Chapter 84

The sound of Zoro's sleeping breaths filled the room. Amid the subtle silence and tension in the classroom, Tsumiki, who was about to fall asleep in Zoro's arms, opened her brown eyes wide and anxiously glanced around.

Toji looked at Gojo Satoru with an expressionless face.

He hadn't expected the question not to come. If it hadn't, he would have laughed at the stupidity of it.

Unlike Observation Haki, which couldn't be detected with the naked eye, Armament Haki, which coats the body or weapons, cannot be hidden because the coated area turns black.

Yet, he had no choice but to use it, because without Haki, the outcome of the fight would have been uncertain.

It wasn't a surprise attack or a battle where either was tired or had used up a significant amount of their techniques. It was a head-on fight with Gojo Satoru, who was in peak condition and had support.

"It was strange, you see. I've occasionally glimpsed you hitting Suguru's cursed spirits with your bare hands."

Gojo's eyes, carrying a hint of cold light, seemed to pierce through as they met Toji's green irises.

"It was too fast to see properly, but it was definitely with your bare hands. Physical attacks shouldn't work on cursed spirits, and a talentless curse like you shouldn't be able to manipulate energy. So, I thought maybe you had some unique cursed tool I didn't know about. Maybe something related to invisible techniques."

It wasn't an invisible technique, but there was indeed a unique cursed tool.

Gojo unconsciously touched the spot on his neck that had been pierced that day. The sensation of the void being filled and then sealed away at the moment his throat was pierced and the weapon entered was still vivid.

'Surely surprised.'

A cursed tool that could forcibly deactivate an active technique was indeed a trump card.

However, the black energy that Toji used when facing Geto's cursed spirits and during the duel, which dyed his whole body black, wasn't due to that cursed tool's ability.

"What was that, exactly?"

Gojo saw the blackened form of Toji clearly with his own eyes, yet at the same time, he saw nothing at all.

Even when seeing a unique cursed tool for the first time, he could immediately understand its effect with his eyes, but he could not grasp any identity, principle, or performance of the black energy.

'Is this what it feels like for a normal sorcerer without the Six Eyes to see techniques?'

'An additional effect of a talentless curse? Restraints? The action of a special cursed tool?'

He earnestly pondered and came up with various hypotheses, but had to discard them all. If it were any of those, he wouldn't have failed to recognize them with his eyes.

'I knew a talentless curse the moment I saw one, so it's impossible I couldn't recognize those.'

The unknown. It was something that could only capture the interest of Gojo Satoru, who had been able to see everything since birth.

Toji, still with an expressionless face, countered.

"What would you do if you knew, young master?"

"Tell me!"

At that lively demand, the strange tension that had been lingering in the classroom dissipated. Shoko exhaled the breath that had been caught in her throat.

Separately, Toji flatly refused Gojo's request.

"No."

"Whyyy?"

"I'm not qualified to teach anyone."

Toji frowned, regretting his spontaneous response. It was a mistake. He hadn't intended to give a sincere answer.

Gojo's Six Eyes sparkled.

"Heh, so that's the basics for someone at your level?"

"Maybe."

Toji honestly didn't know how his use of Haki compared. After all, in this world, only Toji and Zoro knew about Haki.

Zoro had never explicitly told him, "Your level of Haki is this." It was doubtful whether there was even a quantitative standard to measure the levels of Haki.

'All Zoro has ever said about my Haki was something like, "It's somewhat decent now."'

What Toji knew was that his Haki was significantly lower than Zoro's and...

'...that Zoro's Haki is near its peak.'

If there was a limit to how strong one could become with Haki, Toji believed Zoro's Haki would be touching that limit.

Maybe except for Armament Haki, Zoro had mentioned that his Observation Haki still had a long way to go. But, well...

'If that's a long way to go, then what about my Observation Haki? Is it just learning to walk?'

He remembered dueling with Zoro, who never missed a single movement of Toji's. There were times when his body, still young and slow, knew but couldn't dodge, but never a time when Zoro failed to perceive Toji's movements. Not even once.

When Zoro's gray eyes filled with the thrill and joy of battle met with Toji's... there were times he couldn't help but get goosebumps. Despite knowing better than anyone that Zoro would never harm him, there was an urge to flee.

It wasn't just about seeing with the eyes but feeling as if the essence and information beyond were being fully exposed. Everything about Toji: his body, techniques, experiences, weapons, and even his potential.

'...What exactly happened for him to reach that far?'

Still, it was incomprehensible.

"Anyway, Gojo, you should continue refining your techniques."

"Aww. But I want to learn. Can't you at least tell me its name?"

"No."

It might be Toji's power, but Haki was also Zoro's power.

The future is uncertain. Even though Gojo and Zoro seem to get along now, they could become enemies later.

Can it be guaranteed that Gojo, having learned about Haki, wouldn't use that information to attack Zoro?

'There are no guarantees.'

Therefore, there was no way Toji would discuss Haki with Gojo.

