Chapter 358: 358 Jujutsu Kaisen 23
When the fight ended and the high school students were lying on the ground, Tsukumo approached the boy who was sitting on them like a chair.
"What’s your type of woman?"
The boy’s face turned red, and he stammered, unable to form words. It seemed he had fallen for Tsukumo Yuki at first sight.
"Kid, what’s your name?"
"Huh? Yes! My name is Todo Aoi!"
Todo was so flustered by Tsukumo that he answered late.
"You can see them, can’t you? The monsters around. And you can also strengthen your body with a special power that only you know, right?"
"H-how do you know that..."
"My name is Tsukumo Yuki. And that over there is Hisakawa Jin, the Head Priest of Taijin-kyo—you might know him since he’s famous. We’re the same as you—we can see them."
At that, Todo’s face lit up with joy. When a sorcerer is born into a non-sorcerer family, most grow up wondering, ’Am I strange? Why can’t others see them?’ If they’re lucky, they catch the eye of other sorcerers and enter the sorcery world. If not, they may go down the wrong path and become curse users. In Todo’s case, he was lucky to meet Tsukumo at a young age and become her disciple.
"How about becoming my disciple? Then you’ll learn why you can see those monsters and how to handle that power."
Todo Aoi thought for a moment, then said.
"But my family is poor. We don’t have money."
I was surprised. I thought someone like Todo would jump at the chance without worrying about such things.
"You don’t need money. Just the will to learn."
"Is that so? Then I’ll learn."
Todo accepted with a bright face. Tsukumo got on her bike, patted the rear seat, and said.
"Get on. We need to get your parents’ permission."
"Yes!"
With Todo on the bike, we followed his directions to his house. Contrary to his claim of being poor, Todo’s family ran a small restaurant. Though small, it had quite a few customers—it seemed like a hidden gem.
We went inside with Todo. A man and woman who appeared to be Todo’s parents rushed over and immediately began apologizing.
"We’re so sorry! I should have raised him better. He caused trouble again... Apologize right now, you brat!"
Seeing their reaction, I immediately understood. Todo had caused so much trouble that even though the restaurant did well, they were drowning in debt from covering his incidents. That was probably why Todo felt guilty and said they had no money.
"W-well... we didn’t come to blame Todo for causing trouble. We came to recruit him because we saw talent in martial arts..."
Even Tsukumo seemed a bit flustered by the parents’ sudden reaction.
"Ah... I see. That’s a relief..."
Tsukumo and I decided to have some grilled meat while we were at the restaurant and spoke with Todo’s father. His mother was attending to other customers.
"So, you’re saying Todo has talent in martial arts?"
"Yes, and I’d like to teach him."
"But we don’t have the financial means to send him to a dojo..."
As expected, Todo’s parents said the same thing as Todo.
"Don’t worry about that. Since we’re recruiting him directly, there’s no dojo fee."
"I-is that true?"
"Yes. And if he attends the dojo, he’ll be training, so he’ll probably cause fewer incidents."
"That would be a real relief."
Todo’s father seemed genuinely relieved to hear that. No suspicion, no questions. Seeing that, I could tell how much trouble Todo had caused his parents. Tsukumo had noticed too, which was probably why she phrased it that way.
"We’ll send him starting tomorrow."
"No, I’ll come pick him up. It’s a bit far."
The mansion was indeed a distance away. When we tried to pay, Todo’s parents refused to take our money. But knowing their situation, we couldn’t accept that, so we paid and left.
"Jin, is the training ground repaired?"
"Yes."
"Then let me borrow a car and the training ground for a while."
"Fine. But use it gently. Don’t wreck it like last time."
"Okay."
Amanai Riko had been using the training ground, but it was time to send her for real combat experience, so I agreed.
The next day, my beloved Wrangler was gone. I sighed. It seemed Tsukumo didn’t like flashy supercars either.
’Well, seeing her ride a Harley-Davidson tells you her taste.’
I contacted Suguru and asked him to come to the mansion. Suguru arrived quickly, apparently living nearby. Since his girlfriend lived at the mansion, he must have gotten a place nearby to see her often.
