Chapter Text
The skies above Mount Paozu were beautiful. The clean air, the sound of the powerful wildlife surrounding him, and the soft crimson glow of the sunset. Everything was perfect for the end of a day working in his small radish field.
The Saiyan was sitting at the edge of his high crop field. The altitude gave him a privileged view.
It wasn’t common for Goku to take time to think, but after all the events following the appearance of Lord Beerus, the God of Destruction, the Saiyan felt overwhelmed. Gods of Destruction, and that was only in the Seventh Universe, since the greatness he’d felt after defeating Majin Buu, he now felt small once again.
It was exhausting.
It was thrilling.
It was nostalgic.
He was no longer the biggest fish, and the ocean felt vast again. The potential of that revelation was immense.
“What kind of beings must be out there?” He asked himself, filled with wonder.
He sat there for a while longer, thinking about his next move, so much that by the time the sun set, he didn’t even bother to teleport back home and decided to fly instead.
The most obvious option wasn’t possible. Following Lord Beerus and Whis wasn’t an option, he didn’t know where they lived, and he certainly didn’t want to risk angering the God of Destruction again so soon.
Shin, The Supeme Kai wasn’t an option either, given how busy he always was. And for mundane matters, he usually wasn’t much help unless it was a life-or-death situation.
By the time he returned home, greeted by his wife and son and ready for a delicious dinner, his mind had found the perfect candidate. Third on the list, but the most reliable. Ever since he met him, he’d rarely let him down. A bit mischievous, like all good teachers, and with a very particular sense of humor.
He had to hold back his excitement and wait until after dinner. Fortunately, good food made for a decent distraction.
“I need to visit King Kai.” Goku told his wife.
Just the sight of her frown told him what her answer would be, so he quickly stopped her before she could speak. He pressed his palms together in a pleading gesture.
“It’s not for training!” He begged Chi-Chi. “At least, not in the way you think. I won’t be gone long, just a couple of hours.”
That was enough to stop her in her tracks.
“What for?” She asked.
His wife knew him well. Once an idea entered his head, there was no being in the universe that could pull it out, unless they really tried. So instead of arguing, she decided to listen.
Seeing that she wasn’t exploding in anger for once, Goku took the chance to explain.
“Lord Beerus showed me that the universe is huge, way bigger than I ever imagined.” The Saiyan began. “What if Lord Beerus is only one of many?”
Chi-Chi, attentive, and Goten, curious, listened to him closely. Aside from recent events, it had been a long time since they’d seen Goku with such a bright, excited expression.
“I’d like to explore it a little.” Goku said, then quickly realized how that sounded and shook his head. “Not by flying off in a spaceship!”
Chi-Chi already had her mouth open, ready to object, but that last remark calmed her enough to listen further.
“I’d like to ask King Kai to show me where there are inhabited planets, so I can check them out using Instant Transmission.” He continued, a bit surprised by Chi-Chi’s patience. “The idea is to find powerful people, even if they don’t have strong Ki.”
“But if they’re not strong, how can they be powerful?” Goten jumped in before his mother could respond, fully engaged in the conversation.
“Lord Beerus doesn’t have Ki you can easily sense.” Goku explained. He had already described the concept of divine Ki before, even if it was difficult to grasp. “And the people from Yardrat aren’t strong either, but they have really useful techniques.”
Goten’s question had hit the mark.
“So, what exactly are you trying to do?” Chi-Chi asked. She didn’t want to admit it, but she was curious.
“Just explore for an hour or two each day, if King Kai allows it.”
The joy on Goku’s face wouldn’t fade, it was contagious. Even Chi-Chi found herself unable to refuse, though she didn’t like the idea of Goku finding trouble out in the universe.
But that was who he was. That was the man she’d married, and despite all the years together, his essence had never changed. Denying him this would be denying him who he was.
She tried to come up with another excuse, but Goku was quicker.
“If I find a nice planet, I could take you all there.” He added with unusual cleverness. “Like a family vacation.”
Now that was a good argument, a good idea for a family trip.
