14 Chapter 14

Toji vividly remembered that day.

It was when the three of them had gone shopping at the supermarket. Despite having cleaned up the spirits the night before, a girl affected by a fourth-class spirit appeared near Zoro, likely due to the crowd.

Tokyo, with its abundance of spirits, was always a problem. He considered ignoring it, but ultimately, Toji sighed and pulled out a dagger-shaped talisman from his pocket. It was a simple item, barely qualifying as a third-class talisman, but more than enough to deal with passing spirits or those of the fourth class.

The spirit was annoyingly attached to the girl's head, but he planned to swiftly slice it away as soon as the two of them turned their backs.

That was the plan.

...Until he saw the spirit being cleaved in two, headed straight for the child.

Toji froze. Had he killed it? Did his son, kill the spirit?

'It wasn't with sorcery.'

Having spent his life envying, chasing, and killing those with sorcery, he knew. That wasn't sorcery. Nor was it any spell.

And then the child turned around, looking straight at Toji.

The moment he met those calm gray eyes, identical to the first time he saw them, Toji felt as if he had been electrocuted.

It wasn't a casual glance. At that moment, the child was clearly aware of Toji standing behind him.

Toji reflexively noted the child's eyes were ordinary. Calm, achromatic, shining without any hint of magical mystery within those clear eyes.

That gaze was all the more shocking.

Once again, a voice resonated in Toji's head.

'A non-sorcerer kills a spirit and holds a weapon, yet notices your presence quietly standing behind?'

Is that possible? The voice sneered.

'You know who was the only person before that child to notice you standing behind.'

He knew. He was aware. It was impossible not to know. The first time he was ever detected from behind was one of the most shocking moments of his life.

The possessor of the Six Eyes and Limitless.

The one destined to reach the zenith of the sorcery world.

Satoru Gojo.

...And yet, that child was much younger than Gojo had been at the time. Not even of age to manifest Jujutsu.

Toji's mind unfolded a panorama of events from raising that child. The peculiarly rapid physical growth. The way he seemed to understand everything said to him from a very young age. The incident where a curse split in half and died upon encountering the child.

He had thought the child was a non-sorcerer. Clearly possessing some degree of cursed energy, unlike Toji with his zero cursed energy, yet not enough to be a sorcerer. Moreover, the child couldn't even see curses.

But if that wasn't the case.

'Either a different kind of non-sorcerer, capable of producing Jujutsu output with a minimal amount of cursed energy comparable to a sorcerer, or...'

...Or something else entirely, an existence previously unknown.

Either way, it was better for him not to be by the child's side.

'He appears to be a non-sorcerer on the surface.'

Even Toji, having raised him for several years, is only now beginning to guess. Even among sorcerers, there would be no suspicion about the child's existence.

'Unless he's that brat from the Gojo family.'

Being around Toji would inevitably entangle the child with the sorcery world. He didn't want that. A world some desperately wish to enter, while others struggle to escape. To Toji, those oblivious to their own blessings were fools.

'When he's older, he'll be able to choose for himself.'

Whether to live in the world of non-sorcerers or sorcerers.

"..."

Unlike him, who from birth belonged to neither world.

So, whoever is by the child's side, it would be better than Toji.

'Pretending to care.'

The voice murmured with a mix of scorn and pity.

'In the end, it's just fear.'

He's a stubborn child. There's no way he would let Toji go easily if he returned. He would cling, insist on staying. Despite everything, he is the child's father. He would grab him, sit him down, over and over again...

For fear of letting him live in a world without her.

Boom!

The first boat crossed the finish line. Then the second, followed by the third.

The announcer's voice boomed excitedly.

—First place, number 4; second place, number 6; third place, number 5! An upset, a major upset!!

"This can't be!!"

"It's rigged!"

Screams filled the air as betting slips fluttered into the void.

Toji slowly looked down at his own betting slip. First place was number 4, second place number 6, third place number 5...

He had won.

For the first time in a long while, no, perhaps for the first time in his life, Toji felt bewildered by his windfall.

Stepping out of the betting parlor with his winnings, Toji paused. What should he do with the money? He didn't want to go back to that woman's place, and with enough money on hand, there was no need to woo a new one. He wasn't even hungry after all the drinking.

"..."

Should he go back?

The thought suddenly crossed Toji's mind, prompting him to smack his head.

'Am I drunk?'

On just a crate of beer? But being sober made even less sense. Go back? Why, exactly.

'Just.'

Because it's his birthday...

Thud. Toji banged his head against the wall. He must be drunk. There had been times he drank three times as much and remained unaffected, but for some reason, now was different.

'...Guess I'll go into an expensive restaurant, eat and drink whatever I want, and then sleep.'

Sleeping it off and then taking on a job from Shiu Kong should clear his head of these random thoughts.

Just as Toji was about to head towards a street known for its upscale restaurants, he halted.

He narrowed his eyes.

'A barrier?'

At the end of the alley, a barrier had been erected.

'Is there a curse?'

Even for someone with zero cursed energy, it was impossible to sense what was happening behind a closed barrier. Unless he broke through it.

Whoosh!

The barrier vanished.

'Looks like it was dispelled.'

Either that or the sorcerer who cast it died. After all, barriers, being extensions of a sorcerer's energy, dissipate once the sorcerer's energy vanishes.

Getting involved could be troublesome, whether it was a curse or a sorcerer that emerged.

Right in front of him, of all places. Annoyingly, Toji clicked his tongue but turned to leave quickly.

Tap.

He stopped dead in his tracks. A spell? No, it was instinct.

He knew the owner of these footsteps.

Tap, tap, tap.

Someone was walking from where the barrier had been. Toji turned to see who it was. Green eyes widened.

"You...?"

The person had grown since the last time he saw him, wearing tattered clothes barely different from rags. He wore a peculiar necklace, and in his hands, he held weapons that looked like bones of a beast. Drip, drip. Green hair drenched in red blood, with droplets falling to the ground.

It was a sight Toji had never seen or imagined, but undoubtedly...

It was Zoro.

At Toji's call, Zoro slowly lifted his head. His gray eyes sparkled as they met Toji's, just like that time long ago at the supermarket.

A deathly silence followed. Unable to find words, it was Zoro who spoke first.

"...Found you."

Toji.