WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Dragon Ball Super Vol. 13 by Akira Toriyama, Toyotarou, Caleb Cook and Brandon Bovia, available now in English through Viz Media.
Goku and Vegeta's first battle against Moro, a deadly sorcerer who consumed the life energy from everything around him to grow unstoppable, went disastrously. With New Namek paying the ultimate price for Moro's victory, the Saiyans separated to train harder than ever, with Goku training under the Galactic Patrolmen Merus -- an angel taking on a civilian job in Universe 7 -- and Vegeta traveling to the faraway world of Yardrat to learn incredible techniques.
As the two diligently prepared, Moro led a small band of deadly freed convicts to Earth, intent on consuming the planet of all its energy ahead of the inevitable rematch against Goku and Vegeta. Here is a spoiler-filled recap of Dragon Ball Super Volume 13.
The Z Fighters' battle against Moro's followers on Earth escalates, with Gohan and Piccolo leading the defenders as Tien, Roshi, Yamcha, Chiaotzu and the Androids continue to fight the hardened convicts. As Goku senses the battle from afar, the heroes put up a valiant struggle but find themselves overpowered. Three female convicts Roshi is fighting fuse together while Moro lends a portion of his strength to Saganbo, significantly augmenting his strength. As Krillin decides to go down fighting rather than submit, Goku senses his best friend raise his power levels, giving him enough of an energy signature to teleport to him in the nick of time using Instant Transmission.
After rescuing Krillin and Roshi, Goku leaves to assist Tien, Yamcha and Chiaotzu while Gohan and Piccolo fight against Saganbo. The latter are both noticeably stronger than they were during the Tournament of Power but still prove no match for Saganbo, prompting Goku to aid them as well. Moro is visibly impressed by how much more powerful Goku has become since their first meeting on New Namek, and gives Saganbo more of his energy to provide Goku with a chance to show what he's really made of. Transforming into Super Saiyan Blue, Goku overpowers him until the physical strain of Moro's power boost causes Saganbo to die. Unfazed, Moro himself enters the fight while Goku reveals he can now trigger Ultra Instinct at will as a result of his training with Merus.
As Goku engages Moro, he instructs the Z Fighters to gather the Dragon Balls to undo all the death and destruction Moro and his followers have caused. At first, Goku and Moro appear to be evenly matched -- though Piccolo observes the Saiyan hero maintains a slight advantage in speed. Moro realizes Goku cannot maintain Ultra Instinct for a prolonged period of time and seeks to outlast him, while Merus reveals that Goku still hasn't mastered the transformation just yet. As Goku and Moro battle, Vegeta senses Goku has transformed into Ultra Instinct and reveals he has learned powerful techniques of his own on Yardrat -- including Instant Transmission, which he uses to teleport back to Earth to join the fight alongside Goku.
With the battle lines drawn and Vegeta back on Earth, Dragon Ball Super Volume 13 has all hands on deck against Moro for the fate of Universe 7. With Goku's timely arrival, the Z Fighters triumphed over Moro's followers and have earned a reprieve from total annihilation for now. But while Goku can finally tap into the immense power of Ultra Instinct at will, the setbacks of this transformation may not be enough to stop the magical villain. With the Saiyan Prince back in the fray, however, the fate of Earth now rests in his hands as he prepares to unveil exactly what he learned while training on Yardrat.
