On a spaceship heading to Namek.
Goku lay on the floor of the gravity chamber, his eyes closed.
'Where is this? I remember... didn't I fall into a wormhole during the battle with Lord Beerus?' Goku opened his eyes and found himself aboard a spaceship.
Suddenly, a voice appeared in his mind.
["Goku, what happened to you? You suddenly collapsed. Did you hear what I just said?"]
It was the voice of King Kai, reaching out from far away on his planet.
"Sorry, King Kai, I'm not sure what happened. Maybe I collapsed because I've been too exhausted lately."
Goku felt strange as to why King Kai had suddenly contacted him.
"And King Kai, what was it you just said?"
["As long as you're okay, listen carefully. I'll say it again. When you arrive on Namek, do not try to face Frieza head-on. You absolutely won't stand a chance against someone as powerful as him."]
King Kai took a deep breath and explained to Goku.
'What's going on? Why would I suddenly be on Namek fighting Frieza?'
Goku was stunned for a moment.
He distinctly remembered that Frieza had never been seen again after he and Vegeta were defeated by him on Planet Cereal. How could he be on Namek now?
Goku was deeply confused, but as he felt his own power level and realized he couldn't even transform into a Super Saiyan, he finally understood: he had traveled back in time and returned to himself during the Namek arc.
"Don't worry, King Kai, I won't fight Frieza."
After thinking it through, Goku responded to King Kai.
Hearing Goku's response, King Kai also severed the mental link.
At that moment, a broadcast suddenly echoed through the spaceship.
"Attention! Attention! One day remaining before we reach the target location, Namek. Prepare for landing!"
'Wow, I still have one day left to reach Namek.'
Goku felt worried.
At this point in time, he didn't have the same strength he had decades later. He wasn't yet a Super Saiyan and wouldn't be able to defeat Frieza.
Suddenly, Goku thought of something: he could go to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber on Earth to train and grow stronger. This way, he wouldn't have to experience the tragedy of seeing his dear friend Krillin explode before his eyes on Namek again.
Although he hadn't learned Instant Transmission during this period on Namek, the current Goku had traveled from the future and still remembered how to use the technique.
Goku extended his index and middle fingers on his right hand, retracting the rest, and placed them on his forehead.
"I've found it!"
Since all the Z Fighters on Earth had died in the previous battle with the Saiyans, it took Goku a while to locate the aura of his master, Master Roshi, far away on Earth.
With a whoosh, Goku arrived at Kame House via Instant Transmission. Before leaving, he made sure to grab some Senzu Beans—after all, he couldn't bring the moving spaceship with him.
"Goku! Why did you suddenly appear in front of me?" Master Roshi exclaimed, startled by Goku's sudden appearance.
"Sorry, Master Roshi, I didn't mean to scare you. I came back to train in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber at the Lookout," Goku apologized.
Before Master Roshi could respond, Goku was already flying off, using the Flying Nimbus to reach the Lookout. He quickly explained the situation to Mr. Popo and entered the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.
Inside the chamber, time flows differently. One year in the chamber equals one day on Earth outside.
The environment features ten times Earth's gravity, temperatures that range from fifty degrees to minus forty degrees, and air that's only a quarter as dense as Earth's.
This made it an excellent training environment since physical stamina is depleted much faster.
However, as the chamber is mostly empty, with only a resting area, it is an endless white void, which can overwhelm those inside.
As a child, Goku couldn't handle the environment and left after less than an hour.
But now, Goku was different. When preparing to fight the Androids, he and his son, Gohan, once stayed in the chamber for an entire year. This time, Goku had to train alone..
"Hmm, I'm still not used to this endless whiteness," Goku muttered as he glanced around. "But now's not the time to dwell on that. I have to make the most of this time to train."
Although he had lost the power of his future self, whose strength shook the entire universe, Goku still retained his rich experience in training. He could now use this knowledge to grow even faster than before.
Super Saiyan is a transformation unique to the Saiyan race.
Achieving it requires a high power level and a pure heart capable of generating a large number of S-Cells in the body. With extreme anger, these S-Cells can instantly multiply, triggering the transformation.
Having lived on Earth for decades, Goku had already accumulated enough S-Cells in his body.
Getting angry would be easy. He only needed to imagine his loved ones dying before his eyes, unable to do anything to stop it.
For the current Goku, the only barrier remaining to achieving the Super Saiyan form was reaching the required power level.
Before his first transformation into a Super Saiyan, Goku had been switched into another body by Captain Ginyu, which led to Vegeta severely injuring his own body.
Later, Goku was treated in the healing chamber aboard Frieza's spaceship. After the treatment, his power level increased dramatically.
Eventually, under the trauma of Frieza killing his dear friend Krillin, Goku successfully awakened as the legendary Super Saiyan.
Several months of intense training allowed Goku to surpass his limits and fully transform into a Super Saiyan.
During his training to improve combat effectiveness, Goku did not forget to practice Ultra Instinct.
Ultra Instinct is not a transformation but a divine control technique that even humans can master.
Unlike typical battles that rely on sensing ki, it depends on conditioned reflexes from various parts of the body.
It doesn't require any thinking from the brain, maximizing speed and responsiveness.
Although Goku had learned Ultra Instinct in his previous life, his mastery was not perfect, and he couldn't maintain Perfected Ultra Instinct for long.
Once the duration became too extended, the precision of his Ultra Instinct would drop, creating opportunities for the enemy to exploit.
Thus, he now has to keep practicing and refining his ultimate self-awareness technique.
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In the Omni-King's Palace.
"Grand Zeno, is this really okay?"
"A new crisis is looming. The ultimate demon is about to be born, and yet you're still expending your divine power like this."
Quan Mo, the mortal enemy of Grand Zeno, possesses the power to threaten the multiverse.
"Don't worry, Grand Priest. I have my own plan."
The Grand Priest tried to ask Grand Zeno something, but Zeno interrupted him. The Grand Priest could only turn to the crystal ball, which displayed Goku's training scene.
"I hope you don't let us down, Son Goku," the Grand Priest murmured to himself.
On Earth, Goku was unaware of the conversation happening in the Omni-King's Palace and was still diligently training.
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