WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for "A Saiyan Oath! Vegeta's Resolve!" the 112th episode of Dragon Ball Super, which debuted Saturday on Adult Swim.
Despite Jiren opting to sit out the fight for the foreseeable future, Dragon Ball Super's Tournament of Power continues to escalate. Goku, still exhausted from briefly unleashing a new transformation, fights three different champions from Universe 3, while Gohan and Piccolo battle Universe 6 Namekians, Saonel and Pirina. However, it's the trio of Saiyan warriors from Universe 6 that take center stage in the episode, leading to a makeshift alliance of sorts with Vegeta.
Led by Cabba, Caulifa and Kale struggle against a Universe 4 warrior named Monna. Cabba had been introduced as a Universe 6 Saiyan champion during the Tournament of Destruction between Universes 6 and 7 earlier in the series, and struck up a strong kinship with Vegeta despite fighting against him earlier in the competition. Happy that the Saiyan race thrived in another universe despite nearly being completely wiped out in his own universe, Vegeta took on a brief mentor role to Cabba after realizing they used the same royal martial arts attacks, including the powerful Galick Gun. This dynamic has since carried over to various realities of the Dragon Ball Multiverse fighting for survival in the Tournament of Power.
Vegeta rescues Cabba from elimination by Monna at the last minute, impressed by how far his friend has progressed since their last meeting. Reminding each other of their mutual sense of honor and pride defining the Saiyan race across the multiverse, Vegeta and Cabba pledge to use the Super Dragon Balls to restore each others' respective universes if either one wins the tournament. While Vegeta selfishly came off as a villain in his earliest appearances in Dragon Ball Z, he has always fought to maintain his deep sense of pride, often inspiring his fellow Saiyan teammate to do the same. Cabba is similarly inspired by Vegeta's example and transforms into Super Saiyan 2 for the first time, quickly eliminating Monna with the transformation's significantly augmented power level.
However, Cabba's moment of triumph comes to an abrupt end when Frieza stages a surprise attack, easily eliminating the Universe 6 fighter. The longtime antagonist finally reveals his true motivation for entering the Tournament of Power as an ally to his longtime foes Goku and Vegeta: In addition to being guaranteed a resurrection through his participation after his previous death by Goku at the beginning of the series, Frieza plans to use the Super Dragon Balls for himself. He plans to gain dominion over the gods of the multiverse, expanding his galactic conquest to divine heights.
Frieza's role in the Tournament of Power had teased a heroic redemption for the villainous tyrant, working with Gohan to take out the rival fighters Jimeze and Frost while the previous episode had Frieza restore some of Goku's strength when the man who had killed him had been brought to his knees by Jiren. Despite this, Frieza is evidently just using his Universe 7 teammates to gain the Super Dragon Balls for himself as part of his schemes for domination.
Vegeta and Frieza each have conflicting goals for the Super Dragon Balls, one fueled by honor, while the other by dreams of conquest. It had been previously hinted that Frieza could not be trusted by his teammates, that despite his surprising heroic turns, the longtime villain will never redeem himself from his wicked ways. However, Universe 7's victory in the Tournament of Power is still far from a sure thing, especially as Vegeta battles Universe 11's Top and the weakened Goku is challenged by Caulifa who has revealed herself to be able to transform into Super Saiyan 2 herself.
Newly translated episodes of Dragon Ball Super air on Saturdays at 11 pm ET/PT on Adult Swim.