Episode 29

Premature Death (玉折) is the twenty-ninth episode of the Jujutsu Kaisen anime adaptation and the fifth episode of the second season.

Summary
One year later, Satoru distinguishes himself as the lone strongest while Suguru suffers in silence. Following a number of events after he met Yuki Tsukumo, Suguru chooses his path for the future. This forces Satoru to realize that his strength alone may not be enough to save everyone and he begins investing in the future.

Plot Details
August 2007, one year after the failed escort mission. Suguru and Shoko help Satoru display his progress using the Limitless. He's automated the Infinity, mastered a constantly running reverse cursed technique and is on his way to completing domain expansion. Satoru has undoubtedly distinguished himself as the lone strongest and Suguru has visibly worn himself out. Satoru even asks him if he's lost weight but Suguru assures him things are fine.

Suguru is ultimately sent out on more missions alone and it was a busy summer. He feels trapped in a constant cycle of exorcism and consumption, an experience he compares to eating a rag used to clean vomit. In the shower, Suguru repeats to himself the same things he's been telling himself for a year. He wants to convince himself to be a jujutsu sorcerer that protects others but he can't get the children of the star's clapping out of his head. Suguru eventually breaks and calls them "monkeys" to himself.

While in a lounge by himself, Suguru is happened upon by Yu Haibara. The underclassman sits with Suguru and they talk about his upcoming mission. Suguru asks Haibara if he's sure wants to continue being a sorcerer. Haibara isn't the type to think about it too hard but he wants to continue doing his best into something he can actually do.

A woman suddenly enters the longue and asks the boys what kind of woman is their type. Haibara declares that his type of girl is one with a healthy appetite. Suguru is surprised he answered but Haibara assures him he can tell this woman is a good person. Haibara gives them the room and she introduces herself to Suguru as the special grade sorcerer, Yuki Tsukumo. Suguru knows the name because she's infamous for not taking missions and bumming around overseas. Yuki explains that she wants to create a world without cursed spirits instead of simply hunting them. Two ways to achieve this would require humanity to break away from cursed energy so nobody has it, or optimize cursed energy so everyone can control it.

Yuki originally wanted to pursue the former as Toji Zenin is the only case she discovered where someone had absolutely zero cursed energy. With his death, Yuki is forced to look into the ladder. Suguru offers the radical solution of killing all non-sorcerers. As Yuki goes through the logistics of culling non-sorcerers, Suguru begins to hear the clapping overlapping with the rain outside. Yuki asks Suguru if he hates non-sorcerers but he can't give a clear answer. She helps him realize that he needs to make a choice regarding how he values non-sorcerers and that will shape his future. He can either choose to hate them or reject that part of him and that choice will determine how he truly feels. Yuki leaves after this conversation and expresses slight disappointment that she didn't meet with Satoru Gojo. Before driving off on her motorcycle, Yuki tries toe ase Suguru's mind by letting him know that Tengen's condition is stable.

Sometime after, Yu Haibara's mission goes horribly wrong and he's killed by a cursed spirit that was misjudged. They were sent on a grade 1 mission and Nanami is highly upset afterward. Suguru tells Nanami to rest but he can't shake the feeling that fighting for non-sorcerers is a marathon where only a mountain of his comrades' corpses awaits him at the end. During a mission, Suguru deals with a cursed spirit that was causing trouble in a remote village. However, the villagers blame two little girls, young sorcerers for the mischief. They show Suguru the girls and they've been beaten and trapped in a cage, unable to defend themselves against false claims. Suguru makes his choice and decides to hate non-sorcerers and murders over one-hundred people.

Satoru learns what happened from Masamichi Yaga and can't believe it. Suguru murdered non-sorcerers including his own parents, and has been sentenced to death by headquarters. Satoru is furious but Yaga admits that he doesn't know what's going on anymore either. In Shinjuku, Suguru finds Shoko trying to light a cigarette and they have a friendly exchange. Suguru admits he committed the crimes in order to create a world without non-sorcerers and Shoko calls Satoru.

Satoru confronts Suguru in the city but he refuses to elaborate further or change his stance. Suguru believes there's a point to his actions but Satoru claims his goal is impossible. Suguru argues that Satoru could achieve this goal, which makes it entirely possible. He asks Satoru if he's the strongest because he's Satoru Gojo or if being the strongest makes him who he is. Suguru declares that he's decided to live his life and that he's going to do his best to achieve his goal. He walks away and invites Satoru to kill him if he must, as there is meaning in that as well. Satoru takes aim with Hollow Purple but can't go through with murdering his best friend.

Yaga finds Satoru later on, and they somberlly discuss what happened. Satoru has realized that being the strongest is good enough in the grand scheme to save everyone. Meanwhile, Suguru takes over the remenants of the Time Vessel Association by making an example of Shigeru Sonoda. Suguru hates "monkeys" and he's fully commited to that feeling.

Elsewhere, Satoru finds a young Megumi Fushiguro and greets him with a disgusted face due to his resemblance to Toji. Satoru tells Megumi about his father and their rellationship to the Zenin clan. Megumi doesn't care about Toji because he abandoned them and now Tsumiki's mother has disappeared too. Megumi beleives that they've both left and Satoru allows him to run with that but assures the boy he can learn the truth whenever he wants to ask. Satoru asks if Megumi wants to go to the Zenin clan but expresses that Tsumiki won't be happy as a result. Satoru assures Megumi everything will be fine and uses his influence to protect him from the clan. In return, Satoru only asks that Megumi become strong enough to keep up with him.

A decade later, Satoru wakes up to the sound of his young students, one of them being non-other than Megumi. While Yuji and Nobara fight over the chair Satoru was sleeping in, Megumi notices him smiling and asks what that's about. Proud to see how Megumi has grown, Satoru gleefully assures him its nothing.

Locations

 * Tokyo Jujutsu High
 * Shinjuku
 * House of the Children of the Star

Jujutsu
Satoru Gojo's Techniques
 * Limitless
 * Infinity
 * Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue (Mentioned)
 * Cursed Technique Reversal: Red (Mentioned)
 * Reverse Cursed Technique (Mentioned)

Suguru Geto's Techniques
 * Cursed Spirit Manipulation