The Three Legendary Saiyans
Chapter 35: Super Saiyan 4 vs Super Saiyan Blue
The echo created by Raijin's sudden punch to Goku's face forced a shockwave to dispel all clouds in their area; the two Saiyans of whom closely regarded the other as equals and rivals but those feelings drove them down two different paths to where they currently stood in their respective powers.
"Let's not fight here… perhaps somewhere isolated" Raijin posed his request; looking down at the populated areas miles down below their feet while they floated in the skies above.
"Yeah; I know just the place" Goku smirked a battle-ready smile; offering his left hand while his right hand rose up in he gesture for Instant Transmission.
Raijin only took Goku's hand as the pair teleported away from the empty skies and into an entirely different environment, an empty stadium; filled with rows and rows of seats all gathered around an open-air squared ring: The Arena for The World Martial Arts Tournament.
"Really? You chose this place" Raijin snickered under his breath; shooting Goku with a confident smile.
"Yeah, we should have fought here years ago but never did; shall we say… first one to fall out the ring?" Goku challenged; his fists clenching as a blue radiance covered his entire body and transforming directly into a Super Saiyan Blue.
"Agreed Raijin countered; agreeing to Goku's challenge by crouching low as his body emitted a cloak of energy that masked his body until he re-emerged clad in the bright red fur and ringed eyes of his Super Saiyan 4 Form.
A soft breeze passed through the deserted arena; only the slight movements of Goku's blue hair and Raijin's wildly long black hair moved in the breeze before the two flew at each other from opposite sides of the ring, a shockwave blasted through the stands as Raijin and Goku met with a clashing cross-arm block against each other.
As Raijin and Goku locked eyes; the two separated only to fly at each other a second time, their respective right fists colliding and sending more echoing waves of wind throughout the empty arena with each repeated clash of fists.
Raijin flung himself upwards into the air with a crouched leap; swiping at Goku with his tail which Goku only batted away with a swift backhand, raising his arms up again to block Raijin's descending dropkick and parrying the attack before countering with a flurry of punches.
The flurry of punches struck Raijin's stomach only for him to backflip into some distance before charging for Goku again; heading in a direct straight path though Goku easily read the attack and readied a simple chop aimed for Raijin's neck only for Raijin to suddenly zigzag and slam a double-backhand to the underside of Goku's ribs.
Goku flinched under the sudden use of Raijin's animalistic fighting techniques; watching as Raijin darted around from one corner of the ring to another with inhuman speeds, Raijin kept smiling while zipping around the four corners of the ring; watching Goku's defence and seeking out an opening to strike at though Goku's own eyes were constantly darting around and following his movements.
Raijin grit his teeth as Goku was surprisingly able to follow his animal-like movements while he darted from each of the four corners of the ring; opting to veer off-course and reverse his movements only to spot Goku still watching him out the corners of his eyes, coming to a halt and rushing towards Goku's back only to vanish from Goku's corner-eyed sight and reappear from high-speed movement in front of Goku with his fists raised to attack with a punch/blast combo.
"Why aren't you fighting the same away you did against Zamasu?" Goku asked; blocking and deflecting the punch/blast combo from Raijin and countering with a solid punch to Raijin's ribs.
"You want me when I'm serious?!" Raijin asked while flinching from the blow to his ribs; twisting his body around after the blow and attacking with a swift kick to Goku's head.
"You know I do!" Goku answered; barely managing to block the kick with his free forearm.
"FINE!" Raijin shouted back; his tail whipping around and seizing Goku's right wrist, holding him in place while Goku suffered a barrage of punches to his own ribs and finishing with one of Raijin's roundhouse kicks to the gut before kicked off into a backflip just as the crimson flames of God Ki erupted off of Raijin's body.
Goku's eyes widened as Raijin circled the ring again only with much greater speed that he could barely follow now; turning his head back and forth only to catch a mere glimpse of Raijin rushing towards him and attacking with a lightning-fast punch to the chest followed by a kick to the lower back.
Goku felt his knees almost give out from under him before muttering a single word, "Kaio-Ken" Goku's body flashed red as his blue aura became tinted with fierce red flames; a slight feeling of pain coursed up his muscles at using a 10X Kaio-Ken during this particular fight but Raijin had forced him into using the technique.
"Yes! Yes! This is the you I want to fight!" Raijin roared with an expression of sheer excitement; launching into flight in pursuit of the blue and red comet that was Goku soaring high above the surface of the ring.
Goku stared down as Raijin rushed after him, an excited smile lighting up his face at the prospect of going all-out against someone he'd been desiring a fight with for ages, quickly bringing his arms up just in time as Raijin slammed into his guarded arms with a fiercely solid double punch and an elbow thrust; waiting until Raijin's elbow struck his guarded arms Goku flung his arms open and grasped at Raijin's folded arm and countering with a powerful chop right down onto top of Raijin's left shoulder.
Raijin flinched under the well-timed counter; flinching again ag Goku delivered a second chop to his right shoulder before releasing his grip on his arm, Raijin fell down a few feet before stretching out his limbs and halting his descent just as Goku brought his hands back for a Kamehameha; Raijin grit his teeth at the sight before crossing his hands for his Hyper Masenko.
