The next morning.
As soon as I opened my eyes, a hideous wave of muscle pain and a throbbing headache crushed my body, making my brow furrow instantly.
"Ugggh..."
This was the price of forcing out a Reverse Cursed Technique in front of the Zenin elders yesterday and attempting an incomplete Domain Expansion—a grade of jujutsu that defied all logic for my current state. My fourteen-year-old brain and body were screaming at their absolute limits.
Rising from my spot, I instinctively pulled a cigarette from my robe and lit it. I was exhaling a long trail of acrid smoke while staring out the window at the Zenin Clan's quiet, traditional garden when it happened.
Knock, knock—
"Come in."
Screeeech.
The sliding door opened, revealing a female servant in a tidy kimono. The moment she crossed the threshold, she dropped into a deep, ninety-degree bow that nearly touched the floor.
"Good morning, Young Master Hachiro. The Clan Head has requested your presence for breakfast."
"...Fine."
I clicked my tongue and gave a short reply. I had certainly demanded treatment equivalent to the primary heir during yesterday's negotiations, but experiencing the vertical hierarchy of this 'Zenin Scumbag' clan firsthand was exhausting to the point of laughter. The atmosphere was stifling.
"I'll be ready shortly."
As I threw on my outer coat and stepped onto the wooden veranda to put on my shoes, the maid rushed over. She knelt at my feet, reaching out to tie my laces herself.
"Whoa, stop. It's fine. My wrists work perfectly, so I'll handle it myself. Go on ahead."
"..."
When I firmly refused, the servant quietly backed away. However, despite my order to go ahead, she kept her head bowed and silently followed exactly three paces behind my back.
'What a creepy neighborhood.'
With a fed-up expression, I allowed myself to be guided toward Naobito's room.
Inside, two separate, lavish breakfast tables were prepared—one for Naobito and one for me. Though the tables were groaning under the weight of various delicacies even for a morning meal, what caught my eye wasn't the food, but the sake bottle in Naobito's hand.
Chugging alcohol at the crack of dawn, Naobito let out a smirk.
"I gathered the old fossils for a meeting last night."
He wiped the liquor from his lips and casually announced the result.
"Three in favor, two against. Well, there were some idiots babbling about bloodline purity, but in the end, they tucked their tails between their legs when faced with your ability. As of today, you are officially part of the Zenin Clan."
"I'm honored, really."
"As for the Grade 1 Cursed Tool from the vault I promised, I've ordered that old elder who threw the biggest fit yesterday to prepare it. Seeing his eyes roll back in his head was quite the spectacle. Kahaha!"
Naobito roared with laughter and looked at me.
"Now that you've officially stepped into the Zenin fold, is there anything else you're curious about?"
I toyed with my chopsticks for a moment, gauging the timing. Then, in a completely indifferent tone, I brought up a name that had been one of my true objectives all along.
"Toji Zenin. Where is that man now? If he's still in the clan, I'd like to meet him once."
Clack—!
In an instant, Naobito slammed his sake cup onto the table. The air in the room froze ice-cold.
"...How do you know about that fellow?"
Naobito's gaze became as sharp as a blade.
A Heavenly Restriction with zero Cursed Energy. The Zenin Clan's disgrace and heretic. It was a name that a fourteen-year-old bastard raised on the outside shouldn't have known. To evade this suspicion, I calmly laid out the plausible lie I had prepared in advance.
"Weren't my biological father and Mister Toji both treated like cold leftovers in this noble family? I heard that they were quite close back in the day, perhaps out of shared misery."
I shrugged, using my knowledge of the original series to add credibility to the lie.
"My father told me. He said that man was always saying he'd sell his kid for a high price to the clan if the child inherited the Innate Technique. Is that true?"
"...Hoh."
Hearing such specific details of Toji's private life—specifically the plan to sell his child—Naobito's eyes slowly softened. He seemed completely convinced by my lie.
"Puhaha! That crazy bastard Toji... he's more interesting than I thought. He always walked around looking like he was halfway to the grave."
Naobito picked up his cup again and clicked his tongue.
"But you won't be able to meet him. That guy changed his surname and left the Zenin Clan a long time ago. What's more, on his way out, he completely emptied the Zenin vault of every decent cursed tool he could find before running off."
"...Ah."
A low sigh escaped my lips. Naobito probably took it as a sigh of regret, but my insides were turning cold.
'I'm too late.'
This was my original plan:
If Toji was still loitering around the Zenin Clan, I was going to find a way to contact him and either stop his future assassination of Riko Amanai or redirect him. If none of that worked, I intended to at least claim the cheat-tier cursed tool that could bypass the Limitless technique of 'The Ordinary One'—the Inverted Spear of Heaven—from the Zenin vault before he could take it.
But Toji had already changed his name to 'Fushiguro,' packed his bags, and vanished into the shadows.
"A total freak of nature. That physical gorilla doesn't have a single drop of Cursed Energy."
Listening to Naobito grumble, I quietly picked up a piece of cold side dish with my chopsticks.
It tasted bitter. The first snowball that could have stopped the massive tragedies of the original work had slipped right through my fingers.
After finishing the sour breakfast with Naobito, I was crossing the Zenin garden to return to the guest house.
Knowing I'd missed Toji made my mood turn foul. I stopped walking and stood under a pine tree in a secluded corner of the garden. Habitually, I pulled another cigarette from my robe and put it in my mouth.
Fzzzt—
Just as I lit it and prepared to take a deep drag to soothe my bitter stomach—
"I was in the middle of giving those useless, half-wit girls some harsh education myself... then I heard you caused quite the colorful ruckus in the main hall?"
From behind me came an arrogant, insufferable voice with a strange regional accent.
When I turned my head, I saw a boy dressed in flashy traditional clothing standing with his weight shifted to one side. He looked to be the same age as me, though he was about half a head taller. Slanted eyes and a uniquely haughty expression with his chin tilted up.
It was Naobito's son, Naoya Zenin.
I almost laughed at the sheer rot of his personality—bragging so proudly about bullying the powerless women in the clan who lacked techniques.
"So, who the hell are you?"
Naoya walked over crookedly and began poking my shoulder with his finger, clearly looking for a fight.
"Did the clan geezers all lose their minds at once? They say they're treating some stray mutt with no pedigree as the next Clan Head? Who are you supposed to be? What kind of trick did you pull on Uncle Ougi yesterday?"
Poke, poke.
His finger prodding my shoulder was full of blatant hostility and contempt.
But I didn't dodge, and I didn't get angry. I just looked down at Naoya's finger poking me, then looked back up at his venom-filled face.
For a young master of a prestigious family, he looked more pathetic than a local street thug.
"..."
I inhaled the cigarette smoke deep into my lungs.
Then, looking straight up at Naoya, who was significantly taller than me, I slightly parted my lips.
Phuuuuuu—
A straight line of acrid smoke puffed out, hitting Naoya square in the face.
"Cough! You... you crazy bastard...!"
As the stinging smoke hit his eyes and nose, Naoya's face distorted as he burst into a coughing fit. Watching him, I opened my mouth with a bored expression.
"So."
I flicked the hand holding the cigarette and asked.
"What are you actually trying to say? Did you come here to get a ticket to wait in line for your turn to get beaten up?"
"You little shit!!"
At that moment, I could practically hear the sound of Naoya's rationality snapping.
His eyes, overflowing with arrogance, flipped with murderous intent. Sharp Cursed Energy erupted and boiled around Naoya as he used the momentum like a beast, throwing a punch straight at my face.
"I'm gonna kill you!"
In the middle of the main estate's garden, a dirty brawl had begun.