The Culling Game arc in Jujutsu Kaisen is famous for throwing its characters into battles that are as much about the mind as they are about physical strength. Fans have watched Yuji Itadori sit in the defendant’s box, judged by the shikigami Judgeman for crimes he did and did not commit. But a popular question among the community is simple: what if it was Megumi Fushiguro standing before Hiromi Higuruma instead? How would the Ten Shadows user handle a trial where the verdict literally decides if he lives or dies?
The matchup between Megumi and Higuruma never happened in the original story. Megumi was busy fighting Reggie Star while Yuji took on the lawyer in a battle of guilt and ideology . But looking closely at how both fighters think and fight, imagining this “what-if” scenario helps fans understand just how terrifying Higuruma’s cursed technique really is—and how Megumi’s strategic mind might be the perfect weapon to survive it.
The Rules of Deadly Sentencing
To understand how this fight would go, you first need to know how Hiromi Higuruma’s cursed technique works. Higuruma, a former criminal defense lawyer who lost faith in the justice system, manifests a shikigami named Judgeman. This creature looks like a walking scale of justice, with a white mask and sewn-shut eyes to represent blind fairness .
When Higuruma activates his Domain Expansion, Deadly Sentencing, he does not create a typical barrier full of sure-kill attacks. Instead, he creates a courtroom. The accused is placed in the defendant’s stand, and Judgeman acts as the judge. The domain has strict non-violence rules during the trial phase. Neither side can attack the other until a verdict is reached .
Judgeman first accuses the defendant of a crime. The crime is usually something small and technical from their past. For Yuji, it was entering a pachinko parlor while underage . The shikigami then presents evidence to Higuruma, who acts as the prosecutor. The defendant must argue their case. If found guilty, Judgeman passes a sentence. The most dangerous sentence is confiscation, where the guilty party loses access to their cursed energy. If the crime is severe enough, Judgeman gets angry, opens its bloody eyes, and hands down a death sentence via the Executioner’s Sword .
Megumi Fushiguro’s Crime: A Target on His Back
If Megumi entered the domain, what would Judgeman charge him with? Unlike Yuji, whose biggest “crime” was being connected to Sukuna, Megumi has a few skeletons in his closet. He is a member of the Zenin family, even if he hates them. He has used his shadows to technically “steal” or take things without permission. But the most likely charge would relate to his involvement with Sukuna directly.
In the current storyline, Megumi’s body was taken over by the King of Curses. While Megumi himself did not commit the mass murder in Shibuya, his soul was present. He carries the burden of being the vessel. Judgeman does not care about intent; it cares about facts. The shikigami might charge Megumi with accessory to murder or even mass murder, similar to how Yuji was initially charged for Sukuna’s actions . This would immediately put Megumi in a worse position than Yuji’s first trial.
The Trial Phase: Strategy vs. Impartial Law
Here is where the fight gets interesting. Yuji’s strategy in the courtroom was simple: honesty and acceptance. He confessed to the mass murder charge because he felt responsible, which infuriated Judgeman and led to a death sentence . Megumi, however, is a different breed of fighter. He is a strategist first and foremost. His fights against opponents like Reggie Star show that he treats combat like a chess game, thinking several moves ahead .
Megumi would likely not confess immediately. He would listen to Higuruma’s arguments and look for loopholes. He grew up in the jujutsu world, isolated and forced to think for himself. He understands rules and how they can be bent. Megumi might argue that he was not in control of his body during Sukuna’s rampage, making him an unwilling victim rather than a willing participant.
However, Higuruma is an exceptional lawyer. He dismantled Yuji’s arguments with ease . He would likely counter Megumi by pointing out that Megumi’s techniques (the Ten Shadows) were used by Sukuna to cause destruction. The fact that Sukuna used Megumi’s own body and abilities to fight would be strong evidence for the prosecution.
Guilty Verdict: What Does Megumi Lose?
If Judgeman finds Megumi guilty, the standard sentence is confiscation. For Yuji, this was not a huge deal because his fighting style relies on raw physical strength and divergent fist. He can still punch hard without cursed energy. For Megumi, losing cursed energy is a death sentence.
