Tan Man's Ambition

[Ambition: here, the word carries its Japanese meaning-ambition, an extravagant aspiration. An aspiration beyond one's station.]

After settling Hiroya's affairs, Tan Man led Toji into the somewhat bare study.

Only after carefully closing the door and windows did he invite Toji to sit on the U-shaped wooden bench.

Toji silently watched Tan Man finish everything. Once they were seated face-to-face, he cut straight to the point.

"That ability of yours creates illusions, right? And it doesn't look like the effect of a Cursed Technique."

Toji had experienced the Evil Eye's illusions firsthand. Combined with his observation of Naoya and Tan Man's fight just now, he had enough information to deduce the nature of Tan Man's ability.

Besides, Toji's heavenly restriction gave him resistance to cursed energy. If it had been a Cursed Technique, he would not have been completely unable to detect it, forced to judge whether he was caught in an illusion solely through a sense that something was off.

That point alone was enough for Toji to reach his conclusion.

Tan Man had no intention of denying it. He nodded slightly, acknowledging Toji's deduction.

But Toji wasn't finished. Rubbing his chin, he continued his analysis.

"You probably activate it through those Golden Eyes of yours. If you could use it whenever you wanted, that skeleton by the pool that day should have been an illusion. Instead, it was real. Its only purpose was to make me turn around so you could cast an illusion on me, right?"

Tan Man had to admit that Toji had even figured out most of his arrangements that day. His keen grasp of combat intelligence was plain to see. He truly deserved his reputation as the Sorcerer Killer.

"Your analysis is completely correct. I'm going to use it to help you make 'easy money,'" Tan Man said earnestly, looking at Toji.

A six-year-old brat was telling him he would help him make money. The sheer absurdity of it brought a smile to Toji's previously stern face. He propped a hand against his brow and laughed.

"Help me make 'easy money,' huh? Heh, heh, heh."

Toji had no doubts about the Evil Eye's money-making potential. He had experienced it firsthand, after all. An illusion in which he could detect absolutely nothing wrong was a frightening thing.

And Tan Man had already used it once to convey information. That meant he could control the content of his illusions, which opened up countless possibilities.

But there were still many things Toji couldn't figure out.

For instance, why was this brat Tan Man so unusual?

And how had he thought to approach Toji?

Offering to make money for him right from the start meant the boy knew about his circumstances. Where had he obtained that information?

Based on what Toji currently knew about Tan Man, the boy should have had neither the means nor the connections to acquire information about him.

And the roundabout method he had used to make first contact showed that he didn't want to expose himself.

Toji didn't think Tan Man's father, Naobito Zenin, would discuss such things with him when they met.

Too many questions lingered in Toji's mind. After a brief silence, he finally asked,

"I'll assume you're serious about helping me make money. Then answer me this: what exactly do you want from me in exchange?"

Tan Man answered almost immediately, without the slightest hesitation.

"I need your strength."

"You need my strength?" Toji frowned slightly, carefully considering those words.

Worried that Toji hadn't understood, Tan Man added an explanation.

"You can think of it as an employment arrangement. Given my current position, I can't pay you a fee directly. This is the only way I can compensate you."

Toji felt that if he closed his eyes, he probably wouldn't realize that the person sitting across from him, discussing such a deal, was a six-year-old child.

The deeper their discussion went, the more Toji felt that dissonance in Tan Man-an intellect utterly at odds with his actual age.

With a hint of amusement, Toji continued questioning him.

"Then what do you want to hire me for? Don't tell me you want me to kill Naoya so you can become the Zenin Clan's next heir? Or do you want me to kill the father who abandoned your mother? Or have you actually been enduring humiliation all this time because you want to destroy the entire Zenin Clan?"

Faced with Toji's questions, Tan Man shook his head slightly and answered with complete seriousness.

"Those things aren't troublesome enough to require your help. But I do want to take possession of the Zenin Clan. Precisely because it could never have belonged to me, I want it all the more. But I won't ask you to kill everyone in the Zenin Clan. All I'd get that way would be an empty shell bearing its name. I want the Zenin Clan as intact as possible!"

