In the world of Jujutsu Kaisen, the dynamics between cursed spirits and their human vessels are often riddled with animosity and struggle for dominance. However, the peculiar relationship between Yuji Itadori and Ryomen Sukuna, the King of Curses, appears to transcend this typical paradigm. Sukuna’s deep-seated hatred for Yuji and the recent revelations in Chapter 251 offer tantalizing clues to unravel a potentially mind-bending theory about their origins and connection.
Manga Spoilers Ahead!!!
Jujutsu Kaisen: Chapter 251
Yuki Tsukumo’s revelations in Jujutsu Kaisen Chapter 251 solidify the concept that souls, even if mixed to some extent, cannot completely fuse into a single entity. Yet, Yuji’s unique case appears to defy this principle. Even Choso, a Death Painting imbued with extraordinary sensory abilities, struggled to perceive Yuji and Sukuna as two distinct souls. This exceptional circumstance hints at a deeper connection between them.
Kenjaku: The Mastermind
The enigmatic sorcerer Kenjaku stands as a pivotal figure in the Jujutsu Kaisen narrative. It’s widely believed that Kenjaku meticulously engineered Yuji as the perfect vessel for Sukuna, but what if there was a miscalculation? Sukuna’s hurried switch to Megumi Fushiguro as his vessel suggests that Yuji held an unforeseen quality that upset Sukuna’s plans. The King of Curses’ uncharacteristic sense of urgency implies he may have inadvertently found something more than a mere prison when inhabiting Yuji’s body.
Mutual Hatred: Something personal
Sukuna’s blatant loathing for Yuji seems oddly personal. While in Jujutsu Kaisen, a certain level of resentment between curse and vessel is expected, this intensity seems unusual. If Yuji was initially just a vessel, the vitriol Sukuna holds feels counterintuitive, especially considering the King of Curses’ penchant for cruelty and his amusement with Yuji’s occasional defiance. What could trigger such a profound and reciprocated animosity?
The Chi Hypothesis: Yin, Yang, and the Birth of a Demon
A compelling theory drawing inspiration from the concept of Chi, often referenced in various religious and spiritual contexts, posits that Yuji and Sukuna might represent two halves of a single, whole soul. Like Yin and Yang, contrasting yet complementary forces, the idea is that they are intrinsically intertwined. Humans operate within a moral gray zone, encompassing both good and evil.
However, the pursuit of ascension into a higher being – akin to a god (or an angel) – often necessitates the suppression of one’s darker impulses, favoring the dominance of the “light.” Conversely, becoming a demonic entity would demand the eradication of noble traits in favor of pure, distilled evil. Jujutsu Kaisen heavily draws on from Buddhist religion and throws in several aspects of Shintoism into the story as well, therefore it’s a high chance that this is another one from Buddhism.
The reason I like Sukuna so much is because he embodies the very essence of antagonism.
He doesn't care about others, living only for himself, indulging in what he desires, and toying with what he finds intriguing. pic.twitter.com/qPOtbJdIuM
— Sean 🎰 (@HeianYuji) March 5, 2024
The Heian Era Pact: Sukuna’s Ascended Evil
If we consider this theory through the lens of the Heian Era, a time of Sukuna’s unrivaled power, a shocking proposition emerges. What if Sukuna, once a human, sought the ultimate state of evil, a form of ascension unlike Tengen’s? To achieve this, he could have collaborated with Kenjaku, leveraging the sorcerer’s knowledge of soul manipulation to split his very essence? Perhaps the ‘dismantle’ technique played a role alongside Kenjaku’s specific abilities, separating those elements of his soul that embodied chaos and malice.
The Pieces Fit
This theory recasts events in a fresh light. Sukuna, with his concentrated “Yang,” could indeed ascend into the most powerful sorcerer – a being of unrivaled darkness. Yet his path to further transcendence may have remained elusive. Enter Kenjaku, whose ongoing experiments with Death Paintings consistently failed due to a lack of compatibility with Sukuna. An audacious scheme then arises: creating a Death Painting from the discarded “Yin” aspect of Sukuna’s soul, yielding a vessel – Yuji – guaranteed to possess flawless compatibility.
Kenjaku’s plan, while nearing its goal, likely met an unexpected hurdle: Yuji’s extraordinary control over Sukuna. The theory could explain Sukuna’s strange remark during his battle with Yuji in Chapter 214: “Oh, so he is from that time” could point not to the Heian Era, but the very moment his soul underwent the division.
While this may seem farfetched to some, Jujutsu Kaisen has shown us at times that nothing can be too crazy for Gege Akutami, the author.
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