Dragon Ball Super Chapter 85 Leaks Hint at a New Ultra Instinct for Goku and a Possibly Aging Gas

The first leaked images from Dragon Ball Super manga chapter 85 showed Goku powering up into what may be a new version of Ultra Instinct, while Gas appeared to either transform again or start aging. Looking at these spoilers at almost three in the morning here on the East Coast, my honest reaction was: "things are getting interesting but i'm not sure if i like it."

An important caveat came with all of this. The full chapter had not come out yet, and these pages arrived without full context. People like to jump to conclusions without having everything in front of them, and at the time more information was expected over the following couple of days. Everything below should be read with that in mind.

A leaked page suggests Gas is still stronger than Ultra Ego Vegeta

The first image showed Vegeta laid out. To me, that suggested that even though Ultra Ego Vegeta was getting stronger, Gas still looked more powerful than him. Again, without full context and with more of the chapter still to come out, that was a read on a single image rather than a certainty.

These images came from an account I had never heard of before, but it apparently leaks a lot of material, including Boruto content as well. At that stage I had not read the chapter myself.

Goku taps into a version of Ultra Instinct Sign that may be his own

The next leaked pages showed Goku beginning to concentrate, either during or before his fight with Gas, and powering up into Ultra Instinct Sign, sometimes called Omen. There was speculation around this. The leaker said he believes this is a new version of Ultra Instinct that is exclusive to Goku.

I want to be clear that I had not read the chapter, and until the whole thing came out nobody could really say that for sure. Still, it is one plausible explanation: Goku may have figured out a way to tap into Omen but make it his own. That left me wondering what this means for regular Ultra Instinct. In the pages, the form he powers up into is not Super Saiyan God, but it is still Ultra Instinct.

Goku says this form is a better fit for his emotions

In one of the leaked pages, Goku basically states that this version of Ultra Instinct is better fitting for his emotions. I was not sure exactly what that means. One possibility I considered is that he could use Ultra Instinct while still being angry, but I could not say that with any confidence from what was available.

Another panel shows him stating that he has figured out this version of Ultra Instinct suits his emotions better.

I feel Toyotaro may lack direction for Ultra Instinct

There have been a lot of unique ways Toyotaro has used Ultra Instinct over the past few manga arcs, and I mean unique in both a good and bad way. It is not just Omen now. During the Moro arc he changed some things, and then we found out more about Ultra Instinct and how Goku had not really mastered it yet.

Taken together, it feels to me like there is not much direction or an end goal for Ultra Instinct. I could be wrong on that.

Gas still has Bardock on the brain

Another leaked page showed Gas having a flashback to Bardock. He is still thinking about him. In my words: "this dude's been haunted by bardock most of his life," so there was not much more to say about it beyond the fact that Bardock continues to weigh on him.

Is Gas transforming, or aging because of his wish?

The final image was the one I expected people to talk about. A couple of things seemed to be going on. It looked like Gas might be transforming into a new form, but it also looked like he might be aging. Look at his face and he appears old.

I had a possible theory, and it was only that. When you make a wish on the dragon, you have to give something up. Granolah wished to become the strongest, and his lifespan was shortened to three years. It could be that when your lifespan shortens like that, your body actually ages faster. I remember discussing this before, though I do not recall exactly where, and saying that I did not think Granolah would simply drop dead after three years. I thought he would age the way somebody normally would, only faster.

It reminded me of the movie Old, which I do not think is very good, but if you saw it you know the idea of aging rapidly. Elec made a similar wish, and maybe he never told Gas about the catch: yes, you get to be the strongest, but you are going to die in three years. Maybe the more he fights, the faster he ages. I really did not know, and it could just be another new transformation, so it was difficult to say.

I am tired of new transformations

Speaking for myself, "i for one am very transformation fatigued with dragon ball." I have talked about this for a couple of years now and how I am kind of sick of new forms. At the same time, Gas is a new character and we did not know much about him. So I cannot really say I am tired of it here, even though transformations have become a thing in Dragon Ball.

More leaks were expected in the days after these images appeared, which would bring the full context these pages were missing.

Do you think Gas was aging because of his wish, or was it just another new transformation?