Even if it meant death.

Of course, Zoro would say to speak up and save his own life, but that made Toji even less willing to speak.

'If I can't stand beside him, I should at least not hold him back.'

He was utterly insane. Toji chuckled to himself.

But then, he had been abandoned since birth.

He couldn't bring himself to put the one person who vowed never to abandon him in danger.

Even more so since he was his son.

'Anyway, even if I taught him Haki, it wouldn't be easy for him to master.'

The better one's physical abilities, senses, energy, or other skills like techniques are, the harder it becomes to learn Haki. Instead of awakening Haki, one could simply rely on their other abilities.

Toji himself had struggled to learn Haki for this reason. Not to mention Gojo Satoru, who was born with the Six Eyes.

Gojo pouted and tapped his legs impatiently.

"So, you're saying you won't teach me?"

He never really expected Toji to willingly share. It's common for sorcerers to keep their trump cards secret, and naturally, they don't want to share them with others.

'Especially if it's a power not even visible to my Six Eyes.'

It was a capability anyone would covet.

Still, Toji had mentioned he wasn't at a level to teach anyone. Even if he didn't know the extent of that ability, what Toji had demonstrated in front of Gojo suggested there was much more to it.

'Of course, a gorilla remains a gorilla.'

Even a basic level of that ability would be much more effectively used by others.

'The reason Marimo is strong... probably because that gorilla taught him that power.'

Gojo seriously considered the exact opposite of the truth.

'Maybe if I press Marimo, I could get an answer.'

Like Toji, Zoro would know about that power. And since Zoro is Toji's son, perhaps harassing Zoro could make Toji open up.

But Gojo had no intention of going that far.

'A gorilla going berserk is one thing...'

His gaze drifted to Zoro, who had fallen asleep in the chair, embracing the children. Zoro mumbled in his sleep and hugged the kids tighter. Watching this, Gojo thought.

'He's just a kid.'

A kid, a child, is always the weaker party in any society.

And for the strong to bully the weak is something Suguru strongly condemns and dissuades.

Of course, Zoro wouldn't technically be considered 'weak' when it comes to absolute strength.

'Suguru doesn't seem to know yet.'

It seemed Suguru might even misunderstand that the incident with the special grade cursed spirit at the department store was handled by Toji. A laughable misconception.

'Zoro surely has power.'

Likely the same power that dyed Toji black.

However, even if such power existed, Zoro was still young, younger than Gojo Satoru when he first started on missions. Additionally, there's no need for him to be involved in the sorcery world, yet he's been inadvertently caught up as a non-sorcerer.

In that sense, Zenin Zoro was someone Gojo Satoru needed to protect.

Groaning, Gojo scratched his white hair in frustration.

'The strong sacrificing for the weak is what makes a society right, or that sorcery exists to protect non-sorcerers.'

Such things, no matter how many times Gojo heard them, never really resonated with him, he muttered to himself.

Gojo simply enjoyed using sorcery. He liked being strong and overwhelming, being able to freely rampage and burst cursed spirits.

Although he had saved people in the process, he didn't attach much importance to it. He wasn't a despicable human being or trash who delighted in seeing innocent people suffer, but he also couldn't genuinely empathize with the pain of the weak and get truly angry for them like Suguru did.

However, he was well aware that a world where people like Suguru held power would be more peaceful and ideal.

So, even though he retorted not to act all high and mighty every time Suguru nagged him, Gojo faithfully followed his friend's ideals.

Surely, it was the better choice.

'Well, can't be helped.'

He'd just have to leave Zoro alone and pester "Gorilla Sensei" to find out what that power was. Gojo thought to himself.

'If I pester him all day, he might teach me out of annoyance eventually.'

In the past, such persistence might have been fatal, but now Gojo had the Reverse Technique. Even with Toji's strange cursed tool that could cancel techniques, Gojo wouldn't be easily subdued like before. In other words, he had nothing to fear.

Seeing Gojo's sparkling Six Eyes through his sunglasses, Geto's eyes narrowed. That was the face he made when he was up to something.

'What's he plotting now?'

Geto mouthed the question. Nothing, Gojo mouthed back with a sly grin.

'Can't really call a student asking their teacher questions a scheme, can you?'

Exactly. Gojo nodded vigorously.

Toji frowned, feeling an ominously bad premonition. With a feeling of unease, he declared.

"...That's it for today's lesson."

"Oookay. Be prepared, teacher~"

I'll stick to you until you teach me, without giving me a chance to not learn.

Gojo chuckled ominously, shoulders shaking.

"Hehehe, hehehehehe!"

"What's wrong, have you lost it?"

"Satoru, what's with you?"

"Ah~ nothing. Hehehe!"

"...Gojo is weird..."

"Tsumiki, close your eyes."

There's nothing good about seeing this. Toji scooped up the three huddled kids into his arms all at once.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

If you want to read 20 chapters ahead or support me, visit my pátreon.com/fumiaki