At 10 PM, in a high-end restaurant in Hachiman City, Eichi and Satoru were devouring food as if in a competition.
"Are you reincarnated as a hungry ghost or something?"
After finishing the last plate of dessert, Satoru picked up a napkin and wiped his mouth.
Eichi, sitting across from Satoru, was less particular; he casually wiped his mouth then ordered two more plates of steak.
There was no other way; the portions of food in Japan were already small, especially in a high-end restaurant like this. Even as a child, he could eat many plates.
"Why don't you try going hungry for a whole day and then fighting with all your might?"
Rolling his eyes at Satoru, Eichi took a couple of sips of freshly squeezed juice.
"Are you from the Zenin Clan? How come I've never heard of you before?"
"Not 'from' the Zenin Clan, and I won't have any connection with the Zenin Clan in the future either."
"Oh? With the Ten Shadows Technique, you should be very important to the Zenin Clan. Will those Old geezers let you leave?"
Calling the higher-ups Old geezers so early?
"Heh heh, don't worry. In the Zenin Clan's records, I'm just a servant whose parents died and who has no Technique. That bastard who became a Grade 2 Jujutsu Sorcerer with the Family's help is dead, so it's impossible for me to still be alive."
Did he Awaken the Ten Shadows Technique between life and death?
Satoru understood.
"Interesting."
A flicker of excitement passed through Satoru's eyes. As part of The Big Three Families, Satoru also knew some things about the Zenin Clan and had guessed some of Eichi's circumstances.
"But now that you've Awakened the Ten Shadows Technique, if you go back, you'll be a treasure in the eyes of those Old geezers."
Satoru specifically emphasized the word 'treasure,' then looked at Eichi with a smile, anticipating what kind of answer Eichi would give.
"And then?"
"Huh?"
Eichi's sudden question interrupted Satoru's thoughts.
"Go back to the Zenin Clan, use the Ten Shadows Technique, and then what?"
"Then those Old geezers will rally around you to become the Family head's successor. You can get anything you want, and you can deal with those who bullied you however you please."
Satoru took a sip of juice, diluting the intensely sweet taste that ordinary people would find unbearable.
Due to the burden the Six Eyes placed on his brain, Satoru had an extreme sweet tooth; such an intensely sweet flavor that ordinary people would find hard to swallow was commonplace for Satoru.
"Does that make me any different from them?"
Eichi spread his hands.
"At that point, you'd be the Zenin Clan's 'Divine Child,' though still not as good as me."
"Forget it. I'm afraid I'll lose control one day and kill all those bastards."
"You really do have that power."
Ancient texts passed down in the Gojo Family contained records of Mahoraga. After all, the Gojo Family head of that generation also possessed the Six Eyes, and although he was weaker than Satoru, he was still a top-tier powerhouse of his era.
Therefore, the Gojo Family was one of the few Families that knew about Mahoraga's abilities.
Out of curiosity, Satoru had once asked the current Gojo Family head if he could defeat Mahoraga.
The Gojo Family head had always been evasive, but the intelligent Satoru understood his meaning: even if the current Gojo Family attacked together, they might not win.
The Zenin Clan's strength was similar to the Gojo Family's, which meant that the current Eichi indeed had the power to wipe out the Zenin Clan.
If Eichi knew Satoru's thoughts, he would definitely say, "You're overthinking it."
He didn't have the magical power supply of Kali; just relying on his own Cursed Energy recovery to replenish his Command Seals, he didn't know when he'd be able to complete all three Command Seals.
Moreover, Mahoraga's adaptation to the Command Seals was not slow. If Mahoraga were truly allowed to eradicate the Zenin Clan, the most likely outcome would be that before the Zenin Clan was completely destroyed, Mahoraga would adapt to the Command Seal's restraint and turn around to punch him into a small pancake.
"What do you plan to do next?"
"Find a rural area to hide for a while, and after a few years, when this matter dies down, I'll go to Tokyo to pursue the life I want."
