Chapter 175
After confirming that he had left Tokyo High School a considerable distance and that no one was following him, Kazuma Hatori deactivated his Black Bean Shiba Inu mimicry.
He took out his phone and called Miki Fushiguro.
"Oh, it's Kazuma-nii? You haven't come over in so long." Fushiguro Miki answered quickly, her tone exceptionally cheerful.
"You'll be safer if I don't go to your place."
After giving a concise explanation, Kazuma Hatake stated his purpose for calling: "I'm calling to remind you that you shouldn't go to the Eighty-Eight Bridges recently."
"Will it be dangerous?"
"Yes, your life will be in danger. Listen carefully, absolutely do not go. Tell Riko and the others for me too."
Riko Tenn has now officially started working after graduating from university. She and Misato Kuroi have moved out of the Fushiguro family home and are now renting an apartment near their company.
She and Fushiguro Miki are very close, and they often meet up on weekends. It would be nice if Hatake Kazumi could also ask Miki to remind Tennori Riko and Kuroi Misato.
Kazuma Hatake also asked Natsumi Yuuki if he had contacted them afterward, and he was met with a shake of the head in response.
He had used up almost all the information he had gathered from the previous game.
Kazuma Hato had no idea what kind of story would unfold in the game next.
However, there was one more thing he could do: he could have the followers of the Panxing Cult help investigate whether anyone around him or in the hospital had fallen into a coma of unknown cause, and then check one by one whether they had any curse marks on their bodies—if so, Wu would help to remove the curse.
— Mimicking the mascot of the Panxing Sect, a large, fluffy white cat with blue eyes.
Anyway, mimicry doesn't affect the use of skills... Wu, who was once a big star, has maintained high popularity in ordinary society for many years, and his appearance is too easy to recognize, so it's better to keep a low profile.
The family member in charge of guiding the way was stunned to see the leader of the Panxing Sect carrying an adorable white cat and saying he wanted to solve the problem.
The followers who were there to meet them, however, had their eyes shining as they looked at the cat in the arms of the cult leader, Yuqu.
This is the Holy Cat, whose every glimpse is only possible during the summer and winter seasons each year...!
Gojo Satoru jumped to the bedside of the unconscious person, paced back and forth carefully a few times, as if scrutinizing him with his [Six Eyes]; then, he stretched out his soft front paw pads and gently pressed them on the other person's head.
Ordinary people cannot observe things related to curse power, but both Gojo Satoru and Hato Kazuma can clearly see the curse marks appearing on the foreheads of the unconscious people—just like the ones Hato Kazuma saw on Fushiguro Miki's forehead last time.
The process of dispelling the spell went smoothly as well. When Gojo Satoru retracted his forepaw, Hato Kazuma could also see that the blood-like curse mark had disappeared.
However, the other party remained unconscious.
This was not the expected result.
Amid the expectant gazes of the family members, the pure white cat brought by the cult leader sat by the bedside, intently watching the unconscious man for a moment before turning around and jumping back into the cult leader's arms—while clenching its paws tightly around his kimono, the cat gently rubbed its head against his neck.
"Your Holiness, is there any way...?"
One of the family members couldn't help but ask about the results, speaking in a very respectful tone.
Panxing religion has become one of the most popular religions among local residents in recent years. If they have any problems, they can go to the nearby shrine for help at any time. The shrine will not only do its best to help them solve their problems, but will also never force them to pay for alms or incense.
Kazuma Hatori thought for a moment, "Is there a spare room? I need to be alone for a while."
“Something’s not right. I’m sure the procedure has been reversed.”
In the empty room that the family had quickly tidied up, Gojo Satoru, who had shed his white cat disguise, sat leaning against the windowsill with his arms crossed over his chest, looking solemn.
“No wonder Ichizane once asked Naoya to help find information on the curse marks. It turns out that Rōsō had already started planning years in advance,” he said. “There is only one reason to explain this: the reason they fell into a coma was not because they were marked by this spell.”
"Even Satoru can't do anything about it?" asked Kazuma Hatake.
Gojo Satoru shook his head. "I confirmed it with [Six Eyes]. Even after the apparent linking spell was broken, there is still another foreign curse power mixed in with his body."
"The linking technique is probably for casting some kind of spell remotely. That external spell power is the key to the unconsciousness. But don't worry too much. I'll go back and ask Shoko if she's ever encountered this situation before... Hmm, Tsukumo Yuki seems to be very good at studying souls. I can also consult her for advice."
Gojo Satoru came over with a smile and put his arm around Hato Kazuma's shoulder, poking his cheek with his index finger—and a little regretful that Kazuma, who had grown up completely, had lost the soft, baby-fat texture he had when he was a teenager.
"There will always be a way to solve it."
Kazuma Hatori nodded silently, his face distorted by the poking, but the next moment he turned Satoru, who was getting more and more excited about poking him, back into a white cat and held him in his arms.
Wu, who was revered as the Holy Cat by the Panxing Cult members, blinked his blue eyes and discovered that the roles of offense and defense had suddenly reversed—this guy had started to vigorously rub him!
