Dawn Broke.
Sakura's head drooped endlessly, worn down by the exhaustion of a night spent with too much vigilance and too little rest. Naruto had done his shift, but with Sasuke unconscious, she was forced to replace the blond in the early hours, carrying the burden of the last watch as well.
She managed barely three hours of sleep, and even that was far from restorative. The refuge they had taken offered little comfort. Perhaps she had camped before, but always with a crackling fire and a sleeping bag. This time she had neither. Her body ached everywhere, battered by the unforgiving hardness of the ground she'd been forced to use as a bed.
Slowly, she stood, stretching her back to ease the knots tightening her muscles.
"I hope Sasuke wakes up soon," she murmured to herself, worry etched across her exhausted face. It wasn't only the lack of sleep—she hadn't eaten a bite since the exam began. "Otherwise, we'll have to quit. We can't go on with one team member down."
As she considered their dwindling options, her mind wandered to Goten. The boy was missing. They couldn't possibly reach the tower and pass the trial as if nothing had happened, not with a teammate lost—even with both scrolls in hand.
"Cha! Damn it, Goten! Why do you always make things so difficult? I bet you're fine, fooling around like always! CHA CHA!"
Her initial fear for Son's safety gave way to frustration—perhaps even irritation—fed by the white lies Naruto had told her the night before. Still, one way or another, she found herself believing he was safe.
At least Naruto had said one smart thing among all his nonsense: Goten wasn't just anyone. Hurting him—much less killing him—wouldn't be easy.
Those thoughts would have to wait. A strange sound caught the kunoichi's attention. Everything happened fast: rapid footsteps across the dirt, bushes rustling, and then a sudden leap. In an instant, the culprits revealed themselves.
Sakura barely had time to turn before the three Sound shinobi stood before her. She went pale, understanding immediately the danger they posed.
"Uchiha still hasn't woken up?" rasped Dosu, his bandaged figure sending a chill down Sakura's spine. "As you can see, time is running out, and we've no more to spare. Conscious or not, our time to act has come."
"Doesn't matter," sneered Zaku from atop a lonely rock, grinning wickedly as Sakura stepped back in fear. "I've been waiting all damn night for this. If I have to wake him by force, I will—even if it means killing you and that idiot over there."
The words hit Sakura like ice water. They'd been watching the whole time. Neither she nor Naruto had sensed a thing.
What incompetence. Their vigil had been useless—worse, it had only drained them, leaving them weaker now when it mattered most.
Instinctively, Sakura pulled out a kunai, her trembling hand raised in defense. But her resolve faltered—
"AAAHHH! I'VE HAD ENOUGH! ALWAYS THE SAME!"
Naruto erupted like a madman, drawing every eye at once. "I'm sick of Sasuke getting all the attention! Sasuke this, Sasuke that! Why does everything have to be about him? I'll prove to you all that I, Naruto Uzumaki, am better than Sasuke—BELIEVE IT!"
The silence that followed was almost comical. The Sound shinobi could only stare, sweat trickling down their necks, their eyelids twitching.
This boy was insane.
Their disbelief ended when Naruto charged straight at them, fist raised, ready to strike without a second thought.
"Naruto, wait!" Sakura cried—but it was too late.
ZAAASS!
"Wha—?! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!" shouted Naruto, furious and flailing—now dangling from a tree branch inside a net.
"This is the most pathetic thing I've ever seen," Zaku laughed, unable to hold back.
He wasn't wrong. They had never faced such a pitiful team—one member caught in his own allies' trap. Communication was supposed to prevent this. In truth, the mistake was Sakura's.
Team 7 was defeating itself.
"I still don't get why we were given such a stupid mission," Kin scoffed, shaking her head as she pulled out a few senbon. "Not only did your idiot friend fall into your trap, but it was painfully obvious where it was. The soil was freshly disturbed."
She was right. The trap might fool a civilian, maybe even a careless genin—but any shinobi paying attention would have spotted it instantly.
"Nice try, little girl," Dosu said with a thin smile, the bandages stretching over his face. The Sound leader crept forward with his strange, hunched gait, his head tilted unnaturally to the side, making him look all the more grotesque. "But now—we'll kill you."
Without another word, the three leapt at Sakura, intent on finishing her. But the kunoichi still had one card left. Smirking, she slashed an invisible wire with her kunai.
