Dragon Ball: Mori's tales

"Goku, I'm coming!" Mori shouted as he saw Goku plummeting toward Earth from space, unconscious, and reverted back to his base form after his intense clash with Beerus. Without a moment's hesitation, Mori shot into the sky at top speed, breaking through the clouds like a missile. The sheer force of his speed caused the air around him to ripple as he soared upward to catch his friend.

He reached Goku just as the Saiyan broke through Earth's atmosphere, his body limp and vulnerable as gravity pulled him down at terrifying speeds. Mori extended his arms, catching Goku carefully. He glanced up at the sky to see Beerus floating above, staring down at the two of them with a casual, unreadable expression. Mori's eyes narrowed, his instincts telling him to be ready for anything. Without thinking, he began to power up, his energy spiking as it crackled around him. He wasn't going to let his guard down around the God of Destruction.

But then Beerus let out a chuckle, amused by Mori's actions. "Little Dragon, don't even try," Beerus said, waving his hand dismissively. "I'm done fighting for today. I had my fun."

"Tch..." Mori scoffed but reluctantly powered down. He wasn't one to back down from a fight, but he knew better than to push his luck with Beerus. Holding Goku securely, Mori turned and descended back to Earth, flying toward the ship where the rest of the Z-Fighters anxiously awaited their return.

When Mori landed, the group immediately crowded around him, their faces tense with concern. He gently laid Goku on the ground, the unconscious Saiyan's chest rising and falling slowly as he breathed. Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief, but Mori wasn't able to share their sense of calm. As he stood up and took a step back, something unnerving happened.

"Five..." a whisper echoed in his ear, faint but unmistakable. At the same time, he felt a cold touch on his shoulder, causing a chill to run down his spine. This time, Mori's eyes widened in alarm, and he spun around frantically, trying to pinpoint the source of the voice.

"Uncle... are you okay?" Gohan asked, his voice full of concern as he watched his uncle's strange behavior.

Mori snapped his head in Gohan's direction, but when he looked at his nephew, it wasn't the Gohan he knew standing before him. Instead, his vision was filled with a horrifying image—Gohan was covered in blood, a gaping hole where his chest should be, his body beaten and broken, just like the vision from his dream.

"No... No... no..." Mori whispered, his voice trembling. His hand shook as he stretched it out toward Gohan, desperate to confirm if what he was seeing was real or just another vision. But before he could make contact, another whisper cut through his thoughts.

"Nine... twenty... fights... today..." The broken sentence echoed in his mind, accompanied by the sensation of invisible arms wrapping around his chest, squeezing tightly. Mori clenched his fists and shut his eyes, taking a deep, steadying breath. When he opened his eyes again, the horrifying vision was gone, and everything was back to normal.

"Yeah... I'm fine, Nephew," Mori said, though his voice was strained. He forced a smile, though it didn't reach his eyes. "Tell your father I'll see him later."

Without waiting for a response, Mori turned away and began scanning the area. His heart was still racing, but he forced himself to calm down as he searched for Goten. When he finally spotted the boy standing nearby, he walked over, forcing his usual warmth back into his voice. "Hey, kiddo, how's the timeskip training going?"

"It's going great, Uncle! I can now do it back to back! Almost as good as you can!" Goten said, his excitement bubbling over as he jumped up and down, clearly proud of his progress.

Mori smiled, though his mind was still clouded with worry. He bent down on one knee and picked Goten up, holding him close for a moment before standing back up. In a low voice, he whispered, "Goten, I need you to listen carefully. Train. Train harder than you ever have before. Train more than your father and Vegeta combined, okay? Something bad might happen in the future, and I need you to achieve a power greater than even the timeskip."

Goten looked up at Mori, his eyes wide with confusion. He had never seen his uncle so serious, so... afraid. The sight of tears welling up in Mori's eyes startled the boy even more. "Uncle...?" Goten whispered, his voice trembling with worry.

