Pancham slammed straight into the man.
However, the white-haired broom head showed no sign of anger. His body merely shook a little, and a strange sound escaped his mouth.
"Oh-do?"
Before Pancham could recover, the man casually reached out, grabbed it by the back of its neck, and lifted it into the air.
Pancham immediately started struggling.
Unfortunately, no matter how much it kicked its short legs, it could not escape his grip.
The man seemed completely unconcerned. Through the black cloth covering the upper half of his face, which also served as a headband to keep his hair upright, he examined the little creature with great interest.
"Hey↗... Now this is interesting."
He tilted his head.
"Definitely not human. Not a Cursed Spirit either. And it doesn't seem to be an ordinary living creature. Hmm... If I had to guess, I'd say it's a Pokémon. Is it related to your Jujutsu?"
"More or less."
Akira nodded without trying to explain further.
He was actually quite impressed.
As expected of Satoru Gojo. Despite seeing Pancham for the first time, he had immediately guessed its identity.
Then again, Pokémon existed in this world too. Akira remembered that Satoru Gojo had once compared Hanami to a Pokémon, saying that its nature was closer to one. There were also theories that Yuki Tsukumo's Jujutsu had something to do with Pokémon.
With those examples in mind, it was not too surprising that Gojo had made the connection.
"What's this little guy called?" Gojo asked.
"Pancham."
"Pancham, huh? Very naughty, and it looks just like a panda."
Gojo suddenly started laughing.
"Panda is great! Heh heh heh!"
Nobody knew what amusing memory had crossed his mind, but he certainly seemed to be enjoying himself.
Pancham, on the other hand, was not amused at all.
"Pan! Pancham!"
Its little arms swung wildly as it tried to grab Gojo's face. Unfortunately, Gojo held it just far enough away that its paws could never reach him.
After several failed attempts, Pancham could only grit its teeth in frustration.
Akira watched the scene with a smile.
He had another reason to be happy.
Just now, the System had displayed another notification.
A Pokémon-related meme had been detected.
Although the reaction was not strong enough to trigger a complete meme conversion, much less reward him with another Pokémon Egg, that was already enough for Akira.
His previous guess about how the System worked had finally been confirmed.
The method of obtaining Pokémon was clearly related to shared elements or characteristics between different characters.
Pancham was the best example.
After all, Akira had only met Panda yesterday, and now Pancham had appeared.
Could there really be such a convenient coincidence?
As for the white-haired broom head standing before him, there probably weren't enough Pokémon-related elements to trigger a reward.
The reason was simple.
Humans could be found everywhere, but Panda was one of a kind.
Naturally, the strength of the connection would be different.
Still, Akira was not worried.
If anything, Jujutsu Kaisen was practically a treasure trove for this kind of System.
The author of Jujutsu Kaisen had personally admitted that many characters were heavily influenced by Pokémon.
The most obvious examples were the three great natural Cursed Spirits: Jogo, Hanami, and Dagon.
Fire, plants, and water.
Their designs and abilities practically corresponded to the three classic Pokémon starter lines.
If the System really operated according to this principle, then Akira would have plenty of opportunities in the future.
And even if one character wasn't enough, couldn't he simply find a few more?
As long as the similarities accumulated, there should eventually be a reaction.
Akira was quite satisfied with this arrangement.
After all, raising Pokémon wasn't something that could be accomplished overnight.
He already had Gardevoir and Pancham to look after. If the System suddenly threw another eight or ten Pokémon at him, he would have a headache just figuring out how to raise them all.
Better to take things one step at a time.
Speaking of which, if this was how the System worked, Akira felt that the most suitable External Boost for someone transmigrating into Jujutsu Kaisen should actually have been something like a "Tribute-Style Restoration System."
There was no helping it.
Jujutsu Kaisen contained far too many familiar elements.
Naruto, One Piece, Bleach, Dragon Ball, Hunter x Hunter...
Traces of all these classic works could be found throughout the series.
The author certainly knew how to borrow ideas.
If someone could obtain rewards by identifying those references, they might become ridiculously powerful without even needing to fight.
Of course, that had nothing to do with Akira's current situation.
His attention was soon pulled back by his mother's voice.
"Ari, don't leave our guest standing at the door. Please invite him inside."
"Oh, right."
Akira stepped aside.
Gojo walked into the house without the slightest hesitation, still holding Pancham by the back of its neck.
From a distance, it almost looked as though he had a small panda hanging from his hand.
Pancham had apparently exhausted itself from struggling and was now glaring at him with an extremely unhappy expression.
Gojo paid it no attention.
Instead, the moment he entered the living room, he straightened his posture and suddenly adopted a professional tone.
