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Why Is Sukuna Interested In Megumi Fushiguro In Jujutsu Kaisen?

Megumi being taken over by Sukuna in chapter 212 of Jujutsu Kaisen manga has left us questioning the motives behind it. Let's find out what they are!

Just as the initial chapters of Jujutsu Kaisen dictated Yuji’s fate, they also set a few more things in motion. This involved Sukuna being interested in Megumi. This Megumi Sukuna theory is probably the most discussed in the fandom.

Sukuna is an extremely self-serving ex-shaman. While he was alive in the Heian era, he was dubbed as a natural calamity. Now, after his resurrection, he has some vile goals of his own.

When we talk about self-serving, we have to talk about Megumi.

Megumi’s sole reason for becoming a shaman is to protect what he wants to protect. He does not care about human life (even his own, initially) as Yuji does.

But before we could draw this parallel, Akutami hinted at a connection between both these people. This hint only built up over the course of the story, eventually leading to the point where Sukuna took over Megumi’s body. We’ll get to how this happened in this article, but first there’s something else we need to address.

Sukuna most definitely wanted Megumi. But what for? What was Sukuna envisioning? Did the king of curses on see Megumi as a vessel? Or is there more going on here?

Naturally, we all want the key to these questions. So, let us start piecing the puzzle pieces from the story to arrive at a satisfactory answer for now!

Why Is Sukuna interested in Megumi in Jujutsu Kaisen?

For starters, let’s talk about the places Sukuna showed his interest in Megumi.

The first instance is really obvious: Sukuna’s first fight with Megumi in the Cursed Womb arc. Even while Sukuna was not dragging fighting Megumi, he noticed him holding back his power.

His Ten Shadows cursed technique truly drew Sukuna’s interest, as seen in the remarks during their fight. He even saw through Megumi’s last resort, getting excited over Megumi’s decision to summon Mahoraga finally.

However, while Megumi dropped that idea, there was something interesting in this conversation between Sukuna and Megumi.

Sukuna's interest in Megumi's Ten Shadows
Sukuna’s interest and enquiry about Ten Shadows

From this piece of the conversation, Sukuna seems genuinely unaware of the Ten Shadows technique. Megumi’s technique is an inherited one from the Zen’in clan. Such techniques run in the family for ages, so how was Sukuna unaware of it?

Is it that the Ten Shadows technique came into existence after Sukuna’s exorcism? And if not, what is so unique about Megumi’s technique that immediately drew the attention of the King of Curses, Sukuna?

Their first interaction developed some more theories in our heads:

Initial thoughts

A particular conversation between Gojo & Megumi apprised us of Megumi’s latent potential. Gojo told him that a sorcerer with the Ten Shadows technique had defeated a Six-Eyes and Limitless user long ago.

This recollection was to inform Megumi of his ability he was running from.

Gojo tells Megumi a little bit of history to push him beyond his limit
Gojo tells Megumi a little bit of history to push him beyond his limit

From the get-go, it seemed like Sukuna was interested in Megumi for his potential. We already saw that in the first fight, Sukuna called his potential “a wasted treasure.”

This conversation led us to believe that Sukuna was your average next-door villain with a passion for strength.

Sukuna is an appreciator of power (see: Jogo), but he is not that shallow. Sukuna’s primary motives are unclear yet, but we can say that he is purely evil.

He has no care for puny things like letting Megumi grow to have a good fight with him. His true motive certainly lies beyond what we can see.

Akutami does go for some classic shounen tropes in Jujutsu Kaisen. But for Sukuna’s character, the approach has been different.

His joining Mahito in mocking Yuji’s despair was a prime example of this. So, we can safely say that Sukuna is not really looking for a competitor in Megumi.

Besides, wouldn’t that be a disrespect to Gojo? xD

We can also establish that Sukuna is very interested in Megumi’s technique than the person himself. However, if he is not looking to fight Megumi, the question persists.

What are Sukuna’s true motives regarding Megumi?

Further instances

Moving on from their first interaction to eliminate the obvious motive, let’s look at more hints from the plot.

The next time we see Sukuna expressing his interest in Megumi’s technique is in the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings arc.

Megumi’s vicious fight with the Cursed Womb was where he started embracing his potential and used his domain for the first time.

Incidentally, both Megumi and Sukuna’s domains don’t have barriers.

Is it merely a coincidence?

The story did say that a barrier-less domain is very impactful. By giving an opening of escape, a binding vow is formed. This vow increases the range and probability of landing a hit.

But we don’t know how that relates to Megumi!

Anyway, Sukuna seemed very pleased with Megumi’s growth.

