"If you don't agree, I'll kneel here until you do."
Maki's tone was unusually firm.
She didn't know why her cousin refused to teach her, but she'd seen this in dramas before: if you kneel and kowtow, most of the time the other person agrees.And if he still refused, then it must be a test. She only had to keep kneeling.
"..." Jinsuke couldn't help but laugh.
A moment ago, he'd thought she seemed more mature than her age. But in the end, no matter how mature she acted, she was still just a child.
"Get up already."
"You agreed?!" Maki's face instantly lit up.
"What are you thinking? It's not that easy. Don't you know becoming someone's disciple requires a test?"Jinsuke said with a straight face.
"Ah, that's true." Maki nodded seriously. He had a point.
"In that case, go ahead and test me!" Compared to gaining strength, what was a little test? Nothing.
"Heh… fine. My test is simple: the day you can exorcise a Grade 2 cursed spirit with your own power, I'll teach you how to become strong."
At first, Jinsuke wanted to set the bar at Grade 1. But after thinking about her situation, he decided to give her a little hope. Being able to defeat a Grade 2 curse meant she had at least stepped onto the path of strength.
"Deal! You said it!" Maki had no idea how powerful a Grade 2 curse actually was, but she believed she would do it one day.
Having gotten the answer she wanted, Maki dragged her still-sniffling little sister away.
Jinsuke shook his head with a smile. The Zenin clan… sooner or later, their arrogance would destroy them.
And as for him, he couldn't care less what happened to the family. He was actually planning to ask old man Naobito to pull some strings and get him a nice, cushy job with a paycheck.
If the clan was destined to collapse anyway, might as well milk them for whatever he could. Wait too long and there'd be nothing left to take.
The next day came.
After training, Jinsuke swaggered right into the Zenin estate, earning plenty of hostile looks. But that was exactly what he enjoyed: those guys glaring at him with hatred, but powerless to do anything. If they didn't like it, they could try fighting him. If they dared.
"Damn it, that guy's way too arrogant." They only muttered after his figure disappeared.
"Shhh—keep your voices down. If that freak hears you, he'll lose it again."
"But… is he really that strong?" Some of the younger ones had never witnessed Jinsuke's rampage years ago, and couldn't believe someone with no cursed energy almost massacred the clan.
"That's why they call him a freak. Both brothers are monsters."
In a corner, Maki happened to overhear all this again.Her conviction grew stronger, and in her heart, her admiration for her future master deepened. So this was what true strength looked like—forcing these despicable people to only gossip behind his back.
But she wasn't the only one watching. Not far away, a sixteen-year-old Naoya peeked from behind a building, eyes locked on Jinsuke's back. His gaze carried both fear and awe.
"Cousin Jinsuke… still as terrifying as ever. Even more so than back then."
Naoya had once been "lucky" enough to witness Jinsuke's tyrannical rampage firsthand. From that day forward, he had become a loyal, if distant, admirer. Still, all he dared to do was watch from afar.
Meanwhile, Jinsuke walked straight into the head's residence.
"Old man, get me a job where I don't have to work." He bluntly stuck out his hand, practically demanding money.
Naobito's mustache twitched. Ah, so the freeloader had come to shear some wool.
"What kind of job do you want? With your skills, are you really lacking money?"
"Making money isn't hard. It's just… a waste of my time." Jinsuke shrugged. He wanted to dedicate his time to training. As for money—better to freeload when possible. Modern society had plenty of expenses, after all.
"In that case, go be a part-time instructor at Jujutsu High. I can arrange it." Naobito replied casually.
He knew Jinsuke was just looking to leech, but a symbolic position at Jujutsu High wasn't a big deal. As for giving him direct cash? Please. Did Jinsuke think the Zenin clan was rolling in money?
Even Naobito himself sometimes had to take missions to cover living expenses.
"What? A teacher at Jujutsu High?" Jinsuke froze.
He'd been expecting some cushy corporate sinecure. But this?
"You want me, a guy with no cursed energy, to teach sorcerers? What would I even teach? Hand-to-hand combat?"
"Ahem… it's just a nominal post. You don't actually have to teach." Naobito explained.
"You said you wanted easy money, right? At Jujutsu High, as long as you don't take missions, you'll get a paycheck every month. Small, yes, but stable. No risk. Isn't that exactly what you want?"
In truth, a teacher's base salary wasn't high. The real income came from mission rewards.If someone didn't want to work, they'd be broke, sure — but at least they'd get something.
Even Yuki, a Special Grade who refused to take missions, still had a tiny stipend deposited each month.
"Fine, fine." Jinsuke waved dismissively.
Wool was wool — he'd shear it. And if things ever got desperate, he could always fall back on his old ways of making quick cash. But actual work? Absolutely not. That was his principle.
With his financial worries settled, Jinsuke left satisfied.
Meanwhile, Naobito picked up the phone. Using the Zenin clan's network, he persuaded the higher-ups to give Jinsuke a nominal staff position at Tokyo Jujutsu High. It cost him nothing but a bit of face.
"Now maybe… he'll think a little better of the Zenin clan?" Naobito muttered.
Unlike the rest of the clan, he had never looked down on the two brothers. He didn't value them either, but he never ridiculed them — he simply treated them as ordinary relatives.
Even when Toji robbed the family of several powerful cursed tools, Naobito hadn't pursued the matter. For the Zenin clan, cursed energy and inherited techniques were everything. Even Naobito couldn't escape that mindset.
But as the brothers continued to show frightening strength, his attitude had shifted. He hoped to at least soften relations with them. Even if they couldn't truly be family, at least they wouldn't be enemies.
Naobito believed Jinsuke coming to him for help was proof of recognition. If he did his best to fulfill the young man's requests, surely Jinsuke would remember the favor.
The thought was nice. The reality… was the opposite. Jinsuke's only mindset was freeloading. If they gave, he'd take. If they refused, he'd take anyway — by force if necessary.