The last thing Goku saw of his own universe was a blinding white flash and the face of Zeno-sama smiling sadly at him.
Zeno pressed a small, pure-white ball into Goku's hand. The ball was no bigger than an apple, smooth as glass, and carved on its surface was the faint outline of a dragon's face that seemed to watch him with wise, ancient eyes.
"Goku," Zeno said softly, "this will give you everything you need to survive… and to come back. Trust it."
Behind them, Kuma and his army of monsters were closing in. They had already erased almost everyone. Goku could still smell the smoke from where West City used to be. He could still hear Chi-Chi's last scream, Vegeta's final roar, Gohan's broken voice calling his name.
Goku tried to turn and fight, but Zeno pushed him hard toward a glowing white circle that had opened in the air.
"No! I can still—"
"Go!" Zeno shouted, and the explosion that followed swallowed the entire Earth.
Then… nothing.
Goku floated in total darkness. No up, no down, no light, no sound. Just endless black in every direction.
He held the white ball tightly in his right hand. It glowed gently, like a little star, the only thing that existed besides him.
At first he waited. Then he shouted. Then he tried everything he could think of.
He touched the ball. Nothing.
He licked it (hey, you never know). Nothing.
He punched it with all his strength. Nothing.
He fired a Kamehameha at it. Nothing.
He went Super Saiyan, Super Saiyan Blue, Ultra Instinct—every form he had—and still the ball just floated there, calm and quiet, glowing soft white.
Hours became days. Days became weeks. Weeks flew into months, then years.
Goku's orange gi shirt had burned away long ago in a hopeless battle against one of Kuma's generals, a monster far stronger than Beerus. All that was left were his tattered orange pants. His hair grew wild and long. A thick black beard covered his face. He looked nothing like the cheerful fighter everyone remembered.
He had no food. No water. The only way he knew time was still moving was the little watch Chi-Chi used to wear. Bulma had given it to her as a birthday gift years ago. Chi-Chi had pressed it into Goku's hand right before she vanished, whispering, "So you'll always know when to come home for dinner."
Every day (or what felt like a day), Goku looked at that watch. The hands still moved. That was the only proof he wasn't dead.
He screamed until his voice cracked. He punched the darkness until his knuckles bled. He cried sometimes, quiet and alone, remembering Goten's laugh, Vegeta's proud smirk, Piccolo's calm eyes, Krillin's silly jokes… all gone.
"I got stronger," he whispered to the dark. "I thought I was strong enough to protect everyone. I thought no one could beat the Gods of Destruction, the angels… Zeno-sama himself. I was wrong. So wrong."
He clenched his left fist until his nails cut into his palm.
"I should have trained harder. Pushed more. Never stopped. Never rested. I should have become strong enough—not just strong, but enough to keep them all safe."
His right hand squeezed the white ball so hard he expected it to crack. It didn't even shake.
More years went by. Maybe five. Maybe ten. Time stopped making sense.
He survived somehow. Saiyan bodies are strange that way. He drank what little water his own body could give him. He slept when he couldn't stay awake. He dreamed of battles and smiling faces that were no more.
One day—after who knows how long—Goku's voice came out small and tired.
"Zeno-sama… you said this ball had everything I needed. You said it would help me come back… but I've been here for years. I'm so hungry. And I miss them. I miss everyone so much."
Tears rolled down his dirty cheeks. Without thinking, he threw the white ball as far as he could into the dark.
It floated away slowly.
A single tear fell from Goku's chin and drifted after it… and touched the ball.
The dragon carving on the ball opened its eyes.
A gentle, familiar voice spoke inside the darkness.
"Goku? Hello? Can you hear me?"
Goku wiped his eyes fast with both hands. "Huh? Who's there? Show yourself!"
"Right here, silly."
The white ball flew back into his hand on its own. It glowed brighter, then brighter still, and a tiny hologram no bigger than a doll appeared floating above it.
It was Zeno. The same round face, the same big eyes, the same colorful robe.
"Zeno-sama!" Goku gasped. "You're alive!"
The little hologram waved both arms happily. "Hi, Goku! Wow, you grew a beard! It's all black and fluffy. Does it turn gold when you go Super Saiyan?"
