Chapter 73, Part 5: Playing both father and mother to someone else...

"Wu, I think I just heard something interesting? Like being cut in half or something." Xia Youjie's voice, clearly tinged with laughter, came from the phone. That gloating tone was clearly audible even from who-knows-how-far away.

Clearly, Gojo Satoru's act of seeking out his peers to share the joys of the day ultimately became a boomerang, spinning back to back at him.

"No, you're hard of hearing." Gojo Satoru didn't admit it, clearly annoyed.

Shoko Ieiri laughed and added, "No, I think I heard that too."

Gojo Satoru: "Then there's a problem with the network!"

"No way?" Xia Youjie would be a fool to believe him. "Um... Xingling-chan, right? What you just said about... cutting it in half or something, could you explain in more detail?"

Of course, Karin Oori obediently nodded: "Sure!"

But Gojo Satoru had already taken the phone away, still pretending the network was bad: "Moshi moshi? Jae? Strange, why aren't you saying anything? I can't hear you, hello—"

Xia Youjie laughed on the other end: "Seriously? The head of the Gojo family, holding the latest flagship phone, is in a Tokyo city area with poor signal and network coverage, and he still has to use such lame excuses as poor signal or poor network to save face?"

Gojo Satoru pretended not to hear: "That's weird, why did it suddenly go silent? Is there something wrong with the network? Oh well, never mind, I'm hanging up—"

Then he hung up the voice call.

Xia Youjie and Jia Rushao, who were still on a voice call, both smiled.

"So this Hoshirin-chan definitely has some other interesting story behind her, right? Something related to Satoru." Gojo Satoru's attempt to cover up his secret only made Natsuyu Jie more certain of this.

Shoko Ieiri expressed her eagerness to hear about this: "If you get any news, remember to let me know."

Xia Youjie laughed: "Anyway, we'll see each other eventually, we'll know when the time comes."

Meanwhile, at the Fushiguro residence, both Itadori Yuujin and Fushiguro Megumi were speechless after witnessing Gojo Satoru feign deafness and muteness.

Karin Oriyuki was speechless. Then, after thinking for a moment, she pretended not to understand and turned to Hisahito Itadori, asking in surprise, "Dad, so the Six-Eyed of the Gojo family is also hard of hearing?"

Fushiguro Megumi: "..."

“No…that…uh…” Yuji Itadori was speechless for a moment, not knowing how to explain to his seemingly overly naive daughter that this was called selective deafness in adults.

Fukuro Megumi said calmly from the side, "It's alright, just think of him as hard of hearing."

Anyway, Gojo Satoru himself wouldn't mind.

Gojo Satoru truly didn't mind. He even went so far as to approach Oriya Karin and pretend to be hard of hearing to gain sympathy: "That's right, Hoshirin-chan, don't let my handsome looks and charm fool you. I've always been hard of hearing, and because of that, I've been misunderstood a lot. Waaah, I'm so pitiful..."

Zhixue Yahuali: "..."

As expected, when it comes to shamelessness, you, Gotsuji, are the best.

She chose to comfort Gojo Satoru: "It's okay, you're just hard of hearing, no one will mind. But remember to buy a few more hearing aids to carry with you, otherwise you might not be able to hear the enemy's attacks during battle, and you might not just get cut in two."

Gojo Satoru: "..."

"But if that's the case, then wouldn't Uncle Yigu also be hard of hearing when using your body? Hmm... it seems I'll have to remind Uncle Yigu to bring more hearing aids." The child nodded seriously, his meticulous consideration was truly extremely thoughtful.

But Gojo Satoru: "..."

So, can we still let bygones be bygones about being cut in two and being piloted by a Gundam?

Megumi Fushiguro turned her head away and chuckled again. Even Hisahito Itadori couldn't help but lower his head to suppress his laughter.

Fukuro Megumi discovered that it was still the natural shamelessness of the one who was being discovered.

"Hey, Hoshirin-chan, what's the deal with that young master of the Kamo family you mentioned earlier?" While eating, Gojo Satoru couldn't help but think about this matter that he felt must be interesting, so he poked Orishita Karin with the end of his chopsticks.

In fact, he was interested in anything that sounded like the three main families would suffer a major setback.

Ayaka Shiki chewed the food in her mouth and swallowed it, then said quite naturally, "It's exactly what it sounds like. My father is the head of the Kamo family, and I am the young master."

