Dragon Realm . Star Ring Core
"Hmm~ Hmm hmm~~"
The Dragon God, wearing peculiarly shaped headphones, strolled across the small planet with his hands behind his back, humming a tune incomprehensible to anyone.
Suddenly, the humming stopped.
"Hey, Yamiru, kid," the Dragon God took off his headphones. "Just because I allowed you to connect the Dragon Realm to the Spirit Realm doesn't mean you can just waltz in here whenever you please."
Sure enough, Yamiru was right behind him.
After hearing Dr. Norimaki and Dr. Brief discuss the core component that made up Arale, he immediately recalled the first time he met the Dragon God—when his sudden shout had startled the old deity, causing him to drop a certain part somewhere. That part was originally meant for the mechanical dragon eye the Dragon God had been assembling.
Making the connection between the two events wasn't exactly difficult, but it wasn't entirely obvious either.
In Yamiru's original perception, the Dragon God and Arale were completely unrelated.
However, considering the rumors he had once heard about Arale beating up Super Saiyan Blue Vegeta... Based on what Yamiru currently knew and had encountered, he had only witnessed Super Saiyan Blue-level power twice. Once was at Fortuneteller Baba's place, where he fleetingly saw Whis—perhaps just an illusion. The other time was right here, with the Dragon God.
A component, Super Saiyan Blue-level power, the unbelievable Arale…
With all these factors combined, Yamiru couldn't not think of the Dragon God.
"You did it on purpose, didn't you?" Yamiru ignored the Dragon God's feigned complaints and instead asked, "Since you immediately noticed me this time, there's no way you needed me to shout so loudly the last time just to hear me. And there's even less of a chance that—"
"That by sheer coincidence, the part fell all the way to Earth—from the completely unrelated Dragon Realm, to Universe 7, the Milky Way, on Earth, right?"
The Dragon God simply smiled in response to Yamiru's question.
"Why so serious?" The old deity waved his hand dismissively and stepped closer, tilting his head up to meet Yamiru's gaze. "Pretending not to notice you, getting startled by you, losing that part and triggering a whole chain of events… isn't it fun? I like interesting things."
"…"
Yamiru met the Dragon God's eyes—and was immediately drawn into them.
Through the Dragon God's deep gaze, his consciousness was transported to a universe billions of years in the past, a chaotic void.
He saw nine pairs of twin universes collapsing, disintegrating…
He saw the fall of a true god…
He saw a radiant woman holding a cosmos woven from another World Tree, embedding a fragment of it into the disintegrating universe…
He saw an elderly figure, sighing, tapping seven times to summon seven massive, star-like orbs, sending them into the now-stabilized universe…
He saw the same old man walking through a slowly decaying cosmos, witnessing a young man resembling himself reach into the void—into those star-like orbs—to seize a strand of light, forging another set of seven orbs…
He saw the elder's gaze linger on a pure soul within the universe—a sweet and adorable female being. He sent his blessings, and in her slumber, she shrank in size. When she awoke, she was delighted by her newfound abilities, calling them "magic"…
Yamiru suddenly snapped back to reality, his breath ragged.
"Hah… Hah…"
His face was pale, and he braced his hands on his knees, drenched in a cold sweat.
The world he had glimpsed through the Dragon God's eyes was far too vast. The sheer weight of information pressed down on him, suffocating. While inside, he had been unable to think—his thoughts had nearly come to a standstill…
This sensation—!
I've felt this before!
As Yamiru steadied his breath, he recalled the very beginning—the origin of everything.
…
"…Aren't you looking for a path? Let me show you…"
"…Step by step, walk forward…"
The mysterious old man whose identity he had never understood had sent him flying with a single palm strike—from the gates of the Papaya Island Martial Temple, across the ocean, landing on the distant shore.
During that flight over the sea, what he had seen and experienced in his mind was eerily similar to what he had just gone through with the Dragon God's gaze.
Swept along by an overwhelming will, forced to traverse a vision beyond comprehension.
His thoughts froze, unable to process anything. When he awoke, he could barely remember what he had seen… If there had been a soundtrack and an editor, maybe the scattered images could have been stitched together into some epic, thrilling, yet ultimately vague teaser trailer.
"That old man… Who is he?"
Yamiru was filled with doubt. He had initially thought of the old man as just some random passerby, but now he realized—the man's abilities were on par with those of the Dragon God.
"So, back when I was just a weakling struggling to fight against jobbers, I actually ran into someone that powerful…?" Yamiru's mind was in turmoil. "Then again, even now, I'm barely stronger than a jobber—just a slightly better jobber. If you zoom out far enough, there's not much difference between the two…"
"What's wrong with you?"
The Dragon God looked puzzled by Yamiru's dazed expression. He muttered to himself, "Weird… That shouldn't have made you stupid, right?"
