Kyoto, midday.
The sun spreads its gentle warmth across the city while people go about their daily business.
The calm atmosphere would be pleasant for anyone ordinary, but one individual wore a displeased grimace.
"Master, you should ease up on your anger a little," Tsubaki said in a low voice after slightly leaning toward him while glancing at the other café patrons.
The teenage girl's gesture was meant to explain the situation to her master, but her appearance only drew even more attention toward Jin.
It wasn't common to see a man his age so close to a teenager in a public place.
The result was predictable.
"Excuse me, sir, but… are you family?" asked a police officer who had approached following a wary customer's report.
Jin wasn't in a good mood because of Gong, but he decided to restrain himself for the moment. He subtly signaled Tsubaki to handle the situation.
"Uh… no, but he's a close family friend," she said in a polite tone.
The officer didn't hide his suspicion toward Jin but decided to leave. Tsubaki showed no signs of abuse or fear; it would be irrational to remain overly wary.
He simply asked to see Jin's ID to check that he wasn't wanted.
Watching his back recede, Tsubaki let out a small sigh of relief.
"Sorry for putting you through that," Jin apologized after noticing his mistake.
"N-no, Master. It's also my fault for not changing my appearance and attracting attention," she immediately apologized in a submissive tone.
Jin relaxed while observing his "weapon's" reaction.
Tsubaki Nakatsukasa.
She is a weapon from the world of Soul Eater, but also a descendant of the Nakatsukasa clan.
According to Jin's understanding of the causal market, there is little chance she is the real one.
The girl before his eyes must be a replica created by his power, based on his understanding of the true Tsubaki.
'If I wanted the real one, I'd probably have to pay a lot more,' he thought, recalling the power of the Black☆Star and Tsubaki duo.
If Sukuna considers himself beyond humans and cursed spirits, then Black☆Star considers himself the man who transcended the divine.
Is he arrogant? Yes.
Jin would even say Black☆Star's arrogance has few rivals in fiction, because his self-confidence is absolute.
Even a rational man like Stein realized that Black☆Star's soul characteristic is extremely rare.
As for whether or not he surpassed the divine in his world, the obvious answer is no.
However, Jin remembers that Black☆Star's strength can be considered divine by Jujutsu Kaisen standards.
The key to obtaining that strength is not only the unique particularity of Black☆Star's soul, but also Tsubaki.
A weapon possessing a rich array of transformations, but also the power to strengthen herself by devouring souls and manipulating her host's shadow.
A slow but continuous gain of power.
"Okay, let's go. That bastard Gong canceled the meeting at the last minute," Jin explained while taking one last sip of his coffee to calm his bad mood.
Three days had passed since the end of his training with Kenjaku in the forest around Sendai.
Jin decided to take a little rest. Unfortunately, he couldn't enjoy the life of an unemployed person for very long.
The bank contacted him.
"I need money…" he thought while staring at the passersby beyond the café door.
"Hm…"
"Uh?"
As Jin left the café, he spotted a familiar figure from the black market.
A curse user.
(Image)
"Master?"
Tsubaki's low voice brought him back to reality after he had stared a little too long at the elderly woman in front of him.
"Let's go; there's likely to be too much noise around here," he said while sending a subtle message to the curse user.
The elderly woman sketched a faint smile after hearing Jin's words.
"You're right, kid. There's likely to be trouble today," she said in a very low voice.
If Jin didn't have his current senses, he might have missed this subtle warning.
'Is this really that scene?' he thought while walking along the sidewalk.
Tsubaki followed very closely behind him.
Ding!
[Come on, Jin. I didn't come by choice, but because of a storm in the black market.]
[Let me guess. Satoru Gojo has moved from Tokyo to Kyoto?]
[… You saw him?]
[No…]
Jin stared at Gong's message for a moment before frowning at the situation.
Satoru Gojo.
Even though he isn't yet awakened, Toji hadn't underestimated him. Worse still, he based his speculations on a Gojo child.
Jin would be an idiot to ignore this element.
"I also remember that Gojo stated, during his fight against Sukuna, that he learned Simple Domain during his childhood," he thought while moving away from the street to enter a quieter alley.
What does that mean?
Jin had to assume that the Gojo kid masters all his powers except Red, Reverse Cursed Technique, Domain Expansion, and Purple.
Even though that seems weak compared to the Gojo Yuji will meet in the future, this strength is more than enough to defeat the best Grade 1 sorcerers.
That's just how much the Infinity of the Gojo clan is improved with the assistance of the Six Eyes.
[You're also interested in the bounty on his head?]
Jin stared at Gong's message for a moment before replying that he's in Kyoto for Yuki Tsukumo's bounty, and nothing else.
'I could defeat that kid. But then what?' he thought while sketching a bitter smile.
The Six Eyes are closely tied to Tengen's merger with the Star Plasma Vessel, according to his understanding of the situation.
If Jin eliminates Satoru, then another Six Eyes user will simply appear.
Beyond this annoying aspect, he would only weaken the sorcerers when Kenjaku launches her project of merging with Tengen as the base.
As for using the guild card's power to learn the Six Eyes and Infinity, Jin doesn't know what consequences that could entail.
He risks making future events much more complex because the law of balance will adjust the strength of cursed spirits.
The future event would become uncontrollable for a transmigrator like him.
Jin prefers to avoid touching it until he has acquired an absurd level of strength.
In summary, the disadvantages outweigh the advantages of confronting Gojo "now."
[What? You want the biggest bounty on Yuki Tsukumo's head…]
[Well damn, you're one lucky bastard. She had mysteriously been removed from the black market a month ago, but she resurfaced three days ago.]
Gong's reply stopped Jin in his tracks.
'Damn it, it was right under my nose!' Jin mentally cursed after piecing together the puzzle thanks to the chain of absurd coincidences.
Jin had realized the situation surrounding Yuki.
The person wanting to eliminate Yuki Tsukumo wasn't just the Star Religious Group, which would commission Riko's death in the future.
There was also Kenjaku!
The worst part is that she had good reasons for wanting Yuki Tsukumo gone.
The lack of information on another Star Plasma Vessel, the elimination of a troublesome force on the sorcerers' side, and disdain for the ideals this woman embodies.
There was also the lack of details on Yuki's innate technique, which Kenjaku didn't know in depth.
The list of reasons could go on.
"I had suspected the upper echelons of the jujutsu world because they don't like uncontrollable elements like Yuki, but…" he muttered while rubbing his temples in frustration.
Jin had been half wrong.
According to Claud's knowledge, his wife had usurped the identity of the Kamo clan head after the Shibuya Incident.
So the idea that she could have ties with them long before wasn't stupid, nor that she was the one pushing the Kamo clan to exert some pressure on the upper echelons of the jujutsu world to eliminate Yuki.
Thus, Jin was frustrated with himself for failing to detect his wife's ruse.
Worse, he had almost been manipulated by her.
"Hey you there!" a childish voice brought Jin back to reality.
On the other side of the alley he was walking through, a boy stood there, his blue eyes fixed on him without an ounce of the innocence characteristic of a boy his age.
This boy is Satoru Gojo.
(Image)