"What's wrong with Utahime?"
Seeing Gojo Satoru turn serious, Yanagi Chiyo quickly explained:
"It's Mother. She wants to marry Little Utahime off... The problem is the groom. He's an elder of the Zenin Family named Zenin Tsugi."
'An elder of the Zenin Family?' Gojo Satoru thought with some confusion.
'If I remember correctly, the youngest of those Zenin elders is nearly sixty years old.'
But thinking of the Zenin Family's usual style, Gojo Satoru understood.
"I see. Are they after Utahime's Cursed Technique? But has that Old hag lost her mind? Is she really giving up on Utahime just like that? I heard from Utahime that those old fogies have asked her more than once to bear an heir to pass down the technique."
Hearing this, Yanagi Chiyo shed tears.
"Yes, at first Mother was unwilling because of the benefits Little Utahime's technique brings to the family. She politely declined Zenin Tsugi, but then that man made a deal with Mother."
"A deal?"
"Yes," Yanagi Chiyo wiped her tears and continued,
"The terms of the deal are to marry Little Utahime off, and the first two children she bears who inherit the technique will be given to the Yanagi Family to raise. After that, Little Utahime will be completely abandoned and left to the Zenin Family. At the same time, through this marriage alliance, Mother wants to establish a connection with the Zenin Family."
"Hey, hey, isn't that just sending Utahime to her doom?" Gojo Satoru was shocked by Yanagi Manhime's cold-bloodedness. Although he himself was from The Big Three Families, the Gojo Family still had some shred of humanity. He had never actually seen anyone treat Utahime entirely like a commodity, the way Zenin Tsugi and Yanagi Manhime were doing.
At this moment, Gojo Satoru remembered what Genji had said to him before:
'Satoru, when you accompany Senior Utahime home this time, you must watch out for the head of the Yanagi Family, Yanagi Manhime. To that Old hag, anything other than the family's own interests can be sacrificed. Everyone is just a gear in the family's machinery; as soon as there's a more suitable part, she won't hesitate to discard them after squeezing out every bit of value.'
At the time, Gojo Satoru hadn't fully understood Genji words, but after hearing Yanagi Chiyo describe Yanagi Manhime's plan, he felt that Genji assessment had actually been conservative.
"Does that Old hag really treat her own granddaughter like that? Is there no one in your family who objects?" Gojo Satoru asked, feeling a headache coming on.
"A few do, including myself. We all watched Little Utahime grow up; how could we bear to see her leap into a pit of fire? But after my husband passed away, our influence has dwindled. It's impossible for us to change Mother's decision. They even kept me under house arrest until today to prevent me from ruining things, but they've already used my phone to trick Little Utahime into coming back."
"So, you want me to mess this whole thing up, right? I'll do it."
"Yes, I know I'm imposing on you, but... Eh? You agreed." Just as Yanagi Chiyo was about to continue her plea, she suddenly realized Gojo Satoru had agreed directly.
"Yeah, after all, no matter what, Utahime is a comrade from Jujutsu High, isn't she?" Saying this, Gojo Satoru helped Yanagi Chiyo up.
"Thank you, thank you..." Yanagi Chiyo thanked him repeatedly. She then fixed her makeup and led Gojo Satoru into the banquet hall.
"Hey, you didn't say anything weird to my mom, did you?" As soon as they sat down, Utahime leaned in and whispered suspiciously to Gojo Satoru.
Looking at the silly girl in front of him who didn't even realize she'd been sold out, Gojo Satoru surprisingly didn't snap back at her. Instead, he patted Utahime's head with a look of pity.
"Hey, hey, hey!!! What are you doing?! Is this harassment?!" Faced with Gojo Satoru's uncharacteristic behavior, Utahime was at a loss.
"Forget it. If anything happens later, remember to hide behind me, okay? Weak little Utahime."
"What on earth are you talking about? And you're mocking me again!" Although Utahime didn't know what kind of mood Gojo Satoru was in, she was certain he was making fun of her again. Just as she was about to start another heated argument with him, Yanagi Manhime made her entrance.
