Sukuna uses Enchain, a binding vow that grants him one minute of control over Yuji's body. In that minute he tears off one of his own fingers, turns it into a cursed object, and forces Megumi to swallow it. That single act moves Sukuna out of Yuji and into Megumi, and it only lands because Megumi's will has just been shattered by finding his sister Tsumiki possessed (Screen Rant, Wikipedia, Ryomen Sukuna).
*Manga spoilers through chapter 268. Sukuna's takeover of Megumi (chapter 212) has not been animated; everything after the first scene is ahead of the anime.* This post belongs to the Culling Game arc of our Jujutsu Kaisen story guide.
Pick your path: the chapter, the anime question, why Megumi, or how it ends.
YourCrush.AI has Sukuna as a chat character, so once you have read this you can talk to Sukuna yourself.
How did Sukuna take over Megumi?
He used a binding vow, a severed finger, and a moment when Megumi had nothing left to lose. The takeover of Megumi by Sukuna is the chapter 212 turn in Jujutsu Kaisen where the King of Curses abandons Yuji Itadori's body and possesses Megumi Fushiguro instead, all to claim Megumi's Ten Shadows technique (Wikipedia, Ryomen Sukuna).
Enchain is not new. It's the same binding vow Sukuna forced on Yuji back in Season 1, when he seized control of Yuji's body and Yuji died and came back with his memory of the vow's terms erased (Wikipedia, Season 1). Chapter 212 is where he uses it again.
Shibuya, 140 metres
The interest starts in Shibuya. Megumi, badly hurt and cornered, summons Mahoraga, the strongest Ten Shadows shikigami, through a ritual that would have killed him. Sukuna steps in, "keeping Megumi alive for his secretive plans", beats Mahoraga, and shrinks his domain from its usual 200 metres to 140 so Megumi stays outside it (Season 2 episodes 16 to 17) (Game Rant, Wikipedia, Ryomen Sukuna). The rest of that night is in what Sukuna did in Shibuya.
The 100 points
The full Culling Game story, players and all, is in who plays the Culling Game. Megumi entered the game to get his stepsister Tsumiki out, and he collects the points to do it under the 100-point rule (Wikipedia, Season 3).
Manga-only spoiler: who is inside Tsumiki
"Tsumiki" spends Megumi's 100 points on free entry to and exit from colonies instead of leaving the game. That choice is the tell that she is not Tsumiki: the reincarnated sorcerer Yorozu is possessing her (chapter 211; single press source for the chapter) (Sportskeeda, Wikipedia, Ryomen Sukuna).
One minute
Manga-only spoiler: how Sukuna gets into Megumi
Sukuna calls in Enchain: one minute in control of Yuji's body. He tears off a finger, makes it a cursed object, and forces Megumi to eat it, moving himself into Megumi's body (chapter 212). Chapter 213 shows the result (Screen Rant).
Manga-only spoiler: what happens to Tsumiki
Sukuna kills Yorozu "to fully break Megumi's soul", and Tsumiki dies with her (Wikipedia, Ryomen Sukuna). Screen Rant places the death in chapter 219 (Screen Rant).
How YourCrush.AI lets you write a possession story around an adult character you design
YourCrush.AI uses the description and backstory fields to set the spirit's rules, so Juniper knows when it can speak and what it wants before you type anything. YourCrush.AI keeps what the spirit has revealed in pinned memories, which means a name it let slip last week is still there when you use it against it. YourCrush.AI runs story branches, so you can try the separation ritual one way, watch it go wrong, and try another. YourCrush.AI also sends voice messages, a good fit for a character whose voice is not always her own.
It's free to join, 18+ only, and conversations aren't sold to third parties.
What chapter does Sukuna take over Megumi?
Sukuna takes over Megumi in chapter 212, and chapter 213 shows the result. Both sit in Volume 24, "Fearsome Womb: Recurrence", which covers chapters 209 to 217 (Screen Rant, Wikipedia, chapter list).
The stretch fans call Sukuna in Megumi body runs from chapter 212 until chapter 267, when he is forced out. At the moment of the takeover he has 15 of his 20 fingers, the count he reached in Shibuya. That number is our own tally, since Game Rant lists no fingers eaten in between (Game Rant).
When does Sukuna take over Megumi in the anime?
Not yet. The anime hasn't reached it. Season 3, The Culling Game: Part 1, ended around chapter 181, and Season 4 has been announced without a release window (Screen Rant, Anime News Network).
That leaves roughly thirty chapters between where the anime stops and chapter 212. How much of that Season 4 covers is anyone's guess right now.
Why does Sukuna want Megumi?
Sukuna wants Megumi's cursed technique, the Ten Shadows, and taking Megumi's body gives it to him. The interest shows up as early as Shibuya, where he saves Megumi from Mahoraga "for his secretive plans" (Wikipedia, Ryomen Sukuna).
There's a second reason, and it has to do with Yuji. Sukuna was sealed inside Yuji "with an unbreakable binding vow that prevents him from escaping", which made Yuji's body a cage he never controlled. Megumi was different. With his Zen'in blood and the Ten Shadows, he was "a suitable vessel" (Game Rant).
