Atonement and Farewell

Upon hearing Whis' proposition, Goten was taken aback. He had always known the Angels to be neutral and hadn't anticipated such a question. But before he could respond, Beerus interjected.

"Whis, do you think I'm deaf?!" Beerus retorted angrily. "I'm still alive, and you're already scouting for a new Hakaishin?"

Beerus was in his prime, capable of serving for hundreds of millions of years without any issues. The idea of selecting a new God of Destruction was out of the question for him.

"Beerus-sama, isn't this for your benefit?" Whis replied, a hint of grievance on his face. "If something unfortunate were to happen to you one day, you wouldn't want to leave without an heir."

Beerus scoffed at Whis' concern. "Bah! Shut your crow's mouth, you obviously want me to have an accident!" He was in a relatively good mood until Whis' words soured it.

[T/N: He's telling him off to stop with the inauspicious remarks. Or it's gonna happen lol. It's an eastern proverb.]

This guy, it seemed like he couldn't bear to see Beerus well and happy every day. It was hard for him to be in a better mood, but Whis had to suddenly say such a thing!

After scolding Whis, and turning to Goten, Beerus acknowledged, "You are indeed powerful, the strongest mortal I've encountered. If I find the time and interest, I might invite you to my God Realm for another bout. But until then, train hard. If you remain at this level, I might lose interest and perhaps even destroy Earth."

With that, Beerus and Whis vanished from Earth. Beerus' words were meant to pressure Goten, to motivate him to become stronger. He saw potential in Goten and considered grooming him as a possible candidate for God of Destruction, despite having no immediate plans to abdicate.

Once Beerus had left, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The crisis on Earth had been averted, and Goten was unharmed. It was clear that Beerus held some level of respect for Goten.

Chichi was the first to rush to Goten, embracing him tightly. She didn't utter a word, but Goten could feel her worry. "It's okay, Mom. I'm fine. Don't worry," Goten reassured her, patting her gently on the shoulder.

Chichi, overcome with emotion, admonished Goten. "You can't take such risks in the future. You scared me to death! If I were to lose you, I wouldn't have the will to go on."

Moved by the scene, even Goku felt a pang of guilt. He wished he had been strong enough to handle the situation himself. But his past strength was insufficient to deal with threats like Cell, and he was no match for Beerus. All of this had to be resolved by Goten, which left Goku feeling uneasy.

Bulma stepped forward to comfort Chichi. "Okay, Chichi, Goten is fine. Now that everything has been resolved satisfactorily, let's continue with our birthday party. It's rare for us to gather like this, so let's not let what happened earlier spoil our mood."

The birthday party resumed, and as the sun set, its afterglow bathed the Earth.

....

Goten's family returned to Mount Paozu, where Chichi yearned to relive the joy of family. They sat atop the mountain, basking in the warmth of the setting sun, a picture of familial bliss that Chichi had longed to see.

"Chichi, Goten, I'm truly sorry," Goku confessed, his voice heavy with regret. "When you needed me the most, I wasn't there for you. I've always felt bad about this…"

His words hung in the air, a palpable testament to his remorse. He was in the Otherworld when they needed him most, unable to lend them any support.

Goten remained silent, his young face reflecting the weight of Goku's guilt and helplessness.

"Goku," Chichi began, her voice steady but serious, "Eight years ago, when we wanted to revive you, you chose not to return. Did you realize how desperate we were? How hopeless the Earth felt? And when Goten was just born, we tried to resurrect you again, but you refused! You Saiyans… it's as if you had no idea how desperate we were."

Chichi's words echoed the despair and helplessness they had felt, a feeling known only to those who had lived through it. Despite having powerful husbands, they had to live in constant fear.

"Chichi, it's not that we didn't want to be resurrected," Goku explained. "The reluctance to disturb the natural order of things was just an excuse. Have you ever considered that if we were resurrected right after being killed, we would still be defeated by Cell? He could have been angered and destroyed the entire Earth. And when Goten was born, we weren't strong enough to compete with Cell. If we were revived, Cell would definitely return to Earth, bringing an even greater crisis. Bulma was right when she said that our presence would attract more powerful enemies to Earth. That's why we didn't want to be resurrected."

[T/N: I didn't find where she said that, consider this a back story which is never explained.]

Goku's voice was grave as he revealed the painful truth. They hadn't been unwilling to be resurrected. After all, Gohan was only ten years old at the time, arguably the best age, and Trunks was only one year old at the time. No father wants his child to die at this age!

But even if they were resurrected at that time, they would be killed by Cell who would come back to seek a worthy opponent after he knew that there were still Saiyans alive on Earth.

[T/N: poor little trunks...]

They had been afraid. Afraid of being defeated by Cell again, of bringing even greater disasters to Earth. It wasn't that they lacked emotion, it was just that their expression of emotion wasn't always obvious.

Gohan, understanding Goku's thoughts, wasn't surprised. But Chichi and Goten were taken aback, especially Goten. He had blamed Goku and the others before, for refusing to save their wives and children.

