Chapter 98
Of course, in the previous playthrough, Kazuma Hatori showed no mercy when beating up Zenin Naoya.
He survived only because he was young and strong, had a high health bar, and had his body enhanced by cursed power, which allowed him to withstand Kazuma Hagoromo's punches.
Furthermore, it was only after Hato Kazuma personally went to Gojo Satoru's house to apologize that he reluctantly agreed to back down and didn't actually kill Zenin Naoya, who dared to speak ill of Satoru.
As for the -100 favorability rating that he later saw behind him, Kazuma Hatake didn't care at all.
He has plenty of NPCs with -100 favorability with him, why is he missing Zenin Naoya?
Zenji Naoya, however, clearly did not think so.
That beating left him with a deep psychological scar, and the subsequent need to apologize to Gojo Satoru himself filled his heart with immense humiliation and resentment.
This mixture of fear, humiliation, resentment, and many other negative emotions, even if it's reduced in the next playthrough, is still terrifyingly intense.
The higher-ups in the world of sorcery, at worst, eat rotten food until they're stuffed, work 16 hours a day until they suffer from lumbar muscle strain, and witness their colleagues' anuses developing a sense of taste... At worst, they just get rid of it with a gun!
Zenji Naoya was genuinely beaten to the point of near death, and had to beg for help from the family's glass shop to save his life. He was also forced to apologize to Gojo Satoru by the Dogeza monk. This series of physical and mental blows caused him immense pain.
The -100 in the affection level list, does that mean it only shows -100? Yes, it can only display -100!
His hatred, his fear, and the humiliation that made him grit his teeth to pieces could not be expressed by a mere -100!
If we were to rank everyone's favorability rating based on their actual values, Zenin Naoya would definitely be last.
Therefore, in this meeting room, Zenji Naoya's reaction to seeing Hatori Kazuma was the most intense.
If he hadn't braked at the crucial moment, he would have almost dug a hole on the spot and escaped, wanting to get as far away from this devil as possible.
This series of actions was all driven by bodily instincts manipulated by muscles.
Even as Zenji Naoya sat on the ground in a daze, he couldn't understand why his emotions and thoughts had become so...confused.
However, the others weren't much better off than him.
Kamo Chokichi, who had met Hatori Kazuma once, could be considered to have some experience in dealing with such situations.
After the intense emotional upheaval subsided, the Zen monks and others who had reacted strongly were even more bewildered, exchanging bewildered glances, completely unaware of what had happened.
When Kazuma Hatori stepped into the conference room, the entire room instantly fell silent again. Everyone avoided eye contact with the black-haired boy.
Kazuma Hatori didn't even glance at them, following the pretty little Satoru to choose an empty seat and sit down, not caring how these people were avoiding him.
Even if you tied all these people together and put them in front of him, they wouldn't be as important as half a finger of Wu.
"This is really strange; it's the first time I've ever seen such a scene."
Amidst the complete silence, there were also those who were not afraid of Kazuma Hatori.
"Oh, it's Miss Ming. Are you here to help broadcast the battlefield situation using crows?"
Gojo Satoru raised his hand to greet the young woman in a pure black suit, and then quietly introduced her to Hato Kazuma as Meimei, who was currently working as an assistant supervisor at Tokyo Jujutsu High School and occasionally took on some missions to complete—but all of them required payment.
However, it is said that the name Mingming is also fake, and no one knows her true identity.
But one thing is certain: she has an extraordinary love for money.
As long as you can afford it, you can ask her to do whatever you want.
"Yes, after all, we've already paid."
Mingming sat at the back of the conference room, her deep-set eyes half-open and half-closed, a smile playing on her lips—she would not clash with anyone, and conversely, no one could force her to choose any side.
Her technique is called [Blackbird Manipulation], which allows her to control multiple crows and share their field of vision.
Add a few magical tricks, and these crows become perfect cameras for tracking and live streaming during the competition.
Mingming, who developed this method, naturally earns a small profit every year and is in a very good mood.
She rested her knuckles on her chin, gazing thoughtfully at Kazuma Hatori, as if trying to uncover the secret behind his ability to instill such fear in these high-ranking officials.
"You're a first-year student at Tokyo Vocational High School... Hmm, I vaguely remember you. Hello, Kazuma-kun."
Kazuma Hatori's dark eyes flickered, but he didn't respond to Mingming's greeting. Instead, he focused his gaze on the other person's very light blue hair.
Or rather, it's closer to a bluish-white.
To put it bluntly, this almost nonexistent shade of blue hair could be classified as white hair, which is acceptable.
This is the second unusual light-colored hair that I've seen in this game by Kazuma Hatake.
The blonde hair dyed by Zenji Naoya doesn't count.
