I really can grow taller!

The bombshell Satoru Gojo dropped stunned Aikawa Kaze so badly that he failed to immediately shake off the wicked hand planted on his head.

Actually, having a connection to the Gojo Clan wasn't such a bad thing, but for some reason, Aikawa Kaze's sense of foreboding only grew stronger.

"Gojo Sensei, may I ask what your relationship with this man was?"

"Wang from Next Door, who inherited his precious legacy!"

"..."

Gojo Sensei! At least remember you're a teacher!

What kind of outrageous line was that?!

Aikawa Kaze's eyes shook with shock.

Satoru Gojo winked playfully.

"Not happy with that answer? But it's the truth! Or you could think of me as-the sucker a certain man entrusted his son to when his conscience stirred just before he died?"

"That sounds more like it."

Aikawa Kaze nodded with a complicated expression.

He had a pretty good idea who his scumbag father was now. He hadn't read the manga, so he couldn't recognize him, but all those forum posts and videos hadn't been for nothing. He knew at least some of the background.

No wonder Satoru Gojo had told him to call him Dad. Hadn't Toji Fushiguro "entrusted" Megumi Fushiguro to him before dying?

Having taken Megumi Fushiguro in and become his guardian, Satoru Gojo could, in a certain sense, ask Toji Fushiguro's son to call him Dad.

Of course, Aikawa Kaze would never acknowledge that.

Even if someone had to call him Dad, that was Megumi Fushiguro's business. What did it have to do with Aikawa Kaze?

From Aikawa Kaze's expression, Satoru Gojo could tell he had fully understood the information he'd given him.

After all, Aikawa Kaze wasn't an ordinary person who knew nothing about Jujutsu Society. That incident had caused quite a stir back then.

Satoru Gojo had spent one billion yen to buy Toji Fushiguro's child back from the Zenin Clan.

At first, the Zenin Clan hadn't thought much of that failure Toji's son. Before long, however, they learned that Megumi Fushiguro possessed the Ten Shadows Technique they had been desperately longing for.

For a time, the Zenin Clan became the laughingstock of Jujutsu Society. They'd sold the Ten Shadows Technique, which could supposedly kill a Six Eyes user, for a measly billion. It was downright hilarious.

"Looks like I don't need to explain any further. That's why I said you shouldn't have gone looking for Black Market brokers to investigate on your own. Especially not so many..."

"At worst, I'd alert him. That's exactly the effect I wanted."

Aikawa Kaze didn't really mind.

"I was planning to make trouble for him anyway. If word got out and he came looking for me himself, wouldn't that be more convenient? Of course, I'll have to change my plans now."

After all, the man was already dead. Surely he couldn't find a way to resurrect him just to get his revenge?

As for the leaked photograph, he didn't care at all.

He didn't possess the Ten Shadows Technique the Zenin Clan coveted. Even if they found out about him, it wouldn't matter much.

"How heartbreaking. I thought Kaze-chan and I were already close enough!"

Satoru Gojo pouted unhappily.

"You're treating me like a stranger! Why didn't you ask your reliable, powerful, miraculously all-capable Gojo Sensei?"

"This was a personal matter, after all."

Aikawa Kaze hadn't asked Satoru Gojo to investigate simply because, unlike their earlier efforts to spread the "concept of Heroic Spirits," finding this man was his own business.

Satoru Gojo had indeed become his "co-conspirator," but he didn't think their relationship was close enough for this.

Aikawa Kaze believed that if he asked, Satoru Gojo probably wouldn't refuse.

But just because the man didn't mind didn't mean he could keep pushing his luck!

To be fair, ever since entering Jujutsu Society, he had already received a great deal of help from Satoru Gojo.

From helping conceal his cursed energy residue at the start so the Jujutsu Higher-Ups wouldn't come knocking unannounced, to protecting him afterward and helping publicize matters concerning Heroic Spirits, Satoru Gojo had already done plenty for him.

He admitted he overthought things a little, but he was still very grateful to Satoru Gojo.

"You're The Strongest, after all. There's no need to bother someone as busy as you with something this trivial!"

Aikawa Kaze really hadn't felt comfortable turning to Satoru Gojo over such a small matter.

After all, what he wanted to do was simple: find the man, then vent some anger on behalf of that poor mother who served as his backstory and the child who had died before being born.

It hardly qualified as anything important. Asking Satoru Gojo would have been overkill.

Now, instead, he was struggling to figure out how to satisfy the soul of the mother he'd inherited.

Unaware of Aikawa Kaze's worries, Satoru Gojo quietly studied him from top to bottom and side to side several times.

Once he confirmed that Aikawa Kaze was telling the truth, rather than acting for some other bizarre reason, he couldn't help commenting.

"That reluctance to bother other people is very similar too."

"What?"

"Mm, so is the way you overthink things without realizing it. Brothers really are alike!"

"Oh."

