At the same time that the Rikugan twins were born into the Gojo clan, at the Zenin clan…
Zenin Naobito stood outside a delivery room, drinking alcohol as he waited.
He was forty-three years old this year, with streaks of gray already appearing in his hair.
He had only recently become the 26th head of the clan, yet there were still those within the clan who believed he was too young.
Given the history of the Zenin clan, they were not entirely wrong, for this was a conservative family where old men had always held power.
Naobito was considered the most open-minded clan head the Zenin family had had in four hundred years.
When he was young, he had carried no shortage of ambitions to change the clan.
But as the years passed, he came to understand that some things were simply beyond one’s ability to change, no matter how hard one tried.
A centuries-old tree that had rotted from within was not something that could easily be saved.
Therefore, all he could do now was steer it down the path of least decline… and place his hopes in the next generation.
That was why he was standing here.
The child about to be born was not his own.
She was the daughter of his younger brother—Zenin Ogi.
The woman inside the delivery room was not Ogi’s wife either, but merely a mistress he had met during one of his escapades.
When he learned that she was pregnant and had come to the estate, Ogi had intended to kill her.
If Naobito had not intervened, perhaps everything would have ended right there.
Part of his reason was pity for the woman.
But more importantly… Naobito did not want to waste any potential “seedling” of the Zenin clan.
The younger generation was far too weak.
At best, they could only reach Grade 2, yet they were always loudly proclaiming:
Those who are not Zenin are not sorcerers.
Those who are not sorcerers are not human.
And alongside that was the deeply ingrained belief in male superiority.
If Naobito had to choose one person he was truly satisfied with, there was only Zenin Toji.
A “mutation” with no Cursed Energy, possessing Heavenly Restriction.
And yet that very boy—alone—had slaughtered an entire group of Grade 1 Cursed Spirits in the warehouse.
Naobito had no choice but to acknowledge his strength.
Unfortunately, in a rotten clan like the Zenin, no one was willing to accept Toji.
Instead, he was isolated and even ganged up on.
But as the years passed, Toji gradually came to dominate them.
All they could do was resort to underhanded methods and badmouth him behind his back.
That alone was enough to understand why Naobito wanted to wait for this child to be born.
Only he was waiting.
As for Ogi—ever since failing to claim the position of clan head, he had openly opposed Naobito.
At this hour, he was probably somewhere drinking and indulging himself.
“Clan Head, you’re here?”
A teenage boy’s voice rang out.
It was Toji.
Naobito laughed.
“A new member of the clan is about to be born.
As the clan head, of course I have to be here.”
“Seems like you’re the only one who thinks that.”
Toji spoke indifferently.
Naobito did not deny it.
Aside from a few servants, no one else was here.
The child was the daughter of a mistress, and her mother was merely an ordinary person.
That alone was enough for her to be looked down upon.
Naobito shook his head before looking at Toji.
“I’ve noticed you’ve been training very hard lately.
If only the other children in the clan were more like you…”
“They’re too busy planning how to get revenge on me.”
Naobito burst out laughing.
Toji was the son of his older brother, making him Naobito’s nephew.
He also had an older brother named Zenin Jinichi—quiet and indifferent, but at least “more tolerable” than most members of the clan.
Naobito quite liked the two brothers, especially Toji.
“With you as their target, at least they know they have to work harder.”
“You’re very strong, Toji.”
Toji paused for a moment.
In this clan, almost no one acknowledged him.
But Naobito was different.
“Are you drunk?
Praising a ‘monkey with no Cursed Energy’ like me?”
“I’m merely stating the truth.”
Toji sat down beside him.
“I heard your wife is pregnant too.
There’ll be another heir next year.”
Naobito chuckled.
“After seeing his older siblings, I don’t dare expect too much.”
He paused, his voice becoming more serious.
“But I still hope… among the children who are about to be born, there will be someone strong enough to change the Zenin clan.”
He looked directly at Toji.
“And you will be the one to lead them.”
Toji frowned.
