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After the emotional hug between the grandfather and grandson was over, the two now sat in their appropriate places.
Naoya looked at his grandfather and asked, "You told me that my father is your younger son, right? Then what about uncle Ogi?"
"Ogi is not my own son. He is the son of one of the clansmen who protected me once and sacrificed his life. Ogi didn't have any other relatives, so I took him in," explained Kagenori.
"Another question....why are you being nice to me, even going to the point of revealing your past?" asked Naoya with suspicion.
Now that his emotions had calmed after the emotional story, he started thinking things through. A clan head who had kept level head up till now was suddenly favouring him and telling him his past... No matter the man's age, he was still a Zenin.
Kagenori looked at his grandson, who was looking at him suspiciously.
'His mind is really sharp for his age....' thought Kagenori.
"Can't I just want to be close to my grandson?" asked Kagenori.
"...Hear yourself and ask whether you will believe those words from a proper Zenin?" retorted Naoya.
Kagenori's brows twitched. The boy was right, but it still felt bad. He made it seem like the Zenins were cold-blooded creatures that lacked empathy.
...He was not wrong, though.
Kagenori sighed and used his cursed technique.
A dark, shadowy wall formed around the two of them.
Naoya's senses immediately flared up. Was this an ambush after all?
Not even thinking twice, Naoya activated his own cursed technique and jumped inside his own shadow and slipped out of the car.
Once he was on the road, he jumped out and moved away from the vehicle.
The car stopped a moment later, and Kagenori stepped out.
Naoya already had his hand signs ready to fight.
"What do you want?" asked Naoya with a frown.
Kagenori looked at his grandson and smirked.
"...You were trained thoroughly. I will give that to Naobito," said Kagenori and started walking towards Naoya.
"Answer me and stay away?" asked Naoya with wariness.
"Calm down, brat. If I wanted to, you would have been dead already. Don't make me prove that the acts from my past were real," said Kagenori in a threatening tone.
Naoya turned serious and gulped.
Naobito had warned him against the old man, and if that was indeed true, then survival would be difficult if they were to fight.
Kagenori continued walking and stopped a few meters away from Naoya.
"I have no intentions to harm you. Rest assured about that. Now get in the car," said Kagenori in a calm tone, trying to reassure Naoya.
Naoya stared at the old man for a while before he lowered his hands.
"Good. Get back in," said the old man and walked back towards the car.
Naoya soon followed, but a small Mr Hiss emerged out of his shadow and slithered its way inside Naoya's clothes, ready to protect its master when needed.
The car started moving once again, and Kagenori used his technique once again to make the shadowy wall.
"What is this technique?" asked Naoya hesitantly.
"My cursed technique is called [Solid Shadow]. I guess the name is self-explanatory," said Kagenori.
"As for your question earlier, I am favouring you because, one, you are the user of [Ten Shadows Technique], second, you ARE my grandson, so I need to show that I favour you lest someone decides to try some funny business with you. Your fight yesterday caused quite a few clansmen to be wary of you. You are the future of the clan; we cannot let some idiots in the clan mess with the clan's future. If everything were to go right, you would become the clan head in future," said Kagenori.
Naoya looked at his grandpa and then sighed.
'So it was for Clan business, huh....I thought there was some empathy there.' thought Naoya.
"...I would also like to use you to mend my relationship with Naobito and you too....," mumbled Kagenori and looked away.
Naoya's ears twitched at those words, and he immediately looked at the old man beside him.
The old man refused to match his gaze.
"...Grandpa is a tsun..." muttered Naoya in shock.
Never in his wildest dreams did Naoya expect that he would meet a Tsundere old man, yet here was one sitting right beside him.
Kagenori flinched. He didn't know what that word meant, but he could take an educated guess as to what the brat was implying.
"You should have just said that from the start. Honestly, act your age for god's sake," said Naoya and sighed.
A moment later, he was greeted with a smack to the head.
"Is that how you talk to your elders?" asked Kagenori.
"Why did you people always aim for the head?!" cursed Naoya and winced in pain. He was not expecting such a strong attack from the old man's frail arms.
