Kenjaku

Kenjaku is one of the primary antagonists of the Jujutsu Kaisen series. He is an ancient curse user who has existed for over a thousand years using his innate technique, which allows him to transplant his brain into other people to control them. He has inhabited different individuals throughout the centuries and assumed their identities. Among those he has possessed include the blight of the Kamo clan who created the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings, Noritoshi Kamo, the mother of Yuji Itadori, Kaori Itadori, and Suguru Geto, who's corpse Kenjaku is currently possessing to exploit his Cursed Spirit Manipulation.

Appearance
It is unknown what Kenjaku's original body looked like. He can only be distinguished by the stitches and scars that circle the top of his vessel's head. These are from the procedure required to transfer Kenjaku's brain, his only personal feature, into his host. Unlike a conventional brain, Kenjaku's has teeth.

In Suguru Geto's body, Kenjaku looks exactly as Suguru did during the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons, the day of his death.

Personality
Kenjaku is someone who has existed under countless identities for over a thousand years. There are even moments where he acts like whomever he's possessing unintentionally, such as when he caught himself suddenly acting like Suguru. Despite constantly assuming different identities, Kenjaku retains a strong core personality. He is calm and calculating, rarely displaying signs of panic or distress and often has entire scenarios planned out in advance. At times he can appear cheerful, playful, and even charming, but he is a manipulative, and deeply egotistical individual who will stop at nothing to further his ambitions regardless of who he harms.

While Kenjaku is uncaring and aloof when it comes to things that disinterest him, he's very talkative when it comes to himself or his interests. Kenjaku has a habit of going on long monologues and enjoys drawing out small talk without anyone, even his enemies. This can vary from casually educating someone on the state of the world or ruthlessly taunting his opponents. Kenjaku's demeanor is often optimistic and outspoken, but it carries an aura of condescension, which often infuriates those he is talking to, even his allies. Uraume in particular finds Kenjaku annoying and doesn't enjoy his company at all despite them being longtime comrades. Kenjaku is unapologetically arrogant because he possesses skills that back it up. This empowers him to carry his aura of superiority into dangerous situations. He will attack and severely injure someone all while casually explaining his ideals, goals, or abilities as if he's educating them. Even when faced with Satoru Gojo, Kenjaku made jokes and casually taunted him as if Satoru didn't confront him with the intent to kill.

Kenjaku doesn't intentionally intimidate anyone or control people through fear to get them to serve his interests. He manipulates them in clever ways using his charm to convince them they share a common goal. The mighty Sukuna, the calamity of aggression that disregards all else, worked with Kenjaku to split his soul into twenty cursed objects after death. Sukuna even protected Kenjaku from Satoru Gojo and agreed not to fight him before their agreement was concluded. While Kenjaku's manipulative tactics don't rely on fear-mongering, they don't rely on loyalty or respectful leadership either. Kenjaku simply knows how to play people and use their desires for his own ends. Kenjaku convinced hundreds of sorcerers over hundreds of years to join the Culling Game as a second chance at life, a situation they could thrive in as blood-thirsty warriors. Several curse users in Shibuya worked with Kenjaku in order to rid themselves of Satoru Gojo. In the case where an entity Kenjaku wants to use doesn't share an enemy or an objective, he will fabricate one. He went to a foreign power in the United States military and convinced them to invade Japan under the guise of abducting sorcerers to study cursed energy as a potentially sustainable resource. In reality, he tricked them into entering the Culling Game's colonies only to sacrifice their soldiers for his plan.

Kenjaku worked with Mahito's group of cursed spirits to work with him toward a world ruled by curses. While this isn't exactly what Kenjaku desires, his own interests aligned with theirs at the time. He gave them advice, spent time playing games with them, and supported Mahito and the others. However, Kenjaku believes himself superior to cursed spirits and was completely indifferent to the demise of Mahito's group in Shibuya. His only regret was not being able to absorb Jogo before his death. Kenjaku only stopped Yuji from exorcising Mahito so that he could absorb him and even thanked him for drawing out Mahito's strength.

Kenjaku's self-centered tendencies are driven by his boundless curiosity. Even after existing for hundreds of years, he's fascinated by the possibilities presented by cursed energy. He essentially wants to know the true potential of cursed energy in the form of a being and believes he can discover it by creating uncontrollable chaos. This is why he created the Death Womb Paintings only to discard them when he was disappointed with their "normal" outcome. He has no interest in anything unrelated to his ultimate goal and only looks to build toward his endgame. Never missing an opportunity to flaunt his ideals, Kenjaku discussed his goal with Yuki and Choso on two separate occasions. Kenjaku told Yuki Tsukumo that humanity's future lay in optimizing cursed energy and that, unlike Suguru Geto, he doesn't desire a world without cursed spirits. He admitted to Choso that he plans on merging the citizens of Japan into one entity simply because it seems like fun. He compared it to being a toddler holding a crayon with a blank piece of paper. Kenjaku even admitted that if that entity ended up being a funny face, that would be hilarious to him.

