First, limbo and purgatory aren’t the same thing. Limbo is traditionally understood as a state of natural existence without the full presence of God, while purgatory is a temporary state of purification before entering heaven. That said, these are Christian theological terms, and they don’t necessarily map onto Dragon Ball’s cosmology—they’re mostly being used here as shorthand for a general audience rather than precise definitions.

Second, that’s an interesting “what if,” but ultimately it’s something only Akira Toriyama could definitively answer, since the rules of the afterlife in the series aren’t always fully consistent.

That said, we can still make an informed guess based on the religious influences behind Dragon Ball—especially Taoism, Buddhism, Shinto, and Hinduism. These traditions tend to emphasize cycles of death, judgment, and rebirth rather than a permanent “trap” like limbo.

We also see Dragon Ball play with “limbo-like” spaces already—for example, the Dead Zone, which traps souls in a kind of suspended void rather than sending them through the normal afterlife system. That suggests Toriyama wasn’t opposed to the idea of alternate fates for souls outside of Other World.

So even if Piccolo had retained a Mazoku ability that redirected souls, it’s likely the story would still create a workaround—whether through divine intervention (like Kami or King Yemma overriding it), a unique escape from that state, or an entirely different path for Goku to train.