Work Text:
Jujutsu Kaisen: Ryomen Sukuna Origin
By Edward John Millard
Chapter 1: The Abe Brothers
Abe no Shisu was having a rough day. For one thing he had never enjoyed lengthy journeys on horseback as it made his bum, hips, and legs sore. Furthermore, he was escorting his older brother, Abe no Seimei, for whom Shisu had a jealous hatred. In public, Abe no Seimei was an imperial court official for the Emperor and government of Heian Era Japan, (794-1185 AD).
Seimei publicly specialised in the technique of Omyodo which the uses knowledge of astronomy and calendars to perform divination in order to provide the Heian government with useful predictions and analysis of strange events. This also involved performing exorcisms, warding off evil spirits, geomancy, divining details of unborn babies and finding lost objects. This made him incredibly popular in the imperial court to the point of having the Emperors ear and increasing the Abe Clans influence over Japan.
Seimei however had a secret, he really was a Jujutsu Sorcerer(1) who could use cursed energy.(2) His cursed technique(3) was called Divination. This was the real reason for his exceptional capabilities and dealing with cursed spirits(4) . Seimei being the older brother and having a far more desirable cursed technique explains Shisu’s jealousy of him as both made Seimei the head of the Abe Clan.
As Shisu glumly reflected on this. Seimei called out to him. “Sushi, we’ve found a use for your cursed technique.” Ignoring the silly nickname, Shisu looked up and saw a fallen tree blocking their path. With a sigh he got off his horse and proceeded to place the palm of his outstretched hand on the fallen tree, near the upturned roots. A clean vertical cut was made where he touched the wood. He repeated the process a few times along the length of the tree so that they could move the wood out of the way in carriable slices. They then moved on.
Shisu cursed technique was called Cleave and was part of the reason he nicknamed Sushi. As outside of menial tasks involving slicing things it was not very practical even in combat. It lacked effective range when compared to a sword imbued with cursed energy as you have to physically touch the enemy with your palm to slice them.
Its only strength was that it was efficient at cutting as it could adjust itself to the enemy’s toughness, even if they are using cursed energy to reinforce themselves, so that it cuts cleanly through them in one go.
As they moved on, Shisu commented on their journey’s purpose. “So Seimei, do you believe that this shrine maiden has the power of the Kami (Gods)?” Seimei replied with “I am sceptical as the report suggested she may just have reverse cursed technique(5) and a cursed technique like mine as she primarily heals others and provides useful knowledge. Speaking of which I have had a vision of the future that I am unable to determine the details of so maybe she can help with that.”
Shisu was shocked to hear that and said as much “A vision that is unclear to you?” “Indeed, it has been troubling me for a while. I maybe grasping at straws but nothing ventured, nothing gained.” Seimei confessed. A short while later they arrived at the village where this mysterious and reclusive shrine maiden lived.
Chapter 2: A Troubling Vision
The brothers were brought to a large cave by the village leader and were told to cleanse their hands as well as their mouths using a nearby stream. This they would do before entering a Shinto Shrine as this was a form of purification. They proceeded into the cave with the village leader and entered a larger chamber that was lit by a big hole in the roof. A young shrine maiden, dressed in traditional shrine maiden garb, was there.
She was kneeling quietly awaiting their arrival next to a Hakora (small, wayside shrine). They paid their respects to the Hakora and greeted her. She in turn introduced herself as Seinra Boseiya. She then told the village leader to leave them in privacy.
“Boseiya, our business here is that we have heard reports that you wield the power of the Kami. Would you demonstrate this power?” Seimei asked. Boseiya replied kindly “Is there something you want from the Kami? I should warn you. I refuse to use their power unjustly such as killing or any other destructive act as the power of the kami is immense and must be used with the upmost care and caution.”
“Do not worry. I merely want some advice for something that is puzzling me.” Seimei reassured her. “But first I need to check something.” He presented a small cage reinforced with cursed energy. Inside the cage was fly head(6), a cursed spirit which Seimei released while paying attention to where Boseiya was looking. Her gaze followed the fly head as it flew out of the hole in the roof of the cave.
“It seems you are a Jujutsu Sorcerer as you could see that cursed spirit.” Seimei concluded. “Your power of the Kami is really healing via reverse cursed technique and a cursed technique that like mine that provides you with useful information.”
“You are correct about me being a Jujutsu Sorcerer.” confessed Boseiya “But my ability does truly call upon the kami via a Domain Expansion(7). I have lived the life of a reclusive Shrine Maiden as I was scorned as a child by non-Jujutsu Sorcerers. But now I have found people like me in you so I am happy to rejoin society.”
This news shocked the brothers. A Domain Expansion that calls upon the kami? This was unheard of. Seimei asked “Interesting, would the kami be able to clear the visions of my Divination cursed technique?” “That is quite possible for the Kami.” Boseiya confirmed. “I will now perform the Domain Expansion to call upon the Kami.”
She brought her hands together to make the Anjali mudra hand sign, which involves bringing your palms together with all the fingers and thumbs extended straight upwards while being pressed firmly and evenly together. It symbolises unification, divine connection, and reverence. She exclaimed “Domain Expansion: Benevolent Shrine.”
The chamber grew dark as the domain’s barrier(8) formed all around them cutting off the outside world. A Tutelary Shinto Shrine formed out of thin air behind her. The Domain was bathed in serenely divine, golden light emanating from the shrine. “You wish for the Kami to clear your visions of the future?” she asked of Seimei. “Yes, I do.” confirmed Seimei. Boseiya obliged by forming the Gyan Mudra hand sign with her left hand, which is done by forming a circle with your thumb and index finger while extending all the other fingers. This symbolises Knowledge. With her right hand she formed the Surya Mudra hand sign, which symbolises the Sun and is done by forming a circle with the ring finger and thumb while all other fingers are extended.
