During the Kid Buu Saga, this complication arose when Goku found himself unable to teleport to New Namek since their ki signatures were too far away for him to reach. Since Instant Transmission requires a ki signature to lock onto (whereas Kai Kai does not), the technique's success is dependent on the user's ability to detect the desired signature.

Goku describes it as more complicated than traditional teleportation, as it consists of merging one's energy and demolecularizing their atoms in order to enter and transport oneself through the Teleportation Zone to begin with, then reassembling in the area where the locked-on signature resides. In the movies, the process is further elaborated on as entering a Teleportation Zone to transmit, where a user uses the zone as a waypoint to lock onto the desired ki signature and exit at that destination. The user can rematerialize anywhere within a short range of their target. Instant Transmission allows the user and anyone that is in physical contact with them to instantly travel great distances (from meters to light-years, between the living world and Other World, or even travel outside time itself) just by concentrating on a particular individual's ki signature and transmitting or feeling that being's location. When used by Yardrats and those who gained the technique thanks to them, it is achieved via Spirit Control.

This action is usually accompanied by the user placing his index and middle fingers on their forehead to help themself concentrate, though if extra time is taken the technique can be performed without this aid.

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