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During the Saiyan saga, once Goku had finished his training with King Kai, he realized that he had not taken the time to cross Snake way into consideration, making him late to the battle. This miscalculation resulted in the deaths of 4 of his companions.

At the end on the Cell saga, King Kai reveals that not only does he know the Instant Transmission technique, but that he is also vastly superior to Goku in his mastery of the technique.

The chances of King Kai learning that technique between the events of the Saiyan saga and the Cell saga are tiny (He would have no reason to visit Yardrat in that time and the inhabitants of Yardrat were, by Goku's admission, not great fighters).

This leads to my question. Why didn't King Kai use the Instant Transmission technique to help Goku get to the battle before his friends were brutally murdered?

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    Is the question, "Why didn't Kai use Instant Transmission himself?" or "Why didn't Kai teach Goku Instant Transmission?"
    – DCOPTimDowd
    Jun 20, 2017 at 20:51
  • That is a good question DCOPT. I doubt Goku would have had time to learn it, but King Kai could have easily taken Goku to King Yama, saving Goku many many hours.
    – Magikarp Master
    Jun 20, 2017 at 21:12

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King Kai does not actually know how to use Instant Transmission:

King Kai: only in the original FUNimation dub, he mentions he could have taught Goku the technique when Goku visits him on his planet to find the location of the New Namek during the Cell Games Saga. In the manga and Japanese versions, King Kai simply asks Goku if he learned it from the Yardrats.

From: http://dragonball.wikia.com/wiki/Instant_Transmission

Note I have the original manga and there's no mention of what you refer to, which had me all puzzled.

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Most likely he didn't have a ki to lock on to

the user cannot travel to an area they have never been to unless they can detect someone familiar to them to use as a homing beacon.

While King Kai has ways to communicate across long distances, there's no indication he could use that to find someone's location and transmit himself there. There's also nothing canon to indicate he had been to Earth.

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    King Kai could have easily taken Goku to King Yama, who is located on the other end of Snake Way. That would have shaved hours off of Goku's travel time, and King Kai most certainly knows King Yama.
    – Magikarp Master
    Jun 20, 2017 at 21:06
  • I missed the edit window. I wanted to say that your answer did explain why King Kai did not take Goku directly to the fight.
    – Magikarp Master
    Jun 20, 2017 at 21:14
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    @MagikarpMaster How long did it take Goku to return without Kai's help? Would a few hours have made a difference? I believe it took him three or four episodes to finally get back and I'm unsure what that translates to in realtime.
    – DCOPTimDowd
    Jun 20, 2017 at 21:25
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    @DCOPTimDowd In canon, it took Goku 177 days to go and 1 day to return (thanks to increased power from training)
    – Machavity
    Jun 20, 2017 at 21:29
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    King Kai claimed that it would take Goku about two days to cross Snake Way DCOPT. Let's say that Goku was way faster than that and made it in one day. The last Z-fighter to die was Piccolo, who died mere minutes before Goku arrived. If Piccolo had survived, then Tien and Yamcha could have been wished back (ChaoTzu would admittedly be screwed). So Goku getting to the fight a day sooner would have made a massive difference.
    – Magikarp Master
    Jun 20, 2017 at 21:50

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