The Three Legendary Saiyans

Chapter 69: The Final Few Seconds.

Observation Stands.

"Wait… you mean to tell me that Raijin must defeat the undefeatable Jiren in twenty-eight seconds? That's absurd, ridiculous, laughable, even inconceivable!" Belmod turned to the nine members of Team Universe 7 and their Gods; laughing and scoffing at the sheer audacity they had in believing that their one remaining fighter even had a chance against such odds.

"Then what did you say about Kakarot nearly winning against your so-called undefeatable man? I say Kakarot would have won if not for the backlash of Ultra Instinct" Vegeta spoke out against Belmod once again; shooting the God of Destruction with a look of smugness even in the face of Goku's elimination.

Belmod shut his mouth after taking Vegeta's retort; sneering as if he was considering destroying Vegeta and the whole of Team Universe Seven on the spot though if he did he knew too well that The Twin Zeno's would erase him and his whole Universe as punishment.

"Settle down Belmod; victory is less than half a minute away after all… only somebody with Ultra Instinct can defeat Jiren and this Saiyan has shown no signs of utilising it despite Vegeta's prediction that he might be able to" Toppo spoke ; opening omitting Lord from speaking Belmod's name much to the God's annoyance and the surprise of his fellows in Team Universe 11.

"Yes; there is nothing to fear now, Jiren will defeat the golden monkey and we'll claim our rightful prize" Belmod spoke as he sank back into his seat with a coy grin on his clown face; believing that Jiren will reign supreme after he'd already defeated Raijin once and that was when he'd been backed up with Hit and the three Universe 6 Saiyans.

"Come on Raijin!" Krillin yelled along with Master Roshi, Gohan and Piccolo; each speaking in unison to support their last remaining fighter thus encouraging their friend to fight to the last second.

Goku and Frieza having both been eliminated by Jiren's mighty hands both desperately peered over the side of the stands whilst still wracked with pain from being crushed by Jiren's assault and the backlash from Ultra Instinct; watching as the golden flames-clad Raijin walked towards Jiren with a look of absolute calm despite the dire conditions.

The Arena.

Twenty-seven seconds remaining.

Amidst the dust and the little stable ground that remained for only a quarter of the original arena floor remained after the titanic battles of Ultra Instinct Goku and Jiren and the dire battle of Vegeta and Toppo much less Raijin's own battles with the likes of Kefla, Ribrianne and Jiren but the remains were quickly crumbling away having been greatly weakened by the myriad of clashing energies.

"Its's just us now Jiren… only one of us will survive" Raijin spoke; his fingers curling into his hands forming his fists, golden fur that lined his body in place of the bright red that he normally bore as a Super Saiyan 4; bolts of lightning coursing around his body in place of an aura.

Jiren stared glumly; he hated having to eliminate Goku from the Tournament in such an underhanded method as attacking when the Saiyan could no longer move much less defend himself but in all his battles against the Saiyans one thing remained constant…. They never backed down from a challenge nor bowed down in defeat like so many in the past.

Not waiting to talk; kicking off the ground with a golden flash of fire and lightning, Raijin struck Jiren square in the chest with a double knee strike causing Jiren to cough and spit saliva from his mouth as Raijin struck.

Jiren gritted his teeth in a smile before grabbing Raijin by the shoulder and driving him face down into the floor only for Raijin to grab the broken tiles with both hands and throw the block back at Jiren; Jiren's eyes widened as his Willpower Shockwave blasted the fragment to pieces only for Raijin's left leg came swinging through the dust and connecting with Jiren's jawline.

Twenty-four seconds remaining.

Staggering backwards with the sudden kick; Jiren let go of Raijin's shoulder after forgetting about Raijin's animal-like fighting style and reflexes for a brief moment as Jiren became victim to a staggering series of stomping kicks to the chest as Raijin drove a flurry of blows before following up with a backhand to Jiren's jaw.

"What happened to the power you showed when fighting Goku? All worn out?" Raijin shouted with a grin though he knew he couldn't keep his Golden Super Saiyan 4 Form for much longer.

Jiren glared at Raijin; knowing that what Raijin was saying was correct, battling the complete form of Ultra Instinct had been rough on his body and he'd spent a great deal of his energy and stamina just keeping up with Goku and now had one last opponent to face of which he'd already defeated but just kept getting back up.

The corners of his lips curling into a wide smile as Jiren accepted the final challenge of The Beast Saiyan; lowering his centre of gravity as Raijin came rushing once again only for the two to immediately began exchanging a series of punches, each punch being blocked by a punch from the other creating echoes of clashing fists as the two neared the Central Pillar.

