Guru

Names	Grand Elder Guru, The Great Elder, Saichoro-Sama, Eldest, Grand Elder, Great Elder, Senior Elder of Planet Namek, Senior Elder, Grand Elder-Sama, Big Piccolo (by Goku)
Gender	Genderless
Race	Namekian
Occupation	Grand Elder
Origin	Dragon Ball Chapter 251 (DBZ 57): "Son Goku's Spaceship"(孫そん悟ご空くうの宇う宙ちゅう船せん Son Gokū no Uchūsen) November 21, 1989 (Weekly Shōnen Jump, 1989 #51)
Alignment	Good
Age	Unknown
Created By	Akira Toriyama
Height	around 10 to 15 feet tall (approximately 3 to 4.5 meters) when sitting on his throne
Weight	500 to 600 kg (1,100 to 1,300 lbs)

Guru (最さい長ちょう老ろう Saichōrō, lit. "The Highest Elder") is the oldest and wisest remaining Namekian in existence at the time of his appearance. As the creator of the Namekian Dragon Ball's, Guru's death would cause them to become inert, unless he passes down his authority to someone else.

Appearance

Guru is an incredibly large Namekian, towering over his children even while seated. In his old age, he has become morbidly obese and is always depicted sitting on a throne-like chair with his eyes closed. The patches on his skin are a dark orange, in contrast to the yellowish hue seen in other elderly Namekians.

Personality

Guru holds Kami and Piccolo's original potential in such high regard that he believes only a Super Saiyan could defeat them. He is a kind, humble individual who deeply cares for all of his children and the survival of the Namekian race.

Biography

Background

Guru is one of the two survivors of a catastrophic climate change on Namek, with the other being Kami and King Piccolo, who were once a single being before splitting. Guru is credited with saving the Namekian race by laying eggs and continuing their species, birthing 109 children, including Nail and Dende.

Dragon Ball Z

Frieza Saga

When Krillin is brought to Guru's home by Dende, Guru expresses his gratitude to Krillin for helping Dende and unlocks Krillin's hidden potential, later doing the same for Gohan and Dende. Guru demonstrates knowledge of the Super Saiyan legend, asking if the Saiyan who attacked Earth was one.

Guru dies before Frieza is defeated, succumbing to grief and stress after repeatedly sensing his children's deaths at the hands of Frieza’s forces. His death prevents Vegeta from achieving immortality just as Frieza arrives to stop their wish. Later, King Kai arranges for the Earth's Dragon Balls to revive Guru and the other victims of Frieza’s army. Revived, Guru transfers everyone except Goku and Frieza to Earth and passes his title and the Dragon Balls to Moori before dying of old age with a smile, his body fading away.

Dragon Ball Super

Super Hero

When Piccolo asks Dende about Grand Elder Guru's ability, a flashback of Guru drawing out Krillin and Gohan's potential is shown.

Xenoverse 2

In Xenoverse 2, a time rift anomaly forms around Guru's house on Planet Namek, prompting the Time Patrol to investigate. If the Future Warrior is a Namekian, they are sent to monitor this anomaly early in the game. From a distance, they observe Guru, who senses a great power with evil intentions approaching Namek. Nail senses it too, and Guru warns that the Namekian Dragon Balls, symbols of Namek's wisdom and hope, must not fall into the wrong hands. Dende, unsure of how they can defend against such a threat, receives a cryptic message from Guru about a "powerful warrior with a pure heart." Guru tells him to have faith, and that it is time for the Namekians to show their strength. The Warrior is then called away by Elder Kai, informing them that they have been chosen for a critical mission by the Supreme Kai of Time.

Later, the Warrior learns that Frieza and his forces are attacking Guru's House due to the presence of the Namekian Dragon Balls within the anomaly. The Warrior can join forces with Nail to repel the invaders. If the Warrior diligently defends Guru's house, they are granted an audience with the Grand Elder. Guru uses his ability to draw out the Warrior's dormant power, increasing their attribute limit from 1-100 to 1-125. Continued defense of the house leads to another meeting with Guru, where he notices the existence of the Dragon Balls from Conton City and teaches the Warrior how to increase the number of wishes they can make during the next summon.

