Chapter 254

Despite a reputation for taking it easy, Kusakabe throws himself fully at the King of Curses. The example his own students have set pushes him to commit everything he has to bringing Sukuna down.

Evening Moon Sword Drawing comes online the moment Kusakabe opens his Simple Domain. Sukuna wonders aloud why a grade 1 fighter relies on draw techniques against a foe who slashes from range, observing that this defense nullifies domains and barriers yet leaves a cursed technique fully intact. To probe it, he sends out one Dismantle, and a lightning-fast draw turns the slash aside. Kusakabe has written his own instructions into the domain so that the blade answers any intrusion by itself, freeing him from tracking Sukuna's every motion. A slash with no telegraph nearly opens his face, revealing that Sukuna needs no gesture at all to attack.

Recollection shifts to the past interviews. Mei Mei rates his adaptability above the brute force she and Nanami wield; Nanami says picturing a Kusakabe victory comes naturally given his blade work, command of barriers, and sharp reasoning; Gojo points out that newcomers like Miwa must bind themselves, planting both feet, while Kusakabe spreads a broad Simple Domain free of any vow. Back in the fight, he switches to attack, widening the domain until it wraps Sukuna and carries his reach with it. The interview noted that New Shadow Style draws normally bait an opponent in, yet the coded automation lets him press the assault even without a technique of his own. Rapid slashes rain down, blindsiding Sukuna and opening cuts over him.

The relentless pressure finally breaks the katana. Kusakabe hurls his coat across Sukuna's eyes, lands a punch, slips the answering Dismantle, and gives chase, admitting he fights this hard so as not to disappoint Yaga. Hazy Moon mends the blade and he lunges for the weakened heart, but Sukuna pinches the katana between two fingers and slices him open. Ui Ui appears to whisk the bleeding swordsman to safety, and when Sukuna materializes behind them, the boy blinks away and the strike finds nothing. Peering toward the horizon, Sukuna cannot place the newcomer. From a rooftop above, Miguel jeers at the curse for failing to recognize him.

Collected in Volume 28, this installment ran in issue 17 of 2024. It puts Kusakabe's Simple Domain, his Evening Moon Sword Drawing, and the blade-mending Hazy Moon on display against the Dismantle of Sukuna, then closes by introducing Miguel to the clash. Yaga, Mei Mei, Nanami, Gojo, and Miwa surface only in flashback or imagined scenes.