Is it possible that Future Goku didn't keep his body ?

[GoodboiRaditz]

Goku in the Boo saga was able to travel freely in the next world and he even spoke with Gohan with Kaio's help , maybe the reason why he didn't keep in touch in the future is because he couldn't keep his body due to his natural death ? What do you think about this theory ?

[Lionel]

How often do people die of natural causes in this series? The only one I can think of is the Grand Elder soon after he was teleported to Earth along with the resurrected Namekians and most of the surviving Dragon gang. Strangely enough, his body disappeared in a similar manner to Goku's when he first died at the end of the battle with Raditz. If the mechanics are indicative of a similar fate then it would mean Future Goku retained his body. Such a being as the Grand Elder would likely warrant it given what we know of him throughout the Namek arc. Besides, there's actually a panel in the Super manga depicting a stunned Goku in the afterlife.

Spoiler:

Why Goku and the Grand Elder's bodies would need to disappear from the living realm for them to be retained in the afterlife is a bit puzzling. It's shown at the end of the Saiyan arc how Piccolo, Tenshinhan, and Yamcha's bodies were recovered from where the battle first began. Did they just have a delayed reaction and waited until after the battle before disappearing to reunite with the soul in the afterlife? Such a notion doesn't work with what we've formerly witnessed of body retention.

It's also quite likely that Krillin may have been allowed to keep his if characters with an unsavoury background as the above mentioned three could; assuming they weren't permitted as a consequence of Kami pulling some strings, that is. Krillin's body was reduced to debris by Freeza, though. We also know that Kami didn't bother restoring it as Porunga later clarified that he had done so as a favour to the Dragon gang.

All of that seems like a contradiction to me but whatever. It's the nature of Dragon Ball.

[theherodjl]

Toriyama, Toei, and Toyotaro have seemingly beaten around the bush as to why Goku never attempted to aid his family & friends from the afterlife...but its probably just a case of Occam's razor: Goku simply took his focus off of the Earth's fate to journey off into the afterlife to train. It is disappointing that Goku wouldn't at least contact Gohan one time and offer a few words of encouragement but Gohan likely knew that was just the way it was. This particular future was one where the story of the Z Senshi had ended and was just one of the infinite possibilities of the DB multiverse.

[TobyS]

I wouldn't put too much stock in one panel of a bonus chapter, it could just be an artistic liberty to remind the reader that A. Goku is dead in this timeline. And B. That's Goku there in the afterlife, not some random unidentifiable soul.

They specifically say Goku got to keep his body because of sacrificing himself Vs Cell don't they? Future Goku simply didn't do that.

[OhHiRenan]

The original manga goes out of its way to establish why Goku keeps his body both times he dies in the main timeline, which I feel is enough reason to believe he doesn't keep it when he dies of the Heart Virus.

The first time he keeps it is specifically because God wants him to train with Kaio.

The second time is because he sacrificed himself to save the Earth, basically gift-wrapping his life as a hero for Enma to judge.

[blacksymbiote]

It's just as possible as Goku heading out to train and not be heard from for ages.

[Lionel]

Looking up the panels, I realised that it's true regarding the merits of Goku's having rescued the Earth which ultimately resulted in his being allowed to keep his body.

Spoiler:

Still, we have an admission close to the end of the Buu arc of Goku having saved Earth numerous times throughout his life.

Spoiler:

If you want to discount the occasions where Goku thwarted some megalomaniac from subjugating the planet and only focus on the moments when he saved the actual planet itself then you still have the time when he, ironically, defended it against Vegeta's Galick Gun in the Saiyan arc.

The other time where Goku had his body in the afterlife it was specifically laid out how the reasoning was directly linked to Kami's machinations.

Spoiler:

In that occasion, you can make the argument that Goku was allowed to keep his body primarily due to the intent of training with King Kai. Still, I think his past actions throughout Dragon Ball classic and against Raditz would have still allowed him to keep his body. I mean, we know something similar happened to the Grand Elder and the extent of his benevolence involved saving the Namekian race and aiding the earthlings.

Spoiler:

[Peach]

Sure he did.

But the dragon balls couldn't bring him back and Fortune teller baba might have been killed by the androids. Hell, in the Buu saga he was ready to put his trust into the next generation. He might have had a similar mindset with Gohan and Trunks.

[TobyS]

Even if you think he saved the planet other times, he saved it incidentally of just wanting to fight or revenge or whatever.

Cell is the first time he saved it to save it, and more specifically he could have used IT to save himself but died to save the world.

I think that panel is just to remind/show he's dead in that timeline.

him not having the body makes it not neccesary to have Baba killed AND Kaiosama refusing to contact the namekians, which is darker and shittier... So I prefer that Goku is already gone...

The original manga goes out of its way to establish why Goku keeps his body both times he dies in the main timeline, which I feel is enough reason to believe he doesn't keep it when he dies of the Heart Virus.

The first time he keeps it is specifically because God wants him to train with Kaio.

The second time is because he sacrificed himself to save the Earth, basically gift-wrapping his life as a hero for Enma to judge.