The Three Legendary Saiyans
Chapter 64: War of Attrition.
Jiren.
"These Saiyans are truly interesting creatures… not a single soul has directly challenged me like this for years… I thought I'd never feel this excitement again after finally defeating that Evil-Doer who slaughtered my family and fellow disciples caused those that survived the dreadful battle to abandon my side… comrades are for the weak… I became strong alone and yet these three push each other further beyond their natural limitations, one growing stronger only for that improvement to be matched by the other two… they embody everything I hate" Jiren spoke to himself within his mind; his bulbous eyes watching the trio of Saiyans with a combination of keen interest and resentment as their sudden growth contradicted his own ideology but that was something he both couldn't and wouldn't accept.
Raijin, Goku, Vegeta.
A cold wind whistled through the space between Jiren and The Three Saiyans before the four warriors kicked off the cold hard floor; those sat in The Observation Stands watched with a silence unheard of between Gods and Angels for even The Twin Zeno's sat in silence once the battle began, a sonic wave pulsed through the very air as the four warriors vanished from even the most trained eyes as punches, kicks and blocks were thrown and executed beyond even the sight of Zeno nor The Gods.
Jiren kept his hands and knees blocking as Goku and Vegeta kept throwing punch volley and volley; the two Saiyans each were well within Jiren's range of defence but Raijin kept jumping back and forth between fragments of the ruined arena and attacking with frontal and scissor kicks that Jiren could barely defend with his knees while holding off two more Saiyans, breaking off his defences and backing away to gain some distance only to tense his very muscles and blast off a wall of air pressure that Vegeta appeared from high-speed movement and fired off a air wall of his own as Goku and Raijin materialised on either side of Jiren each filling the air with their energies and firing off air pressure walls.
"How do you like that? That little air pressure trick isn't going to work!" Raijin yelled; his wide grin matched by the confident smiles on both Goku and Vegeta as the trio stood forming a triangle formation around Jiren.
Jiren scowled as Raijin's smack-talk proved true; for years his wall of air pressure coupled with his immense energy had disheartened many foes and crushed the spirits of uncountable others but faced with foes who could counter his techniques was bringing about a sense of frustration.
"Kamehameha!" Goku roared first; his light blue beam blasting from his palms without any charge or focussing.
"Galick Gun!" Vegeta yelled at the top of his lungs; the blazing purple beam burst out from his hands to fiercely that the flames engulfed his body.
"Divine Masenko!" Raijin roared; bringing his hands above his head so quickly that his arms briefly blurred before firing off his red/gold beam.
Jiren clenched his fists as the three Saiyans suddenly fired their signature beam attacks from their triangle formation though it was an inspired choice of attack but he'd encountered before; his body shimmered with scarlet flames before his eyes widened and repelled the beams away with an Invisible Eye Blast followed by an intense wall of sheer blazing heat.
Each of the Saiyans raised their right arms to defend their eyes from the heat Jiren emitted as Jiren himself raised his arms above his head much like Goku when performing his earlier Spirit Bomb only to form an energy ball of his own greatly resembling The Spirit Bomb hovering over Jiren's open left hand.
"Oh shit…" Raijin and Vegeta muttered as the energy sphere above Jiren's hand exploded into a mass of burning flames that engulfed the three Saiyans before they had any opportunity to block; the flames consumed even the Kachi Kachin debris reducing the arena fragments to blackened scorched stones.
Grimacing that he'd been forced to use Colossal Slash so early in the battle; Jiren waited for the smoke to settle only for Goku to suddenly materialise in front of him and strike back with a Meteor Rush barrage of punches, each fist striking Jiren's cross-arm block as Raijin followed up with a flying flurry of kicks that Jiren had to raised his hands to block leaving his abdomen exposed as Vegeta rushed in and struck hard with a blue-glowing Final Impact Fist sending Jiren skidding backwards.
Countering the well-coordinated assault as a flickering purple flame engulfed Jiren's whole body as he charged at the trip as each of the three Saiyans crossed their arms in defence against Jiren's Grand Charge only to be blown back by the burning energy, air pressure and immense force behind Jiren's attack sending the trio crashing into the rubble and dirt.