Above them, a massive log was released, swinging down to crush the unsuspecting attackers.
"Watch out! Another trap!" Dosu barked.
Mid-air, they couldn't change their path. Yet Sakura didn't know—they, too, had a trump card.
Dosu thrust his arm forward, placing his hand on the descending log. In an instant, his chakra surged, amplifying the sound waves from his Melody Arm. The log shattered into splinters with a deafening crack.
Sakura's green eyes widened. She hadn't expected her plan to fail so effortlessly. Helplessness flooded her. Hours of preparation had been destroyed in less than a second. All for nothing.
"It's clear you have no real talent as a ninja," Dosu mocked, closing in with his teammates on the terrified girl. "Someone like you will always have to struggle harder."
BAAAMM!
None of the three expected it. From above, three Narutos came crashing down, each landing a furious heel kick to the back of their heads. They couldn't react in time.
Dosu and the others slammed into the forest floor with a loud crash. They managed to land on their feet, so the damage wasn't too bad, but the surprise was enough.
As if they were linked by thought, they jumped back at the same time, putting distance between themselves and Naruto's clones before the attack could continue.
"I'm not out of this fight yet," said the real Naruto in the middle, pointing at them with the kunai he had used to cut himself free from the net. "I already told you—I'm Naruto Uzumaki, and I'll prove I'm better than Sasuke."
Zaku let out a laugh, almost hysterical, happy that at least the battle wouldn't be too easy. They had underestimated the blond kid, but not anymore.
"Last night you talked so much crap I nearly went crazy. I was this close to coming out and killing you. So now that you're right in front of me, I'm not letting the chance go."
Sakura's face flushed with embarrassment. Their dumb conversation from last night hadn't been private after all—the Sound team had heard everything. Luckily, they didn't know who Goten was.
Zaku stepped forward, showing the holes in his palms, ready to attack—but Dosu raised his arm, stopping him.
"I'll handle this. If you want a fight so badly, the Uchiha will be yours. Kin, cover me if needed."
Kin nodded obediently, already holding senbon between her fingers. One wrong move from Naruto, and she'd turn him into a pincushion.
"I'm impressed by your shadow clones," Dosu said. "But I'll show you something much better—something you've never seen before."
With that, Dosu sprinted toward Naruto, both arms pulled back, grinning as he realized Naruto had sent his clones forward to meet him.
"Kin, now!"
At his command, Kin hurled her senbon at the clones. They stopped and dodged out of the way, avoiding the senbon tied to jingling bells.
"Ha! That won't work on me!" all the clones shouted in unison, grinning with Naruto's trademark fox-like smile and pointing at her. "Especially if the senbon have bells! I'll always hear where they're coming from, so I'll ne—ughh!"
Before he could finish bragging, two silent senbon—without bells—shot forward. Kin had tricked him. They pierced through the throats of both clones, making them vanish instantly in puffs of smoke.
Kin smirked in satisfaction. Such an old trick, yet it fooled him perfectly.
"Don't get distracted, boy! I'm coming for you!" Dosu's voice snapped Naruto's focus back.
He was already right in front of him, throwing a punch at Naruto's face. Naruto jumped back in time, surprised that Dosu wasn't as fast as he thought.
The blond countered, hurling his kunai at Dosu, who was left open after that punch—
But before he could follow through, the world began to spin. A strange buzzing filled his ears. His balance was gone. Naruto stumbled, his knees hitting the ground as nausea took over.
Dosu looked down at him with arrogance, noticing the tiny involuntary flicks of Naruto's eyes—signs of vertigo.
"No matter how fast you are," he said, as Naruto gagged and vomited bile from his empty stomach, "my jutsu travels at the speed of sound. There's nothing you can do."
Dosu walked closer and delivered a sharp kick to Naruto's face, sending him flying aside. Now nothing stood between him and the hollow tree where Sasuke lay—except Sakura.
"What did you do to Naruto?" Sakura shouted. Her voice was defiant, but fear was clear beneath it.
"I'm glad you asked." Dosu pulled back his sleeve, revealing a metal device with holes strapped to his arm. "With this, I don't need to hit my enemies directly. I attack with sound."
"S-Sound?" Naruto croaked weakly from the ground, forcing himself to rise.