“Amaterasu Omi Kami, please would you present the Yata no Kagami mirror to Abe no Seimei.” She requested. Out of the shrines front entrance emerged a living flame that took the form of a large wolf that burned as brightly as the Sun.
Seimei and Shisu could hardly believe their eyes, seeing a human call upon a God and ask it to fetch one of the Three Sacred Treasures of Japan just like a dog owner telling its pet to fetch something. The living flame that must be Amaterasu was carrying a beautiful mirror in its mouth which it presented to Seimei. “Now Seimei, if you try to see your vision, the Yata no Kagami mirror will clear your vision for you while you are in front of it.” Boseiya stated.
Seimei did so and activated his cursed technique while facing the mirror. Indeed, his vision was now much clearer. This is what he saw and it troubled him greatly. He saw four arms, with strange markings like tattoos. The first arm smashed a Sun, the second arm smashed a Moon, the third arm smashed a star and the fourth arm ripped the wings off three out of four humans with wings on their backs. He also saw two mouths devour five empty chairs. That was all he saw.
Seimei deactivated his cursed technique and spoke while Boseiya deactivated the domain. “Thank you for your assistance Boseiya, it was very helpful and much appreciated. The vision was much clearer. Now would you like to come with us to the capital city of Heian Kyo (Later Kyoto) as you will be welcome there as a Jujutsu Sorcerer.”
“I gratefully accept your offer. Moreover, I would like to do something that enables me to leave behind my life as a reclusive shrine maiden.” Boseiya replied. “What may that be?” Shisu asked. “I want to be married and have children.” she happily answered.
Chapter 3: A Happy Marriage?
Normally this would be quite the audacious request as in the aristocratic non-Jujutsu Sorcerer society in the Heian Era put a lot of stock in the societal rank of the person who is getting married. This is so that their children get the best rank and lineage. Boseiya was a lonely Shrine Maiden with no such notable rank.
However, among the Jujutsu Sorcerer’s in the imperial court such as the Abe, Fujiwara, and Sugiwara clans, powerful Jujutsu that could be inherited by one’s children were highly prized.
Thus, Boseiya would actually be highly desirable given her Jujutsu capabilities. Shisu and Seimei were well aware of this so they quietly planned to have her marry someone within the Abe Clan so that their clan would not lose influence within the imperial court to the other clans.
Shisu schemed in secret to be the one to marry her so that he could use their child to inherit the leadership of Abe clan from his brother. Seimei currently had no children and even if he did, the clan would be more likely to choose a child with Boseiya’s abilities.
During the journey back to the capital Shisu composed poetry and letters to seduce Boseiya before they reached the capital where he risked losing her to someone else. The wedding was finalised with simple Banquet with Shisu’s parents as Boseiya’s parents had long ago abandoned her.
Boseiya was soon very happy as she became pregnant with Shisu’s child. There were however some interesting complications. First, Boseiya started showing signs of malnourishment part way through her pregnancy. Seimei examined her and concluded that she had twins. However, before they could adjust her diet to compensate, she suddenly felt better. After further examination, Seimei surmised that she had lost one of her twins.
This was generally viewed as blessing as twins were considered inauspicious among non-Jujutsu Sorcerer’s because they cause inheritance disputes. Also, among Jujutsu sorcerers there was an additional problem. When it came to the inheritance of Jujutsu, twins were treated as an individual so the latent potential of each twin as Sorcerers would be significantly lesser than if it was a single child.
The appearance of the child after being born, who was a boy, caused the biggest stir. He had four arms, the second pair extending underneath the armpits of the first pair and two sets of eyes, the second pair below the first on the face. A second larger mouth was also found on his abdomen.
He also had a protruding layer of flesh on the right side of its face. Finally, he had black markings like tattoos. These appeared on his face, abdomen, upper body, upper arms, ankles, and wrists as black lines. Also, large black dots marked his four shoulders. Boseiya was deeply cared for the child who was named Abe no Sukuna after Ryomen Sukuna, who was a Guardian protector and benefactor of the Hida Province of Japan.
Shisu and Seimei had a deep discussion about the matter of his birth. Seimei stated that he knew, thanks to his cursed technique, that Sukuna had eaten his twin in the womb to avoid dying from malnourishment. Thus, due to the cursed energy given off by his twin’s death, Sukuna’s flesh had been affected by it. Moreover, he had taken in all his twins latent potential.
Therefore, whilst he was born with what many would call a deformity but Jujutsu Sorcerers would likely envy him as Jujutsu combat required mastery of verbal chants, hand signs, wielding of cursed tools(9) and hand to hand combat. Hence, Sukuna would have an immense advantage in all these fields with his additional arms and mouth.
There was discussion about what to do until the child was strong enough to defend himself as he would be targeted before then out of fear or envy. Seimei confided in Shisu the vision he had in Boseiya’s Domain Expansion that suggested Sukuna would destroy the Sun, Moon and Stars squad, the Five Empty Generals that served the Fujiwara clan and the four Angels that served the Sugiwara Clan under the Abe Clan.
Seimei suggested they smuggle the child away from the capital to keep him away from prying eyes and Shisu agreed, changing his own scheme accordingly. He would kidnap the child and have his son for fulfil the vision, seeing it as a chance to destroy Seimei once and for all. Furthermore, he would raise the child to be a killing machine that would help him control the Heian government.
Firstly, Shisu had to set up a location to take the child to while he waited for him to be old enough to be weaned from his mother (1-2 years old) but before infant memory loss (3-4 years old) so that he had no prior memories of his old life. Boseiya took some convincing but eventually conceded to leaving the capital to a life on the road until the child could fend for itself.
