Yomi Isayama was somewhat surprised. She had not expected Gojo Satoru to be willing to confront the higher-ups for her sake. Could she really be a once-in-a-generation genius?
Come to think of it, she really was. She had become the ace of the Supernatural Disaster Countermeasures Division at such a young age. If that did not make her a genius, what did?
Although she was touched that Gojo Satoru valued her so highly, Yomi still refused.
"I'm very sorry, Gojo-senpai. Everyone in the Supernatural Disaster Countermeasures Division has treated me very well. At present, I have no intention of changing jobs."
"What a shame."
Gojo Satoru said it was a shame, but his expression showed no disappointment whatsoever. Perhaps he had expected this answer from the beginning, or perhaps he had merely been joking earlier.
In any case, Yomi could not see through Gojo Satoru.
"I'm leaving."
Gojo Satoru leapt onto a streetlamp and glanced back at Yomi.
"If you ever change your mind, you can come find me at the school anytime. I'll always welcome you, Yomi-chan."
As soon as he finished speaking, Gojo Satoru bounded away several times and disappeared from their sight.
Watching Gojo Satoru leave, Noriyuki Iizuna could not help sighing.
"Gojo-senpai really is carefree."
"After all, he is the strongest jujutsu sorcerer."
Yomi spoke with a trace of admiration. Although she considered herself a genius, she could never become the strongest exorcist like Gojo Satoru.
She still understood that there was always someone stronger and a sky beyond the sky.
In Tokyo, and even throughout Japan, Gojo Satoru was a naturally born anomaly.
"But speaking of which…"
Seeing the admiration all over Yomi's face made Noriyuki somewhat uncomfortable, so he decisively changed the subject.
"There really was quite a commotion here."
Yomi nodded and looked around the entire street. Pits and craters were everywhere, as if missiles had struck the area.
This was not something an ordinary yokai could accomplish.
"Can you tell who did this?" Noriyuki asked.
Yomi shook her head.
"I don't know. But a powerful yokai aura remains here. It was probably caused by some great yokai."
"A great yokai…"
Noriyuki's thoughts turned, and an idea occurred to him.
"Why don't we visit the Nura Clan? They're the local power here, so they should know something."
Yomi tightened her grip on the katana in her hand and fell into thought.
"We can give it a try. What about you, Kagura? Do you have any suggestions?"
Kagura Tsuchimiya shook her head.
"No. You two can decide."
"Alright. Then let's visit the Nura Clan and ask about the situation."
After making their decision, the group immediately headed toward the Nura Clan in Ukiyoe Town.
…
Meanwhile, inside Rowan's apartment,
Rowan brought Natsume and Nyanko-sensei home and pointed at the sofa.
"Sit wherever you like. What would you two like to drink, coffee or cola?"
"Do you have alcohol?"
Nyanko-sensei jumped onto the sofa, rolled over, and settled into a comfortable position.
"I really don't."
Rowan said, "I don't particularly enjoy drinking, so I haven't stocked any alcohol here. Should I prepare some for you?"
Rowan remembered that Nyanko-sensei was indeed an alcoholic in the story and often went drinking with yokai.
"No need to trouble yourself. Give me a glass of cola."
Rowan nodded, took two bottles of cola from the refrigerator, tossed one to Nyanko-sensei, and threw the other to Natsume.
"Let's continue our earlier discussion. You want to form an alliance with me?"
Rowan also picked up a bottle of ice-cold cola, dropped heavily onto the sofa, pulled the tab open, and took a large gulp.
Fat Otaku Happy Water truly was addictive.
"That's right."
Nyanko-sensei accepted the opened cola Natsume handed him and licked it several times.
"Hagoromo-Gitsune won't let either of us go anyway. How about we join forces and deal with her together?"
"Sure."
Rowan agreed without even thinking about it.
Nyanko-sensei froze.
He agreed just like that?
He looked at Rowan in surprise. He had not expected Rowan to agree so readily. He had thought he would need to spend some effort persuading him.
"What's wrong? Do you think I agreed too quickly?"
Rowan looked at Natsume and Nyanko-sensei with a faint smile.
Natsume nodded. Rowan had agreed so readily that it gave him the strange feeling that his opponent had fallen before he had even used any strength.
"It feels a little unreal."
Rowan smiled, took another drink of cola, and said, "Would it feel much more realistic if I said I had a condition?"
Natsume thought about it seriously.
It really would.
Nyanko-sensei tilted his head and looked at Rowan.
"What condition?"
"The yokai belong to me."
"Huh?"
Nyanko-sensei looked confused. What kind of condition was that?
Rowan explained, "You saw it yourselves. I'm currently collecting yokai. After we form an alliance, if Hagoromo-Gitsune's subordinates attack you and you defeat them, hand the yokai over to me."
He paused, then continued, "Of course, I won't let you suffer a loss. If you encounter a yokai you can't handle, notify me, and I'll help you deal with it."
