Zen Temple's Naoya and his exchange of ideas [0.5 bonus chapter]
A light snow fell last night, and the pine trees in the courtyard seemed to be covered with a layer of damp, cold mist.
Unlike the cold outside, the dormitory was warm and cozy. The two people sleeping sprawled out were wearing thin pajamas. Gojo Satoru had one leg draped over Tsurumi Kawaru's waist, and one hand was holding a pillow and resting it on the bedding.
Tsurumi Kawakuri lay on his side with his face outward, his hair messy and sticking up, half-hugging and half-resting on the pillow, the blankets kicked to his feet.
Just then, the alarm clock suddenly rang, and the familiar melody and his biological clock jolted Tsurumi Kawakami awake. He opened his eyes, his mind still a little foggy and his vision blank. After sitting up for a while to clear his head, Tsurumi Kawakami moved the leg that was pressing on him off, got up, and turned off his phone alarm.
He played video games with Gojo Satoru until very late last night. Even after taking a nap, he still felt a bit groggy and lacked energy.
After getting up, Tsurumi Kawakami changed into the kimono placed on the tatami mat. As soon as he opened the door, the cool breeze outside made his face stiffen.
He shivered and rubbed his cold cheeks. His golden eyes, squinting in the sunlight, were as bright and warm as the sun at seven or eight in the morning. Tsurumi Kawaru stood under the veranda for a while, enjoying the fresh air, then exhaled a puff of white breath and turned back into the room.
"Satoru, wake up—" Tsurumi Kawaru squatted on the tatami and nudged the still-sleeping person. "Haruna-nee will be here soon."
Haruna Gojo is the housekeeper in charge of all matters related to Satoru Gojo's daily life at the main family home. She is a few years older than Satoru Gojo and is actually his cousin by seniority.
He had barely finished speaking when Gojo Satoru, who was lying in bed, didn't react yet, when Gojo Haruna knocked on the door.
Today is New Year's Eve, and the Gojo family has many things to prepare, including many that require the participation of the priestess. From the ancestral rites in the morning and meeting with long-unseen members of the main family, to receiving guests, Gojo Satoru needs to be present.
This tedious and boring task had to be done by Gojo Satoru every year since he was six years old. When he was a child, he simply had to be worshipped like a statue on a shrine. As he grew older, he was taken to Kamo and Zen-in Temple.
Gojo Satoru was particularly annoyed by this kind of thing and secretly decided to abolish unnecessary rules once he took over the Gojo family.
Tsurumi Kawakami had never experienced this before, so he didn't know what Gojo Satoru was thinking. He saw the man cover his ears and turn over, and remembering Gojo Satoru's morning grumpiness, he had no choice but to get up and open the door.
"Good morning, Haruna-nee. Satoru hasn't woken up yet." The door opened, and there stood a woman in a kimono with her hair up, her face gentle yet her gaze firm and steady.
"Good morning." Gojo Haruna wasn't surprised. She simply handed him the toiletries and then instructed him, "Thank you for your trouble, Ryu. Make sure Satoru gets to the Japanese-style room by 8 o'clock at the latest. The head of the family and the other elders will be having a meal there before going to the ancestral rites together."
Tsurumi Kawakami nodded and said with a smile, "Yes, I understand."
After seeing the person off, he turned back inside and saw that Gojo Satoru was already up.
His face was rather sour, clearly disturbed. His morning grumpiness made him look somewhat fierce; his beautiful azure eyes were cold and ruthless, and he exuded a chilling and ruthless aura, while the loose, casually falling white hair around his ears and forehead nicely balanced this aura.
Gojo Satoru scratched his hair back unhappily, revealing his smooth and full forehead. His gaze swept over the thing that Tsurumi Kawaru was holding, and he guessed who the person outside the door was.