After Eichi finished speaking, he began to contend with the steak the waiter had brought to the table.
Mainly, he wasn't used to using a knife and fork, which felt a bit awkward.
"By the way, do you accept this? It's a Special Grade Cursed Object, useless to me."
And it might attract trouble.
Eichi didn't say the latter part.
"We can."
Clap, clap.
Satoru clapped his hands indifferently.
A bodyguard who had been waiting nearby stepped forward, took Ryomen Sukuna's finger, and then left the restaurant. Soon after, he returned with a bank card.
Reaching out to take the bank card, Satoru waved his hand, signaling the bodyguard to withdraw.
The people of the Gojo Family were all old-fashioned, not as interesting as outsiders.
However, Satoru also knew the reason: if one gained the favor of the Divine Child, it was fine, but if one did not gain the favor of the Divine Child and showed disrespect, they would be lightly removed from the Divine Child's side, or severely disciplined by Family law.
The Big Three Families were all quite similar in this regard, except the Zenin Clan was the most heartless.
"Is that enough?"
Saying this, Satoru handed over the bank card.
"It's enough."
Looking at the string of zeros on the bank card's amount and password, and then at Satoru, who was propping his chin with one hand, completely unconcerned about money, Eichi felt like hitting a landlord.
"Thanks for the meal. I'm leaving now."
Taking the bank card, Eichi stood up, preparing to leave.
"What's the rush?"
Satoru raised an eyebrow.
"Didn't I say before that there are many Zenin Clan dogs in Kyoto? While it's still dark, it's best to leave Kyoto first."
Hachiman City was right on the outermost edge of Kyoto. Now with the Jade Hounds for travel, his speed could increase significantly. Leaving Kyoto under the cover of night and then resting in the suburbs or countryside tomorrow morning was the safest option.
"Do you want me to send someone to escort you?"
Eichi paused his steps at the words, thought for a moment, but still refused Satoru's offer.
Putting on his hat, Eichi found a dark alley and summoned the Jade Hounds, who had been eager to come out.
"Hey, don't lick my face."
The Jade Hounds seemed to have been cooped up for a long time. Upon emerging, they immediately lunged forward, placing their two front paws on Eichi's shoulders, their tongues licking Eichi's fair, tender face, and their tails wagging like a windmill.
Eichi didn't scold them; he just fumbled to fend off the Jade Hounds' attack.
After all, what boy could refuse a majestic, powerful, and affectionate dog?
It took a great deal of effort for Eichi to calm the Jade Hounds, who had wanted to see their little master ever since the Technique's Awakening, but had been cooped up in the shadows for a long time due to Eichi's command.
Looking at the Jade Hounds, who were almost as tall as himself, Eichi was somewhat surprised.
Were the Jade Hounds he first summoned about the same size as the Jade Hounds Megumi Fushiguro summoned at the beginning of the story?
Before the System left, it had strengthened Eichi's body. Now, the amount of Cursed Energy in Eichi's body was very high, almost unrivaled among his peers, so the Jade Hounds he summoned were also considerably larger.
In this world, the upper limit of Cursed Energy was determined at birth, but whether one could reach this upper limit depended on subsequent growth and training.
With the System's prior strengthening, as long as Eichi didn't slack off, he would at least not lose to anyone in terms of Cursed Energy in the future.
"I remember the Nue summoned by Megumi Fushiguro was only the size of a person, but the one summoned by Fushiguro Sukuna was as big as a building."
As he spoke, Eichi's gaze fell upon the White Jade Dog, whose half-tongue hung out, resembling a husky.
"Will there be a chance in the future to summon Jade Hounds as big as skyscrapers? Hmm, and Great Serpents too. Then I'll find people to film some Norse mythology movies, like Fenrir vs. Jörmungandr, and arrange for a few people to play Heroic Spirits."
Embracing his fantasies about the future, Eichi rode one of the Jade Hounds and disappeared into the darkness.