Domo~ New Editor Satoru Gojo DESU

After getting smashed in the face by Playful Panda, the broom-haired man did not get angry.

He merely looked slightly startled, letting out a strange "Oh-do," before casually pinching the back of fate's neck and lifting Playful Panda up. Through the mask that covered the upper half of his face and doubled as a headband, he carefully "examined" it.

"Heh↗... What an interesting existence. It's definitely not human, not a Cursed Spirit, and not a living creature in the usual sense. If I had to say, it should be a spirit. Is it your cursed technique?"

"Something like that."

Akesato nodded woodenly, thinking that Pocket Monsters had apparently been named correctly. Spirits really did exist in this world. (Satoru Gojo had said that Hanami was closer to a spirit in nature, and there had also been speculation that Tsumiki Kuonji's cursed technique was related to spirits.)

The white-haired broomhead asked, "What's this little guy called?"

Akesato answered, "Playful Panda."

"It certainly is playful, and very panda-like too. Pandas are great, hehehehe."

The broomhead burst into exaggerated laughter, as though he had thought of something delightful.

With the scruff of fate pinched between his fingers, Playful Panda flailed its limbs and tried to grab the broomhead's face. Yet every time, it fell just short, no matter what it did. It ground its teeth in fury.

Akesato, on the other hand, was quite pleased.

Because he saw another system notification:

Pokémon meme detected.

Though it had not reached meme conversion and granted him a Pokémon Egg, it was enough to verify Akesato's theory about the system.

The method of acquiring Pokémon depended on some shared element—or perhaps shared trait.

Playful Panda's birth was the best proof. After all, Akesato had met Panda yesterday, while the broomhead before him clearly did not possess nearly as many Pokémon-like elements. Humans were everywhere in this world, but there was only one Panda.

However, Akesato was not worried about acquiring Pokémon in the future. Gege Akutami, the author of Jujutsu Kaisen, had personally admitted to heavily referencing the Pokémon series when designing his characters. The most obvious examples were the three great natural Cursed Spirits—Jogo, Hanami, and Dagon—which corresponded precisely to the starter trios from successive Pokémon generations.

Even if a single target was not enough, gathering more of them would eventually do the trick.

Akesato thought this pace was just right. Raising Pokémon took time as well. If ten or eight of them were suddenly thrown at him, how could he possibly keep up?

By the way, based on the design philosophy behind acquiring Pokémon, the most suitable Plug-in for Jujutsu Kaisen should have been the "Homage Restoration System."

Jujutsu Kaisen incorporated far too many elements. Naruto, One Piece, Bleach, Dragon Ball, Hunter × Hunter—shadows of every classic series one could think of could be found in it. After all, the author was practically called Gege the Borrower.

"Ari, don't leave our guest standing at the door. Invite him in to sit," Akemi said.

And so, the white-haired broomhead entered the house with Playful Panda practically plastered to him. His very first sentence gave both mother and son a fright.

"Domo~ I'm Satoru Gojo, an editor from MF Bunko, desu. Regarding Mr. RED's work... why are you looking at me like that?"

"G-Gojo Satoru?"

Even Akemi, who paid no attention to worldly affairs and focused only on living her quiet life, had heard that name. He was the man her ex-husband had envied, resented, and hated to the point of helplessness.

"An editor?"

What startled Akesato was Satoru Gojo's self-introduction.

When he had parted ways with Maki and the other two, he had considered that Satoru Gojo might come looking for him. But he had never expected him to show up in this form.

Since when the hell had this guy become an editor?

And why did he look so convincing?

Business card, suit, and even a proper agreement stamped with an official seal?

Could this whole set of documents actually be real?

"They're real," Satoru Gojo said, seeing through Akesato's thoughts. "As long as you and your guardian, Miss Ming, sign them, they'll take effect immediately. The royalty split and promotional resources are both under the best possible terms. There'll be animation and game adaptations later as well. Just a small token of thanks for saving my adorable students."

