WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Dragon Ball Super Chapter 73, by Akira Toriyama, Toyotarou, Caleb Cook and Brandon Bovia, available now in English through Viz Media.
In Dragon Ball Super Chapter 72, Goku and Vegeta arrived on Planet Cereal to face off against Granolah, as the villainous Heeters had convinced the two Saiyans that the last surviving Cerealian was actually a villain. And thanks to his use of Planet Cereal's Dragon Balls to become the most powerful fighter in the universe, Granolah got some impressive early hits on Goku during the two's one-on-one match. Dragon Ball Super Chapter 73 continues that fight -- and what happens is absolutely shocking. Here's a spoiler-filled recap of what happened.
Initially, Goku takes on Granolah while transformed into Super Saiyan Blue. While in this form, Granolah proves pretty equally matched with Goku. The two exchange blows, but neither is ever really able to get a leg up over the other. This all goes to prove that Granolah is genuinely one of the strongest characters against whom Goku has ever fought and, in reality, stronger than Freeza, who is his main target.
After two particularly brutal blows and the destruction of a forest, Goku and Granolah take a pause. The Cerealian reveals that he hasn't been able to get a lock on any of Goku's vital points so far, as Ultra Instinct combined with Super Saiyan Blue makes him incredibly adept at evasion. The two then resume their fight and exchange some close range blasts that rock Planet Cereal. Goku, though, ends up getting the worse of the exchange. Granolah then unleashes an attack on the de-powered Goku that nearly does the Saiyan in while simultaneously frightening Planet Cereal's new inhabitants, the Sugarians.
Luckily, Goku ends up teleporting away from the blast to Vegeta, who has since realized that Freeza and the Saiyans were responsible for the destruction of the Cerealians. He shares this information with Goku. The two come up with a battle plan and agree that they need to beat Granolah so that they can convince him that they're not the enemy, which is certainly some Dragon Ball Super logic.
With this new goal in mind, Goku accesses Perfected Ultra Instinct, and the form proves way too much for Granolah. The Cerealian isn't able to find any of Goku's vital points, and the Saiyan proceeds to take his opponent apart. During the fight, Goku tries to convince Granolah to give up his hopes of destroying the Saiyans, but the Cerealian is intransigent. As the battle goes on, though, Vegeta realizes something is very, very wrong: Granolah's power isn't dropping like it should.
Granolah soon acknowledges that he underestimated the power of the Saiyans, and Goku is impressed by what he thinks is the Cerealian's training, not realizing that he cheated by using the Dragon Balls. The Cerealian then reveals that he actually split his power in two so that he could save his strength for Freeza. That means Goku has been fighting a Granolah clone the entire time.
The real Granolah then sneak attacks Goku, hitting him in a vital point and taking him out of the fight for good. As Granolah reveals, Goku's accuracy in Ultra Instinct drops over time, which allowed the Cerealian to eventually find an opening. Before Granolah can kill Goku, though, Vegeta intervenes and decides to take on Granolah himself, vowing to put him down. Meaning Dragon Ball Super Chapter 74's battle will determine whether the Cerealians or Saiyans will go extinct.
Dragon Ball Super Chapter 74 will release on July 20 through Viz Media.