Jujutsu Kaisen: Kusakabe’s Victory Over Gojo and Yuji’s Domain as Evidence

The recent release of Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 264 revealed Yuji Itadori’s long-awaited Domain Expansion. While the full extent of its capabilities is still unknown, it’s clear that Yuji has made significant progress since joining Jujutsu Tech.

As such, numerous fans are expressing their gratitude towards Satoru Gojo, Yuji Itadori’s teacher, for the recent developments in the manga. Despite the deserved recognition for the late sorcerer, it is clear that Atsuya Kusakabe had a significant influence on Yuji’s battle against Ryomen Sukuna, as emphasized in the latest chapter’s narration.

Please be aware that this article contains spoilers from the Jujutsu Kaisen manga.

What gives Kusakabe an advantage over Gojo in Jujutsu Kaisen?

Atsuya Kusakabe in Yuji Itadori's body as seen in the Jujutsu Kaisen manga (Image via Shueisha) — Atsuya Kusakabe in Yuji Itadori’s body as seen in the Jujutsu Kaisen manga (Image via Shueisha)

During the one-month training period leading up to the Shinjuku Showdown Arc, Atsuya Kusakabe was tasked with training Yuji Itadori. He noticed that due to Ryomen Sukuna’s possession of Yuji’s body and use of advanced cursed techniques, Yuji’s body appeared to retain the techniques and quickly improved in utilizing them.

Kusakabe’s plan was to train Yuji using the same logic. To achieve this, he requested Ui Ui to use his Cursed Technique on both of them, swapping their souls. This enabled Kusakabe to utilize his techniques while inhabiting Yuji’s body, allowing the protagonist to quickly grasp the fundamentals of manipulating cursed energy, creating barriers, and using Simple Domain.

Yuji Itadori in Atsuya Kusakabe's body as seen in the Jujutsu Kaisen manga (Image via Shueisha) — Yuji Itadori in Atsuya Kusakabe’s body as seen in the Jujutsu Kaisen manga (Image via Shueisha)

Although this training method was primarily intended to teach Yuji the fundamentals, it also allowed him to become proficient in more advanced cursed techniques such as Blood Manipulation and Shrine. Typically, it takes a significant amount of time to fully grasp the basics of jujutsu sorcery. However, by switching bodies with Kusakabe, Yuji was able to quickly learn and apply these skills, ultimately mastering other techniques within the short span of one month.

It is clear that Yuji’s soul replacement training with Atsuya Kusakabe played a significant role in the development of his Domain Expansion. Through these sessions, Yuji gained a thorough understanding of Barriers, a crucial component of the Domain Expansion technique.

Despite Satoru Gojo being Yuji’s primary mentor during their time at Jujutsu Tech, it was Kusakabe who excelled in teaching him. While Gojo taught Yuji how to utilize Cursed Energy, it was Kusakabe who imparted the fundamentals of cursed energy manipulation, barrier techniques, and Simple Domain. These pieces of evidence suggest that Kusakabe’s teachings ultimately had a more significant impact on Yuji’s development.

In the final arc of the manga series, Atsuya Kusakabe outshined Satoru Gojo. Despite fans’ anticipation for the series’ main character to eventually use his domain expansion against the King of Curses, it was actually Kusakabe who played a crucial role in this development. He provided Yuji with all the necessary tools to successfully activate his Domain Expansion for the first time.

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