"That's right. With my Sound Arm and my chakra, I vibrate the air molecules, creating sound waves. I can focus them on one point—your inner ear, the part that controls balance. In short, I destroy your sense of equilibrium."
Even through his bandages, it was obvious that Dosu was smiling, enjoying Naruto's pained expression as blood dripped from his ear.
"And I can't guarantee your eardrums will survive. Yours is already ruptured."
Now he turned toward Sakura. Without another word, he ran straight at her, head tilted unnaturally, fist raised.
CLAAANG!
Naruto had jumped in between them, blocking Dosu's Sound Arm with his kunai. Sakura was safe—but he wasn't.
Dosu smirked. Instead of wasting the impact, he used the metallic clash to his advantage, amplifying and redirecting the sound straight into Naruto's ears.
"AAAGHHH!"
Naruto screamed. His remaining good ear couldn't handle the pressure—it ruptured too. Blood poured from both ears. His legs wobbled, the world spinning faster and faster. Still, he stood protectively in front of Sakura until his strength gave out. His vision went black, and he collapsed at Dosu's feet.
"The kid's got guts," Zaku said with a smirk, arms crossed as he watched.
But suddenly, both he and Kin froze, their eyes widening. Kin raised her finger, shouting, "Watch out!"
Dosu turned his head—and a bandaged fist was already inches away.
Naruto's earlier kick to the neck had been strong, but this punch was on another level. The world spun as Dosu took the full blow to the face. He flew backward, crashing into the ground and skidding painfully through the dirt before finally stopping, blood soaking through his bandages at the mouth.
Shaking, Dosu pushed himself to his knees, dizzy, glaring at the attacker with his one uncovered eye.
"Who… are you?"
The boy stood tall, glaring back with thick brows and a fierce expression.
"I am the most handsome man of the Leaf Village… and my name is Rock Lee."
Meanwhile—
"Damn it, this is humiliating," Shikamaru complained, sitting on the ground with a heavy sigh. His usual annoyance was there, but this time, there was also a bit of disappointment and shame in his breath.
And it wasn't for nothing. They had just faced Neji Hyuga, who didn't even bother stealing their scroll—he thought they were too weak and useless.
"I know, right? What's going through that idiot's head? How could he not fall at my feet after seeing my beautiful, irresistible charm?"
For Ino, the real humiliation was failing to seduce Neji like she had planned. Resigned, she tied up her long blonde hair again—her looks and flirty faces had been just as useless in catching his attention.
Shikamaru completely ignored her vain remark. To him, it was completely off the topic. But something else had caught his attention.
"Did you see the way he reacted when he saw us come out of the bushes?"
"Obviously," Ino snorted as she finally fixed her hair. "He thought we were with Trunks. Of course, he got scared like that."
"Yeah, I know that. But I've heard that kid is the most talented genin in years," Shikamaru continued, head lowered, still thinking about the look of fear that had twisted Neji's face moments ago. "Sure, he saw Trunks fight for himself, but… is he really that strong? Strong enough to scare Neji like that? If I were as powerful as Neji, I don't think I'd panic that much!"
What Shikamaru didn't know was that Neji, with his Byakugan, had sensed a fraction of a Saiyan's power. Because of that, he had a clearer idea of Trunks's strength than even Kakashi or Asuma, despite everything those jounin already knew. It was simply monstrous.
But Ino also knew something. She bit the inside of her cheek and nervously shifted her blue eyes, trying to hide what she knew. She knew Trunks wasn't from this world. If he had faced that pink demon in the past, then his power had to be beyond comprehension.
She remembered the strange way he had introduced himself—his golden hair standing up in sharp spikes, defying gravity, and his deep jade-green eyes, even sharper than his already intense look. But most of all, she remembered that golden aura that had washed over her, filling her with a feeling she couldn't explain. She needed to feel it again someday.
Her world froze in that moment, her mind stuck on the image of the boy holding her protectively in his strong arms. For a few seconds, she even forgot about the terrifying monster she had faced during that horrible experience. It had been worth it, if only because it let her see a little more of Trunks.
"Damn it, Ino! Are you even listening to me?" Shikamaru shouted for the third time, waving a hand in front of her blank stare. "If I knew your brain was going to dry up from such a simple question, I would've kept it to myself."
"No, it's nothing," she said with a nervous laugh, closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose. "I was just wondering if he's managed to get a scroll by now. We haven't heard anything from him since yesterday."
