completely. The rubble and debris levitated into the air for a second, falling to the ground after a moment's pause while they struggled for control. Barabatos gritted his teeth, pushing Kuzuku back step my step while snickering, "Come on, let go. I can feel you slipping any moment now.".
"Tch, don't get ahead of yourself!" Kuzuku warned, breaking his grip on his fist by twisting his body. Barabatos was left perplexed from losing his balance, unaware of the back fist that Kuzuku delivered to his right cheek. He hopped on one foot for a bit in order to maintain his balance, though, the Saiyan wasn't through with him as he landed an explosive high knee to the same spot. He was sure that he would of sent him flying with that blow, however, Barabatos managed to flip himself as if he was a barrel and land a hard kick to the side of Kuzuku's ribs. The Saiyan cringed, blood spewing through the cracks of his gritted teeth before he was sent hurling into a boulder.
Barabatos landed on his side, getting onto one knee in the matter of seconds before charging towards where the Saiyan had landed. But, his eyes widened as soon as he saw a barrage of energy blast come towards him, causing him to suddenly pause abruptly with his approach to cross his arms to shield. He watched as all the blast fly by him, curious as to why none of them hit until he felt a gut wrenching pain in his stomach. He was confused for a moment, gagging without knowing what had happened until he noticed glowing orange eyes stare into his. What seemed like a good minute was only a fraction of a second as Barabatos was sent flying. Kuzuku's face was serious the moment he touched the ground, muttering with a low tone "Watch your back now...". As soon as he said that, the Ki blasts before turned around and combined into one and rammed itself into the universe 11 warrior's back, exploding with cries of pain to go with it. The Saiyan watched as the light simmered, the smoke blowing away due to the gales of a sudden flare of Ki. He noticed Barabatos breathing heavily, his eyes dilating from baring with the damage given.
"Is tha-that all you got?!" Barabatos mocked. Kuzuku was about to move until his body cramped up for a moment. He nearly fell to the ground but he bared with it while he smirked at him with his face contorted with pain, "Nah, I still got plenty of strength left.". They both rushed in, going back at it again with their deadly blows, neither wanting the other to seize victory.
Back At The Stands...
The eliminated forces of both teams watched the battle grow more heated with their very own eyes, awing at the tenacity of all the remaining fighters. Both Gods of Destruction sat quietly, Beerus having to be paranoid while Vermoud was confident in Jiren's strength. Though, he was shocked at how much Barabatos has developed so it was pretty much an added bonus to assure victory.
"All these battles are growing more and more chaotic by the second. At this point, they are disregarding safety and prioritizing on defeating the enemy," Zugo commented.
Piccolo watched with sweat across his face, his expression however remaining stern, "But, Jiren has yet to show any signs of slowing down. It looks like our victory won't be assured until he's defeated.".
"Meanwhile, Kuzuku is having trouble with that Barabatos guy. It is almost like he is taking everything Kuzuku is throwing at him and pushing through it all with no care in the world," Hudo noted, concerned for his Saiyan friend.
21 looked at him for a moment and turned towards Kuzuku's fight, the faint signs of his physic moving across the arena as he clashed with the universe 11 fighter, "It's up to you now, Kuzuku. Don't give up...".
As they analyzed the situation, Goku continued to fight off Jiren as best as he could, blocking a flurry of punches that seemed almost untraceable. The hero of Earth was slowly getting overwhelmed, forced to quickly teleport behind Jiren again to break out of his assault. Goku clenched his fist together, blue energy with purple electricity surrounding it. By the time Jiren turned around, Goku hurled his charged fist forward, the aura shrouding his entire arm with Ki as it made its way towards Jiren's face. At first, it almost looked like there was no way for Jiren to avoid the attack until shockingly enough, he caught Goku's charged punch in the palm of his hand and kicked the Saiyan hard in the stomach. The hero of Earth flipped several times through the air, landing on his feet while clutching his gut. He was dazed a bit, sensing the oncoming danger immediately to where he took a stance in a hurried fashion. But, strangely enough, the danger he sensed wasn't the gray warrior pursuing him to land another strike. No, what he saw was him taking a typical stance meant for strong punches. He watched his fist get shrouded with his blazing red Ki, the heat causing smoke to emit from them. Goku was left perplexed at first until he felt the danger he sensed before come again.
