The fight between Goku and Nam became increasingly intense, although there were no outstanding ki attacks, the energy consumption of both fighters was quite high, with neither wasting any.
Inevitably, the arena began to take damage, but not as much as in previous fights. But even though Nam felt that his defense was gradually being overwhelmed by Goku, his expression did not change, and he kept his emotions under control.
For even though he was clearly at a disadvantage, his attention was focused on Goku, learning about him, evaluating him, and slowly adjusting his strategy against him as they fought. Thus, in the eyes of the various onlookers, the two had to maintain a strange balance.
The Ki that covered Goku no longer fluctuated as much, covering his body with a thin crimson layer, almost as thin as a sheet of paper. There was no need for him to set his Ki on fire or exaggerate his aura; he just had to protect himself from Nam's attacks.
Although Nam maintained a defensive posture, his counterattacks were quite powerful, and Goku had to do a lot to protect himself and avoid damage. Also, his small size made him somewhat uncomfortable when attacking, but compared to humans, he had an extra limb to attack with.
This was how the people learned how powerful the young Saiyan's tail could be, and he was able to use it skillfully in battle, and as unpredictable as it could sometimes be, it had hit Nam in the face several times, even causing the left side of his face to swell.
But it was on one of Nam's counterattacks, aimed directly at Goku's solar plexus, that Goku felt a strange sensation in his body, as if the limbs he could easily control were suddenly a little 'backwards'.
Goku turned away from Nam, and with his breathing unusually labored, the young man checked his chest and noticed a strange lotus flower-shaped mark on his body. Even though Goku's energy was flowing freely due to the ki control technique developed by Son Gohan, he felt that his body was not obeying him.
"What is that?" This was the first time that Goku was confronted with such a strange technique, so he did not hide his curiosity and asked Nam a question.
"A Lotus Seal. It should gradually block your body and energy, but it seems that your ki is indomitable," Nam replied, not wanting to hide anything.
A sealing technique that could be used in a normal fight made Goku's eyes light up. He had heard about similar techniques! Roshi knew of one called Mafuba, while Bulma told him strange stories of ninjas from a faraway place, one of their most powerful techniques had to do with seals.
"Is that why my body feels weird?" Although it sounded like a question, Goku just said those words as he tried to close his hands and make them into fists, but he felt that this 'backwardness' in his actions had gotten even worse.
"You can't escape the seal," Nam said, approaching Goku and looking at him with some scrutiny.
He was interested in Goku's ability to retain his free energy despite the seal on his body, but he didn't expect that, as he approached, Goku would open his mouth and shoot a sudden ki attack at him.
A jet of crimson energy shot out of Goku's mouth, knocking Nam several metres away. His body was slightly injured by the last-minute defence, but he was annoyed by the oversight.
Meanwhile, Goku was laughing happily, although his laughter soon faded as he lost control of his facial muscles. He had even fallen to his knees as the seal had spread quite a bit.
Now the skin on Goku's body seemed to be covered with lotus roots, and as these roots spread, even keeping his eyes open became a challenge. He even felt as if his air was running out, and his heartbeat became less frequent.
"Naughty monkey," Nam complained silently, unaware that some of his emotional control had been lost, but that was Goku's charm; he could always bring things out of his opponents, whether they wanted to or not.
More cautious this time, Nam approached Goku as he lay on the ground. The referee's count had started and was already at 6; if Goku didn't get up by the time it reached 10, he would lose.
"Goku, get up! Or I'll eat your muffins!" a girl's voice cut through the noise of the onlookers, and Nam turned to see Chi-Chi waving her hands as if to wake Goku.
"Child, no one can overcome this seal unless their mind is completely clear and free of emotion," Nam said, but the response he received was Chi-Chi sticking her tongue out at him in a childish manner.
"Children..." Just as Nam was about to utter a thought-provoking sentence, he felt that something had changed in his seal; it had not broken, but something had begun to fight directly against it.
By the time the count reached nine, the young Saiyan had slowly stood up, the red aura around his body began to glow brightly, and soon it seemed to burn.
Although it was obvious that he was short of breath and his chest was heaving wildly, Goku looked up and met Nam's eyes. For the first time, Nam saw an emotion he never thought could be so concentrated in one person.
Pride! There was a fierce pride in those eyes that refused to simply submit to the rules of his sealing technique. Reacting quickly, Nam threw a palm forward.
A strong wind accompanied a large palm made of golden Ki, which hit Goku directly. This was the first time that Nam actively attacked and used energy.
The effect of the seal prevented Goku from taking a defensive stance, but he didn't have to; he still had his energy. Several hexagonal Ki-shields appeared in front of the Saiyan, protecting him from harm.