The blonde lied effortlessly, steering Shikamaru's thoughts away from the real topic and forcing him into quiet reflection. But just as he was about to respond, Choji's voice cut in.
"Hey, there's a fight going on over there," he said from his perch on a tree branch, setting aside the bun he was about to eat. "I think it's Sakura fighting. I can't see too well, but it looks like Naruto's there too… though he seems unconscious… and there's someone else, but I can't make out who."
The battle wasn't far away, but even so, it was hard to see what was happening. Not even Choji's squinting helped much.
Ino and Shikamaru quickly jumped up to where their teammate was sitting. Copying his gesture, they narrowed their eyes and raised a hand to their foreheads to try and focus.
"It's true… Sakura's there, no doubt about it," Ino whispered as she turned to her teammates.
"We should get closer, just to see what's really happening…"
With Shikamaru's words, both nodded and set off immediately.
When they arrived, things weren't any more hopeful. Quite the opposite—the scene was awful. Naruto wasn't just unconscious; he looked hurt and was bleeding from his ears. The other person they hadn't been able to make out from a distance was Rock Lee—the same boy who'd fought Trunks. Now he was worse off than Uzumaki.
That sight filled Team 10 with pure panic. With their own eyes, they'd seen, even if only a little, the monstrous power of that strange, bushy-browed kid. His taijutsu was beyond anything a genin should have, even stronger than many chunin. That meant the three Sound shinobi were, at the very least, extremely dangerous.
For reasons they couldn't guess, Sasuke still lay inside the hollow of the tree. They didn't understand what had happened to him; at a glance, he didn't look injured the way Naruto and Rock Lee did.
"Ino, answer me—what are you going to do?" Shikamaru asked again.
The question made some of Ino's blonde strands tremble in the air. She looked stunned. Pale to begin with, she now seemed drained of every drop of blood—cold sweat ran down her face and soaked her thin neck.
It wasn't only fear or hesitation. Seeing Sakura like that hit her hard. They had been friends once; that had ended over a stupid rivalry about a boy—one who, to be blunt, didn't care about either of them.
Her breath hitched as she watched Sakura cut her own hair to get free of Kin's grip. The sight of those pink locks floating in the air seemed to last forever.
In that moment, she swore she saw the little Sakura again—smiling, telling her that Sasuke liked girls with long hair.
The helpless tears of her friend—unable to defend the people who had defended her—made Ino realize how senseless their rivalry was.
And the sickening sound of bone on bone every time Zaku smashed Sakura's face was something she couldn't take.
She was terrified; her legs wouldn't stop shaking. Intervening would probably get her the same treatment as Haruno and the others. Ino could be vain, spoiled, rude, and even arrogant, but she wasn't cruel.
When the exhausted kunoichi finally let go of Zaku's arm with her teeth, every brutal knee he drove into her deformed face felt like a blow to Ino's heart.
"Sa-Sakura…" she whispered, a single silent tear sliding down her cheek.
PAAAMM!
The final strike crushed whatever humanity Ino had left on the sidelines.
The savage knee sent Sakura crashing onto her back, completely out of it. Her pair of emerald eyes was dull and glassy, fixed on the tree canopy above. That would be her place of death. She knew it.
"Naruto… Lee… Sasuke… forgive me… I was never able to be of use to you… I was always too weak…"
Weak as she felt, she couldn't stop a hand from grabbing the collar of her red dress—now faintly soaked with her blood—and lifting her roughly by the neck.
In that last moment, she thought of Goten. She remembered the night before the written exam, when the boy with a tail had smiled and promised to protect her even at the cost of his life.
She laughed at the thought—just words, she had thought at the time. Lee's words had seemed more meaningful a short while earlier.
No… you're wrong. She thought deep inside herself. Goten did save me. He protected me more than anyone else.
But she couldn't expect him to always be there. He had already kept his promise enough times. Eventually, she'd have to face death on her own. Unfortunately, when that moment came, she was not prepared—and she yielded on the first try.
Zaku held her firmly by the collar, his other palm hovering a few centimeters from her face, ready to blast her head to pieces with a cutting sound wave.
That was all Ino needed. She made a decisive, determined motion to her teammates: she would help. They were already moving to leap from the bushes.
Something stopped them. A strange sound—familiar and yet unlike anything they'd heard—filled the air. The three froze, eyes wide with shock at what they saw.