"Eh~ Yuujin has become the head of the Kamo family?" Gojo Satoru had previously thought that Itadori Seirin was chosen as the next successor of the Kamo family because she possessed the Crimson Blood Technique.

"What about Kamo Noriyuki? Is he dead?" Gojo Satoru guessed.

If it weren't for this situation, he would find it hard to understand why the Kamo family would choose an outsider like Hisahito Itadori to be the head of the Kamo family.

However, Ayaka Shiki shook her head: "No, Uncle Kenki manages the Kamo family. Dad is just the nominal head of the family."

"Eh~" Gojo Satoru was no stranger to this model. He himself was like that. He didn't interfere with the daily management of the Gojo family. Someone else in the family would take care of it.

However, he found it somewhat strange that Itadori became the head of the Kamo family while Kamo Noriyuki was still alive.

Even Fushiguro Megumi felt something was amiss and asked, "Since Kamo Noriyuki is still alive, why did they let Itadori become the head of the family?"

There is clearly a suitable heir, so why would you hand over the position of head of the family to an outsider?

Karin Origami said: What do I, a child, know?

She tilted her head: "Maybe it's because... Dad is stronger than Uncle Xianji?"

The original setting was that after the Gojo faction, which was left behind by Gojo, gained power, the Kamo family chose Hisahito Itadori, who was also from the Gojo faction, as the head of the family in order to avoid being purged.

However, it was inappropriate for a child like Itadori Seirin to know so much about political matters, so Oreyuki Karin chose to play dumb.

Seeing that she didn't seem to understand either, Gojo Satoru and Fushiguro Megumi didn't ask any more questions, but Gojo Satoru had some guesses in his heart. Although he disdained the intricacies between large families, he was still very familiar with them.

Karin noticed that Yuujin Itadori seemed a little distracted while chewing his food, and immediately put on her sweet, attentive side, asking, "What's wrong, Daddy?"

"Huh?" Itadori Hisahito was brought back to his senses by her words. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, I just noticed that Dad seemed to be thinking about something."

"Ah...it's nothing, it's just that it still feels unbelievable. My parents aren't ordinary people or anything, it just feels a bit unreal."

Although Hisahito Itadori had long been aware of his unusual nature, he never considered that it was related to his parents. His grandfather also seemed to have never mentioned anything particularly special about his parents.

"Whether it's true or not, just ask your grandfather. He knows what's going on with your parents, right?" Gojo Satoru said, pointing with his chopsticks.

Karin Ayaka immediately perked up: "Grandpa, no, I mean great-grandfather, is he still alive?"

She suddenly realized that, under her influence, Yuujin Itadori had joined the Jujutsu High School earlier than in the main story, which explained why his grandfather was still alive, but Itadori had already become a Jujutsu master.

Yuujin Itadori nodded: "Yes, Grandpa is in the hospital now. If Hoshirin-chan wants to see him, you can come to the hospital with me tomorrow."

Yuji Itadori also felt that Satoru Gojo's words made a lot of sense. He would ask his grandfather for details tomorrow.

Seeing that Ayaka Karin looked very energetic, he smiled and said, "Grandpa will definitely like you, Hoshirin."

"Really? That's great! But I don't think I brought a gift for my great-grandfather."

"No need for gifts, Xingling, Grandpa will be very happy as long as you go."

"Yay!" Kiryuki Ayakari cheered, raising her hand and asking loudly, "Can Hoshirin also go see Uncle Zhangxiang?"

Uncle?

Does Khajiitsu have an older brother?

Neither Gojo Satoru nor Fushiguro Megumi recognized the man named Zōsō, so they turned to look at Itadori Yūjin.

However, Hisahito Itadori was even more confused: "The swollen face... Uncle? Who is that?"

Gojo Satoru, Fushiguro Megumi:?

Karin Oriyuki also looked dazed: "Dad, don't you recognize Uncle?"

Yuji Itadori scratched his head: "No... this name, 'Zhang Xiang,' is... this is the first time I've heard of it. It sounds a bit strange."

Gojo Satoru remarked, "This name doesn't sound like something a normal person would use."

Origami Karin: "Because Uncle Zhangxiang is a hybrid of a cursed spirit and a human."

Gojo Satoru, Fushiguro Megumi:?

“Wait, does this description… sound familiar?” Gojo Satoru rubbed his chin.

Fushiguro Megumi also thought of it: "Kamo... Kenrin?"

