Jujutsu Kaisen: Cleave and Dismantle, Explained!

Alongside Kenjaku, Sukuna is the big baddie in Jujutsu Kaisen. That is a fact that basically everyone who is following the series knows. Sukuna is a cursed spirit and is said to be the King of Curses, which speaks enough about his powers and abilities. Although he has a very diverse arsenal at his disposal, his clash against Gojo showed us that his two most practical techniques are Cleave and Dismantle, which work in a similar fashion. These techniques cost Gojo his life, seemingly, and because of that, we have decided to tell you all you need to know about these two similar, yet different techniques, both of which are very potent.

Cleave is used to eliminate entities with cursed energy

When talking about Sukuna and his techniques, one always has to consider the power they have and the fact that Sukuna can use them as powerful weapons. He really does have a powerful arsenal at his disposal and Akutami has been adding more techniques to the list based on how convenient the moment is or isn’t. This is why Sukuna is so unpredictable, but also why he is so dangerous as a foe. Among his many techniques, Cleave (and later, Dismantle) certainly has a very special place.

As the name suggests, Cleave is a cutting technique, but it is much more than a simple cut – it is deadly as it tears through a person with ease. Sukuna first demonstrated the power of this technique in Shinjuku, when he fought Gojo and later as he fought Yuji and Yuta. As you can imagine, there is a lot to tell here, so we are going to tell you what you need to know about the mechanisms behind Cleave and the effects it actually produces as a technique.

So, as we’ve said, Cleave is used to cut an opponent. It is a powerful technique that deals significant damage with just one strike, as it pierces through an opponent and slices their body; so far, it has taken the shape of a net or a matrix, cutting Sukuna’s opponent in such a fashion. The thing with cleave is that it is basically impossible to avoid – one can survive, but the damage will be done. Why? Well, Cleave adapts its power based on the opponent’s toughness – the tougher the opponent, the stronger the Cleave. This is why it is mainly used to attack living entities, i.e., those who actively emit or use cursed energy.

The limit to Cleave is that Sukuna has to touch their opponent to use it; so, if you manage to avoid physical contact with Sukuna, he won’t be able to use Cleave on you, but there is an exception to that rule as well. Namely, this rule is nullified inside Sukuna’s Domain, i.e., Sukuna can use it to attack an opponent even without touching them if they are inside his Domain. And that is all you need to know about Cleave. We can now continue with the second technique he uses.

Dismantle destroys inanimate objects

Sukuna wouldn’t really be Sukuna if he had just one technique up his sleeve, so Akutami decided to give him two techniques; they are basically the same and have a very similar way of acting, but why only one, right? Why not make Sukuna even more dangerous than he already is?! Yeah, that is the essence of Dismantle, which we are now going to explain in detail.

Dismantle, regardless of the name, doesn’t really dismantle anything – it cuts the target, just like Cleave, although in a somewhat different manner. Whereas Cleave had a specific pattern, Dismantle is a simple slice, like the blade of a sword. It can be larger or smaller, there can be more than one at the same time, but they look like actual slices of a blade. This is how Gojo was actually cut in half, although the manner of execution was a bit different than you’d expect.

Namely, Dismantle is mostly used to cut through inanimate objects, which is a very important thing to note. At least, this is what we’ve been told in the beginning. This, of course, doesn’t mean that it doesn’t work on living entities as well, as it can deal a lot of damage to sorcerers and spirits as well. By cutting the space around Gojo using Dismantle, Sukuna was also able to catch Gojo and kill him, since he was part of the space that Dismantle cut. This is why it can be so effective against living entities as well. (If you want to read more about this, we have written extensively about how Sukuna cut Gojo in half and seemingly killed him).

But, this was not the initial effect of Dismantle. Namely, the effects of this technique were severely limited at first, but Sukuna combined it with Mahoraga’s adaptation ability, which gave him a new way of using this technique. This is how he was able to cut space and worlds with Dismantle, damaging anyone and anything in the way. This is basically how Dismantle became even more dangerous than Cleave, although it was not like that in the beginning.

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