Gaiden - Zenin Zoro 13

"Ouch, ouch, ouch."

"Lie him down over here."

Following Shoko's instructions, Zoro laid the groaning Itadori Yuji on a makeshift bed.

Zoro had suggested going to the school for treatment, thinking Shoko was there, but since she was nearby, Yuji could receive immediate care without needing to return to the school. Apart from the assistant supervisors and some jujutsu sorcerers running around to manage the situation, the others were all there.

Ieri Shoko glanced sideways while using reverse cursed technique on Yuji's abdomen. Another "Ieri Shoko" was swiftly moving among the injured sorcerers, applying the reverse cursed technique.

'Another "me" from another world.'

Even for a jujutsu sorcerer, she never imagined she'd see something like this. Ieri sighed internally. It only made her feel strange, so she focused solely on examining Yuji.

"His abdomen is really twisted. The outside looks fine, but the inside is a mess."

Yuji's sturdiness is the only reason he's this okay; an ordinary person would have had their innards completely ruptured from this attack.

Still, it wasn't a wound she couldn't heal. Ieri applied the reverse cursed technique to Yuji's abdomen.

Lying down, Yuji raised his head slightly.

"Zoro-senpai, but how did you end up coming to this world again? Ugh, was it because you used a cursed tool wrong like during the exchange event— Ack!"

"I told you not to talk. Tengen sent me."

"Tengen?"

"...The great elder of the jujutsu world who has been alive since the Nara period."

Fushiguro Megumi explained for the less experienced Itadori.

"He has achievements so significant that he could be said to have created the current jujutsu world."

He's not someone who should be referred to with disrespect like "that Tengen guy." Even Gojo uses the honorific "san" when addressing Tengen.

Zoro shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, I've had a few run-ins with him."

Not that he's fond of him. Look at this, who drops someone into another world without any explanation?

The Ieri Shoko from Zoro's world, having finished her treatment, walked over to Zoro.

"You've caused quite a commotion, Zoro."

It's been a while since so many injured came in at once. The Ieri from Zoro's world muttered.

The other Shoko frowned.

"It's been a while?"

"Yeah. There are a lot fewer curses in this world now."

The number and strength of curses, which increased with Gojo Satoru's birth, had been slaughtered by Zoro's activities over the past decade. The distorted balance of curses had been restored to equilibrium by Zoro's presence.

Zoro asked his world's Shoko.

"Any casualties?"

"So far, none."

The civilians had been gathered in a separate evacuation area, and barrier sorcerers had set up protection barriers. Zoro and Sukuna had fought far away from them, so there were almost no civilian casualties.

Even during the battle, those two kept moving further away from the area where civilians were evacuating.

'Was that intentional? …What am I saying, of course it was intentional.'

At least in battles, Zoro is seasoned. He rarely acts without reason in combat.

"There must have been people who couldn't evacuate."

"I moved them."

Zoro turned to look at Zenin Toji, who had answered.

"Father?"

"You don't like disturbances when you fight."

When civilians get involved, you have to protect them first, disrupting the flow of the battle.

Above all, Zoro prefers a fair one-on-one fight. That's why Geto and Gojo didn't interfere in the battle between Zoro and Sukuna, except to prevent Sukuna from escaping.

Zoro smirked at Toji.

"That's not all you did, is it?"

"Of course not."

Zenin Toji took out a body wrapped haphazardly in a white cloth from the Cursed Spirit Storage. A young monk with a neutral appearance and white and red bowl-cut hair.

It was Uraume.

The Gojo from Zoro's world marveled at the bullet hole through Uraume's temple.

"Wow, gorilla. I wondered what you were doing after evacuating people, and you were blowing off the monk's head? Shoko~."

"I'll cremate it right away."

Geto asked Gojo in a gentle voice.

"But Satoru, didn't you say you were going to use the Black Rope to open the Prison Realm? I even told the people at the barrier to wait until you brought it."

