Chapter 38

Before Kazuma Hatake had a chance to interrogate the head of the General Affairs Department—or rather, before he even had a chance to investigate him.

The other person had become a corpse that would never be able to speak again.

It is said that he committed suicide in his bedroom. When the cleaning servant found him, he was lying on the tatami mat with his eyes wide open, looking both terrified and angry, but no one knows what happened.

He died in a heavily guarded area, the murder weapon being a paper cutter that cleanly severed his trachea and arteries.

"It looks like they're trying to silence him no matter how you look at it."

The mastermind had struck first, and Kazuma Hatori crossed his arms in front of his chest. Although his face remained expressionless, Satoru Gojo could tell at a glance that he was quite unhappy, and even a little indignant.

Are you frustrated because you failed to defeat the leader first? This isn't a radish-pulling contest.

Gojo Satoru couldn't help but chuckle, pressing down on his head and rubbing it back and forth to comfort him.

"Alright, alright, don't be so discouraged. They were clearly pushed to the limit by you, and even went so far as to kill that old man—he's the nominal leader of the sorcery world, killing him would be a lot of trouble."

"After all, that person offended me."

"It's cool," said Yuqu Kazuma.

How dare they steal a player's kill!

Although killing that old man in charge probably won't yield any rewards, since he's neither a monster nor a dungeon boss... but that guy dared to steal a player's kill!

Gojo Satoru looked at Hatori Kazuma, who seemed to be sulking, and listened to his harsh words. He couldn't help but give him another squeeze.

Damn, why is everyone just spouting tough talk? He especially dislikes those old men in the higher-ups, but this kid... he just feels... kind of cute?

Gojo Satoru stroked his chin, lost in thought.

His other hand was still unconsciously pressing down on the top of Kazuma Hatake's hair, which greatly weakened the latter's cold and aloof aura.

Kazuma Hatori was cold and ruthless at the Kamo family's place, often scaring them into trembling fear; but when he stood next to Satoru Gojo, he always appeared obedient and innocent, showing no resistance to the force coming from above his head.

If the people in the Kamo family who are still suffering from overwork saw this, they would probably be so shocked that their eyes would pop out of their sockets.

They might not be particularly shocked, after all, they had already heard that this dignified head of the Kamo family had gone to the Gojo family on his very first day in office to request a marriage alliance with their head of the family...

It now seems that the chances of a successful marriage alliance are actually getting higher and higher.

"On another note, the fact that they would do something so desperate to survive suggests that the real culprit's identity is crucial. They were willing to lose all control of the supervisory department in order to hide themselves."

Gojo Satoru snapped out of his daze and continued speaking.

"Why are you afraid of having your identity discovered? Are you worried I'll kill you?"

This guess is quite reasonable.

After all, the fact that he wouldn't easily take action against the Directorate General, which currently represents power and public opinion, doesn't mean he wouldn't take action against an enemy outside of the Directorate General.

Let alone fighting someone one-on-one, if he wanted to, destroying the entire Japan would be nothing more than a matter of lifting a finger and taking a little more time.

After all, [Six Eyes] allows him to consume almost zero spell power when activating a spell.

His [Cang], [He], and even [Zi] are all offensive spells with a wide range and high destructive power.

Gojo Satoru pondered for a moment, feeling that things weren't so simple.

If there is such a person who can make the head of the director's department work for him, then... just how much has this person done using the director's department?

Was the desire to kill Kazuma Hatori also stemming from the fact that his actions indirectly threatened the mastermind's control over the General Headquarters?

No... wait, perhaps even sooner.

The out-of-control cursed object [Herpes Root] that Kazuma Hatori mentioned to him before—and that special cursed crystal.

"Perhaps... it was all done by the same person?"

—Gojo said to himself.

"Hmm?" Kazuma Hatake tilted his head.

"You mean you might have been targeted by someone from the very beginning."

Gojo sighed, patted his head, and then withdrew his hand.

"I should have thought of that sooner. Since the head of the General Manager's Office is under his control, how could those higher-ups be allowed to remain uninvolved?"

Thinking about it this way, the black-haired youth really caused quite a stir from Kamo's house to the director's office; no wonder the other party was in such a hurry to get rid of him.

If we don't get rid of him soon, the entire management department will fall into his hands sooner or later.

But now, with the murders failing one after another, the other party has had to sever ties, making it impossible for them to find the mastermind through the supervisory department.

The act of abandoning the chess piece without hesitation was truly decisive, befitting a schemer who previously managed to control the upper echelons of the sorcery world.

Gojo Satoru raised his guard in his heart, but spoke very casually, so that Hatori Kazuma, who heard the news, would not be worried. When he put away his usual playful and lively expression, he showed unparalleled reliability and reassurance in his nonchalant manner.

“Don’t worry, I’ll find that guy soon,” Gojo Satoru said.

“Don’t worry, I’ll kill him,” Kazuma Hatake said at the same time.

I'm not afraid that the person won't come to kill him; I'm afraid that the person won't come at all.

The two sentences rang out at the same time. Before Kazuma Hatake could say anything, Satoru Gojo turned around in surprise, not expecting to be the one being comforted.

"Hey—I didn't say I was worried about you—"

Gojo Satoru tilted his head to look at him, deliberately using a soft, drawn-out tone to speak.

