December 1st—the final month of 2005.
Early that morning, Yaga Masamichi followed the reminder Asou Akiya had given him the day before and deliberately chose a set of traditional kimono to wear.
Heaven knew that when he had paid a visit to the Gojo family last year, he had shown up in a plain teacher's uniform!
For the sake of recruitment, he was truly giving it his all.
When Yaga Masamichi told his wife that he was going to visit the legitimate heir of an ancient family, she exclaimed in surprise, "What kind of person is he? Is he like that white-haired boy I met last time?"
"More or less," Yaga Masamichi replied. The moment he thought of Gojo Satoru, his stomach began to ache—part of the pressure he carried came directly from that man.
"Today, my responsibility is to go recruit a student. I need to be more courteous," Yaga Masamichi said as he finished dressing. Clad in a solemn black kimono, his appearance inexplicably carried the imposing air of an Edo-period samurai. "I hope I can obtain their consent."
Mrs. Yaga saw her husband off, standing at the doorway and watching the business car drive away for a long while, her gaze tinged with admiration.
After that, her expression gradually darkened.
She lowered her hand to gently touch her abdomen. The doctor had told her that she had a constitution that made conception difficult, and even after prolonged treatment, there had been no improvement.
Back at home, she received a call from a relative. Friends and family had always been deeply concerned about her failure to conceive. The voice on the other end said, "I've sent you his most recent photos. Take a look?"
Mrs. Yaga sat down on the sofa and opened the new message on her phone. On the screen appeared the photograph of an orphan.
The boy was distantly related to her, separated by more than three generations. He was around fifteen years old, currently attending an ordinary high school, with average academic performance.
If he did not seize the next three years of high school to seriously make up for his grades, there would be little hope of him getting into a university in the future. She had heard that he had grown up in a children's welfare institution, and that he might have picked up some bad habits, which was why no relatives had been willing to adopt him.
Mrs. Yaga stared at the photograph, her thoughts drifting far away.
The boy looked ordinary enough, yet his eyes were not dull. There was a hint of stubborn resilience in them, the kind often seen in orphans who refuse to bow their heads too easily. Perhaps he was someone willing to strive upward, someone with the will to improve himself?
Her talk of adopting a distant relative's orphaned child had been nothing more than an impulsive remark born of frustration. She had assumed Yaga Masamichi would be angry when he heard it. Instead, when he returned home, he told her calmly that he supported her decision—as long as she truly liked the child.
Mrs. Yaga's heart was tangled with hesitation and doubt, yet she forced herself to think it through. They could try first, couldn't they? Who knew—perhaps they really might live together in harmony.
Compared to outsiders, she trusted her own relatives more.
Kyoto, the Zenin clan.
An ancient jujutsu family that stood on equal footing with the Gojo clan, one of the Three Great Families. In its history had appeared a wielder of the Ten Shadows Technique, a figure said to have perished together with a bearer of the Six Eyes.
Within the Zenin clan, strength in jujutsu reigned supreme. In more recent eras, they had once overshadowed both the Gojo and Kamo clans, standing as the most prominent leader of the Three Great Families—at least on the surface—until the birth of Gojo Satoru.
It was widely rumored that every successive clan head had to be the strongest sorcerer of the Zenin family; otherwise, even after taking the position, they would never be able to command true obedience.
Yaga Masamichi arrived at the gates dressed in a kimono and presented his sorcerer identification.
"I am a teacher at Tokyo Metropolitan Jujutsu Technical High School, homeroom instructor for the first-year class, Grade 1 jujutsu sorcerer Yaga Masamichi."
After verifying the credentials, the Zenin gatekeeper's attitude immediately became far more respectful.
"Mr. Yaga, may I ask if you have an appointment letter?"
In the jujutsu world, there was no one who looked down on a Grade 1 sorcerer. Even the head of the Zenin clan himself was a Grade 1.
Even if some among the Three Great Families discriminated against Yaga Masamichi for his commoner origins, that contempt would never extend to a mere gatekeeper of the Zenin household.
More importantly—Yaga Masamichi was a male sorcerer with a cursed technique, formidable in strength and powerfully built. Within the Zenin clan's internal hierarchy of prejudice, he was by no means at the bottom.
"Yes," Yaga Masamichi replied calmly. "I have already prepared it."
He had sent word in advance, made an appointment, written a formal letter of visitation, and followed every required procedure before finally being allowed to step into the Zenin estate.
As he followed the guide inside, the moment Yaga Masamichi crossed the threshold, his muscles tensed instinctively. His senses sharpened to an extreme degree, acutely aware of unseen gazes fixed upon him. Hidden jujutsu sorcerers lay in wait throughout the estate, tracking his every movement.
