At night, the moon hung high in the sky, yet many members of the Gojo family had not gone to sleep. They remained awake, keeping a close watch on the forge, fearing that if they dozed off, they would miss the birth of another Zanpakutō.
Satoshi's latest forging attempt had not only caught the attention of the Gojo clan but had also drawn the eyes of other forces across the Jujutsu world.
However, inside the forging room, Satoshi wore a helpless expression.
This attempt had taken an unusually long time. One of the two fire-element Cursed Tools the clan leader had procured for him had already failed during forging. Now, Satoshi was making a second attempt.
Clang!
As the final hammer strike fell, Satoshi set down the blade blank in his hands and sighed.
"Forging failed."
The moment those words left his mouth, shock spread across everyone's faces.
As outsiders, they had clearly felt the sharpness and searing heat emanating from the blade blank. Based on previous experience, the completion of a Zanpakutō should have been a natural process, right?
This was different from Satoshi's earlier months of trial and error. Back then, he had been unfamiliar with the process, experimenting to find the right approach.
This time, everything had proceeded smoothly—except for this final step.
Seeing the regret on everyone's faces, Satoshi smiled.
"Maybe the Zanpakutō I'm trying to forge is simply too powerful. It makes sense that it wouldn't be created so easily."
Even though he had just experienced failure, it was Satoshi who ended up comforting Gojo Satoru and the others.
"Was it because of the Cursed Tool materials?"
As an experienced blacksmith, Gojo Takuya was the first to notice the issue.
During the forging process, Satoshi had been growing more hesitant as he approached the final steps, as if worried that the next strike would shatter the material.
Clearly, the quality of these Cursed Tools was too low. While they did possess fire-related properties, they were still insufficient to serve as the foundation for Satoshi's Zanpakutō.
"A Grade 2 Cursed Tool isn't enough? Does that mean we'll need a Grade 1 Cursed Tool just to forge this Zanpakutō?"
Satoru's words made the entire room fall silent.
None of them were strangers to Cursed Tools, so they understood how rare fire-element Cursed Tools were. Even these two Grade 2 tools had likely been secured through the clan leader's personal connections.
If what Satoru said was true, then it might take quite some time before this Zanpakutō could be forged.
"Alright, let's call it a day. Everyone's tired, so get some rest. We can figure it out later."
Satoshi waved his hand, dismissing everyone.
The flames in the forge gradually dimmed, and soon, silence filled the room.
What Satoru said might actually be an understatement. To truly forge Ryujin Jakka, I might need a Special Grade Cursed Tool.
But... I've never heard of a Special Grade Cursed Tool of that level.
Well, there's no rush. I'll take my time searching. Since the path to forging is currently blocked, I should focus on breaking through to Shikai first.
Looking at his nearly full experience bar, Satoshi nodded in satisfaction.
Lately, Satoru's sparring sessions had been particularly useful, significantly speeding up his progress.
At this rate, in just a few more days, he should be able to break through Hakuda and begin learning Hohō.
With that thought, Satoshi drifted into sleep, filled with anticipation.
Meanwhile, outside the forging room, discussions were already spreading across the entire Gojo family and the broader Jujutsu world.
"Young Master Satoshi's forge has gone cold? But the strange phenomenon of the Zanpakutō still appeared… What's going on?"
"Did the forging really fail? That's impossible."
"Something must've gone wrong in the process. Someone just went to check, Young Master Satoshi voluntarily ended the forging tonight."
"This can't be his fault. There must've been an issue with the materials."
"Maybe this is a divine warning telling Young Master Satoshi not to hand out his Zanpakutō so casually. Our Gojo family truly is chosen by the heavens…"
"..."
Over at the Zenin estate, Ogi and Naobito both let out a sigh of relief upon hearing that Satoshi's forging attempt had failed.
If Gojo Satoshi had managed to successfully forge another Zanpakutō so quickly, it would have put even more pressure on the Zenin clan.
"Naobito, what do you think? Will he ever return to the Zenin family?"
"It's unlikely. Toji has always had a mind of his own. If that weren't the case, he wouldn't have concealed his strength for so many years."
Thinking back to when Toji had single-handedly defeated them, both Ogi and Naobito found it difficult to even discuss.
Although there was no direct connection between Toji and Satoshi, seeing Satoshi fail even momentarily still gave them a sense of relief.
At this point, all the Zenin family could do was comfort themselves with small victories.
Meanwhile, over at the Kamo estate, Kamo Shin nearly burst out laughing when he heard the news.
"Gojo Satoshi's forging attempt failed?"
The moment he confirmed the truth, his heart filled with excitement.
As long as Gojo Satoshi wasn't flawless, as long as he had weaknesses, then he wasn't invincible.
Kamo Shin could already imagine how things might play out—if Satoshi ever experienced another major failure in the future, the higher he had climbed, the harder he would fall.
"Perhaps this is how Gojo Satoshi's downfall begins."
"After all, it's completely unnatural for one person to forge so many Zanpakutō alone."
Kamo slowly calmed himself.
Since Satoshi had failed this time, he would simply wait and watch.
Still, the fact that Shoso hadn't consumed Satoshi alive was unexpected.
If this continued, he wouldn't be able to delay Gojo Takuya's proposal any longer.
It was clear now, he had no choice but to visit the Gojo family personally.
Whether it was to retrieve Shoso or to determine whether Satoshi was truly worthy of advancement, this meeting was inevitable.
---
"Grandfather, Satoshi failed in forging this time!"
Gojo Genichi rushed to deliver the news to Gojo Kumaen, unable to hide his excitement.
Ever since Satoshi had forged Senbonzakura for Satoru, many clan members had been pressuring his grandfather to take action.
But now, finally, Satoshi had suffered a setback.
For Genichi, this was cause for celebration.
"Genichi."
Kumaen's deep voice carried a weight that made Genichi straighten his posture.
"If Gojo Satoshi continues to fail, it will be the greatest loss for our Gojo family."
"He won't give up so easily. The clan leader said something important, the future of the Gojo family rests on both Gojo Satoshi and Gojo Satoru."
Genichi froze.
Such words wouldn't be surprising if spoken by anyone else.
But coming from Gojo Kumaen, the leader of the Twin Curse Faction, and the acting patriarch of the Gojo family, the implications were monumental.
While the major clans continued their discussions, far from the political scheming, in a secluded Yagyū residence, Yagyū Hidetsugu retrieved an ancient scroll from the ancestral hall.
Yagyū Yusuke nodded slightly, while Yagyū Saemon looked on solemnly.
It was Tsuki no Sho, a sacred text containing the swordsmanship techniques of Yagyū Shinkage-ryu, passed down through generations.
That very night, as Gojo Satoshi's Zanpakutō forging attempt failed, the Yagyū family made a decision.
They would trade the Tsuki no Sho with Gojo Satoshi, in exchange for a Zanpakutō.
(To be continued.)
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