"Head Priest, what’s up?"
"You take Amanai and give her some real combat experience for a while. Kuroi will probably want to go too, so take care of them."
"Has she improved enough to handle real combat already?"
"Yes. She’s reached a point where she can’t grow further through training alone."
"I see. Understood. I’ll take missions that can be handled in the evenings or on weekends."
While we were talking, I decided to ask about their future plans.
"Are you going to take her with you when she graduates?"
"No. From what I’ve heard, she wants to go to university. So I won’t."
I hadn’t heard Amanai’s specific plans directly, but from various signs, it seemed she wasn’t just thinking about after graduation—she was seriously considering college. I’d need to talk to her about that later.
"And I don’t know if you’ve heard, but I formed a binding with Amanai to teach her techniques."
"I heard about that. But I think it’s too harsh. How could you set such a binding..."
"That’s the only way to keep secrets. For a man, I’d set a binding that at a crowded time in the middle of Shibuya’s main intersection, he’d have to strip naked and shit."
Suguru looked incredulous.
"I don’t know how you come up with such ideas, but dying would be better."
"So don’t try to pry anything out of Amanai. If you’re really curious, you can come and formally become my disciple and train."
"Good grief... fine."
I said this in advance because it could become an issue later.
"And do you have a driver’s license? You won’t be moving alone from now on."
"I don’t have one yet. I was busy when I was at school. And I always rode cursed spirits, so I never felt the need."
"Then Kuroi will have to work hard for a while. When Amanai gets back, have dinner together and set up a schedule."
"Got it. What about Tsukumo, Uraume, and Utahime?"
"Utahime is on a mission. Uraume is probably in her room playing games. And Tsukumo is busy teaching a new disciple. They’re probably at the training ground nearby."
"Really? That’s surprising. I thought Tsukumo just did whatever she wanted..."
I had to agree with that.
"Tsukumo does give that impression."
"Oh, and Mei Mei-san became special grade too."
"Really? That’s surprising. So now there are six special grades."
Mei Mei becoming special grade meant she had mastered not only Reverse Cursed Technique but also Domain Expansion. She seemed to have properly explored her own technique as I advised.
"I think there was a lot of talk among the higher-ups about that. They said six was too many... but after seeing Mei Mei-san’s long-range destructive power, they approved it immediately. I don’t know more details than that."
Just then, I heard a limousine arrive. The children were back from school.
"We’re home!"
"Welcome back. Was school fun today?"
"Yes!"
I patted the children’s heads. They went to their rooms, put down their bags, and came back out.
"Big bro, play with us!"
"This big brother (Suguru) will play with you today."
"Wow~ it’s the handsome big brother from before!"
Suguru looked flustered.
"W-wait! Head Priest, since when did I..."
But Suguru couldn’t resist the children’s sparkling eyes and began playing board games with them. While they did that, I prepared dinner. Since Suguru was here, and Todo and Tsukumo would also be coming back from training, I decided to make something special.
Since there were many children, I made yakisoba and okonomiyaki. Everyone ate happily. Todo, nervous at first in a strange place, started eating ravenously once the food came. He must have been hungry from training.
After dinner, Tsukumo took Todo home. Utahime went to bathe with the children. In the meantime, I called Suguru, Amanai, and Kuroi.
"Amanai, from today, stop training and gain real combat experience. I’ve told Suguru, so he’ll support you."
Amanai’s expression stiffened with worry, and she swallowed nervously.
"Um... I still feel like I’m lacking a lot..."
"Don’t worry. You’ve trained enough. And without real combat experience, you won’t be able to fight properly in an emergency."
"I-is that so? Haha..."
Suguru patted Amanai’s shoulder.
"Don’t worry. If I think it’s dangerous, I’ll protect you."
"Okay..."
I took out a sword I had made in advance and handed it to Amanai. This sword was adapted from the ones in Naruto that made it easy for users to channel chakra for Total Concentration Breathing—modified to work with cursed energy. Made from an alloy of mithril and chitauri metal, it was quite durable even without cursed energy. When Amanai channeled cursed energy into it and used Water Breathing, she could release powerful jets of water with her slashes.
