Dream Migration, Sakurajima Colony. Fifteen minutes before Gojo's meeting.
Ryomen Sukuna abruptly snapped open his four eyes.
His four pupils darted around, taking in the sight of an endless white desert. In the sky, a dragon-shaped Special Grade Cursed Spirit circled a void. Directly before him stood the Lord of Cursed Spirits, clad in the Dragon God armor, gazing quietly at Sukuna with dragon eyes. He spoke with an ancient voice, heavy and distant like an evening bell:
"How does it feel, Sukuna?"
"It feels excellent." Sukuna was unexpectedly calm. He looked at the Dragon God and smiled. "I didn't expect you to actually dare to resurrect me. Was this at Kenjaku's request? No... judging from the intel I've gathered, it isn't you being controlled by Kenjaku. On the contrary, Kenjaku is the one being controlled by you."
"This has nothing to do with Kenjaku," the Dragon God said meaningfully. "I need you to participate in my ascension ritual. For that purpose, I specifically brought you back to life."
"Treating me as fodder?"
"No need to put it so crudely. I just..."
Then, before the sentence was even finished—
*SHING!*
Invisible slashes slammed into the Dragon God's body. Four distinct slash marks appeared on the white sand, as if a beast had suddenly gone mad and clawed at the ground! Because the slashes were so clean, the sand didn't even kick up dust. It was as if a slide in a presentation showed a complete desert one moment, and in the next frame, the desert was split into five pieces.
Yet the Dragon God remained completely unharmed. He slowly stretched his body and drew the Mirokuji Kirigiri from his back. The blade made a crisp, melodious sound as it separated from the scabbard. He rested the Kirigiri steadily on his shoulder, like carrying a heavy spear, and gently brushed the spot where he had just been slashed, savoring the sudden malice.
—Cursed Technique Lapse: Limitless.
"I figured we'd have to fight first," the Dragon God said faintly. "I thought we'd at least exchange a few words."
"With who?" Sukuna smiled, looking at the Dragon God with contempt. "You?"
Ryomen Sukuna stood up. He was now fully in his appearance from a thousand years ago: two faces, four arms, and a towering physique. When he stood, he loomed like a false mountain. His faces weren't side-by-side; rather, one face was embedded into the side of the other. His form was less human and more... curse.
In the original timeline, when Kenjaku saw Tengen's true form evolving toward godhood, he lamented: [Your current appearance is simply like...]
What Kenjaku left unsaid referred to Ryomen Sukuna of a thousand years ago. A malformed birth, malformed power, and malformed authority.
This authority did not refer to political power in human society, but authority over the Heavens. Any excellent Jujutsu instructor would solemnly warn their apprentices that Binding Vows are an extremely unstable power. Even the masters of Vows in history could be inadvertently killed by their own pacts. The best way to use a Binding Vow is to never use one at all!
Kenjaku went a step further. He once taught Mahito: The best way to utilize a Binding Vow is to treat others with sincerity. As long as you genuinely intend to fulfill the Vow without any tricks, the Vow becomes simply an amplification technique.
This was why, in the original timeline, Mahito chose to heal Kokichi Muta even knowing that Muta would inevitably declare war the moment he was healed. No matter what happens after the Vow is fulfilled, once a Vow is made, it must be completed. That is the best way to handle them.
But there is a third way to treat Binding Vows: The Heavens spoon-feeding you power. That is true Authority.
Ryomen Sukuna was the only one who treated Vows this way. In the original timeline, everyone else treated Vows with extreme caution. The most severe case was Kasumi Miwa, who used a Vow to never swing a sword again for the rest of her life just to increase the power of a single slash in the next instant. That was the highest level of self-imposed Binding Vow.
And Sukuna?
Whenever he met a strong enemy, he would use Binding Vows casually. The Heavens practically chased after Sukuna to eat up his Vows. Ryomen Sukuna was the Heavens' veritable favorite child!
