Jujutsu Kaisen: Where Is Yuta Now, During the Shibuya Incident?

We have already written many times about Yuta Okkotsu here on Jujutsu Kaisen, and it makes sense that the protagonist of Jujutsu Kaisen 0 and the original protagonist of the whole series (as envisioned by Akutami before Yuji was created) is so popular. This article will also be about Yuta, as we will talk about what happened to him before his return in the Itadori’s Extermination Arc of the manga. So, want to know where Yuta was during the Shibuya Incident? Keep reading to find out.

As was confirmed by the fact that Yuta returned to Japan only at the beginning of the Itadori’s Extermination Arc, Yut was still studying abroad during the Shibuya Incident. We don’t know where he was or what he was doing then, but we know that he went with Miguel abroad after Jujutsu Kaisen 0. He was mentioned several times in the main series, but we don’t know where he was. After hearing about Gojo being sealed, he returned to Japan to save Yuji’s life and to help his allies free his former mentor from the Prison Realm, which they ultimately managed to do.

This article will focus on Yuta Okkutsu as we explain what happened to him in the series. Namely, we will go over his story up to the point of his return to the Itadori’s Extermination Arc, which is also how we will reveal to you what happened to him and where he was during the Shibuya Incident Arc. In this case, we would usually warn you about spoilers, but since there is not much to spoil, as Yuta doesn’t really have an arc here, we will just tell you to be mildly careful as some new details might be revealed.

Yuta was abroad during the Shibuya Incident, but that is all we know at this moment

As far as Yuta Okkotsu and his story go, he is the protagonist of Jujutsu Kaisen 0, whom Akutami originally envisioned as the protagonist of the whole series before he decided to revamp Jujutsu Kaisen with Yuji Itadori as the protagonist. Yuta is very different from Yuji, although their stories share some important points, but that is a topic for another article. What interests us now is what happened to Yuta in the story.

As it was thought, Yuta was initially accompanied by Rika Orimoto’s cursed spirit. This special-level curse seemingly cursed Yuta and followed him around after the real Rika died in a car accident. Yuta’s case was taken on by Gojo, who enrolled him at the Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical College, where he became friends with Maki, Toge, and Panda. Due to his exceptional powers and Rika’s strength, he was soon targeted by Suguru Geto, who wanted to steal Rika from him and use her to achieve his ultimate goal.

Suguru Geto, who was actually a former classmate of Gojo’s who turned evil after becoming disenchanted with the roles that jujutsu sorcerers and humans play in the world, was ultimately defeated by Yuta in the prequel series’ final battle after Yuta learned to control his cursed energy and develop as a skilled swordsman through training with Gojo and the other students. This was an unexpected turn of events, but it showed just how much potential Yuta had.

Gojo later killed Geto, but as Gojo couldn’t dispose of his friend’s body, it was stolen and possessed by Kenjaku, who wanted Geto’s powerful Innate Technique for himself. But this is also a different story. So, what happened to Yuta in the meantime?

Well, Satoru Gojo stated, on more than one occasion, that Yuta had enormous potential and that he was one of only three characters – alongside Yuji Itadori and Kinji Hakari – who could actually surpass him in terms of powers and abilities. That is why Satoru Gojo cared a lot for Yuta and, knowing his condition and potential decided to send him abroad to train with Miguel and hone his skills to become more powerful. We don’t really know much – if anything – about this period, which functioned as a sort of time skip for Yuta, as Akutami failed to deliver any details.

He was mentioned as being abroad during the Fearsome Womb Arc when Megumi mentioned his name while talking to Nobara. He was once again mentioned at the very beginning of the Shibuya Incident Arc. Namely, when Satoru Gojo was actually caught by the box that would send him to the Prison Realm, he told Pseudo-Geto (Kenjaku) that they still had Yuta on their side, but Pseudo-Geto simply brushed it off, saying that Geto, whose body he had possessed, had already fought Yuta and that without the real Riko, who had since been released of her bond with Yuta, Yuta was not as powerful.

He then added that Yuta would never become the “next Satoru Gojo,” as Gojo was being sealed away in the Prison Realm. Now, inside, Gojo was a bit angry at himself because he fell for Kenjaku’s trick, but he expressed his hope that his students and friends would take care of things in his absence.

So, did Yuta appear during the Shibuya Incident? Well, he actually did not. Namely, he was simply mentioned by Gojo and Pseudo-Geto, but he did not make an appearance personally, which confirms that he was still abroad at the time, but he would come back to the series quite soon.

Namely, it makes sense that Yuta was not there. Although Gojo obviously made a contingency plan involving Yuta and his return to Japan, the Shibuya Incident caught everyone off guard, and no one really foresaw what would happen there. Everything that happened was a surprise, and there was no time (or need, as it initially seemed) to summon Yuta back. Only when Gojo was sealed and later declared a traitor was Yuta summoned as part of the obvious contingency plan that Gojo had devised.

This is how Yuta came back. He was probably informed of Gojo being sealed, which was a good enough reason for the young boy to return from abroad to Japan, and he came just in time to save Yuji’s life during the Itadori’s Extermination Arc. Namely, after Gojo was declared a traitor, Yuji was once again a target due to his relationship with Sukuna, and a bounty was set on his head. Yuta arrived and pretended that he would kill Yuji, but he actually protected him and saved his life.

So, what happened later? Well, Yuta went against the higher-ups out of loyalty for Gojo. He joined forces with Yuji to find a way to release their mentor from the Prison Realm, an endeavor in which they ultimately succeeded, showing just how important Yuta Okkotsu is for the plot of Jujutsu Kaisen and how his role will be even bigger in the future.