Oda was an ordinary middle-aged man you could find anywhere.
His mother was a member of the Zen'in main family, which was probably the only thing in his body that was close to aristocratic blood. However, because his father was just an ordinary corporate slave, the two offset each other, and Oda didn't have the thick skin to call himself an aristocrat.
Although he had a father who worked like a horse and was completely unrelated to the jujutsu world, Oda was, after all, a descendant of the Zen'in clan in name. Relying on his relatives' connections, he entered the Zen'in estate and buried his head in studies with the goal of becoming a jujutsu sorcerer.
But the cruel reality was that wanting to become a jujutsu sorcerer had absolutely nothing to do with acquired effort.
To become a qualified jujutsu sorcerer, one must possess an Innate Cursed Technique.
In the Zen'in clan, where strength was supreme, as long as a descendant successfully awakened an Innate Cursed Technique, their future status in the family could be determined based on the strength of the technique.
Zen'in Naoya awakened the same Projection Sorcery as Zen'in Naobito, which was why he was by default considered the next head of the Zen'in clan.
However, Projection Sorcery was not the pinnacle of the Zen'in clan.
Just like the Gojo clan's Six Eyes and Limitless Cursed Technique, the Zen'in clan also had their version's answer—
That was the Ten Shadows Technique.
Oda had also fantasized about whether he could pull the SSR "Ten Shadows Technique" in the gacha of life, and then directly leap over the dragon's gate, transforming from a marginal figure in the Zen'in clan to the heir of the next clan head.
However, facts proved that he was born with terrible luck—
Let alone the Ten Shadows Technique, he didn't awaken an Innate Cursed Technique at all!
Which was normal.
After all, his father was just an ordinary human, and his mother's bloodline was incredibly thin. It was like Liu Bei constantly claiming to be a relative of the Han imperial family, but if you actually looked closely at the genealogy, it was purely a joke.
The path to becoming a jujutsu sorcerer was a dead end.
But looking at it from another angle, the path to becoming a cleaner was wide open.
As one of the Big Three Sorcerer Families, the Zen'in clan was wealthy and imposing. If a clan member didn't have the talent to become a jujutsu sorcerer, they wouldn't just kick you out of the house. After all, if you get married, have kids, and create a new account, who knows, maybe your child will pull an SSR?
So, joining the Kukuru Unit became the only choice.
Oda was open-minded about it.
After all, he wasn't Zen'in Maki. He didn't have a father who was the second-in-command of the Zen'in clan, so he didn't have any face to lose in the first place. So what if he did odd jobs for the Zen'in clan?
At least it was a prominent big family, right?
If you put it in the outside world, wouldn't it be equivalent to a Fortune 500 company?
He couldn't just be like his father, working himself to death as a corporate slave exploited by capitalists, right?
Being exploited by capitalism versus being exploited by feudalism. Oda thought about it for a long time and finally decided to bite the bullet, kneel in front of Zen'in Naoya's door, kowtow a few times, and directly become a loyal dog to the young master!
Actually, working for Young Master Naoya wasn't a bad job.
The pay was good.
The money Zen'in Naoya gave was more than twice the average salary of the Kukuru Unit members, and he never cared about the accounting surplus.
There was little to do.
Zen'in Naoya never needed Oda to get involved in jujutsu world matters. He only had him do odd jobs, run errands, and make purchases.
No overtime.
As a Kyoto young master, Zen'in Naoya was busy attending various high-class parties at night. A lackey like Oda naturally wasn't qualified to tag along.
Except for having to work cautiously with his head tied to his waist, you couldn't find such a good job anywhere else in the entire jujutsu world.
As long as Oda could go against his conscience and focus on being a lackey, he could live quite comfortably.
But there was no helping it.
Oda's honest and timid personality, coming from the countryside, was something he couldn't change in his entire life even if he wanted to.
Finally, after rushing to finish the sponsorship money matter within the three-minute limit, Oda was able to return to his home door with a face full of exhaustion.
He pinched his pants, only to realize that area was soaking wet.
"Is it sweat?"
The middle-aged man sniffed, then said with a relieved face: "Oh, it's urine. Well, facing an evil person like Young Master Naoya, how could I just sweat from fear..."
After all, having worked by Zen'in Naoya's side for many years, Oda had also witnessed with his own eyes this young master's ability to torture servants.
So Oda didn't pretend.
He really had peed himself from fear earlier.
"Uncle Oda, you're back?"
A friendly voice came from inside the room.