"How did you escape Colossal Slash?" Jiren spoke to the three Saiyans; his voice toned with annoyance and interest in how they'd all evaded him and countered so quickly.
"Well I used Instant Transmission" Goku blurted out; pointing his fingers to his forehead as a demonstration of the form.
"And my Instincts warned me so Vegeta and I used a loose tile as a shield but it still hurt like hell" Raijin spoke with Vegeta's giving a brief nod of acknowledgement.
Jiren smirked at their impressive escape; he's agreed to The Tournament of Power to merely ensure Universe 11's victory with a display of his unrivalled strength and power that stood greater than even a God of Destruction and yet these interesting beings called Saiyans had challenged him multiple times and now the three stood united against him, a challenge Jiren had never known.
Whilst Goku and Vegeta stood stationary though Raijin crouched down on all fours; his eyes staring directly as he pounced, dashing forward leaving only dust and a trail of golden flames in his wake upon running into other wall-like fragments and bounding off each fragment gathering speed before rushing Jiren with a claw-like fist attack.
Catching Raijin's Dashing Claw with one open-palm hand only to close his hand and grip Raijin's arm; Jiren twisting Raijin's arm with such force that he sent the Golden Super Saiyan 4 spinning away with his Shock Tornado and hurtling him away as Goku fired off an unspoken Kamehameha, annoyed with the continuous assaults each Saiyan employed rather than a single unified attack; Jiren's left fist blazed scarlet as he struck the beam with an otherwise deadly Colossal Uppercut that batted the beam away leaving Goku grateful his body wasn't on the receiving end of that fist.
Using Goku and a springboard; Vegeta flew into the air with his hands glowing a radiant blue as he came to a handing and swing a pair of Energy Punches at Jiren's jaw only for Jiren to sidestep each punch, following up with a spinning kick that Jiren backstepped away from only to realise that Vegeta's kick was a feint as Raijin attacked Jiren from behind with an elbow thrust but Jiren span on the spot causing Raijin and Vegeta to strike each other in the face with the elbow thrust and a second spinning kick.
Jiren smirked as Goku and Vegeta staggered backwards from their attacks striking each other rather than their intended target; stomping on the ground and moving towards Goku and Vegeta as scarlet flames licked off his muscular frame just as he sensed a looming threat just as a tail wrapped around his arm and a fist met his jawline, staggering by the surprise attack as Raijin flipped over his head and standing directly in front of Jiren.
"Did you forget? I'm here too!" Raijin spoke; crackling a smirk as golden flames continued to flicker off his body, his whole body shining with golden fur as his turquoise eyes stared directly into Jiren's wide eyes.
"No; I see how you defeated Dyspo now" Jiren spoke lowly; grinning as he locked eyes with Raijin until sensing the movements of the other two Saiyans.
Raijin grinned as he dropped to all fours as Goku jumped back to his feet motioning for a blast before teleporting away just as a volley of violently blue energy blasts came hurtling towards the cloudy skies, Jiren glaring at the source of the blasts to spot Vegeta concentrating on firing the beams but with both Raijin and Goku stood in-between Jiren and Vegeta to defend him if Jiren was to charge.
Vegeta's Energy Wave Volley lit up the cloudy atmosphere with a divine blue light as the near endless blasts raised down from above leaving Jiren to raise his left hand and cast a scarlet barrier around himself, the beams rained down on top of the barrier leaving resounding echoes as each individual blast struck the barrier; Vegeta roaring with anger and rage as he drew on every once of power he could muster into firing beam after beam with the determination to break through Jiren's Energy Barrier, sensing his energies drying up as Vegeta's volley of beams came to an end leaving Jiren and his rampart-like Barrier still standing.
Recoiling from Vegeta's blasts upon his barrier shattering of his own volition; Jiren gritted his teeth as Raijin tagged himself in through Vegeta via a handclap and entering the battle with a flurry of claw-like fists striking and raking at Jiren's chest as Raijin's bestial fighting style was difficult to read, Jiren's thoughts delayed his reaction speed as fighting three vastly different opponents at once was proving more taxing than he initially thought; Raijin dropping to all-fours and delivering a front-flipping heel drop to Jiren's face only for Jiren to narrowing dodge with a backstep before Goku materialised with his feet meeting Raijin's, acting like a springboard for Goku; Raijin thrust his legs out giving Goku a slight boost in speed as he rocketed forwards and struck Jiren directly in the face with a palm strike.
