The Three Legendary Saiyans
Chapter 45: The Promised Rematch: Raijin vs Hit.
Raijin.
Raijin glanced up upon hearing the announcement that The Tenth Universe had bene eliminated and therefore erased; Hit rushing forward with blinding speed with a jab punch at the ready while Raijin's left hand instinctively rose up and blocking a forward jab from Hit while his eyes sought out the spot where Gowasu had been sitting only to find an empty space.
"Farewell Lord Gowasu… you were a good man" Raijin muttered to himself just as he and Hit collided in mid-charge; their right forearms raised to block each other's charge though Hit gave him a look like he was watching a man mourning the death of a close friend.
"Did you know him well? This Gowasu?" Hit enquired; pausing their fight for only a moment while both he and Raijin stood against each other, theirs respective right forearms grinding against each other creating dense heavy air with their energy while trying to break each other's guard.
"No… I only met him a few times but he helped Goku and I overcome a sinister villain" Raijin spoke while Hit broke his block and attacked with a flurry of Time Skip punches; all of which Raijin matched with his palms, briefly recollecting Gowasu's assistance in providing the Potara Earrings so that he and Goku to fuse into the titan of a warrior named Raijoku in their desperate attempts to defeat the immortal and villainous Fused Zamasu.
Raijin and Hit both broke from their battle and gave a respectful bow to the stands where The Tenth's Universe's Angel sat watching them with masked interest in why fighters from two totally different Universes might be paying respect to a Kai like Gowasu.
Immediately after giving their bow; Raijin and Hit broke off from their battle and instantly resumed their battle, Hit vanishing on the spot with his infamous Time Skip Technique leaving Raijin standing still with his guard up in wait for Hit strike which could come at any nanosecond; his eyes staring at his surroundings without blinking until Hit would inevitably strike, a blaring sense of urgency signalling in his brain as his Super Saiyan 4 enhanced senses warned him of the danger but only coming too late as a cracking chop struck Raijin in the back of the neck.
Raijin began to fall to the ground; his knees giving out from under him with Hit standing still watching Raijin fall to the ground as he had done so with an uncountable number of targets and opponents only this time he'd had to hold back somewhat so not to kill a man he truly held respect for.
Hit's moment of victory came to a screeching halt as Raijin's left fist and foot suddenly jetted out and collided with Hit's chest and abdomen; sending the assassin skidding backwards several feet just as Raijin rose back up to his feet.
"That was quite the attack… if I wasn't in Super Saiyan 4 Full Power I'd be a goner" Raijin spoke with his left hand touching the spot where Hit had struck him; flinching slightly as he cracked his neck before smiling a satisfied smile.
"It appears I'd forgotten how versatile your form is… your enhanced senses, abilities and an instinct that detects danger" Hit listed; his brow furrowing at how persistent an opponent Raijin was for him and how his Time Skip was nearly powerless against an opponent who could detect the attacks.
"Now that the warm-up is done… shall we move on?" Raijin spoke while clapping his hands together; then stretching out his arms and then stretching his legs, feeling more limber, flexible and ready to fight seriously and all-out against Hit.
"Agreed" Hit cracked a small grin with how impressed he felt whenever he faced-off against Raijin; he'd never felt this way about an opponent for not even Goku had induced such an emotion in him, an emotion to engage in a battle and give everything he had against a single person where victory was not guaranteed.
Just before Raijin and Hit took a step towards each other; a blazing blue flash passed by in-between them at such speeds that Raijin could barely make out who passed them by but he knew those brilliant blue flames all too well as Goku's Super Saiyan Blue but a second individual passed by at an even greater speed that even Raijin's enhanced senses could not follow.
Raijin threw his guard back up only to rush Hit and tackle him to the ground only for Hit to grin as he executed yet another Time Skip and move throughout frozen time only to strike in exactly one second of time had passed with a strike perfectly suited to knock Raijin out or render him immobile long enough to toss him over the edge; a strange sensation feeling on his right wrist as he spotted that Raijin's bright red furred tail gripped his wrist.
