NOVEL NEXT Chapter 23: The council.
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The next day, 8:30 AM.
Megumi was rolling his shoulders as he landed on the front door of the Jujutsu HQ compound, onyx coloured feathers fading away into shadows behind him, the last day was a tiring one for him. He spent the afternoon training with Maki, it was a novel experience if nothing else.
Her overwhelming physical abilities were something he wasn't accustomed to in the slightest, even Satoru didn't hit as hard as she did when they sparred. Although that was probably because he held back a lot, Maki does not know such restraint.
He couldn't blame her for it, if one day he woke up and suddenly found himself practically a hundred times stronger in every regard, he would also struggle to restrain his strength. Still, he was barely able to keep up with her strength and speed even after Reinforcing his evolved self to the max.
'If I had to guess, my current base physical abilities are much higher than Maki's unawakened powers but slightly lower than Yuji's base physique. If my original self's estimations were correct then if we don't consider cursed energy, base Yuji could solo the entirety of Tokyo high at the same time; including unawakened Maki. Then I could probably do the same with a bit more effort, not mentioning if I used cursed energy and my shikigami.'
As he was in the middle of walking into the inner sanctuary of the higher-ups, he stopped, reconsidering his thought process.
'My original self, huh? When did I start considering Megumi and I as the same being, I suppose after living so many years as the same person, the line where 'Jack Conners' started and where 'Megumi Fushiguro' began started to blur…'
Megumi then heard a panicked voice that brought him out of his reflections, looking up he saw the familiar visage of Ichiji Kiyotaka.
"Fushiguro-san, you're an hour late for your meeting with the elders and higher-ups! This is bad, what happened?" The window asked, worried as this is Megumi's first time meeting them and making them wait would not give them a good first impression.
"Calm yourself Ichiji-san, those old fossils can bear to wait a while for me to arrive. I have better things to do than come here for them in the morning, they should be glad I came at all." He said with a smile as they made their way to a door that was heavily guarded by barriers and by two grade 2 sorcerers.
"W-What are you talking about Fushiguro-san, this is important, they won't ignore all disrespect simply because you're under Gojo-san's protection! I wasn't told as to why you were called for this meeting, what is it that gives you so much confidence in this?" He asked incredulously.
Chuckling, Megumi reached into his sleeve and pulled out his sorcerer ID and handed it to Ichiji who walked by his side. Walking past him, he reached the door and started talking to the sorcerers guarding the door to the inner sanctum.
"S-Special Grade?! You got ranked as a Special grade sorcerer? I-Is that why you were called here?" The window was completely aghast and taken off guard at such an early promotion.
"Haha, you're correct in that assessment. Looks like the spies they had watching me told them things that made them shit themselves and scramble to raise my threat level in their index while finding a way to put a leash on me in any way they could think of, but I think they're gonna be sorely disappointed." Megumi deduced with a grin as he raised his hand into the air.
The hand shone with cursed energy as the markings of his 'Gamma' Incarnation formed upon it, from the sigil a tendril of shadows sprouted and shot at Kiyotaka, grabbing his ID from his hands and handing it to the guard at his right.
If one paid close attention, they would notice that the tendril was weak and shaky, barely held together as shortly after being summoned it fizzled out. The sigil on his palm followed it shortly after as it broke apart and faded away as well, causing him to clench his hand closed in annoyance.
'Damnit, I still can't form a stable Incarnation without chanting and the hand sign, everytime I try it just falls apart. So be it, I'll just have to train more and more until it's been engraved so deeply within my body that activating any Incarnation would be as easy as breathing.'
He watched as the guard inspected the ID for a moment, his eyes shining with cursed energy, no doubt signalling the activation of a cursed technique before he handed the ID back to him and bowed along with his partner.
"All the checks have been concluded Zen'in-sama, you may go in and greet the Honoured Elders. Be warned that they may be disgruntled at your tardiness so I urge you to present them with gifts to soothe their nerves." The guard advised with a respectful tone, knowing that the gap in strength between them and the sorcerer in front of them was one that could not be ignored.