Kagenori snorted and looked away.
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Half an hour later, the car finally came to a stop, and Kagenori and Naoya stepped out of it.
Naoya inspected his surroundings the moment he stepped out.
They were probably in a place that is totally out of reach for normal people. The entire landscape around him was traditional and screamed Jujutsu, with various sorcerers moving around and many talismans stuck here and there.
"This is the Kagura Barrier District; the entire area is concealed with cursed energy veils and barriers. The higher-ups of the jujutsu society work from this place. Many sorcerers receive their missions from that building over there. There are many shops and other facilities that deal with sorcerer-related stuff here," explained Kagenori.
"Follow me and stick close. Don't wander around on your own," said Kagenori and started walking.
Naoya nodded and followed Kagenori. Once he was close enough, he saw Kagenori open his hands, gesturing Naoya to grab onto it.
Being the obedient boy he was, he followed through with his grandpa's wish and held his hand.
The nearby people looked at the duo with surprise evident in their eyes.
"You are famous...." muttered Naoya, seeing the terrified looks on the faces of many sorcerers.
"That's a given. I am the head of the Zenin clan after all," said Kagenori and smirked.
He slowly led Naoya to the biggest shop in the area.
The moment they entered, Naoya felt the cursed energy emitting from the goods around him.
His eyes twinkled in excitement. Weapons and armours lined up nicely everywhere, talismans and other cursed tool accessories were also present in the shop, and for some reason, there were also what seemed like soft toys present in the shop.
The shopkeeper looked at the customers with a smile, but it vanished in an instant. Instead, he immediately ran towards them and bowed to Kagenori.
"Greetings, Kagenori-sama. How can I help you today?" asked the shopkeeper respectfully.
"Show me all the special grade or grade 1 cursed tools," ordered Kagenori.
"A-About that..." muttered the shopkeeper in hesitation.
"What?" asked Kagenori in a cold tone.
"W-W-We h-have an auction coming up in a few days.....The grade-1 and special grade cursed tools are reserved f-f-f...I apologise!!!! I will show them to you right this instant!" yelled the shopkeeper in fear, the moment he looked into Kagenori's eyes.
His glare made him feel like he would be killed right there.
The shopkeeper ran deeper inside the shop.
"Your reputation really is good," muttered Naoya in admiration.
"Heh. I would like to see them defy the Zenin clan head," snorted Kagenori.
Naoya chuckled at those words.
Soon, another man who seemed to be the boss of the establishment came running as well.
"Kagenori-sama! Thank you for your visit. Please follow me," said the man in a suspiciously sweet voice.
"Takanashi, teach your employees well," warned Kagenori.
"I apologise on his behalf, Kagenori-sama. The experienced employees are busy preparing for the auction. That one is still new. There is no way we would treat the Zenin clan with such disrespect," said the man.
Kagenori nodded and gestured to Takanashi to continue.
"Follow me, Kagenori-sama and..." said the boss, and glanced at Naoya.
"He is my grandson. Treat him well when he visits you in future. Naoya, this is Takanashi. He is the person you find when you need anything jujutsu-related. Information, cursed tools, anything," introduced Kagenori.
Naoya nodded and looked towards the older man.
"Nice to meet you, Takanashi-san. I am Naoya Zenin. Take care of me in the future," Naoya introduced with a smile.
Takanashi's eyes widened in surprise.
He had heard Naoya's name since a lot of information goes through him. He thought Naoya would have been a stuck-up young master, considering how young and strong he was, but in front of him, the boy stood and seemed like a polite and nice kid.
"Naoya-sama, I am Kenjiro Takanashi. It's my pleasure to meet you today. Do seek out our establishment if you ever need some help with jujutsu-related business in the future. We even have connections in the normal world as well, so we can aid you in that front too," said Takanashi in a respectful tone.
