Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 227: Akutami hinted at Gojo's newest power-up long ago

With the release of the alleged spoilers and raw scans for Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 227 earlier this week, fans saw the exciting fight of Satoru Gojo and Ryomen Sukuna continue. Fans are happy to see the manga fix its focus on this exciting bout, especially considering author and illustrator Gege Akutami’s announcement that the manga will end this year.

Nevertheless, fans’ main focus for now is the outcome of Gojo and Sukuna’s fight, which is still far from over and could, as far as fans know, truly go either way in terms of victory. While there isn’t a clear winner yet, Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 227 does see Gojo unexpectedly turn the tides of battle in his favor with a specific technique.

At first, fans thought that Akutami was introducing this technique for the first time in Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 227, giving Gojo a new ability without any setup whatsoever. However, upon further inspection into the series’ past, it becomes apparent that Akutami had actually been setting up Gojo’s use of this technique for well over 100 chapters.

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Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 227 sees Akutami finally give payoff to one aspect of his long-term storytelling

Brief spoiler recap

Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 227’s leaks begin with the spectators discussing what Gojo just did with Reverse Cursed Technique. After agreeing that Gojo is simply rewriting the rules of what they know before their very eyes, Gojo and Sukuna use their Domain Expansions once more. However, Gojo has now made his barrier resistant to external attacks rather than internal ones.

Sukuna then engages Gojo in combat, which makes the latter realize that Malevolent Shrine’s must-hit effect has been turned off. It’s then explained that Sukuna also turned it off to enhance attack power outside of Gojo’s Domain, resulting in Gojo losing the clash again. Yuji and others deduce that Sukuna may have also changed the conditions of his Domain like Gojo, while Hajime Kashimo prepares to go fight in case Gojo dies.

However, Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 227 then sees Gojo use Falling Blossom Emotion to counteract Sukuna’s Domain. Gojo then uses his own Domain Expansion, creating a massive barrier to cover Sukuna’s range. The issue ends as Gojo unexpectedly shrinks his Domain to the size of a small ball, contrary to everyone’s expectations.

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How Gojo’s Falling Blossom Emotion was hinted at, explained

Falling Blossom Emotion was first introduced in chapter 108, when Naobito Zenin uses the move to counteract Dagon’s Domain Expansion. This power was able to cut apart Dagon’s endless stream of fish shikigami even at infinite levels. While Dagon was able to eventually physically assault Naobito by blocking his vision, Falling Blossom Emotion does provide resistance against Cursed Techniques.

This is why it’s classified as an anti-domain barrier technique, which is also how it’s used in Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 227 by Gojo. Using Falling Blossom Emotion cancels out the must-hit effect of Sukuna’s Cursed Technique within the Malevolent Shrine Domain Expansion. Technically speaking, Falling Blossom Emotion counter-attacks the moment a Domain’s guaranteed hit makes contact with the user.

The technique was also used one other time by Ogi Zenin, who briefly used it to try and strike down his daughter Maki with a mighty single-strike attack. However, the technique proved ineffective against Maki’s Dragon-Bone Cursed Tool, since it was able to absorb and eject Cursed Energy. Given that Falling Blossom Emotion is just a shroud of Cursed Energy, Maki’s Cursed Tool was obviously able to circumvent it.

Both these instances hinted at Gojo’s eventual use of it in Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 227, both by showing how it can be applied and by explaining its origins. In its first use by Naobito, it’s explained that the technique is a secret one passed down through the Big Three Sorcerer Families, these being the Zenin, Gojo, and Kamo families.

In other words, Akutami has been teasing that Gojo not only knows of Falling Blossom Emotion, but is also able to use it for quite some time. What’s worth noting is that Gojo likely didn’t need to use it before this point due to not facing someone as strong as Sukuna before being locked in the Prison Realm. Likewise, Gojo using the technique now emphasizes both how he sees Sukuna as an opponent and how desperately he wants to win.

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