A New Identity

After Nue appeared, the two of them circled around it for quite a while, touching its wings one moment and its body the next, having a grand old time. Once they had played enough, each grabbed one of Nue's claws and experienced a low-altitude flight.

"Interesting. Hey, Eiji, you can be my driver from now on."

Eiji rolled his eyes at Satoru Gojo.

"Go cool off somewhere. If you want to fly, get stronger and fly yourself. Nue is mine."

Thinking of how Satoru Gojo would later use his Technique to launch himself around the world like a cannonball, Eiji could not help twitching at the corner of his mouth.

He dared guarantee that Satoru Gojo had chosen that method of teleportation not just because it was fast, but because it was fun, exciting, and looked cool as hell.

"Come to think of it, where's the thing I asked you for?"

"Oh, that? Finished it ages ago."

With that, Satoru Gojo casually tossed over a document envelope.

Eiji took out the documents inside and began examining them carefully.

Name: Dongfang Eiji

Head of Household: Dongfang Xiang (deceased)

Address: X-X, XX-chome, XX Ward, Osaka City

Inside were the new identity documents Eiji had previously asked Satoru Gojo to arrange.

The Island Nation's household registration system was much looser than Huaxia's. They had no strict equivalent of household registration booklets or ID cards, and people usually used things like driver's licenses when they needed proof of identity.

Moreover, communication between different regions of the Island Nation was relatively poor, so verifying whether someone's identity had been forged was not nearly as easy as it was in Huaxia.

The Island Nation would later issue something similar to identification cards, but that would not happen until twenty years later.

"So? If you're willing to call me Onii-sama, I can let you be my little brother."

Satoru Gojo grinned mischievously as he threw an arm around Eiji's shoulders.

"Hah? If anyone's calling someone big brother, it should be you calling me that. I'm two months older than you."

"What a shame. You're younger than me now."

As he spoke, Satoru Gojo pointed at the date of birth on the documents.

It read December 8, 1989—exactly one day later than Satoru Gojo's birthday.

The veins on Eiji's forehead instantly bulged, then bulged again.

"You should have other Shikigami, right? Summon them. I'll help you tame them."

Seeing Eiji remain silent, Satoru Gojo inwardly muttered that this was boring and changed the subject.

"I really can't tell whether you understand the Ten Shadows Technique or not."

Eiji looked at Satoru Gojo speechlessly. Sometimes, this guy could rattle off information about the Ten Shadows Technique, including Mahoraga, as though he understood it even better than Eiji, its actual user. Other times, the things he said were complete nonsense.

"Wait, don't tell me you only read up on Mahoraga and came here to show off?"

Remembering how he had loved flaunting every bit of new knowledge he learned to adults when he was little, Eiji suddenly understood.

"How could that be? I also read about Max Elephant."

Satoru Gojo spread his hands, not looking the least bit embarrassed at being exposed.

"Forget it. There are restrictions on taming Ten Shadows Technique Shikigami. You're no help."

"Hm? What kind of restrictions?"

Eiji did not hide it from him.

"There are quite a few, but they can be summarized in two points. First, no existence other than the Ten Shadows Technique user's Cursed Energy can interfere with the Taming Ritual. Second, the location must meet certain requirements to ensure fairness."

The Taming Ritual for Ten Shadows Technique Shikigami was essentially the Technique's user beating all ten Shikigami into submission. However, so far, even the strongest user had only managed to tame nine of them.

"Oh?"

Hearing the implication in Eiji's words, Satoru Gojo fell into thought. Yet in less than a minute, he gave up thinking.

Eiji did not particularly mind. In truth, Satoru Gojo had never been the type to enjoy using his brain. During his time at Tokyo Jujutsu High, he had followed Suguru Geto's lead in many decisions.

For example, during the Star Religious Cult incident, he had asked Suguru Geto for his opinion and, after Suguru Geto said there was no point anymore, gave up on killing those abandoned by the Star Religious Cult.

"Put simply, there are two points. Only my Cursed Energy can appear in the Taming Ritual, and the location where the Shikigami is summoned must be relatively fair."

