After listening to Zenin Jinsuke's explanation, Toji's face remained expressionless, but deep inside he felt much of his resentment ease.
If it was all because of their mother, then at least he could understand. Still, being forgotten as a younger brother just because of her… that part stung.
"She left a letter for you. I've kept it. If you want to read it, come by and take it" Toji finally said.
"No need. You keep it. It's probably just more useless words anyway" Jinsuke waved him off.
So much time had already passed; he didn't want to reopen old wounds. Knowing their mother, it was probably another letter filled with apologies. But she had nothing to apologize for. The fault wasn't hers — it was this rotten world.
"What are you planning to do next?" Toji asked, his eyes narrowing.
"Obviously to ea— cough, cough… I mean, to find some work and scrape by for now" Jinsuke almost blurted out the truth.
But seeing as his little brother already had a wife and child, Jinsuke figured that if he, the older brother, still spent every day doing nothing but freeloading meals, it would leave a bad impression.
"Since you're back, don't leave again. Work with me. Be a sorcerer killer."
Toji extended the invitation. With the two brothers' unique condition, this line of work suited them best. What else could they do—become jujutsu sorcerers exorcising curses? Impossible.
"No thanks. I've got no interest in being a killer."
Jinsuke shook his head firmly. He already had his own plans. His main goal was to grow stronger, as quickly as possible. The jujutsu world wouldn't stay peaceful for long, and his current power wasn't enough to protect the people he cared about.
He thought of his nephew's future. As an uncle, he had to be the one standing behind him. Sukuna? If that monster dared touch his family, Jinsuke would make sure to stomp him into dust.
Of course, getting stronger wasn't the only priority. He also needed money to survive. And apart from freeloading… what other job paid faster than that?
"You'd better give up this 'sorcerer killer' nonsense too. Just go home, live properly, and raise your kid. Stop wasting your life on useless things" Jinsuke lectured him.
A father who neglects his child to mess around outside — what kind of man does that?
"None of your business. I'm leaving. Don't come nagging me for no reason."
Toji stood and walked away, unwilling to hear any more of Jinsuke's scolding. He was still as annoying as ever — like some overbearing mother.
On the surface, Toji looked indifferent, but the corners of his lips were already tugging upward. His brother, gone for so many years, had suddenly returned. And just like that, the loneliness inside him felt a little lighter.
Watching Toji leave while pretending not to care, Jinsuke shook his head.
"Remember to take me to meet my nephew tomorrow."
Toji froze mid-step. His lips twitched, and the next second he stormed out the door without answering, pretending he hadn't heard a thing.
"This brat…" Jinsuke muttered.
While the Zenin brothers were working out their misunderstandings, Jujutsu High had already erupted into chaos.
Two near–Special Grade sorcerers — Gojo and Geto — had openly defied the higher-ups, returning the Star Plasma Vessel, Riko, instead of delivering her for Tengen's assimilation.
Their actions had thrown the security of the entire jujutsu world into jeopardy. After all, if Master Tengen failed to merge with the Vessel, his body would evolve into a higher state of existence. And when that happened, Tengen could lose consciousness entirely… perhaps even become humanity's enemy. An evolved Tengen would be far closer to a curse than a human.
But when the higher-ups debated punishment, Tengen himself spoke.
He didn't react as expected. Rather than blaming Gojo and Geto, he told them not to worry. If Riko chose not to merge with him, it was fine. He could still maintain control for now, and there was no need to rush.
"See, Gojo? Master Tengen isn't so bad after all. He didn't even get angry with us" Geto remarked.
Inside an empty basketball court at Jujutsu High, Gojo and Geto talked as they played. Shoko Ieiri leaned against the doorway, lazily sucking on a lollipop.
"Of course. He wouldn't be Master Tengen otherwise" Gojo smirked. A true great figure wouldn't make things hard for a little girl.
Watching them sweat and laugh as if nothing had happened made Masamichi fume. If it weren't for Tengen's forgiveness, these two brats might have been branded as cursed users already.
"Masamichi-sensei, you look a little upset. Something bothering you? Tell us — maybe it'll cheer us up" Gojo teased, flashing a grin.
"Brat, itching for a beating again?" Masamichi snapped, glaring with a teacher's authority. Gojo immediately shrank his neck.
He knew perfectly well — because of his and Geto's actions, Masamichi had probably been chewed out endlessly by the higher-ups.
"Don't be mad. With our strength, those old geezers don't dare touch us anyway" Gojo said lightly.
Six Eyes and Limitless alone were enough to defy the heavens. On top of that, during this mission he had awakened Reverse Cursed Technique… and even Hollow Purple, a move few in the Gojo Clan knew existed. He was confident his power now forced the higher-ups to back down.
And indeed, the elders hadn't taken much action beyond some angry words—they wouldn't dare.
"Yeah, yeah, you're the strongest" Masamichi muttered, too tired to argue with him anymore. One day, Gojo would understand—not everything could be solved with raw strength.
"Gojo, about the ones who tried to assassinate you two—we've identified them" Shoko interrupted.
When Gojo and Geto had taken Riko back, she had asked Mei Mei to investigate the killers. The Zenin brothers hadn't even bothered hiding themselves, so their backgrounds had been dug up easily.
"They're from the Zenin Clan. Born without cursed energy."
"The older brother, Jinsuke, slaughtered dozens of clan members eight years ago before disappearing overseas. Looks like he just came back.The younger brother, Toji, married into the Fushiguro family, changed his name to Toji Fushiguro, and now works as a sorcerer killer."
Hearing this, both Gojo and Geto froze.
"Zenin Clan?"
"No cursed energy? That's impossible!" Geto blurted. How could someone without cursed energy beat Gojo so easily? That didn't make sense.
"It's true. They had absolutely no cursed energy. I'm certain of it" Gojo said firmly.
He hadn't felt even a trace of cursed power from either brother.
"By the way, Shoko, about Jinsuke… you said he massacred the Zenin Clan eight years ago? What's the story there?" Gojo asked, curious.
Shoko shrugged, her tone casual.
"Zenin Clan. No cursed energy. Do I really need to spell it out?"
"I see…"
Gojo rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"As I thought… he's an interesting guy."
From the first moment he'd seen Jinsuke, Gojo had noticed something different in his eyes. Looking back, wasn't that absolute confidence — the kind only true strong ones carried?
...
Meanwhile, broke and unable to afford a hotel, Jinsuke returned to the old house he'd lived in before going abroad. It sat right on the edge of Zenin territory.
"Still clean, huh? Not bad" he muttered.
The place wasn't as rundown as he'd expected. Someone must have been coming here to tidy it up regularly. Aside from that old man Naobito, the only other possibility was his foolish younger brother.
Exhausted after the day, Jinsuke threw himself onto the bed and drifted into sleep. Tomorrow, he'd finally meet his nephew. And then, maybe he'd consider finding a job. It wasn't like he could just go asking the Zenin Clan for money, after all.