Chapter 10:
The Bait and the Defector
The Crimson Eyes of the Zenin
"Don't make me repeat myself."
"Suguru... he killed everyone in the village."
Tokyo Jujutsu High.
Principal Yaga Masamichi stood in his office, his voice heavy with grief. He was the teacher of the strongest generation: Gojo Satoru, Geto Suguru, and Ieiri Shoko.
When confronted by Gojo seeking confirmation, Yaga calmly recounted the horror.
"Not just the village," Yaga continued, looking out the window. "He also went to his parents' home..."
"Judging from the bloodstains and the residual Cursed Energy... Suguru killed his own parents."
"How is that possible?!"
Gojo Satoru shouted, his voice cracking with disbelief. "Suguru wouldn't do that! There must be a mistake!"
But seeing the deep pain and helplessness in Yaga's eyes, Gojo's shout died in his throat.
Gojo gripped the report in his hand. His knuckles turned white. His fingernails dug into his palm, drawing blood.
The scarlet text on the paper burned into his retinas.
Investigation: 112 villagers confirmed dead. Cause of death: Cursed Spirit Manipulation.
Perpetrator: Special Grade Sorcerer Geto Suguru.
Status: Defected.
Motive: Unknown.
Action: Execution order issued.
Gojo stared at the word "Execution." The world seemed to tilt on its axis.
...
Zenin Estate. The Conference Room.
One of the advantages of being a Great Family is intelligence. The Zenin Clan received the report on Geto Suguru at the same time as Jujutsu High.
Mirai glanced at the paper. The corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
So, the butterfly effect hasn't changed the main plot, he thought. Geto Suguru has fallen.
"Go and get ready," Mirai said, tossing the report onto the table. "I'm going out."
Naobito blinked. "Going out? Now?"
"But Clan Head... the bounty on your head is at its peak. There are Curse Users watching the estate gates day and night."
"Exactly," Mirai said, standing up. "I'm bored of the basement. I want to go shopping."
Naobito hesitated for a moment, then looked at the boy's calm, confident eyes. He sighed.
He wants to test his new power.
"By the way," Mirai added, pausing at the door. "Make sure my first trip outside is... grand. I want everyone to know I'm leaving."
Naobito smirked. "Understood."
First, he raises the bounty on his own head. Now, he makes a big show of leaving the safety of the estate.
It's a classic bait-and-switch. Or rather... a fishing trip.
...
The Gate of the Zenin Estate.
Curse Users are not typically organized criminals. They are closer to rabid dogs. They ignore laws, kill for money, and do whatever they want.
And right now, a One Billion Yen bone was dangling in front of them.
Outside the massive gates of the Zenin estate, hidden in the trees and shadows, dozens of eyes watched.
Clang!
The heavy iron gates groaned open.
The spies perked up. Phones were dialed. Weapons were checked.
Vroom...
A convoy of ten expensive black sports cars rolled out, moving in perfect formation.
But it was the car in the center that drew every eye.
A bright red, four-seater convertible supercar. Top down.
The driver was a non-sorcerer servant.
And in the passenger seat, wearing loose black robes, sat a boy with choppy black hair.
Zenin Mirai. The One Billion Yen Boy.
He looked around with genuine curiosity. Since his rebirth ten years ago, he had never stepped foot outside the Zenin estate.
"Brother Mirai..."
In the back seat, Maki pursed her lips. She looked nervous. "Maybe you shouldn't have taken us with you."
Beside her, Mai clenched her fists on her lap. Her face was a mix of longing and fear. She wanted to see the world, but she didn't want to be a burden.
Mirai glanced back at them. "Don't worry. No one in the Zenin family dares to question my decision."
"If they do," Mirai said lightly, "let them die."
He smiled at the twins. "Your mother is in the car behind us. Once we get to Shinjuku, she can take you shopping. Buy whatever you want."
"Let's go," Mirai ordered the driver.
The convoy accelerated, heading toward the city.
In the shadows of the forest, the spies grinned.
The target is moving.