Oda hurriedly squeezed out a smile, pretending that nothing had happened, and replied: "Sorry, Ranta. I stink of sweat right now. Let's eat after I take a shower."
Soon, Oda changed his clothes, suppressed all the sorrow in his heart, and faced his nephew in his best state.
Zen'in Ranta.
Like Oda, Ranta was also a distant relative of the Zen'in clan. But he was lucky enough to awaken an Innate Cursed Technique, and his talent as a jujutsu sorcerer was extremely eye-catching. Currently a Special Grade 1 Sorcerer, he had become an executive of the Hei organization.
The Hei organization was the nominal leader of the Kukuru Unit and the core strength of the Zen'in clan. Ranta was not only young and promising, but what was even more commendable was that he hadn't caught the arrogance of the jujutsu world at all. He was still that child from the countryside, always gentle and polite, and had an excellent relationship with the Kukuru Unit. Regardless of whether the other person was a jujutsu sorcerer or not, he would call everyone "Uncle" or "Auntie." He was a good kid loved by everyone.
"Uncle Oda, is something on your mind?"
At the dinner table, Ranta specifically placed a piece of meat in Oda's bowl and asked with a face full of concern.
"...Why would you ask that?"
Oda forced a calm smile.
"Does my complexion look terrible today?"
"Is it about Mr. Naoya?"
Ranta was indeed very sharp; it was simply impossible to hide things right under his nose.
"Yeah... a little something happened today."
Oda was silent for a moment, and finally nodded.
He put down his chopsticks, rubbed the space between his eyebrows, his face written with exhaustion.
"Today, Young Master Naoya specifically asked me for the list of new students at Jujutsu High. I originally thought it was just a whim, but I didn't expect him to not let it go. It turns out he was preparing to inquire about Maki and Mai!"
Ranta frowned slightly.
He had also heard about the matters concerning Zen'in Maki and Zen'in Mai.
After all, as Lord Ogi's children, they should have inherited an Innate Cursed Technique no matter what. But what the Zen'in clan absolutely never expected was that the children born were twins...
In the jujutsu world, twins had represented bad omens since ancient times.
If it were in ancient times, one of the twins would definitely be drowned upon birth, and only one would be chosen to be kept alive.
Lord Ogi originally planned to do the same, but Maki and Mai's mother swore to the death not to comply, using all her strength to protect the twin sisters.
Sure enough, bizarre things happened to the twin sisters.
The younger sister, Mai, was fine; she awakened the Construction technique. Although her cursed energy was a bit weak, she was ultimately a jujutsu sorcerer.
But the older sister, Maki, awakened the legendary Heavenly Restriction...
The Heavenly Restriction stripped away all of Maki's cursed energy, making her completely unable to see cursed spirits, but in return, it drastically strengthened her physical body, giving Maki an extremely formidable physique.
In the Zen'in clan, where cursed energy was revered, even Oda, who hadn't awakened an Innate Cursed Technique, possessed a decent amount of cursed energy.
The daughter of the dignified second-in-command of the Zen'in clan, Zen'in Ogi, had absolutely no cursed energy?
This in itself was a completely humiliating matter.
Not to mention, the last member of the Zen'in clan to awaken a Heavenly Restriction was the sinner of the jujutsu world, Zen'in Toji, who was personally killed by Gojo Satoru!
All these ominous signs caused Zen'in Maki to suffer bullying in the Zen'in clan since childhood. Anyone could kick her. Finally, in a fit of anger, Maki chose to run away from home, completely driving the situation to extremes!
"What does Mr. Naoya want to do?"
"He specifically ordered me to give sponsorship money to Maki! And he used a specific anonymous method! Not letting Maki know who the sponsor is!"
Oda was exceptionally angry thinking about this matter.
Because before Maki left the Zen'in clan, as a female, she had exceptionally joined the Kukuru Unit. At that time, Oda felt that Maki was a little girl who took her work very seriously. It was a pity she was driven crazy by the inhuman Zen'in clan!
Perhaps because that guy Zen'in Naoya finally wasn't by his side, the middle-aged man had the courage to slam the table and say indignantly: "Ranta! You see what kind of thing this is! Letting that child use her enemy's sponsorship money to study. The day the truth is revealed, I can't even imagine what kind of despairing expression Maki will have on her face!!!"
In stark contrast to Oda's anger, Ranta's expression fell into deep thought.
Then, the black-haired boy with a ponytail opened his mouth slightly, but the words that came out almost scared Oda to death—
"I think what Mr. Naoya did is actually a good thing."