"Come on, Kaze-chan, you should look happier! From now on, you're a little brother with a big brother!"

"What kind of bizarre phrasing is that?!"

Aikawa Kaze was exasperated. Of course he understood that, by ordinary logic, he now had a biological half brother.

Apparently, after Megumi Fushiguro's mother died, Toji Fushiguro had gone around living off women and leaving a trail of romantic entanglements. It would have been stranger if a man like that didn't have a few children, right?

Maybe more of his sons would pop up in the later parts of Jujutsu X Kaisen?

The only thing he found a little strange was that, supposedly, Toji Fushiguro had genuinely loved Megumi Fushiguro's mother and only fallen into depravity after her death. He hadn't expected him to have already fathered a child with another woman before that.

Still, for a scumbag, that was pretty standard... Huh? Something wasn't right!

Realizing something was off, Aikawa Kaze looked at Satoru Gojo in confusion.

"Gojo Sensei, didn't you get that backward just now? I'm a big brother with a little brother, not a little brother with a big brother, right?"

He was already a first-year at Jujutsu High. Next year, he'd be a second-year when Megumi Fushiguro enrolled as a new student. No matter how he looked at it, he was the older brother, wasn't he?

He didn't want to acknowledge that scumbag Toji Fushiguro as his father, nor Satoru Gojo as his adoptive father, but that didn't conflict with wanting to claim the adorable Megumi Fushiguro as his little brother.

"That kid has the Ten Shadows Technique, right? I heard he's enrolling next year. He'll be my junior."

"He'll be your junior, yes, but also your big brother!"

"???"

"Oh dear, I thought you were playing dumb. Did you really forget?"

Satoru Gojo seemed somewhat surprised too. He took off his sunglasses to scrutinize Aikawa Kaze's expression, then couldn't help finding it funny.

"You may be a high school student now, but you're a genius who skipped grades! Isn't it perfectly normal to enroll before your big brother?"

Satoru Gojo clicked his tongue in wonder, looking as though he were observing some rare creature.

"I never thought an otherwise normal person could actually forget his own age. This is a first! Let me take a photo to commemorate it!"

"Huh?!"

"Click, click~~~"

Amid the continuous shutter sounds, Aikawa Kaze heard Satoru Gojo's explanation.

"A kid who's only thirteen obviously has to call a fourteen-year-old kid his big brother!"

"..."

Aikawa Kaze fell silent, while Satoru Gojo happily saved the new additions to his collection.

In fact, Satoru Gojo had only realized this when he took another close look at the records while Aikawa Kaze was investigating his origins.

Aikawa Kaze was usually so mature that no one noticed he was actually only middle-school age.

He had casually instructed others to handle the transfer arrangements. Even when he later investigated the boy's background, he hadn't paid much attention to basic details like age, height, and weight.

Only after Satoru Gojo's reminder did Aikawa Kaze realize what had happened.

The boy whose background he had been given was a withdrawn, indifferent, self-taught student who had skipped grades.

Precisely because the boy almost never attended school and had pitifully few social connections, the world consciousness had chosen him for the deal.

After all, even though Aikawa Kaze had taken over his identity, their personalities were vastly different. It wasn't impossible to bluff his way through, but minimizing trouble was best.

Aikawa Kaze himself had requested someone with simple, sparse, and distant relationships.

So, to match the records, his body had actually been adjusted to that of a thirteen-year-old.

-Why be so exacting about such unnecessary details? What was the point?!

Surely the world consciousness hadn't done it deliberately just to watch him worry about never growing taller?

Probably... not, right?

Aikawa Kaze would rather believe it had been trying to coax him into the deal by offering to "make him taller" as payment.

But in that case, Megumi Fushiguro was fourteen and he was thirteen, meaning he had been born a year after Megumi Fushiguro.

Did that mean he'd misjudged Toji Fushiguro earlier, and the man had only started sleeping around after Megumi's mother died?

No, whatever the case, a scumbag was still a scumbag!

Aikawa Kaze looked conflicted. Satoru Gojo clapped his hands.

"Since you really forgot, let your teacher tell you something cheerful!"

Satoru Gojo gestured at Aikawa Kaze's height.

"You may only be 160 centimeters tall right now, Kaze-chan, but you're only thirteen. That's perfectly normal-give it another couple of years, and you might be a long-legged 180 centimeters!"

"..."

Oh, right. He'd almost forgotten about that too.

Aikawa Kaze's emotions were incredibly complicated.

In his previous life, he'd been around 160 centimeters in middle school, but once he reached high school, he'd shot up to 180.

When he'd first discovered he was only 160 centimeters tall, he'd thought it was the price of transmigrating. Although he kept saying, "I'm still growing," deep down, he'd been uncertain.

Now that he realized his height had merely shrunk to match his age, he felt relieved.

Knowing for certain that he could still grow taller was good news too. At least now he could confidently say he really was "still growing."

"Then your reliable Gojo Sensei will give Kaze-chan another piece of good news!"

