"Oh? And what might that be?"
God looked at Naruto with a curious gaze.
He truly wondered what else he could possibly teach this young man.
Naruto flashed a bright smile and finally revealed the true reason he had come to the temple.
"I heard from Mr. Popo that you, God, know a language not native to Earth. If possible, I'd like to learn it."
By now, Naruto's combat power had already surpassed a thousand.
According to the Dragon Ball world's system of progression, he should've been heading through Snake Way to train under King Kai by now.
However, there was a catch—inside Naruto resided Kakarot.
Anything King Kai could teach, Kakarot already knew.
And the one thing King Kai couldn't teach—Instant Transmission—Kakarot had already mastered as well.
As for King Kai's ten-times-gravity environment, Naruto could just use the Heavenly Imperial Palace's gravity chamber—or ask Bulma to build him a custom gravity room.
If training under Roshi and God still benefited Naruto, it was because they were true martial arts masters.
But going to King Kai at this point?
Well, he'd probably only learn how to tell bad jokes.
After all, besides his divine post, King Kai's only other title was Grandmaster of Terrible Puns.
No—Naruto's true goal was the Namekian language.
Training on Earth could no longer satisfy him.
He wanted to go to Planet Namek.
"Popo may know many of my secrets," God said calmly, "but he's not one to speak carelessly.
I don't know how you learned of this particular secret, but it's not a big deal.
If you wish to learn it, I'll teach you."
God could tell Naruto wasn't being completely truthful.
Still, since even he didn't know much about the language's origin or its deeper purpose, he didn't press further.
"Then I'm in your care, God."
The Namekian language wasn't particularly difficult—mastering a few unique tones and pronunciations was enough to grasp the basics.
In just a few days, Naruto had already learned most of it.
One morning, God summoned all the Dragon Ball warriors.
"Piccolo has almost gathered all the Dragon Balls," he said gravely.
"With his personality, the fact that he's waited this long is already pushing his limits."
During their training, God had also revealed the truth—that he was the original creator of the Dragon Balls.
"If you don't stop him soon, the people underground will be in grave danger."
"So…"
Before God could finish, Naruto cut in cheerfully:
"Then go, brave young heroes—go forth and create miracles!"
(Though, judging by his mischievous grin, his tone might've carried… other implications.)
Krillin blinked in confusion. "Wait, Naruto, aren't you coming with us?"
"Of course I'm coming," Naruto replied casually.
By now, he'd completely bonded with the Dragon Ball team.
"It's just that the place I'm going is… a little different from yours."
"You guys should be enough to show that old Demon King the true meaning of justice through a good, solid group beatdown."
"Oh right, Goku," Naruto turned to him. "Your old home's near Mount Paozu, right?"
Goku, honest as ever, nodded in confirmation.
"Perfect," Naruto said with a grin.
Later…
"So Naruto really didn't come with us in the end," Krillin muttered with a hint of frustration.
Even though their strength had grown tremendously, the thought of facing Demon King Piccolo still filled him with unease.
And now, the strongest member of their team had gone off somewhere else.
That didn't help his confidence at all.
"He said he needed to stop by Goku's old place first," Yamcha explained, glancing toward Goku. "Hey, Goku, is your house big?"
Goku spread his arms and gestured. "About this big."
"…That's just a few square meters!" Krillin exclaimed. "What could Naruto possibly be doing there?"
"No idea," the group answered in unison—including Goku himself.
Only Master Roshi furrowed his brow thoughtfully.
He remembered something old Grandpa Gohan had once said when he adopted Goku—and an idea began to form in his mind.
"This must be Mount Paozu," Naruto said, gazing at the rounded peak. "It really does look like a bun."
Following Goku's directions, Naruto sped across the mountains at full power.
Soon, he arrived at a secluded spot deep in the wilderness.
Summoning an army of shadow clones, he began a full-scale search.
It didn't take long before one of his clones called out, "Found it!"
In a small, temple-like hut tucked away among the trees, a clone rummaged through a dusty woodshed—and uncovered a round object roughly a meter in diameter.
It was a spherical spaceship—the very same pod Goku had used to travel from Planet Vegeta to Earth.
And that was exactly what Naruto had come for.
After securing the pod, Naruto immediately locked onto Piccolo's energy signature and took to the skies.
West City
"Finally found it," Piccolo muttered darkly, standing before the front gate of the Capsule Corporation.
"To think the last one was hidden this well…"
Even masking the Dragon Ball's signal wasn't foolproof.
This world was full of strange phenomena, and Piccolo had more than enough methods to track it down—it just took a bit more time.
Such as the time he'd completely annihilated a palace hidden in a desert oasis to uncover a false lead.
Krillin's plan to "stall Piccolo" had never stood a chance.
With a thunderous boom!, Piccolo casually waved his hand, blowing a hole clean through the wall.
"Hey! Who are you people?"
Security guards shouted as they rushed forward—Capsule Corp was, after all, a luxury estate with top-tier protection.
"Out of my way!"
Another lazy flick of Piccolo's wrist—and the guards were reduced to dust.
"Pathetic worms," sneered a short, pterosaur-like creature standing beside him. "They dare stand in the Demon King's way?"
"Y-yes, yes!" the Pilaf Gang chorused nervously, bowing and scraping.
"I'm done waiting," Piccolo growled, murderous intent radiating from him. "If I weren't afraid of damaging the Dragon Ball, I'd have blown this place to bits already."
A month of restraint was his absolute limit.
Born from God's own evil essence, Piccolo was everything his counterpart was not—
Where God was calm, Piccolo was impatient;
where God was good, Piccolo was pure malice;
where God spared lives, Piccolo delighted in slaughter.
He was the perfect inverse of divinity itself.
At that moment, Dr. and Mrs. Brief/Panchy appeared from the ruined wall.
"And who might you be?" Dr. Brief asked mildly.
"Have you seen an orb like this one?" Piccolo asked, holding up a Dragon Ball.
"No, can't say I have," Dr. Brief replied, already waving at his home robots. "Anyway, next time, try using the front door."
"Would you like some tea?" Mrs. Brief asked kindly, holding up a teapot.
The two of them seemed completely oblivious to the danger standing right in front of them.
"Then you're useless to me," Piccolo said coldly, raising his hand toward them.
"Die."
"Wait!"
A voice rang out as Bulma rushed from another room.
"Let my parents go! I'll give you the Dragon Ball!"
She was trembling in fear, but she forced the words out anyway.
I should've never brought the Dragon Ball home… she thought bitterly.
"It seems my efforts weren't wasted after all," Piccolo said, grinning with satisfaction.
Mrs. Brief blinked in surprise.
"Oh my, so this is one of Bulma's friends!"
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