"Hehehe... heh heh..."
It seemed that the only life on this tiny planet at the center of the peculiar star ring universe, an old man, was humming a little tune while assembling a mechanical dragon.
The dragon was made entirely of strange, unknown metals.
Each metal piece seemed unremarkable at first glance, but on closer inspection, it appeared to contain endless mysteries, as if it held the truth of life and the secrets of the universe.
Among these pieces, the most exquisite ones were the two metal eyes of the dragon.
The metal had the luster of a gemstone.
The dragon had two eyes, and one of them was already embedded, while the other was currently floating in the old man's palm.
After countless years of assembly, this mechanical dragon was just missing this final eye, and it would be complete.
The old man was happily focused on his work when suddenly, a loud shout like thunder rang in his ears: "Old man~~!!"
The old man was startled, his hand trembling!
"What's going on? What's going on?!" The old man staggered, adjusted his glasses, and looked discontentedly to the side. "Shouting like that, are you trying to scare me to death? I'm old, you know, my heart can't take it."
Yamiru helplessly said, "I've been calling you for thirty minutes, and you didn't respond at all..."
It turned out that after Yamiru had mysteriously arrived in this world and was shocked by his surroundings, he discovered this old man nearby. He wanted to ask what was going on, but the old man seemed deeply engrossed in his work and ignored Yamiru's greetings entirely. Yamiru even wondered if the old man was some kind of monster or a robot with a fixed program. So, he decided to leave and explore other places.
But the tiny planet was just too small... it could almost rival the King Kai's planet from the comics.
After walking around for a while, Yamiru had almost circled the entire planet.
He looked up at the numerous star rings. These rings rotated around the "sun" beneath his feet and rotated themselves, similar to the planetary revolution and rotation of the solar system... However, Yamiru could only make out the general distribution of the innermost ring. He could see what resembled Namekian-style land and sea scenery... He strongly suspected that there were indeed beings living there, but after considering the distance and weighing his own strength, he decided to leave it alone.
Returning to the self-absorbed old man, Yamiru tried again to greet him. After shouting himself hoarse, he finally got a response.
"Ahem... I see now, I won't blame you then." The old man politely cleared his throat. "I'm old, you know, so I tend to space out easily. You'll have to understand. I was just observing the battle between two anthills and couldn't help but help one side win. It was very interesting."
Yamiru stared in confusion, pointing at the mechanical dragon model in front of the old man. "Weren't you just assembling this? Where are the ants…?"
"Oh, those were ants from the planet Mormodmorat in the First Universe..." The old man adjusted his glasses, feeling a little embarrassed. "I'm old, my attention tends to wander... But, young man, I think I've seen you somewhere before."
"How funny, I was just thinking the same thing..." Yamiru squinted at the old man, noticing something that resembled the antennae of a Namekian. "I feel like I've seen you somewhere too..."
After some calculation, the old man suddenly realized. "Ah, it's you! The little guy from Earth in the Seventh Universe!"
It really was him! Yamiru thought to himself. The strange behavior of the dragon just now, and now being pulled to this place—it must have been the work of this old man! But the old man seemed a little absent-minded… "How rude! Who are you calling absent-minded?" The old man seemed to read Yamiru's thoughts and rebuked him.
Yamiru asked, "So, you're the one who brought me here? Who are you?"
"I am... eh, where's the thing in my hand?" The old man was about to answer when he suddenly noticed that the final dragon eye part he had been holding had vanished. He was shocked and immediately dropped to the ground, searching everywhere. "It disappeared! How strange..."
"When I shouted at you, it seems like you dropped it when you trembled," Yamiru helped him look around. "I didn't notice where it fell."
"Well, if it's lost, it's lost. It's not that important," the old man shrugged, standing up and smiling.
"It's not important? Then why were you so nervous about it?" Yamiru was completely baffled. This old man was just like Goku—acting in such a silly way.
The old man casually scattered the almost assembled mechanical dragon beside him into light particles. A glimmer passed over his glasses as he chuckled, "My name is Zalama, but you can also call me the Dragon God."
It was a plain and simple self-introduction, without the imposing presence or authority that one might expect from a significant figure. Yamiru blinked and paused for a moment. In his memory, the Dragon God seemed to be that massive golden dragon as large as a galaxy... right? He never really paid much attention to Dragon Ball Super, so he wasn't clear on the finer details.
"Dragon God... Old man," Yamiru said, "the one who spoke to us through Shenron last time, that was you, right? Can you possess Shenron on Earth?"
"To be precise," the Dragon God old man nodded, "it's a part of my consciousness that temporarily replaced the consciousness of my child."
"Your child?"
"That's right. Otherwise, do you think the Kami on your Earth could so easily create a life like Shenron?" The old man said casually, then looked up at the sky, waving at the nearest star ring Yamiru had been staring at for a while. Almost instantly, a light appeared on the land of the star ring, forming a light beam that flew towards Yamiru and the old man. It was a figure that resembled the Namekian race that Yamiru had in mind.
"The consciousness and power of your Earth's dragon come from him." The old man smiled as he introduced, "Whenever someone gathers all seven Dragon Balls on Earth, he will take on the identity of Shenron and fulfill the necessary tasks. I think you should have met him already..."
The "Namekian" respectfully spoke to the Dragon God old man, "Our powers all come from you, Ancestor... Elder Dragon..." Then he looked at Yamiru, his expression complex.
Yamiru mumbled, "So that's why the Dragon Balls turn into ordinary stones for a year after being used, because of this..."
"I am Dorag," the Namekian— or rather, Dorag—said. "I am an ordinary dragon of the Dragon Clan."
"...because Dorag returned here," Yamiru nodded and continued the thought, then looked to the old man for clarification. Dorag answered, "This is the Dragon Realm. Your Earth is a very remote planet in the seventh universe of the entire multiverse..."
The Dragon Realm!
Yamiru remembered the name.
This was the world where Dragon God Zalama resided... And looking at Dorag and the old man's appearance, it seemed that the Namekians truly were a dragon clan! So, was Porunga also part of the Dragon Clan in the Dragon Realm? Was his "job" like a part-time position, working once a year and then taking the rest of the year off?
"But why am I here?" Yamiru asked, puzzled. "Or rather, why did you bring me here?"
Upon hearing this, the old man nodded at Dorag and waved him back.
Dorag turned into a beam of light and swiftly flew toward the inner surface of the nearest star ring. Yamiru gazed upward, wondering if all the "dragons" living there were like Dorag. Was Porunga from Namek living there too?
"Ever since the Fall of the All God..."
The old man began, but he did not answer Yamiru's question directly. Instead, he brought up the so-called "All God Fall" again...
---
On the other side, the missing mechanical dragon eye part that the Dragon God old man had dropped flew out of the Dragon Realm.
It entered the multiverse.
Passing through the First Universe, the Second Universe... the Sixth Universe, and finally gliding through the Seventh Universe's starry sky.
It fell straight down to Earth in the Solar System.
Whoosh...
A small meteor crashed into Penguin Village. It broke through the roof of Dr. Norimaki's house without anyone noticing. Boom!
Soon, an angry roar echoed from the bathroom where Dr. Norimaki, who had constipation, yelled, "Who has no public morals? Throwing things around like that!"