Reading "secretive plans" as proof that Sukuna planned the takeover back in Shibuya is interpretation, not canon. What the manga actually shows is the method. The takeover depends on a wound. It only works once Megumi's will is broken, and Sukuna then kills Yorozu to break it completely. Power is the motive. Grief is the door.
Mahoraga again
What Sukuna does with the technique afterward is a separate question from why he wanted it. In the Shinjuku duel with Gojo, the fight between Gojo and Sukuna, he uses it right away.
Manga-only spoiler: what Sukuna uses Megumi's technique for
Sukuna summons Mahoraga through Megumi's Ten Shadows. Mahoraga adapts first to Gojo's Unlimited Void and later to Infinity, and Sukuna uses its adaptation as a "model" for getting past Gojo's defence. This sequence comes from a single press source (Sportskeeda).
Is Megumi Sukuna's vessel?
From chapter 212 until his defeat, yes: sukuna in megumi body is the arrangement that replaces Yuji as the host. Yuji was the vessel Kenjaku arranged for Sukuna from birth. Megumi is the body Sukuna chose for himself (Wikipedia, Ryomen Sukuna, CBR).
Does Megumi get his body back?
Yes. The rescue plays out across four chapters, and it takes all three of Sukuna's opponents working at once. Yuji's Domain Expansion targets Sukuna's hold on Megumi, Megumi trips Sukuna up from the inside with the Ten Shadows, Nobara hits Sukuna's soul with Resonance, and Yuji's Black Flash drives Sukuna out of Megumi's body in chapter 267. Megumi survives to the final chapter (Screen Rant, CBR).
Out
Manga-only spoiler: how Megumi is freed
Yuji expands his domain at the end of chapter 264, a copy of his hometown, and Screen Rant describes its sure-hit as aimed at the boundary between Sukuna's soul and Megumi's. Inside it, Yuji tells Sukuna to "release Megumi and go back inside him if he didn't want to die" (Screen Rant). In chapter 266, Megumi uses the Ten Shadows from the inside to trip Sukuna up (Dexerto). In chapter 267 Nobara returns and uses Resonance on Sukuna's last finger to strike his soul (ComicBook), and Yuji's Black Flash drives Sukuna out of Megumi into a weak, blob-like form (Screen Rant).
Sukuna dies in chapter 268, after refusing Yuji's offer to take him back as a vessel. The full story of how Sukuna's hold on Megumi finally breaks, and how Sukuna dies has its own post (Dexerto).
Write a possession story of your own
I can't recreate a canon character here, so instead I built an original adult around the same central idea: sharing a body with something ancient that wants out. Paste these fields into write a possession story with a character you design.
| Field | What to paste |
|---|---|
| Name | Juniper Osei |
| Category | Human |
| Behaviour mode | natural |
| Traits | Calm, Mysterious, Intelligent, Protective, Emotional |
| Speaking style | quiet, careful, wry, interrupted |
| Description | Juniper Osei is a twenty-nine-year-old archivist at a hilltop shrine who has carried a sealed spirit inside her since an accident in the reading room three years ago. Most days it is quiet. Some days it comments on the visitors. She is composed, dry, and very good at noticing what people leave out, and she is honest about the spirit as soon as she trusts you. She wants to know whether it can be separated from her without killing either of them. |
| Backstory | You came to the shrine to research the old seals for your own reasons. Juniper has been watching your questions for a week and has decided you might be the person who can help. The spirit has started speaking up when you are in the room, which has never happened before. |
| Greeting | You're back. Good. Before you sit down, I should tell you that something inside me has an opinion about you, and it is not a polite one. I can usually keep it quiet. Today might be harder. Ask your questions, and if my voice changes, stop and say my name. |
Frequently asked questions
Why does Sukuna want Megumi and not Yuji?
Because Megumi has the Ten Shadows technique, and Yuji's body was a cage sealed by a vow Sukuna could not break (Game Rant).
Did Sukuna want Megumi for Mahoraga?
He wanted the whole Ten Shadows technique, and Mahoraga is its strongest shikigami. In Shinjuku, he uses Mahoraga's adaptation against Gojo (Wikipedia, Ryomen Sukuna).
Why did Sukuna save Megumi from Mahoraga in Shibuya?
He kept Megumi alive "for his secretive plans," which the manga later shows were about the Ten Shadows (Wikipedia, Ryomen Sukuna).
Does Megumi die in Jujutsu Kaisen?
No. Megumi survives and appears in the final chapter, chapter 271 (CBR).
What happens to Tsumiki?
She was possessed by the reincarnated sorcerer Yorozu, and she dies when Sukuna kills Yorozu, in chapter 219 by Screen Rant's count (Screen Rant).
Is Sukuna's takeover of Megumi in Season 3?
No. Season 3 ended around chapter 181, well before chapter 212 (Screen Rant).
More from Culling Game
- Read the full story: What is the Culling Game? The rules, the colonies and how it starts
- Start here: What is Jujutsu Kaisen about? The whole story in order, starting with Season 1
- Chat with Sukuna: Sukuna on YourCrush.AI
- Also on YourCrush: Anime villains who work: what each one wants, and how to build your own
- Also on YourCrush: Anime AI chat: twelve canon adults sorted by how they talk, and how to build your own