Jujutsu Kaisen Modulo theory: Is Tsurugi the next perfect vessel?

Still from the manga
Still from the manga (Image credit: Shueisha)

Jujutsu Kaisen Modulo has been a really successful spin-off series by Gege Akutami. As the setting is deliberately put in a distant future where the main cast would not be able to take an active part in it. Now the new generation has been given focus, but with that, the fans have noticed a small detail in a few chapters that is leading them to connect the dots between the panels when Mahito made an appearance to Itadori Yuji, who is now the one currently missing.

Although readers were considered to be part of pure fanservice but after the events that unfolded in Jujutsu Kaisen Modulo Chapter 17, where Rika managed to use her powers to fuse with Tsurugi. But when you reexamine the scene through the lens of recent chapters and fan theories, a far more disturbing implication emerges: Mahito wasn’t looking for Yuji at all. He was looking for Tsurugi.

Still from the manga (Image credit: Shueisha)
Still from the manga (Image credit: Shueisha)

Mahito’s entire existence is defined by the soul. He doesn’t chase power blindly—he gravitates toward people whose souls interest him. That’s why his interaction with Yuji Itadori was so central to Jujutsu Kaisen. Yuji wasn’t just strong; his soul was shaped differently, engineered to function as a perfect vessel. In Jujutsu Kaisen Modulo, Tsurugi displays that same unsettling compatibility. The way he takes control over Rika, something that should be borderline impossible, doesn’t read like raw strength. It reads like compatibility.


Why Tsurugi’s control over Rika changes everything

Still from the manga (Image credit: Shueisha)
Still from the manga (Image credit: Shueisha)

Tsuguri in Jujutsu Kaisen Modulo was born without having cursed energy. So his fusing with Rika has caused a pivotal change in the story that has managed to reframe everything. Now, on the other hand, there was a panel in the manga where were saw Mahito looking around for Yuji but found Tsurugi.

There is a slight chance that he was actually searching based on recognizing something familiar: a soul that can house, merge, or overwrite other cursed entities without collapsing. That’s not normal sorcerer behavior; rather, that is seen to be more of a vessel behavior.

Jujutsu Kaisen Modulo has always taken its time to reveal that the concept of having cursed energy would not just be enough. Compatibility, soul structure, and intent matter more than brute force. That alone places him in the same terrifying category as Yuji, if not somewhere beyond.


The perfect vessel question that defines Jujutsu Kaisen Modulo

Still from the manga (Image credit: Shueisha)
Still from the manga (Image credit: Shueisha)

In the end, Tsurugi in Modulo could be the result of this manipulation. A soul shaped not just to contain curses, but to merge with them. Fans speculating that he could absorb curses or shikigami aren’t reaching. Jujutsu Kaisen Modulo has consistently pushed the idea that compatibility matters more than raw cursed energy.

Tsurugi overpowering Rika so effortlessly supports the idea that his soul structure mirrors Yuji’s, if not surpasses it. And that’s what makes Jujutsu Kaisen Modulo feel dangerous in the best way. It isn’t trying to recreate Yuji’s story beat for beat. It’s asking a more terrifying question: what happens when someone tries to manufacture a perfect vessel, and succeeds just enough?


Final thoughts

Whether Mahito wants to take Tsurugi as his future host or has some darker plans that have yet to be disclosed. One thing is clear: this isn’t a coincidence. Modulo is quietly laying the groundwork for a soul-based horror story that might rival the original series.

Edited by Nisarga Kakade