Megumi, however, had no attention to spare for Yuji's reaction.
His gaze shifted past Rin and locked onto the tall man standing in the shadows, casually picking at his ear.
Back in the detention center, the lighting had been poor, and everything had happened too fast.
But now, under the streetlight, he could clearly see that face.
The scar at the corner of the mouth. A face he would recognize no matter what.
"You…"
Megumi's voice trembled, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white.
"Why are you here? Weren't you supposed to be dead?!"
Hearing that, Toji Fushiguro stopped what he was doing.
He turned his head and looked his biological son up and down, as if assessing him.
"Well, if it isn't Megumi. You've grown."
He crossed his arms, a mocking smile tugging at his lips.
"Dead? You've been listening to that white-haired Gojo Satoru's nonsense. I'm doing just fine. Just switched to a new boss who pays well."
He jerked his thumb toward Rin.
"You bastard…"
Fushiguro Megumi gritted his teeth, anger and confusion rising in his eyes.
He had never held any affection for this biological father who had abandoned him as a child and even tried to sell him to the Zenin Clan.
"Stop looking at me like that."
Toji sneered and stepped in front of Fushiguro Megumi.
The pressure from his imposing frame made Megumi instinctively prepare to summon a shikigami.
But Toji simply reached out and ruffled his hair without a hint of restraint.
"Back there, you were so scared by something that barely qualifies as Special Grade that you couldn't even use your shadows. What have you been learning at that lousy school all these years?"
His voice was low, filled with undisguised disdain.
"The Ten Shadows Technique. A top-tier technique that appears only once every few centuries in the Zenin Clan. And you're wasting it."
Toji's gaze sharpened.
"If you don't want to die early, stop obsessing over that pointless sense of justice. Focus on the depth of your shadows. Shadows can swallow everything. They're not just for summoning a couple of dogs and birds."
Fushiguro Megumi froze.
He had expected ridicule or cold indifference.
But beneath the harsh tone, every word struck directly at the limits of his current understanding.
"Alright, that's enough."
Rin cut in, ending the tense exchange between father and son.
He glanced at Kugisaki Nobara, who was stirring on the bench.
"Your Jujutsu High supervisor is about to arrive. Toji, we're leaving."
"Got it, Boss."
Toji withdrew his hand, didn't spare Megumi another glance, and turned to follow Rin.
The space around them twisted once more as a Kamui vortex formed.
Their figures were swallowed into the darkness and vanished without a trace.
Only Itadori Yuji and Fushiguro Megumi remained, standing there.
"Megumi… that scarred guy… is he your father?" Yuji asked carefully.
"No. I don't have a father like that."
Megumi turned his head away, the emotions in his eyes too complicated to read.
He looked down at the hands that had summoned his shikigami earlier, recalling Toji's words.
And fell into a long silence.
…
A luxury villa in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo.
The moment the front door opened, a rich aroma of broth drifted out.
Rin changed out of his boots and casually hung his trench coat on the rack.
"You're back?"
A clear voice came from the kitchen.
Shinobu Kochō walked out carrying a clay pot, dressed in a fitted sweater and a pink apron.
Twelve years had passed, yet the laws of the Miniature Divine Realm had preserved her appearance at around eighteen or nineteen.
After living in the modern world for so long, she had fully adapted, and even her cooking had absorbed elements of modern Japanese cuisine.
"Sukiyaki. It's just finished. Go wash your hands."
She set the pot down on the table and looked at him, her violet eyes smiling.
"Smells good."
Rin stepped behind her, wrapped an arm around her waist, and rested his chin on her shoulder, breathing in the faint wisteria scent in her hair.
"It's damp outside. Home smells better."
"Stop that."
Shinobu's neck tingled, and she lightly brushed his hand away.
"Where's Mr. Toji? Didn't he come back with you?"
"He went to the basement. He's been obsessed with ordering gym equipment lately. Probably opening another package."
Rin pulled out a chair and sat down.
The two enjoyed a quiet meal. Beef simmered in the broth, bubbling softly.
Just as they were finishing,
a bright azure flash lit up outside the floor-to-ceiling windows.
The next moment, the glass door slid open without warning.
"Yo! Eating sukiyaki this late and not inviting me? That's a bit cold, Rin."
Gojo Satoru strode in, his white hair slightly damp from the rain.
His blindfold was gone, and his Six Eyes shone sharply under the lights.
Shinobu set down her chopsticks, her expression tightening.
She had never liked this white-haired man who barged in whenever he pleased.
"We didn't set a place for you, Gojo."
"Don't be so cold, Miss Shinobu. I came all this way to deliver information."
Gojo Satoru pulled out a chair without hesitation and sat down, casually picking up an orange from the fruit bowl and biting into it.
Rin leaned back in his chair, watching Gojo, whose killing intent was no longer concealed.
"Gone to see your two precious students?"
"I have."
Gojo crushed the orange in his mouth. The smile on his face vanished, replaced by a coldness like frozen steel.
"Those rotten old men at Jujutsu Headquarters took advantage of my absence to deliberately conceal information about the Special Grade Cursed Spirit and sent Yuji and the others into the detention center to die. If you hadn't happened to pass by today, that kid Yuji would have been forced to release Sukuna and then executed by them as a matter of course."
The Cursed Energy around Gojo began to leak uncontrollably, making the teacups on the table tremble and rattle.
"I almost went straight to headquarters just now to kill every last one of those decaying fossils."
"Killing them is easy."
Rin wiped his hands with a napkin, his tone calm.
"But even if you wipe out the current higher-ups, as long as the rotten system of the jujutsu world remains, another group of the same people will take their place in a few years. It'll just be the same wine in a different bottle."
"I know."
Gojo leaned his head back and let out a long breath.
For twelve years, he had stayed at Jujutsu High, raising a new generation of strong, clear-minded sorcerers to eventually replace the corrupted system from within.
That path required time.
And patience.
But what had happened today had crossed a line.
"I came here to confirm something."
Gojo sat up straight, his Six Eyes fixed on Rin.
"You were the one who healed Yuji's hand, right? That wasn't Reverse Cursed Technique. It was something that directly rewrites the state of life."
"And if it was?" Rin did not deny it.
"How many tricks are you still hiding?"
Gojo suddenly laughed, a hint of relief mixed with a trace of battle-hungry excitement.
"With you in Tokyo, I don't have to worry too much about my students' safety. But…"
He stood and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, looking out at the rain-soaked night.
"Sukuna's fingers have started resonating more frequently, and Special Grade Cursed Spirits are appearing more and more often. I have a feeling something has been building in the shadows for a long time, and it's about to come to the surface."
He turned back to look at Rin.
"The curtain's about to rise. Are you ready to step onto the stage, Rin?"
Rin picked up his teacup and finished the last sip.
"I've never been a piece on the board."
He stood, and an overwhelming presence spread from him, one that seemed to defy the very rules of the world.
"I'm here to flip the board over."
___
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