1995.
Zenin Tobu was six years old this year.
The girl had grown into a beautiful child, with shoulder-length hair, delicate features, and bright eyes.
But her appearance did nothing to make her life easier—especially within the Zenin clan.
The Ten Shadows Technique gave her a higher status than most women in the clan.
But… it still wasn’t enough to silence those mouths.
“That girl is a daughter, yet she doesn’t know the first thing about proper etiquette.”
“And she’s an outsider, yet she’s treated like a member of the main family?”
“What a joke.”
When Tobu was younger, she would cry.
She cried a lot.
But back then, Toji would always step forward.
Her cousin—Zenin Toji.
Cold and even somewhat frightening on the outside, but to her, he was the warmest person in the world.
He was always the one who stood in front of her whenever trouble arose.
In Tobu’s eyes, Toji was incredibly strong.
And very handsome.
If they weren’t siblings… perhaps she would have wanted to do what happened in the fairy tales—marry him.
But eventually, she stopped crying.
After one incident.
A member of the Hei Unit, seeing Toji step forward to protect her, directly drew his sword.
The blade, enveloped in Cursed Energy, slashed straight toward them.
Toji didn’t dodge.
He stood in front of her.
Blood splattered.
A slash tore across the corner of his mouth.
The man was immediately taken away afterward.
But—
There was no apology.
No one used Reverse Cursed Technique to heal him.
As though… what had happened was simply natural.
Tobu stood there, stunned.
Looking at the blood on her brother’s face.
Looking at the indifferent expressions of the clan members.
That was the first time she understood—
This clan despised not only her.
It also despised the person she treasured most.
From that day onward, Tobu stopped crying.
Anyone who dared tease her—
She beat them.
Anyone who dared speak ill of Toji—
She beat them even harder.
Anyone who called him a “monkey”—
The Divine Dogs tore them apart.
Nue hung them from a tree.
She wanted to see—
Who exactly was the “monkey.”
Gradually, it wasn’t just the children who became wary of Tobu.
Even the adults began to fear her.
But to Tobu, that meant nothing.
She only cared about Toji—the older brother who protected and cared for her.
Toji was incredibly strong.
He also passed all of his combat experience on to her and often took her out to have fun.
Even so, whenever the two of them returned from somewhere, the hypocrites of the Zenin clan, led by Zenin Ogi—her father in name only—would sneer at them.
They claimed that Toji was corrupting her.
That she didn’t know how to behave with dignity.
But Tobu had memorized every single word.
She would settle the score with all of them later.
There was also her younger cousin, Zenin Naoya.
At first, she didn’t particularly like the boy.
He had been heavily influenced by the rotten traditions of the Zenin clan.
He had even picked up some phrases belittling women and referring to ordinary non-sorcerers as monkeys, and had repeated them right in front of her.
Tobu beat him within an inch of his life.
Strangely enough, however, instead of harboring resentment afterward, Naoya began following her around everywhere.
His declaration that all non-sorcerers were monkeys also changed after he witnessed Toji single-handedly wipe out the Hei Unit.
It seemed that the boy wasn’t inherently bad.
He was simply growing up in a rotten environment.
He was someone who could easily be influenced.
Naoya was the son of the current clan head—Zenin Naobito.
One of the very few people Tobu genuinely respected.
Through Toji, she learned quite a few things.
If it weren’t for Naobito— she and her mother might have died at Zenin Ogi’s hands long ago.
In her heart, Tobu had long since regarded him as her true father.
As for her mother—Zenin Sakura— she was a woman who lived quietly within the clan.
She had pursued Zenin Ogi, a man who had never returned her feelings.
The affection she held for Tobu still existed.
But under the constant erosion of the Zenin clan, it had gradually become faint.
Because— if someone could barely stand on their own, how could they possibly protect someone else?
Tobu often wondered:
If Mother had been brave enough to leave this place…
Would her life have been better?
.
.
.
At this moment, Tobu was training in the room where the clan kept its Cursed Spirits.
The place was dangerous, but there was nowhere more suitable if she wanted to rapidly increase her strength.
Thanks to training here, she had also managed to tame several more Shikigami.
The ten Shikigami of the Ten Shadows Technique were:
Divine Dogs, Nue, Great Serpent, Toads, Max Elephant, Round Deer, Piercing Ox, Rabbit Escape, Tiger Funeral, and Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General Mahoraga.
She had currently tamed six out of the ten.
Not a bad rate of progress.
The further she advanced, the stronger the Shikigami became, and the greater the requirements for taming them.
Especially the Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General Mahoraga.
Throughout the history of the Zenin clan, no one had ever successfully tamed it.
Therefore, it was used as a final trump card—a mutually destructive weapon to be unleashed when there were no other options.
