6 The First Encounter

Overestimating yourself.

Toji Fushiguro thought to himself. The blade in his hand was no ordinary weapon; it was a special-grade cursed tool known throughout the world for its extreme sharpness—Yueyuchian.

Across the entire jujutsu world, aside from the Gojo family’s Six Eyes, who could block such a strike with their heaven-defying Limitless technique, not even he, with his Heavenly Restriction, could withstand this blade with a mere mortal body!

This was the very reason he had allowed this suspicious youth to stay by Megumi Fushiguro’s side; Toji had absolute confidence in his ability to kill the opponent before they could even make a move.

He could already foresee what would happen next—the intruder’s arm, along with his head, would be severed by Yueyuchian.

*‘That brat will probably cry for a long time, won’t he?’*

For once, Toji showed a rare moment of consideration for someone else, though he quickly reverted to his usual scummy self:

*‘Well, I didn’t want him to witness such a cruel reality so early, which is why I let him go off to avoid this. Who knew he was so gullible? He believed whatever that stinking brat said and happily brought him back. I can’t blame myself for that. Besides, I couldn't very well kill someone in front of that house... that is the only good memory this piece of trash has ever had in his life.’*

As the blades clashed, his wandering thoughts snapped back, but the result was far from what Toji had expected.

Clang!

There was no scene of severed limbs. Yueyuchian felt as if it had struck an incredibly hard piece of metal, the massive recoil nearly knocking the sword out of Toji’s hand.

However, relying on the peak physical strength granted by his Heavenly Restriction, he managed to steady the hilt.

Toji looked at Rumin Kisaragi, who stood before him with only a torn sleeve and completely unscathed skin. A rare expression of disbelief flickered in his eyes.

"You’ve got to be kidding me?"

Refusing to accept this, Toji tried slashing at Rumin a few more times. The youth’s arms remained perfectly intact, while tiny nicks appeared on the blade of Yueyuchian. Realizing this, the nonchalance finally vanished from Toji’s eyes.

"If I hadn't used this blade to cut off the heads of dozens of sorcerers, I would’ve thought that bastard sold me a fake." His gaze shifted from the sword in his hand to Rumin’s face. "Since there’s nothing wrong with the blade, the problem must be you. So, what exactly are you?"

Rumin Kisaragi did not answer the question because he was absolutely furious the moment Toji had swung the sword at him.

"How can you fight in front of a child! It’s a terrible influence on Megumi!"

Megumi Fushiguro, who had been named, thought: *Is that the point? Shouldn't the point be that bastard Toji slashed at you several times and you’re completely unharmed?*

For a moment, Megumi didn't know who was acting more strangely.

"Huh? Kid, are you serious?" Toji looked Rumin up and down, finally confirming that the other man wasn't joking.

He was genuinely, from the bottom of his heart, worried about the negative impact this would have on Megumi. The reason he hadn't dodged the subsequent strikes was that his hands were busy covering Megumi’s ears!

This personality, which completely missed the point and could even be called simple-minded, reminded Toji inexplicably of the man who had once briefly provided him with a warm harbor he could call home.

Despite knowing better than anyone that he was an absolute piece of trash, that man had still been willing to take him in, never once complaining about or criticizing his vices, and would offer meticulous care whenever he sensed Toji’s low moods. He even used his own body to conceive their恩惠 (Megumi) for him...

Memories were like a floodgate; they opened easily, but closing them required a much heavier price.

Toji knew all too well what it felt like to face the cold reality after briefly tasting illusory happiness—it was more desperate than despair itself.

*Let’s end it here.*

Toji suppressed all his emotions and, right in front of Rumin, hoisted Megumi up. "Since you’re so concerned about this brat, how about I leave him for you to raise? You’re not an ordinary person, after all."

Although Rumin didn't understand what raising a child had to do with not being an ordinary person, it didn't stop him from nodding. "Sure." After all, Megumi was his child; if he didn't raise him, who would?

Toji curved his lips in satisfaction. "Good."

Knowing the various heinous deeds this man was capable of, Megumi suddenly had a bad premonition.

The next second, the premonition came true.

Toji walked up to Rumin, holding Megumi in one hand and extending his other palm. "One hundred million, and this brat is yours."

Rumin froze. "What did you say? Say that again?" He suspected his hearing had failed; otherwise, how could he hear his own husband, the child’s father, selling his own son?