Tengen and Kenjaku used to be friends at some point but now Kenjaku considers the former a shut-in. He doesn't believe that's any way to exist and claims that he's truly lived by comparison. Having lived across a thousand years of conflicts and alliances, Kenjaku perceives the world as cursed one. He has profound contempt for all modern social structures, people, and philosophies that favor passivity and maintaining the status quo. He feels as if Japanese people incorrectly believe their lives are stable when in reality they're always on the brink of ruin. He knows not everyone will risk their lives while others are willing to die at any time without any hope for the future. Kenjaku despises both sides, believing that everyone should know the feeling of approaching their ideals step by step.

Abilities and Powers
Overall Skill Level: Kenjaku is an ancient sorcerer who has accumulated a wealth of jujutsu-related knowledge and experience over the course of a thousand years. His advanced understanding of jujutsu sorcery is second to none with numerous feats that display his talent. As Noritoshi Kamo, Kenjaku invented the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings and became known as the evilest curse user in history. He is the only person who knows how to turn a sorcerer into a cursed object after death, something not even Sukuna knew how to do during the Heian Era. He is also the second most powerful barrier user after Tengen, recognized as one of few sorcerers who can match them in barrier techniques.

Kenjaku possesses the bodies of other sorcerers and utilizes their techniques in addition to his own natural skillset. He uses Cursed Spirit Manipulation with the same degree of skill as his current host, Suguru Geto. He took Suguru’s body specifically for this technique and has a masterful understanding of how it works and how best to use it for his ambitions. He forced Mei Mei, a grade 1 sorcerer who is familiar with Geto's technique, to retreat.

Kenjaku not only expertly applies the technique to battle but used its applications to set up his schemes as well. For example, he absorbed Mahito with Cursed Spirit Manipulation and then used Mahito’s Idle Transfiguration to set up the Culling Game. He also used the technique to absorb Tengen, who had evolved into a more cursed spirit than human, continuing to further his own ends.

Kenjaku’s talent extends well beyond jujutsu sorcery. He is an excellent unarmed combatant, is highly intelligent, and is an unrivaled mastermind when it comes to underhanded schemes. Kenjaku was the orchestrator of both the Shibuya Incident and the Culling Game, two of the largest jujutsu terrorist events in modern history. Not only were they both effectively set up and executed, but went nearly perfectly to plan. The Shibuya Incident successfully sealed Satoru Gojo, the strongest sorcerer of the modern age. Kenjaku and Uraume effortlessly held off a group of sorcerers who attempted to reclaim Satoru at the end of the incident. Yuji Itadori was completely outclassed against Kenjaku and even Choso was unable to deal any significant damage. Not only did Kenjaku escape unscathed with Prison Realm, but successfully began preparations for the Culling Game as well.

The combination of Kenjaku's ambition, manipulative tactics, and overall talent in jujutsu allowed him to establish a convoluted competition like the Culling Game. He used a complex blend of several sorcery techniques to create the Culling Game. So complex in fact, that Tengen had to hold an in-depth conversation with their allies to explain exactly how the Culling Game operates. Kenjaku invited a thousand players over the course of millennia, set up numerous colonies using Tengen’s pure barriers as a foundation, and established the rules of the game using a series of intricate binding vows. Some of the vows Kenjaku took upon himself include not being a game master and to end what was permanent. Kenjaku's plan was so well thought out that his enemies, the Jujutsu High sorcerers, had no choice but to participate.

Kenjaku displayed the full range of his abilities when he bested Yuki Tsukumo, a special grade sorcerer, Choso, a special grade Death Painting Womb, and Tengen, all by himself. His barrier prowess enabled him to invade the Tombs of the Star without trouble, something Tengen had no doubts he’d be able to accomplish. One-on-one, Kenjaku had Choso completely overmatched and his opponent was unable to land a single hit. Initially, Kenjaku easily overpowered Choso using only low-level cursed spirits reinforced with his cursed energy. Even when Choso managed to surprise his creator, he failed to land an attack because Kenjaku possessed another cursed technique. Kenjaku wanted to win without revealing this technique but his arsenal of sorcery abilities are what ultimately pushed him to victory.

Yuki proved a far greater challenge than Choso, capable of overcoming any cursed spirit Kenjaku threw at her. He was forced to use everything in his arsenal to defeat Yuki, displaying his most advanced feats of jujutsu to date. As a master of barriers, Kenjaku possesses the divine skill to expand his domain without enclosing the outer shell. Only he and Sukuna are capable of doing so, not even Satoru Gojo can expand his domain without closing the barrier. The strength of Kenjaku’s barrier ripped Yuki’s simple domain to shreds and his domain’s can’t-miss attack dealt massive damage.

Even with his domain dispelled and his cursed techniques burnt out, Kenjaku held his own against Yuki and Choso at the same time. When backed into a corner, he used clever, unpredictable, spur-of-the-moment actions to survive. (i.e. removing the top half of his head off to deflect Choso’s Piercing Blood). Unlikely to brute force his way past Yuki, Kenjaku won by outsmarting her. He let her believe victory was at hand so she’d be caught off guard by the clever ways he used his techniques. Kenjaku even survived Yuki’s last-ditch effort, a black hole, by yet again using a complex blend of jujutsu mechanics.