It was said that four hundred years ago, the Six Eyes sorcerer and the heir to the Ten Shadows Technique had both died fighting Mahoraga.
That incident had caused the two clans to hate each other to this day.
These were all boring pieces of knowledge Tobu had been forced to memorize since childhood, alongside the countless tedious etiquette lessons imposed upon women.
The only thing that truly interested her was actual combat.
Even then, that only lasted for a while.
The knowledge the Zenin clan currently possessed regarding the Ten Shadows Technique was simply too outdated.
Perhaps part of the reason was that no one had inherited the technique for far too long.
Therefore, Tobu simultaneously studied ancient records and experimented on herself.
Her teachers initially tried to lecture her.
But after witnessing the enormous Max Elephant she had created with her abundant Cursed Energy, they no longer dared say anything.
Naobito was the only one who recognized what made her different.
He didn’t force her to follow the established path.
Instead, he threw her the key to the ancient library and laughed heartily:
“Go ahead and make a mess in your own way, kid.
Just make sure that when you step outside, the name Zenin doesn’t lose its luster.”
Tobu possessed many innate advantages.
First, she was beautiful.
Second, she possessed an enormous amount of Cursed Energy.
These advantages allowed her to master the Ten Shadows Technique at an extraordinary level.
After being reinforced with her Cursed Energy, many of her Shikigami had grown far larger and become far more powerful than the records described.
The Divine Dogs had become faster and stronger.
Her Nue had grown enormous and could fire high-voltage electricity of up to 100,000 volts.
The Great Serpent could swallow thousands of Cursed Spirits at once.
The water pressure produced by Max Elephant could even cut through stone.
And yet Tobu continued refining them every single day.
“The previous users of the Ten Shadows Technique really were idiots.”
They simply relied on their beasts without understanding how to utilize them properly.
Then, when they couldn’t win— they summoned Mahoraga and died together with their opponent.
What a waste of such a powerful technique.
After clearing out the Cursed Spirits, Tobu dropped heavily onto the floor and sat there to rest.
“Working hard, aren’t you?”
A familiar voice rang out.
“That’s how I’ll catch up to you faster, after all.”
The person who had called out to her was Toji.
“Don’t try to chase after a monkey like me.”
“Did someone call you that again?
I’ll hang them up another time.”
Toji laughed heartily for a moment.
Ever since he had taken responsibility for looking after Tobu, those had been the happiest days of his life.
The girl was beautiful, adorable, and intelligent.
Unlike everyone else, she never rejected him.
And, in his own way, Toji was also somewhat happy that Tobu was willing to stand up for him so often.
“Clan Head Naobito is looking for you.
He said there’s something important?”
As he spoke, he took a double popsicle, broke it in half, and handed one piece to Tobu.
Tobu accepted it.
It was her favorite snack.
“What is it?”
“Apparently, there’s going to be a banquet for the Three Great Sorcerer Families soon.
The Zenin elders want to introduce you publicly and use your strength to intimidate the other clans.”
“Hmph.
They spend every day looking down on women, but when they need something, they exploit us to the fullest.
Rotten to the core.”
Tobu was displeased.
“But it might be important.
The Six Eyes twins will be there.”
Tobu’s lips unconsciously curled upward.
“I’ve met one of them once.
They’re definitely not someone you can underestimate.”
Toji suddenly remembered that snowy day.
Satoru had been walking home with his mother, Gojo Otome, while Toji watched from a distance.
Then Satoru suddenly turned his head— and discovered Toji’s position.
One had to remember that Toji possessed Heavenly Restriction.
Ordinary people perceived him as nothing more than an inanimate object.
“But they definitely aren’t stronger than us,” Tobu said confidently.
“Don’t get arrogant.”
Toji lightly tapped her on the head.
“Even if it sounds boring, I’ll probably go.
There should be some good food.”
“Then I’ll go with you.
Wherever you go, Brother Toji, I’ll follow.”
Toji gently ruffled Tobu’s hair.
It was a rare gesture of tenderness from someone who was otherwise regarded as a tyrant.
“Who gave you permission to touch my daughter, you piece of trash?
And you too, Tobu!
Didn’t I order you to stay away from that Cursed-Energy-less mongrel?!”
Zenin Ogi approached, his face filled with murderous fury.
Tobu looked at him, unable to conceal the disgust in her eyes.
She hated the blood of this man flowing through her veins—a bloodline filled with nothing but filthy ambition.
“Stay away from me.
I’ve already told you.
I don’t have a father like you.”
According to their agreement, when Tobu turned four, she was allowed to choose her own guardian.
And she chose Toji.
It was a slap in the face to the Zenin higher-ups.
In truth, she could have chosen Naobito.
After all, he had taken care of her for four years.
But the higher-ups would rather allow Toji to become her guardian than Naobito.