If he showed even the slightest sign of hostility, an attack would come immediately.
Straight ahead.
Turn a corner.
Straight ahead again.
The two of them ascended stone steps, passing through walls that divided the inner grounds from the outer perimeter.
Yaga Masamichi felt as though he were once again making his way through the Gojo residence—the paths stretched on endlessly, so long that even after half an hour of walking, there seemed to be no end in sight.
Compared to the relatively quiet Gojo estate, the Zenin compound teemed with far more clan members. Sorcerers from various branch families cast their eyes upon him from the shadows, their gazes overlapping everywhere—some openly hostile, some curious, others coolly appraising.
In short, not a single glance made a visiting guest feel at ease.
Within the ancient domain of the Zenin family, time itself seemed to lose its sense of flow. The weight of the years had settled into every stone, every towering tree, every brick and tile, even into the moss creeping along the cracks of the walls. There was not a single trace of modern equipment to be seen anywhere.
Did he travel back into the Heian Era, somehow?
As Yaga Masamichi silently complained about the Zenin family's environment, he could not help but marvel at the overwhelming power of time itself.
In a secluded courtyard, Yaga Masamichi saw the Zenin clan's young heir approaching from the opposite end.
The boy walked neither hurriedly nor slowly, dressed in black robes and white hakama. The rhythmic clack of his wooden geta blended with the hollow tapping of bamboo in the garden, forming a quiet duet. Zen-like serenity spread without shape or sound, yet it was exquisitely pleasing to the ear.
This was their first meeting, and their gazes settled upon one another at the same time.
Yaga Masamichi felt an immediate flicker of goodwill toward the youth's soft, well-kept black hair and his composed, unruffled expression.
Then his attention sharpened.
The young heir's features were striking by birth alone. Slightly upturned eyes, long and vividly shaped at the corners, as though the Creator, having finished crafting the "Six Eyes," had turned next door and added an especially bold, vivid stroke to the Zenin clan's heir. There was an unmistakable sense of aggression in that beauty.
The Zenin heir's irises were a deep, verdant ink-green, brimming with the pride of an ancient noble house. Unlike his adopted son, Asou Akiya, whose gaze was restrained and lacked any edge, this boy's eyes carried an overt sharpness.
Wait—his total cursed energy… grade 2… no, bordering on semi–grade 1?
Comparable to Getou Suguru at the beginning of the year?
Yaga Masamichi frowned inwardly at the direction of his own thoughts and forcibly corrected himself, shifting his focus back to what truly mattered: strength and temperament. He did not care about the Zenin heir's appearance, yet he could not help but sigh at one undeniable truth—members of the Three Great Families were rarely plain-looking in their youth.
Especially the two legitimate heirs of those families.
Fourteen years old—the Zenin clan's young master was yet another prodigy of the jujutsu world, favored by heaven itself.
"So it's you," Zenin Naoya spoke first, his pronunciation carrying the unmistakable refinement of Kyoto aristocracy. He asked with evident interest, "the one who invited me to enroll in Tokyo Jujutsu High through my old man? You do know I already turned down Kyoto Jujutsu High's invitation, right?"
Yaga Masamichi answered with unshaken confidence. "Tokyo Jujutsu High and Kyoto Jujutsu High are engaged in healthy competition. Their failure simply means there were aspects that did not satisfy the Zenin heir. Tokyo Jujutsu High comes with sincerity, formally inviting you to enroll next year.
"At that time, not only will you be free to have the Zenin family arrange a luxurious dormitory for you and enjoy campus life, you will also be able to interact with another heir of the Three Great Families. This year, Tokyo Jujutsu High is rich in talent—we defeated Kyoto Jujutsu High in the exchange event, and two semi–special grade sorcerers were born as a result."
Zenin Naoya raised a brow. "Are you Gojo-kun's teacher?"
"Yes." Yaga Masamichi inclined his head, finally finding, through Gojo Satoru, the faint satisfaction of having accomplished something as an educator.
At the same time, confusion stirred in his mind. The last time they had spoken in the car, Gojo had insisted that the two of them were not close at all—so why was the Zenin clan's young heir, upon meeting him for the first time, most concerned with Gojo?
And why address him with the exceedingly intimate "Gojo-kun"?
"You definitely can't control Gojo-kun." Zenin Naoya casually stripped away Yaga Masamichi's authority as a teacher, the corners of his mouth and eyes lifting into the same sharp, aggressive curve as he sized Yaga up from head to toe. "Calling yourself his teacher is generous. You're more like a sparring partner. An outsider like you—what could you possibly teach him?"