They had to keep the child well-hidden during the long and hard journey. Finally, shortly after the child’s second birthday and when they were not far from Shisu’s hideout where he planned to take the child, Shisu executed his plan. He stole his child from his wife’s side while she slept and was about to ride off into the night atop his horse when he heard a noise behind him.
Chapter 4: The Vow and Early Childhood
Boseiya woke up and immediately noticed that both her husband and child were not in bed with her. “Shisu…Sukuna? she said, tiredly puzzled. She took a look around the room and saw they were not there. Feeling slightly unnerved, she slid open their bedroom door and made to check whether they were in the nearby privy but stopped short when she heard a noise. The sound of a horse quietly neighing and a hushed whispered response. Panicking, she rushed to the stables and saw a hooded figure about to take off on a horse.
Hearing the crunch of her feet on the ground, the hooded figure turned around and revealed himself to be Abe no Shisu holding their baby. “Shisu, what are you doing with Sukuna?” Boseiya exclaimed. Shisu did not respond but simply put his hand on his child’s face and smiled maliciously. No words were needed; Boseiya knew what he was doing.
“Alright, I will not scream or use try anything else to stop you. Just please do not hurt Sukuna-chan (-chan is a Japanese honorific that refers to children and those you feel affection towards).” she begged. “As long as you make the following binding vow(10), I will not have to. Swear that you will not see this child again or send anyone else to pursue us. In exchange I will make sure to keep the child alive and healthy. We each die if we break our conditions. The choice is yours.” Shisu proclaimed.
Boseiya turned away so as not to immediately break the vow, tears welling up in her eyes as she realised the gravity of her next decision. She made the vow and Shisu made it as well. Not wasting a second Shisu galloped away leaving Boseiya sad and alone.
The next morning after a fitful sleep, Boseiya sent a letter to Seimei claiming that Shisu and Sukuna had been lost in landslide and that there was no point in looking for their bodies. Seimei was understandably distraught but if there was a silver lining the vision it was that he had was now unlikely to come true. Little did he know that was far from the case.
Shisu had taken Sukuna to his hideout. A veil (A type of concealing barrier) kept it hidden from prying eyes and kept Sukuna from escaping. The interior was like a Jujutsu Sorcerers’ training course from hell. It had dozens of cursed tools for Sukuna to train with. A pit full of caged cursed spirits that Sukuna would learn to fight. His only reprieve from the hellish training were books on Jujutsu Sorcery.
One of the first things he learned was generating and controlling his cursed energy. This was achieved by strapping Sukuna down on a table and Shisu would then cut into Sukuna with his cursed technique Cleave and only heal the wounds with reverse cursed technique once Sukuna could generate and control the cursed energy generated from the negative emotions created by the intense pain. The severity of the wounds increased until he could generate and control large amounts of cursed energy.
The same method allowed Sukuna to learn reverse cursed technique to heal the wounds himself instead of relying on his father. Sukuna had inherited his father’s cursed technique Cleave and learned it along with others aspects of Jujutsu. These included residuals(11), Black Flash(12), barriers, Shikigami(13), Binding vows and hollow wicker basket(14). Shisu would teach him his mother’s domain expansion last as it was essential to his sick dream to work and it was the pinnacle of Jujutsu that was most difficult to master.
Shisu got supplies from a local village outside the hideout and he made sure to never treat Sukuna with any kindness or familiarity. He only gave him cold hearted purpose and discipline. He also did not tell Sukuna about his parents. Sukuna complained at first but soon put up with this harsh reality. All the while the food he was fed out of necessity could not satisfy a growing desire to eat something he tasted a long time ago but he could not remember what it was.
Chapter 5: Revelation and Kingship
Sukuna was close to mastering Domain Expansion, at least within an enclosed space which was easier to perform than in an open space and Shisu felt it would be easier to prevent others from seeing Sukuna until he was ready to go outside. All the while his hunger to go outside and discover that divine taste that he could not place grew. The nearest thing to it was when he ate fish and his father refused to answer when asked about it.
Finally, his father taught him the mudra hand sign for his mother’s Domain Expansion, Benevolent Shrine, the Anjali Mudra. However, when Sukuna performed it, nothing happened. His father was annoyed and tormented Sukuna until Sukuna suggested. “Maybe it’s a different Mudra?” “Well go ahead and try. I doubt it will work.” Shisu growled. Sukuna tried it with various Mudra and every time he failed his dad punished him.
Finally, Sukuna tried the Enmaten Mudra hand sign, which involves curling your pinkie and index fingers while pressing them together. Also, extend your middle and ring fingers and press them together. It refers to Enma who is the Japanese version of the Buddhist King of the Hell Realm and the judge of the dead. Shisu’s initial elation at the Domain Expansion now working was short lived as he soon realised it was not the same as Sukuna’s mothers Domain.
It did conjure a shrine but this one was significantly different in aesthetic. As it had bovine skulls that formed the base and the roof had large horns growing out of it. Furthermore, human skulls hung from its corners and the four entrances had a large human mouth coming out of them. It radiated decay and evil when compared to the clean, simplistic beauty of his mother’s. When he activated its ability, all it did was merely apply the guaranteed hit affect to his cursed technique like most domains.
Sukuna’s hopes of pleasing his father so that he could go outside were quickly dashed as his father for the first time in Sukuna’s memory got truly angry and blurted out. “You malformed abomination. This shrine is supposed to give you power of the Kami like your mother. You are useless to-“ Shisu stopped himself mid-sentence. “What is a Kami? What is a mother?” Sukuna asked curiously. “Never mind, just get out of my sight, I need to think.” Shisu put a stop to his son’s inquiry.
