Journey Of Zoro In Another World

After discovering Sukuna's finger, Geto Suguru spent several days in deep contemplation.

What should he truly aim for?

What path should he take to be right?

"Suguru, is something bothering you?"

Gojo suddenly stuck his face in front of Geto, who was lost in thought.

Suguru was about to say it was nothing, but upon seeing the faint worry in Gojo's blue eyes, he decided to speak honestly, though not fully.

"Well, it's about my future, I guess?"

Satoru tilted his head.

"Is there something to worry about your future? We're sorcerers, after all."

We continuously exorcise curses and curse users to protect non-sorcerers and our colleagues. That's all sorcerers do.

Geto knew that much.

'The problem is what we achieve by doing that.'

Survival of the weak. That was Suguru's original goal. A world where the strong sorcerers protect the weak non-sorcerers.

But after seeing Toji and Zoro, Geto realized that not all non-sorcerers are weak, and not all sorcerers are strong.

Also, one can be both strong and weak.

Like Zoro, who is a strong non-sorcerer child with considerable strength.

Like many Grade 3 and 4 sorcerers who, despite being sorcerers, had weak techniques and curse energy and needed Zoro's help.

When the distinction between the weak and the strong became blurred, the philosophy Suguru had followed lost its meaning.

Until now, he had somehow clung to his creaking philosophy, but it was time to clearly decide his path.

'I can't discuss this in detail with Satoru.'

He would surely be confused. Gojo fundamentally had a vague idea about why they had to be sorcerers.

'Even now, Satoru doesn't seem to be a sorcerer for any grand goal or meaning.'

He simply likes being 'sorcerer Gojo Satoru' more than 'curse user Gojo Satoru.' Of course, he also likes other sorcerers like Suguru, Shoko, and their juniors.

Geto didn't want to say that his search for meaning was right and Satoru's simple preference for being a sorcerer was wrong.

They were just different.

As all people are.

Geto pushed Satoru's face away with his palm as he continued to stare closely.

"Stop staring. I'll tell you when it's time."

"Boring."

See you after the mission! Satoru waved his long arms and headed for his mission, and Geto waved back.

Crunch, crunch, crunch!

"I'm going to leave my footprints first!"

"No way! Wait for me, Tsumiki!"

Megumi and Tsumiki were happily running across the snow-covered playground in their small boots.

Geto watched the two children and then shifted his gaze. Under the snow-covered stands, Zoro was squirming uncomfortably in his padding while sitting, and beside him, Toji was watching sharply to ensure Zoro didn't take off his clothes.

Geto knew how many people that small body, wrapped tightly in thick clothes, had saved.

...And how many scars that body had accumulated in the process.

Suguru's eyes darkened as he recalled Zoro's words from the past.

"Do what you want to do, Suguru."

You told me to do what I wanted, but...

For me, what's right is more important than what I want.

But I don't know what's right anymore.

It doesn't seem right that you, though young and a non-sorcerer, have to constantly get hurt and fight because you're strong, without proper reward, and have to leave those who want to kill you alone.

It's not right to kill all the higher-ups and put other sorcerers who aren't as strong as you, me, Satoru, or Teacher Toji in life-threatening situations.

Everything seems wrong.

When you don't know the right answer, you have to eliminate the wrong ones. That way, the chances of finding the correct answer increase, even if just a little.

Suguru's gaze slid over to Zoro's side. Before Toji, who sensed the gaze, could turn around, Geto looked away.

...

The next day, Geto Suguru stood in front of a door he never thought he'd visit.

He stared at the sign saying "Second Faculty Room" for a moment before raising his hand to knock. Before Geto's hand could touch the door, it quietly opened.

Zenin Toji stood inside the open door.

'Is it a mission?'

Toji mouthed silently. Geto shook his head, and Toji's expression turned puzzled.

'Then why?'

Suguru was about to speak but then looked past Toji. On the sofa, Zoro was dozing, making soft snoring sounds. Megumi and Tsumiki were also sleeping soundly, cuddled up on either side of Zoro.

A flashlight and a stuffed toy lay on the floor, indicating that Zoro had been playing with his siblings before they all fell asleep together.

Not a place for a long conversation. Deciding quickly, Geto moved his lips.

'Let's go outside.'

Toji stared at Geto for a moment before obediently stepping out of the faculty room. The two went to a rest area with vending machines.

Clang!

A can of cola rolled out of the vending machine with a loud clatter. Geto handed it to Toji.

"Did I interrupt your work?"

"Not really. My work is just writing reports for Zoro."

"Well, Zoro is still young."

"It's more about his lack of writing skills."

At the very least, the report needs to follow the basic format, but Zoro's reports were more like, "Encountered a curse. It was strong. I cut it. The end," which meant someone else had to write it for him.

...Of course, even explaining it to someone was a challenge for Zoro, making the person writing the report equally frustrated.

Hiss, Toji opened the can and took a sip.

"So, what's your business?"

"..."

