In a great palace, a sudden whirl of energy appears. Something crashes down onto the palace roof until a loud boom echoes through the halls.
Fire Lord Azulon is torn from his sleep by the shouting of the guards.
"FIRE LORD, GET TO SAFETY! WE WILL CATCH THE INTRUDER!"
Moments later, several soldiers rush in.
The Fire Lord waves them off as he gets up from his bed. Dressed only in his sleeping robes, he looks like an ordinary old man. He dismisses them and says,"That wasn't an intruder. Return to your posts."
He walks to the crater on the veranda and begins pulling away the scattered stones to see what caused it. Eventually, he finds a sphere resting in his hand. He examines it and is stunned—rarely had he seen such a gem. Surely, it is worthy of a king. It is an orange sphere with three stars inside.
Amazed, he says,"It shall serve as my good-luck charm."
He stores it away, unaware of the consequences it will bring for him and his nation.
In an unknown place, a woman with scars on her head holds an orange sphere with five stars.
"Hm… it doesn't seem to emit cursed energy or positive energy at all, but I can feel that this sphere is incredibly powerful."
So thought Kenjaku.
She tucks it away as well—something she will sooner or later regret.
In a dojo full of students, a young Bang holds a one-star ball and thinks,"This looks pretty expensive. It'd be a shame to just leave it lying here."
He puts it away in his dojo and continues with his usual routine.
In another galaxy far, far away…
Ashborn, the Monarch of Shadows, holds an orange sphere with two stars and thinks,"It doesn't look like much, but it seems to be an artifact. I can use it as a reward for my successor."
At the same moment, a young Marine soldier—who in the future will be known as the Red Dog—also finds such a ball, this one with seven stars, and keeps it for himself.
In the same sea, a well-known dragon has just gained his first crewmate, Alber, also known as King. Before they leave together, Kaido sees King pick up something.
Kaido looks at Alber and asks,"What's that thing supposed to be?"
Alber glances back and says,"I saw this thing fall from the sky a few days ago. Some corrupt Marine soldiers hid it here, hoping they could sell it."
Kaido takes it in his hand and sees four stars. He smirks and says,"Hah… let's see what the future brings."
In a remote cave, Madara Uchiha, believed to be dead, holds an orange ball with six stars, thinking nothing of it as he continues waiting for a worthy successor.
Konoha
In the same universe, but in Konoha, Shun wakes up. A week has passed since the incident. As he sits up, he hears a woman's voice calling him.
"Shun, wake up, breakfast is ready."
Shun snaps out of his half-sleep, looks around, and remembers how desperate his situation is.
Shun POV:
If anyone is wondering why I'm sitting at the table with these people—yeah. I was adopted by the Nara Clan.Not just by any member, but by the clan head himself. His name seems to be Shikamaru. He's probably in his forties and has a wife but no children.
But let's start with what happened this past week.
Apparently, I have something Bijuu-like sealed inside me. The Second Hokage brought me to Konoha to hide me from the other villages. At first, he didn't know who I was, but after talking with him and several ninjas in the village, I convinced them that I was an orphan who had been kidnapped and had no idea what was going on.
I even used my Ten Shadows Technique to show them that I possess this kind of Kekkei Genkai, proving that I belong to the Nara clan of Konoha. Since I'm too young and considered a potential threat to the village and the Land of Fire, the clan patriarch took me in. Under his supervision, I am supposed to grow up in Konoha.
"Sweetheart, want seconds?" Sayu Nara asks her husband.
Shikamaru shakes his head."No. I think we should start teaching Shun how to use chakra today. Too much food wouldn't be good right now."
Shun smiles and says,"Thank you, uncle. I'm glad you'll be teaching me personally."
Behind his smile, Shun hides a bit of frustration.There is still one unresolved issue—the Dragon Balls.
During his first teleportation, they disappeared. It seems the combination with the Mother Box triggered a reaction, scattering all of them across different universes.
Shun sighs. He will have to search the entire multiverse. And he has only ten years to do it—so he doesn't disrupt the main Dragon Ball story. If Goku never searches for the Dragon Balls, the plot will never unfold.
He is now six years old and has until he turns sixteen to become strong enough to find them all.
"I'd better pray the Dragon Balls didn't end up in the hands of some insanely overpowered beings that could one-shot me."