"Ranta?! You haven't been threatened by Young Master Naoya, have you?!"
For a moment, Oda felt an impulse surge up to fight Zen'in Naoya to the death right then and there.
Although the cold-blooded and ruthless Zen'in clan didn't value blood relations, Ranta was, after all, his actual biological nephew. If such a sunny and cheerful good kid mistakenly trusted Zen'in Naoya out of pure kindness, then Oda would risk his old life to wake Ranta up.
"Hehe, Uncle Oda, don't be so excited."
Seeing Oda's panicked look, Ranta only pursed his lips and chuckled softly: "I'm just considering a possibility that you haven't thought of, Uncle Oda."
"What do you mean?"
Oda was stunned for a long time, as if his brain had been twisted around, and he couldn't quite keep up with the rhythm.
"Didn't you say that Mr. Naoya plans to sponsor Miss Maki and Miss Mai?"
Ranta analyzed calmly.
"Unlike us outsiders, Mr. Naoya grew up with Miss Maki and Miss Mai since they were young. Although Mr. Naoya's extreme machismo led to a very poor relationship between them, is there a possibility that Mr. Naoya, just as an older brother, doesn't know how to show goodwill?"
"Huh?"
"The reason why Mr. Naoya chose to sponsor them using an anonymous method, perhaps it's not to humiliate them, but to make up for some past mistakes?"
The black-haired boy smiled slightly.
"Sponsoring students is definitely a good thing, right? Uncle Oda must have hoped for the same thing back then, to be sponsored by a big shot while studying, so as to lighten the family's burden."
These words made Oda somewhat dazed.
Yes.
If back when he was studying, a great aristocrat like Young Master Naoya was willing to sponsor him, then perhaps he wouldn't have had to join the Kukuru Unit.
After all, in the jujutsu world, there are also some jujutsu sorcerers without Innate Cursed Techniques.
Barrier techniques, shikigami, cursed tools...
These are all skills that can be learned later in life. If he had the money to choose another path back then, he wouldn't be a middle-aged man who has accomplished nothing like he is now.
It's just that over the years, understanding the capital game behind the sponsorship system made him forget that there are truly students who benefit from it and don't have to drop out due to financial reasons.
But Oda was somewhat speechless.
His nephew was simply too kind.
How could he have such a tolerant attitude towards Zen'in Naoya?
Ranta hadn't even seen with his own eyes the scenes of Young Master Naoya stepping on the heads of the Zen'in sisters. He didn't know what kind of totally evil scum that guy was!
Discovering his conscience and making up for past sins...
That's all an act!
It's all a persona Young Master Naoya uses to deceive people!!!
"Wake up! Ranta!"
Taking advantage of the fact that there was no one around, Oda decided to lower his voice and earnestly advise his ignorant and naive big nephew: "Young Master Naoya is absolutely not a good person. Him doing this kind of thing is just hypocrisy. He actually wants Maki to thoroughly taste the flavor of humiliation in the future!!!"
"Uncle Oda, what exactly are you saying?"
Ranta only tilted his head, his face becoming extremely confused.
"Doing a good deed is always better than doing a bad deed, right? Even if it's faked."
"..."
Oda was instantly left speechless.
Ranta's words made the middle-aged man, who was previously lecturing, unable to hide his embarrassment.
"Perhaps Mr. Naoya is indeed a pretentious 'good person', and Uncle Oda has long discovered his true colors—"
Ranta, who always had a gentle personality, used a serious tone for the first time, sitting on the chair and lecturing Oda instead.
"But if Mr. Naoya hadn't taken you in back then, Uncle Oda, would you be living the good life you have today?"
"Mr. Naoya may have done bad things, and he may have let people down, but the only person he hasn't let down is you, Uncle Oda."
"Uncle Oda clearly refuses to help Maki and Mai himself, yet is so quick to belittle Mr. Naoya's good deed. I think that is where the real problem lies."
Ranta had never spoken with such a heavy tone.
At least, speaking such offensive words to Oda in his capacity as a nephew.
"Sorry, Ranta, I..."
Oda scratched his head in shame.
Isn't this biting the hand that feeds you?
Although Young Master Naoya was an out-and-out villain, if it weren't for his charity, who knows where he would be doing odd jobs right now.
Although Oda felt ashamed in his heart to associate with Zen'in Naoya, wasn't gossiping behind someone's back just as scummy?
If he continued to harbor such thoughts while working, sooner or later he would definitely be killed by Young Master Naoya for real!
Sigh!
I've lived all these years in vain. In the end, a young person sees the problem more clearly than I do!
Oda couldn't help but take a few more looks at his nephew.
Ranta had always been very smart. At the time, he just thought of him as a quick-thinking child, but after becoming a jujutsu sorcerer, he always felt that the words he spoke were becoming increasingly simple and direct.
Oda suddenly remembered a saying he had heard a long time ago—
[Sorcerers do not argue over right and wrong; they only care about what is truth.]
Ranta's words just now, not making unnecessary excuses, but instead acknowledging the facts and deducing the correct answer—wasn't this exactly the way of thinking that jujutsu sorcerers dreamed of?
Good or bad is not important.
Correctness is what matters most.
No wonder people always say jujutsu sorcerers are crazy.
This kind of absolutely rational, inhuman feeling was something he could never achieve no matter what.
The middle-aged man secretly glanced at his nephew who was eating seriously, and couldn't help but sigh deeply in his heart.
Ranta is a good kid.
But the Zen'in clan is not a good place.
Sooner or later, Ranta would also do the "correct" things for the family, but for the heartless jujutsu world, the "correct" thing often meant the law of the jungle.
Oda's worries were not unfounded.
Yes, he had once witnessed the power of that man with his own eyes.
The existence named Zen'in Toji.
The tyrant cursed by the Heavenly Restriction, who possessed the same technique as Zen'in Maki.
If Maki sooner or later became like that tyrant—
Then who in the Zen'in clan would be able to escape disaster?
Ranta, it would be great if things were really as you said.
If only Young Master Naoya was truly a good person who had discovered his conscience...
That way, perhaps we could usher in a world where no one would be hurt...