Having already decided this was a settled truth, Zenin Naoya did not even give Yaga Masamichi a chance to respond. He continued on his own accord, "Judging by your build, your hand-to-hand combat seems decent. Then show me something entertaining."
Zenin Naoya clapped his hands.
Two jujutsu sorcerers who had been concealed in the shadows stepped forward. They were members of the Zenin clan's Kukuru Unit, specialists in physical combat.
"Do not use cursed techniques," Zenin Naoya said coldly.
Servants brought out a chair, and Zenin Naoya seated himself in the courtyard. Watching with the air of someone observing dogs set upon each other, he spoke lazily, "Since you're Gojo-kun's teacher, don't embarrass him. Show me what you've got. Win—right now."
A vein pulsed sharply at Yaga Masamichi's temple. He forced his temper down and replied, "I am a teacher. My expertise lies in educating and guiding students. I did not come here today to fight."
Zenin Naoya propped his cheek on one hand. "I've never heard of the surname 'Yaga.' Frankly speaking, for a commoner like you to reach the level of a first-grade sorcerer, you must have worked quite hard.
"But there are things effort alone can never make up for. Take this matter of inviting me to attend school, for example—it's downright laughable. Do you really think a direct heir of the Three Great Sorcerer Clans needs to attend school?"
Zenin Naoya half-covered his smiling lips, feigning mild regret. "I don't mean to criticize Gojo-kun. Gojo-kun likes to play around, and I can understand the Gojo family indulging him, too afraid to stop his little escapades away from home."
Then he finished, flat and unadorned, "I simply… look down on Tokyo Jujutsu High."
Yaga Masamichi was left stunned by the sheer bluntness of the mockery, the favorable first impression he had formed shattering completely.
So both he and his school were being looked down upon by a mere Grade 2 sorcerer?
This foul-mouthed brat of the Zenin clan defended Gojo Satoru at every turn while belittling Tokyo Jujutsu High—and between the lines of his words, there was even a thinly veiled disdain for the Gojo family itself.
All of a sudden, Yaga Masamichi recalled the very first fill-in-the-blank question from a history exam.
When the three heirs of the Three Great Families—whose strengths were roughly equal—stood together, the Gojo heir ranked highest in status, followed by the Zenin heir, and then the Kamo heir. Zenin Naoya's words and behavior, taken together, made one thing abundantly clear: he respected Gojo Satoru.
Grasping the key to the problem, Yaga Masamichi spoke coldly, "Even Gojo Satoru is willing to attend school, and you dare to look down on it? Do you really think you are more qualified than Gojo Satoru to pass judgment on Tokyo Jujutsu High?"
"There are no Gojo family servants at Tokyo Jujutsu High," Yaga Masamichi continued sharply. "He gets up on time every morning, attends class on schedule, fends for himself at noon, and still has to write homework and self-reflection reports at night. His life is far fuller than that of an idle, hollow young heir like you!"
Under the stunned gaze of his opponent, Yaga Masamichi defended the dignity of his alma mater. "The meaning of school—he understands it better than you ever could!"
Zenin Naoya: "..."
To Zenin Naoya, it all sounded like incomprehensible nonsense. "Gojo-kun… writes self-reflection reports too?"
Kyoto Jujutsu High had repeatedly extended invitations to him and even sent people to personally persuade him. Zenin Naoya was keenly aware of the gap in strength; in order to avoid being compared to Gojo Satoru, he had fiercely resisted enrolling at Kyoto Jujutsu High—and even more so, he wanted no part in the annual interschool exchange matches, where he would inevitably be beaten senseless.
Now, upon learning that Gojo Satoru received no "young master" treatment at Tokyo Jujutsu High, Zenin Naoya found it impossible to believe.
"Have you all lost your minds?!" he burst out. "You dare punish a 'Six Eyes' of the Gojo family?!"
"Someone born to stand at the very pinnacle, someone who appears only once every five hundred years—do you have any idea how many people among the Three Great Families look up to him?! And you don't even kneel when you see him, you make him attend class on time and live on his own?!!"
Zenin Naoya flew into a rage.
The idol he revered in his heart was Zenin Toji—the man who had dared to break away from the clan itself—and among their generation, the only person he considered worthy of being compared to Zenin Toji was Gojo Satoru, who was just one year his senior.
"I see it now," he sneered, fury spilling over. "You people from Tokyo Jujutsu High are even more insolent than those from Kyoto Jujutsu High!"
"Get out! The Zenin family does not welcome commoners like you!"
"Showing no reverence whatsoever toward the Three Great Families, daring to abuse Gojo-kun behind his back—people like you might as well go hang yourselves!"
...
After being subjected to a vicious verbal lashing from the young master of the Zenin clan, Yaga Masamichi was unceremoniously thrown out.