Jujutsu Kaisen: Sukuna's Furnace Flames, Explained

Highlights

Sukuna showcased incredible power with Kamino flames in JJK chapter 258 against Yuji and sorcerers.
Fans finally understand the origin and significance of Sukuna’s powerful flames in the Shinjuku Showdown.
Sukuna’s connection to evil kitchen compounds in his domain expansion adds a deeper layer to his character and abilities.

Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 258 was incredibly amazing for the fans, and one of the most extraordinary parts of the chapter came right at the very end, when Sukuna pulled out his flames once again. Sukuna has hardly ever used his flames in Jujutsu Kaisen, however, ever since the fans first saw them, they have been waiting for their return in the Shinjuku Showdown.

Jujutsu Kaisen: Sukuna’s Defeat Is Finally Looking Possible

Yuji is the last hope to take down Sukuna in JJK.

Finally, this has happened, and these flames have new meanings attached to them. Fans finally know where these flames stem from, how they are related to Sukuna’s cursed technique, and how strong they truly are.

Sukuna’s Flames In Shibuya

Sukuna Utilized Mysterious Flames Twice In Shibuya

The very first time fans saw Sukuna’s flames was during the Shibuya Incident Arc. There, Sukuna took over Yuji’s body after he reached 15-finger strength. After taking over Yuji’s body, Sukuna was able to utterly decimate the surroundings, and eventually, he also fought against Jogo. This fight was extremely difficult for the latter, and to make it even more astounding, Sukuna actually defeated Jogo using his own technique. Technically, this was not Jogo’s technique, but a similar concept. While Jogo utilized his Disaster Flames, Sukuna utilized flames of his own. At that time, fans did not know where this flame was coming from. However, what really mattered was the strength of this flame.

But, since things are starting to get interesting, how about I start fighting using your specialty?

These flames burned even hotter than Jogo’s very own, and were so strong that JoJo died from a single hit. This technique was absolutely shocking for the fans to witness at the time, because up until then, fans thought that Sukuna’s cursed techniques were only going to be Cleave and Dismantle. Later on, when Sukuna fought against Mahoraga, these flames were brought out once again. Sukuna used his Cleave and Dismantle attacks, however, they did not work at all. Mahoraga adapted to Sukuna’s technique, and later down the line, he even managed to walk through his Domain Expansion. The only way Sukuna knew that he could defeat was to finish him off in a single shot, so he brought out a technique so incredibly powerful that it could essentially beat Mahoraga in a single blow. Once again, this was the flame arrow.

Sukuna used the word Fuga, which meant ‘Open,’ to tap into this flame, and once he said that, he could create an arrow of flame and shoot it at his enemies. Both the times, this flame proved to be strong enough to one-shot his target, and ever since Jogo and Mahoraga were defeated, fans truly knew that this was an attack of the highest potency. That is why fans knew that this attack would come into play at some point in the Shinjuku Showdown Arc, especially when Sukuna fights against Gojo.

Unfortunately for Sukuna, these flames would have been incredibly useless against the strongest modern sorcerer. This is because Infinity would prevent them from hitting the strongest sorcerer and Sukuna himself admitted that he needed to peel Gojo’s scales before finishing him off.

Sukuna’s Brings Out Flames In Shinjuku

Sukuna’s Used Furnace Flames On Yuji

In JJK chapter 258, Sukuna showcased his tremendous power against Yuji and the other sorcerers, thanks to the black flashes that he hit. In the previous chapters, Sukuna got his domain back. He would also have gotten his reverse curse technique back, however, the fact that Yuji hit multiple black flashes in between the realms of Megumi and Sukuna’s souls meant that he could not get his reverse curse technique back on time, and was left weakened to a certain extent.

Jujutsu Kaisen: Gege Reveals Sukuna’s Secret Connection To Yuji Itadori

Yuji Itadori and Sukuna have a special connection in JJK.

Nonetheless, Sukuna did gain his domain, even though it was not complete. He immediately made use of his Domain Expansion, and while it did look incomplete and rather grotesque, it certainly did get the job done. By reducing the area of the domain, Sukuna decided to unleash a barrage of powerful slashes everywhere. This technique broke through Yuji’s simple domain, and even sliced his leg off.

Let’s have a fire power battle!

However, just when the sorcerers thought they endured it, given that all of them were still alive after the slashes, something sinister happened. Sukuna could maintain this domain for a total of 99 seconds. The sorcerers endured quite a lot. But, it was certainly not all, as Sukuna brought out his flames at the very end in an attempt to launch a powerful attack on his targets. For the very first time, the fans found out the name of this cursed technique and it is called Furnace.

Sukuna’s Furnace Flames And Malevolent Kitchen

Sukuna Can Use The Equipments Of A Kitchen

The first thing that fans need to keep in mind is that Kamino can also be read as Kamado, which can be translated to a traditional stovetop. The stovetop has flames, and the idea is that Sukuna gets his flames from a stovetop. Kamino can also be another way of saying “God’s.” Essentially, this can be either “God’s Stove Top” or “God’s Flames” in idea. However, there is a much deeper meaning to Sukuna’s Kamino/Kamado flames and it certainly does make sense why he’s able to make use of them.

To understand that, fans need to go back to JJK season 2, where Sukuna ‘s domain expansion was referred to as Malevolent Kitchen, instead of Malevolent Shrine. While quite a lot of the fans were dissatisfied with this translation, in many cases, it actually makes more sense to refer to Sukuna’s domain expansion as Malevolent Kitchen instead of a Shrine. The Japanese for Sukuna’s domain expansion is “Fukuma Mizushi”, written 伏魔御厨子. Fukuma itself has two kanji – 伏, which closely resembles prostration, and “-ma” which can be read as something along the same lines as “Akuma,” or demon. This is essentially where the malevolent part of the domain expansion comes from, as clearly implies something evil.

“Mizushi” is where things get interesting. “Mizushi” can refer to a Shrine, however, it can also be derived from “mizushi-dokoro,” which is a term that used to refer to a kitchen compound within an emperor’s residential place long ago in imperial Japan. The meals of the emperor used to be prepared there. Of course, Sukuna’s Domain Expansion does look like a shrine as well, but the author likely used double meaning here because Mizushi can mean both things. The kitchen compound fits Sukuna perfectly, because Sukuna is evil to the fullest, and it is his domain expansion that cooks evil in the first place. At the same time, Sukuna’s cursed techniques are all derived from a kitchen. Cleave and Dismantle are both cutting techniques that are used by a chef holding the blade.

While Dismantle is a regular slice, Cleave is a slice the power of which depends on the toughness of the enemy. Then, there is Kamino or Kamado. As mentioned earlier, Kamado can be referred to as a stovetop. In the kitchen, there is a stovetop and that stovetop is the source of the flames. “Fuga,” which is what Sukuna said to tap into his flames, means Open, and he opens the knob of the stove to access the flames, which is where the flames come from. Essentially, Sukuna’s domain expansion is a kitchen of evil or Malevolent Kitchen, and it gives him access to techniques from within the kitchen, where Sukuna is the chef, and he actually is the masterful creator of evil, be that using his slice and dice techniques, or through his evil flames from the Kamado.

Jujutsu Kaisen is available to read via Viz Media. The series can be read by the fans officially and for free on the Shonen Jump and the Manga Plus app. The release date for the next chapter of JJK, Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 259, is set to be May 12, 2024.