WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Jujutsu Kaisen, Chapter #153 and #154, by Gege Akutami, John Werry and Snir Aharon, available now in English from Viz Media.
Following its brief hiatus over the month of July, the Jujutsu Kaisen manga has finally made its long-awaited return, and with it, comes the reveal of a mysterious character.
Following the events of Maki's apparent extermination of the Zen'in clan, Chapter #153 opens with Master Tengen giving insight into the suspended third-year Jujutsu High School student, Kinji Hakari, who has been teased since the series' early chapters. According to Tengen, Hakari has been illegally acting as a booker for an underground sorcerer fighting clubs, catering to non-sorcerer gambling.
Yuji and Megumi are sent to investigate, knowing that they need to conceal that they are from Jujutsu High. Megumi informs Yuji that because Hakari was suspended for getting into an altercation with the 'higher-ups,' so he would likely be wary of them if he were to find out they were from the high school. However, because Okkotsu believes Hakari is more powerful than even himself, the students require his support for the 'Culling Game.' After some impressive bluffing, Megumi is able to convince the club's guards, as well as Hakari, who is watching remotely, to enter Yuji into a fight.
That fight is revealed to be against Panda, who cannot get close to Hakari or his companion (another Jujutsu High third-year, Kirara Hoshi), as they are aware of his connection to Jujutsu High. After a flashy display of their combat abilities, Panda throws the match, allowing Yuji to win -- much to the surprise of both the third-year students. Excited by his skills, Hakari asks his underlings to escort Yuji to him.
Picking up where the chapter leaves off, in Chapter #154, Panda and Megumi plan to ambush the guards surrounding the monitoring room after Yuji is brought to Hakari, preventing anyone from interrupting them. After Yuji is brought to the monitoring room where Hakari is located, Panda and Megumi begin their assault, quickly incapacitating all the guards, aside from Kirara. However, Hakari's classmate, Kirara, is much harder to deal with than anticipated as their Cursed Technique prevents both Megumi and Panda from reaching Hakari. The chapter ends with Hakari asking Yuji how he would feel making an obscene amount of money for very little work.
Hakari's entrance to Jujutsu Kaisen is something readers have been waiting for since Chapter #11, after Gojo mentioned that along with Okkotsu, Hakari had the potential to surpass him. This further increased following Okkotsu's comment in Chapter #146 that when he is "worked up," Hakari is stronger even than Okkotsu. As Okkotsu has been framed as second only to Gojo within the Jujutsu Kaisen universe, there are high expectations concerning Hakari's abilities.
These recent chapters of the Jujutsu Kaisen manga have brought more information about Hakari and his personality to light, and it seems very unlikely that he will simply go along with Yuji and the others for the sake of doing the right thing. As a result, it is likely that Yuji, along with Panda and Megumi, will undergo a trial of some sort in the coming chapters to recruit Hakari for the Culling Game. As he is said to be capable of surpassing even Gojo, are Hakari's abilities worth the trouble? We'll just have to wait and see.
