Why am I not even a little surprised?

"Let's begin..." Gojo raised his hand with a lazy movement, as if he were about to announce the main act of a grand spectacle. His voice carried an ironic tone, a corner smile betraying his complete disinterest in the seriousness of the situation. "The greatest judgment in the Jujutsu world."

Ryan blinked slowly, feeling the heavy vibration of the environment as Riko pressed against his arm. The grandeur of the hall was suffocating, and the eyes of the council hovered over them like hungry vultures.

"Ah, you son of a bitch!" Ryan's voice came out hoarse, laden with raw frustration. "You dragged me to this damn judgment and didn't even bother to warn me?!"

Riko shrank slightly against him, her breathing uneven. The girl didn't need to speak loudly to be heard. Her whispering voice, almost fearful, carried a weight greater than any shout.

"They... want the assimilation to happen at any cost..."

The suffocating presence of the elders became even more oppressive when one of them, seated in the center, finally opened his mouth. His voice was deliberately calm, but each word was laden with an irritating arrogance, as if the mere presence of the defendants was already an affront.

"I require the defendants to proceed to their assigned places... This meeting must be treated with the seriousness it deserves."

His gaze fixed on Ryan, cold, predatory. The kind of look that powerful old men cultivate over centuries, convinced of their untouchability.

Ryan tilted his head slightly, studying him. "Arrogance of a fossil..." he thought, his lips curving into a cynical smile.

He remembered Gojo's words before they arrived. "From now on, things are going to get more... boring. So I want you to keep your confidence and follow my rhythm."

Sighing, Ryan lightly ran his hand over Riko's head, his fingers sinking into her dark hair.

"I'm here now..." he murmured, his voice firm but comforting. "So relax. Let's have some fun with these old folks."

Her eyes met his, unsure, but trusting enough to nod silently. Together, they walked to the chairs arranged in the center of the hall. Ryan held her hand until she was settled, before sitting down beside her, his relaxed posture contrasting with the overwhelming tension that permeated the environment.

The instant their bodies settled into the seats, the lights came on with a sharp crack, focusing brutally on them. Ryan raised an eyebrow, his mind already sketching out the psychological game behind that cheap trick.

"Miserable... do they really think they're going to intimidate me with this?" His gaze swept the audience of shadows and elders with silent contempt.

Then, he felt the delicate pressure of Riko's fingers squeezing his hand. He didn't even need to look to know that she was tense.

"It's... they intimidated Riko."

An elderly, grave, and imposing voice filled the hall, cutting through the brief silence with an inevitable judgment.

"Ryan Gosting. A repatriate of the Misato family with the sole mission of protecting the Star Plasma Vessel, along with Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto, until the time of her assimilation. But, of his own volition, he committed the transgression of kidnapping the Star Plasma Vessel, having as his accomplice the present representative of the Gojo family."

The silence that followed was different from the first. It wasn't just an emptiness, but a weight. Ryan felt the hungry gaze of the hidden shadows, concealed presences waiting for a single excuse to attack him. He scanned the place with a predatory look, mapping every invisible threat, every subtle movement that betrayed a possible attack.

Then, the elder on the left sayd, his voice carrying a growing grudge.

"Do you understand... the consequences of your actions?"

Before Ryan could answer, another elder intervened, his posture rigid and his words sharp.

"The moment of assimilation was interrupted, making Tengen-Sama's assimilation impossible at the moment... And, in the face of the clear betrayal exposed before all, I reaffirm: the mission should have been given to the Zenin family from the beginning."

The previous elder exhaled heavily, irritation seeping into the coldness of his voice.

"We will not enter into such discussions now—"

But Ryan cut off his speech without hesitation. His voice sounded deep, strong, and filled with something the elders did not expect: defiance.

"Star Plasma Vessel..." He let out a brief, disdainful laugh, before crossing his legs with an almost insulting tranquility. "You hypocritical old men... Her name is Riko Amanai. And, just to be clear... I don't give a damn about these 'consequences' that you love to mention so much."

The hall was filled with a new wave of indignant murmurs, until a polite, but clearly irritated voice, cut through the environment with surgical precision.

"What a foolish young man... Behaving this way before us, even though he belongs to such an insignificant family."

Another elder soon added, with a tone of false patience:

"As a repatriate of the Misato family, you should cherish the hierarchical position that was granted to you."

And, finally, the blow came.

"The best solution would be to hold the entire Misato family responsible for their heretical member."

Riko's face paled upon hearing this, and her voice escaped uncontrollably:

"T-they want to involve Kuroi in this?"

The moist glow in her eyes betrayed the weight of her words. The grip on his hand intensified, as if she were trying to hold onto Ryan to keep from falling apart.

