Goku chuckled. "Why would I laugh? If that's your dream, then all you have to do is make it happen. Anyone who laughs at you is just too weak to understand what true determination is."
Naruto's eyes lit up with determination. "I will make my dream come true! No matter how many people laugh at me!"
Seeing the unwavering resolve in Naruto's eyes, Goku nodded to himself. It's exactly because of this determination that he'll succeed in the future. Compared to Sasuke… Goku couldn't help but shake his head. The difference between people really was astounding. Revenge wasn't inherently wrong, but letting hatred consume you? That was a different story.
"Who are you Mr? I've never seen you before!" Naruto looked at Goku with curiosity. This was the first person who had acknowledged his dream and spoken to him like a normal person—naturally, he felt an instant connection.
"I'm Goku. I just arrived in Konoha and was actually wondering where I'm going to stay tonight."
"You can stay at my place! I live alone anyway!" Naruto said excitedly.
"That's a great idea! Thanks for having me!"
Goku had been waiting for this exact invitation. Since he had just arrived in Konoha and didn't have any of this world's currency, finding a place to stay had been a bit of a problem.
As the two walked together toward Naruto's apartment, the Third Hokage was watching with growing alarm.
Naruto is the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki… and now some unknown man has approached him and even entered his home?
It wasn't just the Hokage who was alerted—the elders of Konoha, including Danzo, quickly received word. Letting a mysterious outsider get close to Konoha's most important Jinchūriki? That was not something they could ignore.
"Hiruzen, you've grown weak!" Danzo slammed his hand on the table. "How could you allow a complete stranger to enter our village so easily? And now, he's even making contact with that demon fox! It's obvious he's here for the Nine-Tails!"
"Naruto is NOT the demon fox!" The Third Hokage's voice hardened as he glared at Danzo. "He is the son of the Fourth Hokage, and you of all people should know that better than anyone! I won't tolerate anyone referring to him that way again!"
Danzo's expression darkened, but he remained silent.
The Hokage sighed, rubbing his temples. "Do you think I wanted this to happen? Do you think I invited this man in? No—I allowed him to stay for the safety of the village. This man is too powerful. The only thing we can do now is try to keep the situation under control and hope nothing goes wrong."
The room fell into stunned silence.
Koharu Utatane, one of the village elders, narrowed her eyes. "Hiruzen, what do you mean by that? Explain yourself."
The Hokage exhaled deeply. "I only know his name—Goku. I don't know where he came from, or what his motives are. But his power… I couldn't even withstand a single move from him."
"WHAT?!"
Everyone's faces turned pale.
They knew the Third Hokage's strength better than anyone. He was once known as the strongest ninja of his time. If even he couldn't last a single move against this outsider…
Just how terrifying was this man?!
Danzo's gaze flickered. "Are you certain?"
"Do you think I'd joke about something like this?" the Hokage snapped, still irritated at the humiliating memory.
Koharu's wrinkled face grew even more serious. "This situation is dangerous. What should we do?"
Homura Mitokado, another elder, frowned. "If what Hiruzen says is true, then we need to be extremely careful with how we handle this."
The Hokage's eyes turned sharp as he looked at Danzo. "Danzo, keep your ROOT agents in check. If anything happens, I'll hold YOU personally responsible."
Danzo's expression twisted under his bandages, but he forced himself to nod. "Understood, Lord Third."
But deep in his mind, his thoughts churned. If this outsider is truly that powerful…
Perhaps he could be eliminated.
---
Naruto's apartment was just as Goku had expected—small, messy, and painfully cold.
Though Iruka sometimes visited Naruto and looked after him, he was only a Chūnin and had his own missions to complete. Most of the time, Naruto was completely alone.
For a child to grow up in such conditions without turning bitter…
That was nothing short of a miracle.
As soon as they arrived, Goku summoned the girls from his World Ring. When they saw the state of Naruto's home, their hearts immediately filled with sympathy.
Within minutes, they started cooking, cleaning, and organizing everything.
Before long, the once cold and empty apartment had become warm and welcoming.
