Jujutsu Kaisen: Will Kenjaku Return?

Kenjaku was always seen to be the evil mastermind of Jujutsu Kaisen and his actions throughout the series definitely fulfilled that role for him. Due to over 1000 years of meticulous planning, manipulating and body-hopping, Kenjaku's dream was realized with the beginning of the Culling Game, a massive battle-royale of sorcerers that would leak out tons of Cursed Energy to fulfill his grand plan of making a gigantic, all-encompassing Cursed Spirit to satisfy his curiosity of such an event.

However, his time in the series was cut very short due to his sudden death in Chapter 243 of the Jujutsu Kaisen manga. Although many fans of the series felt this to be a very quick and unceremonious way to kill off such a powerful character, there may still be more to him that remains to be seen. So, let's break down if there is a chance that Kenjaku will return to the story or not!

What Happened to Kenjaku?

During Sukuna's fight with the rest of Jujutsu High, Kenjaku was seen to be off on his own, setting the stage for his plan to finally come into fruition. This was when he came across Fumihiko Takaba. Someone who initially seemed to be fodder for Kenjaku turned out to be a sorcerer with arguably the most powerful Cursed Technique in the entire series, which led to a hilarious and quite memorable battle between the two.

Takaba's Cursed Technique essentially allowed him to do anything that he wanted, but only with the caveat that Takaba had to find it funny, though this was something that Takaba himself had no clue about. Due to this, the fight was all over the place and featured some of the most bizarre occurrences one could imagine, with entire areas and absurd scenarios spawning out of nowhere.

Being the genius that he was, however, Kenjaku was able to see through these tricks and eventually figured out how to beat Takaba, doing so in an unexpectedly wholesome way. After confronting Takaba's technique, Kenjaku defeats the comedian, stating that despite losing the fight, his opponent was hilarious and strong, as he was able to make the ancient sorcerer laugh and enjoy his time in the battle.

However, when Kenjaku is busy with Takaba's send-off, Yuta Okkotsu appears behind him out of nowhere and swiftly cuts off his head, seemingly killing off the villain. In the following dialogue, it is revealed that this was the plan from the start, as Takaba cannot kill anyone. Here, Kenjaku reveals in his last words that his will shall be inherited and carried on, implying that this is the last we will see of him.

Can Kenjaku Come Back?

Despite how Kenjaku's final battle played out, many fans even take his last words to mean that the world of Jujutsu Kaisen has not seen the last of the ancient sorcerer! Kenjaku is an ancient curse user and is by far the smartest character in the entire series, so to see him so easily bested and going out in such a way does not fit his character, especially when considering that his plan still needs to be carried out.

One such way that fans think that he can be brought back is through Gojo's body. This has been a prevailing fan theory ever since the strongest sorcerer of the modern age met his end at the hands of Sukuna, as his body was never seen again. Since Shoko Ieri was shown to be near to where the battle of the strongest took place and also hasn't been seen for a while herself, many fans believe that she may use her external Reverse Cursed Technique in an attempt to heal Gojo's body in time.

If something like this were to happen, Kenjaku may take over Gojo's body. Or, the theory states that Kenjaku could take over the dead body and heal it through his own Reverse Cursed Technique, as he even healed Geto's horrible injuries upon taking over his body at the end of the Jujutsu Kaisen 0 movie. By doing this, he would not only have Gojo's techniques but would also be able to use the previous techniques he had claimed from Geto as well as the ones he had before, something that would definitely have him surpass even Sukuna.

However, in reality, there is almost no chance of Kenjaku coming back into the fold. The very act of claiming Gojo's body for himself seems very far-fetched, as he is effectively immobile after having his head chopped off, while Gojo has been cut into 2 pieces from the stomach. Since the stomach is where Cursed Energy flows out to the rest of the body, taking over Gojo at that stage still probably won't achieve anything, because the center of Cursed Energy is effectively eliminated, due to which healing with Reverse Cursed Technique may be impossible.

It is still not confirmed if simply cutting off Kenjaku's head will kill him for sure, however. This is because his true form is that of a brain with a mouth, which does not rely on the traditional body make-up of regular sorcerers. With the information that is currently available, though, Kenjaku's last words about having his will carried on do seem to imply his death, and his return in Gojo's body, or anyone else's for that matter, is also highly unlikely.

Jujutsu Kaisen can be streamed on Amazon Prime and Netflix.