WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers from the Granolah arc of the Dragon Ball Super Manga. Read ahead at your own discretion!

The Granolah arc has finally concluded and one of the biggest mysteries still left unanswered is the identity of the warrior mentioned by the Oracle fish in Chapter 68.

At the end of Chapter 87, Whis still leaves the question of who’s the strongest warrior in the Universe up in the air.

When Goku firsts ask him “You think Granolah is the one the Oracle Fish was talking about?” Whis was like “That may be the case”. After Frieza shows up, Goku asked if he was the one; Whis was like “Hmm… perhaps”. The question is, does Whis even know at all?

Maybe not.

Or is he hinting at a greater lesson to be taught to the Saiyans…?

In this post, I’ll be explaining the real meaning behind the prophecy and discussing some of the possibilities of who could be the strongest warrior of Universe 7.

The true meaning behind the prophecy

There are two conditions the candidate has to satisfy to be considered the one.

In Chapter 68, Whis had to inject some vitamins into the Oracle fish as a cure for the creature’s insomnia. Then Whis revealed a shocking “fun fact” that foretells a bleak near-term future.

The Granolah arc’s first chapter ended with a bang as the Oracle fish makes a wild prediction – The mightiest warrior in the Universe will soon rise, causing a shift in its overall balance.

Now some people were confused about what Granolah’s wish actually meant. Does it mean just pure power or overall strength including techniques, skills, etc.? Ian from Kanzenshuu clears out that for us.

The candidate should satisfy these two conditions. With that said, let me clear something before going into the speculation.

Gas & Granolah are not the strongest warriors in the Universe

Of course, it would have been obvious at the time of Granolah making his wish. But the thing is, he didn’t satisfy one major condition in the prophecy. And neither did Gas.

It seems to imply that the warrior the fish referred to will change the balance in the Universe and cause some major dent in our heroes’ lives.

And… nothing of the sort happened.

Most fans, including myself, initially believed Granolah was our guy. The panel where he tells himself that he needs to get stronger in order to kill Frieza and then asks Toronbo to turn him into exactly what the blue-skinned fish said implied that the prophecy referred to Granolah.

However, Elec later used the Dragon Balls to make Gas the strongest, surpassing Granolah.

So then, is Gas the man?

Nope. When Gas and Goku teleported to Whis’ location, the Oracle fish wondered who Gas even was.

Whis probably thought Gas was the one and Granolah wasn’t but he then looked at the Oracle fish’s cluelessness and expressed a sign of confusion.

It’s pretty clear that Gas and Granolah aren’t the one referred to in the prophecy. And it’s not like the Oracle fish beats around the bush. Without any sort of hesitation, the fish said that Goku and Vegeta will one day become Lord Beerus’ rivals. No cap.

So who is the real strongest warrior in the Universe? Which black air force stud is going to show up and shake the very fabric of the Cosmos? Let’s look at some of the possibilities:

Possible candidates for Strongest warrior in the Universe, as per the Oracle fish’s prophecy

Frieza

Dragon Ball Chapter 87 debuts the explosive and shocking debut of Black Frieza, a form whipped up by training in a room of spirit & time (aka hyperbolic time chamber) for 10 years!

If 4 months of training with a weak soldier like Tagoma can bring him to Super Saiyan Blue Goku & Vegeta levels, imagine the boost after 10 years of solid push-ups, sit-ups and plenty of juice!

Is he the strongest in the Universe?

Currently yes. Black Frieza managed to kill Gas with a single punch, blow Elec into piece and one-shot Goku & Frieza off their feet. He himself says he has surpassed Goku and Vegeta.

So judging by the Chapter’s title, Frieza is indicated to be the one the oracle fish foretold. Plus, Elec’s words in Chapter 68 also shows that Frieza satisfies the condition.

However, Whis’ statement seems to suggest it could be some one else. Well, there’s that but here’s what I think:

Frieza is the guy the Oracle fish foresaw but won’t clench the title forever. Dragon Ball’s core theme of “There’s always someone better than you” will stay true no matter what. Whis’ statement is basically to push Goku and Vegeta to grow further, hence continuing that motif.

