'A... Saiyan Jinchuriki?' Naruto's mind reeled, the damp, sewer-like environment fading as impossible questions flooded his thoughts. 'Am I in Dragon Ball? Or some Naruto crossover? Where... where am I supposed to be?' He forced himself to focus, trying to grasp the reality of the figure standing calmly behind the massive iron bars where a monstrous fox should have been. 'Okay, Saiyans... what do I know?'
He dredged up fragmented knowledge, likely absorbed from some forgotten corner of his past life's memories. Saiyans: a warrior race, obsessed with strength, fiercely proud. They served an emperor, Frieza, until he betrayed them, destroyed their planet, leaving only a handful scattered across the universe. A universe where destroying moons was trivial – done casually by fighters like Master Roshi and Piccolo. Where planets could be shattered with a single energy blast, solar systems threatened, and reality itself felt fragile. Compared to that... the strongest shinobi here, wielding techniques that could atmost seal moon, felt terrifyingly outclassed.
'Moon destruction was early stuff,' Naruto recalled with growing unease. 'Later, Frieza wrecked planets. Then came threats to solar systems, even the universe... one mistake and *poof*, everything gone.' He shuddered. 'Against that scale, even the Hokage seems... small. A random soldier from Frieza's army could probably wipe the Elemental Nations off the map.'
His gaze snapped back to the present, the immense cage dominating his mental landscape. 'But where's the Fox?' He scanned the dim expanse beyond the bars again. Nothing. No colossal, nine-tailed beast radiating malevolence. Just... Goku. Panic began its cold crawl up his spine. 'How can Kurama be gone? Did Goku vaporize him because that furball pissed off Goku? Did Goku... eat him? He eats dinosaurs, right? Kurama was supposed to be my power! My cheat!'
"Uh..." Naruto began, voice hesitant as he gestured awkwardly towards the figure. "Mr. Goku? Have you, uh... seen a really, really big fox around here? Nine tails, super angry?"
Goku scratched his head, his expression one of genuine puzzlement. "A big fox? Nope. Haven't seen one. Though I wish there was it's been so long since I have eaten..." He tilted his head, pointing a thumb towards the faint halo hovering above it. "It's just me in here. Well," he corrected himself cheerfully, "a dead me, anyway. See the halo? Everyone gets it when they die. Hey, how come you don't have one?"
'Right,' Naruto thought dryly, 'because I'm not dead. Just trapped in my own mindscape with a dead alien martial artist instead of a tailed beast.' This was getting weirder by the second.
"So... how did you end up in here, Mr. Goku?" Naruto pressed, desperate for some kind of explanation.
"Beats me!" Goku shrugged, looking around the sewer-like space. "One minute I was training like crazy on King Kai's planet, the next – bam! – here I am." He suddenly adopted a fighting stance, throwing a few light air punches that whistled faintly. "Anyway, gotta keep training! There are these two really strong guys, other Saiyans, heading for Earth soon. I'm really looking forward to fighting them! Man," he paused, flexing his hand, "The gravity here is way too light compared to King Kai's place. I'm gonna get rusty if I slack off."
Goku kept muttering about training, Saiyans, and Earth. 'King Kai's planet... two Saiyans coming... he died fighting Raditz!' Naruto's mind raced, piecing it together. 'This must be right after that! When he was traveling Snake Way in the afterlife. Early Dragon Ball Z... before Vegeta and Nappa arrived.'
"Hey, Mr. Goku," Naruto interrupted, pointing towards the gaps between the massive bars. Kurama was far too large, but Goku... "Can't you just... slip through?"
Logically, Goku looked small enough to easily pass between the bars of the seal that was meant to hold a mountain-sized fox.
Goku walked up to the gate and pushed against an invisible barrier. He frowned, looking more confused than concerned. "Nope. I have been trying that for awhile, seems like something's stopping me." He crossed his arms, looking slightly put out, like he'd stubbed his toe.
'Something's stopping Goku?' Naruto stared, stunned. 'Even back then, his power level was... huge! At least 4,000, maybe more after King Kai's initial training boost? Enough to blow up small planets, probably. Since when is the Eight Trigrams Seal strong enough to contain that?'