“That sounds reasonable. A vacation together, maybe even invites Gohan and Videl. It’s perfect.” She said, trying to mask her agreement.
But quickly, she put her stern face back on, making both Goku and the practically-jumping Goten freeze.
“No more than two hours a day.” She said firmly, setting her conditions and stepping closer to emphasize her point. “You’ll work your share of days and come home to sleep every night.”
Goku nodded repeatedly.
“Good, all settled then.” Chi-Chi said with satisfaction, earning sighs of relief from Goku and Goten. “Come on, Goten. Time for your bath and bed.” Her sweet tone returned.
The Saiyan watched her leave, still surprised at how smoothly that had gone. But moments later, she returned as if she’d forgotten something.
“What are you waiting for?” She asked. “I want you back before nine. Time’s ticking.”
Snapping out of his daze.
“Right! Thanks, Chi-Chi!” He said, placing two fingers on his forehead. His smile brightened; and then, with a flash, the Saiyan vanished.
“More than twenty years together, and he’s still the same.” She sighed, sharing in her husband’s joy.
Heart and Ki
King Kai’s Planet had seen better days, all thanks to being the only real victim of Goku’s first battle with the God of Destruction. A hole piercing straight through its core was the most devastating thing King Kai had ever had to repair.
And he was still repairing it.
“You’re here to help, right?”
There was no cheerful greeting this time. The joy of surviving Beerus’s wrath had long faded for the deity who ruled over the North Galaxy. Bringing Goku back here was bringing him face to face with the nearly ruined planet.
Goku laughed awkwardly and decided to postpone his plans a bit.
If there was one thing the Saiyan was good at, it was moving massive chunks of land efficiently. Within minutes, he managed to fill the planet’s core. The rest, replanting the surface, left it to King Kai.
“I appreciate the help, but I’m sure that’s not why you came.” Said his old master.
“Yeah.” Goku replied.
He explained his plan in the way only Goku could, a little confusing, but somehow eloquent enough.
“You know, normally gods don’t get involved in mortal affairs.” King Kai said, pacing back and forth. “But then again, I’ve kept track of all the good and bad things you’ve done. And you still haven’t done anything bad enough to outweigh all the good you’ve done for the universe: defeating Frieza, Cell, and Majin Buu. Not to mention, you’re on good terms with the God of Destruction.”
King Kai stopped pacing and sighed in resignation.
“At the same time, since another threat is inevitable, it’s important that you keep getting stronger.” He added, looking at him. After a tense pause, he continued, “I’ll help you with this crazy plan of yours.”
“Yes! Thanks, King Kai!”
“But!”
Any celebration Goku had in mind ended the instant he heard the god’s stern tone.
“You must follow one rule, Goku. The most important one!” King Kai’s voice was serious enough to make the warrior swallow hard.
“Yes, King Kai. Whatever it is, I’ll do it!” Goku nodded eagerly.
“You must not interfere directly with the events that take place on any planet you visit.”
That simple statement was enough for Goku to lose track of whatever else King Kai was saying.
“Goku.” The deity grumbled, mildly annoyed, but realizing how unnatural that rule sounded to mortals, he took a long breath and calmed himself. “We gods,” He began, referring to himself and the divine hierarchy, “aren’t allowed to meddle in the affairs of mortals. And no, there’s no problem with mortals discovering ways to visit other planets. But now, since I’m helping you, that means I’m indirectly intervening.”
It was confusing for Goku, so King Kai had to rephrase it twice more before the Saiyan finally understood.
“So, you count as me interfering.” Goku summarized simply.
“Exactly.” King Kai said, pleased.
“Actually.” Goku said, scratching his head in embarrassment, “I kinda promised my family I’d take them on vacation someday.”
King Kai frowned but didn’t scold him. He could understand. He didn’t know Goku’s wife personally, but given the Saiyan’s history of reckless decisions, he could tell Goku was trying to be more considerate of her.
The Northern Kai sighed.
“As long as you don’t make decisions that alter an entire planet’s destiny, there won’t be a problem.” King Kai said, accepting the inevitable course of events.
