WARNING! The following article contains spoilers from Dragon Ball Super Chapter 69. Please read ahead at your own discretion!

The character Zalama may or may not be in the minds of most people. It’d be tough to recollect him as Dragon Ball Super mentions Zalama only once or twice. Because of this, the character is pretty much shrouded in mystery. Perhaps Toriyama is saving him for a future arc….

Developments in the latest chapter of Dragon Ball Super might bring back the character in question as there seems to be a connection between him and the origin of the Namekians.

Before we go in deep into the matter, let me brief you on Zalama, with whatever information revealed so far.

Who is Zalama?

According to Lord Zuno (A man who is said to know everything in the Universe), Zalama is a Dragon God who created the Super Dragon Balls. These balls exist between Universe 6 and 7.

The word “Ryūjin” refers to Zalama in the Manga which literally means “Dragon God” or “God of the Dragons”. It is possible his name is a pun which is derived from the word “salamander”, which is mythologically associated with fire, especially in Japan, and thus, with dragons as well.

He is said to be the original creator of the concept of Dragon Balls. The first set of Dragon Balls ever to exist was the Super Dragon Balls and Super Shenron being the first Shenron.

Champa, the Destroyer God of Universe 6, mentioned the story of the Namekian Dragon Balls. Long ago, the ancient Namekians took fragments from the Super Dragon Balls and forged their own set of Dragon Balls which summons Porunga (Dragon Ball Super Episode 28/Manga chapter 6). Even later, Kami created the Earth’s Dragon Balls by injecting life into Shenron’s statue.

So far, there’s no mention of Zalama’s looks and other characteristics. We don’t even know what kind of being he is. But the latest chapter (chapter 69) might give us a hint on Zalama’s appearance.

Zalama could be a Namekian

The new chapter dropped a lot of lore on Namekians and their origins. We’ve assumed until now that the Namekians were thriving on Planet Namek since time immemorial. But that has changed. The Namekians have come to Universe 7 from a completely different realm. It could be a place outside any of the 12 universes.

Throughout the series, there exists a link between Namekians and Dragon Balls. In any planet in the cosmos, if there are Dragon Balls, there will be Namekians or at least one who lives in that planet.

Kami created Earth’s Dragon Balls and Dende tweaked them a bit. Monaito created the Dragon Balls in planet Cereal.

Following this logic, there’s a high chance that Zalama, the God of the Dragons, might be the ancestor to all Namekians and exists in a realm which resides outside the Universes.

The Angel’s realm is not within the 12 universes so Zalama’s realm wouldn’t be destroyed if Zeno decides to destroy any or all of the Universes.

From this realm, he could have manifested other members of his kind. We know that Namekians reproduce asexually. Grand Elder Guru laid 109 eggs which gave birth to 109 Namekians, including Nail and Dende. So, this is possible for Zalama as well. Since he’s the God of the Dragons, he may not be a mortal.

With the Granolah arc exploring the origin of the Namekians, there’s a good chance of Zalama coming up in the story once again. If that’s the case, fans would be excited in the hope to get more details on Zalama and this ‘realm’ of the Namekians.

Piccolo might be a close descendant of Zalama

It’s even possible that Piccolo’s involvement in the story could be more as it dives into more Namekian lore.

The authors divide the Namekians into 2 broad categories – The Dragon Clan and the Warrior Clan. The Warrior Clan protects the species from harm and the Dragon Clan creates the Dragon Balls. According to Monaito and Moori, the balls came into being as part of a ritual to celebrate or aid the Warrior Clan. Zalama might have created this categorization.

Before they separated, Kami and King Piccolo were once a single Namekian – a Nameless Namekian. Later on, King Piccolo’s child, Piccolo Jr. or simply Piccolo, fused with Kami into a different Namekian who decided to keep the name Piccolo.

Piccolo cannot create Dragon Balls because his Warrior Clan mindset or abilities dominates his being. So he lost the ability to create Dragon Balls. That’s why as soon as Kami fused with him; Earth’s Dragon Balls became stones.

Katas, the father of the original Nameless Namekian (who belonged to the Dragon Clan), could be one of the original ancient Namekian offspring of Zalama or at least a descendant of those Namekians created by Zalama.

Maybe that’s why Kami created Shenron, a dragon whose looks resembles Super Shenron, the original dragon.

Their face, mouth and snake like body structure (apart from Super Shenron’s wings) look very similar to each other. Maybe Shenron is one among the types of Shenron like dragons amongst all the wish granting dragons.

Do you think Zalama is a Namekian too? What is this new realm Moori is talking about? How will Zalama’s existence affect the story from here? Let us know thoughts in the comments below!