"That works?" Akesato swallowed. He had originally only wanted to sign a standard contract.

"Why wouldn't it? I'm a major shareholder in MF Bunko, a major shareholder in MAPA too, and I've been steadily increasing my shares in SONY."

Akesato remembered two things.

First, the Gojo family was absurdly rich. Taking out a billion or two would not make them so much as frown.

Second, Satoru Gojo was a veteran 2D enthusiast. Watching anime, following shows, playing games—he excelled at all of it. He had once achieved the glorious feat of grinding for hundreds of consecutive hours without sleep.

Those had once been Akesato's aspirations.

Unfortunately, Akesato was uncultured; one "fucking awesome" was enough to get him through the world.

"It's really nothing," Satoru Gojo said as he put Playful Panda down, sounding somewhat regretful. "I genuinely wanted to experience what it was like to be an editor, but you wouldn't give me the chance."

"Because you're too famous," Akesato said bluntly.

"I see." Satoru Gojo wore an enlightened expression, though it was impossible to tell whether he truly had not considered it or was merely pretending. "I'll use another name next time, then. What do you think of Satoru Sora?"

"Can you at least put some effort into it? Is Gojo such a common surname? Or is Wukong not famous enough?"

"Then you come up with one."

"Kakashi Hatake."

"Rejected. I sense some deeply malicious intent there."

Yes, Naruto existed in this world too. More accurately, all works under Shueisha, where Jump belonged, existed here. Akesato had put quite a bit of thought into choosing a suitable Light Novel.

"Then take off that blindfold, at least. Put on sunglasses or something."

"My sunglasses broke, and the new pair hasn't arrived yet." Satoru Gojo did not wear a blindfold just to look cool; it was a necessity. The sunglasses were the same—they had to achieve the same effect as the blindfold, so they needed to be specially made.

"E-Excuse me, are you really the Gojo... Family Head?"

Akemi, who had brought over the tea, could not remain as calm as Akesato.

A man's reputation was like a tree's shadow.

The Gojo family was the last of the Three Great Families, standing alongside the Kamo family that mother and son came from, and the Zenin family Maki came from.

Satoru Gojo was not only the Gojo family's Family Head, but also the strongest, invincible Jujutsu Sorcerer—the true ceiling. Even before Akemi moved to the Shikoku countryside, Satoru Gojo had already been invincible. To this day, no one had been able to shake his position as the strongest.

He alone was enough to keep the other two of the Three Great Families from raising their heads. No one in the Jujutsu world dared to challenge Satoru Gojo.

"Family Head sounds way too awkward. You can call me Satoru."

Satoru Gojo might have dared to say that, but Akemi did not dare agree. Having lived in the Kamo family for so many years, the hierarchy of status had seeped into her bones. Even after eight years, it still could not be erased.

"Don't casually radiate charm at someone else's mother." Akesato was both protesting and helping her out.

Not only was Satoru Gojo invincible, his looks were absurdly good as well. Fortunately, Akesato himself was also exceptionally handsome—a traditionally Eastern beautiful boy with an entirely different style—or he truly would not have been able to keep his composure right now.

"Ahem, my apologies." Satoru Gojo demonstrated through his actions that he had no intention of becoming Akesato's stepfather. "Then call me Teacher Gojo. That is my profession to begin with, and also the true purpose of my visit."

Akesato put away his relaxed attitude and sat upright. He knew the main event had arrived. From the moment Satoru Gojo entered, he had been waiting for this.

Satoru Gojo likewise straightened his posture and said solemnly, "Akesato, I formally invite you to join our Tokyo Jujutsu High School."

PS: The author's original idea was actually a Strongest Tribute System, but if I wrote that, the plot would have unfolded too quickly and the worldbuilding would have been too much of a mishmash, which could easily cause problems. That was why I chose Pokémon as the entry point.