NOVEL NEXT Chapter 156: Meeting The Time Patrol
"Goten, since you've decided to leave, there's no point in us trying to keep you here," Goku said with a smile, walking over to his son.
"It's just a pity that I didn't get a chance to have a proper fight with you," he added. "But I know that even if I did, I wouldn't stand a chance."
He patted Goten on the shoulder, his expression softening into that of a proud father. "I hope that the next time we meet, we can have a good fight, father and son."
Goten nodded with a smile. "Okay, it's a deal!"
At this moment, little Goten rushed forward, looking at his older counterpart with wide, pleading eyes. "Big brother, come back soon, okay? You have to guide me in training! I want to become as strong as you and surpass Trunks!"
Seeing the adorable determination on his younger self's face, Goten chuckled and nodded. "Alright, I promise to train you well next time. Together, we'll make sure you surpass Trunks."
After a few more words of farewell, Goten turned to Vados and Broly. It was time to leave Mount Paozu.
...…
On their way, Vados voiced her concerns. "Lord Goten, I overheard your conversation earlier. Are we really heading to another timeline? That seems... problematic."
She hesitated for a moment before continuing, "You know as well as I do that traveling through timelines without permission is a serious offense. It would be best to report this to Lord Zeno and the Grand Priest before proceeding."
But Goten shook his head firmly. "No. I'll take full responsibility for this."
He turned to Vados with a confident expression. "You're my assistant Angel now, so just follow my orders. If Zeno or the Grand Priest have a problem with it later, I'll explain it to them myself."
This timeline's Zeno and Grand Priest weren't bad, so he didn't want to clash with those two. But even if it resulted in a conflict now, he was not afraid.
Vados hesitated but eventually nodded. She knew she couldn't stop him even if she wanted to. Goten's strength far surpassed hers, and his position as Grand God of Destruction gave him authority over her.
"As you wish, Lord Goten," she said with a sigh.
"Good. Then let's go!" Goten said decisively.
He summoned the Time Ring, and with a single motion, he, Vados, Broly, and the others vanished from their current timeline.
...…
When they reappeared, they found themselves in a different parallel timeline.
The first thing they noticed upon arriving in the Seventh Universe was the absence of familiar energy signatures. Goten searched carefully, but there was no sign of Earth in this timeline. It had likely been destroyed a long time ago.
What's more, neither the Supreme Kai nor the God of Destruction of this universe seemed to exist.
"It seems this timeline has no gods," Vados remarked, her brows furrowed slightly. "I can't sense the presence of any Angels or Gods of Destruction here."
Goten wasn't surprised. Some timelines lacked divine oversight entirely, much like the Dragon Ball GT timeline, where the most notable god was the Old Supreme Kai. Gods like the Angels and Gods of Destruction didn't exist in every timeline.
"Still," Vados continued, "it's strange. Logically speaking, there should still be a Zeno, along with the associated gods and Angels. But here… there's nothing."
Goten frowned slightly. "If there aren't any gods or Angels here, then Krillin and Trunks won't be in this timeline either, we can only go to the next timeline to find them." he said, disappointed.
The randomness of where he'd sent Krillin and Trunks made it difficult to track them down. Even Goten himself didn't know where they had ended up. Now, he could only continue searching aimlessly like a headless chicken.
Just as Goten was preparing to leave this timeline and move on, two strong energy signatures suddenly appeared in the distance.
The sudden spike in energy caught both Goten and Vados' attention. They turned toward the source, watching intently as two figures approached at high speed.
Whizz!!
Within moments, accompanied by the faint sound of air breaking, the two figures appeared in front of them.
Goten instantly recognized them, it was Goku and Vegeta.
But these weren't the Goku and Vegeta of his timeline, nor were they from the timeline he'd just left. The two new arrivals were dressed differently.
Goku wore a sleek black martial arts uniform, accompanied by a red trench coat that flowed behind him. Vegeta, on the other hand, had traded his classic blue and white battle armor for a gray and black outfit with a cylindrical shoulder strap.
[T/N: I will refer to them as Xeno Goku/Vegeta. You can google them at fandom.]
It didn't take long for Goten to realize who they were. These weren't ordinary versions of Goku and Vegeta—they were Xeno Goku and Xeno Vegeta, members of the Time Patrol.
The same realization seemed to dawn on the two Saiyans as they laid eyes on Goten and his group.
Xeno Goku's expression shifted to one of surprise. "Wait... is that Goten?" he said, his voice filled with confusion. The moment Xeno Goku saw Goten, a very surprised look appeared on his face. Because the guy in front of him was very similar to Goten. It could be said that they were almost exactly the same. And they were about the same age!
"And another Saiyan? What is going on?" Xeno Goku's eyes turned to Broly, his gaze narrowing as he tried to make sense of the situation.
Xeno Vegeta, meanwhile, frowned. "Hmph! Are you joking? Saiyans surviving in other timelines? That shouldn't be possible," he said, his tone skeptical.
Then his sharp eyes focused on Broly. "That one…" he muttered. "There's something familiar about him. I feel like I've seen him somewhere before."
Vados stepped forward, her usual calm demeanor giving way to mild surprise. "It seems these two are Goku and Vegeta," she said, glancing at Goten. "But they don't belong to this timeline either. Judging by their strength, they're stronger than the ones from our timeline."
Xeno Vegeta didn't wait for introductions. Stepping forward, he glared at Goten and asked bluntly, "Who are you? And what's your purpose for traveling through timelines willfully without permission?"
Though Goten looked exactly like the Goten he knew, Xeno Vegeta was suspicious. The presence of someone traveling through timelines at will was enough to catch the attention of the Time Patrol.
More importantly, Xeno Vegeta couldn't rule out the possibility that this Goten might be an evil creation of the Demon Gods. Those enemies had the ability to create warriors who could mimic others perfectly.
"I'm Goten," Goten replied calmly.
"As for traveling through timelines, I wouldn't call it 'willful.' Furthermore, I don't need anyone's permission to do what I want," he added, his tone light.
Xeno Goku frowned, studying him closely. "You say you're Goten, but your energy is completely different from the Goten I know. There's no way you're the same person."
Though the Goten in front of him looked identical to the one he knew, his ki felt entirely unfamiliar.
Xeno Goku shook his head. "The Goten I know doesn't have this kind of strength or talent. It's impossible."