The hunt is on.
...
Shinjuku. August 2007.
It was a sunny, pleasant day.
On a busy street corner, a man and a woman stood leaning against the railing.
The man was tall, wearing casual black clothes and baggy pants. His hair was tied up in a half-bun.
The woman wore a school uniform and smoked a cigarette, looking bored.
Geto Suguru and Ieiri Shoko.
"Let me ask you this," Shoko said, taking a drag. "Did you really do it? The village? Your parents?"
Geto chuckled softly. He shrugged. "Unfortunately... the school didn't wrong me. I did it."
"Yeah..." Shoko exhaled a plume of smoke. "One more question. Why?"
Geto squinted at the crowd of "monkeys" surging past them.
"I want to create a world where only sorcerers exist."
Shoko stared at him. Then she laughed. It was a dry, humorless laugh.
"I don't expect you to understand," Geto said calmly. "I just want to create the ideal world."
"So you felt misunderstood, and now you're going to commit genocide?" Shoko scoffed. "How childish."
She pulled out her flip phone.
"Moshi moshi, Gojo? Yeah. Suguru is with me. Shinjuku."
Geto didn't stop her. He just watched the crowd.
Humans are the darkest species on Earth, he thought. Their negative emotions create Cursed Spirits. Sorcerers clean up their mess, die for them, and get nothing in return.
It's an endless cycle. Unless the source is removed.
"Hm?"
Geto suddenly looked up. The crowd on the street was parting, moving aside for vehicles.
A long convoy of black cars was driving slowly down the street, heading straight toward them.
"Zenin Clan?" Shoko frowned, recognizing the crest on the cars.
Then she saw the red convertible in the center.
And the boy in the passenger seat.
"That kid..." Shoko muttered. "He looks familiar."
"The eleven-year-old Head of the Zenin Clan," Geto murmured, his eyes narrowing. "Zenin Mirai."
"Right," Shoko realized. "The kid with the highest bounty on the black market."
Geto watched the car approach.
A child ruling a Great Family, Geto mused. A strong sorcerer.
Someone who belongs in my new world.
"Suguru... he killed everyone in the village."
Tokyo Jujutsu High.
Principal Yaga Masamichi stood in his office, his voice heavy with grief. He was the teacher of the strongest generation: Gojo Satoru, Geto Suguru, and Ieiri Shoko.
When confronted by Gojo seeking confirmation, Yaga calmly recounted the horror.
"Not just the village," Yaga continued, looking out the window. "He also went to his parents' home..."
"Judging from the bloodstains and the residual Cursed Energy... Suguru killed his own parents."
"How is that possible?!"
Gojo Satoru shouted, his voice cracking with disbelief. "Suguru wouldn't do that! There must be a mistake!"
But seeing the deep pain and helplessness in Yaga's eyes, Gojo's shout died in his throat.
Gojo gripped the report in his hand. His knuckles turned white. His fingernails dug into his palm, drawing blood.
The scarlet text on the paper burned into his retinas.
Investigation: 112 villagers confirmed dead. Cause of death: Cursed Spirit Manipulation.
Perpetrator: Special Grade Sorcerer Geto Suguru.
Status: Defected.
Motive: Unknown.
Action: Execution order issued.
Gojo stared at the word "Execution." The world seemed to tilt on its axis.
...
Zenin Estate. The Conference Room.
One of the advantages of being a Great Family is intelligence. The Zenin Clan received the report on Geto Suguru at the same time as Jujutsu High.
Mirai glanced at the paper. The corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
So, the butterfly effect hasn't changed the main plot, he thought. Geto Suguru has fallen.
"Go and get ready," Mirai said, tossing the report onto the table. "I'm going out."
Naobito blinked. "Going out? Now?"
"But Clan Head... the bounty on your head is at its peak. There are Curse Users watching the estate gates day and night."
"Exactly," Mirai said, standing up. "I'm bored of the basement. I want to go shopping."
Naobito hesitated for a moment, then looked at the boy's calm, confident eyes. He sighed.