Sukuna left feeling immensely confused and curious but above all, upset. He had sought some semblance of predictability in his father’s behaviour in that he would stop tormenting Sukuna once Sukuna gave him what he wanted. But this time he had shouted in anger and insulted Sukuna in a way he did not quite understand or comprehend despite succeeding at mastering a Domain. Moreover, he still would not be allowed outside.
Sukuna decided to escape by killing his father as he had no real attachment to the man. “I have to catch him off guard with something he hasn’t taught me.” He thought. Sukuna then proceeded to experiment with binding vows in secret until he felt he could take on his father.
Sukuna waited until his father’s guard was down then struck with a modified version of cleave that exchanged the ability to adjust to the toughness of his target so that it could slash the target at a distance without having to touch them. Sukuna called it dismantle. The long range, flying slash fatally wounded his father.
As his father lay dying on the floor, he used his last words not to curse Sukuna but to make him into a curse. “You think escaping this place will change anything. No matter where you go, you will always be an abominable curse who ate your twin in the womb. That is why you crave eating human flesh.” Shisu died and Sukuna only cared about the last sentence. He proceeded to test it out and ate part of his father. Immediately he felt an insatiable relief as he finally achieved his deepest desire.
Sukuna left their hideout by disabling the veil using his knowledge of barriers. He made his way towards the nearby village having heard noises from it. Foremost in his mind was more delicious food and finding out about the meaning of the words that he did not yet understand. He tried to ask the villagers what those words meant and when they inevitably ran away screaming at the mere sight of him. He cut them down and ate them.
One thing he often heard the people shout when they saw him was the name “Ryomen Sukuna.” Now he had no way of knowing this at first but they were not referring to who he had originally been named after by his mother but instead an ancient demon with two faces and four arms who shared the same name.
“I guess I’ll call myself that as he never named me.” Sukuna thought. His notoriety grew with time as he traversed Japan. He gained the legendary cursed tools called Hiten and Kamutoke. His domain expansion, which he called Malevolent shrine, became uniquely capable of manifesting without enclosing it in a barrier which is akin to painting a masterpiece on air without a canvas. He then made a binding vow that in exchange for allowing victims to escape the domain he could massively expand its effective range. Both cleave and dismantle could now slash at anything within its effective range.
Many sorcerers challenged him but few could so much as leave a scratch on him due to his advantageous physique and exceptional capabilities. Soon the Heian court considered him significant threat that was comparable to a living, breathing natural disaster. He truly had earned his title as the King of Curses, living as befits his nature and heeding to no-one. He also gained a faithful servant named Uraume who had a cursed technique called Ice Formation that Sukuna would use to preserve his favourite food.
Chapter 6: Peaceful Preparation
Abe no Seimei was angry at himself as he made his way to where Seinra Boseiya’s had arranged to meet him. “How can I ask her this after all this time?” he thought. “But I must do something otherwise we may lose everything.”
He had previously read a letter from the unnamed captain of the Sun, Moon and Stars squad of Assassins who served the Fujiwara Clan as part of the Heian government. It reported that Ryomen Sukuna had ravaged her squads’ forces that had tried to assassinate him before he went to war with the government.
Another letter had also arrived from Sukuna himself stating. “If you want peace and not war, present me with Jujutsu that interests me.” Seimei wanted to ask Boseiya to use her Domain Expansion to placate Sukuna. He doubted he had the right to ask given her relationship with Sukuna. She had however agreed to speak with him about it as she was still kind and generous.
He saw her ahead of him at the meeting place, holding a strip of fabric. “Greetings, Boseiya. How are you?” he asked. Boseiya replied with “I am quite fine though I doubt you feel the same way Seimei. But please be at ease as I am quite willing to do it. After all he is my child and I would love to see him after all these years” “Are you sure?” said Seimei in mild surprise. “Please remember, he will not be the same innocent child that you cared for. I do not think you will be able to stop him simply because you are his mother.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to win him over with the power of love but on his terms.” Boseiya confided “I am sure my Domain will be enough. Now before we go, please would you blind my eyes with Jujutsu and cover my blinded eyes with this fabric. I will explain presently why this must happen before I meet him.”
After the explanation Seimei asked “But how will you see if he tries to attack you.” “Simply put, once the domain is open, he won’t be able to touch me.” she confidently stated. They proceeded with the plan.
Sukuna looked at the letter he had got from Seimei with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion. Apparently, he was to be presented with a Domain Expansion by a woman who wielded the power of the Kami. Of course, he had considered that this was his mother who his father had mentioned and wanted to meet her because he wanted to see if her power was real.
However, he knew that Seimei had tried to have him assassinated recently and this could be an elaborate trap. Being the prideful hedonist that he was, his curiosity won over his caution and so he sent for the woman via his servant Uraume who would guide the woman to him as she was blind. If something happened to Uraume in advance his suspicions would be confirmed.
“All this time and I still have not figured out how to wield the power of the Kami. Maybe she can provide me with some insight then I will make this country my plaything.” he chuckled to himself. Time passed and the woman was brought before him. Their meeting would not only affect many others at the time but also those in the distant future.
Chapter 7: Mother and Son
“Greetings, Lord Sukuna.” spoke the blind folded woman, getting on both knees and bowing her head low. “Do not waste my time with pleasantries although I commend you for your deference.” Sukuna replied coldly “Most who have never met me lack that latter trait. Now raise your head and answer my question. Are you my mother who wields the power of the Kami?”
