NOVEL NEXT Chapter 356: A Straightforward Approach
Maki's voice was firm and resolute. Though it sounded unrealistic, both Naoya and Jinichi could clearly sense her will.
"Tsk, brat, you still want to be like Brother Toji?"
Naoya sneered in disdain. Toji was his idol. How could a mere child claim she wanted to become someone like him?
"I definitely will become one!"
Maki ignored Naoya's mockery. She only looked in the direction where Toji had disappeared, clenched her fists tightly, and left with her sister.
In the corridor, Toji suddenly sensed something and subconsciously turned back. Two small figures were quickly vanishing from sight.
So, they are also victims of Heavenly Restriction?
His brows furrowed slightly.
He had paid little attention to the Zenin clan's affairs in recent years. He did not expect that after him, new children with such conditions would be born in the clan.
If the timing was right, then those two girls must be Ogi's twin daughters.
Twins, plus Heavenly Restriction?
A faint smile tugged at Toji's lips. That level of stacked "buffs" was comparable to that freak, Satoshi.
If the chance arose, perhaps it was worth letting Satoshi take a look.
Toji shook his head, then pushed open the door to the reception room.
...
Inside, the stern figures of Naobito and Ogi were already waiting. Jinichi stood by the door and nodded to him.
At the moment, Jinichi did not hold enough weight to influence clan decisions. But as the clan's third strongest, second only to Ogi and Naobito, he was permitted to attend.
Toji's return had caused both the clan head Naobito and Ogi, who held authority within the General Directorate, to take this visit seriously.
Especially after Ogi had recently joined forces with the Kamo clan to strike at the Yagyū family within the General Directorate. If they could use that incident to drive the Yagyū out, it would deal a major blow to the Gojo clan's influence across the jujutsu world.
But Toji's presence here meant trouble.
Naobito and Ogi looked at him as he entered. Dressed in a fitted black T-shirt and loose pants, he appeared like any ordinary man in his twenties or thirties.
Yet beneath that exterior lurked an aura like a sleeping lion, ready to shred everyone present once awakened.
Naobito felt a pang of regret. If Toji had been allowed to take part in family affairs earlier, perhaps he would never have left.
Ogi, however, harbored deep resentment.
Even now, he considered Toji a disgrace to the Zenin clan.
In his twisted mind, Toji's departure had brought disaster. It was only because Toji left that his own daughter was born with Heavenly Restriction.
If not for Toji, with her talent and bloodline, his daughter would surely have inherited the Ten Shadows Technique.
Then he could have contended with Naobito for the seat of clan head.
The fact that he now had to serve in the General Directorate was, in his eyes, entirely Toji's fault.
Ogi buried those thoughts. No one else would agree with his logic, but that was the way he saw it.
As for Jinichi, years of experience had tempered him.
Once, he had been as extreme as Ogi, scorning Toji and even Satoshi. But repeated failures had taught him the truth. The clan's prejudice against Heavenly Restriction and its obsession with Cursed Energy were misguided.
Thus, among the Zenin, Jinichi was the one who treated the Maki sisters most sincerely.
Perhaps it was Satoshi's butterfly effect that had spared Jinichi from dying young. And because of that, the Maki sisters' lives in the clan had not been as tragic as they were meant to be.
"Toji, it seems you've grown even stronger."
"I'm standing before you now, and I can tell you could crush me with one punch."
Jinichi studied his cousin's body. Even without testing it himself, he knew his fragile frame could not withstand Toji's monstrous strength.
Toji smiled at him.
"That's about right, Jinichi. You really need to train your body more."
He patted Jinichi's shoulder, then sat down casually, propped his feet on the table, and looked completely at ease.
"I'm flattered the clan head values me so much."
"Sit down, don't stand."
At Toji's words, the three seated themselves without hesitation.
Their casual tone allowed conversation to begin.
"Toji, I heard you had a son. Why didn't you bring him? At least let your uncle take a look. I should also examine the circumstances of his birth."
Naobito's concern was rooted in the clan's future.
At present, the only child of the new generation was Toji's son. Though Naobito thought it unlikely he would inherit the Ten Shadows Technique, it was not impossible.
But Toji did not respond. To him, it was irrelevant whether Megumi inherited the Zenin clan's technique or not.
Even if he did, Toji would never consign him to the Zenin family's garbage heap.
"Naobito, we can discuss Megumi another time. I came here to ask one thing."
"Has the Star Plasma Vessel, Amanai Riko, been found by the Zenin clan?"
Toji was straightforward. If it came down to words, he was no match for Naobito or Ogi, and he lacked the patience to play their games.
So he cut directly to the point. As he spoke, his eyes locked onto Ogi.
He did not need their answers. All he needed was to read their reactions and draw his own conclusion.
(To be continued.)
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