The Three Legendary Saiyans.
Chapter 44: The Tenth Universes Fate
The Arena.
The sounds of battle kept roaring over the voices of anyone who even dared to speak while sat in the observation seats; explosions and attack names being shouted deafened all other sounds and echoes, though the God of Destruction and Supreme Kai of The Tenth Universe looked down into the arena with sad expressions as their fighters were being eliminated one after another.
A petite butterfly-winged girl had been cracked across the face with a slap by Roasie that sent her catapulting over the edge for trying to get in on her fight with Android 18 by flying over and attempting a sneak attack of slapping Roasie in the back of the head only to be met with a spinning roundhouse electrically-charged kick.
A tall red-scaled insectoid in yellow plated bodysuit got hurled off the side of the arena by a trio of robots each looking like a pair of legs, a pair of arms and a large cybernetic eyeball.
A muscular brawler with red skin, a black outfit and gold bracers and gold boots fell from the edge after taking a heavy punch from Toppo, Toppo himself merely shrugging off dusk from his uniform after dealing with a weak opponent.
A trio consisting of a green parrot, a red-skinned and yellow shorts-wearing boxer and a jeans and white tank-top brawler all squared off against Dyspo only to be swiftly knocked over the edge by Dyspo's blinding speed and ferocious kicks.
Lastly a fair-looking male in while skin-tight dancers outfit was quickly eliminated by Toppo; his huge hands grabbed the dancer in mid-performance and merely tossing the dancer over the edge without any trouble.
The Grand Priest gave a swift glance over the total of nine members of Team Universe Ten currently sitting in the spectator seats; their accompanying God of Destruction: a large pink elephant in the same robes as any of the other Gods only he stood as the largest of the divine god gathered though he looked disappointed in his team and appeared to be simply awaiting his fate, while Gowasu remained stoic and watched as their last participant bravely squared off against Gohan.
Frieza gave a laugh behind his left hand; smirking devilishly while doing a count of The Tenth Universe's Team and counting that only one remained active in The Arena, "Oh my… The Tenth is surely doomed; I'm going to enjoy this little spectacle".
Just as Frieza spoke a new opponent appeared before him; a tall male clad in a full white bodysuit with matching boots and gloves along with a full helmet that covered his face entirely, the very image of this fighter reminded Frieza of Raijin in how he too dressed all in white; a thought that passed his mind with a pang of irritation in his mind.
The white-clad man gave a salute before striking a device on his back as the coloured-stripes on his uniform shifted in a rainbow of colour before switching to bright yellow and a floresant S became emblazoned on his chest, "Fearsome foe! You shall have the honor of facing me: Catopesra! Behold my Speed Mode where I run at the speed of sound! Catch me if you can… for if you can we shall do battle!".
Frieza merely watched at the boastful fighter ran away at a speed that did little but leave a pitifully small cloud of dust in his wake; opting to ignore that nonsensical farce in favour of witnessing what was currently transpiring.
Gohan.
The duo of Gohan and Piccolo listened in on the announcement; a feeling of pity for The Tenth Universe hanging over Gohan's head before Piccolo's voice broke him out from his stupor.
"Keep your wits about you Gohan! Remember that this is the Universe that brought the plight of Black and Zamasu upon our friends!" Piccolo spoke with a voice of dominance and resolve; a will unwilling to bend in the face of defeat.
"But is it fair to judge an entire Universe on the actions of a single man?" Gohan guessed; turning his eyes away from the defeated faces of the nine fighters sitting in the stands.
"That is not my place to judge… that is the will of the divine" Piccolo spoke slowly; believing that it was not his right to judge another Universe though Zamasu had done a lot of damage to Universe Seven and its Timeline.
But before Gohan could respond with an answer; a flash of blinding light as multiple coloured figures rushed him; each figure tackling Gohan in the torso though only one felt solid as he and Piccolo were forced apart by this fighter.
At that moment Gohan remembered what Piccolo had said to him about restraining his powers and becoming too cocky and arrogant with his Ultimate strength gifted upon him by The Elder Kai; biting down and gritting his teeth, clenching his fists as a ferocious white flame burst out from Gohan's body that forced himself and his attacker into separate positions; Gohan's powers easily reaching a higher level than his Super Saiyan 2: Rage ever could.