"Domo! MF Bunko editor, Satoru Gojo desu!"
He even gave a proper introduction.
"I've come today regarding Mr. RED's work..."
Before he could finish, he noticed the expressions on the faces of the mother and son.
"Hm? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"F-Five... Satoru Gojo?!"
Akemi Aki was so shocked that she nearly stumbled over her words.
Even though she rarely paid attention to events outside her home, there was no way she could be unfamiliar with that name.
After all, this was the man whose existence had once filled her former husband with envy and resentment.
However, Akira's reaction was completely different.
"An editor?"
He stared at Gojo.
Then he looked at the business card in Gojo's hand.
Then at the suit he was wearing.
Finally, his gaze settled on the documents Gojo had placed on the table.
A properly prepared publishing contract, complete with an official company seal.
Everything looked genuine.
Akira was speechless.
When he had parted ways with Maki Zenin and the others, he had already expected Satoru Gojo to come looking for him sooner or later.
After all, he had saved Gojo's student, and it was impossible for someone like Gojo to ignore such an unusual incident.
Akira had even prepared himself for the possibility of being questioned.
But what was this?
An editor?
Since when had Satoru Gojo become a light novel editor?
And why did he look so convincing?!
"Don't worry, it's all real."
Gojo seemed to have read his thoughts.
He casually pushed the contract forward.
"As long as you and your guardian, Ms. Akemi, sign here, the contract takes effect immediately."
He pointed at the relevant sections.
"The best royalty split, the best promotional resources, and naturally, we'll arrange animation and game adaptations in the future too."
His voice was so casual that he might as well have been discussing what to eat for dinner.
"Consider it a little thank-you gift for saving my cute student."
Akira stared at the contract.
Then he looked up at Gojo.
"You're allowed to do that?"
He couldn't help swallowing.
Originally, Akira had only intended to sign an ordinary publishing contract.
Although his light novel had already attracted attention, he hadn't expected to receive the highest possible treatment from the beginning.
And now this guy was casually throwing around promises of animation and game adaptations.
Wasn't this a little too much?
"Why wouldn't I be allowed?"
Gojo sounded genuinely confused.
"I'm a major shareholder of MF Bunko, you know. Oh, and I'm also a major shareholder of MAPPA. I've been steadily increasing my shares in SONY recently too."
"..."
Akira suddenly remembered two things.
First, the Gojo family was absurdly rich.
For an ordinary person, a billion or two yen was an astronomical amount of money. For the Gojo family, it might not even be worth making a fuss over.
And as the head of that family, Satoru Gojo naturally had no shortage of funds.
Second, this guy was a hardcore otaku.
Anime, television dramas, video games...
As long as something interested him, he would throw himself into it without hesitation.
Akira even remembered hearing that Gojo had once stayed awake for hundreds of hours straight because he was too absorbed in his hobbies.
To be honest, there were quite a few things about this lifestyle that Akira admired.
Unfortunately, his mother didn't understand that side of things at all.
She had spent much of her life within the strict environment of the Kamo Clan. Someone casually talking about owning major shares in several famous companies was already far beyond her usual experience.
Especially when that someone happened to be Satoru Gojo.
Meanwhile, the man himself seemed rather disappointed by Akira's reaction.
"Aw, that's no fun."
Gojo finally lowered Pancham to the floor.
The moment its feet touched the ground, Pancham hurried away from him, clearly afraid of being grabbed again.
Gojo watched it leave with a little regret before turning back to Akira.
"I really wanted to try being an editor for once. I even prepared the outfit and everything, but you wouldn't give me a chance."
"That's because you're too famous."
Akira didn't hesitate to point out the problem.
Gojo paused.
Then he nodded slowly, as though he had just received some valuable advice.
"Ah, I see. So that's the problem."
"..."
"Then I'll use a different name next time."
He raised a finger.
"How about Gojo Sora?"
Akira looked at him helplessly.
"Could you at least put some effort into it? The surname Gojo is already rare enough. Do you think nobody would recognize you just because you changed your given name?"
He couldn't help adding another complaint.
"Or what? Is Son Goku not famous enough for you?"
"Hmm, you've got a point."
Gojo crossed his arms.
"Then you choose one."
"Hatake Kakashi."
"Rejected."
The answer came immediately.
Gojo pointed at him.
"I can sense some serious malice behind that suggestion."
Akira shrugged.
"You told me to choose."
Naturally, Naruto existed in this world too.
More accurately, the works published under Shueisha's Jump label all existed here.
That was one of the reasons Akira had spent so much time selecting which Light Novel to write after arriving in this world.
There were plenty of famous works he could remember, but finding one that didn't already exist was another matter entirely.