"I got you with the same trick as last time" Raijin grinned; his head turning and revealing a maniacal glint in both his left eye and in the corners of his smile, leaping up and twisting around for the same heel drop that had broken Hit's wrist once before only for Hit to slip out of his grip and use Time Skip to dodge the attack only to reappear directly in front of a stunned Raijin with barely enough time to raise his left knee to block the coming attack only to take Hit's razor thin beams into Raijin's knee.
Not caring for whoever he passed by or bumped into to; Raijin performed a single backflipped by using the animalistic strength that his form gifted him with to move back by some distance only to stop with his back against the large pillar at the centre of the arena, Raijin caught a brief glimpse of Hit chasing after him before vanishing into frozen time again; kicking off the ground to his right just as Hit reappeared and driving a fist into the pillar only to flinch in pain after striking something as solid as Ultra-Reinforced Kachi Kachin.
Raijin smirked and took the chance to deal some damage to Hit's body at last; opting to crouch low and raise both fists before sending both fists flying in Hit's direction, his every punch finding and striking Hit hard and fast as each punch struck like a jet-fast piston, Hit grimaced under the barrage of punches struck at his own vital points as well as blowing parts of his trench-coat away and cracking his padded armour under the sheer force of Raijin's strikes and punches.
The floor tremored as the central pillar dropped another section; the time passing without even a single fighter noticing as the sounds of battle drowned out anything The Grand Priest dared to say and even The Twin Zeno's sat remarkably quiet with their wide eyes focussed solely on one particular battle.
Hit felt frustrated that Raijin had cornered him against the pillar; so frustrated that even his trained eyes could not find a single opening to utilise a Time Skip and escape the corner he'd been driven to, the deafening boom reverberating in his eardrums as he clenching his fingers while taking a slobber-knocker to his jaw from Raijin and performed a Time Skip to slip into frozen time where the saliva and droplets of blood knocked from his mouth hung suspended in mid-air, finally able to avoid Raijin's relentless punches only to find that even in frozen time: Raijin's eyes remained focussed on him and only him to the point that it appeared that Raijin was even watching him move through frozen time, Hit exited his frozen time with a jab ready to strike Raijin in the back and sent a razor thin beam piercing through his body only to be suddenly kicked in the head with a sudden lightning-fast heel kick.
"How did you…?" Hit muttered under his breath but audible to Raijin's enhanced senses; his left hand clutching his chest after the barrage of punches and a sudden kick while his right hand prepared for another Time Skip as well as a beam attack akin to that a Saiyan would use.
"Instinct" Raijin smiled confidently and relaxed his guard only to realise how much of a fatal mistake that was against Hit as a second later as Hit vanished on the spot onto to reappear out of another Time Skip attack and placed him head-on with an energy blast; kicking off the ground and firing a volley of blasts that quickly whipping up a dust cloud leading for Raijin to stop after realising he'd given Hit the perfect cover for a Time Skip attack which came in the form of two point-blank beam attacks.
Raijin flinched after taking a serious hit from Hit's Time Skip Beam Attacks; the clothing around his left knee and down to his foot had been completely blown away by the blast and leaving a considerable burn on his shin that stood out even against the bright red fur coating his body, backflipping away to check his wound only to notice that Hit was also backing away with a similar strike to his left bicep that was now exposed through a torn section of his coat sleeve; Raijin hadn't realised it but when Hit was appeared with his point-blank attack he'd somehow struck back without even thinking about attack as if he'd attacked Hit purely on instinct alone.
Raijin panted for breath following his instinctive attack; he could feel his energy and stamina running low but it was clear that Hit felt the same way as he too was breathing noticeably heavier following their battle, Raijin and Hit both crouched down raring for another bout when a sudden white and blue orb burst into life over their heads.
"What is that?" Hit spoke with wide eyes upon setting his sights on the Spirit Bomb once it had grown to the size of one third of the massive arena, its blue glow lighting up the musky clouds of The Null Realm.
Raijin turned his head only slightly so not to let his guard down too much against an opponent like Hit only to find that The Spirit Bomb was growing at an extraordinary rate; much faster that it did during the last two times he'd witnessed the technique being used on Namek against Frieza where he'd nearly been killed alongside Goku by not only Frieza's on hand but by The Spirit Bomb too and on The Supreme Kai's World though the second time he'd seen the incredible skill he had died alongside Kid Buu within the bomb's very core.
