The Goku Black Timeline, Explained
How Zamasu and Goku Black move between timelines with the Time Rings — and why their travel never creates new branches.
Gods don't branch
Unlike mortal time machines, gods move freely between existing timelines without creating copies. Zamasu, wielding the Time Rings, walks between realities — no branching required.
Where Goku Black strikes
T4 — a copy of T1's ruined future where Trunks survived — becomes the stage for the Goku Black arc. It is a branch of T3, born when Trunks couldn't return to the fixed T1.
The Time Rings
The Time Rings mark which timelines exist: one silver ring is the present, while green rings are the alternate pasts and futures. They are what let a god step sideways across the multiverse.