There was nothing important to deal with today. After finishing dinner, Satoru Gojo didn't plan on sitting in the office any longer. He went straight back to the leader's exclusive luxury bedroom, freshened up, changed into comfortable pajamas, and collapsed onto the bed in a sprawling "starfish" position.
"Whew~"
Gojo had removed his blindfold, his hair still holding a hint of damp luster. He rested his arms casually behind his head, staring blankly at the ceiling.
In the beginning, as the head of the entire branch, many matters required his personal oversight, so he was indeed quite busy. Fortunately, as he gradually unlocked all the original host's skills—especially with the teleportation of "Azure" and the Reverse Cursed Technique that could heal his body—his work efficiency soared, allowing him to squeeze out quite a bit of free time.
Ahem, it definitely wasn't because he was being lazy and slacking off by dumping the work on Sarelo.
Speaking of Sarelo... he felt like the man was about to evolve into an assistant supervisor like Kiyotaka Ijichi.
"So what if I slack off?" Gojo thought righteously.
Unlike his life in the jujutsu world, where he exorcised Cursed Spirits and nurtured young sorcerers, he had absolutely no intention of striving for the future of a criminal organization. In fact, as a "diluted" member of the organization, he couldn't wait for the plot to reach the showdown between the "red" and "black" factions so he could retire with fame and glory, disappearing like a shadow.
The only reason he worked hard to build the Mexico branch into a first-rate power was to gain a higher degree of influence and deterrence. Only then could he have the chance to change the toxic atmosphere, reduce the number of innocent victims, and steer the environment in a better direction.
Reality proved that he had done a fairly good job. Of course, one unavoidable point was... over these past few years, his hands hadn't exactly remained clean. In endless darkness, even the brightest stars find their light dimmed, and one cannot remain untainted while existing within the shadows.
This was a price that had to be paid.
Therefore, to release some of that pressure, he often went to visit the children whose lives had improved thanks to his help. Playing with them brought him a sense of genuine relief from deep within. After lounging on the bed for a while, Gojo boredly opened his system panel.
[Name: Satoru Gojo (Jiang Wu)]
[Gender: Male]
[Physical Age: 16]
[Identity:]
* Natural Jujutsu Sorcerer (Rating: Having reached the pinnacle, you have almost no rivals)
* Kaiser (Liquor) from the Dark Organization (Rating: You are the foster son of Renya Karasuma and the hidden ace of the Black Organization in the shadows)
[Inventory: Infinite Game Console x1, Hypnotic Pocket Watch x1, Crunchy Potato Chips x10, Rich Cheesecake x10... (omitted)]
[Manga Pages & Forum (Temporarily inaccessible)]
[Red Faction Impression Points: 0]
[Black Faction Impression Points: 40,500]
In three whole years, he had persistently farmed Tequila's favor, successfully fleecing over ten thousand impression points from him. Additionally, through phone calls with the Boss, frequently harassing—no, connecting emotionally with—Gin-chan, and feeding "chicken soup for the soul" to the romantically frustrated and brooding Calvados, he had amassed quite a bit.
But he was still far from the goal of 100,000... if only he could farm points from Sarelo and Sake. He blamed the stubborn system for only recognizing canon characters from the original story.
[Bloodline Abilities:]
* Six Eyes (Activated): Can see through hidden information, possesses extreme insight.
* Limitless Cursed Technique: "Azure," "Red," "Purple" (Activated)
* Domain Expansion: "Infinite Void" (Activated)
* Reverse Cursed Technique (Activated)
* Martial Arts (Activated): Master of hand-to-hand combat, powerful physique.
After browsing the panel, Gojo looked through the system mall but found nothing worth buying. Special items like the "Hypnotic Pocket Watch" were rare refreshes.
He rolled over on the bed, his fingertips accidentally touching a cat plushie on the nightstand. Its snow-white fur felt warm and cozy to the touch, making it hard to put down. The black beady eyes and soft little paws were quite cute, though it always gave him a strange sense of déjà vu.
This was a gift Gin had sent him two years ago.
Being so busy with everything, Gojo couldn't even remember his own birthday. Perhaps for the sake of that previous cake, the usually heartless "Model Employee" had actually asked about his birthday one day and truly sent this gift. It was a "return gift," so to speak.
When he first saw the plushie, Gojo almost suspected Gin had been possessed by a transmigrator. That guy actually chose something with such a girlish heart?! Even a blood-stained monkey skull would have been more convincing.
When he called Gin to ask what he was doing, he only got one sentence: "Ugly. It's yours."
