I, in a Jujutsu Kaisen Manga, Take the Detective Conan World by Storm

The Zenin family at night was quiet and orderly, slowly operating according to ancient feudal old systems.

Earlier, when Jiang Lai unexpectedly encountered a strange little girl searching for something in the courtyard late at night, he just casually helped her pick up the bracelet hidden in the grass, without thinking much about it.

However, after crossing several buildings, something suddenly flashed through his mind.

......Speaking of which, Zenin Maki or Zenin Mai who appeared in the original work should be about this age now? The little girl he just encountered, could she be one of those two?

But Maki and Mai were at least the family head's brother's children, how could they live in such a dilapidated side courtyard? And it seemed like there weren't any adults taking care of them?

Thoughts flashed through Jiang Lai's mind.

If he had indeed just encountered Zenin Maki or Zenin Mai, then the current Zenin family's cursed energy technique discrimination and male chauvinism seemed even more severe than in the original work.

Probably because the Zenin family here was more closed off than the one in the original work, having basically no contact with the new era outside world, with traditional feudal thoughts deeply rooted and continuing to this day.

After Jiang Lai roughly understood the Zenin family's external structure, he began more detailed observation of this place.

Of course, after the accident in the small courtyard earlier, he was more cautious this time. Only after ensuring no one was around did he turn and land lightly, conducting infiltration and observation.

Moving through the antique buildings had quite the feeling of an ancient assassin's night wandering.

Most of these infiltration techniques were also trained by Jiang Lai in the Detective Conan world's Black Organization.

Jiang Lai: Detective Conan world's two major learning bases, Black Organization and Hawaii.jpg

During his night patrol, Jiang Lai constantly paid attention to the surrounding architectural details. Combined with his observations from wandering around during the day, he discovered there seemed to be no iris flower symbols here.

......Was it because the Zenin family was closed and isolated, having no contact with the outside world? Or was it that all the Big Three families were like this?

Jiang Lai rubbed his chin, planning to temporarily set this question aside and ask Gojo Satoru tomorrow "whether the Gojo family has such symbols internally" to make speculative judgments.

He felt the Gojo family probably didn't have them either. Even if they did, with Gojo Satoru's personality, he would have torn them all down early... However, it was still better to ask tomorrow to get more accurate information.

After finishing his night wandering, Jiang Lai returned to his room through the backyard again.

The late spring night air was slightly cool. After stepping indoors, his sleeves still carried some moonlight coolness.

In the room, he removed the black-gold fox mask with one hand, revealing his original appearance.

When he placed the mask on the cabinet surface beside him and let go, the black-gold fox mask immediately turned into twinkling particles and disappeared in an instant.

Jiang Lai was slightly surprised, then vaguely understood: It seemed these constructed clothing items couldn't be separated from him, otherwise they would disappear and merge into the world.

This constraint was reasonable, otherwise wouldn't it be unlimited production? Jiang Lai jokingly thought. If truly unlimited production, that would really be getting rich from nothing.

Then he thought further: What were the specific limits of constructing and changing clothing?

......If he considered a sword as part of his clothing, could he construct a sword?

Thinking of this, Jiang Lai planned to test it simply.

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes slightly, recalling those film and TV images he had seen before, following his own instincts to try constructing.

After a few breaths, when he opened his eyes again, there was already an ancient, plain sword of just the right length at his waist.

......It really worked!!

Joy appeared in Jiang Lai's eyes. After pausing for a moment, he tried reaching out to draw it from its sheath.

Under the cold moonlight, the blade reflected bright light.

It looked usable! Jiang Lai's thoughts turned. If so, as long as he didn't let go, it could become his weapon.

Although the jujutsu world mainly used technique attacks, cold weapons could sometimes play unexpected roles.

So jujutsu sorcerers also used cold weapons. For example, Zenin Naoya habitually kept a dagger in his chest, used for certain close-range sneak attacks.

Of course, currently speaking, he didn't really need cold weapons. Jiang Lai deconstructed and disappeared the sword. Better not add psychological burden to the various people of the Zenin family.

Then he thought further.

Since swords could appear, what about some other high-tech electronic devices?

Following this line of thought, after Jiang Lai tried several more times, he discovered:

More complex modern society products couldn't be constructed if he didn't know their specific structure. Those he partially knew could construct the shell, but had no actual function.

For example, Jiang Lai could construct a watch as wrist decoration, but because he couldn't completely analyze the precise internal component structure and layout of watches, the watch only had an outer shell but wouldn't move its hands.

For another example, Jiang Lai could construct a handgun to wear at his waist based on his memories of firearms from the Detective Conan world. But because he didn't completely understand the precise size data of internal structural components, plus bullets would disappear when separated from his body, the constructed handgun was basically just an empty shell decoration.

Moreover, repeatedly constructing clothing items would consume mental energy. Although unrelated to cursed energy, he would feel spiritual fatigue.