“Thanks, King Kai!” Goku replied, smiling brightly as always.
With another sigh, King Kai began searching through the universe for the planets he knew. It would take some time.
Heart and Ki
Chi-Chi watched her husband eat as usual, together with their youngest son. It was a small daily joy, seeing him keep his promise. Every day, he’d come home after working in the fields, then head out to explore the universe. And every evening, he returned in time for dinner, eager to share what he’d discovered.
So far, not much.
There was intelligent life, yes.
But not much beyond that.
Some worlds were like stepping back in time: dictatorships, world wars, ancient eras with little technological progress. A few were more advanced, but not much different from Earth.
Others, he couldn’t even visit. Planets with unbreathable atmospheres for oxygen-based life, or worlds shrouded in total darkness and cold that even he couldn’t endure for long.
It had already been three months of those adventures.
That was when a small change happened, something Goku mentioned during dinner.
“We’ve covered all the planets under King Kai’s domain.” Goku announced after swallowing a large chunk of beef.
Chi-Chi seemed unsure of what she’d just heard, but their youngest son, who was always the most excited about anything involving outer space, quickly filled her in without even realizing it.
“North Kai.” said Goten after gulping down his food. “So… does that mean you’ll be able to keep exploring the rest of the universe?”
The Saiyan was already cutting his next serving of meat. Well, basically the entire slab, by the time he answered his son.
“He had to ask Grand Kai for permission so he could explore the territories of the other Kais.” The piece of meat went straight into his mouth, leaving him unable to speak for a moment.
That gave Chi-Chi the perfect opportunity to step in.
“So, our agreement hasn’t changed.” She said calmly. “Although it’s a shame you haven’t found a planet we could visit yet.”
The truth was that Goku had tried taking them to other planets, but given the unknown and potentially deadly wildlife, or hostile cultures with strange customs, Chi-Chi had refused every single time.
Goku finished swallowing.
“I’m sure we’ll find something interesting eventually.” He didn’t look at all discouraged by his earlier failures.
That optimism was contagious, and soon the whole family was chatting happily again.
Heart and Ki
It took another three months before Goku finally stumbled upon something truly interesting. He had chosen a planet at random from the long list King Kai had given him, complete with approximate coordinates of where it should be.
It was located in the Southern Galaxy, pretty far, and showed a life force reading not too different from Earth’s.
Pressing two fingers to his forehead, Goku let himself be guided toward his target. In the blink of an eye, the Saiyan was now in low orbit.
He’d already made the mistake, twice, of teleporting directly to someone’s location, so now he preferred to lock onto a collective life force to arrive safely above the planet instead.
And this time, it didn’t disappoint.
The view was that of a blue world, strikingly similar to his own in many ways. Vast oceans outnumbered the continents, and he could sense the life energy of countless people, far more than on Earth, but none of them stood out as particularly powerful.
Not even close to the level of a seasoned warrior.
Choosing a random continent, he searched for a spot with a large concentration of people and descended. It was a tropical region, full of greenery and densely populated cities.
Wanting to remain unnoticed, he landed in one of the alleys. From there, he observed the bustling life around him. The people looked human, identical to those on Earth, going about their day-to-day routines. Some were even dressed like successful businessmen.
“Wow, everyone here’s human.” He said in awe as he stepped out into a main street. “If I didn’t know I wasn’t on my planet, I’d think this was an exact copy.”
But then he noticed something different. While most of the population looked human, some individuals had distinct features, extra eyes, pink or green skin tones, or even fur. Goku couldn’t help but smile at the sight of such variety.
Sure, he knew Earth also had anthropomorphic animals, even the King of the World was a dog, but this was on an entirely different level.
If Gohan had been there, he probably would’ve said something about an evolutionary divergence at some point in their history. But Goku, with his limited academic knowledge, couldn’t recognize such things.
That was when an explosion caught his attention, just a few blocks away from the busy street.
People screamed.
He could see flames rising from a building’s second floor.
He was about to act.
