While Master Tengen is one of the Jujutsu Kaisen’s most mysterious sorcerers, he’s almost one of its most powerful, or so fans were led to believe.

Summary

• Master Tengen, known for his immense power, is not as strong as everyone believes, as shown by his inability to stop Kenjaku.
• Tengen's real power lies in the positive energy and influence that powers jujutsu sorcery, not in his fighting abilities.
• Despite being deemed one of the most powerful sorcerers, Tengen required the protection of two high-ranking individuals and still couldn't save himself, suggesting his strength has been exaggerated.

As the progenitor and teacher of contemporary jujutsu magic, Master Tengen is widely believed to be one of the most powerful sorcerers in the Jujutsu Kaisen community. However, his attempts to help Yuki Tsukumo in her fight against Kenjaku suggest he's far from being the cursed energy powerhouse everyone thinks he is.

While much about Jujutsu Kaisen's Tengen remains a mystery, what is known about him is that over a thousand years ago he was a monk who somehow discovered a way to control cursed energy. His methods would go on to form the basis of jujutsu sorcery. Tengen's innate cursed technique is immortality. However, immortality does not mean anti-aging. He ages like everyone else and if his body dies of old age, his "spirit" will continue to exist indefinitely. The problem is, that his cursed energy is so powerful that, if allowed to exist without a host, his spirit has the potential to influence all of humanity. But as a cursed spirit, Tengen is more vulnerable to being controlled. Accordingly, over the millennia, Tengen and the jujutsu community established a process where his soul would be transferred into a new body every 500 years. In addition, Tengen developed a barrier technique that would shield jujutsu schools and facilities from being found by other cursed spirits and dark sorcerers wishing to harm or control him.

Rumors of Tengen's Abilities Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

As revealed in Jujutsu Kaisen Chapter 206, despite Tengen's barrier technique, Kenjaku broke through his barrier without a sweat. Additionally, when Tengen created another barrier to assist Yuki Tsukumo as she began her attack on Kenjaku, the villain overcame it. As Kenjaku mentions, it probably would have been better for Yuki to have performed her own barrier technique. The question is, why would she have thought her barrier techniques are better than Tengen's prior to discovering how useless they've been against Kenjaku? In addition, if Tengen was so powerful, why couldn't he have prevented Kenjaku's ultimate victory in Chapter 208?

Although Tengen is deemed one of the most powerful sorcerers, what his failed attempt to stop Kenjaku suggests is that his "power" shouldn't be considered in terms of his usefulness in a fight. Rather, his real power is akin to the positive energy and influence that powers jujutsu sorcery. This is revealed by the fact that once Tengen missed the last chance to merge with a human and became more cursed spirit than a human, he has become so vulnerable that he required the protection of special grade sorcerer Yuki Tsukumo and special grade cursed spirit Choso. Tengen required protection from two of the highest-ranking positions in the sorcerer and the cursed spirit world and he still wasn't able to save himself.

The only conclusion that can be drawn is that Tengen's fighting power has clearly been exaggerated. His overall strength has either been reduced or was never as strong as fans were led to believe. While Kenjaku is a powerful sorcerer, few thought he'd outmatch the pillar of the Jujutsu Kaisen community's defenses so easily, especially while fighting a special-grade sorcerer and cursed spirit. That exaggeration may have meant more robust protections were ignored, thereby putting Kenjaku on the cusp of achieving his goal in Jujutsu Kaisen.

Jujutsu Kaisenis now available to read from Viz Media.