Naobito tilted his head back to take a swig of wine, wiped his mouth, and fixed his gaze on Toji.
"Toji. You've been gone for so many years, how do you have time to visit me today?" Naobito's tone didn't hold the extreme disgust of the other clansmen, but rather a hint of an elder's casualness.
"Old man, I'm not here for a family visit." Toji sneered.
Naobito shook his head and hung the wine gourd at his waist. He hadn't sat on the head's throne because of his lineage, but because of his formidable strength.
He knew better than anyone in the clan what kind of terrifying destructive power was contained within the shell of this man who lacked Cursed Energy.
"Since you're not here for a visit and have broken the gate, you must give an explanation."
Naobito's gaze sharpened, and he took a half-step forward with his right foot.
Hum!
Projection Sorcery activated.
Dividing one second into twenty-four frames and pre-designing movements within the field of vision.
This Cursed Technique gave Naobito a speed second only to Satoru.
His figure vanished from its spot and appeared almost simultaneously in front of Toji.
A simple punch went straight for Toji's chest.
Toji's reaction was extremely fast. The super-powered dynamic vision granted by his Heavenly Restriction allowed him to accurately capture Naobito's movements. He didn't retreat, instead throwing a punch of his own to meet it.
Bang!
The fists of the old and the young collided violently in mid-air.
A violent airwave swept outward, blowing the surrounding members of the Kukuru unit off balance.
Naobito used the counterforce to slide back a few steps, shaking his slightly numb wrist, a hint of admiration flashing in his eyes. "Your strength has grown again, Toji. But without a Cursed Tool, this brute force of yours won't work against Cursed Spirits."
"Against you old fossils, my fists are enough." Toji cracked his neck, preparing to charge again.
"That's enough."
Yamada's voice rang out at an inopportune time, interrupting the physical contest.
He walked past Toji to the center of the courtyard, looking calmly at Naobito. "I didn't bring him here today to spar with you."
Naobito narrowed his eyes slightly.
He had noticed this black-haired youth following Toji since the beginning. The other party had no Cursed Energy fluctuations, yet someone with Toji's arrogant and unyielding personality was actually willing to stand behind him like a subordinate.
Most importantly, this youth's appearance and aura vaguely reminded him of a top-secret report that had come from Jujutsu Headquarters last night.
A monster who had taken on Jujutsu Headquarters single-handedly and forced the higher-ups to abolish the Star Plasma Vessel plan.
"Young man, you look like a new face," Naobito asked tentatively, "What is your relationship with Toji?"
Yamada did not answer the question, a crimson hexagram emerging in his right eye.
The spatial vortex turned, and a nauseating ball of flesh-worm fell out of thin air, landing with a 'splat' at Toji's feet.
It was the Inventory Cursed Spirit which Yamada had previously confiscated.
"Take your gear."
Yamada spoke to Toji without turning his head, "Since you're acting as my bodyguard, you can't always be empty-handed. Don't embarrass me when you encounter trouble in the future."
Toji's eyes brightened instantly as he saw the returned Inventory Cursed Spirit.
He picked up the Cursed Spirit and let it wrap around his neck, while reaching his hand into its mouth.
The Special Grade Cursed Tool Inverted Spear of Heaven, as well as the Chain of a Thousand Miles, were all inside.
A fully equipped Toji and an empty-handed one were two completely different concepts.
A suffocating, bloody killing intent suddenly erupted from Toji, sweeping through the entire Zenin Clan.
Those Zenin clansmen who were still shouting just now all turned pale, their feet involuntarily shrinking back. They finally remembered the fear of once being dominated by this man.
Naobito's expression also changed completely.
He looked at the crimson eyes in Yamada's gaze and the spatial method of summoning objects just now, and the suspicion in his heart was fully confirmed.
It was this person.
The madman who had burned the higher-ups of Jujutsu Headquarters to ashes last night.
"You are that man who made Jujutsu Headquarters compromise?" Naobito took a deep breath, his tone becoming more solemn than ever before.
Yamada kept his hands in his pockets, looking at this clan head who knew how to read the situation. "It seems you are well-informed."
Yamada's gaze swept over the terrified Zenin clansmen. "I came here to give you a notice."
He paused slightly, his voice not loud, yet it clearly reached everyone's ears. "Toji is now my man. How many cold shoulders he received from you in the past is his history, and I can't be bothered with it. But from today on, if anyone dares to use some bullshit like 'trash without Cursed Energy' to disgust him again..."
The bluestone slab beneath Yamada's feet silently turned to powder.
"I will have your entire Zenin Clan completely removed from the registry of the Three Big Families. Just like the Star Religious Group before you."
In the vast courtyard, only the rustling of wind through the leaves remained.
Ogi and several other elders were trembling with rage, but before Naobito spoke, no one dared to make a move.
Moreover, facing the Inverted Spear of Heaven in Toji's hand and that unfathomable mysterious youth, they would only be going to their deaths.
Naobito was silent for a long time.
He was a shrewd clan head. Although he cared about face, he understood even better how to judge the situation.
To risk the entire foundation of the clan for a few words of dispute was definitely a losing bargain.
"Everyone, put your weapons away."
Naobito waved his hand, ordering the surrounding Kukuru unit to retreat.
He picked up his wine gourd again, took a sip, and looked at Yamada with a few more degrees of wariness and compromise.
"Since this gentleman has spoken, the Zenin Clan naturally won't let harmony be damaged over such a small matter. Toji has long since ceased to be a member of the Zenin Clan, whom he follows is his freedom."
Naobito looked at Toji and sighed, "Toji, now that you have a good place to go, don't come back to this broken place again. I am getting on in years and can't handle you guys tossing things around like this."
These words were equivalent to a disguised surrender.
Toji put away the Inverted Spear of Heaven and grinned.
He looked at these clansmen who were once high and mighty but now didn't even dare to let out a peep, and the resentment that had been bottled up in his heart for years dissipated.
He didn't need to gain these people's recognition, he only needed to see them feel fear toward him.
That was enough.
"Boss, let's go. The air in this place is too foul, it makes me sick to smell it for too long." Toji said to Yamada.
His attitude was many times more respectful than when they had arrived.
Yamada nodded and turned to walk out the main gate.
The two of them walked boldly through the Zenin Clan courtyard, and under the gaze of hundreds of elite sorcerers, they disappeared at the end of the street.
No one dared to block them, and no one dared to speak.
Only after their backs had completely vanished did Naobito let out a long breath of turbid air, looked at the shattered gate, and tightened his grip on the wine gourd.
"The weather is changing." He murmured in a low voice, "The Jujutsu World is about to fall into great chaos."
—
After leaving the Zenin Clan, Yamada did not stay long in Kyoto.
He took Toji and used Kamui to return to the villa in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward.
"The weapons are back, and the grudge is settled."
Yamada sat on the sofa in the living room, watching Toji as he wiped the Inverted Spear of Heaven. "For the next few days, I want you to investigate something for me."
"At your command, Boss." Toji put away the blade, his attitude upright.
"Go look for a person with a stitched scar on their forehead."
Yamada leaned against the back of the sofa, information about Kenjaku surfacing in his mind. "Regardless of gender or age, as long as they have such a scar on their forehead, report to me immediately. That guy is a big fish hiding very deep, don't alert the enemy."
"Stitched line on the forehead?" Toji noted this feature and nodded, "Leave it to me. As long as they are still in Japan, I'll dig them out."
"Go then."
Having sent Toji off, Yamada closed his eyes.
The Star Plasma Vessel incident was over. Next was simply to wait for Satoru's growth and Kenjaku's next move.