Sukuna is an all-powerful cursed spirit revered by many and feared by all. His power is currently limited, as he is sealed within the body of a young jujutsu sorcerer, Yuji Itadori, but that does not stop Sukuna from wreaking havoc and proving himself the strongest cursed spirit alive, even from the body of an adolescent boy.
Between his raw power, his mysterious Cursed Techniques, and his imposing domain, Sukuna can cut down both Cursed Spirit and jujutsu sorcerer without batting an eye. Here are ten times in the series (so far), that Sukuna has proved his status as the King of Curses.
10 When He Took On Gojo For Ten Seconds
When Yuji Itadori first consumed Sukuna's finger, Gojo Satoru and Megumi Fushiguro had to figure out how far gone Yuji was and if he had any control over Sukuna. So, Gojo asked Yuji to switch places with Sukuna for ten seconds and fought Sukuna. The result was one of the smoothest fight scenes of the year.
The two fought in hand-to-hand combat for some of the time, and they both showcased deft maneuvering. At one point, Sukuna jumped in the air to attack Gojo from behind and destroyed the ground, but Gojo appeared sitting behind him. While Sukuna did not win the fight, it was just a little taste of his power, and a visually stunning one.
9 When He Obliterated The Finger Bearer
Yuji and Megumi were antagonized by a Special Grade Curse Spirit that appears when Sukuna's fingers create Cursed Wombs. This Cursed Spirit had incredible power and almost killed both of the jujutsu sorcerers in training. However, Yuji switched with Sukuna and Sukuna immediately blew the Spirit to bits.
While Sukuna had tried to get the Cursed Spirit on his side, it either did not recognize Sukuna or didn't care who Sukuna was, and this didn't fly with the King of Curses, who made quick work of the previously tough villain.
8 When He Played Chicken With Yuji's Literal Heart
Sukuna truly did not seem to care if Yuji lived or died. What he did care about was Megumi. So, he ripped out Yuji's heart right in front of Yuji's friend and comrade. While Sukuna did not let Yuji stay dead, no one else knew that was going to happen (possibly not even Sukuna at the time).
Still, Sukuna's willingness to go that far on a whim was impressive, if extremely cold and terrifying. No doubt Megumi was frightened at that moment as he watched his friend's heart discarded like nothing.
7 When He Toyed With Megumi's Mind
Sukuna saw something in Megumi the night that he temporarily killed Yuji, and because of that, he decided to toy with Megumi's mind. Ripping out Yuji's heart was a gamble, and switching to Yuij would officially render the young sorcerer dead.
They fight, but all the while Megumi is forced to wager between whether Sukuna will replace Yuji's heart or whether Yuji will come back to save Megumi by allowing himself to die. In the end, Yuji does switch back, which leads to his death (however temporary that was).
6 When He Brought Yuji Back To Life
Of course, if the King of Curses has the power to kill on a whim and heal in an instant, just as he healed Yuji's hand during the fight with the Finger Bearer, he must also have the power to heal Yuji's heart and bring him back from the dead. This is exactly what he does, though not before getting what he wanted from Yuji.
Having the power to bring others back from the dead is not a common one for Cursed Spirits or jujutsu sorcerers. Even if this was a special situation, the ability to revive the dead is an ability that far outmatches most other abilities.
5 When He Manipulated Yuji Into Making A Deal
Sukuna was not going to save Yuji for nothing, though. When Yuji died, he found himself in Sukuna's domain where the King of Curses forced Yuji into a deal. He wanted to be able to take control for a single minute (a minute that has huge consequences down the line). Sukuna gave Yuji the chance to avoid the Binding Vow contract if he could defeat Sukuna, but Sukuna quickly killed him in one hit.
What's more, Sukuna made it so that Yuji would never remember making the Binding Vow when he arose from his death. Though Yuji had a lot of impressive qualities without Sukuna's power, it did nothing to help him when he was face to face with the curse.
4 When He Cut Down Mahito On A Whim
Yuji was not the only person Sukuna was able to defeat in one hit. After a drawn-out fight with Mahito that almost saw Kento Nanami die, Mahito tried to touch Itadori and Sukuna's souls (as they shared a body). However, by accidentally trespassing in Sukuna's realm, Mahito made a grave mistake.
As he had done so many times before, Sukuna cut Mahito down with one strike. Mahito, unfortunately, survived this ordeal, but he was forced to retreat and go into hiding, which is a testament to his power.
3 When He Kills Jogo With Ease
Jogo really thought he could keep up with Sukuna and Gojo. Even after his fight with Gojo that sent him retreating as a disembodied head, he still thought the gap between himself and Sukuna was not that big.
So, during the Shibuya Incident Arc, Jogo was faced with the truth of his situation. Not only was the power gap between him and Sukuna incredibly great, his misstep in confronting Sukuna would be his last mistake. Had he learned his lesson in his fight with Gojo, perhaps it would have gone differently.
2 When He Destroys Shibuya
During the Shibuya Incident Arc, Sukuna took over Yuji's body for their agreed-upon minute. During that minute, wholesale destruction ravaged the city, as Sukuna used his domain expansion to fight one of Megumi's shikigami, Mahoraga. The city was collateral damage.
The damage to Shibuya broke Yuji, but it also showcased just how powerful Sukuna was. Destruction on that level was previously unthinkable, but Sukuna was capable of a lot of harm after making the Binding Vow with Yuji, even if he was only in charge for a minute.
1 When He Took On Mahoraga
The Mahoraga was the most powerful shinigami that a user of the Ten Shadow's Technique could summon, and it is said that no one has ever been able to exorcise it. So, when Sukuna stumbles upon Megumi and the newly summoned Mahoraga, Sukuna is thrilled.
During this battle, Sukuna was forced to summon his domain expansion, which eventually killed the Mahoraga with its innumerable amount of cuts. Before this, fans got to see the damage inflicted by a single cut, so the number of cuts inflicted by the domain expansion was sure to kill anything.