Oh. Gojo Satoru stopped dead in his tracks. After a moment of thinking, he tapped his head with his fist.

"I forgot☆"

"What are you saying so cheerfully, Gojo-sensei?!"

Of course, you should have freed this world's Gojo Satoru from the Prison Realm first!!! Zenin Megumi roared.

Fushiguro Megumi looked at Zenin Megumi with a sympathetic gaze. It seems he's like this in the other world too.

"If it all worked out in the end, isn't that fine— Ahhhh! Dizzy, dizzy!"

"What should I do with you, huh?"

Suguru grabbed Satoru by the collar and shook him so fast he looked like a white blur.

Zenin Toji sighed. When will that guy ever grow up? He took out the Inverted Spear of Heaven from the Cursed Spirit Storage.

"Hey, give me that Prison Realm thing."

It's better to just pierce it with the Inverted Spear of Heaven than to go looking for the Black Rope now.

When Satoru placed the Prison Realm on the ground, Toji neatly stabbed its eye with the Inverted Spear of Heaven. The Prison Realm shuddered once, then the sealed Gojo Satoru burst out of it.

"Oh, that was faster than I thought... Huh?"

Numerous gazes turned to Gojo Satoru in an instant. Seeing the man he killed holding the tool he destroyed right in front of him, Gojo Satoru's brain momentarily froze.

Seeing Yuji waving at him from the bed with a cheerful "Sensei!", and Suguru grappling with another version of himself, his mind and body completely froze.

"Huh?"

The Gojo Satoru from Zoro's world took off his sunglasses and observed him with his Six Eyes.

"…Wow, this feels really strange."

It was his first time seeing someone other than himself capable of such precise cursed energy control at the atomic level. Though it strained his eyes, Gojo Satoru couldn't take his eyes off the other Gojo Satoru, seizing this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Zoro stepped between Toji and Gojo, blocking their path.

"Hey."

"Oh, Zoro-kun? Did you come here and resolve the situation?"

"Yeah. I wasn't the only one who came, though."

Gojo's mouth fell open when he saw Shoko and Megumi from the other world.

"How did you get here?"

"I didn't come on my own. Tengen from our side sent us."

Zoro briefly explained the situation. After hearing the explanation, Gojo Satoru burst into hearty laughter.

"So, you killed the bastard using Suguru's body, fought and subdued Ryomen Sukuna, called in people from your world to kill curses, set up barriers around the evacuation area, and cleaned up the surroundings?"

"Yeah."

"You really are the strongest, huh?"

Zoro shook his head.

"It worked because he wasn't the complete Sukuna. If he had all his fingers, it wouldn't have been possible."

It's not about whether he could win or lose against the complete Sukuna. In such a situation, he wouldn't have been able to separate the vessel from Sukuna like he did now. Killing Sukuna would mean killing the vessel too.

A victory that requires sacrifice is not a victory.

Zoro quietly stared at this world's Gojo Satoru.

The strongest, with no one to walk alongside, no one to share the burden, no one with the same strength and anguish.

Gojo noticed Zoro's gaze and asked, "What?"

"Need some help?"

"I think Zoro has already helped more than enough. If you help any further, it would hurt this GTG's pride, so leave it to me."

Seeing Gojo Satoru speak so confidently, Zoro nodded. Honestly, handling the aftermath wasn't something Zoro was particularly good at anyway.

"I'll leave Suguru's body with your Shoko. Make sure it's properly cremated."

"Leave it to me!"

Gojo, with his usual carefree demeanor, gave a thumbs-up. He was so bright, it was hard to believe he had just retrieved the body of his most precious friend.

Zoro tilted his head slightly. There was some pretense in Gojo's behavior, but some of it was genuine. Gojo didn't dwell on things he thought he couldn't do anything about.

"Do your best and don't look back."

That was Gojo Satoru's philosophy.

...But what if the past was so happy that he couldn't help but look back?