Satoru Gojo blinked his big eyes and raised a hand, looking eager to watch the fun as he cheerfully offered a suggestion.

"You're worrying about how to get your 'revenge,' right, Kaze-chan? Megumi's really tough. You won't beat him to death. I think you could have 'the son pay the father's debts'!"

After a moment's thought, Satoru Gojo added another remark.

"With Shoko around, as long as you don't actually kill him, you can beat him within an inch of his life. Nobody will die!"

"...No thanks. I'm not interested in taking my anger out on other people."

Aikawa Kaze was exasperated. He wasn't some sort of devil. Why would he beat up Megumi Fushiguro for no reason?

Besides, he wasn't really the man's son, nor did he harbor that much resentment-the child who truly had the right to vent his anger had died in his mother's womb, before ever seeing the world.

"By the way, where's this guy's grave?"

"Oh, you want to pay your respects?" Satoru Gojo raised an eyebrow, instantly losing interest. "I just had someone bury him back then. I don't remember," he said casually.

"No, I'm just considering whether to spit on his grave."

People said the dead deserved respect and that past grievances should be wiped clean after death, but that was merely the conventional view.

Now, the poor mother he had inherited had let her parents and child reincarnate first, while she alone had delayed moving on, all to hear news of her revenge.

Would this outcome be enough?

Aikawa Kaze felt a little worried. He couldn't actually do anything to Megumi Fushiguro.

After turning it over in his mind, he decided he could first tell her that Toji Fushiguro was dead. If she still couldn't let go, he would go spit on the man's grave.

It was rather uncivilized, and he'd never done anything like spitting in public in his life, but if it would settle her resentment, he could bend his own moral standards.

Seeing Aikawa Kaze lose his confident air and look conflicted and troubled, Satoru Gojo promptly took out his phone again to snap photos.

"Click, click, click~~"

"Gojo Sensei, what are you doing?"

"Mm-hmm, more new material for 'Kaze-chan's facial composure failures of the week'!"

"!!!"

What the hell was that?!

For an instant, Aikawa Kaze almost heard the thread of his reason snap. He wanted to order the man to delete those pictures.

Something with a name that ominous was definitely targeting him. It was going to humiliate him beyond recovery!

No wonder Satoru Gojo's phone held the embarrassing evidence every student at Jujutsu High wanted to destroy.

Wait, had he set up a dedicated group chat or public account or something to post his embarrassing moments?

Aikawa Kaze shuddered, filled with foreboding.

Still, being clever, he restrained his rising murderous impulse-the more agitated he became, the smugger that infuriating, utterly shameless bastard of a cat would get.

At a time like this, he needed to give him a taste of his own medicine.

Think. What would Satoru Gojo do in this situation?

The answer was simple.

The next second, Aikawa Kaze adjusted his mindset, forcibly suppressed his shocked anger, and twisted his face into a smile.

"That title sounds pretty good! Did you properly capture my beauty? Even if I lose control of my expressions, I'll still be the handsomest!"

"Oh, nice line! Sounds like you've been studying your teacher's tone and thought process! You really do admire me, don't you, Kaze-chan?"

Satoru Gojo rubbed his chin, his eyes brimming with amusement.

"Since you don't mind, Kaze-chan, I won't hold back! That GIF of you forcing down your anger and twisting it into a smile is absolutely hilarious... Hahahahaha!"

"..."

Don't get angry, don't get angry.

Why lose your temper over something small, only to wonder afterward why you bothered?

Who gets their wish if I get angry? Besides, it drains both mind and strength.

After silently reciting "Don't get angry" several times, Aikawa Kaze's gaze became as calm as still water.

-When you don't know what expression to make, just smile.

Under Aikawa Kaze's kindly gaze, Satoru Gojo finally regained a little composure after doubling over with laughter. He grabbed Aikawa Kaze and pulled him out of the shop.

"Come on, come on! I'll take you to meet Megumi! I promised I'd bring a present home today!"

"..."

You're still the biggest bastard of all, Gojo Sensei!

Looking at it that way, Satoru Gojo describing himself as "Wang from Next Door who inherited a precious legacy" was so damn fitting!

"Gee, thanks a lot, Go!"

"You're welcome, you're welcome! Don't mention it!"

Satoru Gojo grinned as he pulled Aikawa Kaze along.

"Well, I am your dad, after all! Come on, let me hear you call me Daddy."

"Please allow me to formally decline."

"Don't be like that! After all, before That Man died, he entrusted his son to me~~~"

"I'm not his son. I'm his creditor (the debt collector he hired)."

"Don't be so cold, Kaze-chan~~~Come on, come on, come on! Call me Daddy, and Daddy will treat you to something delicious! I'll even give you a Bank Card and pocket money!"

"I told you I'm not! Go find his actual son!"

"But I bought the Holy Relic!"

"..."

"So, you really won't say it?"

"..."