Dragon Ball Super Reveals a Subtle Secret About the Angels’ Powers

Dragon Ball Super has revealed a small (but possibly important ) new detail about how the powers of Angels work. That reveal was found in the rough sketches for Dragon Ball Super manga Chapter 71, in which Goku continues training with Whis to better master Ultra Instinct. Whis apparently enlightens Goku as to the difference between the version of Ultra Instinct the Saiyan is using, and the version that the angels use. Whis asks Goku what the difference between him and angels are, and the apparent answer is that angels are always in the Ultra Instinct state, through perfect stability of the heart and mind.

This type of serenity in battle has been what Whis has been driving both Goku and Vegeta toward learning, ever since Dragon Ball Super began. He secretly taught Goku and Vegeta to be better synchronized tag-team fighters, so that the two Saiyan warriors could stand a better chance in the Tournament of Power. And while Goku was completing his Ultra Instinct training with the help of a different angel (Merus), he learned exactly what kind of mindstate it takes to truly master Ultra Instinct:

“Rage, grief, joy — those strong emotions can translate to prodigious power. Just like your Super Saiyan transformation. But the technique you’re after is the opposite,” Merus told Goku. “[Ultra Instinct] will activate when you achieve self-control in the face of a jarring shock to your emotions. Such is Ultra Instinct.”

The fact that Ultra Instinct is a mindstate as much as a “power” is something that Dragon Ball Super‘s manga has made much clearer than the anime did. Even Master Roshi was able to tap into it for a brief time, and as Whis has explained to Goku, that mental focus definitely has levels to it:

“…The ability to wield Ultra Instinct is not, in and of itself, your ultimate goal. In fact, it’s on the starting point,” Whis told Goku. “I have greater command over Ultra Instinct than Merus, and in turn, the Grand Priest’s Ultra Instinct is even more accurate than my own… What I mean to say is that you at least that much room to train and grow. Doesn’t that excite you?”

However, the most interesting thing to note is how Whis advises Goku that if he masters Ultra Instinct without transforming, he can still use a transformed state of it as a “trump card.” Could that mean that angels have such a state of power we haven’t seen? Merus certainly made it seem like a possibility…

Dragon Ball Super Chapter 71 will be released on April 20th in Shonen Jump Magazine.