Kicking off the Central Pillar's last segment and twisting in the air with the athleticism his Super Saiyan 4 Forms granted him to roll into a crouch and leap forwards with a punch that would strike Jiren off the side of the crumbling arena only for a golden mist to seep off his body as his transformation reverted and left his body in his base form.

Twenty Seconds Remaining.

With widened eyes as the golden mist vanished from Raijin's body as he was left standing before Jiren's very eyes in his base form; his skin patched with bruises and glistening with sweat from his struggles, his breathing heavy and uneven from constant fighting and desperation.

"Well… shit" Raijin muttered as he heard Belmod's scream of triumph but no attack from Jiren came but except just stared at him.

Jiren instead slowly walked towards Raijin; looking at him like an equal as well as a second chance to win the Tournament honourably, he and Raijin exchanging a glance of understanding before the pair threw a fist at each other with blinding speed and a mutual blow to each other's fist that echoed with a resonating boom.

Eighteen Seconds Remaining.

With panting breath; Raijin closed his hands together as if preparing the Kamehameha Wave that stopped Jiren in his tracks from firing off a wall of air pressure or a volley of Invisible Punches, Raijin smiled as his ruse paid off before kicking off the ground and flying backwards by firing off an ordinary shower of ki blasts as Jiren batted away with an amused smile and gave chase.

Fifteen Seconds Remaining.

Raijin even without his Super Saiyan 4 Forms bounced off the walls of arena fragments as they crumbled away like a monkey would jump from tree to tree causing all his Teammates to gaze in amazement at how he was using his environment to the point that even Frieza felt amused by Raijin's actions.

Jiren chasing Raijin down with an amused grin; even without a transformation a Saiyan was still putting up a strong fight, running down the path of walls as the floor behind him was crumbling and floating away into the clouds below; gradually reaching Raijin and grabbing hold of Raijin's left ankle between jumps.

Twelve Seconds Remaining.

With his grip firmly on Raijin's left ankle; Jiren lifted and swung Raijin around like a ragdoll and sending him crashing into the very walls he'd been jumping off and crushing the walls down on impact, looping Raijin around in a loop to gain momentum with the intention of propelling Raijin from the arena but caught a defiant look in Raijin's eyes as he observed his victim.

Eleven Seconds Remaining.

Gritting his teeth through being tossed in a circle; Raijin threw his arms forward and channelled what energy he still had and fired a simple ki blast at Jiren only for the blast to strike him in his bare shoulder and let go of his grip on Raijin's ankle causing him to be flung out into the vast open space outside of the arena with only small floating fragments of the arena that were barely the size of his foot.

Ten Seconds Remaining.

Observation Stands.

As Raijin flew through the air towards the open space of the arena and beginning to descend through the tiny miniscule fragments of the arena barely big enough for him to catch with his feet and kick his way back into the arena; only thoughts of elimination filled Raijin's mind though the voices of his comrades and the jeers of Belmod proclaiming victory.

"Wake up Raijin!" Gohan called out as he stood up; his voice echoing as he called for his friend.

"You can't fail like this!" Piccolo rose from his seat and yelled as hard as he could; the spectre of Nail that still resided within his own Mindscape echoing in two separate tones in his voice as Piccolo shouted.

"You cannot lose for you're a proud Saiyan!" Vegeta bellowed at the top of his lungs as he stood for his proclamation.

"Keep fighting my friend!" 18 yelled as she too rose from her seat; slamming her fists down on the guard rail as she proclaimed Raijin as her friend.

"Rise up to this challenge!" 17 yelled but remained in his seat unlike his sister or comrades.

"Carry us to victory !" Goku yelled as he struggled up to his feet despite the extreme pain he still felt with any kind of movement.

Raijin.

Raijin's ears heard the voices of his comrades cheering and urging him to fight but he felt empty; his rapidly dropping energies circling the drain but as his mind went blank during his fall into defeat he felt something within him stir into life.

Like a sudden flare had been ignited inside his mind; Raijin's body seemingly moved of its own accord with incredible speed and precision as his feet suddenly latched onto two small fragments barely the size of his bare feet, crouching low and kicked off the stones with enough force that the Kachi Kachin fragments shattered as Raijin's feet left their surfaces only to latch onto fragment after fragment with each shattering as Raijin leapt back into the arena's boundaries, Raijin soared back towards the arena towards a wide-eyed Jiren who felt Raijin's fist bury itself in his abdomen but saw a now all-too-familiar silver light in Raijin's eyes when he struck.

Observation Stands.

"THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE! He was eliminated! He can't just fly back into what's left of The Arena! The Seventh Universe is cheating! I demand that they be erased right this second!" Belmod rose from his sea in protest as he screamed in abject rage.

"Contestant Raijin managed to propel himself back into the arena using broken fragments of The Arena… and thus was not eliminated but how he did so is indeed intriguing as he did briefly see silver light around his body" The Grand Priest spoke; casting up a holographic screen that showed Raijin's return to the arena in slow motion for those in the stands to bear witness to.

"That was amazing" Zeno chimed after being silent for what felt like a long period of time given the events of Goku mastering Ultra Instinct, his elimination preceded by Frieza's and now Universe Seven's final warrior going toe-to-toe with Jiren.

"Yes; it was amazing; Raijin was just like Goku" Future-Zeno agreed; almost flinging his God-pad into the air in joy.

"I can't believe it… Raijin did it… he used Ultra Instinct!" Krillin commented; having observed that Raijin may have the ability to use the power but dismissed by Whis on how difficult Ultra Instinct is to use but the power seemingly came in a desperate moment.

Vegeta stood from his seat; his eyes widened to their limit with shock where his attempt to access the power had left him with several bruises while Goku had successfully mastered the power and now Raijin had demonstrated an ability to access the power when his prediction regarding Raijin's use of the power had been intended as a mere bluff.

Goku stood stunned by what he saw; gaining a third-party sight of the unparalleled speed of Ultra Instinct and seeing a glimpse into what he himself had been like while using the power in his battles against Jiren and Kefla.

Frieza merely glared murderously down as Raijin saved himself with the very power he secretly desired for himself; grimacing as the power he wished use to finally destroy the wretched Saiyans was again in the hands of those very same Saiyans.

"Unbelievable… these Saiyans just keep improving" Beerus growled under his breath; his teeth gritting so tightly that his teeth threatened to shatter under his jaw's grinding motions, his own anticipation nearly getting the better of him after everything prior to this moment.

"Indeed My Lord; they are incredibly interesting beings" Whis smirked as he'd watched Raijin return to the arena and strike Jiren; having dismissed Raijin's possibility of using Ultra Instinct but the power had come to him in the most desperate of moments though it only lasted a tenth of a second.

"It wasn't an Omen Form like Goku… but Raijin clearly used Ultra Instinct in that moment Lord Belmod; he won't be using it again" spoke the bespectacled Supreme Kai from The Eleventh Universe; a coy smile on his normally calm and analytical face.

"Yes… it matters not; nobody can defeat Jiren with just strength or power" Belmod grinned; his clown-like appearance making him appear more sinister than he truly was but his eyes continued to gaze down at the final pairing of Raijin and Jiren.

The Arena.

Eight Seconds Remaining.

Raijin collapsed to his knees immediately feeling like electricity was raking across his every tendon and muscle fibre in his legs after that sudden surge; figuring that this was exactly Goku had felt prior to his elimination

"What was that? How did you return?" Jiren spoke in his demanding voice; his hulking body looming over Raijin but made no effort to eliminate his final opponent for the sole purpose of sating his curiosity.

"I'm not quite sure… I felt like my mind was clear of all thought and my body moved with insane speed allowing me to get back" Raijin confessed; scratching the back of his matted, sweaty hair though conscious of how little time remained.

"You used Ultra Instinct… you Saiyans keep impressing me" Jiren smirked; shaking his head in disbelief at the sheer unlimited potential of Saiyans as opposed to his own when he was young and still training to defeat Evil-Doers.

"Thank you… though if you'd used your full powers from the beginning we'd never had been able to reach these levels" Raijin cracked a smile whilst speaking; his tone one of seriousness in his belief that Jiren could have won the whole tournament in a matter of minutes from the very beginning.

"You speak the truth…" Jiren spoke lowly so only Raijin heard him; the realisation overcoming him that if he had then he would never have had to fight so many battles but also would not have the opportunity to bear witness to the powers of The Saiyans.

"What do you say… we finish this is one final bout? Using everything we have left?" Raijin spoke between gasping breaths after experiencing Ultra Instinct; smiling widely as he made his offer.

"I agree… let us finish this" Jiren answered; matching Raijin's wide smile with one of his own for he felt a mutual respect between himself and this Saiyan, scarlet flames bursting into life around Jiren's body whilst golden flames ignited around Raijin.

Six Seconds Remaining.

Raijin grinned toward Jiren only for Jiren to grin right back; both glaring into each other's eyes before Jiren's eyes widened as a shockwave burst out from his body but Raijin tensed his every muscle thus igniting his golden aura into stronger flames before taking the shockwave head-on but being unfazed.

