Sukuna is one of the most divisive antagonists in current anime. On the one hand, he's an outright menace, beloved for the scale of his villainy as well as his influence on Gege Akutami's world. Jujutsu Kaisen. As a shōnen antagonist, Sukuna resided in largely uncharted territory, as it often seemed that no matter what the Jujutsu wizards of justice tried to do to thwart his plans to plunge the world into another dark age of blood and magic, he would almost always win. Sukuna had an abundance of abilities and far more experience than anyone who tried to oppose him, making him seem almost invincible at times, especially after the body-swapping incident.
However, Sukun's own original abilities were already enough to make him one of the most powerful figures in the Jujutsu Kaisen universe. So what are Sukun's strongest innate techniques?
JUJUTSU KAISEN: A Malevolent… Kitchen?
An explanation of what was cooking when Crunchyroll translated Sukun's domain extension to “Malevolent Kitchen.”
Wait, what is an innate technique?
Jujutsu wizards use “cursed techniques” in combat. For many, these techniques manifest at a young age and are present from birth. They are directly connected to the individual and do not exist outside of him. As such, innate techniques cannot be copied or stolen. Because of this, both Kenjaku and Sukuna resort to body grabbing to gain access to specific cursed techniques, as these techniques were actually innate techniques.
In the case of both the Zen'in and Gojō clans, these techniques manifest every few generations and are directly linked to their respective lineages rather than within a single individual. These techniques, the Unlimited and Six Eyes of the Gojō Clan and the Ten Shadow Zen'in Technique, are the most powerful in Jujutsu Kaisen universe and are a hard counter to each other.
In the past, a holder of the Six Eyes Technique and Unlimited Techniques together could only be outmatched in battle by a holder of the Ten Shadow Technique. That's the reason why Jujutsu Kaisenhe constantly mentions that Megumi is the only character who can truly defeat Gojō in combat, and this is due to him consistently using Gojō as a barometer in his battles – often using the logic that the opponent in front of him is not Gojō and therefore beatable, not realizing that the reason he views it this way is because he is the only Cursed Eye-level Gojō. and unlimited combination.
Incidentally, examples of Innate Techniques also include Yuta Okkotsu's Copy; Mahita's idle transformation; Nobara Kugisaki's straw doll technique (which Mahito correctly identified as a ridiculously dangerous ability for how it affects the soul and therefore killed her), among others. Sukun's innate technique, the shrine (or “kitchen”, depending on your belief) has two main states: cleave and disassemble.
Cleave
A cutting technique like Dismantle, Cleave is used against strong opponents and reacts proportionally to the cursed energy poured into it as well as the target's cursed energy and adjusts its effectiveness accordingly. Unlike Disassemble; However, Cleave requires contact with the opponent. It is one of Sukuna's most devastating abilities and was used to kill Ishigori, the most powerful wizard in the Culling Games, at least in terms of maximum Cursed Energy output.
Web
Cleave, when applied to inorganic substances, spreads outward like a web, cutting the object along the web's fibers based on the object's toughness (since objects don't necessarily have Cursed Energy).
Divine Flame
Divine Flame can only be used after using Dismantle and Cleave. Using Binding Vow, Sukuna gets around the technique's short range and lack of speed by making it unavailable when fighting multiple opponents unless the battle is in his domain. Remember that domain expansion is a powerful technique because it sets up an area in space where the caster's cursed technique is guaranteed to hit, meaning that Sukun's malevolent shrine (or kitchen) is the area where inanimate objects are hit with Dismantle and living with cursed energy are hit with Cleave, which fulfills the condition of Divine flame activation.
At this point, Sukun's domain becomes an area where everything inside is relentlessly hacked and smashed to the point of being crushed, and then those pulverized particles are hit by thermobaric explosions – the result of igniting oxygen (or any kind of gas cloud) without the need for a substance to catalyze an explosive reaction. The “gas” in this case is the particles that have been torn apart with Dismantle and Cleave. This technique is so powerful that it became the trump card with which Sukuna was able to defeat Mahoraga. The flames will not only create an explosion, but will unleash intense pressure and shock waves that will destroy everything in the Domain. This is by far Sukuna's most powerful attack on paper, but in different contexts it could potentially be countered, especially by someone like Satoru Gojō.
Dismount
Disassemble is a default attack move that allows Sukun to unleash invisible slashes that slice through the opponent. The ability can be controlled with or without hands and can be used against inanimate objects, curses, and of course people. The scary thing about Dismantle is the way Sukuna can use it both offensively and defensively in a variety of ways. The cut need not be wide; it can also be a series of small incisions surrounding the limb and oscillating in a chainsaw-like fashion to the appendage. This app allows Sukun to manipulate his opponents weapons and attacks with his hands without taking damage, not to mention it can also be used in tandem with Personal Combat for devastating blasts. The strength of the Disintegrate ability depends on the amount of cursed energy poured into it.
World Slash
After stealing Megumi's body and deploying Mahoraga against Gojō's Limitless, Sukuna uses the same adaptation mechanic to massively upgrade Dismantle into an ability capable of slicing through space, slicing through Gojō's Infinity, and splitting the strongest Sorcerer of the modern era. This iteration of Dismantle is known as the “World-Cutting Slash” and is far more devastating, retaining the invisibility of the original technique and combining it with impossibilities such as cutting through space itself. In Chapter 119 Jujutsu Kaisen manga, Dismantle is described as a move specifically for slashing objects without Cursed Energy. The fact that it is the technique that ended the strongest Wizard of the modern era makes Sukuna's Dismantle World-Cutting Slash the single most powerful Innate Technique he actually has.
Ten Shadow Technique (via Megumi Fushiguro)
Sukuna has been following Megumi since the dawn of the Haunted Womb, when she and Yuji encountered a special grade curse (enhanced by one of Sukuna's fingers) in a juvenile facility. Megumi escapes the situation while Yuji stays back to buy him some time; however, the special-grade was too strong for both of them at the time. After Sukuna made light work of the curse, Megumi's problems were compounded as the Curse King temporarily gained unlimited control over Yuji's body. Outside the facility, Sukuna approached Megumi after learning that Megumi possessed the Ten Shadow Technique, but only after asking the boy why he felt inclined to run away from a special grade curse. Basically, Sukun's long game was to captivate Megumi's body and thereby gain access to the cursed technique of one of the three main clans in the Jujutsu world, the Ten Shadow Technique. However, it was only because he saw the immense potential in Megumi – Sukuna had no idea of the ultimate application of the Ten Shadow Technique.
The most notable use of the Ten Shadow Technique is the summoning of the Eight-Handed Sword of Divergent Power, the Divine General Mahoraga, a shikigami capable of adapting to any phenomenon, making him essentially invulnerable in battle. This beast is so powerful that no Ten Shadow Technique owner except Sukuna has ever been able to tame it. In addition to developing defensive adaptations, Mahoraga can also adapt his attacks, making them more effective the longer he fights an opponent. When Sukuna learned about Mahoraga when Megumi summoned her during the Shibuya incident, Sukuna's interest in Megumi was piqued even more. It is thanks to him taming Mahoraga and using her adaptive ability on Dismantle that turns her into an attack that eventually kills Satoru Gojo.
