That statement itself was not wrong. In Japan, the legal adult age is twenty, but the legal marriage age is eighteen for men and sixteen for women, with guardian consent required before adulthood and no restriction after. Those occasional high school brides came from rules like that.

  But coming out of Satoru Gojo’s mouth made it different.

  Maki Zenin said, “You? Reliable?”

  Panda asked, “Can you even take care of a child?”

  Akira added, “Are you sure it wouldn’t be the child taking care of you instead?”

  Toge Inumaki did not speak. He simply picked up Pancham, who sat comfortably in Inumaki’s arms, perfectly showing what taking care of a child looked like.

  Seeing that, Satoru Gojo gave up arguing and nodded again and again. “Mm, mm, looks like you could get along with my kid pretty well.”

  By now, everyone was used to Satoru Gojo’s awful personality. Maki Zenin asked, “So which unlucky kid is it?”

  “I’ll show you a photo.”

  Satoru Gojo took out his phone, opened the gallery with practiced ease, and tapped on a picture.

  The photo showed a teenage boy with hair grown long like Satoru Gojo’s, sticking up as well. It was not the uniform upward sweep like Satoru Gojo’s broom head, but spikes pointing in all directions.

  People usually called it hedgehog hair. Like broom heads, it was common among delinquent types.

  The boy’s eyes also carried that rough delinquent feel, though his looks were good enough. His features resembled Maki Zenin a little, and his appearance could easily compete with hers.

  But looks were not the focus. At Tokyo Jujutsu High, everyone was good looking, and being average was almost embarrassing.

  What about Panda? Sorry, that was on another level entirely. When it came to popularity, humanity had already lost.

  “This is your kid?” Maki Zenin frowned. “How old is he this year?”

  “Fifteen. Why?”

  “As expected of the head of the Gojo Clan. Scum,” Maki Zenin said without hiding her contempt.

  “I think you’re more suited to be Panda than I am,” said the emotionally intelligent Panda.

  “Salmon,” said Inumaki, the professional repeater.

  “You had a kid at twelve. You really could pull it off.”

  The only one who knew the truth, Akira, not only did not explain but added fuel to the fire, because it amused him.

  “While I think having a kid at twelve isn’t impossible, I should clarify. He’s my adopted son. Just look at the hair color.”

  The white hair of the Gojo Clan was hereditary, while the boy in the photo had pure black hair.

  “Oh, an adopted son. Sorry, I misunderstood. It’s great that you’re not like certain people and actually held on to basic human limits.”

  It was not that Maki Zenin was being overly aggressive. Growing up in the Zenin Clan, she knew too well how filthy the Three Great Clans could be.

  What did it mean when they said Jujutsu came first? It meant that inheriting Jujutsu allowed you to do whatever you wanted.

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Since Jujutsu inheritance relied heavily on bloodlines, it was easy to guess what they would do to preserve lineage and keep techniques pure.

  Close kin marriages, multiple wives, having as many children as possible and as early as possible. After all, the danger of being a Jujutsu Sorcerer was always there.

  Having a child at twelve was shocking in the normal world, but in the Jujutsu World, it was not unheard of.

  Maki Zenin’s cousin Naoya Zenin had more than once shown beastly intentions toward her. And someone like Satoru Gojo, who showed invincibility from a young age, attracted even worse thoughts.

  No one knew how many people wanted to bear his children. Even if Satoru Gojo did not want it, others in the Gojo Clan would find ways to make it happen.

  “I think so too,” Satoru Gojo said with a smile, though his tone had lost its joking edge. “That was part of why I adopted him. But strictly by blood, he’s actually closer to you, Maki Zenin.”

  “Closer to me?” Maki Zenin froze, then her eyes widened. “You mean that rumored child?”

  “The rumored child?” Panda asked in confusion.

  Pancham tilted its head as well. Two equally blank faces.

  “It’s a scandal of the Zenin Clan. No one knows exactly what happened, but the clan’s core technique, the Ten Shadows Technique, was inherited by a child living outside the family, while no one inside inherited it.”

