'Dragon Ball Super' episode 72 spoilers: Who hired Hit to assassinate Goku? Was it someone familiar?

Hit seemingly killed Son Goku in the previous episode, but the preview trailer following that episode immediately revealed that Goku survived Hit's invisible shock wave attack thanks to the ki blast he released before he "died." Now, it's Goku's turn to fight back. It's clear that Hit is just a hitman (pun intended), so who hired him to assassinate Goku?

Reports say the person who hired Hit will be revealed in "Dragon Ball Super" episode 72, and a brief summary of the upcoming episode from Japanese magazine V-Jump (via Inquisitr) indicated that Vados hired Hit. However, it turns out that she was also working for someone else. Who is the mastermind behind the attack?

The Inquisitr has pointed out that it's possible Hit was hired by Beerus or Whis to test Goku and help him prepare for the upcoming Omniverse Tournament. That theory is actually plausible. There's a brief view of Beerus smiling at the end of the preview, so he's probably up to something. A fight with Hit may seem extreme, but "Dragon Ball" characters are known to have strange training techniques. And it's possible Whis may have asked his sister, Vados, to hire Hit for him.

Well, it sounds like Hit will have his hands full because the upcoming episode is titled, "Will There Be a Counterattack?! The Invisible Killing Strike!!." This means Goku is planning a counterattack and the two are going to battle it out for at least another episode.

It should be noted that details for the next installment are yet to be revealed, so readers are advised to take everything with a grain of salt until the episode comes out. "Dragon Ball Super" episode 72 will air on Dec. 25, at 9 a.m. JST on Fuji TV.

In other "Dragon Ball Super" news, a new arc is going to begin early next year and the Omni-Kings' martial arts tournament will start with a Universe 7 team made up of Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Majin Boo, Piccolo, Kuririn, No. 18, No. 17, Kame-Sen'nin and Tenshinhan.