Inhuman Makyo Shinjuku Showdown, Part 16

Shinjuku's third matchup sets Hiromi Higuruma and Yuji Itadori opposite Sukuna. Higuruma had stepped up to go after Kashimo's slot, and Yuji tags along carrying a scheme to put Sukuna on trial within Deadly Sentencing and hold him accountable.

Sukuna grins skyward as the duo drops toward him. The chapter flashes back to the sorcerers' war council before Gojo's clash. Atsuya Kusakabe raised the question of who fights Sukuna should Gojo fall. Hajime Kashimo wanted everyone to swarm him but insisted on going first, only for Kusakabe to dismiss throwing in fighters who cannot survive or create an opening, pointing to Kasumi Miwa, barred from wielding a katana by a Shibuya binding vow. Kusakabe floated the idea that cursed energy could let people reject fusing with Tengen, so outlasting Sukuna alone for even a handful of days might help. Noritoshi Kamo declared he would take his family abroad, and Yuji thanked him for covering Blood Manipulation lessons that Choso could not give. The entry bar Kusakabe named: Reverse Cursed Technique or no fear of death.

Stepping in after Kashimo, Higuruma noted his power could confiscate Sukuna's technique, which needled Kashimo until Kinji Hakari settled him. The lawyer's reasoning followed. Should a death sentence land through Deadly Sentencing, the Executioner's Sword kills in a single stroke, yet which charges Judgeman files lies outside his control. Yuji recounted Sukuna's three takeovers of his body at Sugisawa High, the detention center, and Shibuya, alongside probable offenses while inside Megumi Fushiguro. Higuruma tallied the crimes but cautioned that each is tried on its own, pushing the odds of a capital charge under thirty percent, with Judgeman liable to choose a lesser count, perhaps trespassing or mere property damage.

A third wrinkle came from millennium-old crimes and a hazy statute of limitations, perhaps voided if Sukuna's ancient period reads as time spent abroad, with Judgeman bound to honor whatever reading Higuruma supplies. Weighed all at once, a guaranteed execution looked extremely unlikely, though even confiscation would help. Back in the now, Mei Mei's crows attempt Bird Strike, and Sukuna downs them with Kamutoke, proving the attack can harm him. Higuruma's enlarged gavel swings, Yuji flings shattered debris, and as Sukuna grabs for Kamutoke the gavel traps his arm, letting Yuji land an odd punch. Higuruma then opens Deadly Sentencing, calling a retrial centered on Yuji as the courtroom assembles around all three.

This Shinjuku Showdown Arc chapter launches the drawn-out Jujutsu Sorcerers versus Sukuna battle across Shinjuku in Tokyo. On display are Kamutoke, Higuruma's Domain Expansion Deadly Sentencing, Mei Mei's Black Bird Manipulation with Bird Strike, and the shikigami Judgeman. The strategy rests on naming Sukuna a codefendant in Yuji's prior trial to confine the charges to the Shibuya massacre. Higuruma cites a genuine Japanese sentencing precedent in his argument.