"Surprised to see ?"
Zen'in Shinsuke glanced at the wary faces surrounding him, a faintly mocking smile tugging at his lips.
"Why the long faces? I'm not a monster."
Without sparing them another look, he withdrew the hand from the man's shoulder and casually walked toward the inner rooms, not even bothering to acknowledge the clan mbers.
A bunch of self-important jujutsu sorcerers—he didn't even find them worth a second glance.
"...Hah."
As his figure disappeared into the hall, the crowd exchanged uneasy glances. Only the man he'd touched earlier let out a shaky breath, his back soaked through with sweat. It wasn't cowardice—Shinsuke's pressure was simply overwhelming.
"Mom, who was that?"
Little Zen'in Maki tugged at her mother's hand, looking curiously at the fading silhouette.
"He… should be your cousin," her mother answered softly, still unsettled herself. She never expected him to return.
A boy born without cursed energy, scorned and despised since childhood… yet he had clawed his way up with nothing but raw strength, until the entire Zen'in Clan feared his very presence.
"...Cousin?"
Whispers rippled among the nearby clansn.
"That guy with no cursed energy—why is he back? Wasn't he exiled from the clan?"
"Better pray we don't see a repeat of what happened eight years ago."
"Hmph, he's just a curse-less failure. As if he could challenge the entire Zen'in Clan."
"You weren't there back then. If you had been, you wouldn't speak so lightly."
"Enough. Stop talking nonsense. Disperse."
An elder stepped in quickly, waving off the hushed argunts. Family sha was not ant to be aired in public.
Maki frowned, whispering under her breath:
"He doesn't have cursed energy either… so why is everyone so afraid of him?"
Her small head struggled with the question, unable to make sense of it.
---
anwhile, Shinsuke entered the inner chamber, where an old man sat cross-legged before a wall marked with the large calligraphy for "Zen."
"Well, look at that—the old man's still alive?"
The current clan head, Zen'in Naobito, a Special Grade 1 sorcerer, calmly poured a cup of tea and slid it forward. He showed no surprise at Shinsuke's sudden return, nor the fear others had displayed.
"It's been eight years. This ti, you're not planning on leaving again, are you?" Naobito asked in a conversational tone, as though speaking to an old acquaintance. To him, no matter how strong Shinsuke was, he was still a junior.
"Who knows?"
Shinsuke took a sip of tea, then grimaced and stuck out his tongue. Bitter as hell.
"What about Toji?"
"He left the clan after you did," Naobito replied evenly. "He married into another family. Goes by Fushiguro Toji now."
Though Toji had severed ties with the Zen'in Clan, his relationship with Naobito remained tolerable; they still t from ti to ti.
"In fact, not long ago, he sold his son to the clan."
"I see… that sounds like him." Shinsuke's face betrayed no surprise. He knew Toji too well—their childhood in the clan had forged an unshakable familiarity.
"You agreed to this?"
Naobito arched a brow at Shinsuke's calmness.
"Toji made that choice himself. And besides—what would you expect? For two n without cursed energy to raise a boy with inherited techniques?"
Shinsuke had no intention of claiming Fushiguro gumi for himself. The boy carried the Zen'in's treasured Ten Shadows Technique. With the clan's resources, his potential could rival even Gojo Satoru one day.
Why raise the boy on scraps when the Zen'in Clan could lavish him with resources?
Still… the relationship between father and son clearly needed nding.
"Perhaps that's for the best," Naobito mused. "The Gojo Clan alone has already disrupted the balance of the jujutsu world. If Toji's son can awaken the Zen'in's inherited technique, he may well be our answer."
He had already negotiated with Toji: if gumi awakened the clan's secret technique, Naobito would make sure Toji was handsoly compensated.
For now, the future remained uncertain.
Everything here—including the entire Zen'in Clan—was under his eyes.
"Gojo Satoru, huh…"
Zen'in Shinsuke knew that na all too well.
"So, anything big happening in the jujutsu world lately?"
"Sothing big…" Naobito mused. "If I had to say, it would be Tengen's once-in-five-hundred-years assimilation. It should be happening in the next few days."
As head of one of the Three Great Families, he was naturally well-inford about such matters.
"I see. Looks like I ca back at the perfect ti."
For the first ti, Shinsuke felt a bit of gratitude toward Tsukumo Yuki. Had he been late, he might've lost his dear otōto forever.
"Old man, don't go dying on . If you're gone, the Zen'in Clan's finished."
Shinsuke stood, scratching his ear as he turned to leave. To him, Naobito was the only one in this rotten family worth a shred of respect.
Watching him go, Naobito let out a faint sigh.
Those two brothers… just thinking about them gave him a headache. If it weren't him in the seat of clan head, the Zen'in would've collapsed long ago.
---
At the gates of the Zen'in estate, Shinsuke ca across Zen'in Maki.
The small girl stood firm, her timid sister Mai clinging to her hand.
"S-sis… he's scary. Let's just run!"
Mai's voice trembled as she tugged desperately at her sister's sleeve, eyes wide with fear. To her, this man was more terrifying than any curse.
But Maki kept her gaze locked on Shinsuke. She ignored Mai's plea, only tightening her grip on her sister's hand.
"Hey! Why are they afraid of you?"
Her voice rang out as Shinsuke passed. She tilted her head up, eting his eyes—not with fear, but with burning curiosity.
Shinsuke paused mid-step. Slowly, he looked down at her, a faint grin tugging at his lips.
"Good eyes, brat."
Then he brushed past the sisters without another word.
"Wait! You didn't answer !"
Maki spun around, fists clenched, shouting at his back.
"Because they're afraid of dying."
The answer ca without him turning his head. By the ti the words sank in, his figure had already vanished.
"Afraid… of dying?" Maki whispered, dazed.
"Co on, sis. Let's just go back. You have to hold my hand tight, don't let go, okay?"
"…Yeah."
Maki finally pulled Mai along, leaving the gates behind.
---
anwhile, Shinsuke had already set off on his search for Toji.
Still, he couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for Maki.
He could sense it—her body carried only a trace of cursed energy, so faint it was practically worthless.
That ant she was trapped between two worlds: too weak to beco a sorcerer, yet unable to achieve the monstrous physique he and Toji had attained through Heavenly Restriction.
Her path was sealed. She was destined to face mockery and contempt… without the strength to fight back.
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