Yamiru snapped back to reality. "It's nothing… I just… I can't quite remember what I just saw…"
"You see," the Dragon God chuckled mischievously, "that's what makes it interesting."
"Seeing the younger generation all confused is fun to you?" Yamiru sighed helplessly. "But even though I can't recall the details, I definitely saw seven massive—no, super massive—Dragon Balls in that illusion. And… someone who looks a lot like you, Dragon God… and like Dorag…"
"Those are the Super Dragon Balls," the Dragon God said indifferently. "They're scattered across your Seventh Universe and the neighboring Sixth Universe. As for the ones who look like me… They're dragons who migrated from the Dragon Realm to the entirety of existence. But among them, very few can still truly be called dragons." He stroked his chin, muttering to himself, "Nowadays, I believe they call themselves Namekians."
Yamiru had mostly regained his composure. "Moving some of your descendants to the whole multiverse… is that also one of the interesting things?"
The Dragon God simply shrugged.
"What about the little girl?" Yamiru tried to recall. "I vaguely remember you 'blessing' a girl… and she became different because of it…"
The Dragon God gave him a curious look. "Seems like you remember quite a bit." He grinned. "That makes this even more interesting." Nodding, he continued, "That's right. You could consider that little girl to be… hmm, how should I put it? A 'human Shenron', born out of my own amusement? In any case, she's quite an interesting girl. Just like Arale."
"I see, just like Arale… Wait, huh?" Yamiru nodded, then suddenly realized something. "You know Arale?"
"What's with that look? I have no interest in spying on you," the Dragon God grumbled. "Of course I know Arale. Didn't you see that mechanical dragon I built last time you were here? Its name is Arale."
"But Arale is clearly…" Yamiru frowned.
"…Clearly an Earth-made robot girl, right?" The Dragon God spread his hands. "Yet, can you still find the original components that made her? She has already become Arale. Do you really think that if I wanted to create a dragon, I'd need to assemble a mechanical one or use a specific model? Don't be ridiculous. I just…"
"…just think building models is fun." Yamiru finished his sentence, though he still had a head full of questions. After carefully organizing his thoughts, he spoke slowly, "So, you're saying that the dragon eye component you lost on Earth ended up forming Arale, and even if Arale were completely dismantled, she could still…"
His voice trailed off. He was confused—if Arale were broken down into ordinary parts and scattered across Earth, how could she return to being Arale?
Wait, the key point wasn't just Arale… there was also—
"Senbei, right? That's his name?" The Dragon God chuckled. "That Earthling was able to create Arale—that's how it is."
Yamiru murmured, "So that component also changed Dr. Senbei…"
"And maybe even his descendants? Who knows." The Dragon God shrugged carelessly. "Random unpredictability is the most interesting thing."
Yamiru didn't fully grasp his meaning, but he did feel somewhat relieved.
At the very least, he now understood that Arale wasn't just a nonsensical gag character who defied all logic and reality. She had a logic of her own—the logic of a Shenron, the logic of Dragon Balls. Her logic… came from the Dragon God.
"If you called that girl you blessed a 'human Shenron'," Yamiru asked curiously, "and Arale was originally meant to be another Shenron—a mechanical dragon—then does that mean Arale also…"
The Dragon God gave him a strange look. "What are you thinking? She's already a robot. A little weird, sure, but still just a robot girl. Even if you shouted 'Come forth, Shenron!' at her a hundred times—" He raised both arms dramatically. "—she wouldn't turn into a dragon to grant your wishes. If you want to make a wish, go gather the Dragon Balls yourself. You're still young—don't get lazy."
"Fine…" Yamiru gave up on the idea of Arale being a humanoid Shenron. "But Arale must have some special qualities, right? Aside from being absurdly strong…"
"Special qualities, huh…" The Dragon God stroked his chin. "She's a child, so… 'she will never bring destruction or death.' I suppose that's the best way to put it."
"What does that mean? No matter how much power she uses, she can't kill anyone?" Yamiru pressed. "Even if she blew up Earth, the planet wouldn't actually be destroyed? And…"
"You talk too much. It's time for you to go."
With a snap of his fingers, the Dragon God made Yamiru vanish on the spot.
"Leaving behind some mysteries is part of the fun~"
The Dragon God put his headphones back on and resumed humming an unknown melody. Meanwhile, somewhere in the multiverse, on an unnamed planet, his hum resonated through the sky…
As the melody rose and fell, the trees and grass swayed in response, and countless beings knelt in reverence, chanting the names of their various gods in excitement…
Which was impossible—almost no one on this planet could actually hear the distant voice.
A boy stood motionless, gazing at the boundless sky.
"Do you hear that sound?" the boy asked.
"What sound?" his companion looked at him strangely. "You must be hearing things, Jiren."