Even those senior staff members in the management department who have worked themselves to the bone and have developed gray hair don't count.
If Mikoshiba were here, he would probably consider this guy to be a favorite of Kazuma Hagoromo, a fan of white-haired girls.
Kazuma Hato's gaze did indeed linger on that long hair for a while, so much so that Satoru Gojo's gaze followed—and then he muttered to himself.
When I first met him, this guy seemed to always be staring at his hair.
Could it be that the reason he likes to play with me... is actually because he likes my white hair?
Xiao Wu was greatly surprised!
But before he could ask the question, Kazuma Hatake had already looked away and responded calmly.
"Hello, Miss Ming."
Even the way they addressed her was copied from Gojo Satoru.
"Oh, what a good child."
Mingming also gave an evaluation that 90% of the people in this conference room disagreed with, making the others strongly refute it in their hearts—what kind of good kid is this guy anyway!
But when asked why it's bad, they couldn't explain why.
Anyway... anyway, it's just not good!
We must stay away from them and avoid being in their sight!
And that Gojo Satoru, how could he so casually bring the black-haired boy over to watch them make a fool of themselves!
Those who had suffered at the hands of the Living Yama in the previous game were secretly gritting their teeth, their faces contorted with rage that was almost visible to the naked eye.
Having dealt with these old NPCs many times, how could Kazuma Hagoromo not know what they were thinking?
He raised his hand to press on the back of the chair and slowly stood up.
The rest of the people were seated, causing Hatake Kazuma's dark eyes to glance downwards, creating an extremely powerful aura of superiority.
"Does anyone have any opinions about me and Wu Lai watching the game?"
His voice, still bearing the timbre of a boy, was calm, indifferent, and even had a touch of politeness—but those people didn't see it that way. They just thought this devil was utterly wicked and dared to deliberately provoke them!
Even if they were cursing in their hearts, they would still subconsciously agree and respond in kind on the surface.
"No, no."
"It's my duty to represent the Gojo family."
"Wu is going to be the next head of the family, so it's good for us to get used to it in advance."
"Zaozai came over too, didn't he? You're of the same generation, so you should exchange ideas more often."
Upon hearing the last sentence, Zenji Naoya almost cursed at the man.
Anyone want to talk to this terrifying guy more?
As soon as he saw that demon, his hands started to tremble and his legs went weak without him even realizing it!
Even when he first met Zenji, who was considered a demon, he only felt admiration, not fear as directly manifested as he does now!
As for Gojo Satoru, he was already overjoyed.
This black hamster was surprisingly effective at intimidating the old man; with just one sentence, it made these old guys, who were always so disrespectful to him, so subservient.
Regardless of the reason, he found the scene incredibly interesting!
"Sure, sure!"
The others, still laughing incessantly, remained silent: "…………"
Those two brats, they're working together like a duo!
Fortunately, this exchange meeting wasn't just about the three starter families and Mingming, who was responsible for releasing crows as cameras and ignoring everything else.
"Enlightenment, and also truth."
Masamichi Yagami, who was in charge of leading the Tokyo team, said wearily, feeling like he was about to die three years younger from all the nagging gazes urging him to take charge.
"The match is about to start, sit down and watch carefully."
Although he didn't understand why Kazuma Hatori could have such a strong deterrent effect on the higher-ups... after all, he was still his student, and he had only said a few words without actually doing anything. He couldn't possibly reprimand him in front of so many people.
"yes--"
Having had his fill of amusement, Gojo Satoru responded with a long, drawn-out laugh, then tugged at Hatori Kazuma's sleeve, gesturing for him to sit down as well.
Kazuma Hatori obediently sat down as Satoru pulled him, and then a warm breath brushed against his ear, accompanied by a whispered voice that spoke word by word.
"You were looking at Miss Ming's hair for a long time just now."
Holding a grudge, Xiao Wu couldn't wait to ask in private; he immediately whispered in Yu Tori's ear.
"Are you secretly fond of her hair too?"
Hmph, is it because you're attracted to his hair color that you want to be around him?
Kazuma Hatori blinked his black eyes slowly, surprised that Satoru Gojo had even noticed such a small detail.
When he turned his gaze, he could see that the sunglasses had been taken off, and Gojo Satoru was blatantly accusing him with those beautiful, misty blue eyes.
Why are you so concerned about what he was thinking just now?
So, Kazuma Hato couldn't help but purse his lips, raise his hand to block the head that was turned away, and whispered to Satoru Gojo.
"I was just thinking that if her hair color were a little darker, it would be similar to your eye color."
"No, even if it were a little darker, it wouldn't become the color of my eyes..."
Gojo Satoru muttered softly, but then suddenly opened his eyes wide, round and cat-like, looking both surprised and adorable.
"That's all you thought of?"
"That's all I wanted to think about."
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