Inhuman Makyo Shinjuku Showdown, Part 19

Captivated by ability rivaling Satoru Gojo, Sukuna fixes his gaze on Hiromi Higuruma. Yuji Itadori fights to drag him clear of the hopeless spot they occupy, yet Higuruma intends to see his role through to the bitter finish.

More than the raw Domain Amplification, what impresses Sukuna is Higuruma's deft handling of the anti-domain art, pausing and restarting the Executioner's Sword rather than canceling it whole, a control Sukuna once managed against Gojo by merely halting Mahoraga's adaptation. Wanting a deeper read on the awakened sorcerer, Sukuna throws hand signs and slices the building apart. Yuji shows up outside and enters the fray. While Higuruma charges atop falling rubble, Sukuna scatters shards near his face with Dismantle to throw him off, then slides over to Yuji, catches the punch, grips his side, and fires Cleave, shearing half of Yuji's lower body away before deeming him dull.

From the collapsing wreckage the two surface, and Higuruma flails the Executioner's Sword fruitlessly while eating punch after punch. Sukuna springs back, recites the Dismantle chant, and releases a reality-splitting slash that cleaves the bridge and lops off Higuruma's right arm. Taken with the lawyer's growth, he urges him to attain Reverse Cursed Technique and mend himself. Higuruma confesses the agony far exceeds what he braced for, yet pushes on, only to lose his left hand and have his legs carved so he cannot move. Sukuna vows to take his head unless he heals, then catches Choso's Piercing Blood on his arm, recognizing the technique as the Death Painting Womb elder brother's.

The momentary distraction lets Higuruma regrow the severed right arm, restore his crippled legs through Reverse Cursed Technique, and seemingly drive the Executioner's Sword into Sukuna's hand, though Sukuna lops that hand off first while praising the attempt. As Cleave tears into him, Higuruma recalls Kusakabe noting that curses harden after death. He flings the cross from inside the Executioner's Sword to Yuji, now positioned behind Sukuna. Cut to ribbons, Higuruma at last meets Yuji's gaze and says he has done everything he can. Recalling Kento Nanami's parting words, Yuji braces the Executioner's Sword to ram into Sukuna's back, honoring the curse passed to him as a sorcerer.

This Shinjuku Showdown Arc chapter carries on Jujutsu Sorcerers versus Sukuna across Shinjuku in Tokyo. Powers featured include Choso's Blood Manipulation with Piercing Blood, Higuruma's Reverse Cursed Technique, and Sukuna's Shrine with Cleave and Dismantle. Passing the Executioner's Sword to Yuji primes a decisive strike at the King of Curses.