Chapter 162
Inside the Zenin estate, in the clan head’s absurdly luxurious private lounge—
"What the hell did you mean by that, Father?"
Naoya Zenin—Jujutsu Kaisen’s resident misogynist, filial son of the year, and twenty-four-frames-per-second scratch-damage specialist—slammed a hand onto the table and shouted at his own father.
As the Zenin clan’s number-one professional bastard, Naoya had never seen much reason to watch his mouth.
"What do you think I meant? Exactly what I said."
Naobito Zenin, head of the clan, took a long drink from his gourd and wiped his mouth with a chuckle.
"It isn’t often that Gojo asks us for something. They’re only a few hundred curses, so I agreed."
"Besides, he offered to pay the market price."
"This isn’t about money!"
Naoya’s face darkened.
"Those curses are used to train our own clan members. Someone asks for them once, and we obediently hand them over? What happens when word gets out?"
"What happens to your dignity? Mine? The dignity of the entire Zenin clan?"
"We’ll become a laughingstock!"
"Naoya is right."
Jinichi Zenin rose to his feet. His massive frame filled the room with pressure.
"Even if it’s Gojo Satoru, barging into the Zenin clan and taking whatever he wants is far too arrogant."
"And he plans to give them to some useless cripple without a trace of cursed energy. It’s an insult!"
"..."
Naobito stared at his son and younger brother as they worked each other up, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
Did these two even hear themselves?
They wanted to discuss dignity with Satoru Gojo?
The fact that he had bothered to notify them in advance was already a tremendous show of respect.
What more did they want, a formal apology and a parade?
With Gojo’s strength, he could give those curses to whoever he pleased.
Since when did these two small fry get a vote?
At that moment, Naobito experienced a rare flash of regret.
Not because he had told them about Gojo’s request, but because he clearly had not beaten enough humility into them while they were growing up.
’I must’ve gone too easy during training. They’re both getting far too full of themselves.’
Naobito took another drink.
"When Gojo arrives, the two of you will remain in this room. I’ll receive him myself."
"Father!"
"Brother!"
Their expressions changed immediately, but before either could object, Naobito slammed his gourd onto the table.
His presence exploded outward.
The room fell silent.
"Remember this."
Naobito’s voice turned cold.
"I am the head of this clan."
He stood and walked out, leaving Naoya and Jinichi behind with ugly expressions.
...
A black car slowly came to a stop outside the gates of the Zenin estate.
A nearby servant immediately stepped forward and opened the door. Gojo’s tall figure emerged before the assembled members of the Zenin clan.
"Hahaha! It’s been a while, Gojo boy!"
Naobito spread his arms as if he intended to embrace him, only for Gojo to slip neatly out of reach.
"Gomen! I’m not interested in being hugged by an old man who reeks of alcohol."
Naobito snorted.
"It’s a miracle that mouth of yours hasn’t gotten you killed."
"It isn’t a miracle."
Gojo pointed his thumb toward himself.
"It’s strength."
"You’re the only heir the Gojo clan has left. If something happens to you, your whole family line will be in danger."
Naobito gave him a pointed look.
"You should hurry up and have a few children before the Gojo clan goes extinct."
Several nearby Zenin members began sweating.
Was it really wise to speak to the strongest sorcerer alive like that?
"Hahaha! No need to worry."
Gojo waved casually.
"I’m the strongest, after all."
"You—"
Naobito was about to continue their argument when he noticed someone stepping out of the car behind Gojo.
His eyes lit up.
"Well, if it isn’t Maki."
He smiled.
"What’s this? Have you finally come back to fulfill your promise?"
Maki stopped.
She remembered the declaration she had made before leaving the clan.
’I’ll become the head of the Zenin family.’
For a moment, complicated emotions passed through her.
"It’s been a while, Clan Head."
Maki bowed politely.
"I’m only here as a witness today. You’ll have to wait a little longer before I fulfill that promise."
Her appearance immediately caused a disturbance among the orderly ranks of Zenin clan members.
Whispers spread through the crowd.
"Isn’t that the failure? She actually has the nerve to come back?"
"What, does she think she can strut around here because she attached herself to Satoru Gojo?"
Among them stood a stern-faced middle-aged man who glared at Maki with naked hatred, as though he wanted to tear her apart with his bare hands.
Maki’s expression remained unchanged.
However, her fists clenched so tightly that her nails dug into her palms.
She did not even notice the pain.
Kiriya stepped out of the car behind her and gently patted her shoulder.
"It’s fine."
His voice was calm.
"I’m here."
Strangely, the tension in Maki’s body eased.
"Oh?"
Naobito narrowed his eyes and studied the young man standing behind her.
"So this is the boy?"
He sensed no cursed energy whatsoever.
"Gojo, are you certain you intend to send him against several hundred curses?"
To an ordinary person without cursed energy, that would be a death sentence.
"Toji didn’t have cursed energy either," Gojo replied with a laugh. "That never stopped him from exorcising curses."
Naobito’s expression changed at once.
He gave Kiriya a much more serious inspection.
A goodlooking young man.
Perhaps sixty percent as goodlooking as Naobito himself had been in his prime.
His presence was calm and grounded. He clearly had absolute confidence in his own ability.
’Is he another monster like Toji?’
Naobito’s interest rose.
"Follow me."
He turned toward the estate.
Gojo and the others were about to follow when a loud, arrogant voice came from inside the gate.
"I heard someone like Toji showed up. I came to see him for myself."
Naobito’s expression sank.
He wanted to march over and shove his useless son back into the house, but Naoya had already appeared at the top of the steps.
He stood above them, looking down at Kiriya and Maki with undisguised contempt.
"One failure with almost no cursed energy and another with none at all."
Naoya smiled cruelly.
"You two suit each other perfectly, Maki."
"Naoya! Go back inside."
Naobito’s face turned cold.
"Relax, Father." Naoya spoke lazily.
"I only heard that some great warrior comparable to Toji had arrived. I got a little curious and thought I might test him myself."
His eyes settled on Kiriya.
"What do you say, Failure-kun?"
Every gaze immediately turned toward Kiriya.
Most of the Zenin clan watched with hostility and anticipation, eager to see him humiliated.
Maki and Gojo were also looking forward to what came next—but for entirely different reasons.
"He said there’d be a good show today," Gojo whispered to Maki. "Looks like he wasn’t lying."
"..."
Maki said nothing and quietly watched Kiriya.
Faced with Naoya’s provocation, Kiriya’s expression did not change.
He smiled pleasantly.
"Sure."
"I’ve heard a great deal about the Zenin clan, one of the Three Great Sorcerer Families. I’d be happy to see what you can do."
"Hahaha! Gladly."
Amusement and cruelty gleamed in Naoya’s eyes.
"A worthless nobody dares compare himself to Toji?"
"You’re not worthy."
"This time, I’ll crush every bit of pride you have."
He looked down at Kiriya as though addressing a dog.
"By the end, you’ll be crawling at my feet and begging for mercy."
The surrounding Zenin clan members erupted into cheers.
They could hardly wait to watch Kiriya be put in his place.
For some reason, their excitement irritated Maki far more than she expected.
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