Warning: Contains spoilers for chapter #258 of Jujutsu Kaisen.
Summary
Sukuna's fire technique, Divine Flame, reappears in chapter #258 of Jujutsu Kaisen. The theory linking Sukuna's cooking abilities gains credence with the revelation of the Divine Flame. Sukuna's use of the Divine Flame suggests a cooking-related technique that fits his personality perfectly given his cannibalistic tendencies.
Sukuna's most mysterious ability in Jujutsu Kaisen has finally resurfaced and it could confirm one of the biggest theories about Sukuna's Cursed Technique. The latest chapter sees Sukuna using his fire technique last seen in Shibuya, finally revealing the name of the technique and thereby fueling the popular theory that Sukuna's ability may be related to cooking.
Chapter #258 of Jujutsu Kaisen revealed Sukuna's fire technique is called Divine Flame. In this chapter, Sukuna manages to open up his territory and begins attacking Maki, Ino, Choso and Yuji with slashes. Just as Yuji's Simple Domain collapsed, Sukuna blocked the series of slashes and unleashed his fire technique, possibly intending to end the fight.
Last seen in Shibuya, Sukuna's Divine Flame technique has been widely speculated about, especially since it doesn't seem to fit with Sukuna's other techniques. However, The divine fire may actually be the key to understanding Sukuna's abilities, according to a popular fan theory, may have been inspired by cooking. As such, Cleave and Dismantle can be used to prepare Sukuna's opponents by chopping and dicing them while the Holy Fire ominously cooks them.
Sukuna's divine flame technique suggests a connection to cooking
Jujutsu Kaisen created by Gege Akutami chapter #258 “The Inhuman Makyo Shinjuku Showdown, Part 30”
The theory that Sukuna's Cursed Technique and Ability is related to cooking has been a popular theory since Sukuna first used the fire arrow against Jogo and the upcoming chapters finally have can prove whether this theory has any validity or not. Although the Divine Flame's name does not directly imply a connection to cooking, there is quite a bit of evidence to support this theory, including some subtle hints and allegories about cooking.
Most notably, when Sukuna's slashing attack was first explained in chapter #119, both Cleave and Dismantle are represented by two different kitchen knives. If Sukuna's attacks are regular slashing attacks, surely any other weapon like a sword or dagger would be enough to help visualize them. Sukuna's domain expansion is also quite consistent with this theory. The Japanese version of the Shrine of Evil is “fukuma mizushi” and the second half of the Domain name may be derived from “mizushi-dokoro”, which refers to the room where meals were prepared for the emperor or nobility.
Furthermore, Sukuna also gives many cooking parables at the beginning of the fight against Gojo in chapter #224 when he Think of Gojo as a fish on a chopping board and even mentioned stripping Gojo of his scales. Even when facing Mahoraga in Shibuya, Sukuna mentioned starting with “a little taste” when preparing for battle. On the surface, Sukuna's choice of words seems to demonstrate his cannibalistic tendencies. However, these references would certainly make more sense if Sukuna's innate technique actually involved cooking.
Given Sukuna's cannibalistic tendencies and the recent revelation that Sukuna ate his twin in the womb, the technique involved in cooking would perfectly represent his character. Sukuna has always looked down on all of his opponents, and his ability to view them as insignificant ingredients waiting to be chopped up and devoured would not be entirely unusual.
That said, Sukuna's use of fire techniques means he's finally pulled out all the stops and perhaps he's finally taking the fight seriously. Yuji's awakening appears to serve as a starting point for Sukuna, who may ultimately be looking at the very slim possibility of failure. Overall, Jujutsu KaisenIts final battle just got a lot more interesting and the upcoming chapters are likely to have even more shocking revelations.
Jujutsu Kaisen available from Manga Plus and Viz Media.