On the very first day after transmigrating here, Naoya Zenin had already caught the scent of an early death.
Bad.
This was really bad.
Although he had already stepped in and altered the course of the plot so that Suguru Geto's corpse would be handed over to Kyoto, that was bound to trigger a whole chain of butterfly effects.
Kenjaku would never give up [Cursed Spirit Manipulation]. He would definitely find so way to steal the body back.
Satoru Gojo would never tolerate his friend's corpse being desecrated either. He would definitely find so way to take it back as well.
In other words, the biggest villain in Jujutsu Kaisen and its strongest hero both currently had an extrely serious corpse obsession, and not the kind that could be cured anyti soon.
If those two monsters found out that Naoya Zenin's plan was to happily send Suguru Geto's corpse off to the crematorium, then their opinion of him would shoot straight through the roof.
Couldn't everyone just sit down peacefully and have a nice afternoon tea?
Did it really have to end in a fight to the death?
Naoya Zenin felt he needed to seriously review the situation.
Who was trying their best?
Who was committing cris?
Whose playstyle wasn't team-oriented?
Whose picks and bans were completely heartless?
Admittedly, this transmigrator had not perford perfectly today either. His portrayal of Naoya Zenin still was not polished enough. Every now and then, he would accidentally start spouting ridiculous lines and deliver so spectacularly ill-tid remarks.
But even if he had played the role perfectly, would that have let him escape his fated death?
There was no way.
After all, in the original story, Naoya Zenin was a character who walked an extre path.
When other villains get beaten by the protagonist, they always get so tragic flashback to whitewash them. Maybe he had his own hardships, with an eighty-year-old mother above and a three-year-old child crying for food below. Maybe his family got kidnapped and he was forced into it. Maybe he was driven onto the outlaw's path despite being kind by nature. Or, in the trashiest version, maybe he committed murder, robbery, and arson without a shred of restraint, yet despite suffering three betrayals, he was still sohow a good kid.
But Naoya Zenin was too arrogant.
So arrogant that there was not even the slightest room to redeem him.
Don't talk to about morality or compassion. Don't talk to about world peace. And definitely don't talk to about a prodigal son's return.
Put nicely, he had a certain "So what if I'm the devil?" kind of vibe.
Put bluntly, this guy was a straight-up antisocial psychopath.
Pure evil.
A pure villain.
So when he finally died, the audience would be popping champagne. Not a single person would feel even a shred of sympathy for this piece of trash.
To put it plainly, if Naoya Zenin walked outside right now just to buy a pack of cigarettes, he would probably run into at least ten people on the way who wanted him dead.
"...Wasn't there supposed to be a savior even for villains?"
Naoya Zenin let out a long sigh inwardly.
From this villain's point of view, Jujutsu Kaisen was basically a trash ga with no clear route to victory designed into it. He was nothing more than a tool character ant to help level up the protagonist's side.
From the mont Naoya Zenin appeared, he got beaten down over and over. By incomplete statistics, he had served as a stepping stone for at least thirteen characters. And even after being stepped on that many tis, nobody had ever managed to beat the arrogance out of him. He was the kind of guy who would still leave behind nothing but his mouth even after being cremated.
And yet it was exactly that spirit of "my head can break and my blood can flow, but my hairstyle cannot be ssed up" that won Naoya Zenin quite a lot of popularity.
After all, from his debut to his death, Naoya Zenin did not successfully kill a single person. In that sense, he was basically a top-tier joke character.
But for this transmigrator, that was not a good thing.
It ant that the second he let his guard down, he really could die an unnatural death.
The fate of a villain was to et inevitable death.
No matter what he did, he could not escape the erosion of destiny. In the end, he would beco so stray dog by the roadside, kicked to death.
If he had a system backing him up, maybe he could at least roar, "Deep Blue, add points."
But all reality had left him was the character panel he ca with.
Think calmly.
If he wanted to turn the situation around, there were only two options now.
The first was to kill Maki Zenin before she could awaken.
In the original story, Maki Zenin fully awakened [Heavenly Restriction] after Mai Zenin's death. Then, in a burst of fury, she wiped out the entire Zenin Clan, and Naoya Zenin was sent flying on the spot by a single punch from that absurdly violent murderer of a cousin.
