Inside the ancestral hall where the earlier incident occurred, the people still stayed.
But now, it's time for the blame game.
"Masamichi Yaga!" a voice shrieked from behind a partially collapsed screen.
"Look at this ruin! You stand there as Principal, yet you allowed a feral beast to walk into our most sacred chamber!"
"Why was your 'resource management' so pathetic that you didn't have a binding seal ready for such an occurrence?"
"Your incompetence is staggering," another elder chimed in. "As a high official, your first duty is the preservation of order. Instead, you stood by like a common spectator while our heritage was trampled!"
Yaga remained stiff, his face a mask of stoic endurance. "The boy's nature was unknown. I followed protocol by bringing him here for—"
"Protocol?!" the first elder barked, cutting him off. "And what of the Six Eyes? Especially you, Satoru Gojo! If you weren't as lazy as a fucking sloth, maybe all of these problems could be uprooted right now!"
"Alright, alright! Guilty as charged!" Satoru raised his hands in a mock surrender.
"I definitely could have stepped in sooner. My bad! But honestly, if you hadn't tried to play 'God of Death' on the kid, we wouldn't be standing in a pile of toothpicks right now. So you kind of brought the house down on yourselves, don't you think?"
"How dare you!" the wounded higher-up roared. "You are a tool of the state! Not its critic! Your arrogance will be the undoing of us all!"
"We can argue about my ego later," Satoru replied, picking a splinter off his sleeve.
"But what's the plan, bosses?"
A heavy silence ensued. To be honest, no one knew. The atmosphere remained viscous with the memory of that pressure.
Then Naobito stepped forward, wiping a stray drop of sake from his chin.
"Speak your mind, Naobito."
Every eye in the room settled on the head of the Zen'in clan.
"It's simple, really," Naobito began, his voice raspy but authoritative. "It is time to lie low. We stop the aggressive posturing immediately."
"Why?" an elder demanded. "To retreat is to admit defeat!"
"To attack a fortress without a map is suicide," Naobito countered. "We know nothing. We need to learn about that brat's lineage first and whatever weaknesses his kin might have hidden. Before we can move again, we must turn him into a known variable."
"He's right..." the voice from the screen conceded after a long pause.
On the other hand, Satoru merely smirked.
Weakness, you say?
Each facet brought up by Yoichi had been totally flawless, a power that appeared perfect in his perception.
"Then it is settled," the elder spoke. "Monitor him. Do not provoke him. Masamichi, that brat is your responsibility. If he breathes wrong, I want a report."
"...I understand."
A bow followed as Yaga acknowledged the command.
Soon, the rest of the officials filtered out of the wreckage, their footsteps echoing like a funeral march through the decimated hall.
Retreating, Naobito suddenly grinned.
...They should be useful now.
A faint recollection of the twin sisters living in the Zen'in Compound crossed his mind.
...
...
...
I actually stopped myself! Now that's what you call improvement.
Inside the luxurious hot spring, Yoichi enjoyed his alone time. The steam curled around his monochromatic hair, dampening the strands until they clung to his forehead.
Cupping his chin, the thought of killing those old farts crossed his mind once more.
Now that he had gone and confronted them, it went to show how incorrigible those elders were in their delusional decisions.
A flicker of regret appeared for not ending them when he had the chance.
The world would certainly be quieter without their constant wheezing judgment.
But the thought of disappointing Satoru and the rest of the group actually did appear in his mind.
If he had painted that hall entirely red, the result would be absolute pandemonium.
Ah, that is such a hassle to handle. Why should I be worried about them at all? Regardless of that, I'll kill them when the opportunity comes up, I swear!
They would definitely increase their security now that the rebellious incident had happened. He could almost hear the frantic scratching of pens as they drafted new, useless protocols to contain him.
"Why the long face?"
Soon, a feminine voice rang through the bathhouse.
Yoichi turned his head, his golden eyes widening as he saw Yuki standing there in such a bare naked fashion.
Only a thin, steaming towel was hiding the things that definitely shouldn't be on display in a shared space.
"Why are you here?!"
Panicked, Yoichi stood up, water cascading off his body as he scrambled to find his towel.
Isn't this a little bit fast for a fanservice?!
As a man who had technically lived through two lifetimes, a profound sense of stupefaction washed over Yoichi.
Despite the demonic power, he remained an inside-and-out virgin.
If this were medieval times, he would be a mage on the path to becoming a grand wizard, sequestered alone in a high tower with nothing but dusty books and volatile alchemy recipes for company.
"What? Couldn't stop admiring the view?"
Seeing Yoichi's flustered expression, Yuki delivered a few playful poses that made the boy submerge himself deep into the spring.
"Did you forget? You are bathing in a mixed-gender hot spring, Yoichi-kun."
