Warning: this article contains spoilers for Jujutsu Kaisen Chapter 166, "Tokyo No. 1 Colony, Part 6," by Gege Akutami, John Werry, and Snir Aharon, available in English from Viz Media.
It wasn't a surprise when Yuji claimed full responsibility for Sukuna's Shibuya massacre in the previous chapter. After all, he has made it clear that he blames himself for it since the moment he realized what happened. As early as Chapter 3 of the series he said there's no way he could convince himself that people dying because of Sukuna isn't his fault. That hasn't changed after all this time.
Higuruma's curse ability Judgeman found Yuji guilty after he insisted he won't lie or deny that he did it. Higuruma's gavel subsequently transforms into a new weapon known as Executioner's Sword. Anyone cut by this sword will die without exception. This ability may explain how Higuruma was able to rack up 100 points in the Culling Game so quickly.
Yuji's confession brings out an emotional outburst from Higuruma who knows that Yuji isn't actually guilty of mass murder. He angrily yells at Yuji saying "all people are weak and ugly no matter how high-minded a soul they wish to have." He says "that's all there is to it, the darkness lying before their eyes are nothing more than darkness. Even if they shine a light, all they see is more emptiness before them."
Higuruma's words at this moment are clearly influenced by the unfairness and corruption he himself has seen and experienced as a lawyer. He's expressing his anger at the court system which carelessly punishes innocent people without giving them a fair trial. Moreover, he's also angry at the clients he desperately tried and failed to help. Those clients looked at him with contempt in their eyes and treated him awfully when they weren't found innocent, despite the fact that he tried his best.
Higuruma has said that he can't leave things alone if something isn't right. In Chapter 159 he pointed out that Lady Justice wears a blindfold to represent the law's impartiality and people close their eyes to spare themselves the truth. Still, he wants to keep his eyes open, even if he's the only one, in order to not shake off the hands that cling to him. This parallels the moment he was about to cut Yuji with the Executioner's Sword in a very interesting way.
Higuruma thinks back to days when he used to believe that people's depravity was something to be valued, as the fight continues. Now he just thinks everyone is simply weak and ugly because of their flaws. He doesn't want to hope that Yuji might be different, so he closes his eyes in a futile attempt to ignore the truth as he's about to cut him. However, he can't help but wonder why Yuji admitted to the crime, and he obviously knows that if he goes through with this execution despite knowing the truth, he'd be no different than the corrupt court system he despises so much. His conflicting feelings force him to deactivate his Cursed Technique before his sword can reach Yuji.
Higuruma explains that he knows his body was possessed by Sukuna at Shibuya and he didn't willingly give up control, therefore he's innocent. Yuji still insists that it was his fault because he's too weak. Higuruma responds by saying that people who are weak like him are probably still around. This shows that Higuruma is once again starting to see people's depravity as something to be valued instead of scorned. Hence, why he says he remembered why he became a lawyer in the first place when Yuji asks him why he dispelled his technique earlier.
Higuruma confirms the end of the fight by telling Yuji that he'll give him the 100 points. Yuji and his friends will now be able to add a new rule to the Culling Game to prevent Tsumiki Fushiguro from having to participate in any fights to the death. Higuruma then asks Yuji if he's ever killed someone out of his own volition. Yuji says he has and Higuruma then rhetorically asks if it felt awful, hinting that that's how it felt to him.
Curiously, that contradicts something he expressed to Yuji a few chapters ago. Just before they started fighting, he said that killing someone that ticks him off feels better than expected. This seems to imply that he wasn't being sincere at that moment and didn't actually enjoy killing anyone. In fact, he looks like he regrets it. The final panel of the chapter teases another Higuruma flashback that will likely shed some light on how he truly feels about what he's done in the Culling Game up to this point.