Because if Naobito were chosen, his position as clan head would become practically unshakable.
“Ogi could not allow that.”
“You want to follow that monkey?!
You’re my property!
Your duty is to help me rise to the position of clan head!”
Ogi screamed, looking utterly pathetic—a man who could only cling to his six-year-old daughter in his pursuit of power.
“The banquet of the Three Great Sorcerer Families is coming up!
I’ll be your guardian.
The jujutsu world needs to know who created the heir to the Ten Shadows Technique!”
“GET OUT!”
Tobu lost her patience.
The shadow beneath her feet suddenly expanded.
The two enormous heads of the Divine Dogs emerged, baring their fangs and claws, ready to tear apart the man standing before them.
The dense Cursed Energy surrounding Tobu made Ogi instinctively retreat, cold sweat running down his back.
“Tobu, stop!
He’s your father!”
Sakura rushed out from the darkness and stumbled toward Ogi, shielding him with her body.
She did not look at her daughter.
Instead, she hurriedly turned around to check whether Ogi was injured.
“Are you all right?
Don’t blame the child…”
Her voice trembled with humiliation.
Toji leaned against the wall, his cold eyes observing the scene.
What a pitiful woman.
In Toji’s eyes, Sakura was the embodiment of misery.
She blindly pursued a man who had never once looked back at her, sacrificing both her dignity and her maternal love in exchange for an empty status beside a cruel man.
She did not stop Tobu because of her love for Ogi.
She stopped her because she was too weak.
She was afraid that her daughter’s resistance would shatter the tiny, rotten world she was desperately clinging to.
Tobu looked at her mother, her eyes suddenly becoming clouded.
She felt helpless.
She wanted to pull her mother out of this swamp.
But her mother was the very person who seemed most determined to drag herself deeper into it.
The mother-daughter bond they had shared in childhood had now been reduced to nothing more than cold ashes.
“Let’s go, Brother Toji.”
Tobu gently pulled on Toji’s hand, her voice trembling with suppressed emotion.
She recalled her Shikigami.
She didn’t want her mother to witness any more violence— even though her mother was protecting the very man who abused her.
The moment the two disappeared around the corridor—
Ogi, who had just trembled before his daughter’s strength, suddenly “regained” his aggression.
Humiliated and furious, he swung his hand and slapped Sakura across the face.
“Shut up!
It’s because you don’t know how to raise her that she dares look down on me!”
Sakura collapsed to the floor.
Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.
But she did not cry.
She simply lowered her head in silence, accepting it as though submission had become a habit carved into her very bones.
.
.
.
Toji said nothing.
He simply placed his rough hand on Tobu’s shoulder and led her through the endless corridors toward the clan head’s residence.
At the spacious veranda, Naobito was lounging beside a jar of sake, with Naoya and several trusted servants nearby.
“Haha!
Did the brat just release the Divine Dogs to ‘play’ with someone again?
I could sense it all the way over here.”
Naobito laughed heartily, his eyes slightly glazed with alcohol yet still sharp.
“I was just cleaning up some trash in the way.”
Tobu sneered, her face still showing irritation after her encounter with Ogi.
Naobito put down the jar, his tone suddenly becoming more serious.
“Enough beating around the bush.
The great banquet of the Three Great Sorcerer Families is coming soon.
Not only the Kamo and Gojo clans, but all the most influential figures in the jujutsu world will gather.”
He glanced at the three children before him.
“I want all three of you—Toji, Tobu, and you, Naoya—to attend.”
Hearing his name, Naoya’s eyes lit up with excitement.
The six-year-old, with his competitive nature, secretly thought this was his opportunity to prove that he stood on equal footing with the “Tyrant” Toji and the “Genius” Tobu.
Tobu, on the other hand, merely narrowed her eyes in boredom.
“Why us?
Aren’t the main-family brats who love forming cliques already numerous enough?”
“Haha!
Those kids are only going to broaden their horizons.”
Naobito laughed loudly and narrowed his eyes at Tobu.
“As for you three… you’re going as a shield.”
“The jujutsu world is buzzing about the Gojo clan’s Six Eyes twins.
I can’t let the Zenin name be overshadowed at the banquet table.”
“You three are the strongest declaration of this clan’s power.”
“Sounds like we’re being put on display in a glass cabinet.”
Tobu snorted.
Although she had absolutely no interest in this so-called “display of strength,” when she looked toward Toji, she changed her mind.
As long as she could go with her brother, leave the suffocating atmosphere of this estate, then whether the destination was a banquet or a garbage dump made little difference.
.
.
.
At the main hall of the Gojo estate, Gojo Sei and the council of elders sat opposite the six-year-old child who carried the fate of the entire clan upon his shoulders—Gojo Satoru.
“Satoru, you absolutely must attend the upcoming banquet.