A sorcerer in the original timeline once lamented about Sukuna: [Solely as a Jujutsu Sorcerer, Ryomen Sukuna is perfect.] Indeed, this is the fundamental tone of Ryomen Sukuna throughout *Jujutsu Kaisen*.
A flawless Jujutsu Sorcerer, the King of Curses for a millennium, the bona fide Strongest in History: Ryomen Sukuna!
"Lord of Cursed Spirits, since you resurrected me, I'll give you a chance." Sukuna stretched his two pairs of arms wantonly. His muscular physique was more perfect than a statue. The mouth on his stomach cracked open into a grin as he moved.
He said, "Land a hit on me once, and I'll tentatively listen to your orders."
Mahito thought his self-control was quite good. In fact, he had long prepared to fight the resurrected Sukuna. For this, he brought the Mirokuji Kirigiri, activated the 'Dharmadhatu Transmigration: Nirvana Realm,' and even pre-equipped his strongest Hollow Technique: Soul Creation Dragon Body. One could say he was ready for the final boss battle.
He thought his heart was as still as water, unmoved by external factors. Until this moment.
The Dragon God took a deep breath, returning to a state of tranquility. Positive Energy and Negative Energy filled his body, circulating in a dual cycle like the ocean accepting all rivers. A mental state that previously required meditation was now accessible with a mere thought.
He took the Kirigiri off his shoulder, rested it gently on the white sand, and relaxed his entire body.
Sukuna smiled, opening his four arms and letting out a deep, resonant roar: "Come, Cursed Spirit! It won't take long!"
"Indeed." The Dragon God nodded. "It won't... take long."
In the next instant, both vanished from their spots!
Technique Release: Teleportation!
A curtain appeared out of thin air, and the Dragon God unveiled it, appearing at Sukuna's flank! The Kirigiri sliced through the air soundlessly, but Sukuna dodged sideways with astonishing leg strength. Sukuna knew the sharpness of the Kirigiri from Yuji Itadori's mental domain. No matter how tough the entity, if etched by the Kirigiri's Cleaving Line, they would be cut in two! Although Sukuna had four arms, his reach was far inferior to the longsword, so he had to dodge.
Sukuna twisted the corner of his mouth and shouted lightly: "Dismantle!"
An invisible slash smashed precisely into the blade of the Kirigiri! This was exactly how Gojo countered the blade back then. Since he couldn't face it head-on, he used lateral strikes to knock the slash's trajectory off course. By dodging the blade's range indirectly, Sukuna mirrored Gojo's tactic.
Sukuna had participated in Gojo's secret meeting the entire time (via Yuji). He knew all the intel on the Lord of Cursed Spirits. Naturally, he knew how to counter this troublesome god-slaying sword!
He thought this would parry the Kirigiri, but in the next instant, the blade appeared right before his eyes. His long-range slash had no effect.
Technique Release: Limitless!
Technique Release: Tool Manipulation!
At this moment, the Dragon God's Cursed Energy and the Kirigiri's Cursed Energy merged, becoming indistinguishable. With the Six Eyes, Tool Manipulation could sense everything about the sword. Even if the current Kirigiri couldn't keep up with the Dragon God's speed, the Dragon God possessing the Six Eyes could maximize the weapon's potential without damaging it. The Limitless technique covered the Kirigiri within the fusion of Cursed Energy, just as Gojo's clothes were covered when he activated Limitless, or how Yuki Tsukumo's Cursed Tool Shikigami became a target for Star Rage.
The current Kirigiri—had no weaknesses!
Technique Release: Star Rage!
A density comparable to Halley's Comet was added to the Dragon God and the Kirigiri. When the sword swung down, it was as if a behemoth weighing 300 billion tons was sweeping through. The Six Eyes allowed Star Rage to achieve a density beyond imagination. Even when fighting Gojo, the Dragon God couldn't truly push Star Rage to this level, but the current Dragon God did it with ease.