The warrior once Gohan could get a good look at him and tall and slim despite his gladiator themed apparel; a small to mid-size chest plate, bracers along with baggy combat pants and boots; his green skin showed a great deal of muscle tone for his thin frame but his long white hair showed he was a man of much experience.
"Warrior of The Seventh… I ask your name as a sign of respect between warriors; will you grant me this honour?" the gladiator spoke; giving a curt bow of his head and showing that he was a respectful warrior though the direness of his situation showed in his eyes, revealing his emotions for his defeated team and his Universe of the brink of Erasure.
"I am the Champion of Justice for all of The People of Earth! The Great Saiyaman!" Gohan announced; throwing away the white bandana and letting his black hair be brushed by the soft winds for dramatic effect while he bent both knees and brought his arms over and formed an V shape over his head with both hands.
Though Gohan couldn't see Piccolo; Piccolo slammed his face into his palms in embarrassment for having taught and trained Gohan as a child only for him to turn out like this as an adult.
The gladiator stood stunned by Gohan's flamboyant display and announcing himself under a pseudonym; a prideful smile crossing his face as he briefly pushed the impending fate of his own Universe to the back of his mind in order to fight Gohan with his full strength, "I am Obni of the Tenth Universe; it is an honour to do battle with you… Son Gohan".
Gohan wasn't sure how Obni knew his real name but guessed he'd likely overheard Piccolo speak his name but that didn't matter as Obni and kicked off the floor and split into several visually distinct clones of himself each cloaked in a different aura, the five clones leapt towards Gohan from multiple angles each with a random of flames licking off their forms, the two Obni's coming towards Gohan's left radiated red and blue flames, while the two on Gohan's right radiated violet and green flames, and the fifth charging Gohan from the front with an aura of orange flames.
"I've been waiting for a warrior like you!" Obni shouted; his voice echoing amongst the five multicoloured copies, each one of the five winding up their right arms for a thrusting punch as Gohan crouched low and catapulted himself off the floor with a thrust punch of his own only to pass right through the five Obni's like they weren't even there.
The five Obni's touched down on the floor with tier collective left foot only to turn around and suddenly condense down back into the original Obni as his fist met Gohan's cheek with enough force to take the Half-Saiyan off his balance and crumble into the floor.
Gohan felt the stinging pain of a fist meeting his face for the first time in years; the sensation re-awakening the battle instincts he thought he'd lost after Buu's defeat that felt like a rush of adrenaline, rising back up with a purple bruise on his face just in time to witness Obni again split into five identical copies only each radiating a different coloured aura.
Obni wasted no time in rushing Gohan again; the five copies moving as one being as each made the same motion as the last without even a second of hesitation, the fie Obni's reaching Gohan and delivering a fierce upwards kick to Gohan's guarding arms only to break through and kick Gohan hard in the chin sending him into the air.
Gohan had watched the five clones closely and smiled; erupting with white flames that halted his ascent into the air and dropping back to the floor only to instantly go on the offensive and attack Obni with an elbow rush striking him in the abdomen.
Obni coughed up a blob of saliva upon taking the attack; confusion entering his mind as to how Gohan attacked so quickly only to realise that Gohan allowed him to attack him and launch a surprise.
"I figured it out… you spread your internal energy around yourself to create clones while you move around the clones making your movements difficult to track; that's why the aura is differing between different colours" Gohan explained; halting his attack so he could explain his deduction more clearly.
"How? How did you figure it out?" Obni stuttered; having never come across a fighter who figured out his Afterimage Technique to quickly and understood it so clearly but he felt impressed with Gohan's intellectual capabilities.
"Its simple; using my brain is what I'm best at" Gohan exclaimed with a smirk; the two fighters crouching low with a new respect for each other, the pair ready for the continuation of their battle.
Obni launched off the floor with his five clones spreading out; each with the same confident and happy smile on their faces and when Obni spoke it sounded like five voices at once, "Just because you figured it out doesn't mean you can defeat me! I fight for something more important than my team!".
Gohan wondered what Obni meant but the time for thinking was over; raising his guard just as the five fists came raining down upon his head, his well-trained eyes located one fist that wasn't draped in a coloured aura; reaching out and grabbing a hold of Obni's real arm and pulling him out of the clones with an over-the-shoulder throw, following up by slamming his opponent into the hard and damaged floor.
Obni now knew that his Afterimage Technique was useless against Gohan; rising to his feet with a sense that Gohan might be fighting for the same reasons he was, after all it was common for fighters to learn more about each other by exchanging fists.
