Somewhere in the world.
"Who are you?"
"And who am I?"
A cursed spirit with long blue hair and a face covered in stitches looked at the two cursed spirits before him in bewilderment.
The two cursed spirits before him were unlike those jujutsu sorcerers usually encountered-
One had a volcano for a head, a single enormous eye in the middle of his face, and a brown cloak draped over his back. Aside from his face and skin, he looked no different from a human.
The other was much the same-a humanoid cursed spirit with bandages wrapped around half her body and two horns growing from her eyes. Her face looked somewhat menacing.
The volcano-headed cursed spirit looked at the blue-haired figure and said, "My name is Jogo, and her name is Hanami. You are one of our own."
"That's right!"
Hanami looked at the blue-haired cursed spirit and said, "We're of the same kind. Would you like to fight to take this world for ourselves?"
"Take this world..."
The blue-haired cursed spirit murmured to himself, then gave an amused smile. "Sounds interesting! I'm in."
Jogo spoke up. "Let's take you to our base first!"
"There, we cursed spirits are safest..."
"Because our king... is about to be born!"
The Zenin Clan.
"!"
Ze Zenin suddenly woke from his coma. He looked around and realized he was in his own room.
Lying beside his bed were the two little girls, Maki and Mai.
"These two girls..."
With tenderness and concern in his eyes, Ze Zenin lifted them onto the bed, tucked them in, and left the room.
"Ze?!" came a startled cry.
"Mother..."
Before Ze Zenin could finish, his mother had pulled him into her arms. "Do you know how worried we were...?"
"You've been unconscious for an entire day!"
"That long?" Ze Zenin smiled faintly, then reassured her. "Don't worry, Mother. I'm fine now, aren't I?"
Still, how strange... I clearly didn't use much cursed energy for that strike, so why did I run completely dry?
I've got less than a tenth of my cursed energy left. Enough to open my domain once...
Thinking about it, that move really did take a lot out of me. My body still hurts like every bone was shattered.
His mother looked at Ze Zenin with concern. "Should I wake Maki and Mai...?"
"No need."
Ze Zenin said softly, "Those two probably haven't had a decent night's sleep in ages, have they?
Their dark circles are so bad. Let them get some proper rest."
"Have it your way. But as for your father..." his mother said worriedly.
"It doesn't matter..."
Ze Zenin's eyes turned cold. "The position of the Zenin Clan's head was never going to be his anyway."
Six years earlier, when Maki and Mai were born as twins,
Ogi Zenin had vehemently rejected them. He had even wanted to kill the two children in their cradles, lest they become a stain on his bid for clan leadership.
Ze Zenin had fought hard to stop him. After winning over Jinichi Zenin and the others by appealing to their interests, he had gathered a large following within the clan, and his prestige had soared.
As the saying went, if you wanted to know which of the Three Great Families was easiest to control-
All you had to do was awaken the Ten Shadows Technique, and the Zenin Clan would be yours for the taking. The other two families might care about seniority and such, but in the Zenin Clan, where techniques and cursed energy reigned supreme, the Ten Shadows Technique was the absolute pinnacle!
Ridiculously enough, Ogi Zenin had even sought an alliance with Naoya Zenin, hoping to seize the position of clan head from his own son. Little did he know that his ally had already "defected to the enemy"...
As Ze Zenin pondered this, he arrived at Naobito Zenin's room. Seeing the old man nodding off from drinking, he shouted, "Old man!"
"Who's there?!"
Naobito Zenin jolted awake and saw Ze Zenin smiling at him. He did not ask after the brat's health; he had complete faith in Round Deer's Reverse Cursed Technique.
"You little brat! Who are you trying to scare?"
"Why so angry?"
Ze Zenin chuckled, then sat beside Naobito Zenin and poured himself some wine from the old man's gourd.
"Naoya, come out too. Stop hiding."
At those words, a sheepish blond boy stepped out, his cheeks slightly flushed. "You spotted me so quickly, Cousin..."
Ze Zenin: "..."
Seriously, what the hell are you blushing for?!
"With those pathetic concealment skills of yours?" Ze Zenin laughed dismissively. "Enough of that. Let's have a drink today!"
"What?!"
Naobito Zenin bristled and shouted, "You just woke up, and you're already drinking my wine?! You're not even old enough to drink!"
"Stingy old man..."
Ze Zenin muttered, then thought of something and looked at the old man. "I'm the first Ten Shadows sorcerer in a thousand years to tame Mahoraga, you know.
Shouldn't we celebrate?"
"..."
Naobito Zenin looked at the shameless Ze Zenin and smiled helplessly, then let it go.
That's right...
The first Ten Shadows sorcerer in history to tame Mahoraga, witnessed by him, the twenty-sixth clan head-
Had finally appeared.
He could not help recalling how he had named Ze Zenin sixteen years earlier. Was he heaven's blessing upon the Zenin Clan?
Even if I died now, I suppose I'd have no regrets...
Now the Zenin Clan has someone to rely on besides this old man.
Naobito Zenin then muttered to himself:
"Tomorrow, I'll submit a request to the higher-ups and have them officially classify you as Special Grade.
That's what I'll do..."
"I need their approval? Those old bastards should count themselves lucky I haven't wiped them out."
Ze Zenin took a large gulp of wine, then looked at Naoya. "Naoya, you've barely had anything. Why's your face red already?"
"Naoya, you're such a lightweight!"
"No, I'm not. Don't make things up..." Naoya Zenin said groggily.
"Hahahaha..."
Naobito Zenin laughed as he watched the two of them. "Naoya's a Grade 2 Sorcerer now, too. He'll be able to join Hei soon.
Then he'll be your right-hand man in the Zenin Clan!"
"Who needs him?"
"What did you say, you little brat?"
"Nothing. I said we're not leaving until we're drunk."
"Good, good! Not leaving until we're drunk!"
A little while later.
Ze Zenin looked at Naobito Zenin and Naoya Zenin, both fast asleep, and shook his head.
Neither of them can hold their liquor as well as I can. Especially Naoya.
"Well then..."
Ze Zenin stretched his body, which had gone far too long without moving. "It's time I did what I came to do."
"In Southeast Asia... that incredibly powerful cursed spirit presence seems to be something that never appeared in the original story."
"Was that dream prophetic?" Ze Zenin pondered, unable to shake the sense that something was off. "Or is there some other purpose behind it?"
"Judging by the timing, the Hidden Inventory Arc should be starting around now, right? Could this be a ploy to lure me away?"
He went back to his room for one last look at Maki and Mai, gently pinching their cheeks.
"Good night."
"Teacher, whatever you do, don't die before I get back..."
Before you continue