Sakura, limp and surrendered to her terrible fate, suddenly felt a powerful arm wrap around her thin waist and yank her back, pulling her away from her attacker.
That arm slammed her against a muscular chest, hard as rock. Through the blur of her vision, she recognized the warmth: the unmistakable feel of the boy with the tail.
Sakura had learned to sense ki—or at least his ki. She wasn't sure how, but she could pick out that pure energy from thousands of people, even with her eyes closed. No doubt—it was him.
Goten appeared out of nowhere, to everyone's surprise. One arm circled Sakura's waist and drew her close; with his other hand, he grabbed Zaku's hand—the same hand that had been about to tear her apart.
"What the hell…?" Dosu said, alarmed.
It was inexplicable how the boy had arrived so suddenly. He didn't even blink when it happened. That told them the newcomer was unimaginably fast—the few photons that filtered through the forest canopy hit his retina long after the Saiyan's movement.
"Let me go, damn you!" Zaku screamed, his face twisted in pain.
Goten was barely holding him—only one hand—yet Zaku felt as if every bone might burst. The kid wasn't stupid; even with almost no pressure, Zaku could hear his bones creak as if they might snap if that grip tightened a millimeter more.
Zaku lifted his stunned face and froze. The stranger looked back at him with a pair of shining onyx eyes so terrible they froze his blood. Even more unsettling: the boy's irises flickered constantly, alternating from jet black to jade green.
Goten was restraining himself, holding Zaku's hand gently, but his whole body was taut with tension. His neck bulged, thickening impressively—muscles and veins standing out across it.
He puffed with fury, his muscular chest swelling as if it might tear the top of his orange dogi. The boy was on the verge of losing control, fighting with everything to not go berserk and rip the Otogakure genin apart with his bare hands.
His hair fluttered lightly as if a subtle breeze moved it, lifting the strands in a rhythmic, almost harmonious way.
From the bushes, Ino shuddered. Goten's black hair shimmered and his irises flickered amid a golden glow. She realized what was about to happen: he was about to transform—the same kind of change Trunks had.
There was a reason for his loss of control. After waking and accompanying Hinata's team toward the tower, Goten decided to search for his friends and focus on their presence. The first thing he found was Sakura's ki falling fast and dangerously—dropping toward nothing but death.
Everything happened instantly. When he reached them and scooped up Sakura's limp body, he saw, at a glance, her green eyes—gone, glassy—like a corpse.
Yes—Goten thought Sakura was dead. He believed he had come too late. That idea hit his mind so hard it drowned out the faint chakra Sakura still gave off. The son of Goku lost himself in his emotions—something a warrior should never do.
Visceral rage overruled reason. For a moment, he intended to kill the one responsible with his bare hands. He wanted to tear Zaku apart. He could do it easily.
That moment was the Ozaru's brutality and irrationality dominating his instincts, not his childish, naive nature.
But like a sweet song calming wild beasts, Sakura's weak, soft voice quieted his fury.
"Go-Goten…"
The whole thing lasted seconds—from the boy's mysterious arrival to the instant the kunoichi soothed him. The terrifying physical change in Goten vanished.
His hair fell back to normal, the golden flicker gone; his eyes returned to black and lost that brutal, savage glare. His body shrank back to its usual size. The energy that had filled him and swelled his muscles almost to double had been enormous—but the change was only an optical effect: when it receded, he looked smaller again.
"Sakura? A-are you okay?" he asked in his usual incredulous tone, bending over the nearly unconscious girl in his arms.
Slowly, the kunoichi's vision cleared enough to confirm she hadn't imagined it—he had really been there. Late, yes—but he had come.
Zaku calmed a little. In his arrogance, he considered the possibility it was just an illusion or genjutsu—a trick to scare him. The boy didn't look threatening now: just a kid his size in a silly orange dogi.
He was terribly wrong. Zaku tried to pull his hand free from Goten's grip, but couldn't move it an inch. It was as if he held an immovable statue.
"If you don't let me go this instant, I'll kill you and your little girlfriend in one move," Zaku snarled, out of himself, grinding his teeth.
With his other hand, he made a ram seal to charge his cutting sound wave. He planned to blow Goten and Sakura apart and free his hand in the same move.
