Protector of the Multiverse

Prologue

Gohan-

"You know I don't like you doing this."

"Mom—"

"My little boy, going off to other universes! What if you get hurt?"

It was the same argument every time. His mom had always been against his stints in saving the world— but that was in favor of studying. Considering everything that had occurred the last few years, what with The Cell Games, and how smart he was from years of forced study, mom wasn't nearly as persistent with her old obsession. Now, she didn't want me to go so I didn't have to leave her. I understood that— I really did. After dad, she was afraid that Goten and I would eventually get hurt and leave her, too. But, then again...

"Mom, no person or thing on that planet's power level goes above ten thousand, and it's only the full power of those Tailed Beasts that reaches that high. I don't even have to power up, let alone transform. But, that's why I've got to go, see. They can't protect themselves like I can protect them."

"But—"

"Mom," I cut her off. "This is something that dad would do."

She didn't have any more arguments after that.

"Ready bro?" Krillin grinned at me.

I smirked at him. "Of course."

"One more time?" Dende asked.

I shrugged. "Sure."

"When you get there, talk to the leader of the village. The leader of the village Hidden in the Leaves is called the Hokage. You remember your background?" We both nodded. "Okay, once you become a ninja, you'll seem inferior to the ninjas you'll be around, because, until you prove yourself to them, they'll see you as a liability because you can't use chakra. Ninjutsu is pretty cool, but there is no attack that could honestly even phase either one of you. So you'll have to be good at acting." Krillin and I grinned. "Genjustu is basically just illusions. Because of your Saiyan blood, genjustu can't effect you, Gohan. Krillin, you are fair game, so just focus your energy, and you'll be fine. Energy is much stronger than chakra, but, to be fair, they could do a lot if cool stuff with it. For fun, I suggest learning to use those ninja weapons. Those look fun. Anyway, so you are clear on the objective?" We nodded seriously. Dende grinned and shook his head. "When did being the Guardian of Earth turn into being a know-it-all for a Universal Task Force?"

"Well, it's fun either way." I laughed.

"True," said Dende. "But that doesn't make it any less weird when you think about it." Dende waved his hand, opening the portal that wool take us to the Ninjaverse, as I called it.

I laughed. "Then don't think about it." I flew through the portal, Krillin behind me, landing about a mile from a lot of mediocre power levels, which I was guessing was the Hidden Leaf village.

Krillin grinned at me. "We're about to become ninja, aren't we?"

"Yup."

"I'm about to be one of the most powerful beings on a planet again, aren't I?"

"Yes."

Krillin smiled widely. "Great! You Saiyans are impossible to surpass."

"Face it, the last four years you haven't exactly been trying."

"You were nine and a freaking Super Saiyan. If that doesn't mean I'm getting rusty, I don't know what else does."

I shook my head. "We should lower our power levels more—so we don't accidentally break the village."

Krillin nodded seriously. "What level should we be at?"

I winced. "Truthfully? I haven't suppressed my power level in a while. I can go to fifteen thousand and just tap people when I'm fighting and make it look slow?"

Krillin shook his head. "I can lower mine all the way to five thousand." He looked over at me. "Remember the time when that was a lot to us?"

"And then we fought Freiza."

"And then we fought Freiza," Krillin agreed. "And the Ginyu Force. I still have nightmares about those poses."

"You're not the one whose neck was broken."

"You're not the one who died."

We were silent for a moment.

"Sorry," Krillin said apologetically, noting my wince. "Bad joke."

I have him a half shrug and a rather pitiful attempt at a smile. Then I shifted my thoughts from my father's best friend getting blown up in millions of pieces.

It was kind of lame that I couldn't power down all the way, but it was true that I've been using my abilities a lot lately, so it hadn't been necessary. I spent all of my time—when not traveling to different multiverses and studying—sparring with Goten. The little guy was getting stronger every day. It was pretty amazing. He definitely inherited our father's spirit. Who knew that training with a four year old would actually make me stronger? Not as strong as I got sparring with Vegeta in the GR, but still.

Speaking of his Royal Pain in the Tail, Vegeta was surprisingly turning out to be my friend. He'll never admit it, of course, but that doesn't make it any less true. I think after my dad died, Vegeta finally realized that they were friends ever since they beat each other up. Friends, rivals...to us, that is pretty much the same exact thing. He will admit, in only the rarest circumstances, though, that he truly respected my father's strength. Coming from Vegeta, that is actually more than anyone hoped for. We bonded sort of the same way he and my dad did— beat each other up in high gravity. Sometimes we went to places with harsh conditions to train. Sometimes Piccolo would come along, too.