Gohan and Obni charged at each other only to exchange a flurry of punches; each one of their fists finding a mark within the reaches of either one's face, jawline or torso, Obni's chest plate cracking under the strength of Gohan's fist while Gohan's green tunic tore under the swinging force of Obni's fist, separating into an exchange of ki blasts that when struck burnt holes in Gohan's black bodysuit while Obni only suffered burns to his flesh when struck.
The two fighters gradually forgetting their teams and becoming so absorbed in their battle that Gohan and Obni both smiled cockily at each other; no longer caring about guarding or dodging as each punch and blast found its mark.
Piccolo calmly watched Gohan and Obni's fight from atop a floor fragment; the lack of Gohan dodging bothered him but not as much as the otherworldly strength that was being exchanged in two places, one was easily guessed at being Goku and Jiren, while the other and far more heated was possibly Raijin and Hit.
Gohan felt the ground shudder under his feet while The Spirit Bomb overhead halted its descent and suddenly began to move towards Goku's position; his voice could be heard shouting and crying out in defiance as a gleaming blue light radiated in the murky skies.
Gohan took his father's voice as a sign to keep fighting regardless of the consequences; throwing caution to the wind and drawing on every drop of power he held; Gohan brought his hands back only to begin charging his own Kamehameha, Obni spotting Gohan's posture and the light of the beam attack within the young man's hands; wordlessly bending his knees to lower his centre of gravity and charging his own beam attack in the centre of his chest where a jewel had been set within his chest plate.
Gohan gave a smirk as the struggle to use The Spirit Bomb was drawing in a lot of attention as the sound of most battles had subsided in order to bear witness to the momentous battle but Gohan could not allow himself to be distracted in what would be the final clash of his match with Obni.
Gohan and Obni both let out a scream as they fired their beams; a flash of blue and orange lit up the area as the two beams met though the struggle would not last as Obni already felt his energy burning out after using his Afterimage Technique one-too-many times, his feet skidding backwards and only empty space towards the edge lay behind him; closing his eyes and thinking of those dear to him as his beam faded away but not noticing as a small object fell from his pockets, Gohan's Kamehameha Wave took Obni off his feet and flung over the edge and into elimination with the rest of his team.
A cold air passed by Gohan's form as he stared at the where Obni had fallen from The Arena's Edge; the cold air sending a remorseful shiver down his spine as he noticed a glinting silver object laying on a flat stone floor, hesitating for only a moment before picking up the small locket and carefully opening it up to a photograph that inflicted a pain like no other: guilt.
Gohan glanced down at the locket; gazing upon a picture of Obni and his family, a beautiful wife and daughter smiling happily alongside Obni who beamed with pride in his family, a single tear beaded under Gohan's eye as such a marvellous warrior had a family almost identical to his own; a feeling of guilt spread through his heart as he watched the locket vanish from the palm of his hand upon being erased leaving not even a shadow of where the locket lay in his hand.
Observation Stands.
The Grand Priest turned his cold emotionless eyes over Team Universe Ten; the lights on The Twin Zeno's Godpad's having turned to darkness indicating that all ten members of the team have been eliminated, The Twin Zeno's both raised their hands as a radiant silvery light emitted from their tiny hands.
Gowasu remained as calm as he ever did; his hands joined and a calm expression on his face alongside his God of Destruction: Rumsshi, his mind only thinking of his mistakes made with Zamasu and how he'd been forced to depend of assistance from The Seventh Universe to correct his wayward apprentice.
"So this is my judgement for my follies… I accept my fate" Gowasu opened his eyes very briefly to find Goku, Vegeta and Raijin down in the arena, each facing a different opponent; Goku stared down against Jiren, Raijin and Hit fighting each other in a blazing lightshow of a fight and 18 stood across from Ribrianne and Roasie alongside 17.
"I would have liked to bear witness to their battles more since they assisted us greatly with the Zamasu matter… a pity I cannot" Rumsshi commented slowly in a drab tone; sitting beside Gowasu but not directly speaking to his accompanying Supreme Kai except for giving him a dirty look with clear knowledge of the entire Zamasu affair.
Gowasu gave a soft smile as his body became enveloped in a bright white light before vanishing into nothingness along with Rumsshi and the entire Tenth Universe Team leaving only empty seats and a few teardrops on the floor.
Next Chapter: The Promised Rematch: Raijin vs Hit.