But no one was happier than Naruto himself.
For the first time in his life, he truly felt the warmth of a family. Overcome with emotion, he cried tears of joy.
He even made his first-ever friend—Alice.
Both of them were orphans and still young, so they quickly bonded and became inseparable.
---
After dinner, everyone began training.
Although none of the girls had learned ninjutsu before, they were all highly talented. With Goku guiding them, they quickly grasped the chakra refinement technique and sat down to meditate. Even Alice and Shizuka joined in, while Naruto, ever the hard worker, refused to be left behind.
Meanwhile, Goku turned his attention to Mastering the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu.
Even though he wasn't familiar with chakra pathways, he was already an expert in energy control. His memory was also near-perfect, so learning the technique was surprisingly easy.
After practicing the hand seals and chakra flow for a bit, he successfully created his first Shadow Clone—though it was far from perfect.
But after repeating the process a few times, he finally mastered it.
Looking at his three identical clones, Goku couldn't hide his excitement.
"Alright, let's test something!" he said, turning to one of his clones. "Try hurting yourself—see if you disappear!"
"Got it!"
Without hesitation, the Shadow Clone formed a knife-hand and stabbed it straight into its own chest.
But instead of vanishing…
Nothing happened.
There was no blood. No sign of injury. Instead, the wound healed instantly.
Goku's eyes widened in excitement. "Just as I thought! Since I have immortality, my clones inherit that trait too! Which means… I can create thousands of immortal clones!"
A mischievous grin spread across his face.
"Forget Evil Dragons or Gods of Destruction—if I can't beat them one-on-one, I'll just mob them to death!"
Still buzzing with excitement, Goku left a clone behind to protect the girls while he Instant Transmissioned away.
Goku arrived at a deserted island, glancing around with satisfaction.
"This place will do."
Summoning two clones, he took a deep breath. "Alright, you two—try fusing!"
The clones nodded and stood side by side.
With synchronized movements, they angled their bodies, extended their index fingers, and—
"Fusion!"
A brilliant light engulfed them.
As Goku watched in anticipation, a powerful energy surged from the fusion process.
When the light finally faded, standing before him was…
A perfectly fused version of his clones—radiating power equal to his own!
Goku laughed in triumph. "It worked! Shadow Clones can use the Fusion Dance!"
But an even wilder idea struck him.
"If I can fuse with my clones…"
"What happens if I keep fusing over and over?"
With his heart pounding in anticipation, he summoned more clones, preparing to push his new technique to its absolute limits.
"Fusion!"
A blinding light erupted once more.
When it dissipated, the result was a stronger, more refined version of himself—his muscles even more defined, his physique more imposing, and his energy overwhelmingly powerful.
"HAHAHA! It worked again! Just as I thought!" Goku laughed, his excitement skyrocketing. "A Shadow Clone is just an energy construct of myself, given temporary form. If it can materialize, then it can also fuse! And since my clones are just me, there's no limit to how many times I can fuse—as long as I can withstand it!"
Testing his limits, Goku created dozens of clones, had them fuse into stronger versions, and then fused again.
And again.
And again.
With every fusion, his power skyrocketed.
By the time he reached the third level of fusion, his power—without even transforming into Super Saiyan—had already reached levels close to Super Saiyan 2!
If I transform on top of this… Just how terrifying will my strength become?
And unlike normal Fusion Techniques, his had no time limit!
Why? Because his Shadow Clones were just extensions of his own energy. They weren't separate individuals with conflicting power levels. The Fusion only enhanced and reabsorbed his own energy, with no drawbacks like traditional fusions.
To put it simply:
Normally, two separate beings fusing have a time limit because they are individuals.
But since Shadow Clones are just split versions of Goku's own energy, he can fuse them permanently.
"Hahaha! This technique is broken! As long as my body can handle it, I can keep stacking power endlessly!"
Now, only one question remained…
How many times could he fuse before reaching his absolute limit?
Determined to find out, Goku created even more clones and continued the process.
However, just as Goku completed his second fusion cycle, something unexpected happened.