Until a figure shot across the street like a missile, gliding over the water and controlling it with ease.
Amazed, the Saiyan decided to observe instead.
Within seconds, several other people appeared each one unique, each one using different abilities. The bystanders pulled out cameras or simply watched, just as he did.
They were alike in that they all had powers, using them to help rescue people from the burning building. But they were also different: in body shape, in color, and especially in clothing. Some wore costumes that looked almost theatrical.
“This is incredible.” Goku muttered as he watched them coordinate their efforts.
Then he noticed another problem, one that had already happened on other planets. He couldn’t understand a word anyone was saying amidst the chaos.
In just a few minutes, the situation was resolved.
With that in mind, he kept observing. From accidents to robberies, there was always someone with special powers rushing to help. But those powers were also being used by the ones causing the chaos.
“This really changes things.” He said, full of curiosity. He wanted to ask questions, but without knowing the language, there wasn’t much he could do.
“Now that I think about it… some planets used more than one language. Maybe someone here speaks mine?” He thought to himself. It was a silly idea, but it had happened before on Yadrat and even Namek.
Teleporting back to low orbit, he searched again for large concentrations of life and repeated the process across different parts of the planet. To his surprise, the languages varied widely or sometimes repeated.
Eventually, he arrived on what seemed to be an island. It wasn’t large enough to be a continent, but it still had a huge population.
The pattern repeated itself, people in colorful costumes helping civilians with extraordinary abilities.
But then, something important happened.
“Look, everyone! It’s Cementoss!” Someone shouted.
To Goku’s astonishment, he understood them.
“They’re speaking my language.” He said in disbelief, immediately paying closer attention.
And just like that, everything started to make sense. The words, the roles, the terminology.
Heroes.
Villains.
Just by listening, the events he’d seen began to fall into place. And now, he could finally do something he hadn’t been able to since arriving.
“Hello!” Goku greeted one of the nearby onlookers. A young woman with long white hair streaked with faint red strands. At first glance, she looked like a teacher, reminding him of Goten’s school days. “Can I ask how they’re doing that?”
Caught off guard by the question, the woman looked him up and down. His bright orange outfit stood out so much he could’ve easily been mistaken for one of the heroes.
“What?” She asked, a bit confused. “What do you mean?”
The martial artist quickly realized his mistake.
“Oh, it’s just... I’m not from around here.” He admitted, not wanting to lie but avoiding the whole I’m an alien explanation, which had caused problems before. “I’m a farmer. My family and I live up in the mountains, and my kids are homeschooled.”
The woman blinked several times, processing his explanation. It wasn’t common, but there were rural families who chose that lifestyle, especially back when Quirk-related chaos made schooling unsafe for children.
“I see.” She said, finally understanding who she was talking to. “Then you must know what Quirks are.”
Goku nodded weakly. He had no clue what she meant, but maybe pretending to know would help him piece things together.
“Bulma or Chi-Chi would be way better at figuring this out.” He thought, watching her closely.
“They’re heroes.” She explained. “They perform rescues, respond to emergencies, save lives, and fight villains.”
To Goku, it sounded like a reflection of what he’d already seen on other worlds, humans with diverse abilities, rarely the same and never quite identical.
He couldn’t ask directly, but he was starting to get the picture. These powers weren’t learned, they were innate. That disappointed him a little, knowing it meant he couldn’t train to gain them himself.
“But a strong opponent…” He murmured to himself.
“Did you say something?” Asked the woman.
“No, just thinking out loud.” He smiled sheepishly, scratching his head. “So, tell me, who’s the most powerful hero?”
“All Might.” She answered automatically, though her tone softened right after, almost as if the name carried some emotional weight. Still, she continued. “There’s a ranking of Japan’s most popular heroes. All Might has been number one for years.”
“All Might,” Goku repeated.
Their conversation was cut short as more heroes arrived on the scene, bringing the rescue to a close. In just a few minutes, everyone was safe again.
“The heroes here are really amazing.” The young woman said, admiring the bravery of those who risked their lives to save others. Then she turned to the stranger. “By the way, my name is Fuyumi Todoroki...”
