Inside the seal space, Naruto, Little Goku, and Kakarot sat together in a circle.
"Sensei, do you remember how you came here this time?"
Strictly speaking, Naruto should address his sensei respectfully by surname. Since Kakarot's name was Son Goku, Naruto should have called him "Sensei Son."
But calling him that always felt weird—like he was back in his past life, sitting in a classroom. So he simply kept calling him "Sensei."
Luckily, Kakarot didn't mind.
Spreading his hands with a shrug, Kakarot said, "No idea. I had just arrived in the afterlife and met old man Enma. Before he even arranged anything, whoosh—suddenly I was here again."
Kurama had shrunk himself down into a tiny form once more, crouched in a corner of the seal space, eyes fixed firmly on Kakarot. The little one's power was already terrifying, and now an even scarier one had arrived. In Kurama's mind, not even the Sage of Six Paths himself could take on this big guy.
Not just that—their powers weren't even on the same dimension.
After a bit of casual conversation, Naruto managed to piece together what had happened—like why his teacher had vanished without a word the last time. Naruto had always wanted to know.
Kakarot explained that he had simply blinked, and in that instant, he had returned to King Kai's Planet in his own world. The halo on his head had disappeared as well.
He had arrived mysteriously, and left just as mysteriously.
"The halo disappearing…" Naruto's sharp mind caught the crucial detail.
The disappearance of the halo meant resurrection—and the only one capable of resurrecting Kakarot was Shenron. Whether Kakarot had truly returned to the Dragon Ball world because of being revived, Naruto couldn't be sure.
Even more important—though Kakarot had spent three years inside Naruto's body, he said that barely any time had passed back in his own world.
So, it was a difference in the flow of time.
"Teacher, how did you die this time?" Naruto asked carefully. "Was it against some ridiculously strong enemy?"
If the Dragon Ball timeline was correct, this should have been during the Cell Saga—when Kakarot died after Cell's self-destruction, along with King Kai's Planet.
"Ahahaha." Kakarot scratched his head, laughing awkwardly. "Nope, it wasn't some powerful opponent… it was heart disease."
"Teacher… you mean you died of a heart attack?" Naruto's voice jumped an octave, his eyes going strange.
The Dragon Ball universe had many branching timelines, and one of the biggest splits was whether or not Kakarot died.
In Dragon Ball Z, after the Frieza arc came the Android arc. If Kakarot succumbed to the heart virus, the entire story shifted dramatically, setting off a chain of events.
And now, to Naruto's surprise, his teacher wasn't the "main timeline" Goku—but the Goku who had died of heart disease in the Future Trunks timeline.
That tragic world—Future Trunks' world, where the Z Fighters had been nearly wiped out. Only Trunks remained, fighting desperately against the Androids, while the Earth fell into ruins.
A lonely Z Warrior.
But regardless of which world this was, Naruto knew he was in no position to help. With his current strength, he'd barely be a blip—probably erased by a single blast from an Android.
Kakarot, on the other hand, seemed utterly unfazed by his own death. If anything, he only regretted that he hadn't gotten to fight stronger opponents. That was simply his nature—open, carefree.
By the end of Z, one could truly call him a grandmaster of martial arts.
Little Goku didn't understand any of this. Feeling hungry, he grabbed a piece of roasted meat and started chewing happily. The aroma made Kakarot dive in too, piling food in front of himself and devouring it with astonishing speed.
"Little runt—oh wait, I can't call you that anymore. You're nearly as tall as me now." Kakarot spoke while stuffing his mouth, his words surprisingly clear despite his cheeks being full. Watching Saiyans eat was always a spectacle.
After swallowing two massive buns in a single gulp, he added, "I'll just call you Naruto."
"Names are just labels, Sensei. You can call me whatever you like."
Naruto didn't mind at all. If Kakarot wanted to keep calling him "little runt," that was fine too.
Though truth be told, Naruto's growth had been so fast that he now nearly matched Kakarot's 1.75-meter height.
"Hahaha! In a bit, I'll teach you some powerful techniques." Kakarot mumbled while cramming more food in. "This ramen is delicious, by the way."
"That's Ichiraku Ramen," Naruto replied quickly, then added, "My favorite food."
Finally? Could it be time—Kaio-ken, Instant Transmission, maybe even Fusion?!
Naruto eagerly grabbed a bowl of ramen for himself. Just watching Kakarot eat had made him hungry—the man ate with such joy, it was contagious.
If Saiyans ever tried livestream food challenges, all those "big eater" YouTubers would be out of business.
"Oh yeah, now I remember—this was the stuff I saw you eating before. No wonder it smelled so good." Kakarot downed the ramen broth in one go, wiped his mouth, and immediately grabbed another oversized bowl.
"By the way, Naruto."
"Yeah?"
"Who's that kid that looks so much like me?"
"Oh, him?" Naruto immediately realized he meant Little Goku. His eyes flickered mischievously. "That's your second son, Teacher. His name's Son Goten."
"Huh?" Kakarot froze, chopsticks in hand, utterly stunned. "I… have another kid?!"
"Just kidding."
"Hahaha! I knew it!" Kakarot dove right back into his food.
If only, Teacher… If only you hadn't died of that heart virus, you really would've had another son. And yes, his name would've been Son Goten.
"That's actually you as a kid—just from another timeline. Remember when you drank the Ultra Divine Water to fight King Piccolo? That version of you." Naruto explained Little Goku's origin.
"Ohhh, so that's why his ki felt so familiar. Turns out it's just me." Kakarot was only mildly surprised before accepting it easily. With all the bizarre adventures of his childhood, this hardly fazed him. Or maybe he was just too thick-skinned.
"Oh, and Naruto—" After swallowing a slab of meat the size of his head, Kakarot said, "Let's spar later. I want to see how much you've improved."
His eyes burned with fighting spirit.
Naruto's hand, holding his chopsticks, froze mid-air. He swallowed hard.
You… want to fight me? Are you serious?
It was true—martial artists grew by constantly challenging stronger opponents. But wasn't it cheating to pick someone several dimensions stronger?
Naruto thought back to that infamous scene in the original story, when Kakarot casually swatted Chi-Chi and left her seriously injured.
Inwardly, he prayed that Kakarot would hold back. Otherwise—
"If you really throw a punch at me, I might just end up begging you to let me live."