Kenjaku’s victory over Yuki and Choso made their allies, other powerful sorcerers, recognize that he could not be defeated with conventional means. While Kenjaku openly recognizes that he is no match for Satoru Gojo, he confidently takes on any other opponent in his path. With Suguru Geto's body, he wields an army of cursed spirits capable of single-handedly conquering a nation.

Master Hand-to-Hand Combatant: Kenjaku possesses masterful skills in close combat that can stand up to nearly any opponent. Like Suguru Geto, Kenjaku is a highly capable close-range combatant despite being a curse manipulator. He mainly uses taijutsu to supplement his sorcery, but Kenjaku is fully capable of relying on hand-to-hand combat if need be.

Kenjaku effortlessly caught Kasumi Miwa's katana while unarmed and snapped the blade with a simple clench of his fist. Moments later he held off Choso's assault in Shibuya with contemptible ease. Kenjaku casually parried every strike Choso threw at him while easily landing his own hits.

In the Tombs of the Star, Kenjaku once again made taking out Choso look easy by using close combat in combination with Cursed Spirit Manipulation. Yuki Tsukumo, who specializes in close combat, proved more of a challenge. However, Kenjaku held off both Yuki and Choso at the same time on his own. Kenjaku's cursed techniques were burnt out and he was forced to rely solely on taijutsu to survive. While he couldn't get off any attacks due to the sheer volume of offense coming at him, Kenjaku effectively defended himself until his techniques were replenished while only suffering moderate damage.

Immense Tactical Intellect: Kenjaku is a thousand-year-old individual who has accumulated a vast amount of knowledge. This includes general information, knowledge about sorcery, and strategic intellect. He is extraordinarily clever and is a masterful calculating criminal mastermind. This is due in part to his wealth of knowledge about jujutsu as well as his talent for manipulation and tactical forecasting. He had a long-term goal and potted out numerous steps towards achieving his endgame over the course of hundreds of years. Kenjaku knew he could not defeat the Six Eyes and created a plan to seal Satoru Gojo rather than defeat him. He manipulated strong allies toward the cause and analyzed Satoru to devise a plan to defeat the near-unbeatable sorcerer. What Kenjaku found was that Satoru was strongest when fighting alone and so he developed a plan to put Satoru in a situation where he'd be bogged down and stifled. Using the cursed spirits to apply pressure, Kenjaku created the perfect conditions and successfully sealed the strongest sorcerer. With that obstacle removed, Kenjaku moved along with his plans for merging humanity with Tengen. He planned for the Culling Game hundreds of years in advance as a ritual for reaching his end goal. Many individuals including civilians, sorcerers, and even government officials were manipulated into playing a part in this ritual, all according to Kenjaku's plans. Even the return of Satoru Gojo was accounted for and Sukuna was effectively used to help Kenjaku's plans proceed.

Kenjaku's cerebral approach to combat is well supported by his extraordinary mastery of jujutsu. Barrier techniques are complicated to most sorcerers but Kenjaku can wield them with enough skill to rival Tengen. He used them to great effect during the Shibuya Incident to create the conditions needed to seal Satoru Gojo. He utilizes a plethora of sorcery techniques in battle and applies them in clever ways to overcome his opponents. Advanced applications of multiple techniques are what allowed him to overcome Choso and Yuki, two high-level sorcerers.

Battles & Events
Shibuya Incident Arc
 * The Shibuya Incident
 * Jujutsu Sorcerers vs. Kenjaku & Uraume

Culling Game Arc
 * Culling Game (Orchestrator)
 * Yuki Tsukumo & Choso vs. Kenjaku

Trivia

 * According to Jujutsu Kaisen Official Fanbook:
 * He was able to take over Geto because his body was not cremated.
 * He doesn't heal the scar on his forehead because it's a Binding Vow.
 * The brain that takes over Geto's body is a physical part of Kenjaku's flesh so that ordinary people can see him. He has his own technique in the body that he left behind so that he can have two cursed techniques. When he moves over, the technique from his original body disappears, but he has a lot of tricks up his sleeve.
 * Mahito's group does not know someone has taken over Geto's body. They think he is a curse user who knows a lot.
 * He has a strictly business-only relationship with the other cursed spirits. In reality, he looks down on the cursed spirits who have organized themselves to overtake humanity and doesn't take them too seriously.
 * He can use his technique on his fellow cursed spirits in a one-on-one fight. Nonetheless, he believes Jogo and Mahito will be particularly tough.
 * He has never considered taking over the bodies of Gojo and Toji. Gojo is an impossible option since he is unbeatable. Toji isn't impossible, but if Kenjaku was to take over Toji's body, there’s a chance that Toji's Heavenly Restriction and Kenjaku's technique may clash.

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Kenjaku