All of his remaining clones suddenly exploded into smoke, vanishing instantly!
"…What the hell?!"
Shocked, Goku tried creating another Shadow Clone—but the moment it materialized, it immediately dispersed.
Realizing something was off, he undid his fusion—and as soon as he did, he was able to use Shadow Clones again.
But the moment he fused twice, the clones stopped working once more.
After testing it several times, Goku finally figured it out.
The Shadow Clone Jutsu and the Fusion Technique were both techniques that affected his energy balance.
Normally, when a Shadow Clone disperses, all of its experience and energy return to the original body.
But since his Fused Clones were significantly stronger, the energetic link between him and his other clones was disrupted.
His body simply couldn't maintain both at the same time.
Simply put—after fusing twice, his energy structure became too condensed, making it impossible to create more clones.
"Well… that's a bit of a bummer," Goku muttered, but he quickly grinned. "Still, I can't complain! Even with this limitation, I've already gained a ridiculous power boost!"
After all, at his current level, he was already practically unstoppable among normal fighters. Even against stronger opponents, he would have a much better chance than before.
And in the Dragon Ball universe, where absurdly powerful beings roamed, any extra survival technique was a huge advantage.
When Goku returned home, the girls were still meditating and refining their chakra.
Not wanting to disturb them, he instead focused on studying two new forbidden jutsu:
1. Kekkei Genkai Extraction Jutsu – A forbidden technique that could extract a person's bloodline ability and transfer it to another. However, the success rate was low, and the process had severe side effects, which was why it had been classified as a forbidden jutsu.
2. Chimera Jutsu – A far more powerful technique, first seen in Naruto Shippuden: The Will of Fire. This jutsu allowed the user to fuse with other ninja or summoned beasts, gaining their abilities—including Kekkei Genkai. If one absorbed five different Kekkei Genkai, they could become an immortal, perfect ninja.
Both of these could be useful… Goku thought, carefully memorizing their structure.
---
The next morning, Naruto had already left for school.
After breakfast, Goku led the girls to the Hokage's office. Since their talent was exceptional, they needed a skilled teacher to train them properly. And the best candidate was…
The Third Hokage.
"You want me to teach them ninjutsu?" Hiruzen asked in surprise, then sighed. "You're their husband, and you're already incredibly strong. Do they really need me as their teacher? Besides, the Uchiha Massacre just happened—do I really have time for this?"
Goku shrugged. "I know hand-to-hand combat, but I'm not exactly an expert on ninjutsu. You're the best teacher for this. Don't worry—I'll make it worth your while. Consider it a favor—if you ever need help, I'll owe you one."
Hiruzen's eyes shone at those words. Having a favor from Goku was as good as having a life insurance policy!
"Haha! Well, if you put it that way, then of course I'll do it!"
With that, the girls officially started their ninjutsu training under the Third Hokage.
Goku joined them for a bit but quickly got bored. So, he simply left a Shadow Clone behind to train alongside them while he went off to explore Konoha.
As Goku walked through the streets, he overheard countless conversations.
"Did you hear? The entire Uchiha Clan was wiped out last night!"
"No way! They were the strongest clan in Konoha! How could one person destroy them all?!"
"I don't know, but I heard it was Uchiha Itachi who did it!"
"Itachi?! The genius who was said to be on par with Uchiha Shisui?!"
"Yeah! Konoha already declared him an S-Rank criminal!"
Listening to the chatter, Goku smirked.
"So, the news is finally spreading. Things are about to get interesting in Konoha."
Not caring too much, he made his way to the back mountains, then entered his World Ring to train.
Inside his World Ring, Goku summoned over 100,000 Shadow Clones and had them study the Kekkei Genkai Extraction Jutsu and Chimera Jutsu.
After all, the more people working on it, the faster the results!
Within minutes, his clones had fully analyzed and perfected both jutsu.
Not only that—Goku even created a brand-new, improved version of the technique!
"Haha! Looks like I just invented something insane!"
Grinning, he prepared to test his new creation.