Does Yuta truly want to kill Yuji in Jujutsu Kaisen? Motivation explained

The end of Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 finale saw the return of Yuta Okkotsu. The sorcerer was last seen in Jujutsu Kaisen 0. Following that, he was in Africa, training with Miguel. However, right after his return, he expressed his willingness to kill Yuji Itadori. But considering that Yuta hasn't met Yuji, does he truly want to kill him?

Yuta Okkotsu, as seen in Jujutsu Kaisen 0, was initially a special-grade cursed human haunted by his late childhood friend, Rika Orimoto. However, upon finding him, Satoru Gojo mentored him and enrolled him at Tokyo Jujutsu High. Currently, he is a second-year student at Jujutsu High and works as a Jujutsu Sorcerer.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers from the Jujutsu Kaisen anime.

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Jujutsu Kaisen: Does Yuta Okkotsu want to kill Yuji Itadori?

Yuta Okkotsu as seen in Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 finale (Image via MAPPA)

No, Yuta Okkotsu does not want to kill Yuji Itadori. However, he takes on the task and completes it to rescue him. Satoru Gojo had once asked him to take care of Yuji Itadori. Considering how the people Yuta cared for extended their love and support for Yuji, he wanted to protect him.

Unfortunately, the Jujutsu Headquarters had canceled Yuji Itadori's suspended death penalty. This meant that the Jujutsu world's higher-ups wouldn't sit idle until they got Yuji Itadori killed to get rid of Ryomen Sukuna. Thus, to avoid Yuji getting killed, Yuta decided to become his executioner.

Toge Inumaki as seen in Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 finale (Image via MAPPA)

That said, the jujutsu higher-ups weren't certain of Yuta's objectives. Hence, to prove his loyalty to them, Yuta claimed that he wanted to kill Yuji because he was the reason why Toge Inumaki lost his arm in Shibuya. Additionally, he agreed to make a Binding Vow with the jujutsu higher-ups that would force him to kill Yuji Itadori. This meant that Yuta had to kill Yuji to complete his end of the Binding Vow.

Following that, Yuta confronted Yuji Itadori and stabbed him in the chest, effectively killing him. Right after, he dragged his body to the location where Naoya Zenin was fighting Choso. Yuta did that to have one of the credible jujutsu sorcerers see that he had killed Yuji, meaning that he had stood by his end of the Binding Vow. In addition, Yuta had Naoya report to the Jujutsu Headquarters about Yuji Itadori's death.

Yuta Okkotsu as seen in Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 finale (Image via MAPPA)

Meanwhile, in reality, Yuta Okkotsu had begun healing Yuji's heart right after he stabbed him using his Reversed Cursed Technique. Even Sukuna tried to take over Yuji's body; however, Yuta prevailed in his task. Hence, by playing the role of Yuji's executioner, Yuta was able to serve the latter's death penalty, complete his Binding Vow, and most importantly, help him fake his death for the second time.

By officially "killing" Yuji, Yuta had managed to fool the Jujutsu higher-ups, helping Yuji get off their radar. The best part about his act was that no one would suspect him of such trickery, as only a few people knew that Yuta was capable of outputting the Reversed Cursed Technique.