"Think carefully," Old Supreme Kai said, squinting at Goku. "When did your tail fall off? And how did it fall off?"
"Now that you mention it…" Goku rested his chin on his hand and thought for a few seconds. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. "I remember! It was Kami who said my tail was a nuisance, so he removed it for me! After that, it never grew back!"
"The one who tied the knot must untie it," Old Supreme Kai said with a faint smile.
"You mean… if Kami helps, my tail might grow back?" Goku understood immediately.
"More or less," Old Supreme Kai nodded. Then he asked, "So that Super Saiyan 4 form of yours… how many times stronger is it than your current self?"
"About four thousand times, I think," Goku replied.
Old Supreme Kai: "..."
Old Supreme Kai's eyes widened, and his ears practically stood straight up.
Four thousand times?!
Are you kidding me?!
"Kid, you're not messing with me, are you?" Old Supreme Kai asked in disbelief.
"No, Old Supreme Kai! Why would I joke about something like that?" Goku shook his head.
"If that's true…" Old Supreme Kai clicked his tongue in amazement. "Then your future self should be about three hundred thousand times stronger than you are now."
"I'm not sure how you calculated that, but it's probably close," Goku said. He never paid much attention to numbers.
"Kid… you're incredible," Old Supreme Kai muttered in shock. "With that level of strength, you're already close to touching the threshold of a God of Destruction…"
"God of Destruction?" Goku froze.
"I have another question," Old Supreme Kai said seriously. "You said that in the future, the negative energy from the Shadow Dragons affected the entire universe, right?"
"That's right," Goku nodded. "The universe was almost swallowed by negative energy. If it hadn't been stopped, everything would've been in danger."
"Then… didn't Beerus show up?" Old Supreme Kai asked curiously.
"Beerus? Who's that?" Goku scratched his head.
"Lord Beerus, the God of Destruction," Old Supreme Kai replied.
"I've never heard of him…" Goku thought for a moment. "Later, I defeated the Shadow Dragon with a Spirit Bomb, but I used up all my energy. My soul followed Shenron and ended up in this era. As for this God of Destruction you mentioned, I really don't know."
"That's strange," Old Supreme Kai pressed his hand to his forehead. "With such a huge crisis, Lord Beerus should've appeared. Even if he didn't, Lord Zeno might've erased the universe directly. Negative energy? That's nothing with a wave of his hand."
"Huh? Old Supreme Kai, what are you talking about? I don't understand any of it," Goku said in confusion.
"Let me ask you something else," Old Supreme Kai continued. "Did future me ever explain how I got sealed inside that sword?"
"You said it was by a very powerful guy," Goku answered honestly. "Not as strong as Majin Buu, but still stronger than you."
"I said that?" Old Supreme Kai sighed, feeling even more convinced that his future self was an idiot.
"Yeah," Goku nodded.
In the distance, Supreme Kai and Kibito kept glancing over, both wearing shocked expressions.
"Ancestor and that man named Son Goku seem to be getting along pretty well," Kibito muttered uneasily.
"It's like they've known each other for a long time," Supreme Kai said thoughtfully.
"That doesn't make sense," Kibito frowned. "It shouldn't be like that."
"I wonder what they're talking about… They look very serious," Supreme Kai said, tempted to listen in but feeling it would be rude.
Back at the conversation, Old Supreme Kai felt speechless.
"So… did the one who sealed me ever appear again?" he asked.
"No," Goku replied.
"He never showed up again all these years?" Old Supreme Kai paced back and forth again.
By now, Lord Beerus should've woken up.
Even if he rarely went to Earth, a kid like Goku becoming this strong should've attracted his attention.
And even if Beerus didn't notice, Whis should've told him.
Something's wrong.
Very wrong.
But there's no way I'm telling him that Beerus was the one who sealed me.
That would be too embarrassing.
"So in the end," Old Supreme Kai asked, "when the Shadow Dragon appeared, future me didn't seek help from other universes?"
"Other universes? What do you mean?" Goku was even more confused.
"I see… I think I understand now," Old Supreme Kai sighed deeply.
"Old Supreme Kai, could you please explain it clearly?" Goku asked helplessly.
"I can tell you one thing for sure," Old Supreme Kai said, stepping forward and patting Goku on the shoulder with a smile. "Your worries are probably unnecessary."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Goku scratched his head.
"There's a high chance that in this timeline, the Shadow Dragons won't appear at all," Old Supreme Kai said mysteriously.
"They won't?" Goku froze, then suddenly realized something. "Because as long as we don't overuse the Dragon Balls, we can prevent it?"
"No," Old Supreme Kai shook his head. "It's because something even more terrifying will appear."
He sighed toward the sky, secretly pleased, then looked at Goku with a serious expression.
"Old Supreme Kai… you mean something worse than the Shadow Dragons?" Goku asked in shock.
"Yes," Old Supreme Kai said gravely. "His name is Beerus."
"Beerus?" Goku had never heard of him.
"That's right," Old Supreme Kai nodded. "The strongest God of Destruction in the universe—Lord Beerus."
"Stronger than the Shadow Dragons?" Goku asked.
"Based on my estimation, Beerus is at least ten thousand times stronger than the Shadow Dragon," Old Supreme Kai said thoughtfully.
Goku: "..."
Goku was completely stunned, unable to speak for a long time.
Ten thousand times stronger…
"Old Supreme Kai, you're joking, right?" Goku said weakly.
"Who's joking with you?" Old Supreme Kai snorted. "Ten thousand times is just a conservative estimate. I don't even know how strong Lord Beerus really is. It could be a hundred thousand times… or even a million."
Goku: "..."