Chapter 45

Wrapped in the armory summon, Gojo, wearing sunglasses to cover his bloodshot Six Eyes, briefly stared at the grinning face of Satoru Gojo before calmly shutting the door.

Bang!

"Hey! Open the door! Do you have any idea what I went through to find this place over the past few days? Open up, open the door!"

Toji ignored the shouting from behind the door and went inside.

Zoro, who had sensed Gojo's presence with his Observation Haki and had woken up, was standing by, having already changed into his outdoor clothes and strapped the Wado Ichimonji to his waist, ready for any unexpected situations.

Zoro glanced at Toji and asked,

"What did he say?"

"He said hello."

"...At 4 AM, just shows up at someone's house?"

"Exactly."

Crazy guy. All sorcerers are crazy, but this one's uniquely nuts. How he even found the address is beyond me. Should I have moved immediately after that encounter with him? Or should I leave Tokyo now?

The banging on the door with fists continued, causing Megumi, who was asleep, to grimace and whine.

"Ugh."

He seemed like he was about to wake up.

Feeling anxious, Toji quickly picked up Megumi and soothed him in a low voice,

"Hush, hush. Let's keep sleeping, Megumi."

But without any sense of being comforted, Megumi's eyes snapped open.

"Papa, papa..."

"It's okay, Megumi. Just a crazy— no, someone came by. It'll be quiet soon."

"I'm scared. Huh, huuuaaah."

He's crying. Damn it. Megumi usually slept through anything, but once awake, he often cried. Stopping his tears and putting him back to sleep could easily take an hour.

…Which meant, at least for the next hour, Zoro and Toji's sleep was gone.

'That bastard.'

Frustration bubbled within him. How many people's sleep had been disturbed because of that guy?

Toji carefully handed Megumi over to Zoro. Zoro comforted Megumi while still looking towards the door that was being banged on.

"Should we call the police?"

"That'll just make Megumi even less able to sleep."

The sound of police sirens would only add to the noise, and the police would have questions about the report. Meanwhile, that lunatic wouldn't likely stay quiet.

"What do we do then?"

"Let's take a gamble."

That guy seemed pretty tired too, so maybe it would work. Toji recalled the bloodshot Six Eyes he had seen earlier.

And when he sensed Gojo Satoru with his Observation Haki, he hadn't detected the Limitless.

'Limitless is a technique with the highest defensive power, but…'

That's only when the technique is activated.

Toji walked up and opened the door again. Gojo Satoru's bloodshot Six Eyes glared back at him.

"Finally opened up, damn gorilla. Hey, is that tennis ball kid inside? Let me see—"

Thump.

Toji's large hand grabbed Gojo by his fluffy white hair. That's when Gojo realized he had forgotten to activate the Limitless. Toji smirked wickedly.

"It's not okay to visit a house with a kid at dawn, you damn fool."

"Uh…"

Whoosh!

With all his might, Toji flung Gojo Satoru far away. A scream echoed as Gojo's form flew into the dimly lit alley and disappeared.

Toji dusted off his hands and closed the door. Now that the disturbance was dealt with, it was time to soothe Megumi.

...

It took two hours for Megumi to finally stop crying and fall asleep. It was already past 6 AM, so he'd likely wake up again soon.

Zoro looked at the sleeping Megumi, sighed briefly, and then turned to Toji to ask,

"What about that guy?"

"I threw him."

"Will he come back?"

"Probably."

"Is that guy an enemy of yours?"

"...Not yet. But he might become one."

The probability of becoming an enemy was high if he knew Toji was a sorcerer killer, but surprisingly, not many people were aware of that fact. Only Zoro, Shiu Kong, and a few clients who had directly hired Toji knew about it.

'Shiu Kong, being a broker, knows better than anyone that blabbing would shorten his own life. Zoro wouldn't go around talking about it either.'

Despite becoming quite chatty around Megumi, Zoro naturally didn't talk much.

Clients would likely keep it to themselves too. Talking about Toji would mean admitting to hiring him for assassinations.

However, in their world, the infamy of a sorcerer killer wasn't exactly secret, so there was no guarantee that Toji's past wouldn't eventually reach Gojo Satoru.

'Hard to say how he'd react then.'

He might have already known and come looking.

Zoro calmly asked,

"Should we move?"

"You like this house, don't you?"

"We don't have to sell it; we could just move. Rent it out, or buy a new house in the new neighborhood."

Money wasn't an issue. Since returning home, Toji hadn't been to the gambling dens, so nearly all the money they had saved was still there.

'I seem to be reluctant to spend that money, though.'

If that's the case, living in a rented apartment would be an option. Toji could certainly afford the rent, no matter what job he takes on. Zoro would like to help out with work too if he could, but in this country, the idea of a child his age working would alarm just about anyone.

It's true that he likes their current house, but he has no intention of risking Toji and Megumi's safety to stay there.

It's frustrating that running away without fighting back seems like the best option, but for Zoro, the lives of his family are much more valuable than his pride or desire to win.

But simply running away also didn't suit Zoro's temperament, so he proposed a compromise.

"How about we see how things go? We don't know if that guy really considers you an enemy or not."

If he turns out to be an enemy, they'd leave immediately; if not, they'd hear him out.

"Plus, from what I saw, that guy seemed more interested in me than in you."

Gojo Satoru had been focusing on Zoro at that time. It was only after Toji intervened that he paid him any attention.

Toji's expression hardened, so Zoro waved his hand dismissively.

"He didn't seem hostile."

"...It's still dangerous."

"You've got me."

Based on Zoro's observation with Observation Haki, if Toji and Gojo Satoru were to face off one-on-one, Toji would clearly have the upper hand. Moreover, if it's just about running away from Gojo with Zoro, it would be even easier for Toji.

'It might be a bit difficult with Megumi, though.'

Megumi could be left with a babysitter for a while. They just needed to keep him out of Gojo's sight for a bit, and if they needed to flee, they could pick him up from the babysitter's and escape.

"And I'm not so weak myself."

Zoro's Armament Haki wasn't something to be easily breached. Even if he couldn't win, he wouldn't die.

"I'd personally like to talk to that guy too."

He was curious. Meeting someone as powerful as Toji was a first in this lifetime.

Toji sighed.

He had not withdrawn his Observation Haki from Gojo, so he knew that Gojo didn't harbor any particular hostility towards Toji and Zoro. However, he still didn't like the idea of such a powerful figure approaching his children.

He was worried about not being able to protect them.

'If I lose them again...'

He couldn't even imagine what would happen to himself.

It would be better to die before losing them.

He managed to do it once, but he couldn't do it twice.

Never twice.

"Stop with the unnecessary thoughts."

Snap! Zoro flicked his finger near Toji's ear. The sudden sound forcibly cleared his thoughts.

"...How do you know what I'm thinking?"

"It's obvious."

There wasn't much left that was meaningful enough for Toji to think about.

"If you're that worried, stay alert. And let's take Megumi to the babysitter's house as soon as he wakes up. I think he'll come back today."

"...He's coming today?"

"Just a hunch."

And at 4 p.m. that day, just as Zoro predicted, Satoru Gojo came back to the house.