Fortunately, he had eventually found a suitable choice.
Otherwise, his plan to earn his first fortune through writing would have been much more troublesome.
"Anyway, couldn't you at least take off that blindfold?" Akira continued. "Sunglasses would work too, right?"
"My sunglasses broke."
Gojo gave a perfectly ordinary explanation.
"I've already ordered a new pair, but they haven't arrived yet."
Akira nodded.
That was understandable.
Although Gojo's blindfold made him look unusual, he wasn't wearing it just to appear mysterious.
His Six Eyes constantly received an enormous amount of information, so he needed something to reduce the burden.
Ordinary sunglasses wouldn't be enough.
Even his sunglasses had to be specially customized to provide the necessary effect.
In that sense, wearing a blindfold was actually the more convenient option.
While the two continued their conversation, Akemi Aki returned with tea.
She carefully placed a cup before their guest.
Then, after hesitating for a moment, she finally gathered the courage to speak.
"E-Excuse me..."
"Hm?"
Gojo turned toward her.
Akemi unconsciously straightened her back.
"Are you really... the head of the Gojo family?"
Her voice was noticeably more restrained than before.
Unlike Akira, she simply couldn't treat the man sitting in front of her as an ordinary guest.
The reason was obvious.
The name Gojo carried far too much weight in the Jujutsu world.
The Gojo Clan was one of the Three Great Clans, standing alongside the Kamo and Zenin Clans.
And Satoru Gojo was its current head.
More importantly, he was also recognized as the strongest Jujutsu Sorcerer of the modern era.
Even before Akemi had left the Kamo Clan and moved to the countryside of Shikoku, his position had already been unshakable.
Eight years had passed since then.
Yet no one had managed to challenge his status.
It was no exaggeration to say that Satoru Gojo alone possessed enough strength to suppress the other two Great Clans.
For someone who had spent years living under the Kamo Clan's strict hierarchy, meeting such a person in her own living room was almost unbelievable.
And now this very same man was sitting on her sofa, drinking tea, and discussing light novel publishing contracts with her son.
How could she possibly remain calm?
"Yep, that's me."
Gojo answered without a trace of arrogance.
"Although 'family head' sounds way too stiff. You can just call me Gojo."
"Ah, no, I couldn't possibly..."
Akemi hurriedly shook her head.
Gojo didn't seem to mind, but that only made her more uncomfortable.
After all, knowing that someone didn't care about formalities and actually being able to ignore those formalities were two different matters.
The habits she had developed during her years in the Kamo Clan had already become part of her.
Even after eight years of freedom, she still found it difficult to act casually around someone of Gojo's status.
Akira naturally noticed her discomfort.
He glanced at Gojo and immediately interrupted.
"Hey, don't casually show off your charm in front of someone else's mother."
"Huh?"
Gojo turned toward him.
Akira continued with a serious expression.
"Especially when it's my mother."
It was partly a complaint and partly an attempt to help Akemi relax.
After all, Satoru Gojo had more than just overwhelming strength and an absurd amount of money.
He was also ridiculously handsome.
Even with half his face covered, that much was obvious.
Fortunately, Akira himself wasn't bad-looking either.
His appearance leaned more toward the traditional Eastern style, with refined features and a handsome face inherited from his family.
Otherwise, standing beside someone like Satoru Gojo might have been rather depressing.
"Ahem!"
Gojo cleared his throat.
"My apologies, my apologies."
He raised both hands in surrender.
"Don't worry. I have absolutely no plans to become your stepfather."
"Good."
"Then how about Gojo-sensei?"
Gojo pointed at himself with a grin.
"That's my actual job, after all. And it's also related to the real reason I came here today."
Hearing those words, Akira's expression changed.
He understood immediately.
The joking atmosphere that had filled the living room gradually faded.
Akira adjusted his sitting position and straightened his back.
From the moment Satoru Gojo had entered the house, Akira had been waiting for this conversation.
The publishing contract, the ridiculous editor disguise, and all the joking around had merely delayed it.
There was no reason for the strongest Jujutsu Sorcerer to personally travel all the way to Shikoku just to discuss a light novel.
Even if Gojo had enough money and free time to do something that absurd, Akira knew there had to be another purpose behind his visit.
And now, it seemed Gojo was finally ready to get to the point.
Across the table, Satoru Gojo also sat up properly.
His playful smile remained, but his manner became noticeably more serious.
For the first time since entering the house, he spoke with the tone of a teacher discussing an important matter with a prospective student.
"Akira-kun."
"Yes?"
"I'll get straight to the point."
Gojo faced him directly.
"I formally invite you to enroll at Tokyo Jujutsu High School."