Eventually, Guru gives the Future Warrior Distorted Time Egg 3, which had been left with him by Lord Slug, unaware of Slug's alliance with the Time Breakers. Guru explains that Slug had concealed his evil nature, but he took care of the egg to prevent chaos from spreading on Namek. He gives the egg to the Warrior because they are a powerful warrior with a strong sense of justice, trusting them to solve the mystery behind the eggs.

Guru also shares an old Namekian legend about a gigantic Dragon Ball on the edge of the horizon, fragments of which were supposedly used to create the Namekian Dragon Balls. He notes that he is only able to birth Dragon Clan members in his old age, which explains the scarcity of Warrior-types like Nail. Additionally, Guru mentions that some Namekians are born with evil in their hearts and surmises that these Evil Namekians may have escaped Namek during the cataclysmic weather to spread war and wickedness elsewhere.

After the 1.05.000 update, the Future Warrior can return to Guru's house for another power boost. Guru states that, despite previously drawing out their potential, the Warrior still has untapped strength. He draws out this power once more, raising the Warrior's level cap from 80 to 85, allowing them to level up further. This level cap increase applies to all custom characters, regardless of whether they participated in this event.

Dragon Ball Fusions

In Dragon Ball Fusions, parts of Namek, including Guru's House, appear in the second area due to the Timespace Tournament created by Tekka and Pinich's wish. Initially, Guru's House is blocked by a Timespace Barrier requiring 50 units of each of the five energy types to break. After gathering enough energy, Tekka's team meets Guru, and Goten is surprised by Guru's massive size, though Guru is not offended by the comment. Kid Goku notices Nail's resemblance to King Piccolo but refrains from attacking, unlike when he first met Kami.

Guru thanks them for breaking the barrier and, sensing their pure hearts, asks for their help. He explains that one of his children has been emulating Demon King Piccolo's evil ways. Before Guru can finish, Goku races off to stop the young Namekian, assuming he is evil, with Goten and Pan following. Tekka's team finds the so-called "Demon King" is a Namekian child named Moolin, who is only pretending to be evil. After Pan angrily hits Moolin, causing him to cry, they realize he is merely misguided. Goten convinces Moolin to be good and help others like Piccolo. Back at Guru's house, Guru apologizes for not explaining the situation better, and Goku admits he misunderstood. In gratitude, Guru has Nail join Tekka's team.

World Mission

In World Mission, during the Chapter 2 side story "Kagyu's Adventure," an anomaly causes Xeno Lord Slug's Demon Clan to invade Earth shortly before the Tournament of Power. Demon God Salsa manipulates the anomaly, causing Piccolo, Nail, and Kami to defuse. Nail recalls hearing of Slug from his father, the Grand Elder Guru, who told the story of a Namekian infant sent offworld who was later revealed to be born with a heart of evil. It is unclear whether this information is part of the game world's official history or a side effect of the anomaly.

Trivia

• Guru's chair/throne design first appeared in the King Piccolo Saga, though King Piccolo's throne featured skull detailing, and Kami's was nearly identical to Guru's. A similar chair also appeared in the ship that brought the Nameless Namekian to Earth. This could indicate that the Nameless Namek or his father, Katas, might have known Guru, or it could suggest that these chairs were used by other Namekian leaders before the climate shift that nearly wiped out their species.
• Guru is the only character in Dragon Ball Z to die twice within the same saga, a rarity even in a series where many characters (like Goku, Vegeta, and Krillin) die multiple times.
• In the English dub of Dragon Ball Z, Guru is referred to as "Guru." However, in the Dragon Ball Z Kai dub, his name was changed to "The Grand Elder," making him the only character to undergo such a name change for the new show. Despite this, games like Xenoverse 2 and marketing materials continue to use the name "Guru," likely because it takes up less space in text boxes.
• In the Hebrew dub of Dragon Ball Z, Guru is uniquely referred to as female, even though Namekians are asexually reproducing and lack gender.
• Bulma mistakenly believes Guru to be female in many dubs of Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball Z Kai.
• In Dragon Ball Z: Extreme Butōden's Adventure Mode, due to Omega Shenron's Minus Energy distorting time and space, Guru appears alive on Planet Namek. Goku visits Guru to learn about the Legendary Saiyan needed to seal the Minus Energy in the Ultimate Dragon Balls. Guru explains that the Legendary Saiyan is a form beyond Super Saiyan, temporarily created from an ordinary Saiyan and possessing god-like power. It is later revealed that the Legendary Saiyan is another term for the Super Saiyan God form.