A few weeks had passed since Kaori's delivery at Sendai Hospital.
Little Yuji was developing normally according to the doctor, and Kaori was out of danger, according to the medical staff.
The Itadori family would soon be able to return to their residence without any apparent problem. However, Wasuke came to find Jin to speak privately.
At first, he was confused by his father's insistence on talking in a quiet place, but Jin wasn't stupid.
He quickly realized that the atmosphere around Wasuke was as serious as during their conversation at the temple.
It didn't take him long to understand the situation and connect it to one of the most shocking scenes he had ever seen in a fictional work.
The truth about Kaori Itadori.
'Is this the moment when Wasuke warns me? Am I going to disappear soon without any real explanation?' he thought, frowning slightly.
Jin understood in a short time that the day when Kaori and he would have to drop their mask of the happy couple was approaching.
Yet he no longer felt fear toward Kenjaku as he once had.
There was only determination left in him.
Wasuke was a little surprised by his son's shifting moods, but he gathered all his resolve to share his honest thoughts about his daughter-in-law.
Something he should have done a long time ago.
"Jin, you're a man now, but—" Wasuke's voice wavered, then he steeled his will again and continued:
"The woman sharing your life right now is not your Kaori," he said, staring straight into Jin's eyes.
Silence immediately blanketed the room.
At that precise moment,
no one could know what thoughts were running through the two men's minds or what their true concerns were.
However, that silence could not last forever.
Jin reacted first.
"Pffahh, you're funny, Dad," he replied, bursting into slightly exaggerated laughter.
Wasuke's eyes widened at his son's reaction. The elderly man did not want to offend his child, whose mind might still be clouded by the grief of losing his wife.
Nevertheless, he could not stand idly by and watch his grandson be raised by an impostor because of his son's inability to react.
Wasuke Itadori had to intervene!
The shocked expression he wore upon seeing his son dismiss his claims as a simple joke gave way to firmer determination.
Wasuke would save his grandson if he failed with his son.
Unconsciously, he stepped toward Jin to try to convince him more directly.
Unfortunately, the sound of the door opening drew both men's attention.
Kaori Itadori had entered the room.
"What are you talking about?" she said, shifting her emotionless eyes between Jin and Wasuke.
All of Wasuke's determination melted like snow in the sun after the arrival of the person responsible for his son's twisted state.
'What should I do…?' he thought for a brief moment, before the confusion and fear suddenly vanished upon Jin's contact.
"Jin," he stammered, regaining control of his old body.
"Dad, you should go rest. I'll bring Yuji over to your place later," Jin declared with a smile toward Wasuke.
Wasuke observed his son's smile for a moment, then nodded.
At that moment, the old man felt shame.
It wasn't shame born of fear toward Kenjaku, but shame at his lack of trust in a father's love for his child.
Just as he himself had with Jin, his son loved his child deeply.
'Yes, he won't let Yuji fall under that person's influence,' he thought as he left the room.
Wasuke decided to trust the pure love Jin felt for Yuji, rather than the twisted love he showed toward a deceased woman.
…
"Why did you do that?" Jin asked without beating around the bush, looking at Kaori.
'The masks have fallen anyway… so might as well go all in,' he thought while staring into his wife's eyes.
Kaori's emotionless gaze displayed a faint trace of reluctance, but it was quickly replaced by her empty eyes.
Kenjaku's cold logic overpowered the influence of Kaori's body.
"Hm… I don't think this is the right time for that conversation," she said, placing a finger on her chin before answering in a playful tone.
After that reply, the millennium-old sorcerer withdrew the cursed energy she had been emitting.
If Jin hadn't intervened, it wouldn't have been impossible for Wasuke to faint in the face of such an amount of negative energy.
It was clear she was offended by Jin's father's actions.
"And why not?" Jin asked, raising an eyebrow.
Kaori stopped sketching her fake smile as she observed him, before a murderous intent crashed down on him.
'Is the gap between us really that wide?' he thought, feeling a cold sweat at the sight of the being wearing an inoffensive teasing face.
Perhaps because of his rapid evolution, Jin had forgotten that Kenjaku was potentially the strongest living sorcerer of this era.
Gojo wasn't yet fully awakened, Sukuna was sealed, Dabura didn't exist yet, and characters like Yuji and Yuta were still in a childish state.
If Toji is considered a curse for all sorcerers, then Kenjaku is the most worthy of bearing the title of the strongest until Gojo's full arrival.
"Don't get arrogant, darling~" she said as she approached Jin, pinning him against the wall with a gesture neither too strong nor too weak, and grabbing his chin.
"Your rate of evolution is commendable, but an individual's potential is just that: good potential, not strength," she declared as their breaths overlapped.
Any fan of romantic stories would think the relationship between Jin and Kaori was evolving in the right direction—especially those who enjoy the dominant side of the genre.
However, Jin was not a fan of romantic stories, nor the type to believe that a "toxic partner changes through love," and he wasn't naïve enough to hope for love from his wife.
Jin didn't like to gamble, because he knew he had little luck in life. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gotten into trouble with the old Taoist in the first place.
Thus, he wouldn't bet his life on a potential love with Kenjaku, and he didn't know whether such an idea would even be good.
In any case, Jin had more important priorities.
Kenjaku had just loudly declared that she was aware of Jin's evolution in strength.
"Have I been stupid all this time?" he asked himself.
The answer was obvious: yes.
He had believed he could fool a sorcerer centuries—perhaps millennia—old with his fictional knowledge.
A stupid idea.
Another proof of his madness was his current state: pinned against the wall by his "sweet housewife."
A logically impossible event, because he should never have openly challenged Kenjaku under normal circumstances.
But too many elements had aligned for both their masks to fall today.
The only explanation for all these coincidences was that Kenjaku had pushed Jin to the limit by targeting Wasuke to steer the conversation to this point.
Jin had been manipulated.
Now, the question was no longer just how to survive, but also how long Kenjaku had known everything.
Was she also aware of Nayuta?
Worse: had the guild card been discovered?
"How long have you been targeting me?" he asked, observing Kenjaku's amused expression.
Kaori's face lit up even more at Jin's question before she grabbed the back of his head and pulled him against her.
Kaori's lips found themselves just above Jin's ear, while his face was level with her cleavage.
Jin didn't think to struggle, because he perceived no killing intent in the gesture, but he was slightly surprised to be embraced like that by her.
"Since your mother's womb~" she whispered directly into his ear.