Sukuna copied a dead character's hand sign to open his Domain in Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 258

Modified Apr 29, 2024 16:30 GMT

Ryomen Sukuna in Jujutsu Kaisen (Image via MAPPA)

Recently dropped chapter 258 of Jujutsu Kaisen showcased some interesting developments. With his back against the wall, Ryomen Sukuna proved just why he reigns supreme as the King of Curses.

The chapter witnessed Sukuna open his Domain, Malevolent Shrine, though incomplete. It also finally put rest to the mystery surrounding Yuji Itadori and Atsuya Kusakabe's soul-swapping. Moreover, Sukuna reached into his bag of tricks and pulled out an all too familiar Fuga or Fire Arrow or Divine Flame.

However, the most interesting and worrying bit was related to Sukuna opening his Domain. He did so in a bit of an uncanny method, using a very well-known hand sign, which will be addressed below.

Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 258:

At the beginning of Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 258, Sukuna caught the Jujutsu High sorcerers off guard by opening his Domain. Not fully recovered, it came with certain complications. However, he managed to do so through a change in hand signs, an unused part of his brain, a barrier technique, and an impromptu Binding Vow.

The result was a 99-second Malevolent Shrine with a slightly reduced effective range but the same guaranteed-hit effect. What's intriguing is that the hand sign Sukuna seems to be using is identical to Gojo Satoru's. When using Infinite Void, Gojo uses the same hand sign, i.e., Taishakuten-In.

It does mention that there is a change of hand signs, among other factors needed to activate Domain Expansion. But it is intriguing as to why he chose this particular hand sign.

Meaning of the hand sign

Gojo Satoru in Jujutsu Kaisen (Image via Gege Akutami, Shueisha)

As many might know, Gege Akutami has heavily referenced Hindu mythology in his series. So some elements can be connected to religion. In the same realm, Gojo's hand sign is connected to the Indian God Indra, believed to be one of "the Strongest Gods".

Gojo, thus, using the hand sign establishes him as the strongest sorcerer and the power of Infinite Void. This isn't the first time Gege Akutami has alluded to Hindu mythology. Sukuna's Kamutoke is modeled after Indra's Vajra and his Fuga takes after Shiva's trident which when launched, turns into a Fire Arrow.

Final Thoughts

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Whatever the reason might be that Sukuna chose that particular hand sign, it is clear that he took a page out of Gojo's book. It could be due to ease of use or possibly mocking Gojo after his defeat or it might be something else entirely.

However, he couldn't emulate Gojo's Reverser Cursed Technique (RCT) circuit. In essence, due to being in an awakened state, Gojo constructed a unique RCT loop that distributed the function and burden of RCT on another part of his brain, allowing him to recover RCT output. Sukuna wasn't able to do so due to Yuji punching in between his and Megumi Fushiguro's soul, disallowing any recovery.