Toji clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction, like a salesperson desperate to close a deal, and began praising the 'merchandise' in various ways: "It’s a bargain, alright? This kid has a high probability of awakening the Zenin family’s hereditary cursed technique, the Ten Shadows. That’s the only thing capable of killing the Gojo family’s Six Eyes! Do you know how high the bounty on the Six Eyes is on the black market..."

Very well, his ears hadn't failed him. His husband was truly selling their child! He wasn't joking! And when he mentioned that one hundred million, the genuine heartache he displayed showed he truly felt he was selling him at a loss!

His patience was gone! His knuckles were turning white!

Just as Rumin Kisaragi was about to reveal his identity to this scummy gigolo, he suddenly realized something—why was Toji so experienced in selling children?

Before he could ask, the man suddenly had a mental lapse and actively sabotaged himself.

"Are you taking him or not! You should know that when I sold him to that old geezer Naobito Zenin, I got a full one billion! Selling him to you for one hundred million is a literal steal! Are you taking him or not?"

Megumi, who had been caught off guard by the news that he had already been sold once, pursed his lips tightly after a brief moment of shock. A thin mist of tears welled up in his green eyes as he kicked Toji. "You bastard of a father..."

This kick naturally couldn't cause any real damage to the peak human specimen that was a Heavenly Restriction user, but Toji still shook Megumi in his hand with annoyance. "Huh? Brat, I’m trying to find you a permanent meal ticket here! You don't thank me, and you’re insulting me..."

Megumi, being shaken up and down, didn't fuss or cry; he just turned his head away and retreated into his own world. "I hate my father the most..."

Toji was about to say more when a sudden whistling sound cut through the air. Before he could react, he felt his hand go empty, and by the time he realized what had happened, he had already smashed through several walls, sent flying dozens of meters away.

Rumin Kisaragi stood there, holding Megumi in one arm and his fist clenched, his golden eyes burning with a turbulent rage. "I take back what I said earlier."

Toji, climbing out of the pile of rubble and preparing to retaliate, paused. "What did you say?"

Boom.

Rumin threw a punch straight toward Toji’s stomach. "A little domestic discipline is good for family harmony!"

"Kid, using the same move on me? Who gave you that confidence?"

Toji raised an arm to block the punch, but then he noticed something was wrong. This punch, which looked incredibly fierce, was actually completely harmless.

Because of the owner’s bias, not only was the force deliberately restrained—not even using thirty percent of his strength—but the point of impact was precisely chosen to avoid any parts of the body that would cause serious consequences.

Realizing he was being looked down upon, Toji raised his eyebrows in displeasure. "Kid! Who asked you to hold back? Who do you think you’re looking down on? If you want to fight me, use your real skills! Otherwise, you won't even know how you died."

Looking at the strong man, now stirred into a frenzy of battle, Rumin finally realized what he had cast aside in the joy of their reunion—Toji’s state of mind was very wrong.

It wasn't just his identity; it was his emotions.

Rumin had always thought Toji was at most a mid-level干部 (cadre) in some criminal organization, but now, having experienced Toji’s sword skills and movement—things no ordinary person could ever master—Rumin silently crossed that option off the list.

Yes, Rumin Kisaragi, who considered himself just another ordinary corporate slave, had known from the start that Toji was not a good person. He even knew that Toji had more than one life on his hands, yet he had still, without hesitation, chosen to entangle himself with the man.

Rumin couldn't help but think of their first meeting at his former boss’s residence.

That man was a rotten entrepreneur—chauvinistic, narcissistic, tyrannical, stingy, greedy, and lecherous... every negative trait one could attribute to a boss fit him perfectly. And because Rumin had refused to attend the company retreat he organized, he had been targeted as the new object of the boss’s amusement.

After a series of workplace bullying and oppression yielded no results, the man, in a fit of impotent rage, attempted to use physical violence. Realizing this, Rumin made the decision to fight back.

He carried a prepared weapon, attempting to use a spare key to sneak into the man’s residence, but several attempts ended in failure. In the end, the person inside grew impatient, pulled the door open, and dragged him inside.

His throat was gripped by a powerful arm, and his back was pressed tightly against the door panel. Because of the lack of oxygen, the scene in front of him was covered in a thin mist. His desperate struggle taught him two things:

First, he couldn't escape. Realizing this, Rumin gave up on futile resistance and chose to face his impending death calmly.

And this decision, by some stroke of luck, saved his life.

The tall man clicked his tongue in annoyance and released his grip. "I don't kill people who don't have money."

Second, the man who had tied him up had a pair of very beautiful eyes.

After he was able to breathe again, the first thing Rumin did wasn't to beg for mercy or run away, but to lift his head and stare straight into the man's face.