A lot of unknowns were involved when it came to Yuta possessing Gojo Satoru’s body using Kenjaku’s cursed technique.
Keeping aside the discussions surrounding the impact of the move on the ongoing fight, the biggest concern was what would happen to Yuta once the 5-minute limit of the copy technique was over.
However, come JJK chapter 263, Yuta already has been sidelined even before the 5-minute limit was hit.
After a clash of domains against Sukuna, and firing a Hollow Purple, Yuta destroyed his own domain’s barrier as well in order to jump Sukuna.
He was expecting the Limitless Cursed Technique is Gojo’s body to burn out. But, much to his surprise, Kenjaku’s Cursed Technique also burnt out leaving him limp and unable to move.
This was a gross miscalculation on Yuta’s part. But then, JJK has time and again provided instances where a character’s fate has been decided to a supposed miscalculation they did. Remember the Yuki & Choso vs Kenjaku fight?
So it’s only fair to cut Okkotsu some slack in this scenario.
However, the biggest question is this – how did Yuta not die even after Kenjaku’s cursed technique burnt out. He was only able to possess Gojo’s body thanks to Kenjaku’s CT. And if that CT was no longer working Yuta should have died right?
Well, here’s where an important detail regarding technique burnout comes into picture.
How Did Yuta Survive Kenjaku CT Burnout?
It is natural to assume that a Cursed Technique burnout means that a user won’t be able to use the cursed technique at all for a certain time period until it is replenished.
After all, Yuta had equated this situation to an engine overheating and unable to work. Going by that logic, it should be impossible to use the CT once a domain collapses.
However, that’s not entirely true apparently. Gege himself had given a perfect example of how a cursed technique burnout will look like, and what happens in such a situation. This happened during the three-way fight between Yuta, Uro and Ryu Ishigori.
After all three of them had a domain clash, Uro immediately tried to use her cursed technique in order to counter Okkotsu and the cursed spirit Kurorushi.
And even though Uro was able to grasp at the surface of the sky, her attack fizzled out. This is where we get a comment from the narrator about the CT Burnout – “Immediately after domain expansion, one’s cursed technique burns away, making it difficult to use.”
Meaning, a cursed technique doesn’t completely disappear, instead, it only makes it harder to use.
The same thing was said by Yuki Tsukumo in chapter 203 when she was coming up with a plan to sideline Kenjaku, mentioning that the flamboyant schemer will find his cursed techniques difficult to use after his domain expansion.
In Yuta’s case, we can use the same logic. The CT burnout did not erase Kenjaku’s technique completely, instead it only made it harder for Yuta to use. So, for a technique like Kenjaku’s which is constantly active in the background (based on this chapter), the effectiveness would drop immensely.
That’s probably why Yuta wasn’t unable to control Gojo’s body and fell down limp in midst of the fight.
However, the narrator’s and Yuta’s words in particular make it hard to gauge the exact situation. According to these two, Kenjaku’s cursed technique “halted”, meaning it wasn’t working at all. And if Yuta is still able to survive in Gojo’s body despite that, then it would surely be a bonus.
There are also a lot of unknowns when it comes to Kenjaku’s cursed technique, and also burnout, so we need to wait for more details to surface in order to come to a concrete answer.
Though Yuta’s skin is currently saved, it doesn’t bode well for him in the future. Because, JJK 263 confirmed one factor regarding Kenjaku’s CT which was previously unknown.
Bad signs ahead for Yuta:
Recall Mei Mei’s three predictions in Chapter 261 regarding what might happen when Yuta’s Copy technique wears off?
I had placed hopes on Yuta being able to survive in Gojo’s body assuming that Kenjaku’s cursed technique only needed to be activated once.
However JJK 263 suggests that the first of Mei Mei’s conditions will come true. Since a technique burnout caused Yuta to fall down and lose control of Gojo’s body, it point towards a constant activation for Kenjaku’s CT.
This means that upon reaching the 5-minute limit, Yuta will likely perish.
This places higher stakes on Yuta’s ongoing battle with Sukuna as the deadline looms large. He indeed has to come out as a victor in the stipulated time period, or it could be all over for him.
True, Sukuna did mention in the previous chapter that Yuta did not care about the consequences and was only focused on defeating him. But then, I for one, wouldn’t want Yuta to die.
How will he overcome this new challenge and emerge victorious? Only time, and the next chapter, will tell.
What are your thoughts on JJK Chapter 263? Share your theories in the comments below! Also check out this reddit thread for interesting answers on this topic!