Grimacing by yet another strike landed against his body; the union of their abilities without so much as a single spoken word between them was infuriating Jiren to no end, his two fists blazing with scarlet flames as he generated his Energy Punch, winding back his left fist and striking at Goku only for Raijin to sidestep in and pushing Goku to the side and taking the strike to his chest; Goku reached out and grabbing Raijin by his Tail just as Jiren was winding back his right fist as flames licked off his fist giving away his intention to eliminate them both with his second blow.
"Do it now Vegeta!" Goku yelled; leaping backwards with Raijin within his grip as he teleported away with Instant Transmission leaving Jiren to slam his intended attack to slam into the floor when he spotted Vegeta standing atop an enormous floor fragment with blue rays of energy flaring out from his hands and aimed solely for Jiren.
"Big Bang Attack!" Vegeta yelled just as Goku teleported away leaving Vegeta a clear line of sight towards Jiren; the white energy blast rocketing from Vegeta palm only to explode into a devastating cloud of destruction upon meeting Jiren's lack of any guarding posture.
"You get him?" Raijin asked as he and Goku reappeared from the Instant Transmission Technique; his left hand covering a bruise to his chest where Jiren had struck him with his Energy Punch.
"I hit him… but the bastard isn't gone" Vegeta spoke lowly; clearly displeased that his Big Bang Attack had failed to finish off Jiren.
"Doesn't matter; we knew this battle would be tough" Goku spoke as the cloud of dust caused by Vegeta's attack began to be dispelled; hardly a single glimmer of Jiren could be seen through the dense dust cloud only for the cloud to instantly be blown apart as Jiren rushed in with incredible speed with a barrage of punches that struck Vegeta's damaged armour multiple times causing Vegeta to spit up blood before a second barrage struck intending to eliminate Vegeta.
With no time to rush to Vegeta's aid; Raijin crossed his arms to guard nanoseconds before Jiren's glowing fists struck for the second barrage, the force behind the blow took Raijin off his feet before being thrown backwards into a spire of Kachi Kachin only to split the spire into two pieces.
"You again?!" Jiren spoke angrily; his wide eyes widening further as Raijin had not only interrupted his Overheat Magnetron attack thanks to his Animal Instinct abilities but Raijin smirked mischievously as he opened his hands and fired an unspoken Masenko directly into Jiren's unguarded face.
Cursing Raijin's name in-between grunts of pain as Raijin's blast connected forcing him to step backwards giving Raijin an opportunity to back away as pain shot through his back as Goku and Vegeta struck Jiren in the back with a punch each, roaring in pain and frustration; Jiren blasted the three Saiyans away from him with a wall of air pressure fired by his own energy, Goku and Vegeta both gritted their teeth as their blazing auras burnt more fiercely with them both spending mor energy to stay standing against the air pressure but the loose uneven floors gave away while Raijin clung onto a spire of fragments with his Tail wrapped around the fragment but Goku's body stood dripping with sweat from sheer excursion as Jiren loomed over a worn-out Goku.
The nanosecond spent locking eyes with Goku left Jiren grinning at how well this particular Saiyan was holding his own when every opponent in his life had fallen at his feet: this one stood tall and willing to continue fighting even if the cost was his own body.
"Tag in!" yelled Vegeta as he slapped Raijin's shoulder; rushing into the battle to face Jiren alone, his sparkling blue aura condensing down closer to his body as his first punch was met by Jiren's own; the blowback of the two punches blowing apart the fabric of both Vegeta's bodysuit's right sleeve and Jiren's left sleeve apart sending the scraps of fabric into the air, both warriors winding back their fists for a second blow as they both threw their punches; Jiren striking Vegeta in his exposed shoulder while Vegeta struck Jiren's jaw, the blow of Jiren's punch against the broken armour sent Vegeta down to his knees with a dislocated shoulder.
