Chapter 176
After much hesitation, Zenji Jikuji agreed to Gojo Satoru's conditions.
The reason is simple: he can't beat Gojo Satoru, and the Zenin family is also extremely difficult to contend with the Gojo family, which is currently at the height of its power under Gojo Satoru's leadership.
In this matter, it's impossible to win over the Kamo family to challenge the Gojo family—the Kamo family neither wants to offend Gojo Satoru nor intends to strengthen the Zenin family's power.
The most crucial point is that Fushiguro Megumi himself had no intention of returning to the Zen-in family, and he was no longer a five- or six-year-old child who could be manipulated at will.
Even if the Zenji Naohito forcefully detains Fushiguro Megumi now, it will only increase the latter's resentment towards the Zenji family.
As for the specific details of this agreement...
[As per Fushiguro Megumi's wishes, he is currently being cared for by Gojo Satoru and will not return to the Zen-in family. However, if, for any reason, Gojo Satoru dies or loses his capacity for consciousness, the oath between Zen-in Naohito and Fushiguro Shigeji will take effect, and Fushiguro Megumi will be welcomed back to the Zen-in family to succeed as head of the family.]
Upon hearing this, Zenji Naoya's expression changed so dramatically that Gojo Satoru almost couldn't hold back his laughter.
The Zen master, unable to see his son's expression, simply lowered his head and pondered for a moment before directly asking Gojo Satoru.
"What, are you worried that something might happen to you in the future?"
"Huh? No way."
Gojo Satoru tilted his head and gave the shrewd but alcoholic Zen temple head a relaxed, arrogant smile.
"—I'm just very confident in myself."
Not a single penny of the money could be returned, but if he forcefully severed all ties between Fushiguro Megumi and the Zen-in family, who knows what the Zen-in Naotoshi might do behind his back.
The signing of this agreement was intended to give the other party some hope that Fushiguro Megumi might return to the Zen-in family, without making Fushiguro Megumi himself a target for the Zen-in Chikuhito.
As for the conspiracies and schemes that might be aimed at him in the future.
Gojo Satoru smiled, possessing absolute confidence in his own abilities.
"Is that so? I don't think so."
Neither the head of the Gojo family nor the head of the Zenin family had any questions about the contents of the agreement, and the agreement was successfully concluded. Zenin Naohito waved for Zenin Naoya to see Gojo Satoru and Fushiguro Megumi off, and then continued to indulge in the intoxication brought by the fine wine.
Gojo Satoru had no intention of chatting with the Zen family, with whom he had never gotten along, so he got up and took his leave.
The three walked along the corridor for a while, through the winding path of the courtyard, and were about to approach the gate when, seeing that there was no one else around, Zenji Naoya could no longer bear it and turned around, glaring at Gojo Satoru with great force.
Gojo Satoru asked innocently, "Is there something dirty on my face?"
Zen-in Naoya: "...What do you mean by this agreement?"
Gojo Satoru: "It's just the literal meaning. Oh dear—someone so smart, they should be able to understand what I mean, right?"
...This guy is practically telling him, "Naoya, you want to be the head of the Zen temple? Then you'd better protect me well, and make sure nothing happens to me."
After hanging out with that devil Kazuma Hatori for so long, even Satoru Gojo has become such a despicable bastard!
Zenin Naoya was certain that even if he wasn't present today, Gojo Satoru or Hatori Kazuma would have specifically told him the contents of the agreement later—wasn't it just to keep him dangling the carrot of the Zenin family head, so that he would do his best to keep Gojo Satoru safe and sound?
hateful!
They really did look down on us!
Zenji Naoya was furious, but he couldn't openly reveal these unspeakable ambitions to Fushiguro Megumi. He could only suppress his anger for a long time before finally letting out a curt "What do you think?"
Then, under Fukuguro's bewildered gaze, he turned back and continued to lead the way, still fuming.
Gojo Satoru let out a laugh that perfectly captured someone's psychology: "Haha."
Zenji Naoya: "..." So annoying!
If it were Kazuma Hatori here, he wouldn't care how angry Naoya Zenin was, as long as he could continue working for him; but after Gojo Satoru had his fill of Naoya Zenin's series of truly amusing reactions, he would still try to comfort him.
"Ah—to be honest, I'm relieved to have Naoya here. After all, Kei has gotten used to the life of an ordinary person and isn't really willing to come back to be the next head of the Zen-in family. If the Zen-in family were to have no successor like this, I would also feel distressed."
This statement is tantamount to implying that Gojo Satoru, or rather, Hatori Kazumi, truly supports Zenin Naoya becoming the next head of the Zenin family.
As for Fushiguro Megumi, he walked silently behind Gojo Satoru, tacitly acknowledging that he did not want to take over the Zenin family.
Zenji Naoya paused, "Really?"
“Really, really,” Gojo Satoru said with a smile, “but if I refuse for this reason, wouldn’t that be too disrespectful to the head of the Zen temple? I’ll have to think of another way that would allow everyone to compromise.”
"...It's no use telling me this. I might not be the next head of the Zen temple."
Zenji Naoya paused for a moment before replying, as if he were talking about something unrelated to him.
—But in my mind, someone is already sitting at the piano, playing an exciting melody to celebrate, joyful and enthusiastic.
YES, the next head of the Zen family is indeed destined to be him!
As long as Wu Jun is protected, it is equivalent to eliminating Fukuro Megumi, an external factor, and how could those good-for-nothings possibly be qualified to compete with him for the position of family head!