......Well, indeed it wasn't unlimited use. Jiang Lai thought. But it was enough.

It was equivalent to having a walking wardrobe. As long as he could think of it, he could change outfits.

And even if some constructed items couldn't be practically used, they could still be used to scare people! He smiled with curved eyebrows. Brandishing an empty shell gun for show also had great deterrent power.

Jiang Lai (Fujiya expression): So the important thing isn't whether the props are real or fake, but whether the acting is real or fake!!

The next day during daylight.

Starting today, the Zenin family's students of appropriate age had to go to the open training ground for training, eight in the morning to five in the evening, with a two-hour lunch break.

Responsible for training and testing them were Gojo Satoru and Geto Suguru.

However, few people could make them bring out their real strength to fight.

Most of the time, Geto Suguru just released cursed spirits to battle on the field, or Gojo Satoru himself walked around the center of the field with Limitless active.

Sometimes, the white-haired teenager would move a wooden reclining chair to the center of the training field, then sprawl on it like a long cat sunbathing.

He played with a short wooden sword in his hand, occasionally symbolically swinging it at people who got close, or throwing wooden darts from the box beside him, lazily saying: "Alright, you win if you don't get touched."

Most people's attack target was Gojo Satoru himself, trying to break through Limitless—but no one dared to attack Gojo Satoru's reclining chair.

Because attacking the Six Eyes himself wasn't a big deal, but if they destroyed the chair and interfered with Gojo Satoru's sunbathing, Gojo Satoru would really get up and beat people up immediately.

There were one or two arrogant ones who wanted to bravely challenge by attacking the chair legs, then got beaten up by the jumping Gojo Satoru until their parents wouldn't recognize them.

In any case, the current strength of the Zenin family's teenagers and children was insufficient to contend with the naturally gifted high school duo who had been on many missions.

When Gojo Satoru moved his reclining chair to lie in the center of the training field, Jiang Lai and Geto Suguru sat on the sidelines.

They had set up a large parasol on their side, with the two sitting in the shade underneath.

Geto Suguru remotely controlled several cursed spirits of levels matching the teenagers on the field for combat.

Jiang Lai had nothing to do. Wearing his silver-white gold-patterned mask, he appeared leisurely on the surface while organizing his thoughts in his mind.

Before training began, Jiang Lai had brought up last night's question, specifically asking Gojo Satoru about the iris flower symbols.

Gojo Satoru's answer was: "Hah? My family doesn't have those things. If there were any—I would have thrown them all away long ago."

This was about what Jiang Lai had expected.

From this reasoning, the Big Three families' interiors should all lack these symbols.

It might be that as participating parties in the Regulatory Committee, the Big Three families had no need and were unwilling to install such monitoring devices within their own family territories.

It might also be because there were permanent Regulatory Committee personnel within the Big Three families, so with eyes already present, there was no need to add extra symbols.

As thoughts flowed through his mind, Jiang Lai vaguely sensed a gaze watching him.

The silver-white gold-patterned fox mask perfectly concealed his face, hiding his own expression.

Jiang Lai seemed to casually look up, following the cursed spirits' movements on the field to adjust his position several times, tilting his head slightly as if watching the battle or simply being attracted by the swaying cursed spirits.

Actually, he was using this to search for that hidden gaze.

His eyes swept over the many teenagers, children, house servants and guards, and Jiang Lai relied on intuition and observation to find that particular gaze among them—

On the steps on the other side of the training field sat a blonde teenager looking up toward them.

Although wearing simple training clothes similar to those around him, compared to the people beside him, you could see his clothes were designed more elaborately.

This person was Zenin Naoya.

Zenin Naoya sat here with a somewhat displeased expression, his upturned green eyes carrying a sharp edge, his knuckles tapping his knee irregularly.

He hadn't entered the field because Gojo Satoru was currently in the center.

Zenin Naoya had no intention of going up to get beaten, nor did he want to be like the others, stupidly surrounding Limitless for ineffective attacks.

There were also cursed spirits released by Geto Suguru on the field. But Zenin Naoya also didn't want to squeeze together with other family members, making a ruckus like something or other, to gang up on that cursed spirit.

So at this moment, he simply focused his gaze on the person supposedly a "monster" not far away.

The black-haired figure sat steadily there, navy blue kimono edges naturally hanging down with gravity. That person's eerie fox mask perfectly concealed their face, making it impossible to see what kind of face was behind it.

......Or maybe there was no face at all?

The image of [emptiness under the mask] that popped into his mind made Zenin Naoya's body pause.

Immediately after, he came back to his senses, lips pressed into a straight line, staring deadly at that figure with examining eyes.

Zenin Naoya couldn't sense any cursed spirit aura from that figure, so he firmly believed it was a human.

—Just someone who used special methods to pass through the barrier and fool the guards and others. Maybe the mask on their face was the special cursed tool that accomplished this.