He stood up with a cold face and didn't say anything. He stood up, barefoot on the bedding, grabbed the hem of his pajamas with both hands, and openly took off his pajamas in front of Tsurumi Kawaru. Then he grabbed the kimono that he had prepared yesterday and put it on.
The rustling sound of clothes rubbing together filled the quiet, warm room. Tsurumi Kawaru looked at Gojo Satoru, whose back was turned to him and whose smooth back was covered with a thin layer of muscle. He blinked, put down what he was holding, and relayed Gojo Haruna's words to him.
After changing into his kimono, Gojo Satoru covered his mouth and yawned, saying lazily, "I know. That old man is really something, he comes every year without getting tired of it. He could just go directly, but he always has to hold some kind of mobilization meeting."
He finished washing up while complaining.
After leaving the house, Gojo Satoru asked Haruna to deliver breakfast to Tsurumi Kawaru, and then he went with his servants to the Japanese-style room in the front yard.
After eating the breakfast brought by his servant, Tsurumi Kawakuri decided to go out for a walk to digest his food.
The Gojo family was quite busy today. Servants hurried back and forth in the corridor. In the quaint and elegant courtyard, the lush pine trees and the tall green bamboo were particularly vibrant, adding a touch of vigor to the winter landscape with their verdant color.
After wandering around, Tsurumi Kawakami arrived at the front yard where guests were to be received. As soon as he entered, he heard an extremely arrogant voice.
Following the sound, he looked into the corridor and saw a blond-haired boy with an earring wearing a dark kimono, arrogantly reprimanding a servant. However, judging from the servant's clothes, they did not seem to belong to the Gojo family, but were brought by the boy himself.
After observing for a while, Tsurumi Kawakami turned to a servant of the Gojo family and asked, "Who is that?"
The servant looked up and respectfully replied, "That is the young master of the Zen family, a year younger than Master Wu, and he studies at the Kyoto School."
Tsurumi Kawaru glanced at Zenin Naoya with some surprise, both at his identity and his hair color and trendy attire. In just a short while, the commotion attracted the attention of many people, and a man with a large sake bottle at his waist stepped forward and quietly stopped the farce.
The servant took the opportunity to introduce him in a low voice: "That is the head of the Zen family."
Tsurumi nodded calmly, and seeing that the crowd of onlookers had dispersed, he prepared to leave the villa.
Suddenly, Zenin Naoya's gaze pierced through the crowd and landed on Tsurumi Kawaru. He strode over and called out to him, "Hey, you're not from the Gojo family, are you?"
Tsurumi Kawakami paused, turned around, and looked at the blond boy who had caught up with him. The boy was about the same height as Tsurumi Kawakami, wearing a dark black kimono with a haori over it, and was looking at Tsurumi Kawakami with an unfriendly gaze.
"Yes, I am Tsurumi Nagaru." After introducing himself, he paused and added, "I am a second-year student at the Tokyo school."
Zenji Naoya narrowed his eyes slightly and said bluntly, "You and Gojo Satoru are in the same year in your second year."
Tsurumi Kawakami nodded. Although he didn't know why the other person had called him over, he still stood there patiently and waited.
"I've heard your technique is quite unique, capable of reflecting other people's attacks." Zenin Naoya chuckled, revealing the purpose of his visit. "Do you dare to fight me?"
Upon hearing his request for a sparring match, the servants beside the two held their breath, and the servant behind Tsurumi Kawaru anxiously looked up at the two.
Tsurumi Kawakami was somewhat surprised by his purpose. He turned to look around and asked, "Is it here?"
Tsurumi Kawakuri did not refuse the invitation to spar, and Zenin Naoya raised an eyebrow, his impression of him improving slightly. The arrogant young master of the family raised his chin, glancing at the Gojo family servants behind Tsurumi Kawakuri, "Where does your Gojo family train?"
The servant paused for a moment, then led the two towards the west courtyard.
News of the two sparring soon reached Gojo Satoru's ears in the front yard and inside the house. At that time, he was sitting in the seat below the head of the Gojo family, meeting with several members of the clan along with the elders of the family.
