Chapter 103

Zoro frowned. They might have had strength, but they didn't even seem to have any guts.

"Not that reckless bravery is always good,"

But if you're a leader, you need some unyielding will for others to follow you.

"Is that why no one follows them?"

Looking at the classic sorcerers, they didn't seem to be actively opposing the Sorcery Headquarters, but they also didn't seem very loyal, considering the Headquarters was supposed to be the higher authority over the classics.

"They really aren't very inspiring."

Neither in strength nor in insight.

They didn't care about Zoro and only showed fear towards Toji, which gave a good indication of their level. It seemed they didn't consider Zoro a significant threat, despite previous reports of him single-handedly defeating a special-class curse.

Zoro tilted his head.

"...Are these guys really behind the incident?"

They seemed too unaware of Zoro for that.

As they murmured, Gojo, who had received a call from Geto, entered the room with a long stride.

"Yo, I have arrived!"

"My apologies."

Following Gojo, Geto entered the room politely. One of the calmer members of the upper echelons frowned.

"Gojo Satoru. And that's the first-class sorcerer, Geto Suguru?"

"How dare you come here!"

"We wanted to know something."

And depending on the answer, they might have business with the old men.

Gojo's gaze, barely visible behind his slightly shifted sunglasses, was piercing. Zoro glanced at Gojo, noticing an expression he rarely showed.

"What about..."

"The first mission assigned to Zoro."

"Was it intentional?" Gojo asked, half-jokingly.

The reactions from the three upper echelons varied.

One scowled, another stuttered as if caught, and the third blinked, seemingly clueless.

Gojo turned to the elder who had reacted.

"You there, do you know anything?"

"...What. I know nothing."

"Can you swear to that truth?"

"Such nonsense!"

"Honestly, it would be better for you to speak the truth. Don't forget there's someone here who's even more reckless than me."

Hearing that, the elder's expression turned towards Toji. Although Toji showed no change in expression, his presence alone seemed to frighten the elder into speaking.

"I was just trying to protect that child."

Gojo's eyes widened in disbelief, and he let out a soft "wow."

"I can't believe it at all."

"This...!"

The elder bristled at Gojo's remark. Geto tapped Gojo on the shoulder as if to calm him down.

Geto, equally as incredulous as Gojo, continued.

"Could you please continue explaining? What did you do to protect Zoro?"

Unlike Gojo's blunt manner, Geto's polite tone prompted the elder to clear his throat with an arrogant voice before continuing.

"Does it make any sense for a young non-sorcerer child to subdue a special-class curse alone? That child is just a normal non-sorcerer, and surely the curse died due to some other variable."

"...What?"

"All he is doing is deluding himself into thinking he did it. All I did was show him what a real sorcerer's mission looks like."

Gojo let out a scoff. Geto's poker face was about to crumble. Toji's lips twisted; he knew it would be something like this.

"Non-sorcerers have their own world, as do sorcerers. It would be a disaster if non-sorcerers were in the sorcery realm. Curses are not something they can handle. Getting him out quickly is in the child's best interest."

Gojo massaged his temples.

"So you're saying, since Zoro wants to be a sorcerer and he made it seem like he subdued a special-class curse on his own, you gave him a harsh mission intentionally early on to make him realize the reality and leave the sorcery world?"

It seems that Geto was assigned to accompany him in case Zoro got hurt and Toji would go berserk.

"Set up, you say? It's not exactly like that—"

"Ah, enough. Don't bother explaining."

Because stupidity is contagious. Gojo moved away from the elder.

'Why don't they understand?'

The old order that only sorcerers could combat curses had been shattered with the appearance of entities like Toji and Zoro.

Then they should accept it. Why continue denying reality? It's been months, not just a day or two.

Unlike Gojo, Toji wasn't as shocked.

The sorcery community wouldn't accept Toji, who could annihilate the Zenin family, much less a young, ordinary non-sorcerer like Zoro.

"Did you know there were two sorcerer girls in that village being abused by non-sorcerers?"

"...What?"

"You didn't know."

Geto felt like he was going insane for another reason. He would have been less shocked if there had been a grand conspiracy. This man really knew nothing and had no thoughts on anything.

The first assignment for a six-year-old child was chosen with the thought, "He'll probably run away with this."

"Stop it."

The person who had frowned earlier interjected.

"It turned out fine, didn't it?"

"It didn't turn out fine—"

"What exactly is the problem then? Did they fail to subdue the curse? Did they fail to rescue the sorcerer children? Did that non-sorcerer get hurt?"

He had hoped for the latter but didn't show it.

"The sorcerer girls can grow up and eventually enroll in the classics on their own, and if that non-sorcerer child turned out to be helpful in subduing the curse, then the same applies when he's old enough to enroll in the classics."

