Ranking the 8 Deadliest Saiyan Sword Fighters in Dragon Ball
In Dragon Ball, martial arts culture runs deep, so it’s unusual to see a Z-Fighter rely on a weapon—especially when the one holding it is a Saiyan. The Saiyan race is treated as the multiverse’s peak fighting stock, and their raw potential is so extreme that they can usually brute-force around limitations. Still, Saiyans love a good fight a little too much to always follow the “no weapons” rule. Pride can take a back seat when a blade is the quickest way to win—or when humiliating an opponent is the real goal.
Even with that in mind, giving a Saiyan a sword is basically inviting disaster. The series already contains threats that can end fights instantly with the right technique, but sometimes the most effective tool isn’t a punch or a Ki blast—it’s a literal weapon. That’s why blade-wielding Saiyans (or Saiyan-adjacent characters using Spirit Sword-style techniques) tend to stand out as some of the most dangerous fighters in the franchise.
From sword schools to Spirit Blades: why Saiyans and weapons mix
The strongest Super Saiyan 3 users are positioned as rivals to Dragon Ball Super’s God-level characters, implying that even when a form seems “maxed out,” the right mindset and the right tools can push things further. In other words: if a Saiyan is in the right headspace, there’s very little that can stop them—especially when a sword enters the picture.
Blade-wielding characters across timelines
8) Goten and Trunks found a sword school in Dragon Ball Online
Goten and Trunks don’t use swords in the main storyline, but Dragon Ball Online gives them a totally different setup. The MMO was described as Akira Toriyama’s first serious attempt at writing a sequel framework to the events of Dragon Ball Z. Even though it’s an MMORPG, Toriyama reportedly created a full after-DBZ timeline explaining what happened to each character. In that version of events, Goten and Trunks go on to establish the Kikoukenjutsu Sword School.
The school’s focus is teaching students how to “embed” their weapons with Ki, turning blades into extensions of their energy rather than just physical tools. The approach is inspired by Gohan’s book, Groundbreaking Science, as presented in Dragon Ball Online, where Earth’s humans learn they can harness Ki themselves. Over time, Goten and Trunks expand their operation into a new sword school alongside Krillin’s New Turtle School and Tien Shinhan’s New Crane School.
7) Goku Black tortures opponents with Spirit Swords
Goku Black is essentially Zamasu living inside Goku’s body, which means blade preferences carry over. Spirit Swords function as Zamasu’s signature weapon, and the takeover of Goku’s body lets him draw out even stronger versions of the technique. Using Ki Control, Goku Black can materialize a range of sword types, including a straightforward blade resembling the Violent Fiece God Slicer, a broader curved sword concepted as the Azure Dragon Sword Model Energy Blade, and a scythe-like weapon via the Sickle of Sorrow.
In Dragon Ball Super, Goku Black leans heavily on swordsmanship to terrorize Future Trunks—specifically by turning his signature weapon against him. When Super Saiyan Rosé Goku Black fights Super Saiyan Blue Vegeta in the anime, he again uses multiple Spirit Swords to intimidate and torture him during their clash. With his high Power Level, access to God Form techniques, and a streak of pure malice, Goku Black lands among the series’ most dangerous Saiyan sword fighters.
One additional franchise note: one of Akira Toriyama’s last contributions to the series is framed as crowning Vegeta as the winner of the rivalry between Vegeta and Goku—something the story is expected to respect.
6) Xeno Gotenks inherits Trunks’ sword in Super Dragon Ball Heroes
Because Goten and Trunks don’t use swords in the main timeline, the “canon” version of Gotenks never gets a personal blade. However, Super Dragon Ball Heroes operates under different rules. In that setting, Xeno Trunks—modeled after Future Trunks—appears with a sword in every appearance. When Xeno Trunks performs the Fusion Dance with Xeno Goten (a variant drawn from Dragon Ball GT’s Goten), the result is Xeno Gotenks, described as the only adult version of Gotenks in the series.
Xeno Gotenks inherits the sword from Xeno Trunks, but it’s often treated as more decorative than essential. In most fights, Xeno Gotenks leans on basic attacks, Ki techniques, and his signature transformation options rather than relying on blade strikes. Still, Xeno Trunks is one of the series’ top swordsmen, whether the opponent is Saiyan or not—so Xeno Gotenks is just as skilled. Even with that advantage, the Xeno timeline version is limited by a lack of God Ki, which keeps his output from reaching the very top ceiling.
