Goku Shot One Punch Man:
Goku and Saitama are regarded as some of the greatest heavyweights in anime history. Both have fought powerhouses and lived to tell the tale. While Goku is certainly the more popular hero among the two, this by no means downplays Saitama’s immeasurable power. In fact, most fans claim that Saitama is far more superior to Goku. And yet many Dragon Ball fans believe that it is the opposite that is true. A new theory has come up that states that the latter fan base just might be true. Goku has something up his sleeve that will prove more than enough to make Saitama aka the One Punch Man cry like a baby.
Many theoretical fights have been proposed between One Punch Man and Goku. In some Goku wins and in other Saitama makes Goku bite the dust. The debate still rages on. But we never did have a clear winner. If Goku and Saitama actually fought in a canonical fight, how do the writers decide upon the Victor? And what are the criteria based on which the winner takes it all? If an actual deathmatch takes place in a crossover of epic proportions, how do we get to know who wins!! Maybe this time, we finally have an answer because according to some theorists, Goku does have a secret technique up his sleeve that will come in very handy in defeating Saitama for good.
Saitama was created to be a parody of the Shonen anime genre. He is ridiculously over-powered and has a strength that is literally unrivalled in the One Punch Man Universe. His name is derived from the fact that all it takes is just one punch for Saitama to vanquish his foes, no matter how powerful the opponent is. Never in his history as a Hero for Fun has Saitama lost a fight. Goku, on the other hand, has had an on and off-track record. Sometimes he wins and sometimes he loses. Like for example against Beerus, he lost dearly after realizing how hopelessly outclassed he is against the God of Destruction. One Punch Man is yet to meet his match in battle hence combat is now too boring for him since he finishes fight after trading only a single blow to the enemy.
So to say Goku can defeat Saitama, we must need evidence and facts to back the claims up. But first, we must learn about this secret technique that Goku possesses that might help him take down the great Saitama. Any guesses regarding what we might be referring to?
There are so many techniques in Goku’s arsenal. The Super Saiyan Transformations are one. The Super Saiyan God form is yet another Godlike ability. The Spirit Bomb and the Kaio-Ken are also there to be considered. But we do not mean any of that when we say Goku can use this particular ability to one-shot Saitama. The ability we are referring to is the newest one in his quiver. Yes, we are talking about Ultra Instinct!!
Ultra Instinct was a technique that was revealed during the Tournament of Power arc. It is an ability that was once exclusive to the Gods. It uses Godly Ki and channels it throughout the body. While using Ultra Instinct, the user’s mind enters a state of Zero Thought. As a result of that, the body moves on its own, driven by sheer divine intuition. Because the time delay between thought and action is removed, Ultra instinct leads to the user gains a tremendous increase in speed and agility.
There are no wasted movements and minimal effort by the wielder. This leads to a dramatic increase in power both in terms of speed and reflexes. Ultra Instinct is a notoriously difficult ability to master because of the difficulty in letting your body being driven by instinct since a Martial Arts Master hones his body only to react on instinct and not let instinct take over their reaction and responses. While fighting Jiren, Goku revealed he is strong enough to make even the alternate universe champion – who was regarded as the Multi Verse’s strongest mortal to ever exist, bite the dust.
As the series progressed, Goku showed us that he has now somewhat mastered Ultra Instinct. Previously, during the Tournament of Power Arc, Goku’s Ultra Instinct Ability was untamed and wild. The volatility made the technique highly unstable and as a result, Goku lost control at the very verge of victory against Jiren. During the Moro arc, Goku revealed he has mastered Ultra Instinct Sign – the initial stage of the technique of the Gods and the gateway to true Ultra Instinct. While that too is not a truly perfect form, it does mean that Ultra Instinct has several deeper levels that Goku could unlock on the way.
But will that be enough to defeat Saitama? The answer is – well, maybe. In its original form, Ultra Instinct may not have the offensive firepower to match One Punch Man. But the actual usage of the technique is not for offence but for defence. While fighting the fused Kefla as well as Jiren, Goku showed how miraculously fast he became while using Ultra Instinct. He might not have the brute force physical attributes to match Kefla or Jiren, but he has enough speed and agility to dance around them like an Angel of Death.
Against Saitama, Goku needs to think his moves very carefully. Goku tends to lose his focus and let go of the game plan in Dragon Ball while fighting powerful foes. But as the series has progressed, Goku has shown a level of maturity and acumen never seen before in Dragon Ball’s history. While fighting Jiren using Ultra Instinct, Goku had the foresight to plan his own elimination from the Tournament and use his cunning to take down Jiren with him so that Android 17 is the only person standing in the battlefield, leading to Universe 7’s victory.
Goku does not need to have a long drawn out fight with Saitama. What we know is that Goku can only maintain Ultra Instinct Sign for a few minutes. But a few minutes is all our favourite Saiyan warrior needs. All he needs is perfect timing, a good strategy to corner Saitama, absolute defence, and a one-shot offensive attack that uses up all his vast and incredible Ki into one powerful strike. One-Punch Man will have trouble with Goku while the latter is using Ultra Instinct because Goku’s Ultra Instinct makes him literally untouchable. It IS the absolute defence. If Saitama cannot land a punch and Goku keeps pounding him with powerful offensive strikes, there is no way Saitama gets out of this one alive.
The more you think about this theory, the more it makes sense. Saitama needs to connect his punch with Goku to plough him through Kingdom Come. But if Goku does not let him and uses Ultra Instinct combined with his long-range energy moves does he really have an answer to that? We believe there isn’t.
The last Dragon Ball arc to have been featured in the Manga is the Galactic Patrol Prisoner Saga. Released in the year 2018, the Manga is still on-going and again sees the Dragon Ball Universe in grave danger from an ancient enemy that has broken free of its prison. The official synopsis for the arc reads:
Galactic Patrol Kidnapping. Following the ordeal surrounding Broly, Goku trains with Vegeta in the Gravity Training Room. … Vegeta asks why he needs Buu and Merus explains that a dangerous criminal has broken free of the Galactic Prison and in order to recapture him they need the assistance of the Grand Supreme Kai.
One-Punch Man is an on-going series whose Original Run started on June 14, 2012. The official synopsis for One Punch Man reads:
One–Punch Man tells the story of Saitama, a superhero who can defeat any opponent with a single punch but seeks to find a worthy opponent after growing bored by a lack of challenge in his fight against evil. The series’ digital manga remake began publication on Shueisha’s Tonari no Young Jump website in 2012.
