The Three Legendary Saiyans
Chapter 52: Black Hole.
Gohan.
"Honoured warrior; I am Zarbuto" The elderly fighter gave a brief nod to Gohan when speaking; his white and red bodysuit and cape causing Gohan to smirk and nod back.
"I am Rabanra" spoke the orange skinned male with the jewel set in his head; his arms crossed as he gazed down at Gohan, his pupil-less eyes matching the confident grin on his face.
"And I am Zirloin; The Mr Muscle of Universe 2" spoke the tallest of the three; his confident smile on his face as he flexed his impressive body white dressed in his toga and armour, leaving Gohan with a vague memory of a muscular brute he'd met on Namek.
"A pleasure to meet you all in battle!" Gohan declared; crouching low and raising his arms for battle before kicking off the floor and rushing Zabuto first only for Rabanra and Zirloin to shield the older fighter and take Gohan's thrusting fist, Zirloin grabbed a hold of Gohan's arms with both his large hands; grinning as he held Gohan down as Rabanra and Zarbuto began beating the young Saiyan with a flurry on punches and knees to Gohan's back and unprotected ribs.
A sudden energy blast took the armour-wearing Zirloin off his feet before landing any member of the trio could deliver a finishing blow against a pummelled Gohan; Gohan glancing over his shoulder with relief upon spotting the form of his father: Goku, wasting no time on the arrival of his father; Gohan thrust his right leg backwards and landing a superkick against Rabanra leaving him winded while Goku quickly directed the same leg around to Zarbuto and scythe kicking the elder fighter thusly breaking his cross-arm block only for Gohan to leap in and push the trio backwards with an air wave.
"How are you feeling? I thought you were recovering" Gohan asked; wincing after taking so many strikes though he'd only taken some nasty bruises and thankfully no broken ribs.
"I was; though I still hurt all over" Goku answered; flexing his shoulders but flinching from the dull aches and pains that accompanied the extreme speeds he'd reached in the fight against Jiren.
Before Gohan could even answer; the trio of fighters converged of the duo with the strength of their numbers and fired a trio of beams at the duo; each strangely coloured pink, blue and yellow, Gohan thrust his hands up merely nanoseconds before the beams struck only to hit a makeshift barrier of Gohan's making; though nowhere near as powerful as 17's Omni-Barrier but it did the job.
Goku burst through the barrier leaving a trail of shattered shards around his body before striking Zirloin and Zarbuto both in their faces with a absurdly fast one-two punch and knocking the duo away only for Rabanra to strike Goku in the back with a double-hand sledgehammer fist.
The double super-kick from Goku and Gohan never found any targets as the trio of warriors from Universe 2 backed away only to leap to some higher ground; their energies noticeably elevating in preparation for their next assault.
"We're done fighting you on your terms… our true strength now rears its head" the three warriors spoke in union; each looking bruised but nowhere near defeated, Goku and Gohan knew they should attack before the trio got stronger but their Saiyan natures compelled them to face stronger opponents and merely stood in wait.
Zirloin raised his hands over his head as he chanted; a familiar flurry of neon pink hearts covering his entire bulky body forming the very same pink onesie-dress that Ribrianne had worn.
With a matching pose to Zirloin; Zarbuto became enveloped within a flurry of bright yellow hearts forming into the same visor, yellow gi and leggings that Roasie had worn post-transformation before him.
With his arms tensed and his every muscle tightening; Rabanra roared as the flurry of blue hearts covered his body and becoming Kakusna's blue beast-like outfit though the claws seemed to suit him a lot more than they did for Kakusna.
Gohan and Goku both crouched low; prepared to counter whatever technique the newly transformed trio of male warriors could use against them now with the same powers as The Maidens.
"Love Trinity Attack! Pretty Black Hole!" roared the combined voices of Zirloin, Rabanra and Zarbuto, the three newly-transformed men standing with their legs apart and their hands joined together to make a heart shape as a dark energy formed at their hands, the energy darkening as a black heart formed in the hands of each of the three warriors.
The three black hearts converged into a single cloud consisting of thousands if not millions of miniature black hearts that surrounded Goku and Gohan; forming a gigantic heart-shaped cloud around the pair, Goku glanced around himself before trying to raise his right hand to nudge a heart out from his face but noticed that his arms and legs felt much heavier all of a sudden; the gravity inside of the cloud was greatly stronger than any gravity training he'd handled in his many years, though Gohan already dropped to his knees due to the intense gravity.
"Inside this cloud of dark love you'll succumb to the weight of the defeated warriors pain and grief! Fall to your knees and wait for your inevitable loss!" Zarbuto explained; a smile curling behind his moustache.
"In due time the floor that you yourself ruined will break and spell your inevitable doom!" Rabanra shouted with glee; making no effort to hide his pleasure in trapped the Saiyans.
"Such is the terror of The Pretty Black Hole!" Zirloin spoke last; his gruff expression unchanged though the corners of his mouth twitched with a suppressed smile he was trying to save for their victory against Goku and Gohan.
Gohan bit down on his lip so hard that he broke the skin and drew blood; he'd allowed such a dangerous technique to be used against him when he could have easily dodged or intercepted the attack but as Piccolo had told him that his Half-Saiyan biology would cloud his judgement and make him arrogant and reckless, and that had indeed come to pass but Gohan also noticed that Goku stood upright though he too was sweating under the gravity's weight but he kept smiling.
"How are you smiling?" Gohan barked; he'd always been stunned by how his father could remain so steadfast and determined in the most impossible of situations.