Goten came back to himself. He remembered the fight wasn't over yet. He raised his head and looked Zaku straight in the face. He no longer wore the irrational, monstrous look from before, but his expression was fierce and penetrating—filled with the fury he felt over what the genin had done to everyone.
To Naruto, to Lee—and above all, to Sakura. They were safe now. He wouldn't let anything happen to them from here on out.
That didn't change how bad Sakura was. Her face was so swollen she barely managed to open her eyes. Her whole expression was broken—her nose was smashed. She'd taken a brutal beating.
"If you touch her again, I'll kill you."
Seventh Universe – Planet New Namek
Goku was already in conversation with Moori, the Grand Elder, explaining once again the story of Goten and Trunks' disappearance. Of course, the obvious request followed: he needed the Dragon Balls.
Naturally, he explained about the two wishes already entrusted to Shenron, and why he had now come seeking help from Piccolo's people.
"You know it's no problem for us, Goku!" exclaimed the Grand Elder with a warm smile, signaling some of the Namekians to go fetch the Dragon Balls. "We could never say no to the one who freed us from Frieza's tyranny."
Goku chuckled nervously, scratching under his nose with the back of his finger.
Unlike Earth, the Dragon Balls here weren't scattered across the planet. They were safely kept in the Elder's own home. Soon, the glowing orbs were set down in a circle, each pulsing with that familiar golden light—alive, almost—eager to unleash the being bound inside them.
"Takkarato Popurunga Pupiritto Paro!"
As the words of the strange, guttural Namekian tongue rang out, the skies darkened. A brilliant golden pillar shot up from the Dragon Balls, splitting the heavens in two, crackling with raw energy. Slowly, a massive figure began to take shape from the light.
This wasn't Shenron. No—this was Porunga. The difference in their appearance was night and day.
Porunga, the God of Dreams, was a towering, terrifying presence. His massive, muscular body was visible from hundreds of kilometers away, dwarfing everything around him. His broad chest and grotesquely powerful arms—longer than his torso—gave him a brutal, almost simian appearance.
Two great horns jutted from his head, with even larger ones sprouting from his colossal shoulders. From the waist up, he looked humanoid, but his scale was monstrous. The tiny island beneath him looked like nothing more than a small tile under his feet.
Porunga's blood-red eyes locked onto the little beings who had summoned him.
"THOSE WHO HAVE GATHERED THE DRAGON BALLS, YOU ARE GRANTED THREE WISHES! ONLY THREE, AND THEY MUST BE WITHIN MY POWER!"
His booming voice shook the heavens. Namekian children clung in terror to the legs of their parents. Even the adults—who had seen him before—couldn't help but tremble at his overwhelming presence.
Even Goku stood in awe, mouth wide open. He had seen Porunga once before, back when Frieza fought him and the old Grand Elder had been revived for a short time. But seeing him again now? The sheer scale of him was staggering.
"Ask him if he can bring back Goten and Trunks. It's worth a shot," Goku said to Moori, not taking his eyes off the towering giant for even a second.
Moori began reciting Goku's wish in the Namekian tongue. Porunga's crimson eyes flashed in response.
Goku grinned and clenched his fists, already celebrating. Maybe this would work after all! His problems were solved. He wouldn't have to break the news to Chi-Chi, and he could finally go home and eat to his heart's content.
Oh crap, the food…! Goku froze. If Chi-Chi doesn't kill me first, she'll never cook for me again if I come back without Goten. What am I gonna do then?!
Poor Goku. His horizons really were that small.
But his joy was short-lived. Porunga's eyes dimmed, and with them, Goku's fragile hope.
"THAT WISH IS IMPOSSIBLE TO GRANT. I KNOW WHERE THE ONES CALLED GOTEN AND TRUNKS ARE, BUT I CANNOT BRING THEM BACK. THE PLACE THEY ARE IN IS COMPLETELY BEYOND MY JURISDICTION, FOR THE ANCIENT SACRED PACT FORBIDS IT."
"Maybe it's what Supreme Kai was talking about," Moori said once Porunga's thunderous voice faded. "If the boys are in another universe, then Porunga has no power there. The Sacred Pact he mentioned… it probably means only a handful of deities are allowed to interfere with things that happen outside their own universes."
But Goku wasn't listening. He grabbed Moori by the collar and shook him desperately.