He wouldn't be fooled... This was definitely someone Gojo Satoru brought to play tricks!

Those stupid guards couldn't see through it, and father and the elders probably just couldn't be bothered to fuss over such things, just going along with that problem teenager Gojo Satoru's playful nature.

But he absolutely didn't want to put up with it.

Zenin Naoya snorted coldly in his heart, grinding his canine teeth, his heart surging with the impulse to expose all of this.

Just then, that distant figure suddenly stood up.

The blonde teenager's body moved accordingly, his gaze fixed tightly on the other party.

Whether it was because Gojo Satoru or Geto Suguru had given advance notice, when that "monster" got up and walked, the surrounding house servants and guards actually didn't stop him.

When that person in navy blue kimono walked into the corridor outside the training field, Zenin Naoya couldn't help but jump up from the steps, preparing to lift his feet and follow.

A servant beside him thought he had something to instruct and bent over forward, waiting to listen.

However, Zenin Naoya just casually responded: "It's none of your business, I'm going to get something."

"I can help you fetch it, Young Master Naoya. You can rest here." The servant bowed diligently.

"Don't worry about it, I'll go myself. The thing is in a place only I know." That figure in his vision disappeared around the corner at the end of the corridor, and Zenin Naoya couldn't be bothered to say more to the servant. He impatiently pushed the other away, then quickly walked forward to chase after.

The noisy sounds of the training field were quickly left behind. Zenin Naoya single-mindedly pursued that elusive figure, not noticing how many turns he had taken.

When he stopped, he had already reached a sparsely populated area.

The corridor here was hung with many bell pendants, old small copper bells dividing the distant sky, jingling in the breeze.

That navy blue kimono figure stood in the center of the corridor, the mask on their face had somehow switched from silver-white to black-gold. The fox's hollow eyes were directly facing him.

"......" Zenin Naoya unavoidably tensed for a moment, but he quickly lifted his chin, his green fox eyes squinting: "Enough, take off your mask. I know you're someone that Gojo guy brought to fool people."

He deliberately used a drawn-out, contemptuous voice: "There's no need to perform this crude monster act—the Zenin family doesn't appreciate such boring little tricks."

That figure didn't speak, the penetrating wind lifting the edges of haori hakama and sleeves, overlapping ink marks climbing upward, spreading and expanding with each breath.

The jingling of bells became increasingly dense, the monotonous yet chaotic sounds weaving together as if accompanying the climbing talismans in music.

In this atmosphere, Zenin Naoya's back felt inexplicably chilly, but he didn't show it, just secretly gritted his teeth.

The blonde teenager stared ahead with his upturned eyes, lowering his voice: "Enough! This kind of boring monster performance might fool stupid people outside with that Gojo guy, but don't think I'll fall for it—"

Jiang Lai tilted his head slightly, rapidly and calmly calculating in his mind, his fingers hidden under his sleeves moving slightly, secretly setting up code traps in the surrounding space.

In Zenin Naoya's view, the figure standing in place seemed not to understand his words, or seemed not to have heard at all. This calm, casual attitude made him even more annoyed.

One arrogant Gojo Satoru was enough, and this nobody from who knows where dared to use this attitude with him?!

Zenin Naoya didn't want to continue wasting words. Actually, he had long been prepared for a sneak attack, ready to grab off that mask that might be a special cursed tool and expose this person's true face—

At this moment, he directly activated his technique, approaching at incredible speed in an instant, rushing to the side and directly reaching up to grab the mask!

That figure didn't dodge, just slightly looked up.

Probably couldn't react at all, right? Zenin Naoya sneered in his heart. Cutting in from the side, his fingertips were about to touch that strange fox mask—

However, at the last moment, he seemed to be blocked by something invisible, unable to get any closer by even a hair's breadth.

Not only that, when he got close, as if triggering something, the surrounding air accompanied by cursed energy fluctuations suddenly became tangible, like a big hand firmly gripping him!

Zenin Naoya: "!?"

He struggled in shock, but couldn't move much.

Zenin Naoya looked up in disbelief, widening his eyes. At close range, he could clearly see the only exposed eyes under the black-gold fox mask.

Calm and waveless brown like inverted earth, carrying the power that bears all things, slowly pressing down, bringing a certain invisible sense of suffocation.

Zenin Naoya had the illusion of being in a deep hole for a moment. When being gazed at, it was like being slowly buried by flowing soil.

The earth that nurtures and bears all things can equally strangle and bury living beings.

The air was quiet and stagnant for a second.

Then, those brown eyes lightly drifted away, and the mountain-heavy pressure also moved away with them.

Zenin Naoya just stared blankly as the other raised their hand, that ancient book poked his forehead and pushed lightly.

The tangible air gripping him had disappeared at some point. Zenin Naoya's stiff body staggered backward several steps under the push, falling into the large string of jingling, swaying hanging bells at the corridor's edge.