Domain Expansion (
Description
Domain Expansion is the most supreme technique of any jujutsu user. It is achieved by expanding one's innate domain with cursed energy while using a barrier to construct it inside a separate space. The caster then imbues their cursed technique within the barrier to complete the expansion, allowing them to deploy their innate ability throughout the entire domain.[2]
A specific hand sign or signal unique to the user is required to expand someone's respective domain.[3][4] From the outside, an ordinary domain barrier is enclosed, making it appear as a floating black sphere that can even be moved if needed.[5][6]
Lethal Domains
Domains that are expanded to be lethal are constructed within a barrier imbued with the user's cursed technique. The caster's abilities are amplified and any cursed techniques deployed within the domain are guaranteed to hit their target. This sure-hit factor is derived from the barrier's embedded technique, which is what makes this type of domain considered lethal. These can't-miss attacks even bypass Satoru Gojo's Infinity.[7] However, not all guaranteed hits are necessarily lethal. Kinji Hakari's domain technically possesses a sure-hit function, but it only transfers information to its target in exchange for faster technique activation and strength in a clash of domains.[8]
Malevolent Shrine's guaranteed hit attacking everything within its range.
Lethal domain expansions require immense skill and cursed energy to construct.[9] Not only do they require the user to manifest a massive artificial environment, but they must be able to erect their barrier and infuse it with their cursed technique in a timely fashion as well. Megumi Fushiguro for example, cannot expand a completed lethal domain because he struggles to create an independent space using a barrier.
Without enclosing the barrier and infusing it with his cursed technique, Megumi's domain doesn't have a guaranteed hit. Due to the overall difficulty of casting a lethal domain, the ability to expand a lethal domain is extremely rare, and even most grade 1 sorcerers are never able to master it.[1]
Only Sukuna and Kenjaku possess the ability to expand a lethal domain without enclosing their barrier. Their barriers possess no outer shell yet still retain a sure-hit. It is akin to painting on air instead of a canvas and is remarked as divine, even by the standards of domains.[10][11]
Non-Lethal Domains
Early domains merely enforced the rules of its cursed technique.
In the past, Domain Expansion was a more common technique because domains weren't constructed to be fatal. They only forced targets inside to obey the rules of the embedded cursed technique. As more domains were constructed to be lethal, the number of users greatly decreased over time. Hiromi Higuruma's Deadly Sentencing is an example of an old-style, non-lethal domain that forces his opponent into a trial.[12]
Incomplete Domains
Innate domains that are expanded using only cursed energy without an embedded cursed technique are incomplete even if they include a barrier.[13][14] In most cases, the same applies to domains without a fully enclosed barrier. Closing the barrier fully integrates the embedded technique into the domain and enables its sure hit effect. Without that, the caster will only receive an improved cursed technique without a can't-miss attack.[15] Barriers forcibly enclosed using the shape of an outside environment also do not incorporate can't-miss attacks.[16]
Drawbacks
Cursed techniques become unstable and burn out after domain expansion.
A high-risk, high-reward maneuver, domain expansion provides a great advantage at the cost of an immense amount of cursed energy. Satoru Gojo is considered to be one of the only individuals who can use domain expansion multiple times in one day.[17] Kinji Hakari is only capable of casting it repeatedly after hitting his domain's jackpot to replenish cursed energy and stabilize his cursed technique.[18]
Even if the domain isn't fully formed, expanding it will exhaust the user's innate technique for a short time after it disappears. Attempting to activate one's technique while it is unstable will cause it to burn out and fail to activate properly.[19][20] Yuta Okkotsu compares recovering an exhausted cursed technique to allowing an overheated engine to cool. Ordinarily, there is no way to shorten this recovery period even with reverse cursed technique.[21] However, Satoru Gojo and Sukuna forcibly healed their exhausted cursed technique by damaging the engraving of their technique in their brains and recovering it with reverse cursed technique. This came with the major drawback of dealing lasting damage to their brains, preventing them from expanding their domain after reaching their limits.[22]
Countermeasures
Megumi creating a hole in Dagon's domain barrier rather than engaging in a tug of war.
A domain's can't-miss attack can sometimes be countered with cursed energy reinforcement, but this is an impractical method. The only true defense against can't-miss attacks for those who cannot expand their own domain are anti-domain techniques. New Shadow Style: Simple Domain and Hollow Wicker Basket neutralize the barrier's embedded technique in order to nullify the guaranteed-hit function.[23]
Domains are nearly impossible to escape from the inside. The cubic volume of the space appears completely different on the inside, making finding the boundary's location difficult for anyone trapped inside. Anyone searching for the edge of the domain is likely to be killed by its can't-miss attack and the barrier is reinforced from the inside even if they did find it.[24] However, the more the barrier is reinforced from the inside, the more vulnerable it is to penetration from the outside. In specific situations, an ally of the domain's target can break in from the outside to rescue them.[25]
Domain Clash
A clash of even domains.