Damn it, but... it feels kind of nice to have my chin scratched. Hmm, I'll forgive him for five minutes.
Kazuma Hatori moved Gomi around for a short while before stopping and returning to the family members who were waiting for the results.
"The Holy Cat said he was possessed by an extremely cunning evil spirit."
Kazuma Hatori spoke calmly and steadily, as if he were talking about something that would definitely be resolved, which greatly eased the anxiety and unease of the family members.
"Ordinary exorcism methods have failed, and I need to go back to investigate the cause. I'm sorry, you'll have to wait a little longer."
"It doesn't matter, as long as my son can be saved, we're willing to wait as long as it takes!"
The family members bowed repeatedly in gratitude and saw Hatake Kazuma and Gojo Satoru off.
After returning home, Gojo Satoru asked Ieiri Shoko, who had never encountered a similar situation before. He then called Tsukumo Yuki, who was abroad, and she said that she had never seen this phenomenon either and needed to confirm it with her own eyes, but she was busy with something and could not come back in time.
Gojo Satoru guessed that Natsuyuki, who had privately contacted Tosaku, probably knew what was going on, but unfortunately the latter never showed up, so there was no way to contact him.
When Yuta finally had a weekend without being occupied by missions, he returned to the Pansei-kyo from school and met Nanako Kasaba and Mimiko Kasaba, who were also there to help.
"How's it like studying at the Jujutsu High School?" Nanako asked expectantly. "Will we have math classes? I don't think so, right?"
Please stop giving her those dreaded classes; she has to work herself to the bone every day to do her homework.
"It's just that there are fewer students, cough, we still have to take these basic subjects..."
Yuta was a little reluctant to shatter Nanako's beautiful fantasy, but he still answered honestly.
"What, we have to learn more—"
Nanako Kasaba sighed and asked him again, "How is that classmate doing?"
"Hmm... a panda that can speak human language, a spellcaster who can only communicate with rice ball fillings, and [Heaven and Curse] who can only exorcise cursed spirits by relying on spell tools and physical skills."
Yuta Otsukoshi counted on his fingers for Nanako Kasaba, "It seems like everything is pretty strange... Ahahaha."
There's no need to go into detail about his experiences outside of class; aside from attending classes, he did assignments, which were almost no different from what he did in the first six months of school. He adapted quickly.
“Yeah, including your own situation, which is quite unique,” Nanako Kasaba muttered, sounding particularly dejected. “Apart from the panda, which sounds somewhat interesting, everyone else seems difficult to get along with… Will the classmates Mimiko and I meet next year be just as strange?”
Yi Gu You Tai blinked, then gave an innocent look to indicate that he didn't know either.
If we're talking about difficult people to get along with, then Zenin Maki is definitely one of the most difficult. She's tough and uncompromising in her speech and actions, and she's even quite rude to Gojo-sensei. He's not used to dealing with people like that.
At times, her attitude even reminded Yuta of the bullies in school who used to order him around in a condescending tone or verbally abuse him.
It makes people want to stay away from her and try not to communicate with her too much.
Panda has a good relationship with Zenin Maki. During practical training, Gojo-sensei often pairs them up, while he pairs up with Inu-maki Toshiki.
Although Dog Roll can only communicate through rice ball fillings, he is actually very lively and has a good personality—sometimes he even likes to play pranks with Gojo-sensei.
After thinking it over, Yuta decided that it was best not to tell Nanako and Mimiko these things for the time being.
For example, in his previous year there was a Libra senior who was keen on gambling, and a Star senior who loved cross-dressing... Who knows what the next year will be like?
However, he heard that Fushiguro Megumi, who was raised by Gojo-sensei and Hatori-sensei, is going to high school next year? He doesn't know if he will choose to go to a vocational high school.
—This is a question that Gojo Satoru specifically asked Fushiguro Megumi about.
"You said you don't want to go to a vocational college?"
Satoru Gojo sat on the sofa, sighed, and shook his head at him. "I'm afraid that won't work. Besides, Megumi has been a 'window' for so many years and has plenty of experience exorcising cursed spirits, so why is she rejecting going to a vocational high school..."
Fushiguro Megumi didn't explain her reasoning, but persistently asked, "Why not?"
Gojo Satoru coughed lightly: "Well, Kei is actually a direct descendant of the Zen-in family, and he inherited the Zen-in family's ancestral techniques..."
Fushiguro Megumi: "...I know all that, get to the point."
Gojo Satoru spread his hands, his smile exceptionally hearty: "I only found out recently that your father sold you to the head of the Zen temple! Hehe."
Before he died, that guy only said that he was handing his son over to him to do whatever he wanted with, but he didn't mention that he had actually made a deal with the head of the Zen-in family—Zen-in Chikuhito. As long as Hui possessed the ancestral technique, he would spend 1 billion to buy him and bring him to the Zen-in family for training...
It was only when Zenji Naoya heard that Zenji Naohito had sent people to search for Fushiguro Megumi in order to confirm whether the son of Zenji Jinji now possessed the ancestral technique [Ten Shadow Techniques] that Gojo Satoru, fearing that his position as the next head of the family would be taken away, quickly called Hagoromo Kazuma, thus letting Gojo Satoru know about this matter.
