Goku's jaw dropped. "That's... that's impossible! How did you—"
"The divine energy I've been cultivating naturally repels hostile attacks," Karnel explained calmly. "Your Kamehameha was impressive, Goku, but it's still fundamentally ki-based. My divine nature creates a kind of protective barrier."
The outcome of the battle was beyond doubt. Goku had done everything he could to no avail and could only admit defeat with good grace.
"Goku, do you want to know why I am so powerful?" Karnel leaned against a nearby rock and smiled mysteriously.
Goku asked in surprise, "Isn't it because of your own training?"
"Yes, but there's another reason, I have someone above me." Karnel laughed and pointed toward the sky with a theatrical gesture.
"People? What does this have to do with people? Is there someone very powerful up there? Did you train there?" Goku sat cross-legged on the ground, scratching his head and thinking hard. With his straightforward mind, he could only come up with this simple conclusion.
"No, I'm just kidding! Haha!" Karnel grinned mischievously. "This has nothing to do with the people above, but it does have to do with the people below." He spoke in deliberately mysterious circles.
Goku was thoroughly confused. What about people above and people below? The concepts made his brain feel like scrambled eggs. After thinking for a long time, he shouted in realization, "You're messing with me again! I think you're lying, not a word of it is true!"
"No, what I'm saying this time is actually true," Karnel said with a completely straight face. "If you want to become stronger, there really is something down there that can help you."
This time it's not fake, isn't there the Other World down there? There's a Snake Way in the Other World that leads directly to King Kai's planet and that rotund North Kai.
Anyway, Goku will die soon enough in the original timeline, and then go to King Kai to train. Maybe I should introduce him to this opportunity a little earlier, Karnel thought to himself.
With Goku's simple thinking, he really couldn't figure out what Karnel meant. Karnel held his chin and tempted with a devilishly playful voice, "Goku, do you want to understand the meaning of life? Do you want to become truly stronger? Go down there, you can become incredibly powerful!"
"What's down there? Should I dig a hole or something?" Goku asked with genuine confusion.
Are you serious right now? Karnel's eye twitched slightly as he rubbed his face and said in a mock-sinister tone, "You guessed wrong, I meant for you to die!"
"What?! Why should I die for no reason? What would happen to Chi-Chi if I died?" Goku scratched his chest with a genuinely worried expression. "How could you want me to die? That's mean!"
"Besides," he added with typical Goku priorities, "I won't be able to eat after I die. What a tragedy that would be."
You still have some sense and feel sorry for your wife... Karnel thought with grudging respect.
"Okay, I take back what I was about to say," Karnel shook his head and smiled ruefully. He reached into his dimensional storage and pulled out some divine fruit, tossing a few pieces to Goku.
Goku caught the strange fruit in his hands and asked in amazement, "What kind of fruit is this? I've never seen anything like it before. Karnel, are you a magician? It's incredible that you can suddenly create something like this from thin air!"
"Don't you want to eat it? This is for eating, don't ask so many questions," Karnel said, peeling his own fruit and taking a bite.
Goku devoured the divine fruit in two massive bites, just like he did with everything else. He smacked his lips appreciatively and exclaimed, "What a magical fruit! By the way, Karnel, you still haven't told me how to get down there yet. After seeing how powerful you are, I can't wait to become stronger!"
"Then I'll tell you in detail," Karnel's expression grew serious, though his tone remained slightly playful. "As long as you experience death once, your soul will receive a pass from King Yemma after reaching the Other World. After going through various hardships along the way, you'll embark on a long journey to reach a very small planet with intense gravity. Then you'll meet a rather round individual there. As long as you can earn his approval and complete the training under his guidance, you can gain incredible strength. How about it? Sounds simple enough, right?"
Goku wasn't tapping his forehead as he counted on his fingers, carefully recording every word Karnel said with intense concentration.
"But how can I come back after I die?" Goku asked as a sudden thought flashed through his mind.
Karnel chuckled approvingly. "You're not too dense to worry about that issue. Aren't there Dragon Balls created by the guardian of Earth? Have Krillin and the others gather the Dragon Balls and agree on a specific time. Then they can summon Shenron to revive you."
"Oh, so that's how it works! I completely forgot about the Dragon Balls," Goku suddenly realized, scratching the back of his head with embarrassment.
Karnel tossed away the half-eaten divine fruit in his hand and said seriously, "Yes, King Kai's planet is an excellent place for training. I'd suggest you stay there for several years to train properly. But there's no rush right now. You and Chi-Chi have just gotten married, so you should go back and spend quality time together first."
If Goku committed suicide shortly after getting married, even though he could be resurrected with the Dragon Balls, I'm afraid Chi-Chi, who's still basking in newlywed bliss, wouldn't be able to accept this. And if she knew it was my idea... Karnel shuddered at the thought.
"So there really is such an amazing place in the Other World that I didn't know about! Karnel, you're incredible, you know everything! No wonder you're so powerful. I bet you trained there a long time ago," Goku stood up and shadow-boxed the air excitedly.
Uh, well, I don't think I'm going to die anytime soon, Karnel thought awkwardly. He naturally wouldn't tell Goku that he had never actually been to King Kai's planet himself, so he could only laugh it off mysteriously.
"Alright, I can't wait to go to that magical place you mentioned for training! I should go back and tell Chi-Chi about this!" Goku flew up into the air, waved enthusiastically to Karnel, and headed back toward his home.