What happened next was pure devastation. Goku, by pure reaction, tilted his head to the side the moment Jiren threw his punch. A pure beam of red shockwave flew pass Goku's fast, grazing it barely enough to leave a scratch. But...what was truly shocking was the results that happened after it passed Goku's fast. In a fraction of a second, all of the large pillars behind the Saiyan were eradicated into nothing, not even dust remained. The sheer force of the punch extended towards the end of the stage, only diminishing into the ends of the void. Everyone was left perplexed, shocked, and even flat out baffled at the sheer power behind it. The strike even left those watching back on Earth stunned, mouths agape and their food falling to the floor with disbelief. The hero of Earth looked behind him to see a widespread of nothing, only a few pieces of shattered rubble remaining. His eyes were dilated with what could only be described as a bewildered man seeing something that he couldn't even fathom to be possible. Goku turned back towards Jiren, his body shrouded in blazing red aura while his expression was calm. Unconsciously, Goku backed away a few steps, deforming from his Complete Super Saiyan Blue State out of just pure, unrelenting fear. There was nothing else to describe it as.
"Ju...Just what in the hell was that?!" Hudo sputtered, terrified of such an attack was possible with just a type of strike. He began to hear snickers from his right, turning his attention along with the other confused warriors of universe 7. Vermoud stopped laughing, amuse at their confusion, "He's finally showing a hint of his real power. For Jiren, that was just him punching normally.". Everyone turned to stone for a second, processing what the God of Destruction just said. Did he just say...normally. It wasn't a punch with added power to it. It wasn't a special technique or what not. No...this was literally Jiren's unfathomable simple and normal punch. Hearing this would leave anyone stunned to the point where they seemed to be frozen by Medusa or something. It was just unbelievable.
Goku stood there as Jiren remained tall and stern, his eyes glaring into his. The gray warrior clenched his fist, trying to recall the feeling of the last time he's had to actually exert this much energy while looking at the Saiyan's face, "You're strong, but do you see the difference between us? My strength is what tilts all favor in this battle to universe 11, do you understand?". Goku was unable to respond, the shock paralyzing him from speaking or so much as moving. Jiren closed his eyes, clenching his opposite fist before punching in a similar fashion like he did before. Before Goku knew it, he was dealt a hard blow to the gut, causing him to gag and choke on his own saliva. The Saiyan stumbled backwards a bit, catching himself from falling while baring with the pain.
"Futile...," Jiren muttered, unleashing a barrage of punches at Goku. The Saiyan cringed before getting pummeled relentlessly with blow and blow. His body twitched around as he was blown back towards a rock. His back collided with it, cracks forming as he was forced to be held there by the force of Jiren's punches. The gray warrior narrowed his eyes, pausing his punches to channel more strength into his right fist while he watched the Saiyan slowly fall to the ground. With no remorse or hesitation, Jiren threw his punch at air, unleashing a powerful shockwave that rammed itself into Goku's gut and intangibly passed through the other side: shattering the rock behind him completely. He coughed out some blood while everyone from his team watched with horror and shock plastered over their faces. By the time the shockwave diminished, Goku was standing hunch over, his bangs hiding his expression while his stomach oozed off smoke. He tried to take a step forward, only causing himself to begin falling towards the ground. It was happening in slow motion from the Saiyan's perspective. His vision was beginning to fade as his body was starting to fail him.
"Oh no, he's done for...!" Shin commented, grabbing his head in panic.
Beerus stood up from his seat immediately and shouted, "Don't you dare fall, Son Goku!". The sound of his voice reached his ears, causing part of his consciousness to comeback to him. His eyes shot open, commanding his body to slam one foot into the ground in order to stop himself from collapsing: shocking the audience who was watching while also impressing Jiren a bit. The hero of Earth clenched both his fist at his side, forcing himself to stand tall while raising his head towards the sky with a relieving gasp, his arms now growing limp in the process. He could see the greenery above him, the light of the artificial sun shining on him with its heat, "Amazing, I...I've never felt such heavy punches before in my life...". Jiren watched as the Saiyan stood in the same position emotionless. He was curious to whether he was knocked out or if he was going to achieve that state again, leaving him to ask, "Are you getting it now, Son Goku? Do you understand what you need to do to even compete against me?".