“That’s right!” Zhi Xueya Huali nodded readily. “Uncle Zhang Xiang is the eldest in the Nine Phases Diagram. It turns out that Dad doesn’t know Uncle Zhang Xiang yet.”

Yuujin Itadori was completely confused: "Wait... what is the Nine Phases Diagram? And who is Kenjiro Kamo?"

Gojo Satoru snapped his fingers: "Megumi, give him a little lesson."

Fushiguro Megumi: "..."

You're the teacher, aren't you?

But there was nothing he could do; Fushiguro Megumi was just unlucky to have such a teacher. Resigned, he began to explain to Itadori Yuujin the scandal involving the Kamo family from many years ago.

Yuujin Itadori scratched his head, seemingly understanding but not quite: "So, this Nine Phases Diagram is the hybrid created by this guy named Noriyuki Kamo through experiments with humans and cursed spirits?"

Fukuro Megumi nodded: "Yes."

"Has the Kamo family become so short of manpower that they've resorted to using the Nine Phases Diagram?" Gojo Satoru wondered from the side.

Unfortunately, I guessed wrong again.

“No,” Ayaka immediately offered a plot explanation, “It was Tōsō who brought Uncle Zhō out. Originally, we wanted him to deal with us, but later Uncle Zhō discovered that Tōsō was Kamo Kenshū, and he also believed that his father was his younger brother, so he sided with us.”

"Pfft." Gojo Satoru laughed without giving him any face.

Yuji Itadori was completely bewildered.

"So... what does this have to do with me? How did I suddenly end up with an older brother?" Yuuji Itadori felt that his social network tonight was already overwhelming enough, so how did he suddenly have an older brother who seemed to be completely unrelated to him?

He had initially thought that Ayaka Karin called the other man "uncle" simply because of his age. Now it seemed it was actually due to their generational difference!

Gojo Satoru quickly figured it out: "They probably think you're all children created by Tsukumo."

Ayaka Shiki: "Dad said that all the members of the Nine Phases Diagram have Kamo Noriyuki's blood injected into them by Rōsō, so from a bloodline perspective, Kamo Noriyuki is also considered the father of Uncle Zhangxiang. And at that time, Kamo Noriyuki was actually Rōsō."

Gojo Satoru was speechless: "So what is this guy? He's acting as both a father and a mother to someone?"

Hisuhito Polygonum cuspidatum: "..."

Teacher, this doesn't sound funny at all.

At least from his perspective, it didn't sound very appealing.

However, Gojo Satoru was secretly making a plan: "If that's the case, then the Nine Phases Diagram is one of our own. Can't we release the Nine Phases Diagram and let them help us with the mission?"

Zhixue Yahuali: "..."

Although her original intention was to get Gojo Satoru to release the shojin and the others to increase their fighting strength, doesn't what you said sound a bit like treating people like cattle?

Gojo Satoru: There's no other way. He's busy with missions every day, and he really needs help.

He asked Shiki Ayakari with great interest, "Is that Uncle Zhang Xiang you mentioned really that powerful?"

Looking at his smug expression, as if he'd just found a useful tool, Shiori Karin was speechless, but she still obediently replied, "Um... I don't know. Hoshino has never met Uncle Zhangxiang. Dad said that Uncle Zhangxiang died protecting Sukuna during their battle. But Uncle Zhangxiang has the Crimson Blood Manipulation Technique, so he must be very powerful!"

Yuji Itadori, who was standing to the side, was stunned for a moment before realizing why the child had asked to see this bloated-looking uncle after asking to see his grandfather.

Although she was still a stranger to him, when he suddenly heard Karin Orishita say that she had died protecting him, Yuujin Itadori couldn't help but feel a little moved.

But Gojo Satoru was different; he only had eyes for the Crimson Blood Technique.

Crimson Blood Manipulation Technique = Highly talented = A tool that can play a very important role.

Gojo Satoru immediately decided: We must get rid of this bloated old man!

After Yuta Etsu successfully became a Special Class again on his own, Satoru Gojo clearly felt that the number of missions he and Natsumi had was slightly less than before.

Although it wasn't by much, and he was still working non-stop every day, as long as he had a few more top-tier soldiers, he would have more time to slack off!

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Author's Note: After three whole chapters, I've finally finished writing about Tiger Cub and Wutiao's first meeting. There was already a lot of information, and these people getting together was always chaotic. I only realized how many words I wrote in this section after finishing it! [laughing emoji]