12.- Prelude to Change

After Maki and Mai calmed down, Megumi took them to their room. He ordered the sisters to shower, change their dirty clothes, and stay inside their room for the day. This was to prevent anything similar to what had just happened from occurring again.

Before heading to training, Megumi left the Tiger Funeral with them. This way, in case of an emergency, he could know what was happening thanks to his shared vision ability.

—[Zenin Clan Training Ground]—

Upon arriving at the training ground, Megumi saw a burly man with thick eyebrows and a scar on his face standing with his arms crossed. The man's gaze was apathetic, and he didn't bother to speak upon seeing Megumi.

Standing in the middle of the vast field, the two figures stared at each other. Occasionally, the wind passed around them, ruffling their hair, but neither dared to say a word.

The silence continued to dominate the field until suddenly, a small watch that the scarred man kept in his clothes began to vibrate, prompting him to finally speak.

"My name is Jinichi Zenin, and I will be in charge of training you in combat. The scholars of the clan will teach you about the sorcery society. And if you wish for training with any specific weapon, the head of the Kukuru unit will instruct you. Understood?" Jinichi Zenin said in a firm voice.

"Understood," Megumi responded with his characteristic calm.

"Good... before we begin, do you have any questions unrelated to what I just said?" Jinichi asked, emphasizing the end of his sentence.

"Actually, I do," replied a smiling Megumi, looking him in the eyes.

Sensing that if he didn't say something, this conversation would drag on longer than necessary, Jinichi shouted, "Stop beating around the bush, boy. Spit it out!" He had no intention of wasting time on mind games.

"Ok," Megumi sighed, a bit irritated by Jinichi's personality. "You're my uncle, right?" he asked Jinichi.

"Yes," Jinichi responded curtly, "but don't think that means I'll go easy on you because we're all family in the Zenin clan," Jinichi warned Megumi.

"You'll only finish your training the day you defeat me! Now... attack me!" Jinichi shouted as he got into a fighting stance and released his cursed energy.

"Careful what you wish for... UNCLE," Megumi warned Jinichi.

[Rabbit Escape]

Hundreds of rabbits scattered across the battlefield in all directions with just a thought from Megumi. Seeing this, Jinichi growled in annoyance and activated his cursed technique [Punch Shower], charging toward Megumi's location and destroying all the shikigami that blocked his path.

When Jinichi was only 5 centimeters away from Megumi, Megumi disappeared into the shadows, momentarily disorienting the burly man. However, Jinichi didn't have much time to be distracted, as one of the nearby rabbits turned into a shadow puddle, from which Megumi emerged, delivering a strong kick to Jinichi's back and making him fall to his knees.

'What the hell?' thought Jinichi, seeing his nephew seemingly teleport.

"What's wrong, old man? Are you so aged that you're having back problems? It would have been better if you had died instead of my father; he wouldn't have fallen to such a weak attack," Megumi taunted Jinichi with a smile.

"You little brat! I'll teach you to respect your elders!" Jinichi charged at Megumi like a rabid dog.

'Perfect,' thought Megumi.

[Peregrine Nue]

Just before Jinichi could strike him, Megumi summoned the fusion of [Nue] and [Piercing Ox], and the newly summoned shikigami shot up into the sky.

"POW"

Just as Jinichi thought he had Megumi, Megumi repeated the tactic he used earlier, this time aiming to hit Jinichi's shoulder.

Irritated by Megumi's mockery, an enraged Jinichi continued attacking him relentlessly but without success.

"PUM"

[Flash]

"POW"

[Flash]

"BAM"

"AAAAARRRGHT! I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS CRAP!" Jinichi let out a loud scream and unleashed a flurry of punches that destroyed all the rabbits around him.

"Uncle... it seems you're not in a good mood. That could be bad for you. I'll play with you to help you unwind," Megumi taunted before charging at Jinichi and beginning an exchange of blows.

Although calling it an exchange wouldn't be quite fair, Megumi was beating Jinichi, pushing him back repeatedly and elegantly dodging his attacks.

Despite Jinichi's immense natural physical strength, he couldn't compete with Megumi's cursed energy reinforcement due to the insane amount of cursed energy Megumi had at his disposal and his refined control over it, honed with the help of Satoru Gojo.

As the fight progressed, Jinichi looked more and more outmatched. His flying punches had no effect on Megumi, who could easily destroy them with a single punch, so he stopped using them to avoid wasting cursed energy and instead fought hand-to-hand with his cursed reinforcement, but even then, he couldn't keep up.

Tired, frustrated, and a little scared, Jinichi decided to use every drop of cursed energy to boost his body to the maximum and strike Megumi. This would undoubtedly be his final and most powerful blow, and for a moment... it looked like it would actually connect.

