"Kenjaku?"
A flicker of surprise crossed Tengen's eyes at the name.
She looked up at the impolite young man before her.
"Do you know Kenjaku?"
"He's not someone you can just look up. How did you find out he existed?"
Tengen set down the teapot, her expression turning more serious.
"I might've done some thorough research."
Shinsuke Zenin shrugged, then casually picked up the teapot on the table and poured himself a cup.
"Never mind how I found out. Take care of my niece's situation first."
He tapped the table to remind Tengen.
"If it's Kenjaku's doing, there's nothing this old woman can do. You should go find him instead. Maybe he can save your niece.
"But I should warn you: that man has grand plans and is extremely dangerous. You'd better be careful."
Shinsuke Zenin took a sip of tea and looked up at Tengen. "So, where's Kenjaku?"
If he could find Kenjaku, would he have come to ask Tengen?
At this point in time, Yuji Itadori's mother should have been missing for a long time. Otherwise, he could've gone straight to Kenjaku.
"You impolite brat. Do you think this old woman is all-knowing? How would I know where he is?"
Tengen replied testily.
Kenjaku had lived for over a thousand years and was practically her nemesis.
Sometimes a man, sometimes a woman. How could she possibly know where he was?
"So I came all this way for nothing?" Shinsuke Zenin said.
He'd thought that after all these years of fighting Kenjaku, Tengen would know his whereabouts inside and out.
As expected, he shouldn't have hoped that a shut-in old woman who'd spent a thousand years at home would be of any use.
"Not for nothing. At least you got to drink tea I brewed myself."
Tengen replied unhurriedly.
There weren't many living people who'd had the chance to drink tea she'd brewed herself.
"Then I suppose I'm quite honored."
"So, what exactly are you now? Human or Cursed Spirit?"
Shinsuke Zenin looked at Tengen, who had become somewhat less than human, and wondered what grade she'd be if she were a Cursed Spirit.
At least Special Grade, right...
"You can think of me as half human, half Cursed Spirit. But in a few years, I'll become a Cursed Spirit completely. If you still haven't found Kenjaku by then, you can come find me."
Because once she fully became a Cursed Spirit, Kenjaku would definitely come looking for her.
He would need her abilities to carry out the thousand-year plan he was pursuing.
"Heh, you want me to be your free bodyguard?
"Keep dreaming. I'm leaving."
Shinsuke Zenin didn't stick around to argue with Tengen. He left at once, taking the packet of tea leaves from the table with him.
That old woman really had lived for over a thousand years. Her tea was pretty good.
Tengen said nothing, but her stiff cheeks twitched slightly.
"This guy knows a little too much..."
They'd never met before, yet he acted so familiar and knew so many things.
If she hadn't already heard about Shinsuke Zenin from the Jujutsu World higher-ups, she might've suspected he was an old-timer like her.
After leaving the Tombs of the Star Corridor, Shinsuke Zenin ran into Satoru Gojo, who was returning from exorcising a curse.
By now, Satoru Gojo was widely recognized as the modern era's Strongest Sorcerer in the Jujutsu World.
Looking at Satoru Gojo's eyes, wrapped in white bandages, Shinsuke Zenin teased him:
"What kind of curse would make our Strongest Sorcerer go out in person?"
"Hmm? Are you here to take a mission too?"
Though his eyes were covered, Satoru Gojo's vision was unaffected. He looked at Shinsuke Zenin emerging from inside Jujutsu High with an opened bag of tea leaves in hand, curious.
"I don't take missions below Grade 1.
"I'm just here to see an old-timer."
Shinsuke Zenin replied casually.
"You're a weird one," Satoru Gojo remarked.
They were both teachers at Jujutsu High. They weren't exactly close, but they were at least normal colleagues.
And in a way, Shinsuke Zenin had become a teacher at Jujutsu High before him, making him Satoru Gojo's senior.
"By the way, Tengen once said Geto became a Curse User because of you. Is that true?"
Satoru Gojo removed his white bandages, revealing starry eyes that fixed on Shinsuke Zenin.
During his latest curse-exorcism mission, he'd discovered a trace of Geto Suguru. It reminded him of something Tengen had casually mentioned several years ago.
And now, as luck would have it, he'd run into the person in question.
"Do you think that's likely?"
Shinsuke Zenin was at a loss. Geto had been doing this for years, and Satoru Gojo was still hung up on it.
"True. Geto wasn't the kind of person whose mind could be changed by a few words."
In Satoru Gojo's eyes, Geto Suguru had always been someone who protected the weak. He himself, by contrast, didn't care much about them.
But now their personalities had ended up completely reversed.
"Come to think of it, we're both teachers at Jujutsu High, but we've never sparred, have we? Want to give it a try?"
Satoru Gojo stared into Shinsuke Zenin's eyes, looking eager.
Of course, he didn't just want to try for the sake of it. He had a reason.
He'd long wanted to know just how strong this guy really was.
He had to be stronger than the man who'd tried to assassinate Tengen back then, right?
After all, there was something about this guy's eyes... They always looked so unruffled.
"Gojo, are you joking?"
Shinsuke Zenin couldn't believe those words had come from Satoru Gojo.
"The modern era's Strongest Sorcerer wants to spar with an ordinary person who can't even use a Cursed Technique? Are you running a fever?"
He even wondered if the higher-ups had sent Satoru Gojo to test him, but knowing Satoru Gojo, he couldn't imagine him following their orders.
"Don't call yourself an ordinary person. You'll hurt people's feelings."
Satoru Gojo held one hand in front of him, fingers shaped like a sword, his eyes shimmering. "It's just a friendly spar between teachers. Don't be so resistant."
There weren't many people who could get him interested in fighting.
"Here I come!"
Satoru Gojo gave him a warning, then vanished from where he stood and appeared behind Shinsuke Zenin. He pointed his hand like a gun, and crimson energy gathered at his fingertips, brimming with repulsive force.
"What a weird kid."
Satoru Gojo's pupils suddenly shrank. There was no one in front of him anymore. Only a low murmur came from behind.
"Bang!!"
A massive fist swung at Satoru Gojo's head, sending him flying with terrifying force. The gust from the punch even cracked the ground.
Holding the tea in one hand, Shinsuke Zenin looked at his fist. "How am I supposed to fight with my bare hands?"
He hadn't even brought a weapon. What was the point?
"Your strength and speed are both far beyond his. You really are strong."
Satoru Gojo came back from a distance, completely unharmed. The punch had struck the defense of his Limitless.
But Shinsuke Zenin's speed and strength had stunned him.
Ever since becoming the Strongest Sorcerer, his speed, offense, and defense had all improved tremendously.
He could even teleport over long distances, yet he still couldn't keep up with his opponent's speed.
"What a shame."
Satoru Gojo sighed. It was a shame the other man had no Cursed Energy. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so lonely in this era.
"What an impolite junior."
Shinsuke Zenin looked at Satoru Gojo and grumbled.
Tengen had just called him impolite, and now he'd gotten to experience how she felt.
Next time I see that old woman, I'll cut her a little slack.
Before you continue