Just when Gojo clearly had a better strategy – until the very end.

Gojo versus Sukuna was the fight Jujutsu Kaisen fans had been waiting for since the manga's debut, and it proved to be as epically intense as they expected. Earlier in the story, Gojo easily handled Sukuna, but that fight only lasted ten seconds and Sukuna was not at full strength. Since that time, however, Sukuna has taken over the body of Megumi Fushiguro, along with his Ten Shadows cursed technique, which comes with an incredibly powerful cursed spirit known as Mahoraga. It was that, and a crucial miscalculation by Gojo, that ultimately allowed Sukuna to win the day.

Mahoraga Shifted The Balance Of The Fight In Sukuna's Favor

Sukuna's expansive new list of powers changed their rematch dramatically

Gojo came into the fight with a number of advantages. He was born with the rare Gojo Clan Six Eyes special ability and Sukuna's domain expansion technique, Malevolent Shrine, allowed him to pierce Limitless' protective abilities and land a hit on Gojo.

While Sukuna relied only on his "base" cursed technique, Gojo proved to be the more powerful sorcerer, which is why Sukuna decided to tap into Megumi's Ten Shadows ability to summon Mahoraga. While Sukuna was able to penetrate Gojo's Limitless technique with his own Domain Expansion, he wasn't able to use his cursed technique at the same time. Mahoraga's power is that it can adapt to any attack against it if given enough time. Mahoraga resolved Sukuna's problems by taking the job of piercing Limitless out of Sukuna's hands. It thereby freed Sukuna up to use his cursed energy attacks as soon as Mahoraga created an opening.

Sukuna Secured Victory With An Incredible Last-Second Strategy

However, Gojo knew all about Mahoraga and its abilities. Accordingly, he tailored his attack to take out Sukuna before Mahoraga could fully adapt, or so he thought. The problem was that Mahoraga neither stops its adapting processing nor limits itself to one form of adaptation So, after finding that it had problems successfully adapting to Gojo's Limitless abilities quickly, it decided to broaden its focus. Rather than adapt to Gojo, it decided to adapt to the environment that Gojo operates in - that is the space that Gojo was occupying.

Once Sukuna figured out what Mahoraga was doing he also changed tactics. He planned to learn from Mahoraga's adaptation and apply it to his own cursed technique. Rather than trying to hit Gojo's body, he hit the space in which Gojo was operating. Put another way, if Gojo was a figure painted on glass, Limitless would make it impossible for someone to touch the glass where the figure has been painted. But it couldn't stop someone from touching other parts of the glass where the figure is not painted. So, Sukuna figured out if he smashed the glass wherever the painted figure wasn't, the cracks would eventually spread to destroy the figure on it, and Gojo couldn't do anything to stop it.

This was Gojo's critical miscalculation, and Sukuna seized it by unleashing "the slashes that cut the world", a new technique that "extended all the way to space, existence, and the world themselves", thus making it so that Gojo was not its target, rendering Limitless useless. This was later briefly explained in chapter #246 as "dismantle (Sukuna's usual slashing technique) strengthened with a broader cursed technique strike zone".

Ultimately, Sukuna prevailed due to the help of Mahoraga, the technique he stole from Megumi. However, it is also true that Sukuna did not show his true form in the battle against Gojo, and he has at least one more cursed technique (manipulation of flames) that he did not use in that fight. So, while the battle seemed even until the end, Jujutsu Kaisen fans will have to it that Sukuna ultimately sured Gojo, leaving behind one of the best battles in manga history.

Sukuna and Gojo Will Battle One More Time – But Not How Fans Expected

Yuta copying Kenjaku's cursed ability has led to a heartwrenching twist as the series enters its climax

After Gojo's defeat, fans of the manga were at a loss as to what the main cast would do to try and take down the King of Curses. In a twist that wasn't quite so unforeseen, Yuta Okkotsu made the decision to copy Kenjaku's cursed technique and inhabit Gojo's body to fight the terrifying villain one last time. This turn of events is heart-wrenching, as it confirms that a vast majority of sorcerer society truly only ever viewed Gojo as a weapon. While horrific, the series of events are grossly in tune with Jujutsu Kaisen's core themes that have been in place from the very beginning when Sukuna possessed Yuji.

However, the reveal of Yuta in Gojo's body emerging was as much of a shock to Sukuna as it was to the fans in Jujutsu Kaisen chapter #261. It was a deliberate move as a contingency in case Gojo indeed lost to Sukuna, with its payoff keeping Yuji, Yuta, and their allies alive in the battle, with Yuta channeling the late sorcerer's techniques to once again break Sukuna's domain in chapter #263. But even then, fans would grow concerned that Yuta, in Gojo's body, would meet a similar fate due to Kenjaku's cursed technique, Brain Transplant, burning out.

It wouldn't be for another full six chapters when Yuta would be revealed as back in his original body in Jujutsu Kaisen chapter #269. It also puts Gojo's body to rest for the remainder of the series, contributing to the vast majority of the showdown against Sukuna, even in death. Despite Gojo not laying down the killing blow, his efforts were monumentally helpful in the Shinjuku Showdown.

Despite His Death, Gojo Actually Did Beat Sukuna, in His Own Way

"Nah, I'd Win"

Gojo's death was a potent catalyst for fans to grow rapidly upset with Jujutsu Kaisen, and hopes of his return from the grave were inevitably buried as Sukuna individually defeated him. Yet, Gojo contributed plenty to Sukuna's defeat both in breaking down the Malevolent Shrine in his initial fight, as well as with Yuta possessing him, with Gojo's Unlimited Hollow Purple also destroying Mahoraga, his wheel, and the threat of Fushiguro's abilities. The fight with Sukuna was lost, but Gojo won the war, thanks to Gojo's students carrying the torch in his place.

Conversely, this can be dismissed as a convenient way to retcon Gojo's cocksure attitude about Sukuna as something more proactive. It's reasonable for fans to believe that Gojo truly didn't expect to lose against Sukuna, and rather, that his students truly did something he couldn't, without invalidating the tangible contributions Gojo made to his side winning the fight. It's just as reasonable to believe that Gojo didn't see himself losing, but due to what was at stake, Sukuna's loss was still ultimately Gojo's posthumous victory in Jujutsu Kaisen.

With the series finale of Jujutsu Kaisen showing Sukuna finding his humanity in an emotional sendoff, Yuji's influence playing a major part, and Gojo's beloved student, Megumi, being saved, it is a pyrrhic victory for late genius sorcerer. Gojo's team withstood everything Sukuna could throw at them, defeating Kenjaku, shutting down the Culling Game, and stopping the merger with Tengen. The war is over, and Gojo can finally be put to rest in Jujutsu Kaisen, with no adversaries for him to fight.

Jujutsu Kaisen is available from Viz Media and MANGA Plus.