Sukuna's reaction at Megumi's Domain Expansion
Sukuna’s reaction at Megumi’s Domain Expansion

On that note, when Sukuna willingly took part in Mahoraga’s exorcism ritual, he said another interesting thing. Sukuna figured that the only way to defeat Mahoraga is to use his Domain Expansion.

But before using that, Sukuna recalled his first conversation with Megumi. It seemed that Sukuna was amused by the situation and even that Megumi showed him the way.

But for what?

In fact, while taking part in the forced ritual was another hint of Sukuna’s ulterior motives. Before jumping in to defeat Mahoraga, here is what Sukuna says:

Sukuna healed Megumi before fighting Mahoraga
Sukuna healed Megumi before fighting Mahoraga

Just tell us what you want from him, Sukuna!! Well. Not like our favorite villain is going to answer that question, is he? So, it is up to us to decipher what this “something” is. Let us ask this again:

Why does Sukuna want Megumi?

Truthfully, Sukuna does not seem the type of antagonist to engage in something morally grey like Kenjaku. Yet, Kenjaku’s familiarity with Sukuna does throw us off…

But, putting that aside for the meantime, here are a few speculations we can make.

Sukuna’s plans of revival

Then, eliminating strength and the above possibilities, the one probable motive Sukuna can have is his revival. Somehow and in some way, Sukuna wants to use Megumi in his revival process.

He also tells his devoted follower Uraume about his waking up at Shibuya, so we can’t be wrong about that.

What, however, are these the preparations Sukuna told about to Uraume? Is there a ritual that Sukuna has to go through to revive? And is Megumi merely a contributor to this ritual or a sacrifice?

At any rate, it looks like Sukuna came up with this plan only recently. Uraume looks pretty surprised by her reaction to Sukuna’s words.

Sukuna's conversation with Uraume
Sukuna’s conversation with Uraume

Also, it is unclear why exactly did Sukuna not recognize Uraume in chapter 116. If they were in cahoots for a long time Sukuna should know her. Akutami even said that Uraume was his only follower. Instead, he asked her about her identity!

There is something definitely suspicious about Uraume as well as this exchange.

Coming back to the topic at hand, though.

How does Sukuna’s plan of revival tie in with Megumi’s cursed technique?

He is particularly interested in the shikigami made of shadows. He finds it “more practical” than other shikigami. So, does Sukuna intend to use the Ten Shadows technique for his revival?

We can’t deny or accept any possibility. Particularly considering the number of questions we have about the uncertainty of this technique (see our article!),

There are still a few slots that Megumi has to summon and defeat shikigami for. But another unique property that his shikigamis possess is the passing on of one’s powers.

Akutami said in one author’s note that this property differs between shikigamis. There are a lot of ifs and buts about this technique.

We also already saw Sukuna defeat Mahoraga, and it is unlikely that Sukuna will become a shikigami. Even if by some ghost of a chance he does become so, he will be under Megumi’s control.

There is no way he will wager anything for getting power from destroyed shikigamis.

There must certainly be a part of the Ten Shadows technique that Sukuna figured out on his own but wants Megumi to develop towards it. If it is something that Megumi has to ‘activate’, Sukuna’s binding vow/pact with Yuji makes sense too.

Moving to the next possibility.

Why Does Sukuna Take over Megumi and make him his host in Jujutsu Kaisen manga?

As revealed in the chapter 212 of Jujutsu Kaisen manga, Sukuna making use of his binding vow with Yuji Itadori incapacitated the hero and took over his body.

According to the binding vow, Sukuna can do whatever he wants within that one minute except harming anyone. But Yuji being an idiot he didn’t include himself in the vow. This enable Sukuna to tear off Yuji’s little finger after concentrating all his conscience/soul and powers into it and force feeding it to Megumi.

Thus taking control of Megumi’s body.

However, the reason behind is not specified yet, although, we can speculate.

We know that Itadori does not let Sukuna get in control.

The Shibuya Incident was an exception where Yuji was force-fed a bunch of fingers at once. 15-fingers Sukuna running rampant was no joke (seriously, dude took on a whole meteor), talk about 20-fingers one!

But in chapter 144, Yuji gave us some relief. He was confident that even if he eats the remaining five fingers, Sukuna won’t be in control.

Yuji is confident that Sukuna will not take over him
Yuji is confident that Sukuna will not take over him

If it is not obvious yet, Sukuna does not like to be bossed around. Yuji’s ability to suppress Sukuna irks him to no extent. Moreover, Yuji also does not have a cursed technique.

This absence of a technique has to be a disadvantage to Sukuna to some degree.

In that respect, Megumi is a desirable host body. He not only has an excellent cursed technique but also a high amount of cursed energy.

Furthermore, Megumi’s cursed technique has a domain expansion which is similar to Sukuna’s Domain expansion i.e. an open domain expansion with no barriers.