But now, listening to Goku's explanation, he realized they had no other choice. If they had been revived at the beginning, they wouldn't have been able to defeat Cell. They couldn't avoid being killed again, and if Cell was angered, the Earth might have been completely destroyed.

"It turns out… it was like this," Chichi murmured, realization dawning on her. She had misunderstood Goku.

"But now, Goten is so powerful, he's fully capable of protecting the Earth," Goku said, a relieved smile on his face. "I believe he will become stronger and stronger, and he can protect everyone. That way, we can rest easy."

Goten looked at Goku, a hint of awkwardness in his eyes. "I'm sorry… I actually hated you before," he admitted. But now, all misunderstandings seemed to have been resolved. However, he still couldn't bring himself to call Goku 'father'.

"By the way, even if you go back to Kaiō, you should train well," Goten advised Goku and Gohan. "Don't think that the Earth doesn't need your protection just because of my strength. If one day a crisis breaks out on Earth that even I can't solve, you will still have to come back."

Goku nodded, a smile on his face. Looking at each other and smiling, it seemed that all the barriers between them had been eliminated.

Time flew by quickly, and the day was almost over. The time of reunion was always too short, especially for Chichi and Bulma. At ten o'clock the next morning, Goku and the others had to return to the Otherworld. The day had passed.

Uranai Baba returned at this time. "Goku, the day is over. You must return to the Otherworld," she told Goku and the others.

"Understood, Baba," Goku replied, nodding. He turned to look at Chichi and Goten. "Goten, protect your mother. I look forward to our next meeting. Goodbye, Chichi!"

With those words, their bodies disappeared in an instant. Parting after a short reunion was often very sad, especially for Chichi and Bulma, who were separated after just one day of reunion. But there was no way to stop such a thing.

"Okay, let's go back!" Bulma declared, her voice filled with determination. "Today, I invite everyone to have a big meal."

Everyone nodded in agreement, and Bulma led them to a top restaurant for a meal.

…...

After a hearty dinner, Goten and Krillin found themselves back at Mount Paozu.

"Goten, I'm ready for training," Krillin declared, his tone serious. "No matter how intense, I can handle it."

The recent battles had been a wake-up call for Krillin. His current strength was insufficient, and he felt helpless against the formidable opponents they now faced. He was acutely aware that his life hung in the balance.

He had previously sought Bulma's assistance, hoping her technology could enhance his power. However, she had informed him that his strength had reached its current limit with her existing technology, though she promised to explore other possibilities in the future.

But Krillin couldn't afford to wait. The Earth's crisis was unpredictable, and he needed to become stronger as quickly as possible. He didn't want to be a burden to Goten; he wanted to contribute to their battles.

"Krillin," Goten responded, "I'll teach you Ultra Instinct—the technique I used against Beerus."

Goten understood Krillin's concerns and agreed without hesitation.

"Really?" Krillin's face lit up with disbelief. He had witnessed the immense power of Ultra Instinct when Goten had used it to defeat Cell, even after failing as a Super Saiyan II. If he could master that technique, his strength would undoubtedly increase significantly.

"Of course," Goten assured him. "But mastering Ultra Instinct isn't easy. The first requirement is achieving an absolute balance of mentality. If you can't maintain a peaceful mind, mastering Ultra Instinct will be difficult."

Krillin nodded, determined to try. He was willing to endure anything to become stronger. After all, he had already experienced the excruciating pain of transformation. What more could he not withstand?

"Great! Let's start now!" Goten began to explain the intricacies of Ultra Instinct to Krillin in detail. Although it was challenging to master, it was the only technique Goten could teach him. The other abilities Goten possessed, such as Majin Buu's super regeneration and Janemba's abilities, were inherent and couldn't be taught.

Thus, their intense daily training began. Goten imparted all his theoretical knowledge about Ultra Instinct to Krillin and demonstrated the form several times. He explained the changes in body and mentality after activating Ultra Instinct, as well as the perception and experience required.

Once Krillin had been taught everything, Goten resumed his own training. He had once thought he could master perfect Ultra Instinct through training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, but he had given up after realizing it wasn't feasible. To comprehend perfect Ultra Instinct, he needed a specific opportunity, not just blind training.

So, he shifted his training focus to the God of Destruction's Destruction ability. This technique was more than just the power to erase things; it included the true form of a God of Destruction. In the second season of the Dragon Ball Super manga, Vegeta's Ultra Ego was revealed as a derivative form of the Destruction ability. Goten aimed to comprehend this form.

However, Goten knew that just mastering Ultra Ego wouldn't be enough. He had a plan: once he had truly mastered perfect Ultra Instinct and Ultra Ego, he would find a way to fuse these two divine skills. He believed that with this fusion, he would have the strength to fight even an Angel.

While practicing these divine skills, Goten never neglected his Saiyan transformation. After all, he was a Saiyan at his core. Ultra Instinct and Ultra Ego were merely cards in his hand, ready to be played when necessary.