The blind woman raised her head immediately and spoke “I am your mother; Lord Sukuna and I do wield the power of the Kami.” Uraume, who knew nothing of Sukuna’s family as he hated unwarranted questions, asked “Should I dispose of this audacious woman, Master Sukuna?” “No, you may not Uraume, she is likely to be my mother who my father spoke of before I killed him.” Sukuna commanded. “Now you will perform the Domain Expansion, any hostility and you will be my supper tonight. I have gained a taste for shrine maidens.”
“As you command, Lord Sukuna.” His mother performed the Anjali mudra without hesitation and all three of them were soon within the Domain of Benevolent shrine. “Well, it certainly looks the part but now I want you to test its power against mine.” Sukuna ordered.
For the first time since she arrived Boseiya smiled. “I’m afraid I won’t do that Sukuna-chan.” she replied affectionately. The temperature in the domain rapidly dropped as Uraume activated his cursed technique Ice Formation and prepared to launch a wave of ice at Boseiya. “Don’t speak to Master Sukuna in that disrespectfully familial tone.” Uraume spat. Quick as a flash, Boseiya performed the Surya mudra to call upon Amaterasu.
Amaterasu became a living flame that encircled Uraume, trapping him and the heat from her flames stopped his cursed technique from working as any ice that formed immediately melted. Before Sukuna could doing anything, his mother performed the Abhaya Mudra which symbolises fearlessness, protection, and reassurance. It is done by putting the right palm outward with the fingers extended upwards and the left hand resting horizontally at the side of the body.
A giant samurai warrior with a sheathed sword appeared near her and took up a fighting stance, ready to draw his blade if Sukuna tried anything. “Sukuna-chan, the flame around your servant is Amaterasu-Omi kami and the warrior guarding me is Susanoo-no Mikoto armed with one of the Three Sacred treasures of Japan, the Kusanagi-No-Tsurugi blade. I suggest you hear me out if you do not want to incur their wrath.” Boseiya informed her son.
Sukuna gritted his teeth and decided to hear her out. “I would appreciate it greatly if you would seek peace with your uncle Abe no Seimei and in exchange I’ll teach you the power of the Kami.” She proposed. “Interesting, I want to know how it is done so I’ll accept it for now.” concurred Sukuna “Great, as a mother I feel I should tell you what it involves so you know what you are getting into. In essence to use Benevolent shrine, you must cleanse your soul by never stealing, killing, lying and so on. It may take time and effort but I am sure you can-.” She stopped short as she noticed her son’s mood turn from pleased to incensed.
“I won’t do that even for the power of the Kami.” He spoke coldly. He fired a dismantle at his mother but Susanoo deflected it with his blade. “As I thought, I need not worry about dying from that Kami’s blade. You could have beheaded me before I attacked but you cannot because you love me. Truly, love is worthless because even with the power of the kami you cannot stop me.” Sukuna concluded
To his surprise, his mother chuckled calmly. “Oh Sukuna-chan, you are such a sweet child. If love is as worthless as you say then how come it is thanks to my love that you are alive today? Furthermore, I will not kill you but I can stop you.” Boseiya performed the Naga Mudra which symbolises strength, wisdom, overcoming hardship and gaining clarity.
It is done by crossing your hands in front your chest in a “X” shape and crossing your thumbs. A large snake with eight heads and eight tails appeared and charged Sukuna. Sukuna fired more dismantles at it but as they struck the snake the wounds instantly healed and its scales changed colour. The last of the dismantles bounced harmlessly off the new scales. It then coiled around Sukuna restraining his limbs, hands and gagging both of his mouths.
One of the serpents’ heads bit into his shoulder and Sukuna felt his cursed energy stop working as the snake’s poison went into his body. The snake stopped biting and Boseiya got up, approached Sukuna, and healed the bite marks with reverse cursed technique.
“I am sorry my son, I had to use Yamata no Orochi in that way to stop you from resisting. Now please reconsider your refusal and do not bother lying.” she said as she performed the Gyan mudra to conjure the Yata no Kagami mirror in front of her son so she could tell if he was lying.
Sukuna however had no intention of lying and promptly shook his head. A clear refusal. “Then you leave me no choice. Remember when I said that my love kept you alive all this time. I was referring to the fact that your father made me enter a binding vow when he kidnapped you. In exchange for keeping this vow you were kept alive and healthy. I would not be allowed to see you again or send anyone else to pursue you. That is why I am blinded right now.” Boseiya explained.
“Now I will use reverse cursed technique to regain my sight and break the vow which will kill me for looking upon you. I made another binding vow with the Kami that if I die, no-one will ever be able to access Benevolent Shrine again. Now is your last chance Abe no Sukuna, to gain or lose. Know that I love you as a mother, it was my dearest wish to look upon you one last time, that I respect you right choose your own path in life and I hope you seek to redeem yourself in order to broaden your skies.” Seinra Boseiya declared.
Sukuna ultimately refused after some consideration for various reasons. He lived as he pleased, he never needed anyone else to satisfy him and he hated being pitied or shown mercy. Above all he wanted vengeance on all humans who, like his father, scorned him as an abomination in spite of not knowing the meaning of the words at the time.
“I see, maybe it was too soon to expect better from you but I shall have hope in the future for you as you are not truly alone.” she said softly with a glance at Uraume who was still trapped by the flames of Amaterasu.
She caressed Sukuna’s face gently with her hands and said “You are so lovely Sukuna-chan.” As her eye sight returned. She collapsed as the biding vow took hold but just before she lost consciousness she pointed at the now diminishing flames of Amaterasu as the Domain faded with her life.
Uraume was beyond ashamed and afraid. The cursed energy given off by his master as he seethed like a volcano about to erupt made Uraume want to drop to his knees or even run. However, he composed himself and asked politely. “Master Sukuna, shall I tell Seimei that the negotiations fell through?” “Yes, then I want you to fetch my cursed tools for me and then preserve my mother’s body with your cursed technique.” Sukuna icily ordered.
