Over the years, Dragon Ball Super has been notorious for introducing new transformations and fans may already be getting clues as to Goku’s next milestone. Whis has already revealed that there are levels to the Ultra Instinct technique and the most recent chapter of Dragon Ball Super may have already hinted in what direction Goku’s power will begin to evolve. Goku’s ability to push his techniques to their upper limit has already been displayed frequently in the past with the Kaioken and Spirit Bomb, and it looks certain that Ultra Instinct is going to be the next.
In chapter 81 of Dragon Ball Super, Granolah picks up on his fight with Gas while Goku and Vegeta remain incapacitated by a nasty gravity amplification technique. Though Granolah fights valiantly against Gas, his rage and desire for revenge leave him wide open as he tries to kill Elec and Gas takes full advantage of this. Granolah’s arms are broken and his eyes burned out as Goku and Vegeta look on in horror. In order to stop Gas, Vegeta quickly gives Goku the rest of his energy so he can break out of the gravity hold and enter the fray of battle once more. Goku wastes no time powering up to his Perfected Super Saiyan Blue form and taking Gas on. In an attempt to fight on par with his deadly opponent, Goku calms his rage and focuses up, declaring “Anger is an emotion that messes with my special move.”
In the previous Moro Arc, Goku made it explicitly clear that in order to use Ultra Instinct he needs to have a calm heart, and it looks like Goku is getting ready to use the fundamentals of this technique while still in his Super Saiyan Blue form. Unlike similar techniques such as the Kaioken, Ultra Instinct has never been stated to be incompatible with the Super Saiyan form. Assumedly, the rage needed to trigger the Super Saiyan transformation would prevent a user of Ultra Instinct from combining the two, but it was also once thought that Kaioken could never be used in conjunction with Super Saiyan either. Additionally, both Super Saiyan: Grade Four and Super Saiyan Blue have shown the ability time and time again to allow Goku’s calmer nature to overtake the Super Saiyan rage. This ability to suppress his rage and other detrimental emotions while in Super Saiyan Blue may be the key to unlocking his most powerful transformation ever.
Now that Goku has little trouble entering Mastered Ultra Instinct, combining the technique with the power of Super Saiyan seems like the logical next step. Goku has only ever seemed to access Ultra Instinct from his base form, but the ability to use properties of the technique while in a more powerful form may prove essential for defeating powerful foes like Gas.
Though it may seem like Goku’s Super Saiyan transformation and the philosophy of Ultra instinct are direct opposites, it’s entirely possible a prodigy like Goku may find a way to be able to combine the two. With Dragon Ball Super’s proclivity for adding transformations and power-ups, Ultra Instinct Super Saiyan Blue may be just around the corner.