As Toji listened to Tan Man's ambition, his pupils contracted slightly.

The ambition of this six-year-old child was even greater than he had expected.

Toji found it hard to imagine what someone would have to experience to become such a child at the age of six.

A fervent light shone in Tan Man's Golden Eyes as he continued.

"When someone falls under my illusion, my ability can reveal the secrets in their heart to me. I know you hate this place, Mr. Toji, and that you're planning to leave the Zenin Clan. But you'll still need to make a living after you leave, and living requires money. As long as you work with me, money will never be a problem again..."

Tan Man wanted their relationship to be more straightforward, so he hadn't addressed Toji as a relative. Otherwise, given his current identity, he could have called Toji his older cousin.

[Relatively speaking, the Evil Eye's probing of the mind is fairly shallow. It reveals what the other person is currently thinking about or concerned with. It cannot extract all of someone's memories with a single glance.]

[Tan Man only said this to mislead Toji about his ability and the source of his information. After all, with his knowledge of the story, he could "understand" most of the people here.]

Just then, Toji abruptly interrupted him.

"But if I wanted to, I could just use force to make you earn money for me right now, couldn't I?"

Tan Man could feel the change in Toji's attitude. An almost tangible killing intent poured toward him without restraint.

That killing intent seemed to form a physical blade, ready to pierce Tan Man's neck at any moment.

Turmoil surged inside him. Having lived as an ordinary person in both his lives, Tan Man had never faced a threat like this.

But outwardly, Tan Man forced himself to remain calm and stared at Toji.

"If you insist on doing that, then even if it costs me my life, I won't let you have an easy time of it!"

Tan Man had made up his mind about this long ago. He would live this life for himself. He would never, ever become someone else's tool again. No one would be allowed to use him, not even Naobito Zenin, his biological father in this life!

That was why Tan Man needed strength. Whether it was authority within the clan or power in jujutsu, he needed enough strength to do whatever he wanted!

That conviction sustained Tan Man's will as he resisted Toji's killing intent.

Toji watched Tan Man. He could tell the boy was only pretending to be calm; his small, thin body was visibly trembling.

Yet even with his face turning slightly pale, he bit his lip and held on, glaring with those Golden Eyes without showing the slightest submission.

In truth, Toji hadn't seriously entertained the idea. But however unusual Tan Man was, he was still only a six-year-old child.

Toji couldn't be sure this wasn't merely a passing whim born of some childish fantasy.

So he wanted to confirm just how determined Tan Man was to see this idea through.

At least for now, Tan Man's ambition seemed genuine.

Although Toji couldn't understand why he would want that foul, stubborn piece of filth known as the Zenin Clan.

As the saying went, if a dog bit you, a normal person wouldn't bite it back.

Disgusted as he was with the Zenin Clan, Toji had no desire to clear away its obstacles and reshape it into something he wanted. Why not just leave?

Toji couldn't be bothered to dwell on it any longer. What Tan Man wanted was his own business. As long as he could become Toji's money tree, everything else was negotiable.

Only after Toji withdrew his killing intent did Tan Man begin panting in relief.

As Toji rose to his feet, he said to Tan Man,

"You've convinced me for now. But remember, you owe me a favor over that business with Naoya. Find some time to make me a sum of money first. Then I'll consider working with you after that."

With that, he pushed open the window and leaped out of Tan Man's sight.

The threat of Toji's killing intent had given Tan Man a powerful sense of urgency, driving home just how weak he still was.

However useful and convenient the Evil Eye was, its effect lasted only one minute per use.

As he was now, he might not be capable of killing Toji within that minute.

Not to mention that the stimulus of pain would interfere with the illusion's effect.

And if he faced multiple enemies, the situation would be no better unless Tan Man could deal with all of them within one minute.

Tan Man stared at his clenched fists and muttered through gritted teeth.

"I want strength. I want absolute power-enough that the world can never dictate my life again!"