Furthermore, through Yuji, Sukuna knows that the Jujutsu Sorcerers have the back of the prison realm meaning they can release Gojo Satoru from the prison realm.

And an unleashed Gojo is nothing but a menace and the biggest hindrance to everyone’s plan. Be it Sukuna, Kenjaku or anyone else.

Thus in the worst case scenario for Sukuna in case Gojo does get released, Sukuna now has the counter for Gojo through Megumi’s cursed technique.

Also, cliché, but yes. Sukuna does seem like the villain to hold grudges, and well, Gojo nearly beat him to pulp the first time. And it is also worth remembering that Gojo as-a-matter-of-fact declared that he could defeat Sukuna.

What if it is not something as complicated as we think, but only Sukuna’s desire for chaos?

The following panel substantiates this assumption:

Sukuna's enmity with Gojo
Sukuna’s enmity with Gojo

Also, if you remember, in the past, a Six-Eyes and a limitless technique user like Gojo Satoru and a Ten Shadows user like Megumi Fushiguro were the Gojo and Zen’in family leaders. Gojo tells Megumi that the Ten Shadows user managed to kill the Six-Eyes & Limitless user. And thus began the deteriorated relations between the Gojo and Zen’in families.

Gojo tells Megumi about the past heads of their respective clans
Gojo tells Megumi about the past heads of their respective clans

This small instance tells us that the Ten Shadows Technique is as powerful as Six Eyes and Limitless. And it points to the possibility that Megumi, too, can become as strong as Gojo.

While training Megumi, Gojo also tells him that his ability and skills are higher than Yuji. However, he also tells Megumi that he has to work on his mental strength and learn to bring out his best by being a little selfish. Physical strength and ability are important, but so is mental strength for a shaman.

Same thing is what Sukuna tells Megumi during their fight against Mahoraga.

As readers of Jujutsu Kaisen, we have a fair idea of the final fight. It HAS to be Gojo going full out against Sukuna. So, whatever Sukuna wants to do with Ten Shadows may very well be related to Gojo.

As we saw before, Megumi’s technique has the potential to hold ground against Six-Eyes & Limitless.

Perhaps Sukuna wants to overpower Gojo with Ten Shadows and his own techniques. But, in reality it does not make sense.

Let’s talk about why, though. Sukuna quite easily defeated the most powerful shikigami of the Ten Shadows. Sure, it took him some time to get on top of it.

But, Sukuna managed to find an opening with Mahoraga easily. And Megumi clearly said that the Zen’in clan member used something like this to defeat the Gojo clan member.

This fact makes us question how exactly did that happen?

If we go by Gojo’s words, we can make a small power scale. It would look something like Gojo > Sukuna > Megumi. Why then would Sukuna want Megumi’s technique?

Also, once in Infinite Void, it seems unlikely any technique would work. Let alone Ten Shadows.

So, is there a secret to Ten Shadows that Megumi is still unaware of? He is certainly still learning, but this seems too major to be an unknown. Also, Gojo himself said that there is a huge downside of inherited techniques.

Since they have been around for ages, a lot of people know about their intricacies.

Again, more questions! It seems that we have more questions than answers. All is this what we could speculate, but is very possible that there is a new possibility.

But why then does he want Megumi to develop his technique? We are yet to know!

If we talk about something other than his revival, there are a couple more possibilities.

Can Sukuna extract techniques?

Shibuya Incident was a pandora box of revelations. The entire run was either sadness, action, or major plot revelations. However, it also raised an equal number of questions. We are gonna discuss one of them here.

In his fight against Jogo, Sukuna used a peculiar cursed technique that surprised both Jogo and us. He actually unleashed flames, despite his technique being slicing and slashing!

Did Sukuna copy Jogo’s technique? It was most definitely a new domain of possibilities.

Sukuna's little surprise attack against Jogo
Sukuna’s little surprise attack against Jogo

Sukuna’s ‘redacted’ technique against Jogo and Mahoraga is a thing to look out for. Without any clue about the technique, we can only make a tinfoil assumption that Sukuna can actually extract cursed techniques.

A technique like that certainly fits the bill, especially after Hana Kurusu’s introduction. Additionally, it also makes sense that Sukuna can copy techniques like Yuta, but a little differently.

If that indeed is the case, then Sukuna probably wants to extract Megumi’s technique too. Now you might be wondering why does Sukuna simply not copy or extract Gojo’s technique.

There must be some conditions to such extraction or copying. For example, maybe it is something like Sukuna having complete knowledge of the technique he wants to copy.

Such a condition will stop Sukuna from copying Gojo’s Limitless but not apply to a technique like fire. It’s okay, Sukuna, even we had a hard time understanding Limitless.