Takanashi stared at the boy who was behaving exactly opposite to what was thought about him. Takanashi also ran a shady establishment that dealt with mostly grey and black areas of Jujutsu and normal society. Assassination requests were already submitted for the boy, but seeing the surprisingly polite boy, he almost didn't want to participate in the assassination business this time. Yet, he was only a middleman here. If someone were to bring his head to him, he would need to pay them since it was part of the deal.
Still, Takanashi's expression didn't change as he slowly led the Zenins towards the inner part of the shop.
The three of them stood in front of a giant gate that led to the storage area.
Many talismans and seals were placed on the gate for security purposes. Takanashi started chanting, and soon the talismans glowed and the gate started opening.
"Because of the auction, the Grade 1 and Special Grade items are already secured inside cases and are locked. Do look through them and inform me if something catches your eye. I will take it out of the display for observation," said Takanashi in a polite tone.
Naoya nodded and started looking around curiously.
Seeing the excited kid, both Takanashi and Kagenori smiled.
"Go ahead and look around," said Kagenori and let go of Naoya's hand.
Naoya nodded and enthusiastically started to look around.
"He is a good kid, Kagenori-sama," praised Takanahi.
"Takanashi."
"? Yes?"
"How many requests?" asked Kagenori in a serious tone.
"Huh?"
"Don't act dumb. I am asking how many assassination requests have come for the kid?"
"T-Thats-"
"Confidential?.... Alright, I don't want to ruin your business. From now on, anyone who requests his assassination, put in a request on the Zenin clan's behalf for double the offered bounty. This arrangement will be made for the next five years," said Kagenori in a calm tone.
Takanashi blinked in surprise. The Zenin clan was rich and could afford such a request, but he didn't expect the cold-hearted clan head to do this much for his grandson.
'I need to reassess my approach with Naoya-sama in the future.'
"I understand Kagenori-sama."
Meanwhile, Naoya was browsing through the display racks one by one.
The names and ranks of the cursed tools were written in front of the display, but a few of those tools, which had some additional effect, held a card that noted those abilities.
These were the tools that caught Naoya's interest more. If a strong weapon had an additional ability, then it was worth getting even more. And when not a single penny from his pocket was going to be spent, the deal became even sweeter. He made up his mind that he would make full use of this opportunity.
Naoya continued looking through the cursed tools and finally started checking the spear section of the display.
"...Hm?" muttered Naoya in confusion.
"Why is there a short sword in the spear section....and this weird, cursed energy..." muttered Naoya.
He looked at the display label,
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Name: Inverted Spear of Heaven
Grade: Special Grade
Additional Effect: The cursed tool can transform between a short sword and a spear with cursed energy.
{A/N: Before you guys roast me, I will clarify. In the fight between Toji and Gojo. Gojo didn't recognise the cursed tool. I am guessing that the knowledge about the cursed tool's effect was not known, considering the Gojo clan heir did not know about it. This was later known to others after Gojo reported to the higher-ups. Otherwise, a cursed tool of this calibre would have been kept at an even safer place out of Toji's reach, and once it had been stolen, the news would have been spread, and Gojo would have known.
There might be some other explanation as to why Gojo didn't recognise it, but I am going with this explanation. Do tell me if you guys know something else about this.}
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"A two for the price of one special grade cursed tool...." muttered Naoya.
There were other cursed tools with special abilities present as well, but none of them were spears, his speciality, so seeing a special-grade cursed tool that can be used as a handy short sword as well made him feel tempted.
"But the cursed energy on this tool is weirder than other tools....is it because it is a special grade?" thought Naoya.
"What? Something caught your eye?" asked Kagenori as he came closer.
"Shall I take it out of the display?" asked Takanashi.
Kagenori looked at the short sword and read its description.
"A unique special grade...you have a good eye for things," said Kagenori with a smirk
Naoya nodded and gestured to Takanashi to take it out of the case.
Takanashi nodded and took the short sword out of the display case and handed it to Naoya.
Naoya grabbed the hilt of the short sword and walked a bit away from the two of them.
He gave a few practice swings to the short sword before starting a series of attacks in rapid motion.
"Good grip and nice weight," muttered Naoya.
He then passed cursed energy through the weapon, and immediately his grin widened in delight.