The clan head… actually wanted to be overthrown?
“You really are drunk.”
He glanced toward the delivery room.
“So that’s why you’re waiting for that child?
A child whose own father doesn’t even acknowledge her?”
“Yes.”
Toji spoke solemnly.
“I don’t think that’s a good thing.
Growing up in this place… if she has a cursed technique, she’ll become a mere soldier.
If she doesn’t… she’ll end up like me.”
“If she becomes as strong as you… then that would be a blessing.”
Naobito laughed loudly.
“Who knows?
Perhaps she’ll inherit some powerful clan technique.”
“I think that would make things worse.
That bastard father will turn her into a tool to compete with you for the position of clan head.”
“Haha.
In that case…”
“I’ll raise her myself.”
“Oe… oe…”
The cry of a newborn echoed through the room.
A servant hurried outside.
“Clan Head, the baby has been born.
It’s… a girl.”
“A daughter…”
Toji sighed softly.
In the Zenin clan, that was practically a death sentence.
But Naobito was still smiling.
“It’s fine.
Boy or girl, she’s still a Zenin.”
He stood up.
“Let’s go.”
“Toji, come with me.
From now on… I want you to take care of the girl.”
Toji froze.
“Are you joking?”
“I trust you.”
The two of them entered the room together.
Unlike the excitement surrounding the birth of the Six Eyes twins in the Gojo clan, this place was eerily quiet.
Few people.
Few words of congratulations…
And even a sense of indifference.
The newborn baby lay in her mother’s arms.
The woman’s name was Sakura.
Naobito had allowed her to take the Zenin surname.
She was merely an ordinary person.
Attracted by Ogi’s wealth, she had followed him.
When she discovered she was pregnant, she came to the estate hoping to change her life…
But she had nearly lost her life if Naobito had not intervened.
When Sakura saw him enter, her eyes trembled slightly before she bowed her head.
“It’s a girl… Clan Head.”
She had only been with the Zenin clan for a short time, but she already understood clearly what being a girl here meant.
Naobito laughed.
“It’s fine.
She’s still one of the clan’s seedlings.”
He approached the bed.
“Let me hold her.”
“Yes…”
Naobito bent down and carefully took the baby into his arms.
An eccentric old man holding a newborn was quite an incongruous sight, but no one dared to laugh.
“She really is adorable.”
He muttered.
The baby had inherited Sakura’s beauty… and Ogi’s eyes—the only beautiful thing about him.
Sakura watched the scene, her eyes slightly moist.
She was happy…
But she also felt a bitter ache in her heart.
The person who should have been standing here— had never appeared.
Naobito turned toward Toji.
“Would you like to hold her?”
“Me?”
Toji froze.
He was only thirteen years old, but the effects of Heavenly Restriction made him look like an adult—his body was heavily muscled, and his presence was oppressive.
Even he was not sure whether he might accidentally hurt the baby.
“Hold her.
I told you already—you’ll lead this generation.”
Sakura also nodded gently.
Toji reluctantly reached out his arms.
The sight of him holding the baby was somehow even more incongruous than Naobito holding her.
But then—
He froze.
The baby slept peacefully in his arms.
A strange sensation spread through him…
as though something had slipped into the part of his soul that had long since grown numb.
For the first time, Toji experienced something resembling “gentleness” within this clan.
At that exact moment—
The baby opened her eyes.
She did not cry.
She looked at him…
and then smiled softly.
Naobito burst into laughter.
“Looks like she’s already accepted you as her father.”
Just as the atmosphere began to soften—
A sudden surge of Cursed Energy erupted.
It did not come from Naobito.
Nor did it come from any of the adults.
It came from…
the child.
The space beneath Toji’s feet suddenly darkened.
Cursed Energy condensed, compressed, and then expanded into a deep region of darkness.
Naobito’s eyes widened.
“Impossible…”
From within the darkness, two figures gradually emerged.
One black.
One white.