But life is cruel, and when Jinichi tried to punch Megumi, who had jumped into the sky in an apparently foolish move, his fist went right through him as if he were a ghost. Through the gap in Megumi's abdomen, he could see the sun, and in the middle of it, a bird diving towards him.

In that moment, Jinichi knew he had lost.

"FWOSH"

A second later, the bird pierced Jinichi's abdomen, giving him the appearance of a human donut.

'W-What?' Jinichi wondered, seeing the blood flowing from his abdomen. He was undoubtedly confused and astonished by the outcome of the fight.

"If you're wondering how this happened... it's quite simple to explain," said Megumi, standing in front of Jinichi with [Peregrine Nue] on his shoulder.

"This little one here," he said, gesturing to the bird, "is the combination of [Piercing Ox] and [Nue]."

"The combination gave birth to a shikigami whose damage increases as it dives. Its attack style reminded me of peregrine falcons, so I named it [Peregrine Nue]."

"Pretty neat, isn't it?" Megumi stroked [Peregrine Nue] with his finger.

Jinichi didn't respond to Megumi's words, as he was too busy accepting his impending death and reflecting on all the actions he had taken in his life.

He remembered the time he insulted a woman, the time he hit a woman, the time he abused a woman. It had been a good life, Jinichi concluded.

Seeing Jinichi with vacant eyes and his head hanging low, Megumi said to him, "You don't have to die, you know?"

Upon hearing Megumi's words, a glimmer of light returned to Jinichi's eyes.

"You've seen my strength; it's most likely that I'll become the leader of the clan," Megumi began, stating a fact.

"And when that happens, I will need people I can trust, someone who won't betray me... and who better than my own uncle to take that position?" Megumi lied blatantly, but Jinichi had no way of knowing.

"If you swear unquestionable loyalty to me, I will heal you," Megumi finally declared.

Weighing his options for a moment, Jinichi realized that... he really didn't have any, so, looking Megumi in the eyes, he responded with a throat dry from blood loss.

"I accept."

"Very well then, Jinichi Zenin... live for me," said Megumi as he took Jinichi's hand, and the man's wounds disappeared in an instant.

<><><><><>

After gaining one more ally, Megumi was determined to solve the problem called the "Zenin Clan," so he summoned Ougi to join him and Jinichi on a visit to Naobito's office.

Once the three were in front of the door, Megumi asked Ougi to knock. However, this wasn't necessary, as Naobito was apparently already informed of their arrival and told them to come in.

Upon entering, they saw Naobito with a sake bottle in his hand. His face was flushed, and his expression was relaxed—a clear indication that he had been drinking.

Once Megumi and his companions were standing in front of Naobito, he spoke to them.

"Hic... who would have thought that hic... in just two days you'd have those fools at your disposal?" Drunken Naobito had a broad grin seeing his stubborn brother and the apathetic Jinichi beside Megumi.

Taking another sip of his drink, Naobito continued his speech.

"Well... why are you here, kid? If it's about the Mai and Maki matter, I guarantee nothing bad will happen to them again as long as I'm the head of the Zenin clan, you have my word. After all, we can't afford to lose such a valuable asset like you, right?" Naobito winked at Megumi.

"And if you're here because of my brother, don't worry. This clan follows the law of the strongest, so if you hit him a bit, no one will complain," Naobito had a perpetual smile on his flushed face.

"As for your training, I'll find you another trainer. It seems the one I assigned turned out to be very deficient," Naobito gave Jinichi a disdainful look.

Interrupting Naobito, who seemed like he'd never stop talking if allowed, Megumi said, "Old man, I'm not here for any of those things. And I think you know that."

Dropping his friendly demeanor and setting his sake aside, Naobito spoke in a firm voice, "Speak."

"I'm here for your position. Originally, I planned to indulge a bit in my old lazy nature, you know... for old times' sake. That way, I would climb up the Zenin hierarchy little by little, enjoying the process," Megumi seemed to get lost in his memories as he spoke these words.

"But... you know what? I realized that wasn't the right thing." With a gesture from Megumi, Jinichi and Ougi blocked the exits of Naobito's office.

"Better said... you forced me to realize it and take action," Megumi's eyes seemed to pierce through Naobito's skull.

"It seems this damn world wants me to change, whether willingly or not," Megumi's hair covered his face.

"Anyway... the fact that you harassed innocent girls has unleashed my wrath," Megumi lifted his head; his eyes were completely black, and an aura of electricity surrounded him.

"Now, I offer you two options: surrender or die, your choice," Megumi declared.

"Ha! If you think I'm as cowardly as my brother or Jinichi, you're mistaken," Naobito grabbed his bottle and took one last drink before smashing it against the floor and taking a fighting stance.

"I wouldn't expect anything less from the clan leader," said Megumi.

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A/N: Please remember that English is not my native language, so if you see any errors, feel free to point them out.

[Peregrine Nue]

A/N: That's the most similar to what I imagined it would be.