The entire white desert trembled. The gravity generated by the immense mass absorbed everything endlessly like a black hole. Sukuna kicked off the ground violently. The soft desert floor let out a massive shriek. Sukuna stomped again, but this time his foot didn't land on the ground.
Mid-air Double Jump!
*BANG!* Two consecutive jumps finally allowed Sukuna to avoid the direct hit, but the massive pressure wave still blasted toward him. Before it could reach him, however, invisible slashes tore the wind pressure apart. One after another, seemingly endless slash trajectories cut through all the wind pressure! It was a slashing technique, yet right now it resembled a legendary blade storm, cutting apart even the pressure of the air itself.
"Beautiful reaction," someone whispered in Sukuna's ear.
Sukuna's pupils trembled in shock.
The blade of the Kirigiri had arrived at his throat without him noticing.
Technique Release: Boogie Woogie!
The precision granted to Boogie Woogie by the Six Eyes exceeded imagination. In the original work, Boogie Woogie required swapping objects with Cursed Energy. So why couldn't one swap with the Cursed Energy permeating the air? The key lay in two points: first, precision; second, the quantity of Cursed Energy Residuals. Naturally, the residuals attached to the air were far fewer than those on objects, and the elements of residuals in the air were extremely difficult to capture. Even a man as unique as Aoi Todo couldn't capture them.
In other words, if these two problems could be solved, one could swap with thin air!
Now, the Dragon God's Cursed Energy spread out like a tsunami. The concentration of his Cursed Energy Residuals was enough to distort the air, even more terrifying than the residuals Yuta Okkotsu emitted when he first stepped into the Tokyo High classroom—which terrified Panda, Inumaki, and Maki. Back then, Yuta was leaking energy unconsciously. The Dragon God was expanding it intentionally.
This massive Cursed Energy saturated the air, far exceeding the energy normally attached to objects. As for the issue of precision—the precision of the Six Eyes was unparalleled under heaven!
With these two problems solved, the consequence was this:
Sukuna thought he had dodged. He had indeed perfectly avoided the Kirigiri's direct hit and the storm caused by Star Rage. But all his efforts were rendered meaningless when the Dragon God spoke softly, and Boogie Woogie swapped Sukuna right back under the blade of the Kirigiri.
The current Dragon God didn't need to prepare his vocal cords specially. As long as he opened his mouth gently, any sound could trigger Boogie Woogie! The combination of Six Eyes and Boogie Woogie easily surpassed the limit Aoi Todo displayed in the finale.
This time, it was a true instant kill.
A kill strike delivered by a blade carrying 300 billion tons, equal to Halley's Comet!
Sukuna immediately tried to use a Binding Vow. As long as he used a Vow, he could continue to tank it! But before that, the Dragon God's eyes locked onto him. That was...
Technique Release: Divine Authority!
A technique from Ranta Zen'in. Activation only required aiming one's eyes at the target. Since Mahito obtained this technique, it had worked at least once against every strong enemy he faced—Yuki Tsukumo, Satoru Gojo... and now, finally, Ryomen Sukuna.
Activating a Binding Vow requires one's Cursed Energy to interact with the Heavens' Cursed Energy. The most basic Vow requires setting conditions in advance, like Nanami's Overtime, which needs strict time limits and heartfelt acknowledgment. Next is setting temporary conditions, like Miwa secretly resolving to trade a lifetime of sword-swinging to surpass herself; this requires intense mental acknowledgment and harsh, irreversible conditions.
Finally, there is Ryomen Sukuna.
With just a slight fluctuation of Cursed Energy, the Heavens impatiently complete the Vow for him. In the entire original series, only Sukuna could do this. But no matter how slight the fluctuation, it still required Cursed Energy to flow. And now, the Divine Authority under the Six Eyes froze even that microscopic flow.
In this time that felt like an eternity yet lasted less than an instant, Sukuna's Cursed Energy stagnated.
