Is 'Dragon Ball Super' About To Pair Goku's Ultra Instinct With Super Saiyan Blue?

By Kofi Outlaw

Dragon Ball Super's Tournament of Power has become a game of crazy one-upmanship, as fighters keep reaching bigger and bigger power levels, at a quickening pace. And while some fans are feeling somewhat triggered by how DBS is progressing, it doesn't look like the powerups are going to be slowing down any time soon!

As the "Universe Survival" arc approaches the end of The Tournament of Power, there are quite a few character power-ups that have been teased. That includes a more powerful form for Jiren, a fusion (and power-up) for Kefla, and of course, the next step in Goku's "Ultra Instinct" power!

In the case of the latter: some new Dragon Ball Super episode synopses offer some key teasers that seem to hint that Goku could be pairing his Super Saiyan Blue and Ultra Instinct power-ups together. But is that really what we're about to see?

Slide 1/3 – Goku vs. Kefla: New Power-ups


As you can see in these leaked episode titles and synopses for Dragon Ball Super 115 - 118, The next episode will see Goku battling Kefla in SSB form.

However, in episode 116, it's described that Goku once again taps into the Ultra Instinct power, as a result of his battle with Kefla. In turn, Goku's power-up triggers another power-up in Kefla!

Slide 2/3 – SSB + Ultra Instinct?
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The key details to piece together here are the fact that Goku starts his battle with Kefla in Super Saiyan Blue form, before Ultra Instinct bursts forth from him in the heat of battle, in the described "great explosion" the title implies.

In some previous synopses for the show, it was clearly hinted at when Goku experienced a loss of stamina that forced his to drop out of Ultra Instinct (or even SSB) during his Tournament of Power fights - yet there's not mention of that here. If anything, it sounds like SSB Goku is battling hard against Kefla when he suddenly manifests the Ultra Instinct power. 

However, a different episode 115 summary from Animage puts a much different spin on things:

"Universe 6's Kale and Caulifla merge with the Potara. Calling themselves "Kefla", they start to go on a rampage. Though Goku becomes Super Saiyan Blue and counterattacks, Kefla's fierce attack is intense. Goku reverts from Super Saian Blue to his regular state, but on closer inspection his eyes shine silver?!"

Slide 3/3 – From SSB to UI
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That summary above raises a much different and interesting potential theory about Ultra Instinct: That it may only be accessed by way of the "God Ki" that is the essence of Super Saiyan Blue. 

It makes sense when you think about it, as Ultra Instinct is a technique that the Gods of Destruction study to learn, which hints that the technique is linked to their godly Ki. If that's the case, it doesn't exclude the possibility that the Saiyans could one day find a path to achieving Ultra Instinct while still in SSB form. 

One person who may have the most to learn and gain when Goku once again manifests Ultra Instinct during his fight with Kefla, is Vegeta. Dragon Ball Super has been teasing that Vegeta has a big moment coming in the Tournament of Power, and being the master strategist that he is, Vegeta may just need a second example of Ultra Instinct before he realizes the pathway to Goku's new power runs through the SSB transformation.

Dragon Ball Super's “Universal Survival” saga is part of the recent simulcast agreement that sites like Crunchyroll and Funimation have scored. Dragon Ball Super airs on Crunchyroll Saturdays at 7:15 p.m. CST. Toonami airs the English dub on Adult Swim Saturdays at 11:30 p.m.

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