"Sigh, Uncle, what do you think the meaning of life really is?"
At the dinner table, Tiannei seemed somewhat distracted when she suddenly asked a deeply philosophical question.
Maki and Mai wolfed down their food, focused entirely on eating.
Shinsuke Zenin paused, then looked at Tiannei strangely. "What happened? You... aren't going to turn evil too, are you?"
"What are you talking about? I was just asking."
Tiannei propped her chin on her hand and rolled her eyes at him.
It was just that, after everything she'd been through lately, and with people naturally thinking about things like this when they got bored, she'd been moved to ask.
"Mm... That's a profound question. You'll have to figure it out for yourself."
He didn't have time to counsel someone who was bored.
"Uncle, you're so disciplined every day. You must have figured out the meaning of life by now, right?"
Tiannei studied Shinsuke Zenin with curious eyes, wanting to understand how he managed to live so carefree every day.
Ever since becoming a Jujutsu Sorcerer, she'd spent more and more of her time exorcising curses. She'd finally begun to understand why Geto Suguru had become a Curse User.
She wasn't about to go as far as Geto and try to destroy non-sorcerers, but she really was feeling tired.
Students and teachers really couldn't be lumped together.
She preferred the days when she'd been a student.
"I don't know the meaning of life. I just know you should eat well, drink well, and have fun."
Shinsuke Zenin leaned back in his chair, looking completely at ease.
What was the big deal about meaning? Was it really that important?
Why not just do what you wanted?
And if there were things you couldn't do just because you wanted to, that only meant you weren't strong enough yet.
"Eww, Uncle, that's such a small-minded meaning."
Tiannei looked disgusted. He was so strong, yet his goals were so easy to achieve.
"Should I be like that Geto kid and worry about world peace all day?"
"Hey, hey, Uncle, that's not cool."
When Tiannei heard Shinsuke Zenin use Geto as an example, she reacted as if he'd hit a nerve.
Still, she couldn't go as far as Geto and become an extremist.
"Just eat. There's so much food here, and you're still talking."
"Exactly! Tiannei, you talk too much. Big Cousin said we're not allowed to talk while eating."
Mai chimed in from the side.
"Hmph! Little Mai, are you trying to lecture your big sister? Do you want me to teach you a lesson?"
"Bleh! I'm not scared!"
Watching the older and younger girls bicker, Shinsuke Zenin's expression darkened.
It really was getting lively around here...
"Ring, ring, ring..."
Just then, Shinsuke Zenin's phone rang. He glanced at it and saw that Toji was calling.
"What is it?"
"Something's happened to Tsumiki."
Shinsuke Zenin furrowed his brows, his expression turning grave.
Even with Toji watching her, had the other party still made a move?
"Keep eating. I have to go out for a bit. Just leave the dishes when you're done, and don't go into the kitchen."
After giving them a quick reminder, Shinsuke Zenin left.
Tiannei and the others didn't pay it much mind.
Before long, Shinsuke Zenin arrived at Toji's house.
"What happened?"
Shinsuke Zenin looked at Tsumiki, lying motionless in bed as if she'd fallen into a coma, and asked.
Toji's expression was grave. "She was like this not long after she came home from school. The hospital checked her, and all her test results were normal."
"I went to the school too. Her teacher said nothing unusual had happened there."
Toji had clearly already ruled out all the likely causes. He'd contacted Shinsuke Zenin only because he couldn't find a solution.
"Dad, Uncle, Tsumiki's going to be okay, right?"
Megumi Fushiguro looked at his motionless sister, his eyes full of worry.
"Don't worry. Nothing's going to happen to Tsumiki."
Shinsuke Zenin reassured him.
Then he turned to Toji. "Have you had a sorcerer look at her?"
Toji nodded. He'd clearly already asked a professional sorcerer to examine her.
"I think she's been affected by some kind of Cursed Technique. Don't worry too much. I'll ask around."
Shinsuke Zenin knew that Kenjaku had marked Tsumiki as an Incarnated Vessel.
But he couldn't tell whether this was a Cursed Technique or some kind of mark.
He also didn't know what method the other party had used to mark her.
Anything involving the soul wasn't his area of expertise.
The one thing he could be sure of was that Tsumiki wouldn't be taken over anytime soon.
After leaving Toji's house, Shinsuke Zenin headed toward Jujutsu High.
If anyone in this world knew more about Kenjaku than he did, it was probably the person at Jujutsu High.
"What a poor girl!"
"Quick, call the police!"
As Shinsuke Zenin wondered where Kenjaku might be, he heard a commotion up ahead.
A crowd had gathered.
It looked like there'd been a traffic accident.
"Yuta... Yuta... Yuta!"
Through a gap in the crowd, Shinsuke Zenin saw a girl lying dead on the ground. In just a few seconds, she transformed into a Vengeful Spirit.
Standing in front of her was a child with a blank stare, unsure what to do. The child looked about the same age as the sisters, Maki and Mai.
Shinsuke Zenin instinctively reached for his waist, only to realize he hadn't brought Play Cloud with him.
"Forget it. Since you two are still in the pure-love phase, I won't take advantage of you."
When he saw Rika become a Special Grade Vengeful Spirit, his first instinct had been to exorcise her.
But after thinking it over, he decided it wasn't necessary.
There'd be plenty of Cursed Spirits in the future. He didn't need this one Special Grade.
Besides, this Special Grade wouldn't be easy to deal with. There was no need to cause a huge commotion in the middle of a busy street for a little extra power.
He ignored what was happening there and continued toward Jujutsu High.
Without anyone noticing, Shinsuke Zenin slipped into the depths of the Tombs of the Star Corridor as if he were invisible.
He looked at the many doors floating in the air and was about to settle down and sense Tengen's location.
But the next moment, he abandoned the idea and shouted, "Granny! Don't you know you have a guest? Come out and greet me!"
Sensing each door one by one would take too long. It was faster to call Tengen out directly.
"Who are you calling granny? Young people these days have no manners."
Countless doors drifted through the air. One opened, and a voice that was impossible to place as male or female came from within, tinged with displeasure.
Another rude person like Yuki Tsukumo.
Shinsuke Zenin entered through the doorway and saw Tengen sitting cross-legged on a cushion, with a low tea table in front of her.
Seeing Tengen's inhuman appearance, Shinsuke Zenin realized that she'd already begun to evolve.
"So this is what the famous Tengen looks like?"
Tengen glanced at the rude young man before her. "You have no Cursed Energy. You must be one of those two unusual brothers from the Zenin Family."
Tengen had heard about the two oddballs from the Zenin Family from the higher-ups.
"What do you want with me?"
Tengen calmly brewed her tea, unconcerned that he might harm her.
"My niece was marked by Kenjaku. Can you figure out what to do about it? Can you remove the mark and return her to normal?"
Shinsuke Zenin didn't bother with pleasantries when talking to the old woman who'd lived for a thousand years.
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