Legendary Super Majin (6)

I didn't even see the punch coming.

"HAHAHAHAAHAHA!!!"

Maniacal laughter filled my ears as I flew back.

Dread filled my stomach as I caught a glimpse of my clone's figure appearing above me, both his feet driving into my stomach.

'ARGGGH!!'

He didn't get off.

BAAAAAM!!!

The smooth white tiles, which we had intentionally preserved, cracked under the weight of my body. My clone jumped up and accelerated down, my eyes barely tracking it.

PYUUU!

PYUUU!

I tried to escape with Instant Transmission but he followed me, an overhand punch stretching out my neck, knocking my head off my shoulders.

This time, he followed up, raining punches into me, large dents forming all over my forearms, chest and stomach as he relentlessly slammed his fists with tremendous force.

'This is insane!'

The fight felt rigged.

His raw strength and speed were far higher than my own, all of my training, confidence and fighting experience coming to nothing.

I suddenly understood why most fighters didn't bother with complex techniques.

If your opponent was better, it didn't matter.

FWUUUSH!!!

His hand tore clean through my chest, an overjoyed, euphoric smile on his face as he slammed his palm into the side of my head, stretching out my neck again.

The saddest part was that my reflexes and senses were sharp enough to discern what he would do but I just didn't have any time to respond.

He was just too fast.

'Don't give up'

Contrary to what I expected, my body didn't become more tired and weak as he assaulted me. Instead, I could feel a firm resolve building up inside of me, a righteous indignation to defend myself sparking repeatedly.

I wasn't angry, per se, but I felt a burning conviction to rise to the occasion and not allow this juggernaut, this barbarian who had given in to his rage to overpower me.

I used Instant Transmission to land on the ground, creating some distance. My clone teleported directly in front of me half a second later, a fast front kick flowing towards my mid-section.

Unlike before, however, I could see the attack coming, his strike only nicking my hip, which swiftly regenerated.

'I'm still growing'

I could feel the flood of S-Cells pouring through my body, my Ki surging and rising. There still wasn't a strong enough emotional trigger for me to transform but even in my Kaioken-enhanced state, I could feel the growth in real-time.

'Attacking him is a bad idea'

Our fight was limited to hand-to-hand since we could both absorb Ki and even if I could deal any damage to him, he would just regenerate and grow massively stronger, obliterating any lead I had.

'I'll make a push for Ultra Instinct'

As powerful as Ultra Ego was, Ultra Instinct was more suited to my personality, requiring a cool head and a sharp mind. In Dragon Ball World, Ultra Instinct was both a technique and a transformation, the transformation acquired through mastery of the technique.

It seemed nonsensical to push for it in this situation but it was still my best move.

I inhaled softly, putting all my faith in my body, trusting the intuition I had cultivated and developed.

In order to develop Ultra Instinct one first needed to develop God Ki.

Unlike the canon franchise, God Ki was not, necessarily, a power boost in Dragon Ball World. It was a qualitative Ki upgrade that enabled an individual to shape and imbue their Ki with properties that closely reflected their will.

The auto dodge of Ultra Instinct was fueled by the will to survive, fueled by a strong motivation to evade all attacks and to not get hit, something which I could feel gnawing at me.

In order to attain God Ki though, the willpower of an individual needed to surpass a certain threshold. A standard method was with the God Ritual, where the will and Ki of multiple fighters was entrusted to a single fighter, allowing them to temporarily meet the threshold.

Alternatively, the singular will of an individual could develop to the degree where they could trigger God Ki and sustain it permanently. 

It went without saying that a fighter needed to be aware of God Ki as a concept in order to effectively sustain it.

'But do I even want it that much?'

The stakes for this fight weren't really that high when I thought about it rationally.

Even if my clone clobbered me to pieces, I would simply regenerate and grow stronger, benefiting from a loss as much as a win.

It wasn't really possible for me to die.

'But that mentality won't get me anywhere'

The more I got involved with the story, the less I could trust and rely on my pre-existing knowledge of the universe, as too many factors and dynamics would shift.

And it would be unreasonable to try and let the story play out naturally, that approach squandering the advantage I had, appearing this early in the timeline.

It only made sense to genuinely improve myself.