Yuki stepped into the steaming water with practiced grace, pulling her blonde hair up and tying it into a messy knot.
"Did I? Hehehe... My bad."
Yoichi eventually surfaced, his heart rate slowing as he forced himself to breathe, leaning his head back against the smooth stone trying to reclaim some shred of his "cool protagonist" persona.
Soon, a comfortable silence began. They shared the serene atmosphere, the steam rising toward a vast, starry sky while the soothing warmth of the water worked into their tired muscles.
"Do not worry about it."
"Huh?"
"Though I'm not a mind-reader, your thoughts are flying all over the place, Yoichi-kun," Yuki said, her eyes fixed on the moon.
"Enjoy these times... it'll be complicated later on."
Hearing this, Yoichi merely nodded.
"Gotta go now. Thanks for the advice!"
Yoichi practically bolted from the water, grabbing his towel and wrapping it around his waist in a record-breaking blur of motion.
A lighthearted chuckle escaped from Yuki as she watched the boy's clumsy, hurried movements toward the exit.
...
...
...
Yoichi-kun! I've watched you from afar for four years. Your strength, your quiet confidence... I can't keep it inside anymore! P-please, go out with me!"
"Listen, sweetheart," Yoichi, dressed in his elementary school uniform, answered.
"You're a cute kid, really. You've got the spirit and the confession down to a science..."
"But I'm a high-maintenance guy. You're looking for a knight in shining armor, but I'm the guy who's busy wrestling the dragons in the basement."
"I don't care about that! I can handle it!" the girl shouted, tears welling in her eyes.
"Trust me, you can't," A sigh escaped from Yoichi. "Go find yourself a hero, girl. You deserved someone else."
Four months have passed since that day, and the world has shifted beneath his feet.
In those previous months, Yoichi was officially labeled as a Special Grade sorcerer.
Young, talented, and extremely dangerous.
Second only to Satoru Gojo, of course.
Nonetheless, secrets are like water, they always find a way to leak.
A bombshell that big couldn't stay buried forever. News of Yoichi's rebellious streak in the judgment hall spread like wildfire across the Jujutsu world. Unknowingly to most, a certain sorcerer with a habit of earning money had likely been the one to sell the details for a hefty price.
In the aspect of the cursed spirits, the population of high-level threats decreased.
Whether they were being slaughtered by the "Devil" or perhaps eaten by a certain wanted sorcerer remained a mystery to the Jujutsu World.
On the other hand, an expansion occurred within Yoichi's arsenal. He had progressed through the trials, obtaining Quicksilver and Beowulf before he halted at Mission 15.
If there was one word that had to be uttered when recalling the fight against Vergil, "ridiculous" wouldn't even begin to do justice to that hard-earned struggle.
But on the other hand, Quicksilver proved to be the true prize of his progression.
No nerfs or passive limitations, it was a broken ability that slowed down time to an extremely high degree, turning the world into a stagnant gallery of frozen statues.
However, the cost was steep.
It consumed far more demonic energy than any other style, draining his reserves with a voracious hunger that demanded timing.
But the style and the sheer "cool factor" of the ability made him think that it was absolutely worth the price.
Now, Yoichi stood at the threshold of a new chapter.
He was finally graduating from elementary school. His parents and sister seeing him felt like a huge boulder chipped away from their shoulders, in immense relief.
After their celebration, which was lively yet short-lived, a heavy atmosphere settled over the household.
"You must be careful from now on," Michelle said, her voice cracking as she couldn't help but tear up. "Call us regularly, okay? Every day if you can."
Yoichi stepped forward to calm his mother down, offering a gentle assurance that he would definitely visit regularly.
Despite his growing power, he couldn't help but hug her tightly, feeling the worry she carried for him.
Over her shoulder, he caught the gaze of his father; Kiyoshi merely looked into his son's eyes with a silent, heavy understanding.
A firm nod was exchanged between them, a man-to-man pact of protection.
"If he comes home with even a scratch that wasn't there before, I'm holding you personally responsible, Whitey!" Asuka growled.
"Whoa! I'm touched, really! Such a fierce protector!" Satoru chirped, raising his hands in a defensive gesture while being caught in the middle of the family crossfire.
Soon after, Yoichi and Satoru left the family home.
As they drove toward the unknown, Satoru provided some lighthearted consolation, suggesting that the new roommates might be able to soothe any lingering desolation Yoichi felt.
Then, they arrived at the dormitory hall.
Two figures stood waiting; a boy and a girl, both only one year younger than Yoichi.
The girl had a gentle, calm aura, but his eyes immediately locked onto the boy with the spiky hair and the perpetually blank, stoic expression.
Look who it is... It's the Potential Man himself!
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