While John was training with Goku in the new gravity chamber, Upa's father, Bora, arrived at Bulma's home with a message from Master Karin.
As Goku stepped out of the gravity chamber, he immediately spotted Bora and Upa in Bulma's yard. Goku happily ran over and embraced Upa. Once their joy at reuniting subsided, Bora addressed Goku and John, saying, "Mr. Goku, Mr. John, Master Karin has sent me with a message for you to go to Korin Tower; he seems to have something to instruct you about."
John and Goku exchanged glances; John had already guessed the reason while Goku was still pondering it.
Without explaining anything to Goku, John asked Bulma for a plane, and the four of them set off towards Korin Tower.
In less than half a day, they arrived at the base of Korin Tower. Upa and Bora could not ascend the tower, so John and Goku bid farewell to them and began running towards the top of Korin Tower.
John suggested to Goku, "Let's have a race to see who can reach the top of Korin Tower first."
Goku immediately agreed with excitement.
As the countdown ended, the two quickly raced up Korin Tower like gusts of wind, disappearing from Bora and Upa's sight in an instant.
At this point, John's and Goku's strengths were incomparable to those of their past selves. Ultimately, John reached the top of Korin Tower several seconds ahead of Goku.
Master Karin looked at the two young men before him with amazement. He said, "Meow! I never expected you both to be so powerful, especially you, John; even King Piccolo was no match for you."
John humbly replied, "That's only because Goku didn't make a move; otherwise, he could easily defeat King Piccolo too."
Master Karin nodded and said, "Meow! You both are impressive; I knew you would be when you drank the Ultra Divine Water."
"Gosh! Master Karin, may I ask why you called us here?" Goku asked curiously. He was particularly interested since Master Karin had specifically asked him to bring his Power Pole along.
Master Karin smiled and said, "Meow! It's not that I want to see you; it's that God wants to meet you."
"What? God!" Goku exclaimed in surprise. He knew that the Dragon Balls were created by God, but he wasn't entirely sure if God truly existed.
Now Master Karin had clearly informed them that God was real and wanted to see them.
John felt impatient about wasting time here; the pressure from Frieza and other Saiyans weighed heavily on him. He was uncertain whether he could transform into a Super Saiyan before facing Frieza. If he couldn't transform, then they would have to rely on Goku. Either way, one of them needed to be able to transform into a Super Saiyan in front of Frieza.
So John immediately asked, "Master Karin, how can we meet God?"
Master Karin stroked his beard and slowly replied, "God resides in the Heavenly Temple, which is located above Korin Tower." His tone was very formal; he didn't even add his usual "meow."
"Ah! The Heavenly Temple is above Korin Tower!" Goku exclaimed as he walked toward the edge of Korin Tower to look up.
However, all he saw was an empty blue sky above him.
Goku puzzledly said, "But there's nothing up there?!"
Master Karin explained, "That's because the Heavenly Temple is too high; it can't be seen just by looking up. This is why I insisted you bring your Power Pole."
"Huh?!" Goku looked confusedly at Master Karin.
Master Karin said, "Follow me." After that, he led the way outside and began climbing towards the top of Korin Tower.
John and Goku followed closely behind him until they quickly reached the top of Korin Tower.
Master Karin pointed at a small hole at the top of the tower and said, "Goku, insert your Power Pole into this hole."
Goku obediently inserted his Power Pole into it.
Then Master Karin took out two bells and tied them around Goku's and John's wrists while saying: "This is my token that proves your recognition; you may now meet God."
"You both need to hold onto your Power Pole tightly. Then Goku, you can say 'Power Pole extend!'"
Goku and John followed his instructions and gripped their Power Poles tightly. Then Goku shouted loudly: "Power Pole extend!"
In an instant, the Power Pole began extending rapidly upwards with both Goku and John attached to it.
As the Power Pole grew longer, the sky gradually darkened around them while countless bolts of lightning exploded near John and Goku. Some bolts struck them directly; their clothes ignited instantly from the lightning strikes.
However, for John and Goku at their current strength level, these lightning strikes posed no threat whatsoever.
Soon they broke through thick clouds and once again saw blue skies along with the Heavenly Temple floating above them.
Goku looked up at the Heavenly Temple in awe and exclaimed: "Wow! John! The Heavenly Temple really exists up here!"
John nodded and replied: "This must be one of the few places where God can reside without being disturbed by mortals."
Before long, the Power Pole reached its peak height and inserted itself into a hole at the bottom of the Heavenly Temple.
Goku was about to climb up when John said: "There's no need." After that, he hugged Goku tightly and used his flight technique to soar straight up towards the Heavenly Temple's highest point.
In no time at all, they arrived at the grand front of the Heavenly Temple. The surface was covered with square tiles on either side lined with tall trees but devoid of any people.
Goku shouted loudly: "Hey! Is anyone there?"
John remained silent as he walked directly toward the main hall in the center.
Just as they were about to step into the main hall, a dark-skinned man wrapped in a turban walked out from within.
Goku curiously asked: "Are you God?"
To his surprise, this dark-skinned man replied: "I am not; my name is Popo. I am God's servant."
"You want to see God? You must first pass my test," Popo said expressionlessly.
Upon seeing Popo's demeanor like this made Goku instantly interested; he excitedly asked: "How do we pass? Do we fight?"
Popo nodded without expression.
John wasn't very interested in fighting Popo; although Popo had lived for a long time now his martial arts theory mainly revolved around sensing energy to determine an enemy's position.
However, John had already grasped this skill on his own. What John really wanted to practice now was mastering Zenkai ability—essentially emptying his mind so that his muscles could react autonomously.
Seeing that Goku was eager for a challenge, John suggested: "Goku! Why don't you take on Mr. Popo in battle? I'll rest over here."