Chapter 121

Shirogane heard Enju's words, her eyes instantly sparkling with curiosity: "Oh? Little Enju, tell me—has Jia Ji ever done something like this before?"

Enju nodded vigorously, completely missing the mischief in Shirogane's tone: "Yes, yes! All these Cursed Children here were picked up by Brother Jia Ji."

Shirogane stroked her chin, a sly smile curling her lips: "Heh heh, that's filthy—no wonder Jia Ji's body is so toned."

Jia Ji listened as the two women openly discussed such lewd topics right in front of him, a pure-hearted boy, and his temple veins bulged with rage.

Two troublemakers!

Nonsense! As a practitioner of Hokuto Shinken, what's wrong with me taking in a few little girls? It's essential to my cultivation!

Loli special attack is real!

This is documented in the main series, side stories, spin-offs, TV anime, OVAs, and theatrical releases of Hokuto Shinken.

Though he screamed inwardly, Jia Ji's face sank, and unable to endure it any longer, he quickly changed the subject.

"By the way, Enju, didn't you say you were bringing Ren Tarō here? Where is he? How's he doing?"

"Ren Tarō is outside caring for the other children—he's helping Uncle Matsuzaki teach the Cursed Children. It's just break time, so I came to find Brother Jia Ji."

Enju answered cheerfully upon hearing Jia Ji's voice; Shirogane, watching how easily the girl's attention had been diverted, sighed and shook her head with a wry smile.

Matsuzaki…

A familiar name reached his ears; Jia Ji recalled its origin without effort.

He was the old man from the original plot who took in many Cursed Children and hired Ren Tarō to teach them.

He never expected Ren Tarō would meet him here—and that he'd be doing exactly the same thing: teaching.

Gravity is terrifying.

Even with me as a massive variable, some things still unfold inevitably.

Jia Ji grabbed Higuchi Kagehisa, who had awakened but was too severely injured to move freely, and walked toward the door, speaking to Enju as he went.

"Come on, it's time to give this loser Ren Tarō a full overhaul."

When Jia Ji arrived at the makeshift classroom, he saw Ren Tarō and Tendō Mugi standing together, going over a stack of papers as if preparing the next lesson for the Cursed Children.

Ren Tarō's face bore heavy dark circles and a weary slump—clearly, the things Jia Ji had done these past days had tormented him beyond endurance.

In stark contrast, Tendō Mugi radiated sunshine; her joy nearly overflowed. Clearly, though she'd only gotten scraps of people Jia Ji left behind to kill, her entire family had been honored extravagantly—this swordswoman's delight was better than orgasm.

Girl, you've finally found your path!

But beyond these two familiar figures, Jia Ji spotted an unexpected presence beside Ren Tarō.

Black sun hat, white trench coat, long white hair tied into a ponytail—it was Ren Tarō's senior, Sōsai Akira.

This refined-looking handsome man, in the original work, could fight powerful Cursed Children as a mere human, personally revealing the brutal truth of the Black Bullet superhumans.

IP Rank 970, Ren Ta Lang and Mugi's senior. Once considered the next master of the Tendō style, he was expelled for Sizi modifying the Tendō combat techniques.

How did he modify them?

He turned standard martial arts into a signature technique—Explosive Fist!

"Young man, have you widened your path yet?"

Seeing Sōsai Akira, Jia Ji turned his gaze to the other side of the classroom, where the children chattered happily. He quickly spotted the little girl with the conspicuous large hat and white hair—also one of the rare beast-eared loli in this world, Fushimi Miu.

Jia Ji told Enju to go play with the other children, then carried the limp Higuchi Kagehisa toward Ren Tarō.

Facing this man whose oppressive aura felt like a demon, Ren Tarō instinctively swallowed hard, his soul choked and his body trembling with primal fear.

Sōsai Akira, seeing Jia Ji's familiarity with Ren Tarō, spoke up.

"Ren Tarō, who is this?"

"He's… Enju's friend."

Just thinking of how close Enju was to Jia Ji made Ren Tarō's head ache.

Ren Tarō knew fully well: the strange man who appeared that day had slaughtered the entire cabinet, effortlessly defeated his adoptive father Tendō Kikunosuke, then swiftly and forcefully seized control of Tokyo through manipulation of the Holy Empress.

Such cold-blooded, efficient killing—and his bottomless methods—filled Ren Tarō with dread. He couldn't fathom this man's goal: to control all of Japan? To become the emperor of this post-apocalyptic world?

Yet on the other hand, Ren Tarō had to admit: Jia Ji's actions had directly improved the lives of the Cursed Children. The facts were undeniable.

But even so, Ren Tarō could not accept Jia Ji. The thought of this man slaughtering so many without remorse, then smiling cheerfully beside Enju, was unbearable.

"Hmph! So Ren Tarō, you're just a wimp."

The next instant, Jia Ji, as if reading Ren Tarō's thoughts, let out a cold snort.

Good at being good, but bad at being truly bad.

Rikai Ren Tarō, a street dog—your awakening is too light, nowhere near the resolve of your namesake, Rikai Kōrin.

In short, you're bland. Yet clinging to this "ordinary" mentality in this world feels forced.

That's why, in the original timeline, you ended up protecting nothing…

"Y-You can read my thoughts?!" Ren Tarō gasped in shock, then immediately scowled, furious: "How dare you speak to me like this after killing so many?"

"You butcher! Murderer!"

Jia Ji felt speechless—that's exactly why he didn't kill this guy.

He smirked: "Typical Yasaxi thinking."

Saying nothing but brain-dead nonsense—time for a heavy punch.

He glanced back at the other side of the classroom, where the Cursed Children played joyfully, free from danger and discrimination—days they once dared not dream of had become reality.

Jia Ji pointed his thumb toward the classroom door and beckoned Ren Tarō with a finger: "Meet me in the small grove after school. Coward can stay."

…

Ren Tarō, male lead of the Black Bullet world—overhaul plan, activated!

(End of Chapter)