"Tell Charl to be careful around old Naobito until the deal is finalized," he said to Tsubaki before hanging up.
The acquisition of the Zenin twins was practically guaranteed, according to Jin's understanding of the Zenin clan. However, the former salaryman still lacked a lot of information on Naobito.
"That old man is literally the reason the Zenin clan survived while Toji was still alive," he thought inwardly while gathering what he knew about the fastest man of this era.
Naobito Zenin.
He is the head of the Zenin clan and the father of Naoya Zenin. Even though he gives the impression of being a drunkard at first glance, Jin knows he is far more cunning than that.
For example, he openly despised Maki during Shibuya. Yet he saved her multiple times.
He even suggested to Nanami that she had no place in such a dangerous location, something the gentleman sorcerer didn't refute.
A whim? Or contempt? Possibly, but that act wasn't an isolated case.
Outside of Shibuya, the old Zenin should have been much harsher with Maki on the diplomatic front after she left the clan for Tokyo.
Instead, Maki only received a slow promotion in her sorcerer grade.
"There's also the fact that he chose Megumi over Naoya," Jin thought as he returned to sit beside Toji and Gong.
Objectively, Naoya wasn't a suitable choice for the role of Zenin clan leader.
He was an arrogant, misogynistic, and egocentric man. However, Jin couldn't deny two irrefutable things about him:
Naoya perfectly embodied the ideal image of a sorcerer according to tradition.
And Naoya Zenin was strong.
His potential wasn't on the level of Higuruma or Gojo, but he could clearly reach the peak of Grade 1.
Yet the most logical choice for Naobito wasn't his own blood.
It was betting on another path—namely Megumi Fushiguro.
With that single decision, Naobito had demonstrated his desire to change things within his clan.
He had rejected everything wrong with the Zenin clan, embodied by his son, and decided to bet on the new era that Gojo was trying to establish.
Thus, Jin suspected that Charl might have some difficulty dealing with the old Zenin.
"Why have you been frowning for a while now?" Gong asked after seeing Jin staring at the racetrack with a furrowed brow.
Jin let out a small sigh while thinking about Nayuta and the twins, then answered in a calm tone:
"Nothing serious. I was just thinking it would be nice to be a cloud sometimes," he said seriously.
Gong looked confused by his colleague's words, but Toji piled on.
"Strangely, I get it. I have to go pick up Megumi from daycare soon. Yet I'm sure my luck will turn on the next bet," added the unemployed man while looking at the blue sky.
The two men shared their torments without their friend being able to grasp the suffering tied to parenthood and marriage.
"Are all family men like this?" Gong wondered as he watched the two men lost in their own worlds.
The intermediary swore to himself that he would remain single.
…
In an isolated place, right in the middle of nature.
A young man dressed in elegant attire faced a middle-aged man who was sitting carelessly on the ground with a bottle of sake.
The atmosphere was calm, but the apparent gentleness of the moment hid a fierce battle.
"Roh… I'm still surprised you're willing to bend over backwards for those two little girls," Naobito declared, holding back a burp mid-sentence.
(Image)
He casually grabbed the sake bottle and drank in a completely unethical manner.
A clear act of contempt toward his guest.
Yet Charl showed no sign of irritation at Naobito's inappropriate behavior.
The man wore a professional smile as he took a sip of the sake served to him by a servant.
It was obvious that the Zenin clan looked down on the Twilight guild.
"Haha, we're just a group of non-sorcerers trying to cultivate the foundations of a real clan," Charl lied while keeping his smile.
Naobito glanced at him while drinking his sake.
'He's lying…' he thought, setting the bottle on the ground.
Barely three years ago, the Zenin clan had welcomed the birth of twins into Ogi Zenin's family.
A banal event for most mortals, but frowned upon in the jujutsu world. The birth of twins had always been considered a bad omen.
Naobito didn't care about that superstition, but his brother Ogi didn't share the same view. Because of that, the man neglected his wife and children.
From the old Zenin's perspective, the story seemed to be slowly heading toward tragedy, but the clan was then contacted by a recent force in the underworld: the Twilight guild.
Ogi had agreed to sell his daughters at the first offer Charl Choi made. However, Naobito had frozen the transaction.
For him, even if the girls might turn out weak as sorcerers, they were still Zenin.
But he had underestimated how far the man before him was willing to go to obtain the twins.
Naobito didn't want to sell, but the elders had been applying enormous pressure these past weeks due to Charl Choi's relentless offers.
That was why he finally agreed to a meeting to finalize things.
"Oh really? But they're too young for you. If you want, I have girls who could do the job," Naobito replied, trying to regain control of the conversation.
He didn't know why Charl was trying so hard to get the two little girls, but his experience told him they were probably valuable.
If they're valuable, then the Zenin keep them, right?
Unfortunately, he had once again underestimated Charl Choi.
"Excuse me for my indiscreet words, but these children are not for me," Charl explained with a shrug.
"It just so happens that the young master of our organization is turning two this year, and they are potentially meant to be paired with him," Charl added with a friendly smile.
Translation: we don't want other girls and we want the two little ones for Yuji.
"I understand, but…" Naobito paused before continuing.
"However, this isn't just a question of money," Naobito declared as he released his cursed energy.
An attempt to intimidate Charl and regain control of the conversation. Unfortunately, he underestimated the man in front of him once again.
Charl remained perfectly calm in the face of the old Zenin's intimidating aura.
"You're talking about strength?" Charl asked, looking straight into the middle-aged man's eyes.
Naobito was surprised that the non-sorcerer wasn't intimidated by his presence.
Beyond that, he could feel a certain pressure emanating from the man sitting across from him.
The middle-aged man couldn't help comparing this case to another non-sorcerer.
'Does he have an innate restriction?' he wondered while observing Charl.
The idea wasn't really stupid.
The world Charl Choi came from had individuals capable of shattering rocks and uprooting trees with their bare hands.
Maki's level before her awakening was common there.
Even though Charl Choi wasn't the real one, he had been created by the causal market to be identical to the original.
Thus, he possessed the strength of Charl Choi at his peak—the minimum Jin assumed it to be.
The man had four masteries and a strength surpassing that of the first-generation kings, outside of the top-tiers like Kitae.
Charl was a monster in human skin.
…
Author's note: No need to have read Lookism; everything will be explained soon regarding the masteries (and also the Path).
All you need to know is that a king can easily destroy rocks.
(Image)
They all possess attacks exceeding the speed of sound, according to the panels.
Thus, Charl Choi possesses at least four masteries, according to Tom Lee's words. As for his level in combining them? I'll refer to Jinyoung Park and Tom Lee for that aspect (same generation, and the trio had similar levels).
Another piece of information: this is the bonus I owed you. I'm still going to publish.
I plan to continue with the Tengen events in chapter 41 and chain into the canon by the end of the week (chapter 45).
I just hope I won't be too busy.