Megumi’s entire fighting style revolves around the Ten Shadows Technique. Without cursed energy, he cannot summon his Divine Dogs, his Nue, his Shadow Garden, or his ultimate trump card, Mahoraga. He becomes a regular teenage boy with no hand-to-hand combat training comparable to Yuji. If Judgeman confiscates his technique, Megumi is essentially helpless in the non-violent trial phase . Once the domain breaks and the fighting starts, he would have nothing to defend himself with against Higuruma, who wields a powerful gavel and, potentially, the Executioner’s Sword.
The Executioner’s Sword: A Race Against Death
If Judgeman deems Megumi’s crime severe enough—and being connected to the Shibuya massacre is very severe—he would receive the death sentence. This manifests as the Executioner’s Sword, a blade that can kill any sorcerer in one hit, regardless of their toughness . This is the sword Higuruma later used against Sukuna himself.
If Megumi is handed this sentence, he has two options. One, die. Two, find a way to appeal. Yuji successfully appealed his death sentence by demanding a retrial, exploiting the fact that Judgeman found him guilty without a confession . Megumi would have to be smart enough to do the same. But here is the problem: Yuji had the physical stats to survive the short period between the guilty verdict and the retrial. Megumi, with his technique confiscated, might not survive the initial shock.
The Fight Phase: Higuruma’s Weakness
Assuming Megumi survives the trial phase with his technique intact (maybe by arguing so well that he is found not guilty, or by getting a minor sentence), the real fight begins. Hiromi Higuruma is a modern-day sorcerer. He only awakened his powers recently. He is not a fighter by nature. He relies entirely on his domain and his gavel.
Megumi is a prodigy. He has been fighting curses his whole life. If he can avoid getting trapped in the domain again, or if he can fight Higuruma outside of it, Megumi has the advantage. He can summon multiple shikigami to overwhelm the lawyer. He can use his shadows to attack from blind spots. Higuruma does not have the battle experience to handle someone as unpredictable as Megumi.
The fight would mirror Megumi’s battle with Reggie Star. In that fight, Megumi used the environment, his shadows, and his incomplete Domain Expansion to win . He took a beating but outsmarted his opponent in the end. Against Higuruma, Megumi would likely try to force a close-range battle where his summoning tactics give him the upper hand.
Why Megumi Might Win (And Why He Might Lose)
Megumi’s best chance at winning is to avoid the domain altogether. If he sees Higuruma forming the hand signs for Deadly Sentencing, he can try to interrupt him or run. Megumi is fast and his shadows allow for quick escapes. If he can drag the fight out and force Higuruma to fight in a traditional brawl, Megumi’s versatility wins.
But Megumi’s biggest weakness is his hero complex. He often sacrifices himself to save others. In a courtroom setting, Higuruma could exploit this. The lawyer might argue that Megumi’s actions, while well-intentioned, led to more deaths. Higuruma himself is a man crushed by a broken system; he knows how to find the cracks in people’s morals . If Higuruma makes Megumi doubt himself, Megumi might freeze, and in a fight against a domain user, freezing means losing.
What the Story Tells Us
The actual manga and anime make it clear that Yuji was the right person to face Higuruma. Their fight was not about who was stronger, but about ideology . Yuji’s optimism and willingness to bear guilt softened Higuruma’s hardened heart . Megumi is more cynical. He likely would not have been able to change Higuruma’s mind. The fight would have ended in a bloody stalemate or a mutual defeat.
Megumi fighting Reggie made sense. Reggie was a strategic fighter with a contract-based technique that required thinking . It was the perfect opponent to push Megumi to unlock his Domain Expansion. If Megumi had fought Higuruma, he might never have grown that power. He might have lost his technique permanently in the courtroom.
Also Read:
Conclusion: The Courtroom vs. The Shadow
So, how would Megumi vs. Higuruma go? Based on the rules of Judgeman and the known abilities of both sorcerers, the fight would start badly for Megumi. He would likely be found guilty due to his connection to Sukuna and risk losing his Ten Shadows forever. However, Megumi’s strategic genius would give him a fighting chance. He might find a legal loophole Yuji missed. If he survives the domain, his combat skills would likely overpower the inexperienced lawyer.
It would be a closer fight than most people think. But in the end, Megumi’s biggest enemy would not be Higuruma or Judgeman. It would be the truth. Megumi carries a lot of darkness inside him. In a domain that forces you to face your crimes, that darkness might just be too heavy to bear.
That is the beauty of Jujutsu Kaisen—even the fights that never happened make you think about the characters in a whole new way. For more deep dives into your favorite anime battles and character breakdowns, keep it locked on VvipTimes.