He paced again, a growing sense of dread replacing his earlier panic. He searched fruitlessly one last time for any sign of the Nine-Tails. Nothing. Defeated, Naruto slumped onto the damp, metaphysical ground. 'Okay... okay. So, no Kurama.' He desperately tried to find a silver lining. 'I'm still an Uzumaki. My own chakra reserves should be massive. Maybe... maybe not having the Fox's volatile chakra interfering will actually let me grow faster? Control my own power better?' A tiny spark of hope flickered in the gloom.
"Hey, kid," Goku's voice broke the silence. "What's up? You looked all sad for a second, now you look kinda happy... it's weird." His stomach suddenly let out an enormous *Growl*. "Man, I'm starving! Got anything to eat?"
'Food? You're dead, stuck in a seal, and you're still thinking about food? I've got my own food issues, thank you very much...' Naruto sighed inwardly, shooting a half-exasperated, half-disbelieving glare at the figure behind the bars. 'Great. So I'm a Saiyan Jinchuriki? Does that mean I can go Super Saiyan eventually? But Saiyans don't even have chakra... they're not even from this dimension, let alone this planet!'
His eyes drifted over Goku's orange gi, lingering on the round '亀' (Turtle) symbol on his chest and back.
Wait a second.
Goku.
'The chakra cheat is gone...' The thought snagged, twisting into something new. 'But... I got an even better cheat!' His gaze snapped back to Goku, wide with dawning realization. 'I lost one power source... but didn't another one just land in my lap?'
The main character from Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z and couple others.
He went from a nobody with a power level of single digits, step by step, with blood, sweat and his enemies tears, until he became one of the strongest beings in the universe.
A martial arts master from a universe with a completely different, arguably far more potent, power system.
Someone who punched the emperor of the universe, kicked Android ass, surpassed the Supreme Kai, and beat Majin Buu then fought God of Destruction. Then fought even stronger beings in the sequel and games.
'Afterimages... sensing energy... the Kamehameha... Flight! The Kaio-ken... the Spirit Bomb!' Naruto's heart began to pound like a war drum. Even this early version of Goku possessed skills that were practically god-tier compared to most shinobi techniques. 'If I could learn even one of those... just the basics... my strength would skyrocket! I could potentially become stronger than anyone in the village and this planet!'
Forget dusty old scrolls or grumpy teachers. He had a universe-class martial arts grandmaster literally living inside him.
Naruto scrambled to his feet, eyes shining with the intensity of someone who'd just discovered an infinite ramen coupon valid for life. He faced the sealed gate, took a deep, steadying breath, and bowed deeply-a perfect ninety degrees, filled with reverence and desperate hope.
"Mr. Goku!" he yelled, his voice ringing with newfound determination. "Please, teach me! Take me as your student!"
Goku blinked, startled by the sudden shift in the kid's demeanor. "Huh?" He stared at the small, blond boy bowing so earnestly. For a fleeting moment, the image flickered – another kid, bald this time, arriving on a tiny boat, asking something similar of Master Roshi years ago... 'Huh. Kinda nostalgic,' Goku thought idly. 'He looks about the same age as Gohan, too. And Krillin and Bulma will use the Dragon Balls to wish me back when those Saiyans show up anyway. Plenty of time until then, might as well do something...'
Without overthinking it, as usual, he just grinned his typical carefree grin. "Okay."
"Yes!" Naruto pumped his fist, absolutely beaming. "Thank you Sensei!"
Goku waved a hand dismissively, scratching the back of his neck. "Yeah, sure. 'Sensei'... feels kinda weird, though."
Naruto's mind was already racing, possibilities exploding like fireworks. 'Who needs to be a fragile ninja dodging kunai? I've discovered a truth: Ninjas have limits! Therefore, I reject my ninjahood, Sasuke!'
He could almost picture it... soaring through the sky, energy blasts erupting from his hands... 'Flying around, throwing Ki blasts like *Pew! Pew!* This is gonna be awesome!'