Tokyo, 9:50 p.m., the ruins of Udagawa, Shibuya.
Amid the smoke, Ze Zenin watched the brain that was Kenjaku's true body slowly lose its vitality, yet a sense of foreboding rose within him.
Kenjaku would never say anything meaningless. What was the grand gift he had mentioned?
"Ze..."
Suguru Geto approached with concern on his face and asked:
"Ze, that long-haired guy actually managed to hold his own against you. Who exactly was he?"
Ze Zenin shook his head, looked into the distance, and said gravely:
"I can't be certain whether what he told me was true."
"But it doesn't matter. In the face of overwhelming strength, every scheme and trick is futile."
"That's true."
Suguru Geto laughed lightly, then looked at Ze Zenin's face with a sudden touch of wistfulness.
"Even though I've been living alongside you all these years, for some reason..."
"Today feels more like a reunion after a long separation."
"Think about it. Kenjaku screwed you over that day, and it lasted a full twelve years."
Ze Zenin walked over to Suguru Geto and patted his shoulder. "The person you were before wasn't really you..."
"Then should I thank you and Gojo for looking after me all these years?"
Suguru Geto teased him with a smile. "It feels like you haven't worried about me at all these years. I'm hurt."
"Should I have worried about you?" Ze Zenin raised an eyebrow. "I was the one who saved your life back then."
Suguru Geto's thoughts drifted back to that village on that night. He shook his head and said:
"Thank you so much, Ze..."
In a rare moment of teasing, Ze Zenin asked, "Are you about to cry, Geto?"
"Even Amanai hasn't shed any little pearls."
Ze Zenin spoke casually as he watched Riko Amanai arrive late.