In the intense battle against the King of Curses, Yuta Okkotsu didn’t shy away from taking drastic measures to increase his chances of victory. He was ready to become a monster to take down Sukuna.
To better position himself and the sorcerers, Yuta took over Gojo’s corpse, utilizing Kenjaku’s cursed technique.
However, this decision was not without its risks and uncertainty. The biggest concern at the time naturally was whether Yuta could return to his body after taking over Gojo’s, as Kenjaku’s cursed technique presented several unknowns.
Mei Mei outlined three potential scenarios to Yuta, warning him of the dangers of this body-swapping technique. She stated the following:
- If Kenjaku’s Cursed Technique Functions Constantly or at Regular Intervals, Yuta would be unable to sustain his body or soul, ultimately leading to his death.
- If the Cursed Technique Functions Irregularly, Yuta might not die immediately, but his demise would be inevitable.
- If the Cursed Technique Activates Only Once, Yuta might still be able to survive in Gojo’s body after the 5-minute limit for the Copy Technique runs out. This also presented another possible outcome: after switching bodies, Yuta might lose his cursed technique entirely and be forced to live in Gojo’s body permanently.
These scenarios hinted at a one-way path for Yuta that could require an ultimate sacrifice. While the immediate focus was on Yuta’s attempt to aid in the battle against Sukuna, the underlying concern centered on what would happen to Yuta once the five-minute limit on his copied technique expired.
As events unfolded in Chapter 263, Yuta’s fate seemed even more precarious. Before the five-minute limit was even hit, Yuta was sidelined during a massive clash of domains against Sukuna.
Kenjaku’s cursed technique burned out after using Domain Expansion while in Gojo’s body, leaving Yuta facing an uncertain situation.
Since the technique burnout caused Yuta to fall down and lose control of Gojo’s body, it pointed towards a constant activation for Kenjaku’s CT – the first of Mei Mei’s suggested cases
This meant that upon reaching the 5-minute limit, Yuta was bound to perish. However, come JJK chapter 269, that didn’t happen and we see Yuta alive – more importantly back in his own body.
I have covered how Yuta didn’t immediately die from Kenjaku’s CT burn in a different article. If would better if you read that first and then check this article out. Link is given below!
How did Yuta get his body back?
After the battle, Yuji confronts Yuta, asking how he managed to return to his original body. Everyone sure was surprised by that – including readers.
Yuta revealed that the key to his survival – after swapping brains and taking over Gojo’s body – was Rika and the cursed spirit’s connection to him.
While Yuta was fighting Sukuna in Gojo’s body, Rika was busy using RCT to heal Yuta’s body – which was sewed up by Shoko Ieiri.
This explains why Rika didn’t follow Yuta into Gojo’s body. Her role had shifted to preserving Yuta’s empty shell during this risky maneuver.
If you read the article I linked above, you’ll know that Yuta didn’t immediately die after the CT burnout – which was a possibility too you know.
Meaning when he recovered the technique (which I am assuming happened before the 5 minute mark), he was still in possession of the Copy Technique – which also would explain why he still had a connection to Rika.
This also suggests that the original connection between Yuta and Rika hadn’t been severed despite there being no ring, and the Queen of Curses was in a way supporting him from a distance.
Once Kenjaku’s burned-out cursed technique recovered, Yuta, who was near death, was able to reconnect with Rika, who then facilitated his return to his original body.
What we can glean from this piece of information is that Rika somehow helped Yuta transfer his brain back to his original body before the 5 minute timeline ended.
Akutami chose a simpler resolution in this case, which raised even more questions about the body swap and Yuta’s ultimate fate.
A Missed Opportunity for Impact
One of the key questions is whether Yuta returned to his body within the five-minute time limit that Mei Mei outlined.
If Yuta had stayed in Gojo’s body beyond this period, would he still have been connected to Rika? Akutami did not explicitly address this, leading fans to wonder whether the time limit played a role in Yuta’s return.
Another unanswered question is how Yuta’s connection to Rika helped him return to his body in the midst of the battle. Did Rika physically bring Yuta’s brain back to his original body, or was this transfer more symbolic?
Since we don’t actually see Rika carry Gojo’s body back during the height of the fight, the assumption is that Yuta returned to his body after Sukuna was defeated.
This would imply that the five-minute mark had already passed by the time Yuta made it back, adding more confusion to the timeline of events.
While Akutami provided some clarity regarding Yuta’s return, the lack of detailed explanation is really unsatisfactory. Given that the previous chapter ended on a cliffhanger surrounding Yuta’s fate, many readers—including myself—assumed that Yuta might continue living in Gojo’s body.
This would have added a layer of emotional depth and bittersweet finality to Yuta’s sacrifice. While that didn’t come to pass, some clarity would have been nice.
In the end, the resolution that Yuta survived is something I can live with and happy about. But, like many other instances in Jujutsu Kaisen, the body swap plot line too has ended with a lot of untapped potential.
Akutami has been praised for subverting expectations throughout Jujutsu Kaisen, but this was one instance where a more drawn-out storyline would have been beneficial. And thanks to that, everything surrounding Kenjaku, who put the Kaisen in Jujutsu, still remains an enigma.
After all the buildup surrounding Yuta’s fate, a clearer understanding of how the body swap worked—and the potential consequences—would have added more weight to the situation.
Instead, we are left with lingering questions that might never be fully answered. As Maki rightly said in the chapter, everything was not okay just because Yuta returned to his body!