A blaze of blue and gold erupted out from the open-air arena as the two beams fired and immediately initiated a beam-struggle; Raijin and Goku both smiling at each other from either side of their beams, electricity crackled and raked across the two beams as neither was willing to back down nor allow the other to overpower the opponent.
Raijin stared up the length of the struggling beams at a confident-smiling Goku until Goku suddenly vanished and a sudden strike to Raijin's lower back forced the beam-struggle to end; twisting his whole body around in a axe kick down on where Goku should have been only to find he was gone and another strike to his lower back ensued.
"Damn… Instant Transmission" Raijin noted; a urge of warning signs surged through the back of his brain, ducking down on instinct just as Goku threw a kick that passed over Raijin's lowered head; reaching up and grabbing Goku by his left leg and hurling Goku down into the ring, Goku landed back in the ring on one knee after the throw; Raijin dropping down to the tiled floor of the ring on the opposite side from Goku.
"You have control of your God Ki now! show me your God Form! Your Super Saiyan Blue!" Goku bellowed with a clenched fist to prove his demand; an enthusiastic smile lighting up his face when making his demand.
"I don't have those forms; I chose my own path that is separate from that you and Vegeta chose!" Raijin spoke slowly but loud enough for Goku to hear him on the other side of the ring; his ringed eyes' piercing stare aiming solely at Goku.
Goku stared in silence; all the while his two-tone blue and red flames burning around his body gave light to the empty stadium, the harsh blue and red radiance lighting up the empty stands with a dazzling blaze of light.
"I don't use the God Forms that you two use because I want to beat you Goku and Vegeta with a power that is entirely my own!" Raijin roared his resolve to fight with his own power instead of following Goku or Vegeta down theirs like he'd been doing for years; the blazing crimson flames blinking and flaring into a new brighter gold for the briefest of moments just as Raijin kicked off the tiled floors in a direct path for Goku; his fists raised to punch Goku squarely in the chest.
Goku felt a sensation of respect after hearing Raijin speak his true feelings about why he chose his Super Saiyan 4 powers instead of becoming a God; lowering his fists and allowing Raijin to strike hard against his chest, the blow winded Goku and blew him backwards with so much force that the impact flung him from the ring and crashing into the spectator seats.
"I win Goku" Raijin smiled victoriously through his sweaty and matted black hair; the crimson flames of his God Ki still burning around his body until he powered down and reverted to his normal form.
"Yeah; you did" Goku smiled widely in happiness for his friend and rival; powering himself down and rising back to his feet though shaking a little after such a heated battle.
"So… do I get to be on your team for this Multi-Universe Tournament that Whis mentioned?" Raijin asked with a hopeful look in his eyes.
"What do you mean? I was going to put you on the team from the start, you're just so strong that I couldn't pass you up" Goku spoke with clear honesty; leaving Raijin a little dumbfounded.
"Wait.. you were? I swear I'm going to kill Whis" Raijin spluttered; looking away as if he could already hear Whis giggling to himself.
"Why? What did he say to you?" Goku brought his hands up behind his head as he usually did when relaxing.
"Its nothing really… who else are you recruiting?" Raijin shrugged it off; silently swearing to himself to someday get his own back on Whis.
"Well I'm thinking of asking 17 to join up since we need a total of ten; from what I hear he's working in some nature-place, and Piccolo said he's pretty strong after having fought the guy himself" Goku spoke quickly; his eagerness to form his team evident in his beaming expression.
"17? He's alive?" Raijin stuttered; his eyes widening in shock at the news.
"Yeah; Shenron brought him back along with everyone else after Cell's defeat" Goku recounted having only been listening in on that particular wish thanks to King Kai at the time.
"Of course he was… so who else is on this team?" Raijin rolled his eyes; having forgotten about that particular wish.
"Well there You and Me, Vegeta, Gohan, Piccolo and Master Roshi so far" Goku counted the confirmed members on his fingers; counting six so far.
"And Krillin and 18 make a total of eight not including 17… who's the tenth?" Raijin also did a count on his hands; blinking twice at the lack of a total number of ten.
"Don't know yet… might ask Buu" Goku suggested; though clearly not fully convinced.
"I'm not so sure about Buu" Raijin thought about the idea of having Buu on the team; these past few years had made Buu placid and leading a peaceful non-violent life.
"Me neither… but its him or Yamcha or Tien" Goku thought on the matter; naming his remaining options.
"Nobody else?" Raijin asked; unsure if Tien or Yamcha would be able to stand up to foes from other Universes and their unknown powers, even with their mastery of Kaio-Ken as well as their own signature techniques.
"Well there is one but I'm not too sure on him either…" Goku brought down his arms only to cross them as he thought of the last option.
"Who?" Raijin asked; narrowing his eyes in a questioning manner.
Goku rolled his eyes away from Raijin; unsure of whether or not to reveal who he had in mind as he knew too well that neither Raijin nor anybody else would neither condone nor agree with the recruitment of this particular individual.