Jujutsu Kaisen: Why Gege Akutami is setting up Kusakabe as the next Gojo, explained

With the latest Jujutsu Kaisen chapter out, it looks like Gege Akutami has something big planned once again. To put matters into perspective, following Gojo Satoru's defeat, the Jujutsu sorcerers facing Ryomen Sukuna began to fall one by one.

Hajime Kashimo, Hiromi Higuruma, Yuta Okkotsu, Yuji Itadori, and now Maki Zenin—all these powerful forces stood little chance against the fully revived King of Curses. Chapter 253 witnessed Maki get hit by a surprise Black Flash from Sukuna, which has likely rendered her unable to continue, at least for the time being.

The only ones remaining now are Atsuya Kusakabe and Kinji Hakari. The latter has his hands full with Uraume, leaving Kusakabe as the last man standing.

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Jujutsu Kaisen: Gege Akutami could be setting Kusakabe up to be Gojo 2.0

At the beginning of Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 253, "the strong" are asked who they think the most powerful Grade 1 Sorcerer is. The answers from Mei Mei, Kento Nanami, and Gojo Satoru were all the same—Kusakabe. Similarly, Gojo's students—Yuji Itadori, Megumi Fushiguro, and Nobara Kugisaki—were asked something similar earlier in the story, and they pointed to Gojo.

This means that the "interview" style for the two instances is the same, which connects the two scenarios. Next, Kusakabe, despite having no known Cursed Technique (CT), is a Grade 1 Sorcerer and has excited his foes in the past.

For instance, he used Simple Domain to block Kenjaku's Uzumaki and saved Miwa. In response, Kenjaku said facing "someone with a bit of knowledge" was nice. Again, Kusakabe using New Shadow Style to save Higuruma from Sukuna's invisible slashes briefly caught the King of Curses's attention.

In this sense, when the fight begins, the swordsman's abilities will thrill Sukuna the way Gojo did. Gojo's abilities, command over Jujutsu, and battle IQ made him a "worthy" opponent in Sukuna's eyes. Similarly, Kusakabe having no CT and relying on Cursed Energy manipulation and the New Shadow Style will likely intrigue the King of Curses.

Before Kusakabe (with the exception of Yuji and Maki), Sukuna fought numerous others with a range of CTs. Yuji's CT has not been revealed yet, and he is presently unable to fight, so his involvement is on ice at the moment. Maki, on the other hand, was someone whose "existence denied Jujutsu." She aroused curiosity and excitement in him.

Gege Akutami looks to be taking a similar route in setting up Kusakabe to be the next Gojo. We already know that when required, he can be a defensive powerhouse—three considerably strong sorcerers labeling him the strongest have further reinforced that belief. Undoubtedly, his skills will draw in and hold the attention of the King of Curses.

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Final thoughts

What remains to be seen is how long he will have to hold off Sukuna until someone else interferes. A single Black Flash is nowhere near enough to defeat Maki. She is likely taking a breath before jumping straight back into the mix. On the other end, Yuji cannot use the Revese Cursed Technique again, but thanks to Choso's input, he can heal and gather himself using Blood Manipulation.

Jujutsu Kaisen is taking quite an interesting turn by pitting Sukuna against Kusakabe. The latter, who has always been reluctant to fight, must now fight for the fate of the world. Sukuna, meanwhile, will be facing a different kind of opponent this time. Their clash will definitely be one to watch.

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Related links:

Jujutsu Kaisen: How is Kusakabe strong without an Innate Technique? The second-year teacher's abilities, explained

Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 253: Why Atsuya Kusakabe has a better chance of defeating Sukuna than Yuta or Yuji, explored

Who is Usami in Jujutsu Kaisen? The new name everyone's talking about, explained