This isn’t merely a party.
It is the moment when the entire jujutsu world bows before the absolute power of the Gojo clan.”
One of the elders spoke, his voice filled with self-righteous authority.
“Don’t want to.”
Satoru leaned against a pillar, his deep blue eyes narrowing lazily beneath his white lashes.
“If you old men want to show off, go perform yourselves.
Don’t bother me during my afternoon tea.”
“You little brat…!”
The Second Elder’s veins bulged, but he immediately froze when Satoru’s gaze swept across him.
Gojo Sei suppressed a sigh and gently tried to persuade him.
“Satoru, the greater one’s strength, the greater one’s responsibility.
You carry the Gojo bloodline.
You need to demonstrate your position.”
“Responsibility?”
Satoru’s lips curled into a mocking smile.
“Responsibility so great that you almost ordered your own son killed?”
The words struck Sei like a bucket of cold water.
He fell silent.
His hand trembled beneath his sleeve.
“Hmph!
That Heavenly-Restriction brat is a stain upon the Six Eyes!”
The Second Elder lost control and shouted.
“He should have been eliminated from the very beginning.
Look at you now.
You’re being dragged down by a useless waste…”
“What did you just say… who should be killed?”
BOOM!
A pure and enormous surge of Cursed Energy exploded from Satoru.
The surrounding space twisted.
Teacups on the table shattered.
The protective talismans attached to the pillars burst into flames.
The high-ranking elders all turned pale, their breathing becoming strained beneath the pressure weighing down upon their souls.
Satoru stood there.
His blue eyes burned like the sky before a storm.
He knew perfectly well that “sending Kaito away for training” had merely been a disguised exile.
If he had not heard that Kaito was still training hard every day, perhaps he would have flattened this entire hall long ago.
“Enough!”
Gojo Sei roared.
For the first time in years, he displayed the authority of a true clan head.
“I order that Kaito will attend this banquet as well.”
“The two of them will appear under the title of the Six Eyes Twins.”
“You cannot possibly allow a child without Cursed Energy to appear publicly like that…”
“Silence!
I am the clan head!”
“Sei, You’ll regret this.”
Sei stared directly at the Second Elder, his gaze unwavering.
Satoru withdrew his Cursed Energy in an instant.
The pressure disappeared, and the old men immediately gasped for breath.
He snorted.
“At least this time you managed to say something sensible, Father.”
With that, Satoru turned and walked away, his arrogant figure never once looking back.
He needed to tell his mother immediately.
For Satoru, this banquet now had meaning.
He would use his presence to force the entire world to acknowledge Kaito.
As long as Kaito stepped into the light, no one would dare call his younger brother a “useless waste” again.
.
.
.
At the silent dojo of the First Elder, the sound of wind passing over the blade of a sword was as steady as breathing.
Kaito stood there, sweat soaking through the hem of his training clothes, yet his Six Eyes maintained absolute concentration.
Every day followed the same harsh cycle:
Pushing his physical body to its limits.
Studying ancient texts on forging.
He did not swing his sword at empty air.
He was attempting to communicate with Asauchi—the unfinished blade he had forged with his own hands.
To Kaito, this was not a lifeless weapon.
It was a fragment of a soul waiting to be shaped.
He understood that for Asauchi to truly “mature” and awaken its true power, he himself needed to possess a will strong enough to subdue it.
As the sun began to set, the First Elder entered the dojo, interrupting his thoughts.
“Kaito, that’s enough for today.
The main estate has sent down an order.”
“You will attend the banquet of the Three Great Sorcerer Families.”
Kaito paused and sheathed his sword.
A trace of surprise flashed through his clear blue eyes.
“Oh?
That’s unexpected.”
“I thought they would only want to display Satoru’s brilliance to conceal this ‘flaw.'”
The First Elder laughed heartily, his eyes filled with pride as he looked at the grandson he had painstakingly trained.
“It was that brat Satoru who caused a commotion in the main hall and forced those elders to let you attend.”
“He said that if you weren’t allowed to go, he would flatten the entire banquet.”
A warm feeling suddenly welled up inside Kaito’s heart.
Even after being separated for two years…
Even though they now lived in completely different worlds…
Satoru was still the older brother who was willing to stand against the entire world for him.
“I see…”
Kaito smiled faintly.
The rare smile brightened his delicate features.
“Then I’ll go.”
“Good.
I’ll prepare the finest formal attire for you.”
Kaito nodded, but his mind had already drifted far away from political calculations and clan prestige.
He did not care how the jujutsu world would look at him.
The only things he truly hoped for were to see his mother again, see his older brother again…
and perhaps…
meet the father he still did not know how to face.
In Kaito’s hand, Asauchi gave a faint tremor.
As though it, too, could sense the disturbance in its master’s destiny.