Natsume raised his hand and asked, "May I ask what you want these yokai for?"
Seeing Natsume raise his hand, Rowan could not help commenting, "Are you an elementary school student? Why are you raising your hand just to speak?"
Then he continued, "Actually, I have two friends who are very interested in yokai. They want yokai as experimental specimens so they can study their power."
"I would feel bad attacking ordinary yokai, but if they're Hagoromo-Gitsune's subordinates, there's no problem."
Natsume did not understand.
"Why is there no problem with Hagoromo-Gitsune's subordinates? Is it because Hagoromo-Gitsune is our enemy?"
"That's part of the reason."
"By saying it's only part of the reason, you mean that isn't the main one."
"Mm-hm."
Rowan nodded and looked approvingly at Natsume.
Natsume asked curiously, "Then what is the main reason?"
"Obviously, it's because Hagoromo-Gitsune's subordinates have all killed humans."
Rowan said calmly, "Although I'm not some human-supremacist Benevolent King who believes every other race deserves death, I am still human. I won't persecute yokai, but I also won't allow yokai to persecute humans."
"In my opinion, any yokai that has harmed humans deserves death unless there were understandable circumstances."
"If they're going to die anyway, using them as experimental specimens is merely making use of waste, isn't it?"
Natsume: "…"
Good grief. That was a reason he never would have expected.
But he did not object. Although he was softhearted, he would not plead for yokai who killed humans without reason.
Nyanko-sensei said, "Then it's settled."
Since Natsume had no objections, he had even fewer.
Just as humans killed one another for all kinds of reasons, yokai also frequently slaughtered each other for various reasons. Their methods were often even more brutal than those of humans.
Nyanko-sensei only cared about Natsume and the Book of Friends.
He did not care about anything else. In fact, he wished all of Hagoromo-Gitsune's subordinates would die. Then no one would compete with him for the Book of Friends.
Once Natsume died of old age, the Book of Friends would naturally become his.
Seeing that Natsume and Nyanko-sensei had both agreed, Rowan extended his fist with a smile and bumped it against Nyanko-sensei's paw.
"Then it's settled."
"It's settled."
Nyanko-sensei smiled like a fox. Having pulled an expert like Rowan into their camp, he now felt even more confident about dealing with Hagoromo-Gitsune.
He remembered the loss he had suffered today. Sooner or later, he would repay it.
He was simply that kind of petty yokai.
"Um…"
At that moment, Natsume suddenly spoke. He glanced at Rowan, seeming to want to ask something but not knowing how to begin.
Seeing his conflicted expression, Rowan smiled.
"Say whatever you want. We're allies now, after all."
Hearing this, Natsume knew Rowan was reassuring him. Warmth rose in his heart, and he felt somewhat moved.
He swallowed, gathered his courage, and said, "Lord Rowan, I want to become stronger. Could you train me and help me gain strength?"
"Natsume?"
Nyanko-sensei looked at Natsume in shock. He had not expected Natsume to take the initiative to become stronger.
He immediately realized that today's battle had probably affected Natsume and caused him to have such thoughts.
And that was indeed the case.
Today, Natsume had watched Nyanko-sensei get beaten bloody by Tsuchigumo. He had hated his own weakness intensely.
If he could possess powerful strength like his grandmother, Natsume Reiko, and defeat yokai, he would not have been forced to watch helplessly as Nyanko-sensei was nearly beaten to death.
Later, when he saw Rowan's two shikigami defeat Tsuchigumo with ease,
the thought of asking Rowan for instruction arose in him.
"You want to become stronger."
Rowan drank another mouthful of cola and threw the empty bottle into the trash can.
"Yes."
Natsume lowered his head. Both hands gripped his knees tightly, and his fingertips turned pale from excessive force.
"I want to become stronger. Please help me, Lord Rowan."
"Sure."
Rowan agreed.
To Natsume's ears, that voice sounded like heavenly music.
"Really?"
Surprise and joy filled him as he abruptly raised his head and looked at Rowan.
"Of course. We are allies, after all."
Rowan raised three fingers.
"I have three methods for becoming stronger."
"Three?"
Natsume widened his eyes. There were actually that many. As expected of Lord Rowan. He truly was mysterious and powerful.
"The first method is to eat a Devil Fruit."
"Huh?"
Natsume's expression immediately froze.
Although he was a country boy, he had still read the manga One Piece.
After all, it was a nationally famous series.
"Please wait."
Natsume raised one hand and stopped Rowan, who was about to continue. Rubbing his temples, he said, "Lord Rowan, is the Devil Fruit you're talking about the same Devil Fruit I'm thinking of?"
"That's right."
"A Devil Fruit from the world of One Piece?"
"Yes."
"But isn't One Piece a manga?"
Natsume's features twitched as he began to break down.
"Lord Rowan, could you be mistaken? Devil Fruits are only fictional objects created for a manga. They don't actually ex-ex-ex-ex-ex—"
~~~
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