Was it his aesthetic sense that was the problem, or was Gin just being a typical tsundere (harsh outside, soft inside)? It was truly hard to guess. And... compared to cats, he was actually a dog person!
Whatever. Since he was free tonight, he might as well flood the Model Employee with messages.
Just as Gojo enthusiastically opened his phone, a call came in. It was... the Boss?
Over the last three years, the Boss had called him quite a few times, which could be understood as the "work reports" corporate slaves have to do periodically. However, he had just reported his recent results not long ago.
"Moshi moshi?"
Once connected, an electronic voice that made it hard to discern gender or age came from the other side: "Kaiser, there is a mission you need to complete."
I knew this "Old Geezer" calling me wouldn't mean anything good.
Gojo grumbled inwardly while asking, "What mission?"
"Specific details will be sent to your computer," the electronic voice hummed. "Depart for New York in two days. It's related to the 'Firmament Project'."
If he hadn't brought it up, Gojo would have almost forgotten about that thing. To put it bluntly, the plan was just centered around finding the Pandora Gem.
Having stayed in Mexico for so long, he had collected many precious gems, but as expected, none were the one the Boss wanted. Of course, even if there were a one-in-a-million chance he found the real deal, he wouldn't actually hand it over to his "foster father"; he'd rather let it gather dust in his system inventory.
Gojo had also wondered: wasn't the Boss afraid he'd keep the gem for himself? But on second thought, it was probably because even if Gojo got it, he wouldn't know how to use it. After all, if one gem could grant immortality, who knew how it actually worked? Did you have to swallow it whole or grind it into powder? He was quite curious about that.
However, since he hadn't produced results for years, the Boss was a bit dissatisfied and had even "warned" him recently. It was only because Gojo had truly expanded the Mexico branch's territory several times over and was thriving in North America that he hadn't said too much.
"Remember... kill anyone who obstructs your actions without mercy," the voice on the phone sounded cold. "You understand, don't you?"
Gojo guessed he was referring to the time he let the A-rank Ability User sent by the FBI slip away. As for whether it was intentional or an accident? Obviously the former. As a "diluted" member of the organization, he was more than happy to let those agents go just to spite the Boss.
"Got it~ Leave it to me."
He said it was "covered," but in reality... the Boss said to kill anyone who obstructed the mission, but since he was Satoru Gojo—the one who stands alone throughout heaven and earth—how could anyone possibly obstruct him? Therefore: No one = no need to kill!
Plus, a business trip to New York on the company dime? He had to find a way to waste as much of the Organization's funds as possible.
"So, am I going alone this time?" Gojo changed the subject.
The Boss replied, "Of course. Do not let unnecessary people become aware of the 'Firmament' project."
"Ah." Playing alone was way too boring!
As the Boss's nominal foster son, Gojo occasionally acted spoiled to test how much the cold old man would tolerate. It turned out the old man didn't care about trifles, but was very firm on major issues.
"I won't reveal the mission details, so no one will notice~ Just arrange for my partner to have a separate mission while we're there."
"..."
Gojo cast aside his integrity and began to complain in a cloying tone, "I'm so weak, pitiful, and helpless. If I'm thrown into New York alone, I might get lost. Besides, that's the FBI's home turf. If I get caught by them..."
Boss: Stop. I said stop.
Finally, Gojo showed his hand: "So, why not have Gin come and partner with me?"
Speaking of which, Gin's impression of his "Best Friend" was from three years ago. After not seeing each other for three years, what if Gin had hooked up with some other buddies? He definitely had to meet him to solidify that favorability rating.
"He is very busy in Tokyo. I'll have Calvados go with you..."
Calvados was originally in Japan too, but he was reportedly transferred to the US a year ago and was often busy working for the "Woman of a Thousand Faces" (Vermouth).
"No way!"
If that guy saw him, he'd definitely start whining again about things like "Why is Miss Vermouth ignoring me again..."
After haggling for a while, the Boss—annoyed by the noise—finally compromised: "...Fine. I'll give Gin an assassination mission in New York."
"Yay~ You're so kind, Old Geezer (Laodeng)."
Gojo realized what he'd said right after it left his mouth.
"..." On the other end of the phone, Renya Karasuma's mouth twitched. You definitely just said "Old Geezer," didn't you.
"Boss, you misheard. I said 'Old Boss' (Laoda)," Gojo said sweetly.
Like hell I'll believe that!
Beep... beep...
After hanging up, Renya Karasuma massaged his forehead wearily in a certain room, stroking the feathers of his favorite crow with one hand. After a long while, he whispered to himself.
"Heh... the only one who dares to speak to me like that is indeed you, Kaiser."
"Do not... let me down."