After returning to the Zenin Clan, Tan Man went to find Toji first.
The excuse he had given Masamichi Yaga was actually a lie. For Hei, Tan Man was more of a decision-maker who set its overall direction. Its daily operations did not require his instructions on every little detail, so there was no work he needed to arrange.
Besides, it was now 2006. Both mobile phones and the internet were widespread, so getting in touch was no obstacle.
Tan Man sought out Toji because there were things he needed to confirm in person.
Most people might have found it strange that he would return to the Zenin Clan to find Toji.
After all, in the original story, Toji had more or less left the Zenin Clan around 1997, and Megumi had been born outside the clan in 2002.
But in this world, Tan Man's intervention, along with his visibly close relationship with Toji, meant that hardly anyone in the Zenin Clan still dared to pick on Toji.
Especially after the Three Great Families' banquet, the pressure Toji faced within the Zenin Clan had eased considerably. He was regarded as the closest supporter of Tan Man's faction, and some people even tried to get on his good side.
But none of that was why Toji stayed. Ultimately, he had chosen not to leave the Zenin Clan because he wanted to stay with his precious cash cow.
The relationship between Toji and Tan Man was rather subtle. Calling it purely transactional would not explain the concern Toji often showed, which went beyond that arrangement.
Yet those feelings beyond their deal were not rooted in the family ties that connected them through Naobito Zenin. They came more from his appreciation of Tan Man himself.
[A note to head off nitpicking: the exact date in 2006 is unspecified, loosely set during the summer.]
When Tan Man arrived at Toji's home, he found him staring at the television, which was broadcasting the eighteenth FIFA World Cup, held in Germany.
Of course, Toji was certainly not interested in football itself. He simply enjoyed the thrill of "making a quick buck" this way.
Strictly speaking, after nine years of building themselves up, neither he nor Tan Man was short of money. Toji was merely treating it as entertainment, chasing a dopamine hit.
As Tan Man entered, he saw Megumi Zenin, now four years old, quietly reading a book by himself nearby. All he could do was shake his head helplessly.
Thanks to Tan Man's efforts, Toji had been able to marry Megumi's Mother and bring her into the Zenin Clan relatively smoothly.
[The main reason was that Megumi's Mother was neither a woman of the Zenin Clan nor a sorcerer, merely a monkey. In the Zenin Clan's feudal hierarchy, she was the lowest of the low.]
It was also Tan Man's stance that forced the other members of the Zenin Clan to bury their discontent and kept them from openly discussing the matter.
Knowing that Megumi's Mother would die shortly after giving birth to Megumi, Tan Man had also spent a fortune securing the best medical care and assistance available through jujutsu.
But human life was so fragile. Despite all those preparations, they had still failed to seize that fleeting window for treatment. In the end, jujutsu was not omnipotent.
Toji had witnessed all of it. Compared to everything Tan Man had prepared, he himself had contributed almost nothing. Naturally, he had even less reason to blame Tan Man.
Toji still remembered that night. It had been the first time he had ever seen Tan Man reveal his vulnerable side.
When the doctor announced that Megumi's Mother had died, Tan Man had broken into uncontrollable sobs, clinging to Toji and apologizing over and over.
It was as though he himself were to blame for everything.
Toji had never imagined that the Demon King who had killed without batting an eye since childhood would collapse into such desperate sobbing because he had failed to save Toji's wife.
Toji could more or less tell that Tan Man's guilt stemmed from his failure to handle the matter properly and his fear that Toji would be disappointed in him.
He simply did not understand why Tan Man's reaction had been so intense.
Although Megumi's Mother had changed Toji somewhat, asking him to offer comforting words was still asking too much. In the end, all he had said to Tan Man was this.
"You've already done more than enough. This isn't your fault."
Since that day, Toji had never seen Tan Man like that again. He could also tell that, after the incident, Tan Man had become even stricter with himself, refusing to allow himself another failure.
That was something that had happened between Toji and Tan Man at the end of 2002, an incident neither of them would ever forget.
Tan Man patted Megumi Zenin's head and complained to Toji, "He's almost old enough to awaken his cursed technique. Why don't you pay a little more attention to Megumi?"
[Since he is Megumi Zenin in this book, he will mostly be called Megumi from here on.]
Toji did not turn around. His attention remained on the increasingly tense match on the screen as he answered Tan Man.
"Relax. Nothing that happens in this room escapes my senses."
Tan Man grumbled helplessly, "That's not the kind of attention I meant."
Tan Man crouched down and asked Megumi, "Have you felt any cursed energy lately?"
As he spoke, he released a small amount of cursed energy from the hand resting on Megumi's head.
Megumi raised a little hand and pointed at Tan Man's hand above his head, asking uncertainly.
"Is it like what I feel from your hand?"
"Looks like you can already sense it. Have you noticed anything strange about your shadow lately?" Tan Man continued to guide him patiently.
Megumi furrowed his little brows and thought for a moment.
"My shadow? I don't think anything's changed."
Toji seemed to remember something: the news recently circulating through the Zenin Clan that Tan Man planned to attend Tokyo Jujutsu High.
When he had first heard that news, Toji had not believed a word of it.
Even if every sorcerer in the world needed to study at Jujutsu High, Tan Man certainly did not.
After all, Tan Man had been strong enough to defeat the Gojo Clan's Six Eyes as soon as he awakened his cursed technique. Other than killing someone, Toji genuinely could not think of any reason for him to go to Jujutsu High.
Half joking, Toji asked Tan Man a question.
"What are you going to Jujutsu High for? Planning to become its youngest teacher?"
"A teacher? Maybe in the future. Forget about being the youngest, though."
Tan Man did indeed have that intention, because there were certain talents he had no intention of handing over to anyone else.
For instance, Yuta Okkotsu, who would appear in the future. He had no intention of leaving him to Satoru Gojo. That cursed technique would be useful to him.
"So you're really planning to become a teacher? What will you teach, how to kill people?"
If the other members of the Zenin Clan could not understand Tan Man, Toji understood him even better than his father, Naobito Zenin, did.
Over those nine years, Tan Man had done no shortage of things to strengthen his Eight Hot Hells.
Before Toji could say the word "kill," Tan Man covered Megumi's ears with both hands.
It was still too early for a child to hear things like that.
"?" Megumi merely looked up at Tan Man in confusion.
Tan Man nodded slightly and replied, "Yes, you're right. That's a pretty good idea."
"You've behaved yourself for all these years, and now you're suddenly going to Tokyo Jujutsu High. If I remember correctly, that Six Eyes, Satoru Gojo-the one you nearly killed nine years ago-is at Tokyo High School now too, isn't he?"
"Yes. He's the very reason I'm going."
"Are you saying you want to kill him again?"
Before you continue