After his question, silence took over between them. Not even an immediate response or a sign of one was present. The only thing that was happening what Goku's thoughts recapping on everything that has transpired and determining what his chances are. Jiren was about to ask again, believing there was no way he could be knocked out until he heard a small chuckle.
"Heheh...HAHAHAHAHAHAH!" Goku chuckled shortly before bursting out into a fit of laughter. Jiren was now left confused, though, his face didn't seem to show it. The Saiyan continued to laugh, only settling down after getting it out of his system. He was starting to believe he was crazy, insane even. Goku finally stopped looking towards the sky and now glanced at Jiren, a smile brightly forming on his face with blood leaking from both sides of his mouth, "You're really amazing, truly. I've never been pushed this far against the wall before to the point where I considered giving in...". Goku paused to let out the last bit of laughter's before his smile formed into a serious expression.
"You can try and goat me into giving up but, I ain't going to back down now! Not that I've come this far!" Goku claimed. As he said that, footsteps began to come behind him. Jiren looked up to see who was walking behind Goku, revealing himself to be Vegeta who had seemingly recovered just a bit as he was still clutching his arm. The Saiyan Prince stopped next to the hero of Earth that he battled long ago, now facing an adversary that able to push them both to the limits of their capabilities with such ease. Vegeta glared at the gray warrior, clutching his arm harder, "Kakarot is right. We are all well aware of your strength. Even so, I still have to defeat you in order to obtain the Super Dragon Balls! In order for our universe to survive we must...!". Jiren closed his eyes in thought, reopening them after understanding things from their perspective.
"If that's the case then struggle to fight against the inevitable...," Jiren muttered.
Goku took a step forward along with Vegeta, both breathing in the air in union. Their eyes were shut, as if they were mentally preparing for battle before they shot open, revealing fierce determination in them as they shouted together, "LET'S DO THIS, JIREN!". Simultaneously, they both powered up directly into Complete Super Saiyan Blue, their aura flaring in sync. Jiren stood unaffected by the gales generated from their Ki, their combined might currently leaving him unworried. He listened to them pushing towards higher levels of power continuously, his eyes scrunching seriously as he sensed a rise from Goku. The hero of Earth balled his fists hard, purple and red electricity mixing and dancing together to create a magenta color.
"KAIOKEN X20! RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Goku roared, his aura now shrouded in blazing static red with the magenta lightning dancing in a spiral around his feet. Beerus was folded his hands nervously, "He's unleashed everything he's got in one go! If this doesn't work then he'll...". Meanwhile Vegeta was pushing himself hard beyond his limits, his hair shining as he began to recall his promise to Cabba. The flashes and images of the face of his supposed student flickered through his mind.
"I have to keep my promise...if I don't how can I keep my pride as a Saiyan?!" Vegeta grumbled. He clenched his fist hard, his aura growing more wild and turning darker than normal, "That's why, I must find my own way to defeat you, otherwise, how can I call myself the prince of Saiyans!".
The Saiyan prince let out a screeching roar, his aura now flaring in full blast. The rubble was disintegrated around them, his strength overflowing with new light. The gales grew wilder than ever, forcing Jiren to actually take this a tad bit more seriously from the power he was sensing. Meanwhile everyone was confused as to what was happening, in fact, rather than confuse they were unsure but had some guesses. Zugo looked closely to see Vegeta become crystallized with his Ki, "Look, something's happening to Vegeta!". Whis smirked, now realizing what truly was happening.
"This boundless energy...seems as if Vegeta has finally broken out of his shell and focused on a power beyond that of a full powered Super Saiyan Blue." Whis commented.
With one final roar, Vegeta flared the last bit of energy that he had left to offer, shattering his crystallized state and unraveling his new transformation. His hair was spikier than normal while his muscle mass shown some increase. His eyes were similar to that of Ultra Instinct while his aura was now dark blue with the similar glistening particles of Ultra Instinct as well. He glared at Jiren with his new eyes, his aura ferocious and displaying a new glint that came with its strength, "This is all I have to offer, Jiren! From here on out, the real battle starts!". Jiren remained unfazed, only staring at the two contrasting aura stood before him. He watched as both of them started walking towards him with new found confidence. His body began to become shrouded in his own Ki as well, his fist clenched hard from feeling their power. His narrowed his eyes, his expression showing more seriousness than normal.
"Then, come...," He simply muttered, prompting them to charge at him...