Uraume bowed and left to compose a letter. Sukuna spotted his mother’s finger pointing at the scorch marks left by Amaterasu. He walked over to the scorch marks and noticed that they were arranged in a message in Japanese from his mother. Having read it, he muttered to himself. “All right mother, I’ll compromise if what you say is true.” He then stood by her body until Uraume returned with his cursed tools.
Chapter 8: The Strongest Sorcerer in History
Having seen to Uraume taking care of his mothers’ corpse. Sukuna made his way to the battlefield to face the forces of the Fujiwara, Abe, and Sugiwara clans. He was armed with Kamutoke, a powerful cursed tool that resembled a Varja from Tibetan Buddhism and Hinduism. It was imbued with the cursed technique of electrical discharge that could rain down on enemies like a bolt of lightning.
In one of his other hands, he also wielded Hiten, a trident shaped weapon that resembled a trishula from Hinduism. It was capable of manipulating three elements with its tips. These were earth manipulation, wind manipulation and water conjuration as well as manipulation. Both fresh and sea water are used.
As he neared the battlefield, he used the wind manipulation of Hiten to launch himself into the air and carry him to the battlefield. He could also fly using the impacts from clashing dismantles together to propel himself but that was less energy efficient as it required his own cursed energy to do as opposed to the power of Hiten.
As he drew within sight of the enemy of forces, he spied four humans flying with wings on their back, who must the Angels that were assisting the Sugiwara clan forces also known as the Desshi Pacification Squad. They were flying some way below him, using their elevation to scout out the area around the ground forces.
On the ground below were the Five Empty Generals and their forces who served the Fujiwara clan. The generals had the most impressive cursed energy so Sukuna figured he would save them for the main course. “Let’s start with a hearty appetiser.” Sukuna decided.
He swung Kamutoke at nearest the Angel, commencing the battle. The Angel was knocked out of the sky by a descending lightning bolt and dropped like a stone. The three remaining Angels noticed what had happened and two of them descended to the ground forces while the third approached Sukuna in mid-air.
“How dare you strike down Jacob’s Ladder, fallen one.” declared the approaching Angel who was codenamed Fire and Brimstone. Sukuna soon saw why. The Angel conjured a flaming sword that discharged blasts of hellfire with each swing. Sukuna evaded with the winds of Hiten and retaliated with dismantles as well as lightning bolts from Kamutoke. Fire and Brimstone evaded these in turn.
Suddenly Sukuna had a nasty idea and used Hiten’s winds to rapidly propel himself towards the ground. The Angel pursued but Sukuna was rapidly outpacing him and touched the earth with Hiten upon reaching the ground. The Angel only realised what Sukuna was doing when it was moving too fast to evade in time.
Hiten made the earth shudder and then with incredible speed a small volcano formed next to Sukuna and promptly erupted incinerating the Angel. “How’s that for hellfire?” Sukuna coyly remarked. Another tap of Hiten and the volcano disappeared. He saw the main ground force of his enemies approaching.
“Out of my way you rabble, only true Jujutsu Sorcerers who thrill me get to see my main course being devoured.” Sukuna exclaimed. He conjured a large wave of sea water with Hiten that crashed into the approaching opponents. He followed this up with lightning from Kamutoke which electrocuted a number of submerged sorcerers to death.
Those who managed to stay above the surface of the water suffocated to death as the electrolysis of the sea water caused the air above it to be filled with chlorine gas which is poisonous to inhale. Sukuna engaged the few survivors, what surprised him was that they were unusually strong for mere rabble and that the deceased seemed to be reviving to fight again. Then he noticed the remaining two Angels who were not far away, who were seemingly chanting while standing still.
He ran up to them and saw why they did not flee. They were chanting in a trance-like state, unaware of their surroundings. One was repeatedly saying “Lazarus” while the other was saying “David and Goliath.” “I see, one of these must be reviving my enemies while the other makes my enemies stronger while fighting me.” Sukuna concluded “Well I’ve never liked starters that outstay their welcome.” He proceeded to shred the two Angels to pieces with dismantles ending the effect of their cursed techniques.
Sukuna left the remaining rabble behind to confront the Five Empty Generals. These were Five Special grade(15) sorcerers who were named as such because they regularly took on deadly missions for the Heian Government and thus had a high mortality rate, hence they were often being replaced.
As he landed in front of them, a bulky sorcerer amongst them named Yousaiya activated his Domain Expansion called Fair and Square with the Varuh Mudra which symbolises water, fluidity, adaptability, and emotional balance. It is done by bringing the thumb and Pinky together in a circle with the other fingers extended.
Information flooded Sukuna’s brain about the Domains’ effect, which some domains can do. Simply put it trapped Sukuna alone within the Domain and forced him fight each of the generals in one-on-one fights while using it’s guaranteed hit affect to deprive him of being able to use his own Domain Expansion as well as theirs. “I guess none of them feel they can match me in a clash of Domains.” Sukuna speculated “So who is first?” He called to the generals who were wating for their turn outside the Domain.
“Samura, the cursed tool specialist will duel you first.” Spoke a heavily armed and armoured young man who must be Samura as he entered the Domain. “I, Ryomen Sukuna, the King of Curses accept your challenge.” Sukuna politely responded.
Their battle commenced and Sukuna was mildly impressed as Samura showed exceptional martial skill when wielding cursed tools. Not many of them had interesting cursed techniques, most were just imbued with high amounts of cursed energy reinforcement making them tough to destroy if not that interesting to fight.