It was clear they were on different wavelengths. Understanding why Gojo was so frustrated with the upper echelons, Geto rubbed his forehead.

Toji remained stoic, but he realized something else.

'That bastard.'

He knew what was happening in that village.

Toji's insides twisted. Knowing all that, he let Zoro witness such a thing. Why? Was he trying to let him run amok and label him as a renegade?

That's nonsense. Zoro wasn't the type to act rashly on emotion.

"I won't say there's nothing to criticize about this man's actions. But that doesn't absolve you of your guilt for barging in here recklessly. From next time, if you oppose the Headquarters like this, you will be punished accordingly."

It sounded like false equivalence, but ultimately, it was a defense of the upper echelons. They didn't talk about punishing the upper echelons, but they did talk about punishing Zoro's side.

"Leave. All of you. If something like this happens again, I won't let it slide under the authority of the Headquarters."

Zoro silently looked at the man, then turned around. From behind, the elder's voice followed him.

"I don't know what end you aim for, but reaching it will be impossible."

It's because of your immutable nature, he said with a slight sneer.

Zoro, with an eerily calm grip on Toji's arm, spoke plainly.

"Never engage with them, father."

They're not worth it.

Toji's icy green eyes met Zoro's. Only Zoro saw the flash of murderous intent in those green pupils disappear.

Zoro left the room. Following him, Toji, Gojo, and Geto also left the room. Gojo, linking his fingers behind his head, asked,

"So, what's the plan now?"

If there had been a plan, there could be something to confront, but if it was out of ignorance, there was hardly anything to say. Stupidity isn't a crime serious enough to merit death or dismissal.

After a moment of silence, Zoro spoke.

"...I need to grow stronger."

To make the upper echelons increasingly irrelevant.

It would be difficult to oust them through force. It might be possible to kill them all or incapacitate them for battle, but it was currently difficult to gather the personnel to fill the vacancies in the upper echelons.

'With the already heavy load of missions on existing sorcerers, it's impractical.'

Reducing the number of sorcerers further would just impose an immense workload on the remaining ones.

'It could be a viable option if we completely disregard the sorcerers' circumstances...'

Zoro glanced at Geto, who looked profoundly shocked.

'But that's impractical.'

Whether liked or not, the foundation of the sorcery community is the Sorcery Headquarters. Overturning it without having any alternative in place would only invite greater chaos.

Toji, slightly anxious, asked,

"How will you grow stronger?"

"By killing curses."

Among the options available to Zoro, that was the fastest way to gain recognition in the sorcery world.

Toji reacted sensitively.

"Why do you have to do that?"

"Because that's what I know how to do."

Zoro was a swordsman to the bone. He was adept at cutting down others.

He wasn't particularly eloquent or intelligent. Unlike Luffy, he didn't have the power to attract people of all sorts, whether enemies or allies. Naturally, he mostly resolved things with his sword.

"Tell them you love them."

Just like Chie had instructed Zoro, words were necessary. However, they don't fundamentally change situations. Words gain proper meaning when accompanied by actions.

'I told Suguru to take a break.'

Then, shouldn't I create an opportunity for him to actually take one?

Not just for Suguru, but for Satoru as well.

What Zoro did best was lessen the burden of his friends or colleagues by cutting down their enemies.

He was confident in his ability to cut better than anyone else.

He had once been the world's greatest swordsman.

"From now on, I'll accompany them on their missions."

"You're going to work with us?"

Unlike Gojo's interested expression, Toji grimaced.

"Do you know how many missions those guys handle?"

"I don't plan to follow them on every mission."

Gojo and Geto handle several tasks in a day. Zoro couldn't follow them around and still take care of Megumi and Tsumiki. A careful balance was necessary.

"Maybe once a day..."

"That's ridiculous. Once a week."

"Isn't that too infrequent?"

That frequency of missions wouldn't be helpful to anyone, Zoro thought. Sensing Zoro's feelings, Toji said,

"You're at an age where it's normal not to be of any help."

"If that's the case, those guys aren't adults either."

Damn the sorcery community. It was the first time Toji was outraged by the reality that labor laws were disregarded.

"But they aren't six years old."

That was true. Zoro thought for a moment and then compromised a bit.

"Every two days."

"Every three days. I can't compromise more than that."

Toji cut him off firmly, and Zoro realized Toji wouldn't budge further. Zoro firmly said,

"If something's off, I'll follow them no matter if it's three days or whatever."

Toji didn't oppose that. He knew well that Zoro's instincts were sharp.

Toji sighed deeply. Why did Zoro take such a liking to those troublemakers?

'Well, I suppose, considering he even treats someone like me as his father.'

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