Satoshi truly had no time to worry about the Gojo clan's future. At this moment, floating above the Gojo family residence, the system displayed a prompt:
[This location does not meet the system requirements. Please search again.]
This notification was not good news.
Originally, Satoshi had assumed that if the Gojo estate met the system's conditions, he would simply stay here and enter hibernation.
After all, this was the Gojo clan's stronghold. It was the safest place available to him.
But to his disappointment, even the ancestral home of one of the Big Three Sorcerer Families failed to meet the system's required energy threshold.
"Is this place not enough, Satoshi?"
Yuki looked toward Satoshi, her voice calm.
His long silence had already made it clear that the Gojo estate's energy levels were inadequate.
Everyone turned to him, waiting for his answer.
"There's no helping it. The Gojo estate won't work…"
His response left those around him visibly disheartened.
"Then let's check out the Zenin family next."
Toji spoke coldly, shooting a glance at Shoko and issuing the order without hesitation.
Even though Satoshi hadn't said it out loud, Toji clearly understood how important finding a proper location was to him.
Since the Gojo estate had been ruled out, he was willing to give the Zenin clan a shot.
"Forget it, Toji. The Zenin estate probably isn't much different from the Gojo clan's."
Satoshi tried to decline, but Toji remained firm.
Shoko, receiving Toji's signal, immediately commanded Minazuki to head toward the Zenin estate.
Satoshi didn't hold out any hope for the Zenin clan either. But aside from the Kamo residence, it was one of the few options left in Tokyo.
Visiting both would at least bring clarity.
...
At the Zenin estate.
The moment Minazuki appeared in the sky, Zenin Naobito sensed it immediately.
As the strongest sorcerer within the Zenin family, his sensitivity to cursed energy was unparalleled.
The second Minazuki entered Zenin airspace, Naobito had already sounded the alarm.
Within the estate, Zenin sorcerers quickly gathered, preparing to defend against a potential threat.
Seeing the massive, emerald manta ray hovering in the sky, Naobito's face twisted in confusion. Was the Gojo clan declaring war?
Had they really grown that impatient?
Attacking without warning was a breach of sorcerer taboos. Even if the Zenin clan lost, the Gojo family would suffer condemnation for violating protocol.
Around Naobito, members of the Zenin clan's Bing Organization gathered swiftly, prepared to protect the family's core figures.
Zenin Ogi's expression was stormy as he stared at the intruding shikigami.
A man who valued his family's dignity more than his own life, he was already seething with rage at what he saw as the Gojo clan's open provocation.
Watching Minazuki hover in the sky so brazenly, Ogi flung his arm forward.
"Take that thing down from the sky!"
He barked the order.
Following his command, Zenin clan sorcerers activated their cursed techniques, unleashing a barrage of attacks at Minazuki.
None of the Zenin elders made any move to stop it.
They also wanted to see what this strange shikigami was capable of. Was it merely a transport beast, or did it possess power of its own?
The power it revealed would determine how the Zenin family responded moving forward. Control of the air was a major tactical advantage.
Being observed by an unidentified shikigami in the middle of the night was a serious threat to clan secrecy.
But just as the spells were about to strike Minazuki, a black flash tore through the night sky.
A ghostlike blade sliced through the darkness, effortlessly cutting down every cursed technique in its path.
Not a single attack landed on Minazuki.
The moment the blade light appeared, Zenin Naobito, Ogi, Jinichi, and Shinsuke all froze.
That was the power of Katen Kyōkotsu.
Toji was here?
Why was Toji flying over the Zenin estate in the middle of the night, riding Minazuki?
Each of the four had different thoughts.
Naobito: Is he aiming for the clan's leadership? If you want the Zenin clan, just come and say so. Why sneak around like this in the middle of the night?
Ogi: This bastard dares show his face again, and even brings outsiders above the estate? This is an intrusion into Zenin family privacy.
Shinsuke: Toji is never far from Satoshi, and that shikigami is one of Satoshi's Zanpakutō. If Toji is here, then Satoshi must be too.
Jinichi: Toji… have you finally made your decision? Are you ready to take the Zenin family for yourself? Good. If we brothers work together, we can make something great. I'll help you manage the clan. We should've been the heads of this family from the start. If Father hadn't died so early, our status wouldn't be this pathetic.
I'll never forget the time they threw us into a cursed pit as children.
Among them, Jinichi was the most excited to see Katen Kyōkotsu.
This was the first time Toji had entered Zenin territory since he left the family. Even if it was just hovering above the estate, it was a declaration of intent.
To Jinichi, his brother was finally stepping forward to claim what was rightfully his.
The Zenin clan might be a trash heap, but there were still valuable things buried within it. Since they had both grown up surrounded by this trash, it was only fitting they take control of it.
They had endured so much.
He remembered the scar at the corner of Toji's mouth, a mark from when he was thrown into a room full of cursed spirits as a child and forced to fight his way out.
The cruelty and apathy of the Zenin clan had left scars on them both.
Now, it was time for the Zenin family to pay the price.
(To be continued.)
***
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