Upon hearing the news, Gojo Satoru paused for a moment, then immediately stood up to leave. The head of the Gojo family frowned and looked at the servant who had delivered the message. The servant nervously recounted the events in detail. The head of the family and the elders exchanged glances, each understanding the situation.
After all, regardless of the outcome, the Zen family has already lost.
Leaving aside the fact that the young master of the family beat and scolded his servants in someone else's house, he then took it upon himself to propose a sparring match with the guests who came to the Gojo family's small residence. Such behavior was enough to make others look down on the Zenin family.
Regardless of what the head of the Gojo family and the elders thought, by the time Gojo Satoru arrived at the training grounds in the west courtyard, Tsurumi Kawakami and Zenin Naoya were already fighting. The head of the Zenin family, who had arrived a step too late after receiving the news, looked grim for a moment when he saw the two fighting in the arena.
Gojo Satoru glanced at him, and his mood suddenly improved. He found a perfect spot, leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, and watched the two players fighting back and forth in the arena with great interest.
In his view, although Tsurumi Kawakami's techniques were not strong offensively, they were very resistant defensively. His techniques could even defend against his [Azure] technique, so it would be difficult for Zenin Naoya to win this sparring match.
However, because Tsurumi Kawaru's defense is very strong, he doesn't have many offensive methods. He usually uses cursed tools to exorcise cursed spirits. This sparring match came suddenly, and Tsurumi Kawaru didn't bring any cursed tools. It will be a long and drawn-out battle relying solely on physical skills.
Zenin Naoya's technique is very interesting. He can divide a second into twenty-four equal parts, just like the panel drawings in a comic. Each part has a pre-designed action that is then performed and imitated.
Those he comes into contact with must also strictly follow this rule and complete the corresponding action within one second; otherwise, there will be a lag, and in severe cases, they will inexplicably stop and their actions will be completely frozen.
This technique is considered novel among old and traditional techniques, and once mastered and fully developed, it can even unleash power comparable to that of a monster. Zenin Naoya's father, Zenin Naohito, also used this technique.
As the sparring session dragged on, Zenin Naoya also realized the terrifying nature of Tsurumi Kawa's style.
He accepts any attack, whether it is a spell, a magic tool, or a physical attack, and reflects it back the moment it hits Tsurumi Kawa.
It was like a thick tortoise shell or a mountain of flesh, making him feel like an ant trying to shake a tree.
Zenji Naoya's expression turned somewhat ugly, and he couldn't help but mock, "Is this all you've got? You can't even launch an attack without any defense. I really don't know how you manage to complete your usual exorcism missions."
Tsurumi Kawa was completely unaffected by his taunts; he simply nodded, seemingly agreeing wholeheartedly with Zenin Naoya's words.
It was like punching cotton. Zenji Naoya's face turned pale with anger, but his attacks became more and more aggressive. He no longer showed any intention of stopping short of a friendly sparring session. Instead, his methods became ruthless, as if he wanted to kill his opponent.
Outside the arena, Gojo Satoru and the Zenji Jikuijin reacted differently to this scene.
Although Gojo Satoru was also somewhat unhappy, he had complete confidence in Tsurumi Kawakyuu. Meanwhile, Zenji Naohito's expression turned sour. He took a sip of sake from the gourd hanging from his waist, but his gaze toward the scene was sharp and gleaming.
As time dragged on, the fifteen-year-old boy's magical power was almost exhausted. Despite the cold winter weather, fine beads of sweat appeared on Zenji Naoya's forehead, and his face turned pale.
The unwilling and resentful boy pursed his lips, his gaze fixed on Tsurumi Kawa, who seemed quite at ease.
His relentless, all-or-nothing fighting style had a significant impact on Tsurumi Kawaru. Although his own reflection skill could reflect 100% of physical damage, it could not completely negate the damage from spells and cursed tools.