The power that he could feel from the short sword that held his cursed energy skyrocketed. He jumped up and gave a simple swing.
A blast wave launched from his simple attack, and this made Naoya's smirk widen.
"Short sword form is nice. Though the main feature of this blade is what matters more to me," said Naoya and willed the short sword to change into a spear as his cursed energy coursed through the weapon.
The hilt of the blade elongated, and the weapon changed into a spear.
"...Is there a slightly wider space where I can test it?" asked Naoya.
The area was wide enough to practice with a short sword, but using a spear there would not be safe.
Takanashi nodded.
"Follow me, Naoya-sama," said Takanashi and started leading the two Zenins.
He was a sorcerer himself and was thoroughly impressed with Naoya's movements. He couldn't grasp his movements with his naked eyes since Naoya was fast, but he could still feel the finesse in his movements.
'Naoya-sama will definitely be an important figure in the coming years. I need to make a good connection with him early on,' thought Takanashi; his inner merchant took over him immediately on the thought of becoming acquainted with an important person.
Naoya practised with the spear form of the weapon and was thoroughly impressed with its capabilities. The change between forms was fast and flawless, and added a new surprise to fights, and the cursed energy reinforcement efficiency of the weapon was great as well. He had once tried using his uncle's grade 1 katan, but it was nowhere near the Inverted Spear of Heaven's level.
He was liking this weapon more and more.
After he was done testing the weapon, he browsed through the remaining spears but didn't find one that felt better than the Inverted Spear of Heaven.
"So is that the one you want?" asked Kagenori with a smirk.
"Yes!" replied Naoya immediately.
"Alright, Takanashi, send the bill to the Zenin clan," said Kagenori and patted Naoya's head.
"Thank you, Grandpa!"
Seeing the boy's beaming smile made the old man feel happy as well.
"As you wish, Kagenori-sama. Should I register the cursed tool under the Zenin clan?" asked Takanashi.
"No, register it under Naoya's name. It's a gift after all, not clan property," said Kagenori.
Takanashi nodded and confirmed his guess even more. The clan head was favouring Naoya, meaning Naoya's rise was almost guaranteed.
Ding~
> Get a Special Grade Cursed Tool (+1 point) [Collect]
Naoya smiled and held the [Inverted Spear of Heaven] tightly. Getting the spear made it even more worth it since he got an achievement point.
"Naoya-sama, Kagenori-sama. I would like to request that you don't publicise that we sold the cursed tool to you directly," said Takanashi
"Hm? Why?" asked Naoya.
"Special and Grade 1 cursed tools are hard to come by. Openly selling them is banned by the Jujutsu Society's higher-ups. They can only be auctioned or given as a reward for specific tasks. If open sale was allowed, people who get early access might hoard them," explained Kagenori.
"It's a gift, but don't flaunt it openly for some time," warned Kagenori.
Naoya nodded in understanding. The rule was a good one, since he felt like, if given a chance, the Zenins might actually buy all the cursed tools here, which would be bad for the world in his opinion, since that would make the 'humble' Zenin clan even more 'humbler'.
Naoya signed the contract for the authorisation of the cursed tool and walked out of the establishment.
Kagenori got inside the car, and Naoya was about to enter as well, but decided to store the spear in his shadow.
However, the moment the short sword's blade touched his shadow, his cursed technique stopped working.
"....Huh?" muttered Naoya in astonishment.
He picked up the short sword that fell on the ground and looked at it in shock.
He tried to store it once again, but the cursed technique got cancelled once again.
'....I stumbled on an even more amazing item than I expected,' thought Naoya as he stared at his weapon.
"What happened?" asked Kagenori, since Naoya was taking too long to enter the car.
"Ah, the excitement of the gift made me forget for a while, but I am super hungry now and felt a little lightheaded." replied Naoya and massaged his head.
A new trump card should not be easily revealed.
"Hm? You are hungry?.... You like sushi?" asked Kagenori.
"...I love you Grandpa!!!" cheered Naoya in excitement, immediately shifting his focus to the important stuff.