"To be honest, I can't even believe you have business with me."

When you spend a lot of time with someone, you learn things you didn't want to know. Suguru was someone with high moral standards. He didn't want to get close to someone like Toji, who he saw as a villain. Toji didn't mind, though.

Geto briefly considered lying but decided to be honest, knowing Toji would see through it.

"I need to choose my path, and I want to see the worst-case scenario."

"Huh?"

"I don't want to end up like you."

For Suguru, standing at countless crossroads, the path Zenin Toji walked was a clear 'wrong answer.' He couldn't protect his family, others, or even himself.

So he wanted to clearly understand and eliminate the wrong answer.

To avoid repeating the same mistakes.

"..."

Contrary to Geto's expectations that Toji might get angry or walk away, Toji was quiet.

He seemed slightly taken aback but soon showed a complex expression that Geto couldn't pinpoint, followed by a fake smile.

"You're smart."

Smarter than I am, who ran away without listening to my son. Toji murmured so softly that even Suguru couldn't hear.

Geto asked a question he never thought he would.

"Why did you do it?"

Toji could have asked 'what,' but instead, he answered plainly.

"Just to vent."

"To vent...?"

"Otherwise, I didn't think I could go on."

Zenin Toji had hated the Zenin family all his life, but ironically, he could never escape their influence.

No matter how physically strong he was, the people who ultimately stood at the pinnacle in the history of jujutsu were always sorcerers with supreme techniques.

Toji, who couldn't even hit a curse barehanded, could neither stand at the pinnacle nor belong to the same world as sorcerers.

He grew up hearing such words, making it impossible for him to accept himself.

'A monkey without curse energy.'

At some point, he even started saying it himself.

So he lived by killing sorcerers who could acknowledge his strength and existence. He held an unconscious hope that by defeating sorcerers, he could eventually accept himself.

Of course, that never happened.

The only time Toji could even slightly care for and love himself was...

'Toji, I really love you.'

...Not when he was crushing random sorcerers, but when he had someone who loved him more than anyone else by his side.

Geto saw Toji's twisted expression and gasped in surprise. It was the first time Toji had shown any hint of regret in front of him.

Suguru cautiously asked.

"Do you regret it?"

"I wonder if it even matters."

The people he killed wouldn't come back, and nothing he did in the past would change.

Toji knew that Zoro had been in trouble several times due to grudges from Toji's days as a sorcerer killer. Zoro had never mentioned it to Toji, nor did he blame him.

Toji drained the remaining cola with a tired look and crushed the empty can in his hand.

"You said you didn't want to end up like me."

"...Yes."

"Stay on the right path."

Whatever your goal, whatever path you choose.

Toji had walked a path almost entirely opposite to the righteous one and would follow Zoro if he chose another path without hesitation. But he hoped Suguru wouldn't do the same.

"It gets tough if you stray from it."

"For myself?"

"No, for the people who like you."

The person choosing the path might be fine doing whatever they want, but everyone around them suffers. They either have to give up on the person or beat them into following the right path.

"Is that your experience talking?"

"It is."

Zoro dragging someone from the abyss is enough with Toji alone. Zoro doesn't need to tread that thorny path for anyone else.

"Did your teacher not know that back then?"

Toji laughed bitterly at Suguru's pointed remark.

"Partly that. Also, I didn't know my little green-haired fool was that dumb."

Still loving and holding onto him and his brother? It would have been much better to abandon them. Not even thinking about what he was doing or what kind of person he was.

'No sense of calculation at all.'

That's why someone like him gets attached.

Toji turned his head. Far off, Zoro was yawning and rubbing his sleepy eyes. Toji quickly got up and approached Zoro.

"What are you doing here, not sleeping more?"

"...Hungry."

"Want something to eat?"

"Takoyaki..."

"Alright, I'll get it."

Zoro, with a sleepy look, nodded and leaned his face against Toji's chest. Resting his face against Toji's hard stomach, Zoro mumbled something quietly. Toji paused for a moment, then gently patted Zoro's back.

Noticing Suguru, Zoro made eye contact and said a small hello while waving his hand. Suguru, looking at Zoro, waved back.

Sometimes, the right answer can be found in the wrong one. In his attempt to eliminate wrong answers, Geto Suguru found his own right answer.

What he wanted was simple.

'I don't want anyone to be sacrificed.'

You, me, Satoru, the strong, the weak, sorcerers, non-sorcerers, anyone.

But in the current jujutsu world, someone's sacrifice is mandatory.

'The structure needs to change.'

Not as a curse user, but as a sorcerer.

Changing the structure while walking the righteous path is difficult with just personal strength. It requires at least an organization, if not societal power.

'Let's create a new Jujutsu Council.'

A sorcerer organization that replaces the existing council, one that demands no one's sacrifice.

'Let's call it the New Jujutsu Council for now.'

This was the moment when the name of the highest organization in the jujutsu world, which Gojo Satoru would endlessly whine about changing, was conceived.

...

[Author's Note]

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