Every one of us had grown a lot closer after my father's death. After we all realized exactly what it was that we lost.

Our light.

Son Goku was brighter than any star— blazed stronger than any fire. There was truly no one else like him in any Universe. He was strong, yet gentle. He was tough, and soft at the same time. He was a fury of power...and yet he was so carefree. He cared about life, and loathed to take it away. He loved fighting above everything, save family, friends, and food. And he was determined. He was focused and dedicated, yet...at the same time, he was kind of a spaz.

He wasn't just the best of us, he was the greatest friend, father, or husband that any of is could have ever had.

He wasn't perfect— he was pretty spacey. He sometimes put training above anything else. He had no sense of time. He eat everyone out of house and home. He stayed away for years at a time– leaving my mom and I to fend for ourselves while eagerly awaiting his return.

But he was my dad. I love him more than anyone, and I understand him better than anyone. And I know he would do anything for us— for any one if us. He loved us. He loved me. And he died to prove it. Twice.

But anyone who met him knew that one thing stood out above everything else. One thing that made Goku, Goku.

Okay. Two things. I dare anyone to forget his eating habits and come out of it sane.

It was his smile...his carefree smile, so fill of life and of laughter.

And that was why I did this— whenever I saved people, or even worlds or verses, it wasn't about the full feeling in my chest... It wasn't about the pride. It wasn't even about doing the right thing.

It was about bring closer to his dad. About seeing his father's smile clearer and clearer.

...

Krillin and I looked at each, and had a silent agreement.

Approximately five seconds later(We were in a weakened state) we crossed the gate that led into the Leaf Village.

Let the fun begin.

We were all in a pretty bad way after my dad sacrificed himself at the Cell Games. I blamed myself for a long time. Part of me still blames myself.

Krillin retreated into himself. Piccolo trained harder than ever, more isolated than ever. Tien, Yamcha, and Chiaotzu disappeared to who-knows-where and maintained radio-silence/energy silence for a few months. Vegeta gave up fighting for a while and pretty much wallowed in misery at his rival's honorable death. Bulma was a wreck- inventing things like crazy- barely leaving her lab, and staring at baby Trunks for hours at a time, thinking of her best friend and all of the adventures they were on together, wondering how she'd be able to cope without him there. (I swear, she really did tell me this. I'm not making it up.) Even Korin heavily grieved. Mr. Popo was practically a mess, and Dende was having a hard time consoling him. Grandpa's tears created earthquakes. There were a lot of earthquakes.

My mom was in a right state. She was a mess. She didn't cry and she didn't talk about my father at all. She didn't even bother me about studying. She was just really quiet. She was like a hollow shell- a hollow shell that ate like a Saiyan. Seriously, I think she ate more than me. I thought it was her way of mourning my father- eating like him.

I was the worst. I was on a self-destructive spiral of the likes no one has ever seen. I spent my hours that I wasn't with my mother in the GR that Bulma made for my dad before the Cell Games. I didn't power up. I just fought drones like mad, not caring how badly I got beat up at over 500 times Earth's gravity. And I kept working my way up. I also flattened quite a lot of mountainous territory. And craters. Lot and lot of craters. I barely ate, barely slept, and barely spoke to anyone.

And then, a few months later, it happened. We found out that my mother was pregnant- my mom was pregnant! My little brother or sister was growing inside of her- Goku's child was growing inside of her. And that miracle changed everything.

Krillin came over all of the time, blushing because Eighteen insisted on spending her time with him. She claimed she was repaying her debt to him- but I could tell she just really wanted him to cheer up. She really cared for him. And he was head-over-heals in love with her. They got married, and after the ceremony, he came over to us, put his hand over my mom's growing stomach, and smiled the widest smile I'd seen on him since dad's death.

Piccolo went back to training at the lookout. He made sure to check in with my mom and I, and when my mom said he was acting like a big softie, he got really defensive and flew away. He didn't deny it, though.

Yamcha surfaced. He was playing professional baseball in his spare time. He also started training harder than he ever did before- but only to better himself, not to torture himself. He, despite our protests, built a small house by ours. He claimed it was a matter of convenience, but my mom and I knew he wanted to be able to help us out with my sibling, to be closer to the memory of my dad. My mom thought it was sweet of him to want to help us out. I thought that he pictured himself as sort of an older brother to my dad when they were younger, and he wanted to subconsciously be a part of our family. He smiled a lot more often, too. I think the country was good for him.