So if Naoya Zenin wanted to stay alive, the absolute necessary condition was that Maki Zenin must never awaken [Heavenly Restriction].
If he killed Maki Zenin first, there would be none of this extra bullshit.
With the power and status he currently held, getting rid of so bottom-ranked nobody in Tokyo would be ridiculously easy.
But very quickly, the transmigrator rejected that idea in his mind.
After all, this was Reborn as Naoya Zenin, not Naoya Zenin living a second life.
That was the kind of evil idea only the original, vicious villain could co up with.
It was too extre.
Yes, the situation he was in now really was grim. Countless eyes were watching him from the shadows, always ready to bite through this genius Jujutsu Sorcerer's throat and nail him to the pillar of historical sha.
But even so, Naoya Zenin would not allow himself to degenerate into human trash.
It was not because he thought himself morally superior.
If he killed Maki Zenin, then what would happen to the Shinjuku showdown set to erupt in full force a year from now?
Maki Zenin, after awakening [Heavenly Restriction], was a crucial fighter in the final battle against Ryon Sukuna. Even if he changed the plot and survived, the next part of the story would only beco this: before there was even ti to mourn the strongest Grade 1 Sorcerer, Kusakabe, the next one to arrive on the battlefield would be the strongest Grade 1 Sorcerer of the Three Great Families, Naoya Zenin!
So that left him with only the second option.
A choice the original Naoya Zenin would never have made.
"Oda, bring the list of this year's new students at Jujutsu High."
At Naoya Zenin's cold command, the servant Oda, who had been spacing out nearby, jolted in fright.
Though he had no idea why his master had suddenly taken an interest in Jujutsu High's student roster, Oda hurried out at once, then ca rushing back with a register in both hands.
Naoya Zenin sat in a chair in his bedroom, elegantly flipping through the contents.
Calling it a freshman roster was not really accurate.
This register looked more like a stack of job applications.
Portrait photo, family background, natural abilities...
After reading it, only three words ca to mind.
Holy shit. This is doxxing.
At Jujutsu High, more than ninety percent of the students ca from noble families. With their wealthy backgrounds, they could afford the exorbitant tuition.
But even so, the mont they actually enrolled and beca Jujutsu Sorcerers, endless financial pressure would co crashing down on them.
Jujutsu Sorcerers needed money.
A lot of money.
After all, in the world of Jujutsu Kaisen, Jujutsu Sorcerers were basically the equivalent of mages, and everybody knew how absurdly expensive mages were.
Venue fees, training costs, material costs, developnt costs. All of it required astronomical amounts of money to burn through, and there was a very high chance it would all amount to nothing in the end.
Exhausted and broke.
That was the reality of Jujutsu High freshn.
So in order to help these rookie sorcerers complete their studies, Jujutsu High had developed a sponsorship system known as angel investing.
Put simply, it was stock speculation.
Where there were people, there was always a hierarchy.
And that was especially true of an elite academy like Jujutsu High, where the Three Great Families were deeply involved.
Every year's freshn entered the angel investnt market, and whether their stock would rise or fall was ultimately determined by their final grades and overall ability.
If a freshman caught the eye of so important figure, especially an investor from one of the Three Great Families, then their future in the Jujutsu World could be said to be smooth sailing.
Very quickly, Naoya Zenin found the na he had been looking for.
[New Jujutsu Sorcerer]
[Maki Zenin]
[Affiliation: Tokyo Jujutsu High School]
[Rank: Grade 4 Sorcerer]
[Gender: Female]
[Background: Zenin Clan]
[Innate Technique: None]
[Sponsorship: None]
[Investnt Analysis: The absolute bottom of the first-year class. She has almost no Cursed Energy and cannot even see Cursed Spirits. Yet her most outstanding ability as a Jujutsu Sorcerer is her Taijutsu. If her goal in the future is to beco a gym teacher, then she would probably beco the first student in Jujutsu High history to be expelled for being too good at Taijutsu.]
Maki Zenin.