Goku sat down cross-legged in the air, cradling the ball gently in both hands now. "Yeah… it does. But how? I saw the explosion. I thought you…"
Zeno's happy face turned serious. "Listen carefully, Goku. And please, from now on, just call me Zeno. No more 'sama.' We're friends."
Goku swallowed hard. "Okay… Zeno."
"When the war started," Zeno began, "for the first time in millions of years, I could see pieces of the future. When the Grand Priest fell, I knew we had already lost. Kuma was too strong—even for me at full power."
Goku's eyes widened.
"So I made a choice," Zeno continued. "I split my soul in half. The stronger half stayed behind to fight Kuma and buy time. The weaker half… became this ball. I hid it inside the dragon carving so it would only wake up when someone who truly missed home cried on it. That someone had to be you."
Goku looked at the little hologram, then at the ball, then back again. "I still don't get it. How does this help us win?"
Zeno smiled again, but it was a fierce smile now. "Gods, angels, demons, Namekians, even androids—we all have limits. We can grow strong, but only up to a certain point. Saiyans are different. You people never stop. Forty-five minutes in the Tournament of Power, fighting monsters and geniuses, and you shattered your shell again and reached the level of angels. That's why I chose you, Goku. Only a Saiyan heart can keep growing forever."
Goku scratched his beard, thinking hard. "So… I need to get way, way stronger than Ultra Instinct. Strong enough to beat Kuma and bring everyone back?"
"Exactly!" Zeno clapped. "And the best way to do that is to send you to other multiverses—completely different ones, not just timelines. Places with warriors and gods far stronger than anything in our world. You'll fight, you'll lose, you'll bleed, you'll grow, again and again, until one day you'll be strong enough to come home and fix everything."
Goku's tired eyes started to shine. "Other multiverses… with fighters stronger than Kuma?"
"Lots of them," Zeno said proudly. "And we're starting with one called DC."
He snapped his tiny fingers.
Suddenly a giant screen appeared in the darkness, floating like a window. Thousands of pictures scrolled past—men and women in bright costumes, monsters, aliens, gods, angels with flaming wings, demons with golden eyes, speedsters faster than light, men who could lift planets, beings who could rewrite reality with a thought.
Goku's mouth hung open. "Whoa…"
He pointed at one picture—a tall, pale man with huge white wings and a cold, beautiful face.
"This guy looks strong! He's got wings like Whis, but scarier."
Zeno's voice dropped to a whisper. "That's Lucifer Morningstar. Right now, Goku, you wouldn't last one second. I know you beat the Universe Tree, Demigra, full-power Broly, all of that—but Lucifer plays in a different league. We'll fight him one day. Just… not today."
Goku gulped and nodded fast. "Got it. So who do I start with?"
Zeno scrolled the screen until one picture filled the whole thing: a tall man in a blue suit with a red cape and a big red-and-yellow S on his chest. He had black hair, kind eyes, and a warm smile.
"His name is Superman," Zeno said. "Very, very strong. But I think you can handle him."
Goku's fists clenched, and for the first time in years, a real smile spread across his face—big, bright, and full of fire.
"Anything," he said. "I'll fight anyone. I'll lose a thousand times if I have to. Just get me there. I'm bringing them all back. Chi-Chi. Gohan. Vegeta. Everyone."
Zeno laughed, a sound like tiny bells. "That's the Goku I know! First, eat something—you look like a scarecrow."
He snapped his fingers again.
Mountains of food appeared floating in the void: rice bowls bigger than houses, roasted meat taller than Goku, lakes of ramen, whole forests of senzu beans, and a giant wedding cake because Zeno thought it looked tasty.
A brand-new orange gi appeared too—clean, bright, exactly Goku's size, with the Turtle School symbol on the chest and a blue undershirt and wristbands.
Goku's stomach growled so loud the void shook.
He laughed through sudden happy tears and started stuffing his face like the old days, food flying everywhere.
Between giant bites he looked at the tiny Zeno hologram and grinned, cheeks full.
"Zeno… thank you. Let's go. I'm ready."
Zeno gave him a thumbs-up.
"Then hold on tight, Goku. Our first stop: Metropolis. Try not to break the planet on your first day."
The white ball glowed brighter than ever.
The darkness began to crack with light.
And Son Goku—hungry, heartbroken, bearded, and more determined than he had ever been in his entire life—took his first step toward becoming strong enough to bring his entire multiverse back from nothing.
The real training was about to begin.