The best countermeasure against an opposing domain is to expand one's own domain. This will engage both combatants into a clash of domains where the more refined domain will conquer.[26][27] The time it takes for one domain to dominate in a clash varies on that difference in refinement, with an example being Satoru Gojo's superior domain immediately dominating Jogo's while Dagon's domain took a much more significant amount of time to subdue Megumi's. In the case of overlapping domains, sure-hit effects cancel each other out.[28] When two domains are completely even and the users fight with their domains open, the moment one combatant takes heavy damage or their domain collapses, the other's can't-miss attack will immediately strike.[29] A clash of three domains is even more complicated than two and too many conflicting factors can cause the barriers to shatter before the domains are completely formed.[30]
Domain clashes don't always have to result in one domain conquering the other. Using Domain Expansion against a more refined domain can create a hole in the barrier for them to escape from as well.[31][32]
List of Domain Expansions
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References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Jujutsu Kaisen Manga and Anime: Chapter 30 (p. 2) and Episode 13.
- ↑ Jujutsu Kaisen Manga and Anime: Chapter 15 (pp. 10-11) and Episode 7.
- ↑ Jujutsu Kaisen Manga and Anime: Chapter 15 (pp. 8, 14) and Episode 7.
- ↑ Jujutsu Kaisen Manga: Chapter 190 (p. 6).
- ↑ Jujutsu Kaisen Manga: Chapter 189 (p. 4).
- ↑ Jujutsu Kaisen Manga: Chapter 252 (p. 1).
- ↑ Jujutsu Kaisen Manga and Anime: Chapter 15 (pp. 11-12) and Episode 7.
- ↑ Jujutsu Kaisen Manga: Chapter 187 (p. 1).
- ↑ Jujutsu Kaisen Manga: Chapter 164 (p. 8).
- ↑ Jujutsu Kaisen Manga and Anime: Chapter 119 (pp. 2-3) and Episode 41.
- ↑ Jujutsu Kaisen Manga: Chapter 206 (pp. 6-7).
- ↑ Jujutsu Kaisen Manga: Chapter 164 (pp. 7-8).
- ↑ Jujutsu Kaisen Manga and Anime: Chapter 6 (p. 8) and Episode 4.
- ↑ Jujutsu Kaisen Manga and Anime: Chapter 56 (p. 16) and Episode 22.
- ↑ Jujutsu Kaisen Manga and Anime: Chapter 58 (pp. 14-16) and Episode 23.
- ↑ Jujutsu Kaisen Manga: Chapter 171 (p. 6).
- ↑ Jujutsu Kaisen Manga and Anime: Chapter 109 (p. 13) and Episode 39.
- ↑ Jujutsu Kaisen Manga: Chapter 186 (p. 19).
- ↑ Jujutsu Kaisen Manga and Anime: Chapter 130 (p. 9) and Episode 45.
- ↑ Jujutsu Kaisen Manga: Chapter 179 (p. 11).
- ↑ Jujutsu Kaisen Manga: Chapter 227 (p. 3).
- ↑ Jujutsu Kaisen Manga: Chapter 230 (pp. 10-11).
- ↑ Jujutsu Kaisen Manga: Chapter 171 (p. 5).
- ↑ Jujutsu Kaisen Manga: Vol. 13 (p. 70).
- ↑ Jujutsu Kaisen Manga and Anime: Chapter 109 (p. 19) and Episode 39.
- ↑ Jujutsu Kaisen Manga and Anime: Chapter 15 (pp. 12-13) and Episode 7.
- ↑ Jujutsu Kaisen Manga and Anime: Chapter 109 (pp. 4-5) and Episode 39.
- ↑ Jujutsu Kaisen Manga: Chapter 179 (p. 2).
- ↑ Jujutsu Kaisen Manga: Chapter 225 (pp. 14-15).
- ↑ Jujutsu Kaisen Manga: Chapter 179 (p. 7).
- ↑ Jujutsu Kaisen Manga and Anime: Chapter 30 (p. 14) and Episode 13.
- ↑ Jujutsu Kaisen Manga and Anime: Chapter 109 (p. 13) and Episode 39.
- ↑ Jujutsu Kaisen Manga and Anime: Chapter 119 (p. 2-7) and Episode 41.
- ↑ Jujutsu Kaisen Manga and Anime: Chapter 15 (p. 8-11) and Episode 7.
- ↑ Jujutsu Kaisen Manga and Anime: Chapter 15 (p. 14-17) and Episode 7.
- ↑ Jujutsu Kaisen Manga and Anime: Chapter 108 (p. 2-3) and Episode 38.
- ↑ Jujutsu Kaisen Manga and Anime: Chapter 30 (p. 2) and Episode 13.
- ↑ Jujutsu Kaisen Manga and Anime: Chapter 58 (p. 14-15) and Episode 23.
- ↑ Jujutsu Kaisen Manga and Anime: Chapter 102 (p. 8) and Episode 38.
- ↑ Jujutsu Kaisen Manga: Chapter 164 (p. 2-5).
- ↑ Jujutsu Kaisen Manga: Chapter 186 (p. 17-19).
- ↑ Jujutsu Kaisen Manga: Chapter 198 (p. 4-7).
- ↑ Jujutsu Kaisen Manga: Chapter 206 (p. 6-10).
- ↑ Jujutsu Kaisen Manga: Chapter 219 (p. 12-13).
- ↑ Jujutsu Kaisen Manga: Chapter 249 (p. 16-18).
- ↑ Jujutsu Kaisen Manga: Chapter 265 (p. 1-7).
- ↑ Jujutsu Kaisen Manga: Chapter 267 (p. 16).