"Thank you for your worry but I don't think things would escalate as much as you think they will." Megumi dismissed as he walked past them and placed his hand on the handle of the door and stepped through to the other side.
'They can call me Zen'in all they want, in the end the more political sway I have with the clan the better it'll be for me later on. Now then, time to see what these old geezers want.'
Megumi felt a spatial shift as soon as he stepped into the room, the door behind him closed and then disappeared from view as if it was never there to begin with, no doubt being the effect of a specialised barrier. He walked through the hall, pillars that were hollowed out with candles inside them flanked him on each side repeatedly.
After a bit of walking, another shift in space occurred as he felt himself pass another barrier. This time he appeared in a pitch black room, around him multiple Shoji appeared and he could feel cursed energy signatures behind each one.
"Zen'in Megumi, you are outrageously tardy in showing yourself before the council. Do you care to explain yourself?" An aged voice spoke from behind him, the cursed energy felt somewhat familiar. It was close to that of Noritoshi Kamo so if he had to guess the owner of the voice is a Kamo clan elder.
"I apologise, I'm afraid I was… Preoccupied with other business and was delayed in reaching here 'Honoured Elder', but I am here now so may I please know why I have been summoned?" Megumi replied, his tone when sounding somewhat sarcastic as he replied in a way that could be called out.
The elders caught this but didn't speak of it knowing that nothing could be proven. The next voice came from his right.
"Your apologies have been noted but not completely pardoned, you are expected to make further efforts to arrive on time on future summons." Guessing by the fact that the signature was not familiar, he had to guess that it belonged to a Gojo clan member as they held a neutral position instead of being antagonistic or supportive as he'd expect the Zen'in clan to be.
"But focusing back on the intended topic of this summon, you are here to receive your congratulations on your brand new designation as a Special Grade sorcerer as well as receive your expected responsibilities." Spoke the elder ahead of him, guessing from the tone and the fact that they're trying to pull the direction of the meeting into a direction more favourable to him; it must be a Zen'in elder.
"Do not assume that the Kamo clan has not noted your attempts to sway the verdict of this meeting, Zen'in Arataka. However, you are correct. The Kamo clan extends its deepest congratulation towards the Special Grade sorcerer, Megumi Zen'in and hopes to have a fruitful relationship in the future."
'Shrewd little fossil aren't you? Trying to establish a sense of dominance in front of me in the council while at the same time trying to curry favour with me as a potential Heir to the Zen'in clan and a Special Grade sorcerer.' Megumi thought with a small smirk.
"The Gojo clan offers its warmest commendations to the young sorcerer and hopes that the support provided to you has not been forgotten, but it is time that we focus back upon your new responsibilities, is it not?" The Gojo clan elder seemed slightly annoyed at the Kamo clan's advances and moved to shift the tides back in their own favour.
"Indeed, it is a great honour to have you brought up to the heights of a Special Grade sorcerer, Zen'in Megumi. However it is time for you to prove your worth to the council, as such you are now to report to the Jujutsu Headquarters twice a month and accept missions and assignments when needed." Spoke a voice from his left, he immediately recognised it as the Kyoto school's Principal Gakuganji Yoshinobu.
'Haah? Looks like he's trying to see how far I'm willing to be pushed around, this geezer really thinks he's all that doesn't he? Unfortunately for him, I'm no dog they can put a leash on and make do whatever they want just because they dangled a piece of meat in front of me.' Megumi could practically smell the air of self satisfaction in the area after that order.
Megumi had made his annoyance and disdain obvious immediately as the hold over his Obsidian flames tightened and let loose his cursed energy, the sheer amount and pressure of his presence sent shivers down the spines of all present even through the barriers.
"I think you might be mistaking me playing along as blind obedience, I might not be Satoru or Tsukumo but I think we all know just how easy it would be for me to slaughter the lot of you right now. I'm here to work alongside the council for the betterment of Jujutsu society, not to be your new toy. You would do well to learn your place in the world, Principal Gakuganji." For the first time since he entered the inner sanctum, Megumi made sure to let all of them know their limits.
