Can Any of the Big Three Anime Protagonists Actually Defeat Goku?

Can Naruto, Ichigo, or Luffy take down Ultra Instinct Goku?

SUMMARY

 Goku’s Perfected Ultra Instinct form gives him immense power and quick reflexes, making him a formidable opponent for any shonen hero.

Dragon Ball’s Goku has long been the character all other shōnen heroes are measured against. Whenever a new hero becomes popular, fans debate if they can defeat Goku in a one-on-one battle. These debates have remained prevalent within the anime fan community because shōnen heroes constantly grow in power as their stories continue, meaning that a new form will come along and shake up the entire discussion every few years. The best example came when Goku debuted Perfected Ultra Instinct, as this new form massively ups Goku’s power and gives him access to a whole new series of abilities. Because of this, the question remains, can any of the big three anime heroes take down Goku in a fight, or does the Saiyan still stand supreme?

Making its debut in “A Transcendent Limit Break! Autonomous Ultra Instinct Mastered!,” the 129th episode of Dragon Ball Super, and “Ultra Instinct,” the 41st chapter of the manga, Goku’s Perfected Ultra Instinct form is one of Dragon Ball’s most potent forms. While in Perfected Ultra Instinct form, Goku can act without thinking, with each limb functioning independently of the others. This removes the delay between thought and action, meaning that Goku can instantly react to even the fastest-moving attack, blocking it or moving out of the way as soon as it is thrown. These quick reactions also allow Goku to exploit small holes in his opponent’s stance or defense, allowing him to turn the tide of battle in the blink of an eye. On top of this, Perfected Ultra Instinct gives Goku a massive power boost, allowing him to deal more damage with his attacks, meaning that his strikes can injure even the most formidable and resilient foes.

Caulifla and Kale were fan-favorites in the Tournament of Power, and bringing them back with Ultra Ego and Ultra Instinct would be perfect.

However, despite its immense power, the Perfected Ultra Instinct form is far from invincible. While Goku can dodge out of the way of most blows, fighters with higher mastery of Ultra Instinct can still hit him. Plus, in Dragon Ball Super’s 87th chapter, “The Universe’s Strongest Appears,” Black Frieza easily beats both Ultra Ego Vegeta and Ultra Instinct Goku, proving that, while the Perfected Ultra Instinct form is strong, it can be surpassed. The form also comes with some tremendous downsides. Firstly, the form is hard to learn, with only the best and most dedicated warriors being able to get close to it. Ultra Instinct also takes a toll on the user’s stamina, quickly burning through their energy. If not managed well, it is easy for the user to fall out of this state, losing their power mid-way through a battle. Even worse, the toll the form takes on Goku’s body means that if he loses control of it, he will experience immense, paralyzing pain before falling out of the form — something that could lead to Goku being easily defeated if it happens at the wrong time, and has been shown during Goku’s fight with Jiren.

It should be noted that Goku can also use a more refined form of Perfected Ultra Instinct, dubbed True Ultra Instinct. This form, which debuted in the manga’s 85th chapter: “To Each His Own Answer,” is unique to Goku. Rather than requiring the calm, neutral emotional state usually associated with the form, True Ultra Instinct lets Goku tap into the power of his emotions, giving him a further power boost. However, True Ultra Instinct doesn’t remove the stamina drawback, meaning that, like the other Ultra Instinct forms, it is far from perfect.

Ultra Instinct Goku vs. Baryon Mode Naruto Is A One-Sided Battle

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Naruto’s Baryon Mode is one of the most powerful forms in the world of Naruto. Making its debut in Boruto’s 51st chapter and the anime’s 216th episode, Baryon mode sees Naruto and Kurama’s chakra combining to create a new form of energy — a process that Kurama compares to nuclear fusion in the manga. This form gives Naruto a massive boost in power, allowing him to go toe to toe with Isshiki Otsutsuki, someone who had previously easily overpowered him. Plus, whenever Baryon Mode Naruto makes contact with someone, he drains their lifespan, something Naruto uses to reduce Isshiki’s remaining lifespan from twenty hours to a couple of minutes during their battle.

However, Baryon mode has a massive downside, as it constantly drains Naruto and Kurama’s energy and life forces, meaning that overuse of it can have fatal consequences; losing Kurama robs Naruto of most of his powers. Because of this, someone fighting Naruto could opt to wait out Baryon Mode, knowing that Naruto will be forced to exit the form or make the ultimate sacrifice. Because of this, Goku starts with a massive advantage as he has far greater long-distance maneuverability thanks to his flying and teleportation abilities. This means that if Goku wanted to fight dirty, he could keep moving and remain out of attack range until Naruto succumbs to the side effects of Baryon mode.

Even if Goku doesn’t just wait out Naruto, the fight is a foregone conclusion, as Ultra Instinct Goku is vastly more powerful than Baryon mode Naruto. This is obvious when viewers watch Goku vs. Jiren and then Naruto vs. Isshiki. Goku’s attacks are clearly stronger as they all emit massive shock waves that decimate the nearby terrain. While some of Naruto’s moves damage the surrounding landscape, the damage is nowhere near as extensive, showing how much weaker his moves are. Even more telling, during the battle with Isshiki, Naruto gets hit several times, even coming close to losing at some points, showing that Baryon mode pales into insignificance when put against Ultra Instinct. While Goku would have to be wary of Baryon mode’s life-draining ability, his skill with projectile attacks means that Naruto would struggle to get within touching distance, making the fight even more one-sided.