"Goodbye… Saiyan Prince" Jiren muttered as his opened his hand with his Power Impact technique and blasted Vegeta away with a blast of wind and fiery energy; sending The Prince hurtling away from their battlefield and towards the edge of the arena where only elimination awaited Vegeta when a simple but sudden ki blast fired that knocked Vegeta back into the arena's boundaries but out of the battle.
"That'll keep him safe for now…" Goku muttered having fired the sudden blast; one of his eyes closed from the extreme pain as the side-effects of Kaio-Ken X20 and giving Jiren a window of opportunity to attack, Jiren rushed in with lightning speed and a haymaker fist wound back as a flash of gold entered his vision and a knee striking him in the temple.
Staggering to his right as Goku came back down to his feet after landing a knee strike; Jiren grimaced as he threw a vicious counter-punch into Goku's abdomen with such force that he felt his ribs cracking, Goku reached out and grabbed Jiren by the arm as collage of blue and red flames around his body blazed for a brief second before parting out and vanishing.
A grimace flashed over Jiren's expression as he raised a hammer fist over his head and struck Goku in the back with a resounding echo that ran through the entire arena that even Belmod gave a wide smile as Goku crumbled down to his knees under the heavy blow; glancing over towards Beerus and Whis to only sat in silence alongside their Team as they too watched the battle unfold, Piccolo and Krillin both gritting their teeth s Vegeta had been ejected and Goku crumbled to his knees.
"Goku!" Raijin yelled as Goku fell to his knees leaving Raijin alone to face Jiren.
As Goku fell to the ground under the strain of his own multiplied might had proven too much for him to handle anymore and Jiren's flurry of punches loomed over the tired Saiyan; Jiren's eyes widened as a golden flash entered his vision, moving his head to his left as a beam passed harmlessly by his head just as Raijin came running towards him with blazing flames licking off his frame with every step.
Jiren shook his head in condescension as the Saiyans just kept charging at him one after another for him to dispatch; lowering his fists and glowering as a blazing Energy Punch engulfed his right hand in such burning heat that the air shimmered and burnt to the point that Raijin flinched when faced with such volatile energies, As Jiren's initial Energy Punch wound back and flew towards its target with purple sparks of Jiren's power illuminating his left fist whilst Raijin kept his pace whist running directly towards Jiren unfearingly stepping through the Energy Punch coming towards him as his senses and instincts warned him how dangerous Jiren's technique would be if successful until reaching out and grabbing Jiren's right wrist with his left hand and halting the attack before he could be struck.
Jiren felt his eyes widening further in shock that somebody had successfully stopped his build up for the Heatwave Magnetron Technique: a technique that forced himself to almost utilise his fullest degree of strength and power; his guard dropping while in a state of shock and disbelief whilst Raijin's own right hand ignited with a vicious golden flame that drew in his entire aura to a single point of his body: his own right fist.
"This is for Hit!" Raijin roared with his blazing fist aimed solely for Jiren; his grip tightly holding Jiren by his right wrist as he moved with such speed that his blazing fist blurred upon punching Jiren directly in the abdomen, the golden flames busting out like a combustion grenade until Raijin and Jiren both were consumed by the blazing flares until Jiren flew backwards out from the flames only to crash directly into the Central Pillar with his uniform burning away around his abdomen and leaving his flesh burnt.
Up in The Observation Stands; The Pride Troopers stood up from their seats in disbelief in the fact that Jiren had been taken off his feet and blasted away by so much as a blazing fist, utterly speechless and stunned into silence that it seemed that the invincible Jiren could possibly be defeated but Belmod remained sat in his seat; Raijin's attack had caused him to develop beads of sweat across his brow but the battle was still far from over.
"That was an incredible blow Raijin… good work" Goku spoke as he materialised into being by Raijin's side though he was dripping with sweat from fighting so hard; though Vegeta was absent from their formation Raijin didn't have a chance to answer before a wave of extreme heat radiated through the very air.
Raijin didn't bother raising his arms in defence against the waves of extreme heat; a shadow of Jiren's foreboding figure rising from the rubble though only a pair of glowering red eyes glaring out from the silhouette, "He's not done yet… we've only woken the beast within".
Next Chapter: Rise Of The Destroyer.
