What Happened to Gojo in Shibuya Arc? Gojo Satoru’s Downfall

In every Shounen anime, there is always a momentous event that progresses the story. This usually means a character receives a power-up or a character dies. Regardless of the plot device, it serves to be fuel for other characters to get stronger. In Jujutsu Kaisen, it’s a matter of both.

The Shibuya Incident Arc is the longest arc of Jujutsu Kaisen so far. Spanning 472 days in publication, it contains many twists and turns to keep readers on their toes. Many characters revealed their strengths and weaknesses. Some even died and elevated the story to bigger heights. And most importantly: Gojo’s failure. In this article, we will be talking about what happened to Gojo in Shibuya Arc. Spoilers ahead! You’ve been warned.

What Happened to Gojo in Shibuya? The Context

Before we proceed to what happens to Gojo, some context is much needed. After all, like every great arc, the Shibuya Incident had a lot of setups before its illustration. For everyone’s sake, I will keep this section as short as possible.

Kenjaku’s Planning

One thing, or things, you must keep in mind for this article are the Special Grade Curses. In previous arcs and behind the scenes, the Special Grade Curses have been the villains. However, Gege made it so that they are not random enemies. The ones to show up in the Shibuya Incident Arc are the same ones Yuji and the crew have been fighting. Of all the Curses, there are two primary ones to look out for Mahito and Kenjaku.

Kenjaku has been planning for the Shibuya Incident all along. All the previous arcs have been Kenjaku boosting his forces and getting information. He also used this time to make other Special Grade Curses loyal to him. One brilliant example is Jogo, whom he provoked to fight Gojo. Jogo’s loss is what led him to follow Kenjaku. This is important because it will be because of Kenjaku’s planning that Gojo gets sealed.

Gojo’s Philosophy for Civilians

His battle with Geto left Gojo with some lasting scars. He was unable to believe that his friend turned rogue. The man’s admirable ideas were shattered and replaced with something more sinister. Perhaps in a way to honor his friend, Gojo had learned to become more prudent. Instead of not caring about the weak, he had learned to discipline himself. Since then, he made it so he would minimize civilian casualties caused by his actions. This would come into play later on.

The Consequences of Gojo’s Actions

The final things to keep in mind are the consequences of Gojo’s actions. There are two primary consequences to look out for. The mole from the Kyoto Goodwill Event Arc, and his hostility towards the Elders of Jujutsu Society.

The first consequence is what would breed distrust between Sorcerers. This break of unity would lead to the delayed response in Shibuya Incident Arc. Gojo had even chosen to pay Mei Mei to find the mole instead of trusting in Utahime. To his mind, the mole might be listening in on his conversations with Utahime. Thus, she cannot be trusted to find the mole.

The second consequence is what led to Gojo being branded a villain and not being unsealed. His constant hostility with the higher-ups had irked them greatly enough. When Gojo was sealed, only his friends close to him rushed to his protection. Other Jujutsu Sorcerers stayed behind and let them do the work.

Now, let’s get to what happened in Shibuya.

What Happened to Gojo in Shibuya Incident Arc?

Long story short: Gojo was sealed during the Shibuya Incident Arc. Kenjaku was able to get the jump on him and shattered the power rankings in one go. However, more things happened in Shibuya than you’d think.

The Beginning of the End

The events leading to the Shibuya Incident are sprayed with distrust. Gojo had been in the middle of his investigations following the mole incident. On October 19, 2018, he sent his three students to Utahime. He hoped that with the trio, they would be able to help Utahime uncover the truths of what happened. They are to investigate Kokichi Muta, who is thought to be responsible for the attack.
This would prove to be true as, later on, the student would seek Gojo for assistance. Unfortunately, he would die before he had the chance.

Left with no information whatsoever, Gojo came into the fight blind. On October 31, a large Curtain would be erected over Shibuya. It covered the area at the center of the Tokyu Department Store within a 400-meter radius. The development of this barrier was already a cause of concern. However, It’s the condition set in the barrier that worried the Sorcerers. Only civilians are trapped inside, meaning they are in a precarious situation.

With the mole being unknowingly killed, the Jujutsu Society had sent a few sorcerers to do the job. The first plan was to destroy the barrier, but it proved ineffective. The only method to free the citizens was to take out the Curse user who erected it. However, hope was not all lost. When the Sorcerers came into contact with the citizens, they were all saying the same thing. “Bring Satoru Gojo”.

