WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Dragon Ball Super Chapter 71, by Akira Toriyama, Toyotarou, Caleb Cook and Brandon Bovia, available now in English from Viz Media.
For much of Dragon Ball Super, Goku and Vegeta have been aiming to get stronger by working with Beerus and Whis. As the God of Destruction and an Angel, respectively, the two are among the most formidable fighters in all of Universe 7. However, recognizing the personality differences between Goku and Vegeta, they opted to divide the two up rather than train them the same way. Whis, for his part, has been teaching Goku how to use Ultra Instinct, while Beerus has taught Vegeta how to his Destruction power. Now, in Dragon Ball Super Chapter 71, Beerus and Whis give their champions a sign of their training, tweaking their costumes in the process.
After teaching Goku that Ultra Instinct is more of a state of mind rather than a transformation, Whis reveals that something odd has just happened in the universe. Although Goku and Vegeta are curious about what's going on, Whis isn't sure whether or not this oddity -- which is certainly Granolah, who used the Dragon Balls to become the most powerful fighter in Universe 7 -- is actually a threat.
Following that conversation, an undisclosed amount of time passes in which Goku and Vegeta get significantly stronger. Just how powerful they become isn't clear, but Vegeta is able to destroy larger objects and Goku is seemingly able to use Ultra Instinct without transforming. Soon, they're contacted by Bulma and Chi-Chi, whom the Heeters have tricked into telling their husbands that there's a powerful villain named Granolah wreaking havoc on the universe.
As Goku and Vegeta prepare to leave Beerus' planet, their new masters stop them. Beerus, hearing Goku brag about his new training, gives Vegeta one of his earrings, saying, "It's a symbol of those who can use Destruction." He then asks the Saiyan Prince to "prove that the Gods of Destruction's signature move is stronger than Angel techniques." In response, Whis draws his own symbol on Goku's gi with what appears to be a permanent marker, effectively kicking off a competition between the Angel and his God of Destruction. Later in Dragon Ball Super Chapter 71, these two character design alterations stay with Goku and Vegeta.
Whis' symbol on Goku's gi is nothing new, as the Angel actually put his mark on both Saiyans' costumes when they trained under him much earlier in the manga. This time, though, the mark has a special significance. Whis has marked Goku to denote that he's studying how to use techniques typically reserved for the Angels. His intent here is also to make clear that Goku and Vegeta are in competition, thus making them have to work harder to outdo one another. As such, these design changes are emblematic of both how Goku and Vegeta are approaching their training differently and their rivalry.
Dragon Ball Super Chapter 72 releases May 20.