Inside the Seal Space, Naruto, Kid Goku, and Goku sat together in a quiet circle.
"Sensei, do you remember exactly how you got here this time?"
Goku spread his hands and shrugged casually. "No idea. I had just arrived in the Other World and met King Yemma, but before he could arrange anything, *whoosh*, I was suddenly back here."
Kurama once again shrank himself into a tiny form, crouching fearfully in a far corner of the Seal Space, his wide gaze never leaving Goku. The small one's strength was already terrifyingly powerful, yet someone even more monstrously terrifying had just arrived. Kurama genuinely felt that even if Hagoromo personally came, he wouldn't be a match for this big one. They weren't just unmatched, their strengths weren't even on the same dimensional plane.
After a brief, catching-up conversation, Naruto also learned some crucial circumstances, such as exactly why Goku had left without saying goodbye last time. This was incredibly important, and Naruto really wanted to know the reason. Goku explained that he had simply closed his eyes to sleep and opened them to find himself magically back on the original King Kai's Planet, after which the halo above his head had vanished. The arrival was entirely baffling, and the departure had been equally baffling.
'The halo above his head disappearing,' Naruto keenly caught the vital blind spot. The disappearance of a halo specifically represents resurrection, and the only thing that could ever resurrect Goku was Shenron. Whether Goku specifically returned to his original Dragon Ball-verse solely because of the resurrection was unknown.
Most importantly, though Goku had been inside Naruto for three full years previously, according to Goku, not much time had actually passed over in his world. It seemed to be heavily affected by vastly different time flow rates.
"Sensei, how did you die this time?" Naruto asked cautiously. "Did you encounter an extremely powerful enemy?"
According to the main Dragon Ball timeline, Goku should have died much later during the Cell Saga, perishing together with King Kai's Planet directly from Cell's massive self-destruction.
"Ahahaha." Goku scratched the back of his head, laughing somewhat embarrassedly. "It wasn't because of any powerful opponent, it was because of a sudden heart disease."
"Sensei, you're saying you died from a heart disease? Was the medicine grape flavoured?" Naruto's voice raised a few shocked notches, his gaze sharpening with unsettling intensity.
The Dragon Ball-verse has many diverging branches, and one of the absolute biggest divergence points is whether Goku dies naturally. In the Dragon Ball Z storyline, after the Emperor of the Universe Frieza Saga comes the Android Saga. If Goku died prematurely from a viral heart disease, then the plot would change drastically, creating a devastating series of chain reactions. He never expected that his teacher was actually not the Goku from the main universe, but the Goku from the Future Trunks Timeline who died from a heart disease.
The Future Timeline of Future Trunks, abbreviated as the Future Trunks Timeline, was unarguably the most tragic timeline for the Z Fighters among all Dragon Ball branches. The Z Fighters were almost completely annihilated, leaving only Trunks left to fight alone, and the entire Earth was viciously devastated by the Androids.
The lone Z Fighter.
However, regardless of which world it was, the current Naruto couldn't physically help. With his current level of strength, he'd be effortlessly taken out by a single energy blast from an Android.
On the other hand, Goku was very accepting of his own death, one could even say he didn't care at all, only feeling a bit genuinely regretful that he couldn't fight strong opponents anymore. His personality was just like that, very broad-minded and carefree.
Kid Goku didn't understand any of this heavy talk. Feeling hungry, he casually picked up a large piece of BBQ and started eating loudly. Smelling the rich aroma, Goku also went to grab a massive pile of food and began devouring it eagerly.
"Little guy, oh, I guess I can't call you Little guy anymore. You're almost as tall as me now."
Goku said while eating, his cheeks stuffed completely full, yet it didn't hinder his cheerful speech at all.
Watching a Saiyan eat was always an absolute spectacle.
After swallowing two palm-sized steamed buns in one massive bite, Goku said, "Then I'll just call you Naruto."
"A name is just a label, Sensei. You can call me anything you want."
Naruto didn't mind. If Goku wanted, he could easily keep calling him Little Guy.
Though at this point, the rapidly developing Naruto wasn't actually much shorter than the 1.75-meter Goku.
"Hahaha, I'll teach you a few powerful new moves in a bit." Goku, rapidly stuffing more food into his mouth, muttered happily, "This ramen tastes pretty good."
"This is Ichiraku Ramen." Naruto added with a smile, "It's my absolute favorite food."
Was it finally coming? Kaio-ken, Instant Transmission, maybe even the Fusion Dance!
Naruto also picked up a hot bowl of ramen and started eating. Watching Goku inhale his food had naturally made him hungry, his eating Release was just too appetizing to ignore.
If Saiyans ever started doing mukbang videos, what would those regular competitive eaters even do for a living?
"I remember now, it's what I saw you eating all the time before. So it's really this delicious." Goku chugged the rich ramen broth in one massive gulp, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and eagerly picked up another oversized bowl of ramen to begin eating anew.
"Right, Naruto."
"Who is that little kid? He looks an awful lot like me."
"He..." Naruto said, naturally knowing exactly who Goku was talking about. "He's your second son, Sensei. Named Goten."
"Huh?" Goku stopped his chopsticks entirely mid-air, a thoroughly shocked look on his face. "I have another child?!"
"Just kidding."
"Hahaha, just as I thought." Goku started eating in big, happy mouthfuls again.
If you hadn't died from a sudden heart attack, Sensei, then you really would have had another child, and his name really would have been Goten.
"He's you from when you were a kid, but from an entirely different timeline. Remember? The time you bravely drank the Ultra Divine Water to defeat Demon King Piccolo." Naruto patiently explained Kid Goku's complex origins.
"Oh, so that's why his energy feels so similar to mine, he's me." Goku was only slightly surprised and then accepted the bizarre fact remarkably smoothly. Maybe his childhood adventures had featured far too many miraculous experiences, so he'd simply seen too much. Or maybe he was just naturally thick-skinned.
"Right, Naruto." After swallowing a piece of BBQ as big as his actual head, Goku grinned. "Fight me for a bit later."
"Let me properly see how much you've improved," Goku said, his tone turning challenging and bright.
Naruto's hand holding the chopsticks immediately froze dead in place. He swallowed hard.
'Me fight you? Are you absolutely serious?'
As a dedicated martial artist, you constantly need to challenge stronger people to improve. That saying is generally correct. But you absolutely cannot seek out someone whose strength was several literal dimensions higher than yours.
Naruto thought about how Goku had casually backhanded Chi-Chi, severely injuring her by accident. He truly hoped Goku would properly control his monstrous strength.
Otherwise...
'One single punch from you, and I'd be begging for my life.'
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