Seeing Zenji Naoya's growing excitement, Fushiguro Megumi, feeling even more confused, looked at Gojo Satoru—who stuck out his tongue and playfully spread his hands at him.
It's a secret that he, Naoya, and Kazuma have been in private contact for years, so it's best not to tell the children.
"..." But Fushiguro Megumi didn't understand.
What do you mean? Are you saying that Zenin Naoya's brain isn't working properly?
It seems like it is.
"Oh...right, right,"
When Gojo Satoru and Fushiguro Megumi were escorted to the car parked by the gate, Zenji Naoya, who seemed to have calmed down, took the initiative to ask Gojo Satoru a question.
"I heard that Maki left home to study at a vocational high school in Tokyo, is that true?"
Sitting in the passenger seat, Gojo Satoru rolled down the window and leaned his elbow against the window frame, looking in his direction.
"Yes, that's right. Do you need me to pass on a message to her?"
"Ha—no way, that guy's only redeeming quality is his face, there's nothing to talk about."
With a smirk, Zenji Naoya said sharply, "A piece of trash who doesn't know her place or the rules, yet she's incredibly arrogant. If she had the strength of Shir, I might look at her with more respect, but unfortunately, she's just an ordinary person with nothing but arrogance."
Gojo Satoru: "..."
Zenji Naoya usually didn't dare to speak loudly to him and Kazuma, and his use of honorifics was always very correct, making him forget that this guy's mouth could sometimes be incredibly sharp.
"Phew, I was just satisfying my curiosity, I didn't have any other needs."
Before Gojo Satoru could figure out how to reply, Zenin Naoya had already taken two steps back, his hands tucked into the sleeves of his kimono.
"Then goodbye, Wu-kun and Hui-kun."
When faced with the powerful Gojo Satoru and the infinitely potential Fushiguro Megumi, who possessed ten types of shadow magic, he became polite again, even giving them a friendly farewell smile.
Although Zenji Naoya has fox-like eyes with upturned corners, no matter how he smiles, he always seems to be full of evil intentions and is very cunning.
Fushiguro Megumi found it difficult to summarize his impression of Zenin Naoya, but he was somewhat relieved that he would no longer have to visit the Zenin family.
Having had Fushiguro Miki press the back of her head to thank Gojo Satoru so many times, Fushiguro Megumi finally learned to speak up first: "...Thank you. I'll go to a vocational high school next year."
"Oh dear, Hui has changed her mind?"
Leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed, Gojo Satoru turned to look behind him with a smile, "Did you get a shock from this trip?"
Fushiguro Megumi didn't have the habit of dissecting her inner thoughts with others. She lowered her eyes and remained silent for a long time before giving a brief reason.
"I just feel... I need to become stronger myself."
Not only his experience visiting the Zen temple, but also his past experiences working part-time as a window clerk, all spoke to him about the importance of this point.
"Hmm—no matter what, it's worth celebrating that Hui agreed to enroll in the Spellcasting Academy. My treat, let's go out for a big meal tonight!"
In a great mood, Gojo Satoru took out his phone and started making appointments with people in advance.
"Let's invite Kazuma, Tsumiki, and Riko along. If we eat in Saitama, we won't have to worry about being seen by the people from the vocational high school—hmm, why are there so many missed calls?"
Gojo Satoru muttered to himself, remembering that he had made sure to put both his and Megumi's phones on silent mode before entering the Zen temple.
"No, I don't think there's any need to celebrate this..."
Before Fushiguro Megumi could stop him, Gojo Satoru had already made a phone call; he could only sit back down and accept that there would be a lively celebration tonight.
However, what followed was completely different from the atmosphere inside the car.
Gojo Satoru called out "Riko" once and then fell silent; instead, his expression grew increasingly solemn, almost to the point of being expressionless.
A sense of oppressive unease enveloped the car, causing even the usually negative-minded Fushiguro Megumi to sink into despair, with many terrible thoughts uncontrollably surfacing in her mind.
Someone must have had an accident... Was it Tsumiki?
"...I understand, okay. We'll be right back."
After finishing his brief explanation, Gojo Satoru hung up the phone, leaning back in his chair with his head tilted back, seemingly lost in thought.
Looking at Fushiguro Megumi from the back seat, one could glimpse through the gap at the edge of his sunglasses that his pale eyelashes were drooping—or even that his eyes were completely closed.
This is the first time I've seen him react like this.
For a fleeting moment, Fushiguro Megumi wanted to call out Gojo Satoru's name and ask him what bad news he had heard from Tennatsu Riko.
But when he opened his mouth, his throat was gradually tightened by an ominous premonition, to the point that he couldn't utter a sound.
But soon, Gojo Satoru, having composed himself, opened his eyes again.
"benefit."
He called out Fushiguro Megumi's name in a low voice, even turning his entire upper body to the side, speaking to him in a rather solemn and serious manner.
"Your older sister, Tsumiki... has fallen into a coma for unknown reasons."
Fushiguro Megumi: "..."
Megumi Fushiguro: "...What?"
"Riko only found out when she went to look for her. It's unclear how long she had been unconscious. She tried calling me and you but couldn't get through. Fortunately, we managed to contact Kazuma. After taking her to the hospital, no abnormalities were found... Kazuma specifically warned her not to go to the Eighty-Eight Bridges, as I have already exorcised the cursed spirit there."
Gojo Satoru's voice was low, radiating a chilling coldness.
"She was marked by the enemy in person when she was alone at home."
...It was Xia Youjie who did it.
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