"Sorry Goku… can't help you right now but I'm sure you'd understand" Raijin muttered to himself while knowing that The Spirit Bomb required the energy of others in order to gain power, size and strength; but Raijin needed every drop of energy he had just to challenge let alone defeat an opponent like Hit when he was at full strength.
Raijin saw a moment of opponent and lunged forward using Hit momentary lapse of focus only to land a single elbow thrust into Hit's guarding left forearm; the strike sent shudders through Hit's entire body as that strike seemed more fierce all of a sudden like Raijin was more motivated to win then before, a sentiment that Hit could and would meet with equal determination and strength.
The air reverberated with the impact of fist against fist; knee against knee and head against head, Raijin and Hit continued to fight almost dancing around each other with wide smiles on theirs faces while the light of The Spirit Bomb illuminated the area around them; Raijin twisted on the spot in a full 360 degree turn with his right leg raised and executing a heel drop that Hit narrowly dodged with a split second Time Skip leading Raijin's heel to crash down into the floor and tear up the tile on impact.
The air shimmered with power as The Spirit Bomb began its descent upon whoever Goku's opponent could be though Raijin unconsciously pondered who possibly would allow Goku the time necessary for gathering energy and creating a Spirit Bomb was nearly miraculous; Raijin felt a subconscious smile light up his face as The Spirit Bomb began its descent upon its target, the loud humming of the Bomb' movements and the illuminating glow causing many battles to come to a halt.
"That is incredible… I assume this is Goku's Trump Card?" Hit guessed; lowering his fists only slightly as he watched The Spirit Bomb, the light of the entity reflected in his eyes only briefly as Hit flinched after Raijin struck him with a surprise punch to the abdomen followed by a ki blast that damaged Hit's armour even further.
"As you yourself said… don't get distracted" Raijin spoke though a confident smirk; ducking under Hit's right arm as he swung a backhand towards Raijin's head though his full strength was not in the attempted strike after taking such a heavy and swift blow to the gut.
Raijin and Hit separated with a backstep and rushed back towards each other with their arms outstretched; each going to attack the other with a beam attack when the rippling blue light of The Spirit Bomb faltered and glowed more fiercely, The Spirit Bomb suddenly began moving back towards Goku of whom was standing atop a spire of Kachi Kachin.
"Any idea who Goku's fighting?" Raijin lowered his fists as his body reverted to his base form; hissing red mist leaked off his body until every hair of bright red fur and black wild hair vanished in an instant, finally taking a moment to examine his body and finding that his white gi was bloodied, dirty, sweaty, torn and tattered around his legs having his knees and shins exposed while the cloth around his left shoulder was barely hanging on by tiny threads.
"I caught a glimpse when Goku passed by us earlier… he's fighting Jiren" Hit commented; his demeanour barely flinching even with all the cuts, bruises and internal damage Raijin may or may not have caused.
Raijin nearly did a doubletake in shock although it was completely within Goku's character and personality to make a beeline for the strongest fighter straight away though Raijin bit down on his bottom lip in frustration as he also wanted a chance to take on Jiren one-on-one; his brow furrowing that Goku had beaten him to the punch but he would have been irritated if Vegeta had gotten there first too.
They both observed at a blue and red flame burst into life atop the spire where Goku stood; the push of The Spirit Bomb's monumental force visibly pushing Goku into the air while he clearly was pushing all of his energy and strength into pushing the bomb back towards Jiren's location.
The air grew heavy as The Spirit Bomb was pushed back towards Goku's position for the second time; battles around the entire arena drew to a halt in order to bear witness to the spectacle of the clash between Goku and Jiren, Raijin himself stared in wonder as the very shape of The Spirit Bomb wavered and shimmered as if breaking down or getting ready to explode at any moment.
"Oh shit… get down Hit!" Raijin shouted immediately after realising what was going to happen; turning on his heels and tackling an awestruck Hit to the ground moments before The Spirit Bomb vanished on the spot only to be followed by a blinding white flash that forced every single fighter to cover their eyes for fear of being blinded and the ear-splitting cracking sounds of The Arena being torn asunder under the force of the tremendous earthshattering explosion.
Next Chapter: Titanic Clash: Goku vs Jiren.