5) Future Trunks is one of the greatest swordsmen in the series
Future Trunks’ Power Level changes between the Dragon Ball Super anime and Toyotarou’s manga, but one thing remains consistent: Trunks is an exceptional swordsman. He’s been fighting with a sword for his entire life. In his debut in Dragon Ball Z, he uses his blade with expert precision to cut Mecha Frieza into pieces and kill him before their fight can even start in earnest.
Trunks’ sword later gets destroyed during his battle against Android 18. By the time of the Goku Black Saga, he obtains a new one. In the anime, that blade also breaks, but the series adds a unique twist: Future Trunks embeds the fractured weapon with the Genki of every living person on Earth. On top of that, he has God Ki through training with Super Saiyan Blue Vegeta. With those pieces combined, Super Saiyan Rage Future Trunks circles Fused Zamasu and slices him in half using a high-level parry.
4) Gohan would be a menace if he kept using a sword
Gohan has only used a sword a handful of times in Dragon Ball Z. In the Saiyan Saga, he takes up a blade Piccolo made for him, using it to survive after being left in the wilderness. Later, in a full-circle moment at the end of the Majin Buu Saga, Gohan pulls out the Z-Sword to train with it in order to defeat Buu. The story frames Gohan as surprisingly talented with the Z-Sword: he spends time getting used to how heavy it feels, and eventually it breaks in half, releasing Old Kai.
Since unlocking Beast form at the end of Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, Gohan is stronger than he’s ever been, so he doesn’t “need” a blade anymore. Even so, the article argues that if he continued swordplay, he’d be a serious danger to everyone around him. Gohan is already deadly without a weapon, but with a sword in hand, he’d be performing feats that would make even Future Trunks look flustered.
3) Xeno Trunks has the Key Sword and Super Saiyan God
Xeno Trunks is presented as a version of Future Trunks from Super Dragon Ball Heroes who joins the Time Patrol after the Cell Saga rather than following the path of Dragon Ball Super. Even with that difference, he develops into a powerful fighter. During the Dark King Mechikabura Saga, Xeno Trunks unlocks Super Saiyan God—described as a form that puts him ahead of Xeno Gotenks in a similar way that Super Saiyan God made Goku stronger than Vegito in Battle of Gods.
In Super Dragon Ball Heroes, Xeno Trunks also gains access to the Key Sword: a blade described as overwhelmingly powerful, capable of channeling the Power of Time to make the wielder stronger. Super Saiyan God Xeno Trunks is then shown teaming up with Chronoa to seal away Mechikabura, an immortal Dark King, using the Key Sword’s time-based abilities. Because Trunks is naturally skilled with swords across timelines, the combination of Super Saiyan God and the Key Sword pushes him even further beyond his base potential.
The story also adds a bigger-picture claim: the next generation Saiyans in Dragon Ball are destined to surpass Goku and Vegeta one day—and some are already stronger.
2) Vegito’s Spirit Sword can cut enemies to pieces
Neither Goku nor Vegeta are portrayed as traditional swordsmen, yet Vegito still demonstrates some of the most impressive swordwork in Dragon Ball when he faces Buuhan at the end of DBZ. Vegito’s Spirit Sword slices Majin Buu apart with ease, humiliating him after the chaos he’s been causing. The text also notes that if Vegito weren’t actively trying to avoid being absorbed, he could have ended Buu immediately.
When Vegito returns in Dragon Ball Super to fight Fused Zamasu, his blade threat remains just as real. In the Dragon Ball Super manga, Super Saiyan Blue Vegito uses the Spirit Sword to bully Zamasu, cutting off Zamasu’s hands and then parrying and slicing him up to prove to the immortal Kai how hopeless the situation is. In terms of raw positioning, Vegito is still framed as the strongest Saiyan sword fighter in the canon timeline.
1) CC Gogeta created a sword to fight the Crimson-Masked Saiyan
Unlike Vegito’s Potara Fusion counterpart, Gogeta never uses a Spirit Sword in his animated appearances. That changes in Super Dragon Ball Heroes’s manga version. CC Gogeta comes from the Capsule Corp. timeline, where the Z-Fighters experience the original Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball Super, most of the DBZ films, and Dragon Ball Super: Broly.
During the fight against the Super Saiyan 3 Crimson-Masked Saiyan in Big Bang Mission!!!, Gogeta taps into Super Saiyan Blue Evolved and uses his Spirit Sword to cut through Goku Black. The article emphasizes that CC Gogeta isn’t a natural swordsman, but he’s still portrayed as the most powerful fusion in the multiverse—possibly even the strongest being overall.
