Yuki Tsukumo’s battle against Kenjaku is one of the most strategic confrontations in Jujutsu Kaisen. Unlike many major fights that revolve around overwhelming cursed energy or flashy techniques, this encounter becomes a battle of domain mechanics, planning, and adaptation. As one of only four Special Grade sorcerers, Yuki enters the Tombs of the Star Corridor alongside Choso to stop Kenjaku from capturing Master Tengen. However, despite careful preparation, Kenjaku’s mastery of jujutsu proves to be on another level.
The fight is especially memorable because it introduces one of the series’ most advanced Domain Expansion concepts. Kenjaku reveals a barrierless domain similar to Sukuna’s, while Tengen attempts a unique strategy to dismantle it from the outside rather than directly opposing it. Although the plan initially works, the battle ultimately demonstrates why Kenjaku is regarded as one of the greatest sorcerers in history.
So, how does the domain battle unfold, and why does Yuki lose despite having Tengen’s support? Here’s a complete breakdown.
Why Yuki and Tengen Planned Around Kenjaku’s Domain
Before confronting Kenjaku, Tengen makes one important assumption: directly clashing domains against Kenjaku would likely fail. Instead of relying on Yuki’s own Domain Expansion, the group develops a different strategy.
The plan is to lure Kenjaku into activating his Domain Expansion first. Once the domain appears, Tengen would dismantle its barrier by manipulating the empty barriers surrounding the Tombs of the Star Corridor. This would eliminate Kenjaku’s greatest advantage and leave him temporarily vulnerable to a counterattack.
Rather than winning through brute force, the heroes attempt to win through superior preparation.
The biggest surprise of the fight is Kenjaku’s Domain Expansion. Unlike conventional domains, his technique does not require a fully enclosed barrier. Instead, it manifests directly into the surrounding space while still maintaining a guaranteed-hit effect.
This type of Domain Expansion is incredibly rare. The series compares it to “painting on air instead of a canvas,” emphasizing how difficult it is to perform. Until this point, only Sukuna has displayed a similarly advanced barrierless domain.
Because the domain lacks a traditional shell, standard anti-domain tactics become much less effective.
Tengen’s centuries of barrier expertise become the key to surviving the domain. Instead of challenging the sure-hit effect directly, Tengen dismantles the surrounding barrier structure supporting the battlefield.
This causes Kenjaku’s Domain Expansion to collapse much earlier than expected. Although the strategy succeeds in destroying the domain, it is not perfect.
Kenjaku still lands a devastating guaranteed-hit attack before the domain disappears. That single strike severely injures Yuki and changes the momentum of the battle.
One of the biggest questions among fans is why Yuki never activates her own Domain Expansion. The story implies that both Yuki and Tengen deliberately avoided a traditional domain clash because they believed Kenjaku’s superior barrier techniques would give him the advantage.
Instead, they trusted Tengen’s barrier manipulation as the safer option. Kenjaku himself later suggests this decision ultimately benefited him, as it allowed him to damage Yuki before she could fully capitalize on the collapsed domain.
Whether Yuki’s own domain could have changed the outcome remains one of the series’ biggest unanswered questions.
Even after suffering massive injuries, Yuki demonstrates why she is a Special Grade sorcerer. Her innate technique, Star Rage (Bom Ba Ye), allows her to add virtual mass to herself and Garuda without significantly increasing their actual size.
This turns every punch into a devastating attack capable of seriously injuring Kenjaku. At one point, even Kenjaku admits that Yuki’s raw offensive power exceeds his expectations.
The battle shifts from domain mechanics to a brutal exchange of close-range combat.
Despite Yuki’s overwhelming strength, Kenjaku’s experience gives him the decisive advantage. Throughout the battle, he continuously reveals hidden techniques acquired from previous bodies.
Most importantly, he survives Yuki’s desperate black hole attack by using the Anti-Gravity System inherited from Kaori Itadori. This unexpected counter allows him to avoid certain death while fatally wounding Yuki.
His victory illustrates a recurring theme in Jujutsu Kaisen: versatility and knowledge often outweigh raw power.