Mori smiled sadly and patted Goten on the head. "Don't worry about me right now, kiddo. Just focus on your training. Besides the timeskip, I'm going to give you something that was passed down to me long ago." With a gentle tap on Goten's chest, Mori transferred a portion of his Dovahkiin energy to the boy. Invisible tattoos formed on Goten's skin, though the boy was unaware of the ancient power that now flowed through him.

Mori put Goten down and ruffled his hair one last time before stepping back. "Remember what I said. Train harder than ever." And with that, Mori vanished, teleporting away before anyone could stop him.

"Uncle Mori...?" Goten muttered, still standing in shock, trying to process what had just happened. His uncle had never acted like this before. Just then, Goten's attention was drawn to his father, who was finally waking up.

"Ugh... feels like I got hit by a planet," Goku groaned, sitting up and rubbing his head. He looked around at the group, relief flooding him when he saw that everyone was okay.

"Well, Saiyan, I have to admit, you gave me quite a good fight," Beerus said, now standing a few feet away, casually munching on a plate of food brought over by a chef. "I had fun, mortal."

"Hehehe, well, Beerus, I guess that means you're not going to destroy Earth, right?" Goku asked nervously, scratching the back of his head with a sheepish grin.

Beerus chuckled and waved a hand. "It would be a waste to destroy a planet with such delicious food. Plus, the only other fighter who might give me a decent challenge just left, though he looked like he was having some sort of mental breakdown."

"Lord Beerus! You were supposed to share that delicacy!" Whis exclaimed, placing his hands on his cheeks as he stared longingly at the food Beerus was devouring. Beerus simply grunted and grabbed another plate, unbothered.

Goku furrowed his brow, his confusion deepening. "What do you mean by someone having a breakdown? Who left?"

"Mori," Chi-Chi said, stepping forward and hugging her husband tightly. "He seemed like he was in a state of shock after bringing you back to Earth. It was like he saw something terrible."

"What do you mean?" Goku asked, concern creeping into his voice as he held Chi-Chi close.

"Uncle Mori caught you and brought you back down, but something was... wrong," Gohan explained, his eyes darkening as he remembered. "At first, he just stared at you, but then he started looking around frantically, like he was seeing things that weren't there. When I called out to him, his face... it was pure horror. He looked at me, and it was like he wasn't seeing me but... something else. He reached out like he was trying to check if I was real before snapping back to his senses. After that, he went over to Goten and whispered something to him."

"What did your uncle say, Goten?" Goku asked, his voice soft but firm as he beckoned his son closer.

Goten stood in the center of the group, his mind racing. He didn't want to reveal what Mori had told him, especially not in front of everyone. He struggled to find the right words, but before he could speak, Piccolo folded his arms and spoke up.

"If Goten isn't going to talk, then I will," Piccolo said, his sharp eyes never leaving the boy. "Mori told him to train. Harder than he's ever trained before. Harder than both Goku and Vegeta. He said, 'Something bad might happen in the future.' Those were his exact words."

"What? Something bad? And why would he ask Kakarot's brat and not me or one of the adults?" Vegeta finally spoke up, his voice filled with irritation as he crossed his arms over his chest. His pride as the Prince of Saiyans was clearly wounded.

"And what could possibly scare MORI of all people?!" Vegeta continued, his voice growing louder. "Even when we trained in deep space, I never saw him afraid! Not even when his life was on the line against Cell! So what could have the very man who trained ME, the Prince of Saiyans, so damn scared?!"

The group exchanged uneasy glances, taken aback by Vegeta's outburst. They had expected Goku or Gohan to react this way, but Vegeta's frustration was palpable, and it only deepened their own sense of unease.

"There are too many unanswered questions right now," Piccolo said, stepping in to diffuse the tension. "For now, let's focus on the two deities over there before we jump to conclusions."

The group nodded in agreement, though the weight of Mori's cryptic words hung heavy in the air. Something was coming, something that even Mori feared, and the uncertainty left them all on edge.