"This is a sword I specially made. It will help you."
"Thank you."
"Amanai, you’ve worked hard. Just do as you’ve trained."
"Yes..."
She wasn’t clumsy like Utahime, but she was a bit timid. Still, with Suguru going with her, I trusted they’d do well.
The next day, the three returned to the mansion after completing their mission, looking utterly dumbfounded.
"What the hell is that sword? She cut through an entire building."
"Really? You need to control it, not just swing it wildly."
"It was an abandoned building, but still, that could have been a disaster."
They seemed shocked by the power of Amanai’s sword.
"Well, to put it simply, it’s a sword that transforms cursed energy to suit the user. I take it you handled the cursed spirit well?"
"We did... haah... honestly, I can’t figure you out, Head Priest. Handing out a special-grade cursed tool like it’s nothing."
"Of course. Amanai is my disciple, after all. I can’t give her something ordinary. And Amanai, try to control it better."
"Okay."
Although they were surprised by the sword, fortunately, Amanai seemed to have gained some confidence after that.
A few days passed. Amanai continued gaining real combat experience and building confidence, and she even earned money through missions—probably because Suguru shared his mission pay with her. Thanks to that, her expression brightened considerably, and it seemed I no longer needed to worry too much.
It was time to bring Megumi and Tsumiki. I had crows monitoring their situation. Tsumiki’s mother had already left home and wasn’t coming back. The two children were struggling to survive, but fortunately, their landlord was a good person who shared food with them and didn’t charge rent, so they were getting by.
I drove my newly purchased Wrangler to the apartment where Megumi lived. I timed it so that Megumi was just returning from school.
"You’re Fushiguro Megumi, right?"
"Who are you? Huh? The Head Priest? What are you doing here? And what’s with that look?"
Because I was so famous, he recognized me immediately. And looking closely, aside from his hedgehog-like hairstyle which he got from his mother, his face and overall impression were identical to Toji’s—like two peas in a pod. So the fact that I was staring at him incredulously must have been noticeable.
"Ah, nothing... I was just thinking you look exactly like your father."
"You know my father?"
"Yes. We’ve crossed paths a few times because of work. Your father came from the Zenin family of sorcerers, but he had various issues and left home, then had you. You can see them and have the power, don’t you?"
Megumi nodded. He didn’t deny it.
"The Zenin clan is obsessed with talent. The age when a child becomes aware of their technique is around 4 to 6, so now is the perfect time to sell you. You were the ultimate card your father was saving to make a deal with the Zenin clan. Annoying, isn’t it? That he was using you as a card like that. Anyway, your father is in America because of some business."
"I don’t really care what my father does. I haven’t seen him in years—I can’t even remember his face. And from what you just said, I get the gist. Tsumiki’s mother hasn’t been coming home for a while either..."
Just then, a girl looked out from what seemed to be their apartment’s balcony.
"Ah, Megumi’s back!"
That must be Tsumiki. Megumi looked at her and continued.
"We’re doing fine on our own, the two of us."
Having lived a hard life, Megumi was quite mature.
"Even so, things are tough right now, aren’t they? The electricity and water have been cut off for a long time, and without a kind landlord, you’d have nowhere to go."
When I stated the facts, Megumi had nothing to say.
"So eventually, to survive, you’d have to go to the Zenin clan. Do you want to go to the Zenin clan?"
"If I go to the Zenin clan, what happens to Tsumiki? Can Tsumiki be happy there? That’s what matters."
To that question, I answered firmly.
"No, absolutely not. That I can say for certain."
At that, Megumi’s expression hardened.
"There’s another way. I’m already taking care of several kids like you. Come to my mansion. I’ll protect you and support you so you can go to school. It’ll be much better than going to the Zenin clan."
"Then can Tsumiki be happy there?"
"Happiness is subjective, so it’s hard to say for sure, but the chances are high. But you’ll have to work hard."
After thinking for a moment, Megumi said to me.
"Okay. I’ll come."
