Chapter 8 – The Reason for Leaving Without Saying Goodbye
"Step aside. You should know what this fight means."
Toji's brows furrowed as he glared at Shinsuke, voice ringing with sharp intent.
"So what if I do?"
Shinsuke turned, his eyes calm and steady.
For dignity? For vengeance? For making the clan regret?
Of course, he understood what Toji was thinking. But… what difference would it make, even if he defeated Gojo Satoru?
If the point was to make the Zen'in clan regret their cruelty, then Shinsuke's actions back then had already ensured they'd regret it for a lifetime.
Staring into his brother's tranquil expression, Toji froze. The Inverted Spear of Heaven, spinning in his grip, slowed and came to a halt.
In that instant, his battle spirit—the fire that had just been rekindled—snuffed out completely.
Because the moment he sought validation by defeating Gojo… he had already lost.
Without realizing it, he was trying to reclaim the "dignity" he had cast aside long ago.
"Tch. Nosy bastard."
With a flick of his hand, Toji put away the weapon and stalked off. He understood why Shinsuke stopped him—but it still left a bitter taste. Just one year older, yet he always carried himself like some untouchable elder.
Watching him leave, Shinsuke exhaled quietly in relief. Overturning the jujutsu world wasn't something you proved by knocking down a single Gojo Satoru.
"Oi, oi, oi—just walking away like that? Don't you think that's a bit rude?"
A voice rang out from above.
Floating in the air, Gojo Satoru blocked their path, his face smeared with blood, his grin touched with mania.
Shinsuke's expression twitched. He'd nearly forgotten about this troublesome one.
"Gojo… Satoru, was it?"
"There's no bad blood between us. Amanai Riko's alive. What now—if we don't fight, are you inviting us to dinner?"
His words struck like a needle. Their only real conflict had stemmed from Amanai Riko. Since she was unharmed, what reason did they have to battle? Not everything had to be a death match like sorcerer versus curse.
"…Hmm."
Gojo thought about it, then frowned. "But wait. Didn't he just try to kill me? Isn't that a grudge?"
So what—was he not allowed to take revenge?
Shinsuke suddenly chuckled. "And yet you didn't die, did you? More than that—you awakened the Reverse Cursed Technique. Don't tell me that's all you gained."
He waved a hand as if brushing off dust. "Remember this favor, Gojo. One day, you'll owe us."
And with that, he turned and walked away, leaving Gojo blinking, dumbfounded.
"…What the hell was that supposed to mean?"
Gojo raised his hand, ready to form a stance—but no technique came. He just stood there, watching as the two brothers vanished from sight.
"Damn it. So in the end… am I the one who's supposed to thank them?"
His mind finally cleared, the godlike haze lifting. Slowly, he descended back to the ground, rubbing his chin with suspicion.
"Seriously though… who the hell are those two?"
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't place them. And yet, deep down, the feeling of familiarity wouldn't leave him. He had no idea that over a decade ago, as a child, he had indeed crossed paths with the Zen'in brothers—long before fate brought them back together.
Not long after, Geto Suguru and Amanai Riko rushed to his side.
"Gojo! You're covered in blood—are you hurt?" Geto asked, face full of worry.
Riko studied his eerily calm eyes, feeling a strange distance. "Did something… happen here?"
"Nothing much. Just ran into a rather interesting guy."
Gojo flashed his usual carefree smile at Riko. "So, you showed up after all. Guess that means you chose to walk away, huh? Tch… brat really knows how to make trouble."
"Hey!" Riko puffed up angrily, cheeks red. They had given her the choice, and now he was teasing her for it.
But beneath her flustered pout, her heart was warm. From today on, she had time—time to live her youth freely.
"Gojo," Geto said gravely, "this isn't over. With Riko still alive, Master Tengen—and the entire jujutsu world—will come down on us."
"Scared, Geto?"
"Don't joke. We're the strongest."
The three of them walked together, the evening sun stretching their shadows across the ground—two long, one short. A simple silhouette, warm and unshakable.
"So… these past few years you've just been mooching off a woman?"
Zen'in Shinsuke looked at Toji with a deadly serious expression. "You're a grown man, strong and healthy. How could you stoop to living off someone else? Toji, you've fallen too far."
"I told you already, that was in the past. I'm married into the Fushiguro family now."
Toji's tone was helpless. Why did his brother always have to harp on the 'mooching' thing? It wasn't like he didn't earn his own keep.
"Married in, huh? Well, I suppose that's something. I heard from the old man you've got a son too. Someday, you'll have to introduce me."
Thinking about the fact that Toji was now a family man, Shinsuke decided to temporarily forgive his brother's years of "soft living."
"Megumi… I haven't seen him in years."
Clearly, Toji wasn't exactly model father material. His heart carried guilt toward his son, but he never knew how to make it up to him—so he simply sold Megumi off to the Zen'in clan.
"But enough about me. Shouldn't you be the one explaining? Why did you disappear back then without a word?"
Toji's eyes locked on Shinsuke. Most of his resentment had faded over the years, but without knowing the truth, there was still a thorn lodged in his chest.
Back then, Toji hadn't known much. All he understood was that both he and his brother were pariahs in the Zen'in clan, mocked and scorned at every turn.
His brother always seemed unbothered, acting like none of it mattered. Then one day, as if he had become a completely different person, Shinsuke unleashed a massacre inside the Zen'in estate.
Toji never learned the details. What he did know was that after that night, nearly a third of the clan was dead. From that day onward, his brother vanished from the jujutsu world, and whenever the Zen'in spoke of him, their sneers were mixed with a trace of fear.
At Toji's question, Shinsuke fell silent for a moment. "The old man never told you?"
He finally began recounting that bloody day in a low voice.
The gist of it was simple: No matter how the clan mocked or belittled him, Shinsuke never cared. Their words wouldn't break him. He had the strength of the Heavenly Restriction, and developing its potential kept him too busy to bother with the chatter of "cursed energy monkeys."
But when some in the clan turned their scorn on their mother—the only person in the Zen'in who had ever shown him warmth—Shinsuke lost all restraint. In a fit of rage, he slaughtered them.
If their mother hadn't thrown herself before him, begging him in tears to stop, and if Naobito Zen'in hadn't intervened, the clan might have been wiped out entirely.
Yet Shinsuke couldn't understand why his mother, after being hurt by the family, would still plead for their lives. They quarreled bitterly, and in his fury, he left the Zen'in house for good—slipping into a life of self-indulgence abroad.
During those wandering years, he thought about many things. Gradually, his anger dulled, but he never figured out how to face his mother again.
Until Naobito tracked him down, bringing with him the news of her death.
For a long while, Shinsuke sank into despair. It was during that time that he crossed paths with Yuki Tsukumo.
Time softened the edges of his rage, and he learned to live more freely—until Toji's affairs pulled him back into the Zen'in orbit once again.
The one regret he carried was never getting to see his mother one last time.