If you were in a game and there were health bars, you could see that Tsurumi Kawa's health had dropped to around 65%.
However, because he is the Shield Hero, with his defense at max level, his health bar is also frighteningly thick, and it is slowly regenerating.
The Zen monk Zhizhi took a sip of wine, tucked the gourd back to his waist, and stepped forward to interrupt the seemingly pointless but already decided sparring match.
Zenji Jikuji: "Alright, let's stop here."
He stepped forward and stood in front of Tsurumi Kawakami, his gleaming eyes scrutinizing him closely. His admiration was undisguised, clearly revealing his high regard for Tsurumi Kawakami and his amiable regard for a junior.
At that moment, Gojo Satoru swaggered over, stood next to Tsurumi Kawakami, and put his arm around the other's shoulder in an intimate manner.
The white-haired shrine maiden smiled at the two members of the Zenin family, and then retaliated against Zenin Naoya's earlier mockery: "Your technique is indeed very interesting. I was watching it with great interest just now."
The sharp-tongued Gojo Satoru directly mocked him for being flashy and performing.
Upon understanding the meaning behind his words, Zenin Naoya's face turned ashen. He wanted to retort, but was stopped by Zenin Naohito in front of him.
Zenji Naohito didn't care about Gojo Satoru's words; he even ignored them and continued to look at Tsurumi Kawaru, wanting to strike up a conversation.
Gojo Satoru raised an eyebrow and bluntly said, "Hey, old man, don't even think about it. Ryu won't be won over by you."
Zenji Naohito's eyelids twitched. Although he had heard that the God of the Gojo family had a terrible personality, he realized that "terrible" was not even an accurate description when he met him in person.
So, as an elder, Zenji Naoya said nothing more and led Zenji Naoya back to the courtyard.
Gojo Satoru watched the Zenin family leave, then turned and patted Tsurumi Kawaru on the shoulder, giving him a thumbs up and praising, "As expected of my and Gon's classmates, Kawaru was really cool just now."
The black-haired boy smiled shyly, pursing his lips, and said, "Wu Gang was cool too."
He was referring to when Gojo Satoru spoke up for him and retaliated.
Gojo Satoru straightened his chest, accepted the praise, and said, "Let's go, let's go."
The two returned to the front courtyard, and the result of their sparring had already spread to everyone's ears as Zenji Naohito and Zenji Naoya left. The head of the Gojo family and the elders showed a hint of surprise in their eyes, then exchanged smiles, clearly quite satisfied.
At this moment, a young man from the Kamo family who appeared somewhat sickly, with a ring of sutures on his forehead, coughed and said in a gentle and refined voice, "Is that so? The young master of the Zen temple is actually slightly inferior."
Upon hearing this news, Kamo Norihiro, or rather, Kinuzuka, fell into deep thought. The body he was currently inhabiting belonged to the eldest son of the current head of the Kamo family, but was on the verge of being abandoned because he had not inherited the ancestral techniques.
The reason for saying this is that some time ago, the boy born to the concubine of the head of the Kamo family awakened the Kamo family's ancestral technique—the Crimson Blood Manipulation Technique—after turning six years old.
Kamo Norihiro, who had not awakened his ancestral technique, was in an awkward position, about to be abandoned to make way for someone else's legitimate heir.
The silk cord also made contact with the other party, and then completed the parasitism.
He looked up at the respectful servant in front of him and waved his hand lightly: "You did very well this time, go back."
The servant responded and then looked up, revealing an ordinary face. However, if anyone who had witnessed Zenji Naoya reprimanding the servant had been present, they would have recognized that the servant who responded was the same person who had just been reprimanded.
He tapped the silk cord on his knee, his face showing deep thought.
Tsurumi Kawakyuu's strength exceeded his expectations. If this obstacle in his path could not be removed, it would have unpredictable consequences for his subsequent plans.
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