What will he do with the technique, though? One option, again, is that he either has something to do with the liquid shadows or shikigami.

TL;DR and final thoughts

We talked about a LOT of things until now. Writer’s note: *unavailable, too tired*

Anyway, here is a TL;DR for you people. Sukuna has been interested in Megumi for a long time now. Initially, we thought it could be a generic shounen trope of a villain letting his arch-enemy grow.

However, over time, plot points proved otherwise. Therefore, we can say that Sukuna is interested in Megumi’s technique for ulterior motives.

We can speculate on a few possibilities:

  • Sukuna has a plan of revival, with or without his follower, Uraume.
  • Sukuna wants Megumi as his host.
  • There is a small chance that Sukuna can extract cursed techniques. So, he wants the Ten Shadows cursed technique.
  • Using Megumi/his technique, Sukuna can and wants to defeat Gojo.

There are a lot of possibilities why Sukuna has shown interest in Megumi. But it more or less boils down to Sukuna’s revival. He may want to regain his full strength.

Whatever the means may be, Sukuna’s revival is no good news.

Well, we knew that since the moment Sukuna rose, didn’t we? Just to put that in perspective, here are Sukuna’s first few sentences:

Sukuna's introductory lines
Sukuna’s introductory lines

These introductory lines are even scarier after the fanbook release. According to an unofficial translation, Uraume was Sukuna’s follower because she could cook.

And, um, Sukuna liked to eat humans when he was alive. He also has a very convenient cutting technique for it.

With Gojo sealed in the Prison Realm and the Culling Game on, Sukuna absolutely mustn’t revive. If it does happen, we have no clue of the chaos coming.

It does seem that Akutami is setting up Sukuna to be the final villain, but who knows? (Give us Nobara back, Akutami!)

As we said before, there could be more possibilities in the future. Just like the Shibuya Incident, the culling game may bring things into the light as well. We have to keep a close eye on details until then. We will keep updating this article with more information, so don’t miss that!

Until then!

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7 thoughts on “Why Is Sukuna Interested In Megumi Fushiguro In Jujutsu Kaisen?”

  1. Of one thing I am sure: Sukuna’s plan has nothing to do with Gojo. I mean, I’m sure he wants to beat Gojo’s ass (there is a whole line of people ahead of Sukuna on that, sorry King), but he doesn’t seem to care about Gojo at all. Definitely not to the point of coming up with a seemingly convoluted plan to do it.

    And the final fight won’t be Sukuna vs Gojo. Why? Simple. They are not each other’s “Natural Enemies™”. Gojo’s is Geto (🧠), while Sukuna’s is either Yuji or Megumi, or maybe both of them.

    I mean, Sukuna and Gojo have not been involved with each other at all in the story so far, it’s like they forgot the other even existed.

    Reply
    • I personally agree that Sukuna’s plan has nothing to do with Gojo. It would be extremely cliche, and pretty boring. I wouldn’t mind them having a go at each other though; I want to see both of them at full power (especially Gojo!!). The final fight probably might be between Megumi and Sukuna, seeing the pattern.

      One thing I would like to comment though is that Gojo and Sukuna are two ends of the same spectrum. They are the strongest of their breed, but while one consciously chooses rationality, the other is extremely true to his instincts. We already know that Jujutsu Kaisen is heavily centered around clashing ideologies like the conservatives vs shamans like Gojo, Toji vs the Zen’in clan, and most importantly Itadori vs Mahito (I even wrote an article on that, if you want to check out). So, while it is unlikely, I still am wishing to see these polar opposites fight each other and bring out some more moral discussions in the story!

      Thank you for commenting. 🙂

      Reply
  2. I think, the last chapter is sukuna vs gojo, but before that, iitadori once said to megumi and yuta that if sukuna going berserk kill me… so i think that sukuna want to going berserk and fight megumi when megumi can beat gojou…. so i think the last fight is megumi and gojou vs sukuna….. sorry my english is bad hihihihihi

    Reply
    • Yes, it is quite likely that Itadori as Sukuna will die at the hands of Megumi and Yuta, but what if Sukuna somehow manages to reincarnate before it? Then it would be the new (and odd, thank you, Gojo) generation of jujutsu against Sukuna. Pretty fun to look forward to.

      Thanks a lot for the comment! 😀

      Reply
  3. Hmm… There’s another thing we gotta reconsider, no matter who gonna defeat sukuna. He will be awaken again coz no one can destroys his fingers, unless he got sealed like gojo… well, that if prison realm can be used against sukuna.

    For sukuna, losing a battle is just another hibernation until some human unlucky enough to consume his finger. And we all know, his curse energy will grow powerful over times. Honestly, sealing tis man is the best move for me.

    Reply

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