The girl in the photo wore her green hair in a high ponytail. The old-fashioned purple glasses made her originally pretty features look especially stiff.
She looked like a cold and ferocious beauty who was hard to approach, to the point that even soone as chauvinistic as Naoya Zenin felt an instinctive hint of fear.
So this was the super-buff demon woman.
Anyone who did not know better might have thought Toji Zenin had returned from the dead.
"What's the upper limit on sponsorship funds?"
Hearing Naoya Zenin ask so casually, Oda had no idea why the young master of the Zenin Clan was suddenly paying special attention to his own cousin, but he still answered honestly, "It should be one hundred million yen."
One hundred million yen.
Even for nobility, that kind of sum was not sothing to take lightly.
But for Naoya Zenin, this Kyoto young master's money, it was only a bit of loose change.
Still, if he openly sponsored her with one hundred million yen, would that cause so kind of unexpected complication?
Naoya Zenin's hand paused just before signing.
An investnt of one hundred million yen was already the kind of news that would cause a stir. And if it was publicly given under Naoya Zenin's na, then Maki Zenin would inevitably draw a great deal of attention from everyone else at the school.
The plot would definitely start veering beyond his control. Right now, that was his greatest trump card, so until he had absolute confidence, he ought to preserve the storyline as much as possible.
Every decision he made now was the sa as racing against death itself. He had to think even more carefully...
Then Naoya Zenin continued down the list, and suddenly frowned.
[New Jujutsu Sorcerer]
[Mai Zenin]
[Affiliation: Kyoto Jujutsu High School]
[Rank: Grade 4 Sorcerer]
[Gender: Female]
[Background: Zenin Clan]
[Innate Technique: Construction Technique]
[Sponsorship: None]
[Investnt Analysis: Matter created by [Construction Technique] does not disappear after the technique ends. Although her innate Cursed Energy is weak, this girl is certain to achieve sothing in the field of Cursed Tools in the future. Unfortunately, due to certain unavoidable circumstances, all investors are advised to think carefully before entering.]
Mai Zenin.
"How did Mai end up with no sponsorship at all?"
Naoya Zenin pointed at the page.
If Maki Zenin could not get sponsorship because she had no Cursed Energy at all and was basically a naturally gifted PE student, then Mai Zenin had [Construction Technique], and she was also Ogi Zenin's daughter. The fact that she had received no sponsorship at all was downright bizarre.
"Uh..."
Oda's expression turned complicated. He wanted to say sothing, but fear made him hesitate.
"Oda, you know I hate having my ti wasted."
"That's because..."
Oda lowered his voice as much as possible.
"Ogi-sama... well... said he wanted to train his two daughters' independence..."
The servant had already phrased it as tactfully as possible.
To put it more accurately, Ogi Zenin had directly issued a hard order to the Jujutsu World, cutting off any form of assistance to Maki and Mai. He wanted those two unfilial daughters, who had cost him all dignity, to wake up already, co ho and serve the Zenin Clan like beasts of burden, then get married off one day and start a new account. That would be more than enough.
And so, these two noble young ladies born into one of the Three Great Families had actually fallen to the sa state as lowborn commoners...
Still, that was a good thing in its own way.
After all, one certain blue-haired young lady with twin ponytails had turned from a cherished white moonlight into a pressure monster for no reason other than a lack of money.
And right now, Naoya Zenin lacked many things, but money was not one of them.
If you could raise favorability with money alone, could that even still be called a problem?
"...If I sponsored Maki and Mai, do you think they'd accept my money?"
The mont he heard that question from hell, Oda's whole body shook violently. Then he stamred, "Th-that... although Young Master Naoya, you are a Special Grade 1 Sorcerer, and also the highly respected future head of the Zenin Clan... how should I put this... your two cousins... are currently in a rather rebellious phase..."
Are you kidding ?!
You wanted those twin sisters to accept Naoya Zenin's sponsorship?!
How was that any different from telling them to bite their lips, lie on a bed, and spread their legs?
Young Master, you really do forget things easily.
Back when you were a child, you used to step on Maki and Mai's heads and bully them just because you were older. Even we servants wanted to punch you when we saw it...
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