"Please! Tell him to send me there instead! Chi-Chi's gonna kill me if I lost Goten! I can't go back like this!"
"I-I don't think it'll w-work," Moori stammered, trying to pry Goku's hands off him. "If Porunga can't bring them back, he definitely can't send you there."
True as it was, Goku wasn't giving up. He begged Moori to try. I'll figure something out once I get there, he thought. I always do. I just have to get to Goten and Trunks first. I'll find a way back later.
Moori spoke the wish. Once again, Porunga's eyes flickered, only to fade. Even the mighty Dragon God couldn't fulfill it.
Deflated, Goku remembered why he had come here in the first place.
"Elder, at least ask him where the boys are exactly. If we know the location, maybe I can figure something out with a little help."
Moori complied. Porunga's eyes glowed briefly before he answered.
"THE ONES CALLED GOTEN AND TRUNKS ARE IN THE NINTH UNIVERSE, NORTHERN GALAXY, SECTOR 4562, PLANET 322—BETTER KNOWN AS EARTH."
Everyone froze. A bead of sweat ran down the back of every Namekian neck. Of all the countless planets in all the countless galaxies, it had to be Earth. Again. Why was it always Earth?
"Well, that's pretty specific," Goku said with a grin, stroking his chin. "That's enough for me. I just need one last wish. Ask Porunga if he can take me straight to Beerus."
From the Other World, Supreme Kai nearly fainted. He shrieked, falling backward onto Bubbles, unable to believe Goku was acting so recklessly again. Couldn't he ever wait and talk things over?
Moori had no idea who Goku was talking about, but not seeing the harm, he spoke the wish. The moment the words left his lips, something shocking happened.
Porunga flinched.
"B-BEERUS? THE GOD OF DESTRUCTION, BEERUS?!"
Despite his thunderous voice, fear crept into his tone. Even Porunga, the mighty God of Dreams, seemed unsettled at the mere mention of the name. His face, of course, remained expressionless—but the alarm was undeniable.
"Yeah, of course! Who else would I mean?" Goku asked casually.
The Namekians looked around in confusion. None of them understood why Porunga reacted that way.
"Well, can you or not?" Goku pressed, raising his voice to snap the Dragon God out of his shock.
"O-OF COURSE I CAN. IT IS AN EASY WISH TO GRANT. IT IS JUST THAT… WELL…"
Goku cut him off. "Don't worry. I'll take full responsibility. Once you grant the wish, you can leave."
Porunga hesitated, then his crimson eyes lit once more. In an instant, Goku's body shimmered and disappeared, but not before he waved and smiled at the Namekians.
On a desolate, rocky planet, where endless deserts stretched in every direction, two figures stood talking — seemingly the only living beings in the entire place.
"Tell me something, Whis… isn't this planet supposed to be famous for its hot springs?"
"That's correct, my lord," replied his ever-smiling attendant, tapping the ground lightly with the sharp tip of his staff.
"Then explain to me… why is there nothing but rocks and cliffs everywhere?"
"Well," Whis answered, twirling a lock of his white hair thoughtfully, "do you remember that enormous crater we saw from space before landing?"
The catlike deity put both hands on his hips and bent sideways, stretching as if it were morning exercises. "Yeah, I noticed it. What does that have to do with my question?"
"Simple," Whis said. "Several centuries ago, you came here for a bath. But since the planet's moons blocked out the sun, the water wasn't as warm as you wanted… so you destroyed all of the moons."
"And the crater?" Beerus asked, twisting his torso left and right like he was still loosening up.
"Oh, yes, that." Whis tapped his chin, then nodded. "Since the water still didn't heat fast enough, you grew angry and punched a hole into the ground. That crater drained the planet dry. Now it's nothing but a desert."
"…Did I really do that?" Beerus muttered, scratching his head with his tail, clearly unsure. "I know I did something like that once, but wasn't it on some frozen planet?"
Whis sighed. "You mean Planet Fichina. And no, there you destroyed the whole thing because every time you made a snow angel, the blizzard erased it immediately. Oh, and the snowman you built was dreadful. You even forgot to bring a carrot for its nose."
Beerus' ears shot up. "Right, right! Now I remember! That was ages ago, though, no wonder I got it mixed up."
Whis gave him a deadpan look. "Ages ago? My lord, that was only 1,200 years ago. Hardly ancient. I still remember it as if it were ten."