His armour was especially strong. “He is like a lively fish on my chopping board; I’ll have strip him of his scales and fins before finishing him off.” Sukuna thought.
He proceeded to interlock his own cursed tools with Samura’s and electrocuted him with Kamutokes electricity which left Samura temporarily stunned. Sukuna then chanted Dismantles incantation with his mouth on his face “Dragon Claws, Repulsion, Falling Star” and chanted Cleaves incantation with his abdomens mouth. “Dragon flesh and Bone, Attraction, Rising Sun.”
With most Jujutsu, incantations, hand gestures and movement were necessary when starting to learn to use them but could be discarded as the sorcerer mastered that Jujutsu. To excel at Jujutsu is to excel at subtraction of these elements. This also meant you can temporarily boost the Jujutsu’s effectiveness to over 100% even after mastering it by using the subtracted elements again.
This is what Sukuna used to boost both types of slashes to the pierce through Samura’s armour and fatally wound him with his two spare hands that were not holding his cursed tools.
“Why do you think I lost king of curses?” Samura raggedly gasped as he kneeled, slowly bleeding out in front of Sukuna. “To me” explained Sukuna “Cursed tools are skin, cursed energy is blood, cursed techniques are muscle, Domain expansions are the heart, Reverse cursed technique is the brain and Physical traits without Jujutsu are bone and marrow. Your skin was well seasoned and your bones were well cooked but your lack of muscle, brain, blood, and heart made devouring you somewhat unfulfilling.”
“So, I should have been less over specialised and be a jack of all trades?” Samura asked. “Indeed, although I would say I’m more a master of all trades.” Sukuna answered. “I see, last question, have you ever been impressed by someone who was just bone and marrow?” Samura inquired before passing away “No, but if they did, they would give me something to prove as their existence denies Jujutsu as a form of worthy strength.” Sukuna confessed.
“Who is next?” Sukuna asked “I, Ryuji the cursed energy specialist is here.” Ryuji, a well-built man, joyfully exclaimed as he entered the Domain. He raised his fists, clearly intending to fight Sukuna with his bare hands. Sukuna decided to keep it fair by setting aside his cursed tools, under a layer of earth for safe keeping with Hiten’s earth manipulation.
The two men proceeded to brawl and Sukuna soon realised this man was all blood and brain with no muscle in that he relied on cursed energy reinforcement to enhance his physical blows with Sukuna while using Reverse cursed technique to heal any serious damage dealt to himself. He also seemed to not be using any cursed technique.
Again, Sukuna was mildly impressed as Ryuji was able to keep up with Sukuna’s six limbs in spite of only having four himself. Sukuna decided to gamble a bit and concentrated on landing a black flash sooner than Ryuji as Ryuji had his attention more divided with using both cursed energy reinforcement and reverse cursed technique. Eventually he did and was now in the state athletes called the “Zone” which enabled him to decimate Ryuji with a shower of black sparks.
“It’s sad to say Ryuji but the reason you lost was because the division of attention between your blood and brain left both of them lacking, you needed to sacrifice the brain to make the most of your blood otherwise you had little chance of winning.” Sukuna explained. “Thank you for advice and the blood boiling melee, King of Curses.” Ryuji gratefully said before dying.
“Anyone else?” Sukuna asked as he retrieved his cursed tools. “I-I-I’m next, my name is J-Jikoku.” stammered the contestant as he entered the domain. They started the duel and Sukuna was immediately bored. Jikoku must be a new and inexperienced replacement member of the generals and while his muscle was interesting, he was so lacking an all-other regards that he was not much better than the earlier rabble.
His cursed technique seemed to be some kind of time manipulation where by pressing his palm on Sukuna he could temporarily make Sukuna move extremely slowly. At the same time, he accelerated his own time to boost his physical speed to land a hail of blows on Sukuna who was stuck in slow motion or to evade Sukuna’s attacks. A hail of blows may have been a bit generous given their lack of impact. Maybe a light shower of blows was more accurate.
Sukuna predicted his attack pattern and managed to skewer Jikoku on the end of Hiten. Jikoku panicked and threw a dagger cursed tool that barely scratched Sukuna’s cheek enough to draw blood. “All that for drop of blo-?” Sukuna was saying in disappointment when he was cut short by what must have been poison on the dagger.
He dropped to his knees as the poison took effect. Jikoku cried for joy and was about to free himself from Hiten when he shrieked in fright. Sukuna had stood up seemingly unfazed by the poison now. “Thanks Mother.” Sukuna muttered begrudgingly before he killed Jikoku by using both water and wind manipulation to cause his body to pop like a grotesque ballon.
“You’ve spoiled my mood.” Sukuna angrily expressed his frustration. “I have had enough of this.” he stated as he dropped his cursed tools and activated Hollow Wicker Basket, with two of his hands, to nullify the guaranteed hit effect of his enemy’s domain. This allowed him to activate his Domain Expansion: Malevolent Shrine with his other two hands so that he could tear the enemy’s domain apart with his own domain and get out.
The enemy’s domains barrier however was surprisingly resilient on both the inside and outside. “It must be due some to series of binding vows or alterations to the domains conditions that the user made to keep me trapped. Let us see if your heart can take this.” Sukuna impatiently stated as he decreased the effective range of Malevolent Shrine to just outside the enemy’s domains barrier to increase his domains destructive power.
However, it still was not enough so he resorted to Malevolent Shrines incantation to temporarily boost its power further.
“Dragon heart, Immovable Bedrock, Full Moon.” Sukuna chanted and the enemy’s domain’s barrier was finally shredded. As he reclaimed his cursed tools, he saw the same had happened to its user who had withstood malevolent shrine with what must have been incredibly resilient cursed energy reinforcement and healing via reverse cursed technique however Sukuna’s final push had been too much for that to hold up.
