Yuji may have made a Binding Vow in Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 265, and Sukuna's refusal is the key

Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 265 will undoubtedly go down as one of the Shinjuku Showdown arc's most memorable and epic chapters ever. It not only featured a lengthy yet hilarious one-on-one interaction between Yuji Itadori and Ryomen Sukuna, but it also saw the former declare that he would end the latter's life unless he leaves Megumi Fushiguro's body.

Throughout the chapter, Yuji kept trying to make Sukuna understand the value of a person's life by walking him through his childhood memories, which ended up in vain. However, the fact that Yuji was seen pitying Sukuna towards the end of the chapter, even declaring that he would spare his life if he returned to his body, convinced the readers that Yuji may not be bluffing about killing Sukuna this time.

What's more, some fans theorized that the reason why Yuji seemed so confident in his ability to kill Sukuna may be due to a Binding Vow he had made earlier, and the latter's refusal to understand the value of human life would ultimately result in the end of his own.

Fan theory suggests that Yuji created a Binding Vow in Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 265

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In Jujutsu Kaisen, Binding Vows are often considered to be one of the most essential aspects of Jujutsu sorcery. They are basically contracts that a sorcerer can make with themselves or with another person. If the said sorcerer abides by the rules of this contract, it would give them a significant boost in power.

The majority of the time, sorcerers create Binding Vows with themselves in order to achieve a greater power that often gives them a significant advantage in certain situations. A Binding Vow with oneself may have its fair share of disadvantages, seeing as to how the self-imposed restrictions may limit their capabilities. That said, it can also result in an increase in the person's cursed energy or improve the effectiveness of their cursed techniques.

Throughout the Shinjuku Showdown arc, Ryomen Sukuna has been seen to make several Binding Vows in order to get out of dire situations. In fact, his victory over Satoru Gojo was because of one, as it was revealed that in order to bypass the conditions for activating his World-Bisecting Dismantle and launch it towards Gojo, Sukuna made a Binding Vow that further complicated its conditions for all subsequent uses.

Another example could be Sukuna's open-barrier Domain, which leaves an escape route, but at the same time, it allows him to increase the effective range of the guaranteed sure-hit technique of his Domain up to 200 meters.

Sukuna's Malevolent Shrine as seen in Jujutsu Kaisen (image via MAPPA)

According to a theory by u/DAAFAQ on Reddit, Yuji may have created a similar Binding Vow with his Domain, where he allowed Sukuna a similar "escape route" by ordering him to leave Megumi Fushiguro's body. Since Sukuna refused the said escape route, the effectiveness of Yuji's sure-hit Soul Dismantle technique would have been increased.

In Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 265, Yuji Itadori took Ryomen Sukuna on a walk throughout his memories, in order to make the King of Curses realize the value of a person's life. This took place in an unknown space, which can only be assumed to be inside Yuji's Domain, although not even he was aware of its nature.

After showing Sukuna several glimpses of his past and doing things like playing archery and catching crayfish together, Yuji told the former about his previous ideology, that life was only about understanding one's own role and trying to fulfill it. However, his ideology had changed over time, as he now believes that human beings aren't tools with a predetermined role and that it doesn't really matter how someone dies.

Yuji may have created a binding vow in Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 265 (image via MAPPA)

Yuji explained that the reason he hates Sukuna is simply because the latter has no regard for the value of human life whatsoever. Therefore, by showing Sukuna the memories of his past, he wanted the King of Curses to understand the value and livelihood of the people he sees as having no value.

In spite of all this, Sukuna rejected Yuji's beliefs and said that although he understands everything the latter was trying to say, those words simply didn't stir any emotion inside him. This led Yuji to take pity on Sukuna, which caught the latter completely off-guard.

Following this, Yuji declared that he now possesses the ability to kill Sukuna and threatened to do so unless the latter leaves Megumi's body and returns to the former. This results in Sukuna completely losing his composure, as he threatened to tear Yuji apart and kill everyone he values in front of him.

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After taking all these developments and the aforementioned theory into consideration, it's easy to see how the ongoing battle between Yuji and Sukuna will play out.

Since Sukuna refused to accept the escape route offered by Yuji to leave Megumi's body, the latter should theoratically possess the ability to separate the King of Curses from Megumi's body with his Soul Dismantle technique, whose effectiveness should have increased if Yuji had made a Binding Vow of offering Sukuna a "path of mercy."

Although fans can only wait as of now for the release of chapter 266 to find out if this theory comes true, it certainly is an interesting take regardless, and one that would perfectly explain Yuji's confidence in his ability to kill Sukuna.