Binding Vow—Failed!
Teleportation, Cleaving Line, Limitless, Tool Manipulation, Star Rage, Boogie Woogie, Divine Authority!
The Dragon God's sword finally swung down.
*BOOM!*
Although the longsword swung with the grace of a swan, the sound it produced was not the sharp whistle of a blade cutting air, but the roar of a massive meteorite flying through the sky. It was the roar that drove dinosaurs to extinction in ancient times, bringing the end of the world. Today, it rang out solely for Ryomen Sukuna.
Sukuna was first pulverized by the heavy pressure, turning into powder. Then, the heat generated by the movement of such massive mass burned the powder completely. The Cleaving Line had been etched onto Sukuna's body, but in the end, the Kirigiri didn't even need to use the cutting line. The attached Star Rage had easily and completely destroyed Sukuna before the cut could happen.
This wasn't a "cut," because a cut requires contacting the target. The blade of the Kirigiri never truly sliced down; the mass of Star Rage killed Sukuna before that could happen.
So, this was half a cut.
After half a cut—
—Ryomen Sukuna, Dead!
Even the Dragon God himself was a bit stunned. This was the finale version, the genuine ceiling of the series. He had prepared fully, anticipating every scenario before the first strike, thinking about the original canon, thinking about how to fight Sukuna.
But he never imagined that Sukuna would die on the spot without even opening his Domain! No, it should be said that precisely because Sukuna arrogantly believed he didn't need to open his Domain the moment they locked eyes, he died directly.
Sukuna made the same mistake Gojo made in the original timeline—
—Arrogantly believing he was invincible under heaven, so he wanted to tank the opponent's first hit to gauge their strength.
Then he adjusted himself right out of existence. Just like when Gojo, seeing Mahoraga killed in one hit, thought his Limitless was invincible and relaxed his guard, only to be cut in two by Sukuna's World Slash.
Unknowingly, Mahito had truly taken a seat at the table of the JJK power ceiling. This meant he had truly become an existence on the same level as Satoru Gojo and Ryomen Sukuna.
The most obvious example at this level was:
Unless you maintain constant vigilance, you will die instantly! Gojo proved this personally in the canon.
"So... I've become this strong," the Dragon God murmured to himself, suddenly wanting to laugh.
Then, the Dragon God raised his hand to form a seal.
—Dharmadhatu Transmigration: Nirvana Realm.
*THUD!*
A hand burst out from the white sand. Ryomen Sukuna returned from death.
He froze for two or three seconds, then suddenly exploded in fury: "MA—HI—TO—!"
"It's not over yet, Sukuna!" The Dragon God let out a laugh like divine thunder, the echo spreading across the entire world. "Before I completely analyze your soul... you will be resurrected by me countless times, and killed by me countless times! Your act of etching your technique into your soul prevents me from peeking directly into it. That was originally foresight, but now it will be the source of your suffering."
"I will cut you into a thousand pieces! Lord of Cursed Spirits!" Sukuna roared while forming a hand seal. "Witness this! My Domain Expansion...!"
"—Malevolent Shrine!"
The Dragon God swung his sword for the third time.
*BOOM!*
The advantage of Malevolent Shrine lies in its barrier-less nature. While anyone can enter or leave, the Domain expands up to a radius of 200 meters. Because it has no barrier shell, it cannot be broken unless Sukuna stops it himself, or if the Domain is established within another barrier—like Tengen's Sunyata Barrier—and a barrier master of Tengen's level collapses the entire outer barrier to indirectly collapse the barrier-less Domain. Otherwise, no one can strip away Malevolent Shrine.
These two conditions are nearly impossible. But in the original timeline, there existed another way to destroy Malevolent Shrine:
Inflict damage heavy enough on the caster, Ryomen Sukuna, to force him to release the Domain! In the canon battle between Gojo and Sukuna, this was the method used!