She froze.
He was gone.
“I guess he was in a hurry.” She murmured to herself.
Heart and Ki
“Heroes and villains.” The Saiyan repeated as he walked through the crowded streets. Judging by the sun, it was still just past noon. “That girl said ‘Japan’… Is that the name of this city?”
Talking aloud to himself, Goku scanned the busy metropolis, hoping to witness more of these “heroes” in action, or maybe even find this All Might. He wasn’t exactly a genius, but he understood that popularity didn’t necessarily equal strength. Still, it was worth checking out.
The city reminded him of one of his Earth’s capitals. Similar population, though not nearly as advanced in technology. Capsule Corp was clearly centuries ahead of this world.
At least, in terms of public technology.
Realizing he was nearing the end of the time limit he’d promised Chi-Chi, Goku decided to speed things up. Using his incredible agility, he leapt silently from block to block, careful not to draw attention. Teleporting without knowing the terrain wasn’t the best idea.
Within minutes, he found another event: a bank robbery, something that was apparently universal. He’d stopped plenty of those by accident while running errands for Chi-Chi, and he’d heard plenty of similar stories from Gohan and Videl during their superhero days.
He was about to step in after seeing the panic around him but then noticed everyone looking skyward. So, he waited, remembering King Kai’s constant warnings about interfering in planetary affairs.
“It’s Edgeshot!” Someone yelled.
Almost instantly, a battle began, or something close to it. The hero called Edgeshot was fast and efficient. Goku was impressed by his ability to stretch and flatten his body like paper, making that old Red Ribbon ninja looks like a joke in comparison.
The Saiyan’s sharp hearing picked up a familiar sound. It was the sound he heard coming from Gohan’s room; and lately, from Goten’s as well: The faint scratching of graphite on paper. Looking to the side, he saw a boy and his mother; the boy was furiously sketching the fight before him.
He wasn’t an expert, but he could recognize a fan when he saw one.
“You like heroes, huh?” Goku asked.
“Yeah! Their Quirks are so amazing!” The boy shouted, not taking his eyes off Edgeshot.
“I can see they’re all very unique.” That was something no other planet had shown him, civilizations and technology were one thing, but never before had he seen living beings with such diverse natural abilities.
“That’s the hero Edgeshot. His Quirk is called Paper Limbs. He can make his body as thin as paper and move super fast, kinda like old-school ninjas!” The boy explained without pausing his sketching.
“So, this planet had ninjas too.” Goku muttered to himself. “Could our worlds share the same origin?”
“Huh?” The noise of the crowd made it impossible for the boy to hear him. It seemed the situation had already been resolved, and people were starting to disperse.
“Don’t worry about it.” Goku replied with a grin. Now the boy’s full attention was on him, eyes wide and notebook ready.
“Are you a hero, mister?”
Goku laughed. His clothes probably made him look like one.
“No, nothing like that.” He said honestly. “I’m just a farmer and a martial artist. Not a hero.”
“Izuku.” Called a gentle voice. It was the boy’s mother, looking at Goku politely. “It’s time to go. I’m sorry if he bothered you.”
“No, not at all.” Goku replied, still smiling. “I can tell he’s really passionate about heroes.”
What happened next almost made his smile falter. For a brief instant, the woman’s face showed deep anguish, a flash of pain that disappeared just as quickly, but not quickly enough to go unnoticed.
“Yes… he is.” She said softly, bowing her head slightly. “Goodbye.”
“Goodbye.” Added Izuku, taking his mother’s hand.
Goku raised his hand to wave as they walked away.
Something strange was going on here, but unfortunately, it wasn’t his place to interfere.
“I wonder what that was.” He murmured, realizing he was now the only one still standing in the street.
Judging by the sun’s position, the entire ordeal had eaten up the rest of his allotted time.
“Guess it’s time to head home. I’ll keep exploring tomorrow.”
Stepping away from the main street, the Saiyan found a quiet alley, pressed two fingers to his forehead, and vanished in less than the blink of an eye.