His body reacted before his mind. He stood up in one movement, his gaze sharp as blades cutting through the air around him. At the same instant, the surrounding shadows moved, hidden warriors preparing to attack.

The elder who had initiated the threat rested his face on his hand, impassive before the scene.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, boy..."

Ryan did not back down. On the contrary, he tilted his head slightly and raised his hand, slowly sliding his thumb across his own throat in a provocative gesture. A silent warning, a clear challenge. His golden eyes shone with a dangerous intensity.

"Okay, okay! I think we're all properly introduced now!"

Gojo interrupted with his relaxed voice, cutting through the growing tension with an irritatingly carefree smile.

The elder turned to him, his voice laden with cold contempt.

"Satoru Gojo... Don't think you're above this situation. You are also a defendant in this judgment."

Gojo, with one hand in his pocket and gesturing with the other, began his speech with a tone that mixed irony and nonchalance:

"Riko Amanai was destined to become the one who would assimilate with Tengen-sama. It's a fact, isn't it?"

He paused briefly, turning to Riko with a calm, almost playful smile, before facing the elders again.

"But… there was a small detail that you conveniently ignored." His voice became slightly more cutting. "She also has the right to choose. And I, Geto, and Ryan decided to support whatever decision she made."

Ryan sighed, closing his eyes for an instant. "Show-off..."

Gojo continued, unconcerned with the growing tension, raising a finger casually. "Riko chose to continue living. To know the world, to explore everything she hasn't seen yet." He smiled sideways before adding, in a slightly sarcastic tone: "She even got a boyfriend, did you know?"

Riko's eyes widened, blushing instantly as she shot an incredulous look at Gojo. The sorcerer, in turn, seemed to enjoy her reaction, completely oblivious to the weight of the situation.

"Tengen-sama has a vital function for the Jujutsu world. I know, he is responsible for maintaining the barriers and all that..." He paused, tilting his head slightly. "But we'll figure something out."

The elder who had spoken before now intervened, his voice laden with barely disguised irritation.

"What are you saying, Satoru? Are you fully aware of the words that come out of your mouth? Tengen-sama sustains the barriers throughout Japan, his assimilation is essential to prevent him—"

"I know that very well." Gojo interrupted him, his voice maintaining unwavering confidence.

While observing the exchange of words, Ryan sighed, resting his face on his hand. "What a pain... This all reminds me of the meetings I had to go through in my past life... Rich families who think they are above the whole world... So arrogant... I sincerely started the conversation fed up... These idiots, so pompous... But they always cry in despair when they are forced to eat their own testicles..."

For a brief moment, his attention drifted. Looking at the ceiling, he began to wander. "Shit… Should I kill everyone here and go home? I'm sure Riko would love to spend the day playing games with me…" A barely perceptible smile passed his lips. "And honestly, I think I can already go back in time about 32 times… Not that I would need that much to finish off these old men. They already have one foot in the grave anyway…"

His reverie was interrupted when Gojo pointed at him, drawing the attention of everyone in the hall.

"You must be wondering how someone like him can be so calm after challenging practically the entire Jujutsu world." Gojo smiled. "Well, besides having my full support and Geto's… This guy, whom you judge as weak for not belonging to a good family, managed not only to get past my Mugen, but is totally immune to it. And, although it irritates me deeply…"

Gojo walked over to Ryan, stopping beside him with an almost reluctant look. "He also killed a man that, at the moment, I couldn't."

He sighed heavily before concluding with a half-smile. "It turns my stomach to admit it, but… The son of a bitch is as strong as I am. So, if they already said that I unbalanced the world, good luck facing two freaks like us."

The silence that followed was so absolute that it seemed to resonate within the bones of everyone present. It was as if the air had been sucked out of the hall. Even the simple rustling of Riko's skirt seemed strangely loud.

Then, the elder who had spoken before broke the stillness, his voice laden with arrogance:

"Mere fallacies are not enough to compensate for the evils created by the failure of Tengen-sama's assimilation."

A murmur began to spread through the hall, the elders whispering among themselves. Ryan, on the other hand, leaned in to speak to Gojo in a casual tone:

"So… Can I just leave now?"

Gojo smiled slyly. "You can, but it would be a bit anticlimactic, don't you think?"

As they exchanged words, a sound echoed through the hall. The doors began to open slowly, letting in a light that spread through the room. The murmur ceased as everyone turned their gazes to the entrance, waiting anxiously to see who dared to intrude.

Then, a calm voice, laden with a slightly provocative tone, resonated through the hall:

"It's really a pity… That a once so important family was not summoned to a meeting of such relevance."

The light dissipated as the doors closed again, revealing an unexpected presence.

Ryan narrowed his eyes, the exasperation evident in his voice as he murmured:

"Ah… Why am I not even a little surprised? Gensei…"

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