Highlights

Maki's battle against Sukuna showcased her true strength and skills in JJK chapter 253.
Despite Sukuna's powerful Black Flash, Maki's fate is uncertain but she is far from dead.
The next chapter will see Maki joining forces with Yuji to continue the fight against Sukuna.

Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 253 dropped recently and it was certainly one of the most incredible ones that fans have witnessed, when it comes to pure combat. This chapter was all about Maki and Sukuna, as fans expected. In the previous chapter, fans saw Maki launch her powerful sneak attack on Sukuna, and then overpower him in combat, which was nothing short of spectacular.

Jujutsu Kaisen Reveals Maki's True Strength Against Sukuna

Maki has shown what she's truly capable of against Sukuna.

Maki vs Sukuna was all set to continue, as was implied by the previous chapter, and that is exactly what happened in this week's chapter, which certainly did not surprise the fans. What is surprising, however, is the fact that the fight between Maki and Sukuna seems to have concluded, at least for a short while.

Maki's Incredible Performance Vs Sukuna

Maki joined the battle against Sukuna quite late. This was because Maki was following the perfect strategy to take down the King of Curses. For her to enter battle, Yuta would have to give the signal first, which he did by breaking his domain. As soon as he did that, Maki entered the battle and she stopped Sukuna with the split soul katana, leaving a gaping wound in his chest. Maki stabbed Sukuna right and his heart, and while this should have killed him, Sukuna figured out a way to make his heartbeat manually, which saved him, that is, until his Reverse Cursed Technique returns to him and allows him to heal normally.

Maki then went on to take him on in combat and she certainly managed to keep up with him in every way. Whether it was a battle of speed or strength, Maki was the one who came out on top, regardless. This was certainly impressive in every way. In JJK chapter 253, Maki, once again, displayed her superior strength and speed in the battle against Sukuna. In fact, the King of Curses himself admitted to the fact that out of all the sorcerers that he fought after Gojo, Maki was the one that he was looking forward to fighting the most, and that she was the one who he had his eye on. This in itself implies that Maki was more worthy of an opponent for Sukuna than either Yuta, Yuji, or even Kashimo. This is quite an incredible statement for Sukuna to make and just goes to show how incredible Maki was. In JJK chapter 253, Maki not only held her own very well, but she also landed some powerful blows on the King of Curses.

Jujutsu Vs Physical Prowess

In Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 253, Maki versus Sukuna raged on for the vast majority of the chapter. In fact, Sukuna himself openly exclaimed that he was looking forward to this battle and that it would prove once and for all what form of fighting is superior. According to Sukuna, Maki is very special since she has been able to escape the curse of cursed energy. She does not possess any cursed energy, and that in itself makes her very special. Sukuna, on the other hand, is the strongest sorcerer. In many ways, these two are the antithesis of one another. Maki does not have any curse energy, and is the strongest in her own way, while Sukuna possesses tremendous amounts of cursed energy, and is the strongest sorcerer.

Jujutsu Kaisen: Author Gege Akutami Provides Pathway To Gojo's Return

JJK 252 provides a major hint for Gojo's potential return.

According to Sukuna, this fight would prove who is superior, once and for all. Clearly, Sukuna started taking this fight more seriously as it continued. His performance against Maki got better and better the more they fought. This is in line with what Uraume said in the previous chapter. Sukuna only releases his true strength when he is pushed to the extreme and that is what fans saw in this week's chapter. While Maki was dominant for the vast majority of the fight in the beginning, JJK chapter 253 saw this fight even out a lot more, which meant that Sukuna was starting to release more of his power.

Sukuna's Black Flash Vs Maki

yuta defeated by sukuna jujutsu kaisen jjk 252

JJK chapter 253 marked the end of Maki versus Sukuna, when Sukuna managed to take her by surprise and, against all odds, launched a powerful Black Flash on Maki. This Black Flash certainly helped Sukuna greatly. This is a technique that one cannot utilize at will.

No sorcerer in history can use Black Flash at will, and not even Sukuna can manage to pull off this skill. However, now that Sukuna has landed one Black Flash on Maki, it is clear that she will have taken much more damage than expected.

Expectedly, Maki was sent flying after she received this powerful Black Flash. This makes a lot of sense, given that Maki was not able to guard against it properly, and, secondly, this is an attack from Sukuna, after all. Sukuna is the strongest of all sorcerers and for him to hit such a powerful blow on his enemies means that they are going to be out of the battle for a while.

In doing so, Sukuna cleared up the path for another sorcerer to jump into the battle, and that was none other than Kusakabe. Now, Kusakabe will be responsible for fighting against Sukuna, however, his performance might not be noteworthy. He is most likely going to get one moment against Sukuna, which is going to inflict some sort of damage to the King of Curses, and then be disposed of. Most fans have their eyes peeled on Maki's return, but there are even some individuals who believe that Maki is dead.

Is Maki Zenin Dead?

Clearly, Maki is not dead. Sukuna only landed one powerful Black Flash on her, which means that she still can fight. However, one must take into consideration the fact that Maki cannot utilize reverse cursed technique. She is not a user of cursed energy, and having the skill to utilize its opposite, that is, positive energy, is not one that she is blessed with either. For Maki to heal, she has to rest. Fans have previously seen Maki heal through unknown means in 5 minutes when she took quite a bit of damage. Given that this is a fight against Sukuna, Maki will likely not be back anytime soon. At the soonest, it will take Maki some minutes to get a hold of herself, and potentially rejoin the battle. For now, it appears that Kusakabe will be tasked with holding back Sukuna, and, when he does his part, Maki and potentially Yuji will join the battle together. This fight is far from done, and it is going to continue over the course of the next few chapters as well.

It seems that Sukuna has won the first round of his fight against Maki, and in the second one, she will be joined by Yuji, and this powerful duo will then collaborate in battle and attempt to take down the King of Curses. Whether or not that will be enough, however, is an entirely different question.

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 253, is set to be March 10, 2024.