  Techniques were not inherited one hundred percent of the time. Mutations and incomplete inheritance happened, so a clan might pass down more than one technique. Even under the idea of Jujutsu above all, techniques still had priority rankings.

  That was why Akira’s cheap biological mother had insisted on taking Noritoshi Kamo. He had inherited the Kamo Clan’s signature Blood Manipulation, the highest tier and highest priority.

  Unless a second Blood Manipulation heir appeared, Noritoshi Kamo was guaranteed to become the next clan head.

  “The old men have always wanted to bring that child back, but they never managed to. So that’s how it is. If it’s you, then it’s not surprising.”

  As she spoke, Maki Zenin burst out laughing, louder and louder.

  “Hahaha, what a masterpiece. The Zenin Clan’s signature technique sitting in the Gojo Clan. They can’t win a fight, and they can’t take him back. Hahaha. What’s this kid’s name?”

  “Megumi Fushiguro,” Satoru Gojo answered.

  “Not Gojo?”

  “This kind of thing should follow the child’s wishes. He’s not a baby.”

  That was how Satoru Gojo was. Usually unreliable, but clear headed when it mattered, which was why he could be trusted.

  “I can’t wait to meet this relative.”

  Maki Zenin spun her spear, her eyes filled with obvious excitement.

  “Then let’s go take a look,” Akira said as he stretched.

  “You’re going too?” Maki Zenin glanced at him.

  “If I don’t go, who’s going to stop you two from fighting?” Akira replied with a smile.

  “Am I really that obvious?” Maki Zenin muttered.

  “What do you think?” Akira asked back.

  No matter what surname the boy in the photo used or whether he would return to the Zenin Clan, the fact remained that inheriting the Ten Shadows Technique made him the most suitable clan head candidate in theory.

  If Maki Zenin wanted to become the head of the Zenin Clan, she would have to prove she was stronger than Megumi Fushiguro. With her personality, a fight was inevitable.

  Besides that, Akira was also curious about what the real Megumi Fushiguro was like.

  That was the second male lead of Jujutsu Kaisen, the one people called the true heroine, with three “strongest” fathers. His adoptive father Satoru Gojo, his biological father Toji Fushiguro, the strongest physical body who nearly killed Satoru Gojo and was known as the Heavenly Restriction tyrant, and his wild father, the strongest Jujutsu Sorcerer from a thousand years ago who fought the entire Jujutsu World alone, Ryomen Sukuna.

  Most importantly, Akira could roughly guess what was happening on Megumi Fushiguro’s side. Megumi Fushiguro was one year younger than him and had just started his third year of middle school.

  “This is a rare chance. Why don’t we all go together? Tomorrow’s the weekend anyway. We can treat it like a short vacation. Training every day is tiring too.”

  “No, we’ll pass.”

  Unexpectedly, Panda refused.

  Inumaki looked at him in confusion. Panda smiled mysteriously and poked Pancham, which was lying on his shoulder.

  “Little brother is at a critical stage. Inumaki and I will stay and help with special training. You and Maki Zenin enjoy a nice weekend.”

  “What’s with that look? Disgusting,” Maki Zenin shot him an annoyed glance.

  Akira did not think much of it. “Then thanks for the hard work. Little Sha, Little Sha, let’s have a long overdue family trip. Remember to tell Mom and ask if she wants to come too.”

  “Sha,” Gardevoir answered as she floated over, circling Akira affectionately.

  Akira naturally patted her head, his smile bright and open.

  Panda first looked at the innocent Gardevoir, then glanced at Maki Zenin, putting on a serious expression.

  “A long road ahead…”

  Akira’s idea of a “trip” turned out to be exactly right. The Gojo Clan was in Tokyo, and Satoru Gojo was also in Tokyo, but his adopted son Megumi Fushiguro was not. Instead, the boy was in Saitama Prefecture, which bordered Tokyo Metropolis.