After speaking, John walked to a square beside the Heavenly Temple and began to meditate in a cross-legged position.
This was a meditation technique often used by Piccolo and Tien Shinhan in the manga. After trying it, John found he enjoyed this method of training.
Meditating in this manner does not directly increase a practitioner's energy or physical abilities, but it is an excellent way to balance the energy within the body.
The reason why Vegeta can never surpass Goku is that Vegeta's energy is always wild and fiery (as discussed in the Moro arc). This turbulent energy prevents Vegeta from calming his mind.
Without a calm mind, Vegeta's control over his energy is weaker than Goku's.
To practice techniques like Ultra Instinct or Destruction Energy, one's energy cannot be chaotic or uncontrolled; it should move in harmony with one's thoughts.
Thus, meditative practices like sitting cross-legged are excellent for regulating energy and maintaining balance within the body.
Mr. Popo curiously glanced at John. He was not a god and did not possess divine abilities to survey the entire Earth from within the Heavenly Temple.
Therefore, Mr. Popo was unaware of John's true strength; he only knew that John had defeated King Piccolo.
However, from John's meditative technique, Mr. Popo could see that John's mental state was quite advanced.
In contrast, the boy named Goku standing before him seemed much simpler; although his energy was not evil, it lacked subtlety and contained a hint of murderous intent without any concealed thoughts.
John ignored Goku and Mr. Popo's training and quickly immersed himself in his own meditative world.
It wasn't until Goku shouted beside him, "John! Mr. Popo says I've finished training, and we can meet God soon!" that John awakened from his meditation.
Stretching lazily, John replied, "Have we finally finished training?"
After looking at Goku, he added, "Not bad! Your strength has improved significantly; it seems you've learned quite a bit from Mr. Popo these past few days."
Goku nodded happily and said with a smile, "Hehe! If we were to spar again, I might not be weaker than you!"
John nodded and reassured him, "Don't worry; there are still three years until the next World Martial Arts Tournament. We have plenty of time to train together."
The two approached the entrance of the Heavenly Temple. Shortly after, Mr. Popo stepped out first and announced, "God will be out shortly!"
As he spoke, John noticed that Mr. Popo's usually expressionless face seemed to smile slightly, with a hint of mischief in it.
Before long, a tall figure slowly emerged from the Heavenly Temple. As he stepped from darkness into light, his clothing revealed a large character for "God," clearly indicating his identity.
Once fully exposed to sunlight, Goku exclaimed in shock: "You—you—you're King Piccolo!" He immediately jumped back into an attack stance.
However, John stopped him and said, "Goku, he is not King Piccolo."
God looked at John with great interest and asked, "Mr. John, why do you think I am not King Piccolo? Most people would assume I am him upon seeing my face."
John replied confidently, "It's because of your energy. King Piccolo's energy is filled with brutality, slaughter, and bloodlust; however, your energy is extremely calm, peaceful, and kind. I have only seen this kind of aura from Master Karin before; hence I conclude you are God and not King Piccolo."
After hearing John's explanation, Goku also realized that God's energy indeed differed from King Piccolo's; however, since he had just recently learned to harness his energy effectively, he had not immediately discerned the difference between God and King Piccolo.
God sighed deeply and slowly said: "Actually, Mr. Goku is not wrong; in a sense, I am King Piccolo—King Piccolo is me. We are two sides of the same coin."
Goku blinked in confusion while John's expression remained calm upon hearing God's words.
After waiting for some time without hearing any questions from them about "Why?", God awkwardly cleared his throat and continued: "Hundreds of years ago, before I became God, I was an ordinary martial artist. In just over ten years' time, I became the world's strongest martial artist. When I reached my limits in martial arts practice, I heard about God."
"So I resolutely came to the Heavenly Temple hoping to become a disciple of the previous God to become the new God."
"But my master only glanced at me once and saw the darkness lurking within my heart; thus he firmly rejected me."
"To become God, I trained diligently in the Heavenly Temple until I finally succeeded in expelling the darkness within me and ultimately became the new God."
"But I never expected…"
"But you never expected that part of your dark self would descend to Earth and transform into King Piccolo—bringing endless darkness and slaughter to its inhabitants?" John interjected.
"So your heart is filled with guilt?"
God nodded regretfully and said: "Yes. Logically speaking, King Piccolo separated from my body; I should have dealt with him myself. However, I hesitated out of selfishness until a great martial artist arose among humans who sacrificed himself to seal King Piccolo away."
"I don't think it was selfishness but rather because you and King Piccolo share a life bond—if he dies, you die too; if he lives, you live as well—which prevented you from taking action," John pointed out directly about their shared fate.
God's heart trembled slightly as he said despondently: "So you know everything... Does this mean you also know that King Piccolo has not truly died?!"
John nodded affirmatively: "I realized it when I saw you."
Upon hearing this revelation about King Piccolo still being alive made Goku anxious as he exclaimed: "Ah! If King Piccolo isn't dead yet then Grandpa and the others are in danger!"
God explained at this moment: "Don't worry; I'll keep an eye on King Piccolo at all times. Right now he—or rather his son—King Piccolo II—is still too weak to cause any significant trouble. As long as you all are here, he wouldn't dare act recklessly."
John asked: "Then God, what was your purpose in summoning me and Goku here? Is it to prepare for future threats posed by King Piccolo?"
Upon hearing John's question, God solemnly nodded: "Yes! King Piccolo II has inherited all of King Piccolo's thoughts and consciousness while possessing a younger body; therefore I'm certain that when the time comes he will be even more formidable than his predecessor."
"So I hope that you can train here in my Heavenly Temple so that you may ultimately defeat this new King Piccolo."