Malaysia, 9:45 p.m. Tokyo time, on a beach.
Although it was nighttime, the weather was strangely unseasonable.
The scorching beach, the azure sea, the soaring gulls-everything looked utterly beautiful.
Two people lay on lounge chairs on the beach.
One was an old man in his seventies, holding a sake gourd. He laughed heartily. "I never thought you'd come here too-"
"Naoya?"
"I'm sorry I couldn't do more to help my cousin in Shibuya."
The young man called Naoya looked a little sheepish, but also deeply frustrated. "I was just one step away from getting out of the Inokashira Line..."
"None of that matters anymore, does it?"
The old man-Naobito Zenin, who had not been seen in a long time-laughed without a care.
"You've already done enough. I'm sure that brat Ze will understand."
Naobito Zenin looked at Naoya Zenin with what seemed to be satisfaction. "You've done well all these years. I thought I'd leave this world satisfied, but..."
The old man, stubborn his entire life, fell silent for a long time before saying:
"It's a real shame I never got to see that brat marry and have children. The same goes for you... Naoya."
"I've devoted my entire life to the Zenin Clan and my cousin. I'm satisfied." Naoya Zenin narrowed his eyes, seemingly savoring this hard-won peace.
He spoke softly.
"My cousin told me-no jujutsu sorcerer dies without regrets..."
A rare teasing glint appeared in his eyes. "Hey, old man... you really never stopped being a jujutsu sorcerer, did you?"
"My cousin's dream was to build a new society and a new world without cursed spirits, governed by an enlightened system.
All these years, I stood beside him and helped him, watching the Zenin Clan prosper, step by step...
Ever since I met him as a child, I've