UI Goku

A Mortal Breaking His Limits

Autonomous Ultra Instinct (身勝手みがっての極意ごくい Migatte no Goku'i, lit. "The Secret of the Self-centered") is a very rare and highly advanced mental state. It is notorious among the gods for being exceptionally difficult to master, even for them.[1]

This ability can only truly be used once the transformation that enables one to utilize it is achieved,[1] this transformation must then go on to be completed and further refined. It is, however, possible to utilize this ability, or its principles, to a limited degree without the transformations.

Autonomous Ultra Instinct is considered the "absolute peak" for those who master the martial arts. It effectively allows for each and every part of the user's body to think and move independently of all the other parts, as opposed to how a person normally has to think about their movements beforehand and let the command travel from the brain and through the nervous system, a sequence which wastes precious fighting time, as command signals only travel through the nerves so fast.

With each part of the body able to think and act on its own, the user of this technique is able to automatically react to any situation or threat with the perfect move with perfect timing. They don’t even need to acknowledge the threat; meaning the user can still fight effectively, even if they are focusing on something else.

Limitations and Drawbacks While Ultra Instinct seems to make the user virtually unbeatable, it is not an absolute guarantee against all danger, as shown by Whis being oblivious to stepping on poop or (in the anime) when Goku managed to bite Whis to escape his hold, possibly because they were not of genuine danger to his being as they were such obscure threats. In addition, it is also seen that someone with colossal raw power can bypass the instantaneous defense impulse of Ultra Instinct. In fact, if users of the ability face each other and one of them has a refinement of the Ultra Instinct superior to the other, they will have an advantage and will be able to bypass the instant defense without inconvenience. While using the ability may make the user's vital points extremely difficult to target, it is still possible for an immensely focused attack to break through if the user is not careful, as demonstrated by Granolah's Evolved Right Eye.

Dragon-Ball-Super-Episode-130-Goku-Ultra-Instinct-Jiren-0213 The drawback of trespassing in the realm of the gods.

In the anime, since Ultra Instinct is a technique of the Gods, for mortals without sufficient divine training, there is one major risk of using Ultra Instinct. Similar to the reckless over-usage of Kaio-ken, the user can only sustain the sheer power of the ability for only a minute or so before their body breaks down from pushing itself so far beyond one's natural limits. Once this time limit is reached, blood will rupture from the user's body and dark ki electrical shocks will cause them severe pain and eventually force them into unconsciousness. In more severe cases, Whis noted it could potentially kill the user. In the manga, there is no such risk, as a mortal user will only be worn out after using the Ultra Instinct for some time. In any case, both in anime and manga, once the mortal has the proper training and is able to access the ability at will, they will no longer be at risk of suffering the adverse effects. According to Whis, however, even once a mortal has mastered the form, there is still a time limit on the form.

The ability requires the user to have extreme and refined self-control over themself, something that very few warriors (even those considered geniuses), naturally have. For that reason, Ultra Instinct is extremely difficult to master, even by the standards of deities. In order to learn to use it, there appear to be three steps, the last one more challenging than the others:

The user must clear their mind completely and abandon any distraction or thought that would disrupt the focus of their body so that it concentrates only on the current struggle through natural reaction (or instinct). The user needs to break their "self-limitation shell" in an extreme way in order to explore their most intimate hidden potential. In the anime, Whis points out that for this to happen, it is necessary for the user to experience a "trigger" of some kind, such as resisting an exceptionally strong attack (anime) or culminating the compression of multiple martial arts teachings (manga). The user must combine the first two steps without losing complete clarity and control of their emotions. Completion of the final step is the most difficult to achieve, and until it is fully understood, Ultra Instinct, even if it is accessed, will remain incomplete and will not reach its full potential. In this regard, according to Whis, while dodging and moving is easy to master, attacking while in Ultra Instinct is far more difficult to learn, as fighters are inclined to think about their attacks before making them and constantly search for weaknesses in their opponents to exploit. Sending attack commands to the muscles sends contradictory signals to the muscles that are moving on their own, thus slowing the user down and weakening their attack capabilities while performing the move.

Although somewhat unorthodox, the entire Ultra Instinct learning process can be circumvented simply by copying/absorbing a user who has already mastered the ability. However, this method is not advisable; the risks of using Ultra Instinct without divine training are even greater, as the user's body is not able to handle the overwhelming power of the ability and will suffer negative effects that will inevitably end up causing the death of the user. This is seen when Moro gained Ultra Instinct by copying Merus prior to his erasure, due to not undergoing the proper training to utilize these abilities, his body began to mutate once Goku was able to land hits on him.

According to Whis, although it is said that those capable of achieving Perfected Ultra Instinct have reached the absolute peak, the ability is just the "initial path" to obtain peak combat efficiency. In fact, just like any technique, Ultra Instinct can be perfected by its users so that their precision using the ability becomes even more refined. This refinement, in turn, is only achieved when the user who masters the ability is able to use it without activating its transformation state, which will prevent their body from being harmed by the stress that the prolonged use of Ultra Instinct causes.

The lowest level of this ability is when one is only capable of using its principles. After achieving the perfected state of the Ultra Instinct transformation, Goku's use of the ability is said to be the bare minimum of what Ultra Instinct is truly capable of, referred to as being "at the bottom of the ladder".

During the Tournament of Power, Goku achieves a transformation known as Ultra Instinct Sign for the first time. In this form, Goku is capable of using incomplete Ultra Instinct. However, Goku could only subconsciously activate this form after enduring prolonged stress against a stronger opponent and can only maintain it for a brief period of time before collapsing in exhaustion; his thoughts will somehow start to take control of his motions when Goku switched from defense to offense, which makes attacking less adequate. In the anime, Whis commented that before Goku is capable of exerting the full potential of Ultra Instinct, he has to master it at the offensive level, by separating his body from his consciousness while attacking. Frieza also noted that Goku's body needs to withstand overwhelming physical stress as the cost of such a boost in power.

Once Goku fully focused his heart and soul into the Ultra Instinct Sign form, he managed to access the completed form that gives him complete mastery of Ultra Instinct. In this ultimate state of fighting, Goku was able to utilize both the defensive and offensive might of this ability.