Although my genetics helped me a lot, I still had to muster the will to become a decent fighter and withstand pressure in the face of adversity.

Obviously I would try to be calculated and strategic to the best of my ability but there would undoubtedly be times were strategy and calculation went out of the window, my raw willpower eventually being what would make the difference.

'I want to be strong'

"Oh? You're actually matching my speed!" 

It was strange to describe and even stranger to experience but as soon as that thought cleared in my mind, my body shifted gears, the attacks of my clone suddenly slowing down.

My perception was heightened, my mind to body connection strengthening as my resolve solidified.

"I guess, I'll actually have to start trying!" my clone cackled.

A massive green aura radiated from my clone's body, so bright that I could see it with my eyes closed, filling up my entire range of vision. The density of his Ki skyrocketed as he aggressively pushed himself to Full Power, shockwave after shockwave blowing my spiky hair back.

A devious smile challenged my confidence, forcing me to second guess myself.

'I can only do what I can'

It seemed cheesy and ridiculous but I closed my eyes, putting all my focus and resolve into my Ki Sense, trusting my body.

'I can see it'

It was a strange feature of this body. Maybe it was my hyperactive mind, super prodigy-level reflexes or flat out my imagination, but I could sense the movements my clone would make, just before he made them.

It was something that happened repeatedly over the course of combat, something I would often disregard.

'I trust myself'

My clone accelerated towards me with speed, following the exact path I had sensed. His right arm glowed powerfully as the density of his Ki skyrocketed, a mighty uppercut on course to completely decimate me.

WHHOOOOOMFFFF!

A loud wind wave tore through the air, released from the surface of his fist as he destroyed my afterimage, my slower body cleanly evading to his left.

"Waaaah!? How did you-"

BLAAAAAM!

I didn't try to understand and compute what was happening, instead throwing the same uppercut he had tried to throw at me. His feet stuck to the ground but his head flew upward, his neck momentarily loosened from his shoulders, springing and bouncing from side to side.

"GRRRRRAAAAAAAHHH!!!"

He grumbled loudly, like a feral dog, his Ki surging massively. 

I didn't lose confidence.

'I can already see it'

I weaved the needlessly aggressive punch he threw and then the cross after that and then the headbutt after that, front-flipping over his head.

I weaved the back fist he threw and then the full-body slam and then the front kick, every movement he made suddenly becoming predictable.

I opened my eyes.

'Ultra Instinct Sign!!!'

A wave of excitement washed over me as I saw glowing white Ki radiate off my skin, the depth of my Ki unlike anything I had seen before.

It then promptly disappeared.

BLLLLLAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNGGGGGGG!

The loudest sound I had ever heard, followed by the greatest pain I had ever felt, afflicted my senses simultaneously.

For a split-second, I lost consciousness of my surroundings, finding myself floating in the air while a dense Ki presence rapidly approached me.

I gnashed my teeth, involuntarily.

"YOU MOROOOOOOOOON!!!"

I instantly lost composure, a visceral, agonizing anger immediately taking hold of me. A surge of strength promptly followed, swelling up within me as my cool temperature rose alarmingly.

My hair flashed yellow and then green, my Ki surprisingly under firm control as it exploded inside of me, my body so resilient that it did no damage, only feeding into my escalating anger.

BAAAAANNGGG!

I swung with all the force I could gather, annoyed that the sound was only three quarters of what my clone had inflicted on me, his head dislodged from his shoulders.

An equally incensed expression blossomed on his face but I wasn't having any of it, swinging with my left hand with more force, strength, vigor and intensity. 

My clone used Instant Transmission, repositioning his body only a few inches away so that he could meet my left with his left, our fists ruthlessly smashing into each other.

BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNGGGGGGGGGG!!!

"Ah!?"

"Waaah!?"

We both exclaimed in unison, wave of soberness overpowering us as the fabric of reality gave way, cracks forming and lining the atmosphere of the space where our fists collided.

We both backed off, the pupils in my clones eyes re-appearing.

"I think we should stop training using this method," he suggested angrily, transforming back to base.

I exhaled sharply, all of the pent up anger and aggression inside of me still bubbling and boiling.

But my mind was in control.

"That would be advisable"