Phase 1: 20 Minutes before Domain Expansion

Due to Gojo’s hostilities and the distrust in Jujutsu Society, the higher-ups were willing to throw him into the barrier. The authorities had instructed all Jujutsu Sorcerers on sight to be on standby. Gojo Satoru would then go into the barrier alone and minimize casualties. This arrangement made it impossible for Gojo to receive any reinforcements in time. Regardless, the man powered through. By 8:31 PM, he arrived in Shibuya.

Gojo noted the crowds and was able to tell what the Curses wanted. He floated down to the subway where he is confronted by three Curses. As Hanami blocked the exits, the four engaged in battle. However, Gojo is left with a disadvantage. The four Curses used the citizens as meat shields and had them mixed during their battle. This made the Six Eyes user unable to use his Domain Expansion and stronger techniques.

To make it worse, Jogo and Hanami’s previous bouts with Gojo helped them to make a counterattack. With the help of Kenjaku, they were taught how to use Domain Amplification. Now, all they had to do was distract Gojo for 20 minutes. Unfortunately for them, Gojo was still strong enough. Even when he disabled Infinity to reduce civilian casualties, he could overpower the curses. He was able to kill Hanami with ease. This caused Jogo and Choso to retreat into the crowd to stop Gojo from taking them out.

Phase 2: Past 20 Minutes: Train Full of Monsters

The civilians are unable to see Cursed Techniques and Curses. So, to them, it looked like Gojo was fighting air. This made them give the man a wide berth and stayed away from him. While this gave Gojo the chance to attack the curses easier, it limited his options. He also became an easier target for Jogo and Choso. He simply couldn’t disable his Infinity since he would kill civilians. But he also cannot come closer to them without getting more civilians killed.

Eventually, the 20 Minutes time would be up. The distraction for 20 minutes wasn’t just something to wear out Gojo, but to prepare for the next phase. A train would soon arrive in Shibuya with modified humans. These monsters would wreak havoc in Shibuya and kill all bystanders. This would confuse Gojo as the situation didn’t make sense to him. He didn’t have time to think as Mahito joined the battle.

The chaos would push Gojo to his limits. With civilians dying left and right, he needed to think something fast. Due to his philosophy, he couldn’t just use his attack. He wanted to avoid killing people with his techniques. So, with nothing left to use, he gambled on his Domain Expansion.
Gojo quickly thought up the calculations in his mind when he deployed his technique. His Domain Expansion of 0.2 Seconds would subject half a year’s worth of information to those caught up in it.

Admittedly, it was a rough estimate. He hoped that any human caught within would only need rehabilitation for two months. During this time though, the humans would be unconscious and Gojo can do as he pleased. Working as fast as he could, he annihilated as much as he could within 299 seconds.

Phase 3: Gojo’s Imprisonment

Gojo had overworked and exhausted himself after using his Domain Expansion. Due to the domains disabling a user’s technique right after, he was left vulnerable. Kenjaku did not waste his time and immediately deployed Prison Realm. A weakened Gojo was unable to quickly react. Although, there was a problem. The Prison Realm can only imprison someone within a four-meter radius after one minute. Gojo was more than fast enough to escape its radius.

This is when Kenjaku hammered the final nail. Occupying Geto’s body, he appeared before Gojo. The latter was unable to believe his eyes. He knew that he had killed Geto, but the impossibility he was seeing had caused him to freeze. Three years of his time with Geto flooded his mind. At that same time, it took one minute for Gojo to fully process what happened. Unable to resist, he was captured by the Prison Realm.

Gojo would shout at Kenjaku to ask who he was, and the man would reveal everything. That he had planned to seal Gojo and that there would be no one who could save him. With no resistance, Gojo would be sealed and be stuck in the box for chapters to come.

This was the end of Gojo’s appearance in the manga until he is unsealed.

Why was Gojo Traumatized?

It is understandable why the mere sight of Geto caused Gojo to freeze is questionable to many. The answer to this question lies in what his Six Eyes provided him. Gojo knew that Geto was dead because he was the one to kill him. However, when he saw Geto, he didn’t see Kenjaku immediately. His Six Eyes saw his best friend instead. This shock at seeing his friend supposedly being alive is what caused him to freeze.

How did this happen you may ask? It’s because Gojo saw Geto’s soul. The way souls worked in Jujutsu Kaisen is that they are intertwined with the body. This meant that even when Kenjaku was possessing him, Geto was still there.

What Happened to Gojo After Shibuya Incident Arc?

The events that happened after Shibuya Incident tore apart the Jujutsu Society. Many Jujutsu Sorcerers died and the strongest was sealed away. To make matters worse, Gojo was framed for the events.

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