Jujutsu Kaisen: Why Kusakabe can force Sukuna to use Fire Arrow, explored

Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 253 took a surprising yet interesting turn. Just as things seemed to be looking better for the Jujutsu High sorcerers, Sukuna once more turned the situation on its head. Following Yuta bowing out of the battle, Maki Zenin launched a sneak attack on the Demon King.

Their fight then proceeded to be quite an epic one with Maki keeping up well with Sukuna. But the latter experienced a sudden surge of excitement after understanding what Maki truly possessed.

Fans know very well what happens when something/someone excites Sukuna - He took her down with a Black Flash out of nowhere, rendering her unable to continue for the time being.

With Maki down, this left Atsuya Kusakabe as the last man standing as Kinji Hakari was occupied with Uraume.

The swordsman will now have to face Sukuna, at least till someone else comes to his aid. But that is exactly what is interesting - how far will Kusakabe push the Demon King?

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Jujutsu Kaisen: Kusakabe could compel Sukuna to use Fire Arrow (theory)

Atsuya Kusakabe could be the true wildcard in Jujutsu Kaisen. With all the powerful sorcerers down, the fate of the Jujutsu world rests on his shoulders. It would be unsurprising if the fight between him and Sukuna turned out to be an intense one.

Although Kusakabe prefers to avoid battle as much as possibe, when push comes to shove, we know what he is capable of.

He possesses no Innate Technique but is yet a Grade 1 Sorcerer. This is thanks to this excellent skills as a swordsman. Through previous unseen training, he has honed his sword skills to the T.

In battle, the Jujutsu High instructor relies on physical prowess combined with the sword techniques of the New Shadow Style.

This is a type of Anti-Domain technique that neutralizes Cursed Techniques (CTs) in a defined area around the user. An instance of this was seen when he saved Hiromi Higuruma by blocking and weakening Sukuna's slashes towards the former.

A theory suggests that Kusakabe could push Sukuna to finally use Fire Arrow once again. This was seen when he annihilated Jogo in a battle of, quite literally, Fire.

He chanted Fuga: Fire Arrow and fire off an attack that burned the Cursed Spirit to a crisp. That was the only time he was seen using it.

Jujutsu Kaisen episode 16 showing Sukuna's iconic fire arrow (Image via Mappa)

Against Kusakabe, however, he might throw it out again. The teacher's physical prowess should allow him to somewhat keep up with the King of Curses.

Again, Sukuna's slashes will be less effective given Kusakabe's use of Simple Domain. Point to be noted, even a being like Sukuna does not have unlimited Cursed Energy.

Therefore, the techniques he can presently use are limited too. As stated earlier, he exhausted his use of Domain Expansion with how many times he used it against Gojo Satoru.

The only attacks seemingly available to him are his slashes, Black Flash and most probably Fire Arrow. With his adeptness at Jujutsu, it will be unsurprising if he used Black Flash once more.

But the question arises as to how successful it would - Kusakabe's forte is swordplay and he would maintain his distance accordingly. Black Flash extreme close promixity to be effective.

Kusakabe has likely seen it happen and will undoubtedly be wary of it. This leaves Fire Arrow as a viable option for Sukuna now. In essence, Kusakabe might just compel Sukuna to use Fire Arrow.

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Final thoughts

Atsuya Kusakabe vs Ryomen Sukuna in Jujutsu Kaisen (Image via Gege Akutami, Sheuisha)

With the stated theory, the odds of Sukuna throwing out Fire Arrow at Kusakabe are substantially high. The King of Curses could, no doubt, be hiding more aces up his sleeve.

But that begs the question on how he can use them with his now-limited Cursed Energy and the damage he has sustained thus far.

If he does use it, it would be interesting to see Kusakabe's response. Likely, the scenario could be similar to Kenjaku using Uzumaki and Kusakabe blocking it to save Miwa.

Thus, it cannot be ruled out that Kusakabe could very well block even Fire Arrow and keep Sukuna at bay.

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Related links:

Jujutsu Kaisen: How is Kusakabe strong without an Innate Technique? The second-year teacher's abilities, explained

Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 253: Why Atsuya Kusakabe has a better chance of defeating Sukuna than Yuta or Yuji, explored

How did Ryomen Sukuna become King of Curses in Jujutsu Kaisen? Examining his mysterious backstory