Jujutsu Kaisen: Samsara/Synopsis

This is a synopsis of the main story arcs of the fan-written spinoff, Jujutsu Kaisen: Samsara.

## Okinawa Arc

The story starts in the summer of 2009. After the betrayal of Seguru Geto, the reputation of Tokyo Jujutsu High is in shambles. The event reminds the higher-ups of a similarly disgraceful event 3 years earlier: the exclusion of both of the fourth years Mimei Futamigawa and Aoba Hamorebi. Though officially expelled for forbidden research, the real reason was that they directly challenged the authority of Jujutsu Headquarters, putting a bounty on their head.

Mimei and Aoba arrive in Okinawa along with a young boy named Jitsu Hanyu which they broke out of juvenile detention in Tokyo only a month earlier. They are there for two reasons: to convince a young woman trained by the Ryukyuan Society to join their group, and to exorcise the special grade cursed spirit named Tōtetsu that has taken residence in the Nakagusuku Hotel Ruins.

The three sneak onto Okinawa Society grounds and meet Kaasa Tamotsu, a yuta in training that is considered to be the highest potential sorcerer in the south of Japan. While Kaasa is initially hostile, she ultimately becomes swayed by the worldview the group presents to them. Though she dislikes men, Kaasa is impressed by Aoba and the way she expresses her wishes for the wellbeing of the world, sorcerer and non-sorcerer alike, so she decides to join the group. When they are noticed by the Ryukyuan Society elders, Aoba releases her Earth Womb to overwhelm them and create a path for escape. This inspires even more admiration in the eyes of Kaasa, but leads to the Ryukyuan Society putting a bounty on Saku and contacting Jujutsu Headquarters as well.

Not wanting to stay any longer than necessary, the group heads to the hotel ruins in the next few days. The hotel was built by a wealthy businessman who ignored warnings that the site was home to numerous graves and sacred sites. Afterwards, the site became a hotspot for curses and many unnatural deaths, including the businessman himself, who tried to spend a night in order to prove the site was not cursed. Mimei discovered that Tōtetsu, one of the four severed pieces of Nazar, fled to this place in order to feed on the large amount of cursed spirits present.

Once arrived at the hotel, the group discovers it has been taken over by Tōtetsu’s Innate Domain. Mimei describes that Tōtetsu is the incarnation of gluttony, Nazar’s unstoppable tendency of wanting to devour the whole world. Within the domain, it is pitch black, and what used to be the floor and walls of the hotel are now composed of a tar-like substance that drags in anything that touches it like quicksand. Mimei shields the group from this effect by creating a Binding Vow with them that allows them to resist the effects. Using Aoba’s Thousand-Ri Heart, they delve deeper into the domain in order to find Tōtetsu at the center.

Tōtetsu appears as a large, bodiless head floating in endless darkness, having swallowed everything around it, even light. When the group confronts it, it tries to devour Kaasa and Jitsu immediately, but they are rescued by Aoba. When she then tries to attack it using her innate technique in order to anticipate its moves, her innate technique gets swallowed by Tōtetsu’s power. Aoba tries to charge Tōtetsu with her Cursed Tool, but it swallows the air around it and she has to jump back before she gets eaten as well. This defensive maneuver creates an opening however, for Mimei’s chains to reach the cursed spirit and bind him down.

Tōtetsu starts to swallow the binding, but Aoba releases her Earth Womb and uses the newfound power to attack the curse before it can break its chains, piercing her sword through its forehead. The cursed spirit screams, but then Aoba and her sword start being drawn into it, while the darkness of the domain starts to engulf Mimei at his feet. However, Kaasa runs next to Mimei and uses a yuta ritual to resist the encroaching domain, while Jitsu teleports to Aoba by using his innate technique on the reflection of her blade, and stabs his knife through the roof of the mouth of the cursed spirit.

Mimei praises the efforts of the two new Saku members, and prepares a more intricate cursed restriction that can seal away the cursed energy of the cursed spirit so they can exorcise it. Just at the time that victory seems to be assured, however, Tōtetsu leds out a loud shriek that hurts the four sorcerer’s ears and its mouth seems to invert onto itself, throwing Jitsu and Aoba far away and breaking the chains. Then, the head of Tōtetsu seemingly devours itself, disappearing into the darkness.

The head of Tōtetsu has disappeared, but its domain is still surrounding the group and its cursed energy seems to increase. Mimei calls the group to him and releases his own Earth Womb. The increase of his cursed energy starts to push away the darkness around him, revealing the dark floorboards of the hotel. Mimei explains his technique is reconstructing their reality into something that the curse cannot devour. At the same time, a giant woman with long limbs and a red robe appears and puts her arms around the four. Mimei says she is his shikigami and she will protect them.

Before them, a new face seems to form out of the darkness with goat-like horns and a big toothy grin. The battle of the darkness of the domain becomes harder and the darkness starts encroaching again on the Saku members and onto the arms of the Shikigami. Mimei and Aoba share an understanding look and seem to prepare for some action together, but suddenly the whole domain and the hotel with it explodes, blasting the daylight back into the space while a storm of strong winds flies around them. They are suddenly back in the real world, only the ruins of the hotel are completely gone, only splinters whipping around them. Just a bit further, a human-like silhouette is standing completely still, shadows dripping off of it like ink. Mimei’s face shifts into an expression of fear, and when he looks at Tōtetsu he sees the cursed spirit is also looking at the figure that has appeared, completely terrified.

The creature does not move, but a single yellow lidless eye appears on its body, staring into the direction of Tōtetsu. The special grade cursed spirit evaporates instantly into dust, releasing an enormous explosion of cursed energy. Mimei’s shikigami holds onto the group in order to protect them from the blast but is eroded into pieces while doing so. From the creature’s body, shadow tentacles reach out, compress the energy explosion into a sphere and drag it into it. The lidless eye then slowly turns, until its gaze reaches the group.

Instinctively, Aoba throws herself in front of them, and her entire torso evaporates instantly. The whole group is in shock, and that shock only further escalates when an identical hole appears on the creature’s body just after, courtesy of Aoba’s Empathy technique. Thunder rumbles, the earth shakes and the ocean around the island starts whipping up giant waves in response, as if nature itself cries out of pain. The creature teleports away, and Aoba falls to the ground. In a split second, Mimei pushes away the others and puts his hands on the parts of her body that remain, using the cursed energy of her death experience to perform an instantaneous Interminable Restriction. Aoba’s flesh regrows and she awakes, screaming in anguish. Mimei falls back and looks in terror, as Aoba continues to convulse for minutes until she stops and falls unconscious. Mimei picks her up and signals to the two others, who are still in shock, that they should get out of the area as quickly as possible, as the storm and earthquake continue to rumble.