Ultra Instinct Goku vs. True Bankai Ichigo Is Hard To Judge

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After having his original Zanpakutō, Zangetsu, broken during a fight, Ichigo goes on a voyage of self-discovery to try and repair it. While on this journey, Ichigo uncovers some crucial information about his past, leading to him getting a new Zanpakutō. This new Zanpakutō has two blades, and when Ichigo puts these blades together, he can activate a new form of Tensa Zangetsu that fuses the blades into one mighty weapon.

However, Bleach fans are not shown the true power of Tensa Zangetsu during the manga. Soon after it is unleashed, a Soul King-enhanced Yhwach uses The Almighty to change the future and break the weapon. While the blade does get restored, Ichigo only gets a chance to show off one of its moves, a modified version of Getsuga Tenshō. This Getsuga Tenshō is so powerful it cuts Yhwach in half, though Yhwach undoes the damage using The Almighty. This proves that, at the very least, this form can deal plenty of damage. But the fact that Yhwach is so scared of Ichigo’s Bankai that he resorts to time manipulation rather than combat suggests that this form can do even more impressive things.

Based only on what Bleach fans have been shown, it still seems like Goku would have the upper hand in this battle. While True Bankai Ichigo is strong, Ultra Instinct’s ability to quickly dodge incoming blows would likely keep Ichigo on the back foot, leaving him open to counters. While the enhanced Getsuga Tenshō might give Goku some trouble, a lot depends on how close Soul Energy is to Ki, as Goku has shown several times that he can block incoming energy attacks with his own. If Soul Energy and Ki can block one another, Goku could likely block the Getsuga Tenshō with his Supreme Kamehameha. But, until Bleach fans learn more about Ichigo’s new powers, it is impossible to rule out an underdog victory.

Ultra Instinct Goku vs. Gear 5 Luffy Is Surprisingly Evenly Matched

First seen in One Piece’s 1044th chapter and 1071st episode, Gear 5 is the pinnacle of Luffy’s power. When in this form, Luffy’s strength, speed, and durability increase dramatically, allowing him to hit harder and survive even the mightiest of blows. Gear 5 also increases the flexibility of Luffy’s body, allowing him to stretch and warp his body into usually impossible shapes like a vintage rubber hose cartoon character.

On top of this, Gear 5 Luffy can imbue things around him with his cartoon physics. This means that he can do anything from making the ground into a trampoline to stretching mountains to catch or bounce back incoming attacks. Even more interestingly, while battling with Kaido, Luffy gave Kaido the same rubbery physics, allowing Luffy to tie him in knots and throw him around like a basketball. However, Gear 5 does have one major downside: the sheer amount of energy needed to maintain the form. If Luffy runs out of energy while using Gear 5, he returns to his regular form but looks fatigued and visibly older. Because of this, Luffy can only spend a limited amount of time in this form, which limits its effectiveness in long battles.

Goku often seems unbeatable — but that’s not quite the case. Powerful Dragon Ball warriors like Black Frieza can still beat Ultra Instinct Goku.

Ultra Instinct Goku vs Gear 5 Luffy is a fascinating concept as the two powersets are similar yet different. Both give the user a massive increase in power, allowing them to hit their foes much harder. Both forms also feature a new defensive ability, be it Ultra Instinct’s automatic dodges or Gear 5’s terrain manipulation. Based on the fights viewers have seen up to this point, Goku has the power advantage, as his attacks utterly decimate the terrain, drilling holes in mountains and creating massive craters. Goku also has the advantage at range due to his repertoire of beam and projectile attacks. However, Gear 5 Luffy seems to have significantly more durability and better defense, as Luffy has brushed off several attacks like they are nothing. Plus, when Luffy defends himself by manipulating the environment, the terrain he uses seems to become immune to even the most devastating attacks, something best seen when Luffy bounces Kaido’s Bolo Breath back at him. The ground he uses as a shield isn’t burnt, despite Bolo Breath usually scorching everything it touches; if that stretch of ground is representative of Luffy’s body, it’s debatable if Goku’s moves could even scratch him.

The big question is how Goku will be affected by Gear 5’s ability to influence the world around Luffy. If Goku is affected by this ability, then Luffy could neutralize Ultra Instinct’s dodging ability by getting Goku to tie himself up in literal knots. He could even wrap the terrain around Goku, reducing his ability to move and thus rendering Ultra Instinct’s dodging useless. Another fascinating thing to consider is that Ultra Instinct requires a calm mind and focus, something Goku may struggle to maintain when he sees Luffy bouncing around like a cartoon character. Plus, as both Ultra-Instinct and Gear 5 have a similar stamina limitation, it seems likely that any fight between Luffy and Goku would quickly become a battle of attrition, with both fighters trying to wait out the other, hoping they are not the first to drop out of their form.

Comparing heroes from different franchises is as hard as it is fun. Creating perfect one-to-one comparisons is nearly impossible, as each series has unique rules. However, based on what fans currently know, it seems likely that two of the big three anime heroes may be able to take Goku down. Unfortunately, Naruto would likely fail if he went toe to toe with Goku, even if he used his Baryon Mode, simply because the world of Naruto has a much lower power ceiling than the world of Dragon Ball. Ichigo from Bleach may stand a chance, as the fear surrounding his True Bankai suggests its power is immense — but, due to its limited screen time, it is hard to rank the form accurately. While it would heavily depend on how the battle played out, it seems likely that Gear 5 Luffy would be able to take down Goku. While Ultra Instinct and Gear 5 have similar elements, Goku lacks a way to counter Luffy’s ability to alter physics. Because of this, Luffy can overcome Goku via sheer versatility, bombarding the Saiyan with hundreds of new and unexpected attacks until one breaks through Goku’s defenses.