Itadori’s Extermination Arc in Jujutsu Kaisen: The Hunt That Follows Shibuya
The Itadori’s Extermination Arc is the seventh story arc in Jujutsu Kaisen, covering Chapters 137 to 143. It is the shortest arc in the series — seven chapters — and functions as the immediate fallout of the Shibuya Incident, stripping Yuji of every institutional protection he had and forcing a reconstitution of his remaining allies.
Arc Profile
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Arc Name | Itadori’s Extermination Arc |
| Chapters | 137–143 |
| Anime | Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 (opening episodes) |
| Key Characters | Yuji Itadori, Yuta Okkotsu, Choso, Naoya Zenin, Megumi Fushiguro |
| Key Events | Yuta sent to execute Yuji, Naoya hunts Megumi, Zenin Clan succession crisis |
What Happens in the Itadori’s Extermination Arc?
In the immediate aftermath of Shibuya, the jujutsu higher-ups reinstate Yuji’s death sentence and send Yuta Okkotsu — Gojo’s most powerful student — to carry it out, while Naoya Zenin moves to eliminate Megumi Fushiguro and secure his inheritance of the Zenin Clan.
Gojo is sealed. The higher-ups, no longer constrained by the strongest sorcerer’s protective influence, move fast. Yuji’s execution is reinstated. Yuta agrees to carry it out — but privately makes his own arrangement, forming a binding vow that lets him heal Yuji immediately after stabbing him, creating a window to fake the execution while genuinely protecting him.
Yuji and Yuta cross paths. Yuta stabs Yuji through the chest and heals him in the same moment. Yuji survives. The higher-ups believe him dead.
Naoya Zenin arrives in Shibuya hunting Megumi. Naobito has died at Shibuya and Naoya has determined Megumi — named as potential successor in Naobito’s will — is an obstacle to be removed. Naoya fights Choso and Yuji separately, demonstrating Projection Sorcery at full speed. Choso eventually poisons Naoya, forcing him to retreat in exchange for healing from Yuta.
Megumi learns about Tsumiki’s involvement in the Culling Game. He asks Yuji to help him save her. Yuji agrees. The arc ends with the group beginning to prepare for the Culling Game.
Read this arc from Chapter 137 through Chapter 143.
What Does This Arc Set Up?
The arc’s most important function is to remove Yuji from the institutional framework entirely. He is officially dead as far as the higher-ups are concerned. That status gives him freedom of movement during the Culling Game that he would not otherwise have — but it also means no protection, no resources, and no official backing.
Yuta’s binding vow arrangement also reveals his character more clearly than anything before it. He agreed to execute Yuji. He also found a way around it that technically honoured the vow while protecting the person he was supposed to kill. Yuta operates inside systems by finding their limits.
Why Does This Arc Matter?
Seven chapters is short, but the arc does exactly what a post-catastrophe arc needs to do: it closes the doors, strips the resources, and forces the characters to rebuild with what they have left. The Culling Game arc makes more sense — and hits harder — because this arc establishes how completely everything fell apart first.