"Then it’s decided. Let’s get along from now on, Meguming."
"It’s Megumi!"
I first met the apartment landlord, paid the overdue rent, thanked him, and then put the two in the car. Their belongings were just school textbooks and a few clothes. Tsumiki had kept the place clean, so leaving it as was wasn’t a problem.
Then we went straight to a department store to buy daily necessities and clothes. But they just looked around without buying anything, so I ended up choosing for them, which took some time. After that, I bought them dinner, then school supplies and a few necessary books, and returned to the mansion.
"Wow~ we have a little brother!"
"And a pretty sister too."
When we entered the mansion, Tsukumo, Utahime, Amanai, and the children came out to welcome Megumi and Tsumiki. The two children, probably seeing such a large mansion for the first time, looked around curiously. They seemed a bit flustered by the sudden welcome.
"Hey, what’s your name?"
"Such a cute face."
"This big sister will take care of you from now on."
Since it was the first time a boy had joined the family, the children crowded around Megumi, showing great interest. Flustered by the sudden attention, Megumi blushed and didn’t know what to do. It couldn’t be helped—Mai, Maki, Mimiko, and Nanako were noticeably pretty, unlike ordinary girls their age.
’Megumi’s in heaven, absolutely in heaven.’
Eventually, they would each have their own room, but to help them adjust, I assigned them a room with two single beds. Megumi and Tsumiki went inside and began unpacking their belongings.
"So, what’s their story?"
Tsukumo, Utahime, Uraume, and Amanai, curious about the new children, asked me while they unpacked. I told them the truth.
"Th-then those are the children of that man Toji who attacked us?!"
As expected, Amanai was greatly shocked.
"Yes. But Toji didn’t care about his kids—he just abandoned them. So I brought them here. If I hadn’t, they probably would have been sold to the Zenin clan and suffered, or lived very difficult lives."
"I see... using such young children as bargaining chips... what is the sorcery world thinking..."
Having experienced her own ordeal and now hearing about the children’s situation, Amanai seemed to feel deeply how twisted and cruel the sorcery world could be. The others who heard the story also had grim expressions.
I first transferred Megumi and Tsumiki to the same school as the other children. That would make them easier to manage, and they could all ride the limousine together, which was efficient. I also started giving the children allowances. Not just free money—they earned it by helping with housework, which also had educational value. This was a way to reduce the burden Megumi and Tsumiki might feel.
"Big bro, shall I rub your shoulders?"
This led to a side effect. As soon as the children came home, they clung to me, offering shoulder rubs and back pats to earn allowance. Nanako was the most enthusiastic—since her phone was related to her technique, she spent a lot on cute accessories, so she needed the money.
Another change involved Megumi. The girls started bothering him.
"Megumi~ play games with your big sister."
"Megumi, if anyone bullies you at school, tell me. I’ll beat them up!"
"Megumi, if you have questions about your studies, ask me."
"Megumi..."
"Meguming..."
Since he was their new little brother, the older sisters showered him with excessive attention and affection. Constantly blushing from the beautiful older sisters’ enthusiastic advances, it had become another form of harassment.
"Ah, seriously, please do something about the older sisters!"
"Why?"
"Because... it’s uncomfortable..."
"You always blush, so don’t you actually like it?"
"But it’s hard. Even at school..."
"What happened at school?"
"W-well, every lunchtime, they come find me with food and feed me. Because of that, the other kids are keeping their distance!"
"Hmm... that is a bit excessive. Fine, I’ll talk to them."
I called the children and told them to tone it down. They gathered together to discuss something.
"Then let’s decide by rock-paper-scissors. Who gets to take care of Meguming."
"Fine! I’m definitely throwing rock!"
"Psychological warfare from the start... isn’t that too harsh?"
"Too bad~ I’ve already predicted victory!"
"Just don’t cry when you throw paper and lose."
"Quiet! From now on, we play rock-paper-scissors to decide fate!"
The children began a fierce rock-paper-scissors battle. They were so serious it looked like a scene from a movie. Watching them, Meguming and Tsumiki were very flustered.