Grinning with the deflection of his shockwave and the knowledge the Invisible Punches would no longer have any effect against Raijin; Jiren's two fists burned with his scarlet energies while Raijin grinned and did the same only his fists burnt with golden energies.

"Sorry Vegeta… need to borrow your technique again" Raijin muttered to himself but not taking his eyes off Jiren due to the knowledge that a single moment of distraction would spell the end of his tiny chance for victory here.

Backstepped from Jiren's downward Energy Fists; Raijin countered with his own after stealing Vegeta's own move and striking head-long into Jiren's stomach, though Jiren saw through the counterattack only to backstep himself and begin shifting from side-to-side as if he was boxing.

Raijin grinned to himself as he observed Jiren's rolling form and tight block after Raijin's repeated strikes to the upper body; narrowing dodging a sudden jab to his head by shifting to his right and countering with a punch to Jiren's chest only for Jiren to block with his left elbow and strike with another jab catching Raijin in the jaw.

Five Seconds Remaining.

Staggering to his side after the knockout punch only to regain his footing as his black hair noticeably shimmered into gold before reverting back to black as Raijin struck back with his signature spinning backhand to Jiren's own jawline, thus sending Jiren down to one knee.

Jiren glaring up at Raijin as scarlet flames burst into life around his right fist and Raijin took a backstep as his own right fist burst into a flurry of golden flames as his sweat-slicked black hair flashed gold one final time as he transformed into a Super Saiyan for their last struggle causing Jiren to smile with excitement for their final clash.

Four Seconds Remaining.

With the cheering of those teams worth of eliminated fighters including the Gods and Angels of Universe 7; Raijin and Jiren kicked off the tiles they'd been standing on just as the tiles crumbled and lowered down into the murky clouds.

The moment the blazing fists of Raijin and Jiren met in combat; their respective flames fused into a spiralling vortex of energy bursting over the remains of The Arena blanketing the entire remaining feet in a torrent of fire and lighting, gold and scarlet mixed together in a violent clash that obscured the final fighters from view.

Inside of the vortex; Raijin and Jiren remaining smiling to one another as their fists and energies clashed in the eye of the vortex they were generating, no words needed to be spoke for a mutual respect born out of their fierce battle had formed between the two fighters.

Jiren looked upon the Saiyan with respect for how they'd overcome every challenge laid before their path whereas Raijin had been utterly destroyed in their first encounter alongside Hit, the second being a triple team assault alongside Goku and Vegeta upon breaking their limits and finally holding powers that made the trio worthy fighting with his real strength but their third encounter and dawned a new sense of acknowledgment for Raijin's efforts and strive to progress and overcome anybody that stood in his way.

Raijin gazed up at Jiren with a respect for his near-unsurmountable strength; he would never have been able to have this fight if not for all the efforts of his allies and friends, Goku's unbelievable use of the divine power of Ultra Instinct, Vegeta's unbeatable pride and willingness to put everything on the line with his Final Flash just to buy them a few seconds to recover energy, Frieza surprisingly stepping in in an attempt to seize glory and the prize but only giving Raijin a valuable few seconds to regain his Super Saiyan Form, an now in the closing seconds it came down to him and him alone.

Three Seconds Remaining.

The vortex induced by the flames of Jiren and the lightning of Raijin tore through what little remained of the rapidly crumbling arena by sending deep cracks and fissures through the Kachi Kachin causing more and more to splinter and break apart only to fall in the void of The Null Realm, the two fighters clashing within the vortex quickly losing their footing.

Two Seconds Remaining.

Within the vortex and the floor collapsing out from under their feet; Raijin and Jiren both glared into each other's eyes one final time each set of eyes gleaming with a mutual respect, both warriors letting out a fierce roar upon channelling all their remaining energies into their fists, drawing back from one another only to rush back with Jiren's right arm and Raijin's left arm winded back for the final blow that would end their epic struggle; their fists meeting in the very eye of their storm with a resounding boom that blasted the vortex, the ground under their feet to be blown away by the sheer force of their final blows, a dust cloud blanketing the entirety of what's left of The Arena causing all vision to be obscured from the Observation Stands.

One Second Remaining.

Before the dust could settle and the silhouette of the sole fighter left standing stood obscured with no clear hint as to who remained standing and who fell into elimination amongst the green and grey clouds circling the atmosphere leaving only the lone silhouette of a single man standing as the final pillar segment dropped with an echoing boom followed by the astounded but shaken voice of The Grand Priest.

"The time limit has expired… the sole survivor of the Tournament of Power is…".

Next Chapter: The Winner's Reward.