Tien and Chiaotzu were training somewhere far off, but they contacted everyone frequently. They also visited often, and brought over a lot of food when they did. I think they wanted to give us money and support, but knew my mom wouldn't take their money, so they just gave it to us in a way that neither of us could possibly refuse. Tien also sparred with Yamcha whenever he stopped by, and made sure to teach me some of his signature moves. He grinned, and told me that the Crane School wouldn't die with him.

Vegeta started to train again. Enough said.

Bulma was more active with Trunks again, and came over with him all of the time. She smiled all of the time now, and made sure that my mom and the baby were doing all right whenever she had the chance.

My mom cried when she found out. And then she, with almost everything besides her new appetite and her dictatorship when it came to my studies, she was pretty much back to normal. I think she started eating more, though. And when it came to my studies? She still didn't press it. She still wanted me to spend at least some time studying, but she didn't get obsessive over it.

And me? Well, I was eating again. And talking. And studying. And training. And preparing my new sibling's room. And wearing my dad's uniform.

The baby impacted us all so much without even being born. When Goten was born, though, I felt something that I've never felt before. I felt a surge of protectiveness, stronger than anything I've ever felt. And I was happy- so happy at looking at the miniature version of my father. His smile was so wide, and his eyes so big and I vowed that I would always protect him.

A couple of years went by, and everything was back to normal. Almost. I knew that none of us would ever truly stop missing my father, but his loss didn't handicap us anymore. Instead of being sad when we thought of him, we were happy.

We all bonded over my father, and we closer than ever. So when Piccolo summoned us to the Lookout via mental communication, it wasn't much of a surprise when we all came right away.

We made it official that day.

Gohan. Piccolo. Vegeta. Krillin. Tien. Yamcha. Eighteen. Seventeen. The Z Fighters.

We protected Earth in honor of my father. We protect it from all possible outside forces. Bulma and Dr. Briefs built us a few spaceships, and Vegeta, Krillin, and I traveled to many planets to train, and to be delegates for Earth, and made treaties that secured peace. Even if no one on Earth knew that they existed. New Namek, Yardrat, and a few other planets became Earth's allies. My father, while he had been alive, had made quite a few a few friends in the cosmos…as well as quite a few enemies…but that is beside the point.

After we took the Z Fighters intergalactic, we got all the more closer. Bonding over our love for my father…bonding over saving Earth…bonded over experiences that only we had shared.

Hercule Satan was getting all the more popular. The so-called 'Savior of the World' had bog hair, and an even bigger ego. I didn't care much that he took the credit for defeating Cell. Being this planet's protector was so much easier without the rest of the world on my back. I didn't need to be famous- I didn't need to wealth. I didn't need to be a pillar for the rest of the world…and I didn't really want to.

The rest of the world had no way of understanding. They didn't understand how blind, how weak, how idiotic they were. It isn't even about Hercule. They don't even know that they aren't alone in the Universe. They think they are the center of the Universe- that they are superior. But the truth is, they are so weak, it hurts sometimes. The Earth is a beautiful place. Full of light. Full of hope.

And full of egomaniacs that aren't a blimp on most of the Universes' radar. So we had to pick up the slack.

The Z Fighters became something more. Chiaotzu and Grandpa Ox King were our connection to the King of Earth, to laws, and to politics. Yamcha was a connection to the people- a professional baseball player. The best that had ever lived. The fact that he was strong enough to move mountains might have helped a little bit.

And Bulma? Well, everyone in the world knows and respects the richest family in the world. The smartest woman in the world as well as the renowned head of Capsule Corporation.

And…of course, there was Master Roshi…who was…well, Master Roshi. He was badly hurt by my father's death. My dad, being his favorite pupil, was a mess. He even took a break being a world-class pervert. He was back to his usual self soon enough, much to the ire of many women in West City, since a lot of his time was spent visiting Bulma. We could always count on the old Turtle Hermit for almost anything- even including being an extra Z Fighter if we are spread too thin. After all, he was a crucial part of the Z Fighters forming in the first place. He was the one who trained Krillin and dad, and later Yamcha. Also, he helped influence Tien to change his ways. He was the guy behind the scenes- the man behind the action, and a part of some of it. The Kamehameha Wave was his invention, after all.