“Greetings Ryomen Sukuna, King of Curses. I am Denji Tekiya.” said a nearby voice before Sukuna hurled himself out of the path of a blast of pure cursed energy from his last opponent. “How did he survive Malevolent Shrine? And How come his cursed energy levels seem abnormally high for a human?” Sukuna wondered.
He attacked with Kamutoke expecting his opponent to dodge the lightning bolt, but instead he simply absorbed it. “Ah so he absorbs cursed energy, that explains things as he must have absorbed the slashes of my Domain as cleave and dismantle are made of cursed energy. That also explains his elevated cursed energy levels and he must be able to discharge the absorbed energy such as with that initial blast.” Sukuna figured.
“This is perfect. It is time for a test drive Mother.” Sukuna exclaimed in excitement. While Denji was confused by this outburst, he was even more surprised by the next thing that happened having been given the run down on Sukuna’s capabilities before the battle started.
“Open, Divine Flame.” ordered Sukuna and flames appeared between two of his hands. It gave off an incredible heat that set off alarm bells in Denji’s head as he powered up a final blast with everything he had in stock to destroy Sukuna before he unleashed those flames. Sukuna put one arm straight out ahead of himself, aiming one flaming hand at Denji while bending the elbow of the other arm with a flaming hand to stretch out the flame between the two hands.
He looked like a bow man, without a bow, about to fire a flaming arrow. Both sorcerers unleashed their respective attacks and Sukuna’s flame arrow pierced through and dissipated Denji’s cursed energy blast. Denji tried to absorb it but even after discharging all the energy he had previously, he could not absorb all of the fire arrows energy.
It was like a leaf trying to absorb the Sun itself rather than just sunlight. Thus, Denji burned up into little more than ashen dust. “Impressive, thanks again mother” Sukuna begrudgingly noted.
Sukuna stood victorious but there was still a bitter aftertaste in his mouth about how it had gone down. He had clearly demonstrated his superiority as the Strongest Sorcerer of the Heian era of Japan, the Golden Age of Cursed techniques. “I wonder if any of these losers will be a decent palate cleanser.” He thought as he made for the nearby corpses.
Chapter 9: Compromise and Coldness
“Well, today is not going as expected.” Seimei sighed in relief while also feeling puzzled. He had just received a letter from his nephew Sukuna saying that having satisfied his lust for battle with the forces of the Heian Government, he now sought peaceful relations with them.
In exchange Sukuna wanted a place at the capital and free rein to do as he pleased within all of Heian Japan. “I thought his mother failed and I would be his next meal. I probably made the wrong assumption given the vision did not mention the Abe Clan. I guess I should thank Boseiya as I suspect she had a hand in this even after death.” Abe no Seimei thought
Uraume despite knowing Sukuna better than anyone was equally puzzled by his master’s behaviour. Having sent that latest letter to Seimei, Sukuna had ordered Uraume to stop preserving his mother’s body and bring it to a certain outdoor location. When he arrived at the location, he found Sukuna chopping wood with cleave and dismantle to turn a section of woodland into large funeral pyre.
He had asked Sukuna whether he should help but Sukuna had refused the offer saying Uraume’s cursed technique was not suited for this task. Uraume stood to attention until Sukuna finished then Uraume handed over Boseiya’s corpse to Sukuna who placed on a certain spot on the funeral pyre. “Don’t we need a torch?” asked Uraume.
“There’s no need” Sukuna replied and did something Uraume had never seen him do. He conjured a flame between his hands after saying “Open Divine Flame.” He proceeded to light the pyre with the flames, dispelled the remaining flames with “Close Divine Flame” and stood by watching the pyre go up in flames with a blank expression as if he were mesmerised by the flames.
“Master Sukuna, if it’s not too much to ask, why didn’t you eat her?” Uraume nervously asked fully expecting to be torn apart for talking out of turn. Sukuna did not say anything for a while then answered with. “My mother left a message in the scorch marks from the flames she used to ensnare you. She wanted to compromise by giving me limited access to the flame of Amaterasu via a binding vow involving my cursed technique.”
“In exchange I would seek peaceful relations with the Heian Government. Furthermore, that I should cremate her using those flames as thanks for making me immune to all poisons for the rest of my life due to the poisonous bite of Yamata no Orochi.” Sukuna elaborated
Seeing the confusion had not quite left Uraume’s face, Sukuna continued. “Her love for me was genuine. I had thought otherwise until she touched my face. It made me recall a vague memory of being gently held by warm, loving hands. Obviously, these were her hands from when I was an infant.”
“Yet she made me more uneasy than anyone else I have ever encountered because of her unflappable brazenness and how easily she made me physically submit. She impressed me more with her power than any of my other opponents. Yet she bore no ill will when she died unlike many others that fell before me. I am warming myself by the flames of her funeral pyre and yet since she died, I feel a never-ending coldness in my heart.” Sukuna admitted
Uraume stared at Sukuna and saw himself having accidently killed his own parents with his Ice Formation cursed technique when it first manifested as a child. He also recalled how Sukuna had been the one to adopt him, how he was valuable to Sukuna for preserving and preparing his favourite food. Finally, he recalled a conversation he had with Sukuna where Uraume asked why did Sukuna not feel cold around Uraume and Sukuna flipped the question saying why did Uraume not feel cold around Sukuna?
Uraume in the present asked Sukuna if he could make a binding vow with his cursed technique Ice formation so that if Sukuna perished forever Uraume’s own cursed technique would bisect his own neck effectively killing him as well. Sukuna accepted this proposal and dismissed him while looking at the growing flames whose warmth had begun to thaw the coldness in his heart.
The End.