He wants to test his new power.
"By the way," Mirai added, pausing at the door. "Make sure my first trip outside is... grand. I want everyone to know I'm leaving."
Naobito smirked. "Understood."
First, he raises the bounty on his own head. Now, he makes a big show of leaving the safety of the estate.
It's a classic bait-and-switch. Or rather... a fishing trip.
...
The Gate of the Zenin Estate.
Curse Users are not typically organized criminals. They are closer to rabid dogs. They ignore laws, kill for money, and do whatever they want.
And right now, a One Billion Yen bone was dangling in front of them.
Outside the massive gates of the Zenin estate, hidden in the trees and shadows, dozens of eyes watched.
Clang!
The heavy iron gates groaned open.
The spies perked up. Phones were dialed. Weapons were checked.
Vroom...
A convoy of ten expensive black sports cars rolled out, moving in perfect formation.
But it was the car in the center that drew every eye.
A bright red, four-seater convertible supercar. Top down.
The driver was a non-sorcerer servant.
And in the passenger seat, wearing loose black robes, sat a boy with choppy black hair.
Zenin Mirai. The One Billion Yen Boy.
He looked around with genuine curiosity. Since his rebirth ten years ago, he had never stepped foot outside the Zenin estate.
"Brother Mirai..."
In the back seat, Maki pursed her lips. She looked nervous. "Maybe you shouldn't have taken us with you."
Beside her, Mai clenched her fists on her lap. Her face was a mix of longing and fear. She wanted to see the world, but she didn't want to be a burden.
Mirai glanced back at them. "Don't worry. No one in the Zenin family dares to question my decision."
"If they do," Mirai said lightly, "let them die."
He smiled at the twins. "Your mother is in the car behind us. Once we get to Shinjuku, she can take you shopping. Buy whatever you want."
"Let's go," Mirai ordered the driver.
The convoy accelerated, heading toward the city.
In the shadows of the forest, the spies grinned.
The target is moving.
The hunt is on.
...
Shinjuku. August 2007.
It was a sunny, pleasant day.
On a busy street corner, a man and a woman stood leaning against the railing.
The man was tall, wearing casual black clothes and baggy pants. His hair was tied up in a half-bun.
The woman wore a school uniform and smoked a cigarette, looking bored.
Geto Suguru and Ieiri Shoko.
"Let me ask you this," Shoko said, taking a drag. "Did you really do it? The village? Your parents?"
Geto chuckled softly. He shrugged. "Unfortunately... the school didn't wrong me. I did it."
"Yeah..." Shoko exhaled a plume of smoke. "One more question. Why?"
Geto squinted at the crowd of "monkeys" surging past them.
"I want to create a world where only sorcerers exist."
Shoko stared at him. Then she laughed. It was a dry, humorless laugh.
"I don't expect you to understand," Geto said calmly. "I just want to create the ideal world."
"So you felt misunderstood, and now you're going to commit genocide?" Shoko scoffed. "How childish."
She pulled out her flip phone.
"Moshi moshi, Gojo? Yeah. Suguru is with me. Shinjuku."
Geto didn't stop her. He just watched the crowd.
Humans are the darkest species on Earth, he thought. Their negative emotions create Cursed Spirits. Sorcerers clean up their mess, die for them, and get nothing in return.
It's an endless cycle. Unless the source is removed.
"Hm?"
Geto suddenly looked up. The crowd on the street was parting, moving aside for vehicles.
A long convoy of black cars was driving slowly down the street, heading straight toward them.
"Zenin Clan?" Shoko frowned, recognizing the crest on the cars.
Then she saw the red convertible in the center.
And the boy in the passenger seat.
"That kid..." Shoko muttered. "He looks familiar."
"The eleven-year-old Head of the Zenin Clan," Geto murmured, his eyes narrowing. "Zenin Mirai."
"Right," Shoko realized. "The kid with the highest bounty on the black market."
Geto watched the car approach.
A child ruling a Great Family, Geto mused. A strong sorcerer.
Someone who belongs in my new world.
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