"No?"

Kazuma Hatake's dark eyes widened slightly as he looked back at him intently.

The two were about the same height, which allowed Gojo Satoru to see Hato Kazuma's reactions without having to bend down, not to mention the rare expression on the other's face...

"Looking at me like that is cheating,"

Gojo Satoru let out a soft hum and laughed with unusual pleasure—even he didn't understand what he was so happy about.

"Okay, okay, stop worrying—"

"oh."

"Really, really—"

…………

The death of the head of the General Manager's Office did indeed cause a significant upheaval within the upper echelons.

The first step was to establish a unified narrative, defining the Chief's death as "sudden death from illness" to appease those who were unaware of the truth.

Secondly, there were several opinions within the organization regarding the attitude of that person.

In the past, whether it was for communication or issuing orders, only the Chief could contact that person; now, the Chief's sudden death was tantamount to the General Headquarters being abandoned by the other party.

Since they have all been abandoned, does this mean that the newly elected chief will gain true and complete power?

All the senior executives instantly became restless, drooling over that empty seat.

This is the last point, and also the most crucial one.

Who will become the new leader?

This answer is beyond doubt.

"I've chosen five points to understand. Who agrees? Who disagrees?"

Amidst the increasingly heated discussion, the uninvited guest, Kazuma Hatori, sat behind the shoji door and uttered a single, seemingly innocuous sentence that resonated throughout the room.

—In an instant, the entire conference room fell silent.

Taking advantage of the shoji doors blocking their view, everyone glared angrily in the direction of Kazuma Hatori.

I know you favor Gojo Satoru, but there's no reason for you to be this biased!

To let that brat Gojo Satoru rise to power overnight and trample on their heads? It's utterly ridiculous!

They were already being secretive enough by holding this meeting, so why did this guy manage to find them?

Even on Kamo's side, he must be unpopular and plotting rebellion after killing two people!

With a gun pointed at his head, Kamo Nokichi kept his head down and dared not utter a sound.

[Unpopular and plotting rebellion] That's easy to say. If you were held at gunpoint and asked questions, you'd be willing to tell anything too...

With Yasuo Maeda as a precedent, the entire room was eerily silent; not a single person dared to utter a word of "no."

"Since no one objects, let's leave it at that."

After waiting a moment and no one objected, Kazuma Hatori spoke up again.

"Gojo Satoru, cough, your suggestion is good,"

Finally, someone couldn't resist the temptation of power that was so close at hand, and coughed as they objected in a subtle and tactful way.

“But Gojo Satoru isn’t even a member of the General Staff… It would be too much for you to suddenly recommend him…”

"Too much what?"

Kazuma Hatake asked casually, holding the [Blood-Stained Fighting Spear] in his hand and slowly turning the magazine as if playing with it, making a slight metallic scraping sound—the other party was immediately frightened into silence, not daring to say another word.

"That was so wise!"

Yasuo Maeda immediately seized the opportunity to speak.

"I think Gojo Satoru is quite good. Not only is he the strongest among sorcerers, but he is also down-to-earth, humble, and not arrogant. He should become the highest leader of the sorcery world in the future."

"Well said."

Kazuma Hatake nodded in satisfaction, silencing the rest of the group.

What 'down-to-earth and humble, not arrogant or impatient'... This old man really knows how to seize any opportunity to flatter!

"Although...although it does sound like Gojo Satoru would be the most suitable person to be the head monk,"

Seeing that the head of the Kamo family was really going to make a mess of things at the director's office, another person had no choice but to speak up.

"But after all, the former chief was murdered. According to the proposal we discussed earlier... Gojo Satoru needs to find the murderer first and avenge the former chief before the new chief is qualified to succeed him."

“Otherwise, I worry that if Gojo Satoru hastily takes over as head of the General Headquarters… outsiders will suspect that he was responsible for the death of the former head.”

After a moment of contemplation, Kazuma Hatake admitted that there was some truth to what he said.

If it were him, he might have directly purged the entire directorate and taken the position, and he wouldn't care if he was called a tyrant or the King of Hell.

But Wu ultimately wanted to launch a moderate reform. If he went too far, not only would his support rate at the grassroots level drop, but the policy would also be unable to be implemented.

Look at the cabbage prime minister next door—he was in office for a total of 45 days, and the cabbage hasn't even gone bad yet.

"Can."

Kazuma Hatoichi finalized the agreement, which can be considered as tacitly agreeing to this rule.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Even if it only buys time... Besides, that person's abilities are equally unfathomable; perhaps he has a way to deal with Gojo Satoru?

If the two of them could die together, that would be even better.

If even that person has been killed... then what else can they say? Do they think they have any way to deal with Gojo Satoru? They can't even handle this fierce god from the Kamo family!

Immediately after the meeting ended, Kazuma Hatori called Satoru Gojo, who was unaware of the situation.

"I guessed they would hold a meeting behind my back and secretly elect a new head, so I pressed Kamo Nokichi for answers beforehand... Anyway, here's the result: you'll soon be the head of the General Affairs Department."

At the end, Kazuma Hatori even congratulated him earnestly.

Gojo Satoru: “…………”

Gojo Satoru's sunglasses shattered completely.