"Don't you get it Gohan? I'm smiling because I'm excited! This Tournament is a dream come true! I get to fight all these amazing opponents and witness amazing techniques that I've never seen or heard of before!" Goku spoke with a smile
Gohan couldn't help but smile upon hearing and witnessing his father's enthusiasm; it was after all his nature to seek out new opponents to test himself again, there had been King Piccolo, Vegeta, Captain Ginyu, Frieza, Cell, Buu and even Raijin, and Gohan would be lying to himself if he wasn't feeling a touch of the same senses and sensations of excitement; it had been years since he'd felt so excited for a battle and this was the perfect time to flex his muscles.
"I'm with you father" Gohan spoke; rising back to his feet though his legs shaking due to the heavy gravity and the floor cracking under his very feet.
"We fight this one together… just like we did again Cell" Goku replied with a proud smile; patting his son on the back before standing shoulder-to-shoulder with his son in a battle where they had very little time to spare.
Observation Stands.
"I don't believe it; a technique that even our Maiden Trio couldn't master in the limited time they had to prepare! That is fantastic! We can eliminate that worrisome Son Goku and his son in one fell swoop!" shouted The Second Universe's Supreme Kai; a stout man with a thick beard and a bald head; his hands fist-pumping in the excitement of the moment.
"Indeed my faithful Supreme Kai… this is a joyous moment and one that I shall remember with the fondest love" spoke the Second Universe's God of Destruction; a woman dressed in an ancient Egyptian manner named Heles, her wide smile beamed with pride in the trio of male warriors she'd previously disliked due to her love for The Three Maidens.
Beerus, Whis and Shin all watched quietly; their silent faith in Goku and Gohan's abilities honed from countless battles and struggles would surely come through before the gravity destroyed the father and son's footing.
Gohan and Goku.
"Father… if we keep charging up much longer… the floor will" Gohan spoke in a muttered voice while concentrating his energy; the strain of the gravity against body and the cracking floor already beginning to give way for Gohan could already catch glimpses of the murky cloudy abyss under the arena just waiting to claim them both as eliminated participants.
"I know son…" Goku muttered while also concentrating his remaining energies; his every muscle still aching from his usage of Ultra Instinct but his energies having recovered enough for him to fight back, his muscles tensing as sweat beaded all over his bruised and scuffed flesh until blue flames burst into light around his body upon making the transformation to Super Saiyan Blue only for the red flames of Kaio-Ken to be added thusly increasing his strength even more.
Gohan watched his father from his half-closed eyes; grinning for he thought his father might have the right idea, copying his father's every motion and following the tensing on his muscles; Gohan's Ultimate Power returned with a blazing white aura.
"Do you really think a measly little power-up will overcome the Pretty Black Hole?" Rabanra barked; his voice rich in his confidence in their victory.
"These Saiyans from The Seventh truly are gluttons for punishment" Zirloin spoke; finally allowing himself to smile as he heard the floor cracking and breaking under the weight of Pretty Black Hole's gravity.
"It won't be long now… just a few more seconds and we'll have done away with these loveless warriors" Zarbuto spoke lowly; his transformation having taken a lot of his energy and maintaining the Pretty Black Hole at his great age was wearing him out.
Goku and Gohan glanced to each other; their powers and energies coursing in their every cell and vein thus filling them with the strength to fight through the intense gravity that they desperately needed, a wordless understanding passing between the father and son duo as both bent their knees and pulled their hands back in a mirror motion for their signature attack and one they had not used since Gohan was but a teenager facing down Super Perfect Cell in a battle for the Earth.
"Kamehameha!" screamed Goku and Gohan both; the blaze of the Father/Son Kamehameha burning away the entirety of Gohan's gloves when generating his beam, both beams struggling to flow through the intense gravity induced by the heavy cloud of dark hearts but the twin beams wove through until breaking through to only find their intended targets.
The twin brilliant blue beams burst forth through the millions of dark hearts; blasting the trio of warriors off their feet and out of the arena's boundaries when the beams made contact, scraps of pink, blue and yellow cloth flew through the air as Goku and Gohan leapt from the heart-shaped crater moments before the floor crumbled into an open pit that would have eliminated them both if not for the trio's elimination.
With their trio's defeat; the black cloud of hearts dissipated into nothingness leaving Goku and Gohan both walking out from the heart-shaped crater left behind but not before taking a look at the crumbling floor and breathing a sigh of relief that they'd overcome the technique before they fell, raising their hands and giving each other a high-five; Goku and Gohan barely had time to rest when a new battle was raging elsewhere with the signalling ray of purple light.
Brianne grimaced after having watched the battle from a hiding place near the Countdown Pillar; she was all that was left of Team Universe Two, a fact that filled her not with love but rage and a desire to burn all other opponents away with her grandest and most beautiful attack; all she had to do was wait and pick her target.
The Arena.
The Grand Priest stood atop his platform with a wide smirk as all but one of Team Universe 2 had been eliminated for the three male warriors now sat in the stands with downtrodden and disappointed expressions though Roasie and Kakusna were attempting to comfort the trio with hugs; but before he could speak so much as a single word a rumbling spread throughout the arena's floor followed by an immense deep purple glow on what had once been the far side of the arena but was now merely floating platforms barely enough to sustain a fierce battle.
Within the purple glow rose a single being; purple flesh with natural armoured plating forming a perfect set of shields covering any vital areas with a large green jewel set between its narrowed yellow eyes, its eyes locked onto its sole opponent: Vegeta of whom stood smiling after finally finding an adversary worthy of his full might.
Next Chapter: Universe Three's Last Order.