Whis told in such a way so that they don’t get disappointed. Actually, he doesn’t know that Goku & Vegeta will get even more fired up to surpass Frieza even if they knew. But this is probably like the strategy Beerus used once “Look, Monaka is the strongest” to push Goku further.

Furthermore, a summary article at the Dragon Ball Official site confirms Frieza to be the “true/real” strongest warrior in the Universe at the end of the Granolah arc. The meaning of “true” need not necessarily refers to the one the Oracle fish foretold but the evidences, as opposed to other candidates, are high in the case of Frieza.

Frieza seems to be the favorite but let’s explore other options as well. For instance, Seven-Three perhaps?

Seven-Three & Moro

Elec recognizes that Seven-Three is packed with Intel which would be very useful. He might have instructed Macki and Oil to ask Zuno about Seven-Three and his powers.

Toyotarou had Seven-Three alive and be the continuing factor from the Moro to the Granolah arc for a reason. It could still have Moro’s, Vegeta’s and Merus’ powers under its disposal so he can pretty useful for Frieza and Merus.

Broly and the gang are hanging out with the bois on Beerus’ planet. There goes Frieza’s plan on once again recruiting Broly in his team.

But what if Frieza recruits Seven-Three instead? With his intel, powers and abilities, he could be a solid right-hand man for the Emperor.

What’s more, Seven-Three has Moro’s complete backup within its database. Frieza could ensure the OG Android is able to use all of them to its full capacity.

Some fans speculate that Moro could come back through Seven-Three. Moro coming back stronger than ever could shake the balance of the Universe. He gave a hard time to the Great Supreme Kai, who was once stronger than the likes of Kid Buu or even T.O.P SSG Goku.

Though I doubt he (as a person) would come back as Toyotaro said he wanted Moro to be defeated in that arc.

 I didn’t want the villain of the Galactic Patrol Prisoner arc to be someone who it seemed like might become ally afterward, but rather an enemy who absolutely had to be defeated. I wanted everyone to think, “We gotta beat this guy!” after getting one look at him, like the original Demon King Piccolo.

Demon King Piccolo was defeated in that arc and Piccolo Jr. took his place. Perhaps Seven-Three can become the new Moro with Moro’s data built-in within his system.

Talking about the other end of the spectrum, changing the balance in the Universe is usually seen in a negative sense. But if in case it ends up being in a good light, then a couple of characters come to mind:

Goku

Goku, at the moment, is at the bottom of the Ultra Instinct ladder (Grand Priest > Whis (and other Angels) > Merus > Goku). He’s trying to master Ultra Instinct in his Super Saiyan forms and ultimately in his base form 24/7.

However, he’s still unable to get a grip on his emotions, especially in a heated battle. Mastering Ultra Instinct is still far from his reach.

Thoughts come in and out every second: How to protect Monaito, Granolah and Vegeta? How to defeat Gas? How strong he is? Does he have a weakness? How was my dad? How did he beat Gas? Is Granolah really a good guy?

Whis tells Goku that he needs to find his own unique version of Ultra Instinct that would suit his nature. For that, he needs to know who he is intrinsically.

All this while, he was brought up by someone who wasn’t his kind and lived in a world completely different from his home planet. But he was lucky to have a grandpa and a master to teach him martial arts and led a life filled with battles.

At the end of the Granolah arc, Goku unleashed a new transformation, into his black-haired Ultra Instinct form which retains parts of his emotions. Toyotaro, in an interview, said Goku is on his way in getting used to Ultra Instinct (as instructed by Whis) and his new transformation is supposed to indicate that.

Once that happens, fans speculate that he’d become the strongest warrior in the Universe. But would it cause a rift in the Universe? I personally don’t think so, unless he decides to become an Angel, which again I doubt it’d happen.

Vegeta

Vegeta’s life took a drastic turn when Beerus accepted him as a student. In the Universal Survival arc, Vegeta felt really annoyed when his eternal rival surpassed him once again by breaking his limits and achieving UI Sign.