In that moment, Nam knew. He couldn't beat this guy just like that, he had to take much more initiative. Then he showed Goku his open right hand, as if he wanted to teach him something.
"The world is my palm, and my palm controls the world. Whatever you do, it will be useless; you cannot escape from the world, therefore you cannot escape from my palm." With Nam's words, the lotus root marks on Goku's body glowed with golden light, causing him to cry out in pain.
The pain Goku felt was not normal; it was a sensation that directly attacked the nerves in his body, making him tremble, but this time his body did not fall as before, but stood, letting the crimson energy around his body burn more and more.
"He couldn't escape from his hand, why do you think you could?" asked Nam, making Goku's eyes twitch a little, knowing a little what his opponent was referring to.
But he wasn't that unruly monkey! Then he remembered something his grandfather had first told Bulma, but then his older sister had passed on to him: 'Remember that the Sky embraces everything, covers everything, envelops everything.'
Why does he need to escape the world when he has the freedom that the sky gives him? Under this thought, Goku simply acted, walking towards Nam with this conviction in his mind.
"You can hold the world in your palm... but not the Sky around it!" Goku's words seemed to cause a strange resonance in the atmosphere, and suddenly, the sound of lightning could be heard.
Thick black clouds began to gather in the sky under the watchful eyes of the people. As if something ancient and from another place was present, everyone sensitive to Ki raised their gaze and took notice.
"Someone has truly caught a glimpse of another Supreme Being in this universe..." said Whis, who knew many things because of his age and experience.
Although the multiverse he was in was relatively closed and well defended, the Angels and their superiors were not unaware of the existence of the extra timelines, nor were they unaware of what lay outside their multiverse.
It was a natural need of the strong to transcend their limitations, even those of their place of origin. For this reason, Daishinkan had maintained certain contacts with other systems, all to exchange experiences.
One such place had an indifferent and unfeeling ruling superior entity, which ironically called itself 'Heaven'. Though it generally pays no attention to small matters, Heaven is a somewhat capricious accumulation of concepts.
With the permission of other multiverses, it does not intervene directly, but likes to appear at 'dramatic' moments, for some reason. Whis could feel the attention of this 'Heaven' on this small planet, he even received a greeting from this entity.
"What is it about this little Saiyan that interests you so much? I have only noticed that he has come to his understanding in his way and fighting style, nothing new," Whis spoke directly into the air, not caring if people heard him.
Because of his power and status, Heaven, who usually did not give answers to his arbitrary actions, decided to reply to Whis with certain impressions. They were not very clear, only that he found it interesting that a counterpart of one of his 'sons' was so free.
Suddenly, a thick bolt of lightning fell on Goku's body, but it didn't hurt him, didn't give him more power or anything like that; it was just a bolt of lightning that fell on his head, at least according to the understanding of many.
But Whis saw something else, and a smile appeared on his face. That simple bolt of lightning was something like a 'greeting' from the sky. As the clouds dissipated and the ancient presence disappeared, Goku continued to walk towards Nam, but the space seemed distorted; he couldn't get closer to the man no matter how much he walked.
"Surrender," Nam said, but Goku just bared his teeth at him like a monkey in a wild environment.
Behind Goku, the projection of Ozaru appeared, roaring. Then, strange cracks appeared around Goku. The strange 'field' created by Nam, which symbolised the world he held in his hand, was breaking apart.
With a crack, this 'world' was shattered, and Nam spat out blood from the blow he received from his technique breaking. Nam felt that things had become very strange since Goku got up.
He didn't understand how such a strange guy could overcome the techniques he had studied for so many years. But not willing to give up, Nam waved his hand down violently.
A palm of golden energy fell on Goku, trying to crush him, but the Ozaru's projection struck upward with both hands, shattering such an attack. The root marks on Goku's body still glowed, but it was as if he didn't feel the pain.
What more could those roots do to him? It didn't match the pain of losing his parents and older brother! Though he was no longer alone, the time he spent as a child alone in space with nothing but the static coming from his ship's communicator was a far more painful mark than the nerve pain he felt now.
A red ki ball appeared in Goku's hand and began to spin rapidly. When he put his other hand together, the orb began to grow and compress.
Seeing that Goku was going all out, Nam clasped his hands together and closed them for a few seconds before opening them, creating a golden ring filled with writing in his hands.
"Kame! Hame! Ha!" Goku shouted, powerfully launching the energy attack that was brewing in his hands.
"Jingu!" shouted Nam, hurling the golden ring at the impending crimson ki attack.
-----------
AN: Jingu: the Golden Ring they put on Sun Wukong to control his wild temper.
No, it won't be an Omniversal travel novel, but I like to throw in some references and winks. That of Heaven, the characters from other places and so on, are only secondary details, the main axis of the plot will be what we have seen and read in Dragon Ball.