A year or two after we got our shit together, climbed out of the holes that we dug ourselves into following my father's death, we discovered a way to expand our reach- to better ourselves- a to save even more people. We took our intergalactic protecting interdimensional. Saving more people, learning new things…it was incredible. And Goten and Trunks were older and getting stronger all of the time. They were now a part of the Z Fighters, too. They were true Saiyan protégées- stronger than Yamcha and even Tien at their young age. Watching them fighting was amazing. It was like having dad back in a way. They were so graceful, and they weren't even trying. They treated it all like a game…and they truly loved it.

And I started to feel it, too.

I still hated to hurt…but I found extreme joy in fighting. There was an ache in my bones that was only satisfied when I was fighting. It wasn't something that I had felt often before. In fact, the few times I had felt it, other than with my father and Piccolo and Krillin, I had buried it with the guilt and reluctance to hurt anyone- even bad people. The flame ignited again, stronger than it had ever been.

And that led to now.

In teams of two Dende sent us to other dimensions that were in need of assistance. It was typically a balance of power. Krillin and I worked well together, so we normally went together. Tien and Yamcha handled some of the less complicated and diplomatic cases that were brought to Dende's attention. Goten and Trunks, although they had only been on two missions so far, perfectly complimented each other's strengths, as well as their weaknesses. I almost envied their perfect teamwork, even without them trying. But, then again, friendships like those two had were incredibly hard to come by. Especially with the similarities in age, power…and ethnicity. Not exactly too many five and six year old half-human, half Saiyan hybrids. Of course, there being only one pure-blooded Saiyan didn't exactly help matters. But, really, that was beside the point.

The point is, all that is how I got here. In the Ninjaverse. About to save another world that needed my help, even though they didn't know it.

Get ready, ninjas. A storm is about to hit the Hidden Leaf Village.

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"So…you would like to enroll in the Academy?" Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, said as he took drag from his pipe, exhaling the smoke.

I blushed a little. "Actually…I was hoping that I could be privately tested. I'm a little too old for the Academy…anyone my age would be a Genin by now." I shrugged. "And I can't…I can't exactly…use Chakra." I winced. "And I hear the final exam requires basic jutsu…that I can't perform."

"And yet, you want to be a shinobi," The Hokage said. "If you can't mold Chakra, how do you expect to be a ninja?"

I shuffled my feet. "I'm pretty good at Taijutsu." I said.

Krillin nodded. "Gohan and have been practicing Martial Arts since a young age…I know it is different than Taijutsu…but the both of us were hoping, Lord Hokage, that we could be tested by a Jonin and become ninja based on our skills. We are both aware that our lack of Ninjutsu and genjutsu will cripple us…but Gohan and I want to build a new life here, after the death of his father- my closest friend. If you allow us, Lord Hokage, we will protect this village with our lives."

I thought he might've layed it on a little thick…not that any of it was a lie, just not the entire truth. But the Hokage seemed to be considering Krillin's proposal.

"A test by a Jonin, hm? To become a ninja…unusual. But since you both have a similar problem that hinders your ability to enter the Academy…" The Hokage was the leader of a ninja village. Obviously he didn't just let two strange foreigners into his village and consider letting them become ninja blindly. We had been in the village for a month already. Dende had supplied a background, and when the Hokage looked into our past, he found a well fabricated one. One by the Guardian of Earth. It was practically the same thing he would find if it were true.

He looked to be deep in thought. "I…will allow it. If you are deemed talented enough to be Genin material, you will become a part of the Shinobi Corps, and be assigned a team."

"Both of us?" Krillin asked.

"You don't approve?" Sarutobi raised a brow.

"That isn't it, Lord Hokage," Krillin quickly defended. "It is just…I was hoping that, if I was found to be above Genin level, I could…try for becoming a member of the ANBU."

"You have an interest in becoming an ANBU?"

"It is, in my eyes, one of the best ways to protect the village. I wish to protect this village…and you, Lord Hokage. That is why I would like to be a member of the ANBU Black Ops."

Sarutobi nodded thoughtfully. "If you are deemed strong enough by one of my more talented Jonin…then I will allow you entrance into the ANBU Black Ops."

"Thank you, Lord Hokage," Krillin and I said. Our audience with the Fire Shadow was over. We were as good as ninja. Thank Dende my mom wasn't here…she'd absolutely hate this dimension.