The moment Piccolo and his followers stepped into the strange new space, they were hit by a tremendous force. Their bodies instantly felt unbearably heavy.
Except for Piccolo himself, all his subordinates dropped to their knees with heavy thuds — some even sprawled flat on the ground.
"Welcome to the Gravity Chamber. From now on, this will be your training ground."
Naruto moved about freely, seemingly unaffected by the crushing gravity, and spoke in his usual calm tone.
Then he clasped his hands together and slammed them down on the floor.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
With a puff of white smoke, a creature resembling a demonic beast from the underworld appeared before them —
it was 悟 (Go), in his Ultimate Form.
Perhaps due to their summoning contract, Naruto's power increase had somehow also affected Go.
Though the boost wasn't as dramatic as Naruto's own growth, Go's strength had risen by roughly one-tenth.
But even that much was more than enough to serve as a formidable sparring partner for Piccolo and his group.
"If you ever need help, you can contact him."
Naruto pointed toward Go. "He'll let me know."
And with that, he waved his hand again, opening another dimensional portal.
"Wait—"
Piccolo barely got a word out before Naruto vanished from sight.
"…You didn't even tell us where we're supposed to sleep. Or eat."
Piccolo glanced around at the barren landscape, growing slightly uneasy about his immediate future.
He could survive on water alone —
but… where was the water?
"Damn it," Piccolo muttered through gritted teeth. Then he turned to Go, who stared right back at him.
"Can you understand what I'm saying?"
Go bared his teeth in what could only be described as a terrifying grin.
"ROAR!"
"…Guess not."
Piccolo's expression went blank. His future suddenly looked a lot less bright.
After setting up the next phase of training for both the righteous and the dark factions on Earth, Naruto also began making his own plans.
He intended to push his training to the limit over the next four years — aiming to keep pace with the Saiyans and their ridiculous growth rate.
But the reason for his sudden urgency was simple:
Something new had appeared inside him again.
Just like Kakarot had before — it came out of nowhere.
Except this time, it wasn't a guest so much as… an object.
A sword.
A sword so heavy that even Kakarot, within Naruto's inner sealing space, struggled just to hold it.
"Why does something like this keep appearing inside my body…?"
Still, Naruto couldn't help but smirk.
"Well, looks like I'm going to have my hands full for a while."
He approached the sword, crouched down, and wrapped his right hand around the hilt. With a grunt, he pulled —
but the blade didn't budge an inch.
Frowning, he placed his left hand on top, gripping it with both hands, and tried again with all his strength.
Still nothing.
Considering Naruto's current power — the kind of strength that could treat a meteorite like a soccer ball —
the fact that he couldn't even lift this sword spoke volumes about its extraordinary nature.
And it wasn't just him.
Even Kakarot couldn't lift it.
Naruto finally let go and stood up quietly, as if nothing had happened.
But the entire scene had been witnessed by Kurama, who had just woken up.
"Hahaha! You little brat!" the Nine-Tails roared with laughter. "Serves you right for slacking off! Can't even lift a stupid sword now, huh? You humans are so weak.
The moment you stop training, your power plummets! Not like us Tailed Beasts — even after a thousand years, we're still as strong as ever!"
Then, puffing up his chest, Kurama started humming mockingly,
"♪ We tailed beasts have power — oh, we have power! ♪"
Naruto silently stepped aside and said dryly,
"If you're so strong, then you try it."
"Tch. Fine! Let me show you what real muscles look like," Kurama huffed.
He reached out two fingers, pinching the sword's hilt delicately as if it were a toothpick.
"See? Easy."
He pulled.
Nothing happened. The sword remained motionless.
Kurama blinked. Maybe he hadn't used enough force. He tried again — harder this time.
Still nothing.
"Alright, now you're just mocking me," Kurama growled, feeling Naruto's amused gaze on him.
He couldn't let that stand. His pride wouldn't allow it.
Flexing, he fluffed up the fur on his claws, swelled his muscles to their maximum, and clamped both hands around the hilt.
"Lift!!"
"Lift!!"
"Come on, lift already!!"
Kurama's whole body trembled with effort. His face turned red, his claws dug into the ground, and his hind paws stomped furiously —
leaving two deep craters beneath him.
But no matter how hard he strained, the sword didn't move.
"What the hell are you doing, big fox?"
Kakarot, awakened by the commotion, rubbed his eyes and looked over curiously.
Seeing Kurama struggling with the sword, he exclaimed, "Wait — you're trying to lift that sword? Even I couldn't move it!"
Kurama froze. "!!!"
He hadn't been awake earlier when Kakarot tried — and failed — to lift the sword himself.
"You set me up, Naruto!" Kurama shouted, pointing an accusatory claw at him.
Naruto just rolled his eyes.
"Set you up? Please. You were the one trying to show off."
"You're definitely badmouthing me in your head right now," Kurama grumbled.
Kakarot stepped forward. "Let me give it another try."
He loosened his shoulders, took a deep breath — and this time, transformed into a Super Saiyan.
Golden energy flared around him as he gripped the hilt again.
Under Kurama's bulging eyes, the sword finally began to move — slowly, shakily rising off the ground.
"So heavy…" Kakarot gasped.
"As expected of that sword," Naruto said in awe. Then, after a pause, he added quietly:
"…Now I just need to figure out how to break it."
Meanwhile, at the far edge of the universe —
in a sacred realm that existed in another dimension altogether—
"Bad news! Terrible news!"
A panicked voice echoed through the sanctuary, so loud that it shook the skies.
"Calm yourself, Kibito. What could possibly make you lose composure like this?"
A calm young voice answered. Its owner — a purple-skinned man with a distinctive mohawk — lifted his teacup and took a slow sip.
"Remember your position."
"What happened?" he asked.
"It's gone! It's gone!" Kibito stammered, pointing frantically toward a nearby mountain.
"I swear it was there just a moment ago — then I turned around, and it was gone!"
Following his gesture, one could see that the mountain's summit was perfectly flat, except for a deep indentation in the center —
as if something heavy had once rested there.
"You don't mean… that thing?"
The mohawked man's eyes widened.
When Kibito nodded furiously in confirmation, the man's teacup slipped from his fingers and shattered on the floor.
His calm demeanor vanished completely — replaced by sheer panic.
"That was the relic of the ancestors! How could it just disappear!?"
The sanctuary erupted into chaos —
a flurry of shouting, running, and confusion.