In one of Dragon Ball’s most realistic moments, Future Trunks comes back in time to warn Goku of the mysterious "Heart Virus" that may destroy him.
The Dragon Ball saga has gifted anime fans with tons of exciting battles, unique characters, and iconic heroes – of which the most infamous has to be Goku. While there are plenty of mysteries surrounding Goku’s past and destiny, his disease-related death has sparked numerous theories and debates – leaving countless fans wondering how Goku got the Heart Virus in Dragon Ball.
1 – Goku got the heart virus from Yardrat
If Goku were to see a doctor about his heart virus, a common question he might be asked is have you travelled anywhere recently.
To which of course Goku would say he’s been millions of light-years away on the alien planet Yardrat! A new planet with a new ecosystem that Saiyan’s have never encountered before could pose a serious risk for Goku.
It should be noted no other Z fighters got the virus, so either Goku is just extremely unlucky, or he went somewhere no one else did.
It’s never been officially denied before, so we think the Yardrat theory is very plausible.
Some would argue that because Future Trunks had a cure it couldn’t have come from Yardrat, but it’s possible that Goku bought the virus to earth, spread it, died and this prompted a cure to be made.
2 – Goku got the heart virus from the forests
Goku didn’t have a typical earthling childhood. Up until he was 12 years old he’d never seen another human apart from his foster dad Gohan.
Goku lived a Tarzan like existence just roaming with the dinosaurs and tigers in the forest where he lived.
Just like in real life, the jungles/forests are breeding grounds for all sorts of weird bacteria and fungus. It’s possible Goku contracting something in the forest from something he ate, and it lay dormant in his body.
We know that Goku turning Super Saiyan makes his condition worse so maybe that was the trigger to turn it into a full-blown heart attack.
3 – Dr Gero created it in his lab and spread it using his mechanical flies.
There’s no denying that Dr Gero absolutely hates Goku. It’s also true that Dr Gero is a genius and could probably put together some kind of poison/virus that’d be able to kill a man.
So it seems quite plausible that he created the heart virus and used the flies to give it to Goku.
A few other people could have been caught in the crossfire, which is why Future Trunks has a cure for it in his time.
This could also explain why Goku got the virus six months later than Future Trunks predicted because Goku changed his location to train and it took longer for the flies to track him down.
4 – Goku got the heart virus from the Namek
Yardrat wasn’t the only planet that Goku visited that year.
Goku, Vegeta, Krillin, Bulma and Piccolo were all on Namek together fighting Frieza and his goons.
But maybe Goku contracted the virus on Namek and bought it back to earth? It’s possible only he was infected, and his Super Saiyan cells activated the virus and caused it to spread to earth.
This theory isn’t very popular as it begs the question why didn’t the others get the virus, as Vegeta became Super Saiyan eventually so you’d think he might get the virus as well if he is around Goku.