Everyone in the room could understand the veiled threat behind his choice of words, saying his name in such a context was akin to telling directly that he knows where he lives and where he would hide so he could get to him even if he was forcibly kicked out of the inner sanctum.
Despite the threat he wasn't the only one who felt such annoyance as he heard a very familiar voice sigh from the side, that being the Tokyo school's Principal Masamichi Yaga.
"He's right, you can't possibly be seriously expecting him to be your little dog on a leash just because he was recently promoted, please try to be more reasonable Yoshinobu-san." Sighed out the principal in agreement, he felt like he was always relegated to being the mediator when talking with others from outside the council.
Gakuganji stammered slightly in response to the unexpected outburst and being identified while hidden by the barrier of the Shoji but he gathered himself quickly thanks to his experience in politics.
"This is an outrage, you can't possibly be supporting this obvious contempt of the council! He is making a fool out of the very cornerstone of this Society!" The Kamo elder exclaimed, seeming outraged at the clear disdain shown to them.
"Calm yourself Maito Kamo. This is being reasonable Masamichi-san, but very well, we will take your worries into consideration; for now he must take an assignment in order to prove himself to us." The Gojo clan elder replied, his annoyance veiled but noticeable in his tone.
"Agreed, I motion for him to be assigned with the retrieval of Ryómen Sukuna's fingers." Said the Zen'in elder with a smirk, secretly satisfied with the temper of his preferred Zen'in heir.
"A-Ahem, motion seconded, we have been overwhelmed with the surge in curse sightings and understaffed after Suguru Geto's rampage through Tokyo and Kyoto so we need someone reliable to go and seize it to be sealed away." Gakuganji added, trying to seem as unbothered as possible after his loss.
"We concur." "Sounds agreeable." "An acceptable conclusion."
Calls of confirmation were voiced out around him, as Megumi knew what he must do next.
"Then the motion has passed, Zen'in Megumi will be assigned with the retrieval of the Special Grade cursed objects and is expected to start within the week." Ordered principal Yaga, seeming happy that things were put on hold so they would lose a chance to try and 'put a leash' on Megumi; for now.
"Very well, if that is what is required of me then I shall deliver. If that is all 'Honoured Elders', I'll be on my way." Megumi said with a smile and closed eyes, he was already sensing the barrier focusing on him again and getting ready to send him away.
"Do not disappoint us, Zen'in Megumi." The Zen'in elder commanded as Megumi's body flickered and faded away in a flash of light.
Silence permeated the inner sanctum of the Jujutsu Headquarters, each council member was in thought as they sent away the newly appointed Special Grade sorcerer.
"Is that child even worthy of such a designation? Even with a domain expansion and his extended usage of the Ten Shadows, he can't be on the same level as those two before him…" Started the Kamo clan elder, his disdain for Megumi was seeping through into his words.
"Don't forget his track record Maita Kamo, doing everything he did in the night parade was no small feat. If he managed all of this now, even before joining the Jujutsu technical college. I shudder to think of what he could be capable of after a few more years of experience." Replied Gakuganji.
"We gave him this designation based on the threat we know he could be much like Okkotsu before him, and he showed exactly how far his contempt for us goes. Remember what tipped us to the side of giving him such designation; that special cursed energy trait of his could prove to be a real threat if we do not find a way to control him." Stated the Gojo clan's elder, his opinions were coloured and influenced by the former exploits of Megumi's father before him.
"He might not currently be on the level of threat that the likes of Satoru Gojo or Yuki Tsukumo but he has been on a rather disturbingly fast rate of growth recently, he might grow too fast for us to handle if things continue as they are now." Continued Maita Kamo with an expression of extreme disdain.
"Hm, indeed. That trait of his, combined with the abilities of our fabled Ten Shadows makes him a being of extreme Potential to do lasting damage to our structure and we must find a way to limit him. Remember, Maintaining the Agenda is our Top Priority." Concluded Zen'in Arataka as he placed one hand upon the other.
They continued their meeting for a while after, their topics shifting from one to another as the cornerstone that kept the world of Jujutsu balanced worked to maintain their agenda.