The Dragon God cast *Inverse* on himself and utilized *Falling Blossom Emotion*, then rushed into Malevolent Shrine without hesitation.
Malevolent Shrine's slashes are divided into two types: *Dismantle* and *Cleave*. These two slashes indiscriminately attack everything within the Domain's range. *Dismantle* is used on inanimate objects (and those without Cursed Energy), while *Cleave* is used on entities with Cursed Energy, destroying everything within range without blind spots.
Against this terrifying Domain, the Dragon God was prepared.
Limitless would fail against the Domain's sure-hit effect because it relies on infinite spatial separation. *Inverse* is the opposite. Although this technique has various limitations and is far less useful than Limitless in normal situations, when it comes to defending against direct attacks—even in a Domain Expansion—as long as the attack doesn't hit the technique's upper limit cap, it remains effective. *Dismantle* would not work on *Inverse*.
*Falling Blossom Emotion* automatically counterattacks Cursed Energy that comes into contact with the user. While *Cleave* is terrifying, it has the defect of needing contact to function. In the original timeline, Gojo used Falling Blossom Emotion to counter Sukuna's Domain. *Cleave* could not work on Gojo when Falling Blossom Emotion was active, and naturally, it wouldn't work on the Dragon God now.
In the canon, Gojo was covered in wounds despite using Falling Blossom Emotion against Malevolent Shrine. This was because Gojo 'specialized' the counter-measure against *Cleave*, which could kill him in one hit, while choosing to tank *Dismantle* with simple Cursed Energy reinforcement—just like he tanked Jogo's Coffin of the Iron Mountain years ago.
The current Dragon God went a step further. He used *Inverse* to cover the weakness of simple Cursed Energy reinforcement against *Dismantle*, and *Falling Blossom Emotion* to specifically defend against *Cleave*, which adjusts to Cursed Energy levels for the kill.
The Dragon God stepped into Malevolent Shrine, unharmed!
Just as Mahito prepared the Fusion Soul Knight to deal with Gojo's Infinite Void, he had long prepared the combo of *Inverse* and *Falling Blossom Emotion* to face Malevolent Shrine. When it came to hard counters, the transmigrator was a professional!
Teleportation, Cleaving Line, Star Rage, Boogie Woogie, Divine Authority—Once more!
Sukuna's expression was a mix of shock and rage. On the Dragon God's second swing, the Kirigiri finally truly cut into Sukuna, slicing half of his body entirely away! Even Sukuna couldn't have predicted that his Domain Expansion would be completely useless. He tried to make a Binding Vow at the critical moment. Failed. The Divine Authority eyes fixed the Cursed Energy in his body, preventing the Vow.
Malevolent Shrine lasted less than 0.002 seconds before vanishing.
—Ryomen Sukuna, Dead for the second time!
The Dragon God suddenly reached out and grabbed something. From the distant underworld, Sukuna let out a howl of agony. The Dragon God smiled. "Finally touched it... your soul!"
Then, the Dragon God formed the seal for the third time: —Dharmadhatu Transmigration: Nirvana Realm!
"It's not over, Sukuna," the Dragon God said. "Until I truly whittle you down to the level of a single finger, completely analyze your soul, and finally throw you into the Sakurajima Colony to be fodder for my ascension ritual... it's going to be a long time."
*THUD!*
Sukuna's hand reached out of the white sand for the third time.
"MA—HI—TO—AHHHHHHHH!" Sukuna crawled out of the sand, sounding like a malicious ghost. "You dare tear my soul apart, humiliate me so! I will tear you to pieces! I will make you regret being born into this world!!"
Holding full power... no, Ryomen Sukuna, with a portion of his soul shaved off leaving only the power of 19 fingers, roared with the same venomous misery as the 1-finger Sukuna in the canon when stomped by Gojo.
"Come." The Dragon God extended his hand and curled his fingers. "I'm looking forward to it."