With Yanagi Manhime taking her seat, the banquet officially began. Plates of exquisite but small portions of food were placed on the tables before everyone. At the same time, several shrine maidens appeared on the stage at the front to perform the Miko Dance for the guests.
"Why does it feel like I've seen this dance somewhere recently?"
Watching the elegant dance performed by the shrine maidens on stage, Gojo Satoru felt like he had seen it somewhere before, but he just couldn't place it.
"What are you thinking? This is the Miko Dance passed down through the Yanagi Family. Among the people you know, I'm the only one who knows it. Do you think I'd dance it for you?" Utahime scoffed from the side.
"Is that so? Did I remember wrong?" Gojo Satoru tried to recall his blurred memories while picking up a piece of fish and putting it in his mouth.
"Hmm, this doesn't taste as good as Genji sweet and sour fish. It's too bland." Gojo Satoru's voice, completely undisguised, drifted into the ears of the surrounding Yanagi Family members, causing their faces to darken.
"It seems the food isn't quite to Mr. Gojo's taste. If there's something you'd like to eat, I can have the kitchen prepare it for you." Beside Gojo Satoru, a middle-aged man forced a smile and spoke to him.
"Do you know how to make sweet and sour fish?"
"Sweet what?" The dish name Gojo Satoru mentioned caught the man off guard.
"Forget it. Looks like you don't. Genji sweet and sour fish suits my palate much better."
Hearing Genji name mentioned repeatedly, the smile on the man's face began to falter.
"I heard Mr. Gojo is acquainted with that commoner sorcerer Genji. You should be careful; those commoner sorcerers don't have much strength and just like to play petty tricks. Being by your side, he must have some little sche—"
After all, their Yanagi Family was one of the top families right below The Big Three Families. Being fleeced of so much money and Cursed Tools by an underage brat back then had left them nursing a grudge against Genji to this day. Fortunately, under the Family Head's management, the matter hadn't been publicized, and not many even within the family knew about it.
Now that there was finally an opportunity to blacken Genji name in front of someone with status who knew him, the man began to ramble on about Genji faults. But before he could finish, he saw Gojo Satoru's cold gaze.
"Um, Mr. Gojo, is something wrong?" the man asked fearfully.
"Genji is a dear friend whom I acknowledge."
Gojo Satoru's single sentence scared the man so much he broke into a cold sweat. He realized all too clearly now that he had walked right into Gojo Satoru's line of fire.
"S-Sorry, Mr. Gojo, I didn't know," the man stammered in fear.
Seeing this, Gojo Satoru didn't waste words and sent the man flying with a single punch.
The surrounding Yanagi Family members saw one of their own being attacked and were about to react when they were barked into silence by Yanagi Manhime. She then looked at Gojo Satoru and said:
"Our man spoke without thinking, Mr. Gojo. But aren't you overreacting a bit? After all, this is the Yanagi Family, not the Gojo Family."
There was a faint threat in Yanagi Manhime's words.
"This guy insulted my dear friend. You tell me if I'm overreacting."
Gojo Satoru gave her no face at all and continued:
"Genji is my dear friend. I know he has conflicts with you, but I don't want to hear a single word of slander against him. Understand?" As he spoke, Gojo Satoru scanned the room with his Six Eyes, while Cursed Energy faintly began to rise from his body.
Just as the atmosphere became tense and explosive, Yanagi Manhime suddenly softened her tone.
"Understood. It was our side that was disrespectful first. Alright, everyone, stop staring. Let the banquet continue."
After yielding slightly, Yanagi Manhime announced the continuation of the banquet as if nothing had happened.
"What, do you also think I shouldn't have hit him?" Sitting down, Gojo Satoru asked with some dissatisfaction when he saw Utahime staring at him.
"No, I just think you should have used Blue," Utahime said to Gojo Satoru, not caring in the least that the man who had just been sent flying was her own uncle.
Hearing this, Gojo Satoru laughed, but their conversation made the faces of those around them darken even further.
Yanagi Manhime glanced toward Gojo Satoru and Utahime, her gaze growing colder and colder.