Vegeta screams in frustration; pushing away Toppo merely by his energy, thus transforming into Super Saiyan Blue Evolved. A form exclusive to Vegeta. That’s when he admitted that Ultra Instinct isn’t for him and wanted to take a different route and Whis agreed with his logic.

Vegeta seeks a road that would match his “signature style”. A path that would suit him when looking from all angles. 

This is where Beerus comes in and shows him the way, saying there’s exists a power different from Ultra Instinct. 

Once he masters this mysterious technique, the Prince can finally surpass his lifelong rival. Beerus is confident of that possibility becoming true.

Compared to Goku, Ultra Ego Vegeta put up a better fight against Granolah. But in the end, he couldn’t fully immerse himself in the mindset of a Destroyer God. The guilt of his past misdeeds still haunts him.

Vegeta will get the hang of a Destroyer’s power when he recreates himself by not getting caught up in the dualities of good and evil.

He must forget about the past, rise above and go beyond. When that happens, it’s possible he could become the strongest warrior.

Now that the arc is over and the Saiyans are heading back to Beerus’ planet, they could hone their respective techniques a lot more than what they demonstrated so far.

Since Vegeta activated Ultra Ego during the battle with Granolah, his potential to grow are so damn high. So much in fact I wouldn’t be surprised if he reaches the level of the Destroyers during the Frieza re-match battle arc.

Will he become a God of Destruction? Maybe not, but his newfound powers will most probably cause ripples in the Universe.

Gohan

With the help of Piccolo and Pan, Gohan was forced to duke it out with the Red Ribbon army and save the Earth in the absence of Goku and Vegeta.

In the film, Gohan witnesses an unconscious Piccolo held by the palm of Cell Max as the Kaiju Monster cries out victoriously.

The following sequence shows Gohan experiencing the exact same shock when Perfect Cell smashed Android 16’s head with his foot. The rage filling his entire body spewed out at once as Gohan screams into powering up to a brand new transformation.

According to Toriyama, Orange Piccolo’s power level is on par with Goku and Vegeta (assuming SSB Goku and Vegeta at the end of the Broly movie) & Cell Max, if complete, is stronger than Broly (at the end of DBS: Broly).

Gohan’s growth spurred from being T.O.P PSSB Goku level to around Granolah arc PSSB Goku. If he trains on a regular basis henceforth, he could become the one. But remember that Gohan’s strength lies in his emotions. That can spark a huge change in his power, speed and attitude. So for now, It’s difficult for him to be the one.

There are various statements from officials suggesting that Gohan Beast is the strongest so far, and Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero takes places after the Moro and Granolah arcs. So that mean Whis was referring to Gohan Beast after all?

I personally doubt it, cause’ Whis would have atleast showed some reaction when Gohan transformed. But then again, the Manga version of the arc might portray a different story.

Broly

Of course, why wouldn’t we add Broly? The guy is a mutant & a powerhouse. He grew from Base Vegeta to SSJ Gogeta in a span of 2 hours. Sure he’s training with Goku & Vegeta on Beerus’ planet in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero but, what if he goes berserk again when facing, let’s say, Frieza? Would he beat him into a pulp once again?

Broly can easily become the Universe’ strongest once again but time will tell how much his training has paid off.

Uub

I would smack my thigh and say “Ohhhhh!” if Uub becomes the one. The Oracle Fish said The strongest warrior in the Universe will SOON rise up”. If that “soon” is around EoZ time then Uub could be our man.

The boy has so much potential. He has plenty of God Ki to power up Goku for another round of Ultra Instinct. Being taught how to access that power by the Grand Supreme Kai and later trained by an expert God Ki user himself (Goku), Uub could one day rival and surpass his master himself. But that’s a long way ahead into the future, in my view.

The list, of course, excludes Beerus and Whis as they’re Gods and not technically warriors.

My bets are on Frieza or Broly but, whoever ends up claiming that position would do so for some time. Titles in Dragon Ball Super are temporary. So it won’t be long for Goku or Vegeta to surpass them ultimately.

But who knows? A new villain or adversary (or someone unknown) could become the strongest in the Universe in later arcs.

Who do you think will be the strongest warrior in the universe as predicted by the Oracle Fish? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!