At this moment, Fushiguro Megumi, who had just learned that she had actually been sold by her father before she was five years old, fell silent.
Fushiguro Megumi: "..."
Fushiguro Megumi: "Huh?? How much did it sell for?"
Gojo Satoru's smile remained bright: "A full billion."
—He uttered a number that made both Fushiguro Megumi and Fushiguro Tsuki, who was listening in, faint.
"Ten...ten billion..." Fushiguro Miki murmured, "I've never seen so much money in my entire life..."
"...Has that guy already gotten the money?" Fushiguro Megumi paused for a moment. "Can we make him pay it back? I don't want to go to the Zenin family either."
He has gotten used to his current life and has no intention of going to the Zen temple... he was sold there anyway.
"They should have received part of the deposit by now, but I haven't been able to find out the details from the head of the Zen temple. Unfortunately, Mr. Hui can no longer repay the money."
Gojo Satoru tilted his head, resting his elbows on his crossed and raised knees. "Want to know where he is? I told you I could tell Megumi."
“No, I have no interest.” Fushiguro Megumi refused again, then paused for a moment and asked, “What does selling to the Zen family have to do with me having to go to a vocational high school?”
“I guessed that Kei didn’t want to go to the Zenin family,” Gojo Satoru said. “So, Kei needs to come with me to deal with this matter. And I’ll also try to help with the accounting for that 1 billion yen.”
Fushiguro Megumi: "...The price is for me to go to a vocational college?"
"No, there's no price to pay."
Gojo Satoru's smile faded, and he said seriously, "However, I hope you will attend a vocational college."
"You probably don't realize how rare it is to awaken the [Ten Shadow Arts]. This is a technique that can rival [Six Eyes] plus [No Limits]. That's why the Zenin family and the Gojo family have had a very bad relationship for hundreds of years."
This made him feel quite amused whenever he saw Zenji Naoya enduring hardship and doing chores for Ichijin... Ah, he didn't use "gloating" to describe it.
"……Why?"
This time, Fushiguro Megumi remained silent for an even longer time than before before asking Gojo Satoru.
“I want to cultivate strong partners,” Gojo Satoru replied.
"A reliable and intelligent partner who can change this corrupt world of sorcery."
………
Zen temple family.
"Excuse me, I've brought Megumi Fushiguro with me for a visit—"
Gojo Satoru smiled and deliberately deactivated his automatic "No Limits" mode, patting Zenin Naoya, who had been invited to join the reception, on the shoulder, making Zenin Naoya stiffen up.
"Hey, long time no see, Naoya. You've bleached your hair blonde again? Aren't you worried about going bald?"
...You'll go bald!
Damn it, so Fushiguro Megumi has been hidden away by these two guys all along!
He even went out of his way to call Kazuma Hatori for help, essentially delivering intelligence to his doorstep for nothing!
Zenji Naoya, his face grim and certain his position as head of the clan was in jeopardy, heard Gojo Satoru turn to the cheerful Zenji Naohito and say—
“I’m sorry, but Shen Er has already said that I can do whatever I want with his son, so I don’t intend to give him to the Zen family.”
Zen-in Naoya: ...!
Zenji Naoya clenched his fist inwardly: YES! YES!!
The position of the next head of the family is indeed his!
Kazuma Hatori isn't such a particularly ruthless devil after all! Even Satoru Gojo seems more pleasing to the eye now!
"...This is troublesome, that guy has already taken my money."
Even when receiving the head of the Gojo family, whose status was equal to his own, Zen-in Naohito still took a full gulp of sake from his sake jug and asked, "Are you planning to return every last penny to me?"
"Human trafficking is illegal, uncle."
Gojo Satoru smiled and said, "Do you need me to read you some modern Japanese laws? I know them by heart. I even gave a raise to the sorcerers affiliated with the high school a few years ago."
To match their workload, the piece-rate system was changed to be based on the intensity and quantity of the assignments.
The sorcerer actually invoked Japanese law, leaving the Zen master stunned for a long time. His beard twitched slowly as he realized he couldn't find a reason to refute him.
Because Gojo Satoru's words clearly indicated his intention to renege on the agreement, and his agreement with Jinji was only verbal, with no written contract... or according to this kid, even if there was a contract, it would be invalid.
If someone of lower status had spoken to him like that, the Zen monastery's chieftain would have thrown that scoundrel out and detained Fushiguro Ei.
But the one who said those words was Wu, Tiao, and Wu.
Fushiguro Megumi knelt behind Gojo Satoru, as if he were leaning against a magnificent and precipitous mountain, untouchable by anyone.
“…”
Seeing that the head of the Zenin family had been holding back for a long time and could only sullenly drink several more mouthfuls of sake, Gojo Satoru turned his gaze and glanced at Zenin Naoya, who was almost all smiles behind him, from behind his sunglasses. A kind smile also appeared on his lips.
"However, this isn't something that can't be discussed—how about we draft another set of terms?"
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