Eiji pointed at a structure outside the courtyard that had been pieced together from all kinds of materials.

"See that?"

"I do. You like this trashy style?"

"Damn it." The veins on Eiji's forehead bulged again.

"That's an iron cage I temporarily cobbled together from whatever materials I could find nearby. I originally planned to summon Nue inside and keep it from taking flight, but I was told that location did not meet the requirements for the Taming Ritual. In the end, I had no choice but to go out into the open and tame it there."

"Is that so? What a pity."

What Eiji did not say was that although the Ten Shadows Technique's Taming Ritual had many rules, it also had quite a few loopholes.

This time, Eiji had exploited the second rule regarding the location. He had prepared traps in the forest beforehand, outside the Taming Ritual's range of judgment.

He then summoned Nue in an open space at the edge of the forest and immediately entered the woods. Using the trees to interfere with Nue's aerial dives and lightning attacks, he finally used himself as bait to lure Nue into the traps and subdue it in one go.

Eiji also had ideas regarding the first rule. One was naturally the firearms that many people had discussed online in his previous life. They contained no Cursed Energy whatsoever yet were highly lethal, but unfortunately, he had no way of obtaining them right now. The other option was Cursed Tools.

Eiji had discovered that some Cursed Tools possessed their own Techniques and Cursed Energy, so they were not recognized by the Taming Ritual. However, Cursed Tools like Heroic Spirit Chess Pieces, whose Cursed Energy fluctuations were completely identical to those of the person who infused them with Cursed Energy, were recognized by the Taming Ritual.

In other words, some Cursed Tools could still be used during a Taming Ritual.

"Hey, why don't you summon Max Elephant? I'll help you test its strength first. That thing looks pretty strong."

After only a few seconds of peace, the corner of Satoru Gojo's mouth once more curved into a malicious grin. One hand repeatedly poked at Eiji's shoulder.

He looked exactly like a big white cat getting handsy.

Confirmed. This guy had come here just to have fun.

"Forget it. You can't beat it yet."

As he spoke, Eiji did not forget to slap away Satoru Gojo's little hand.

"Hah! Are you looking down on me? You can beat it, so how could I not?"

Satoru Gojo placed a hand on Eiji's head and vigorously tousled his hair.

I'll endure it. I'll endure it. I... can't endure it anymore.

"Perfect. Let me show you who's really in charge here."

With that, the two of them began wrestling.

"Had enough?"

"Is that all you've got?"

"Had enou—ow, that hurts."

"My turn. Had enough?"

"You're playing dirty! You actually used Limitless!"

"And you have the nerve to say that? That dog almost bit my leg."

"Who told you to step on Jade Dog's tail? Apologize to me and Jade Dog!"

"Hah, you want me to apologize to a dog? No way."

"Jade Dog, bite him."

After a chaotic free-for-all, the two boys and two dogs were all sprawled across the courtyard.

Although Eiji's Cursed Energy had not fully recovered, the two Jade Dogs he had summoned beforehand still retained quite a bit of Cursed Energy. With three against one, they had gained quite an advantage.

What Eiji did not know was that while the two of them were having fun in the courtyard, the two Bodyguards stationed outside were on edge, their hearts in their throats. They were terrified that if the Divine Child got hurt by accident, the Gojo Clan Head would punish them severely.

Fortunately, though the Jade Dogs looked vicious when they bit, they were all going for the clothes. It was only boys roughhousing, after all. Neither Eiji nor Satoru Gojo had gone all out.

Besides, Satoru Gojo was only seven years old right now, and his control over Limitless was not as proficient as it would later become. Several times when he lost his balance, he unconsciously interrupted Limitless. Naturally, Eiji had told the Jade Dogs not to bite too hard—just tear Satoru Gojo's clothes into rags.

You could endure the pain, but could you still keep being stubborn with your clothes torn up like this?

The facts proved that Satoru Gojo really was stubborn. His mouth would probably still be hard even after he was burned to ashes.