Beerus groaned and bent backwards so far that the tips of his ears brushed the ground. "So this place is just a barren rock now…"
"Basically," Whis confirmed with a shrug. "I still don't understand why you didn't just destroy it back then."
Beerus was about to say he thought it would make a good sunbathing spot, but a strange buzzing caught his ear. Both he and Whis turned.
From out of nowhere, Goku appeared behind them, smiling and waving.
"Hey, Lord Beerus! Long time no see!"
"Well, well, look who it is — our friend, the Super Saiyan God! Uh… what was his name again?" Beerus whispered, cupping one hand by his mouth and leaning toward Whis.
"You always forget. His name is Son Goku, my lord," Whis replied, mimicking the whisper so Goku wouldn't notice.
"Right, right… Forgive me. So, Goku, what brings you here? Looking for a rematch, perhaps?"
Immediately, Goku stiffened, grinning nervously, teeth flashing. If he said yes, he'd have to fight. If he said no, he'd be calling Beerus wrong — and as far as Beerus was concerned, he was never wrong.
"Uh… well, not exactly. The thing is, my son and Vegeta's kid… they're missing."
"Oh, those two brats that do the Fusion Dance? I remember giving them a spanking once. But what does that have to do with me?"
This time, Goku dropped the roundabout talk. He needed help.
"It's a long story," he began, watching Beerus lick his paw and rub it over his head like a grooming cat. "But to make it short, they opened a portal and ended up in Universe Nine."
That hit like a thunderclap. Whis' calm face tensed instantly. Beerus's tail and ears shot upright as he clenched a fist, teeth grinding. A subtle purple aura wrapped around him. It wasn't wild, explosive ki — it was calm, divine, otherworldly. The kind of power only a god carried.
Beerus had terrible memories of that universe — especially of the God of Destruction in charge there. They were polar opposites. Oil and water. Cat and mouse. Every time they crossed paths, it ended badly.
Goku swallowed hard. He wasn't sure what he said to anger Beerus, but he could tell it wasn't good. For a moment, he thought he'd made things worse, that instead of getting help, he'd be lucky to even make it home. And then he thought about Chi-Chi — funny how he feared her wrath more than a god's.
Fortunately, Beerus calmed himself with a long breath, pinching the bridge of his nose. The murderous aura faded.
Whis spoke carefully. "Goku, you may not realize this, but a God of Destruction can't simply enter another universe freely. Technically, yes, but… let's just say the relationship between gods isn't always smooth."
"Don't worry, Whis," Beerus interrupted suddenly. "We'll take him."
Whis nearly dropped his staff. That was the last thing he expected to hear.
"But first…" Beerus' golden eyes locked onto Goku. "You'll have to give me a worthy fight. I don't expect you to defeat me. But you must force me to use more than seventy percent of my power."
A challenge like that wasn't impossible… but it was damn close. Still, Goku had been training for this very day.
"I hope you've learned how to reach that world again," Beerus said knowingly.
Goku knew what he meant. Raw power wasn't enough to stand against a god. He learned that the hard way in their first battle. Even fusion wouldn't cut it. To touch godhood, he needed something more.
He took a deep breath, closing his eyes. This wasn't about rage or pride. This was about love — his son, his family, the people waiting for him. He thought about Trunks, about Goten, about everything he'd lose if he failed.
And then it came. Not an explosion of ki, but a calm river flowing through his body. A warmth, not a storm. His aura flashed blue for an instant, then settled into a red glow — divine flames surrounding him. The transformation wasn't destructive or overwhelming. It was serene, yet unmistakably powerful.
Beerus' smile widened. "So, you're ready."
To him, the form wasn't flashy at all. Goku looked slimmer, less bulky, almost like using Kaioken but without the violent strain. Still, the god could feel the difference.
"I know you didn't like reaching this form through borrowed power before," Beerus said, cracking his neck, "but admit it. Being a god, even for a moment, feels incredible."
Goku didn't answer with words. He just smiled — not his usual carefree grin, but a sharp, focused one. His stance dropped into position: one arm pulled back, the other extended forward, hand curled like a tiger's claw.
Beerus stood calmly with his hands behind his back, confident as ever.
It felt amazing, yes — but Goku knew he couldn't let that distract him. If he wanted Beerus' help finding Goten, he had to prove himself in battle.