Two dogs stepped out, their eyes sharp and cold as they released deep howls that seemed to proclaim their very existence.
Naobito trembled.
“Divine Dogs… and they’re both complete forms…”
His voice nearly broke.
“There can be no mistake… The Ten Shadows Technique—the inherited technique of our clan that disappeared hundreds of years ago…”
“It has returned!”
The space fell silent.
Toji, Sakura, and the servants around them—
Everyone was completely stunned.
Toji understood better than anyone what this meant.
Even without Cursed Energy…
he knew.
The value of the Ten Shadows Technique to the Zenin clan was in no way inferior to the Rikugan of the Gojo clan.
Naobito suddenly burst out laughing and slapped Toji hard on the shoulder.
“When I held her, nothing happened.
The moment she reached your hands, a miracle occurred… Well done!”
“You’re saying that like I gave birth to her.”
The atmosphere suddenly became lighter.
A few laughs could be heard.
Naobito looked at Toji, his eyes shining.
“Then… you name the girl.”
“Me?”
Sakura spoke softly.
“Originally, I intended to ask the clan head… but now, I think you’re more suitable.”
Naobito laughed loudly.
“I have no objections.”
Toji looked at the baby in his arms.
Small…
Yet carrying a power beyond all reason.
He remained silent for a moment before speaking.
“…Tobu.”
“Zenin Tobu.”
“In this clan… she’ll probably be restrained by all sorts of things.”
“But one day, she’ll become strong enough… to fly free.”
Naobito laughed.
“Named after a bird?
Not exactly cute… but I like it.”
Sakura nodded.
“Then… from now on, you are Zenin Tobu.”
Naobito looked at the two of them.
“I’ll devote everything I have to raising this girl.”
“And you… stay by her side.”
“Am I a babysitter now?”
“I trust you.”
In the same year—
The Gojo clan welcomed the Six Eyes twins.
The Zenin clan produced an heir to the Ten Shadows Technique.
The two consecutive pieces of news sent shockwaves throughout the entire jujutsu world.
The major powers immediately began investigating.
The Kamo clan reacted the most fiercely.
Having no heir to their inherited technique meant falling behind.
Invisible pressure began weighing down the entire clan, urging its members to have more children in search of someone who possessed Blood Manipulation.
As for the Gojo clan, the existence of Gojo Kaito, an individual possessing Heavenly Restriction, was kept absolutely secret.
The reputation of the Rikugan… did not allow for the existence of any “deviation.”
And within the Zenin clan—
Information about Tobu was also distorted.
No one was allowed to mention that the child who possessed the Ten Shadows Technique…
was a girl.
In an excessively patriarchal clan like the Zenin family, that was not something to celebrate— it was something that had to be hidden.
Three days after Tobu’s birth, Ogi finally returned.
Drunk.
Not a single word of concern.
When he learned that the child was a girl, he immediately slapped Sakura to the ground and even ordered that both mother and daughter be dealt with.
But the moment he heard the words—
“Ten Shadows.”
His expression changed.
It was not the pride of a father.
It was ambition.
That child…
was not his daughter.
She was a tool.
A tool powerful enough to elevate him to the position of clan head.
That very night, Ogi went to Naobito and demanded guardianship of Tobu.
But this time, Naobito refused to yield.
As the clan head, he directly rejected the demand.
In the end, the two sides reached a reluctant agreement—
Tobu would be raised by Naobito until she turned four.
At that point, the right to choose…
would belong to the girl herself.
Ogi left in silence.
In his eyes, the outcome did not matter.
A child carrying his blood…
would return to him sooner or later.
At least— that was what he believed.
Naobito merely sighed quietly.
…
Tobu’s birth…
was never part of the natural order.
But with the emergence of Gojo Kaito— and a previously unrecorded form of energy known as Reiatsu— the balance began to shift.
Tobu existed…
as a variable.
Was she meant to restore balance?
Or to shatter it?
Would she become an opposing force— or the thread that connected her to Gojo Kaito?
For now, no one had the answer.