'I want to stay at Jujutsu High forever.'

That was the response of Gojo Satoru from Zoro's world when asked why he wanted to become a teacher.

Suguru would grab the back of his neck hearing that, but Zoro somewhat understood Gojo. Ironically, the one who understood him best was Toji.

No matter how much Satoru tried not to look back, he couldn't help but revisit the most brilliant period of his life. Especially if he continued to work in the place where he spent that time.

A friend who threw away his convictions.

Endless curses and missions.

The upper echelons that he wanted to wipe out but couldn't.

Disciples who couldn't keep up with his strength.

Countless people who relied on him because he was the strongest.

Zoro quietly watched this world's Gojo Satoru.

Unlike his friend, who was playful yet had a deeply cynical side, this one was mimicking kindness. He wasn't doing it very well, so Zoro could tell it was fake.

Behind the fabricated brightness and over-the-top energy...

Fatigue, boredom, and a sense of being isolated from others.

'Part of it is because of his twisted personality.'

In both his past and current life, Zoro had always been strong from a young age, but he never felt distanced from others because of his strength like Gojo did. He always mingled well with others.

'In my past life, there weren't many cases where people felt distant from me because of my strength...'

No matter how strong Zoro was, the Straw Hat crew didn't care. They treated Zoro just like Luffy.

In his current life...

'There were.'

Maybe because of the clear limits of sorcerers, people in his current life had a harder time accepting Zoro's existence compared to his past life.

Jealousy. Envy. Admiration. Misunderstanding. Distrust. Inferiority. Distance.

Zoro had also experienced such looks from others. From strangers, and even from those close to him.

This world's Gojo Satoru must have always been tormented by such looks.

'The best way would be to have someone as strong as him by his side.'

He's someone who does well even with just one person to rely on. But it's impossible when Zoro eventually has to return.

'I should at least reduce his workload for now.'

A good sleep would help. With a decision that would cut down half of this world's special-grade curses and high-level sorcerers, Zoro thought about it as if it were nothing.

...There were some concerns about helping this world's Gojo Satoru.

Zoro's gaze briefly shifted to Zenin Toji before returning, unnoticed by Satoru. Zoro changed the subject.

"We need to hold Suguru's funeral. I made a binding vow with Nanako and Mimiko."

Zoro redirected the conversation. Gojo scratched his head.

"Nanako and Mimiko? ...As far as I know, they're curse users, right?"

"Yeah, I figured as much."

He suspected as much when they seemed close to Geto.

"Did you know that when you made the vow? Don't you think you're taking vows too lightly?"

"Even without the vow, I was going to hold Suguru's funeral."

Mourning is important. Not for the dead, but for the living.

With a hum, Gojo Satoru approached Yuji, who was lying on the bed, with a lively step.

"Yu—ji!"

"Yo, Gojo-sensei."

Gojo glanced over Yuji with his blue eyes and put a hand on his side.

"Your cursed energy has increased a lot. If it were another student, I'd say congratulations! ...but I guess I can't say that now."

"I'm sorry...."

"No, no, it's not something you need to apologize for, Yuji. But what about Sukuna's condition?"

Yuji's expression turned serious.

"Honestly, it's weird. I don't intend to summon him, but even if I did, it feels like he wouldn't come out. It's like he's in a deep sleep."

Hearing this, Zoro chuckled.

"Of course. He's probably busy recovering his soul."

"Huh?"

"Unlike the body, which can recover immediately, it's tough to heal the soul with reverse curse technique."

Since his innate domain was also damaged, it would be even harder. Normally, healing just the soul with reverse curse technique is nearly impossible, but since it's Ryomen Sukuna, he'll eventually recover.

'It might be difficult to fully recover, though.'

Even if he does recover, some of his strength might be lost in the process. Instead of having the power of 14 fingers, he might end up with the power equivalent to 12 or 13 fingers.

"How long do you think it'll take for him to recover?"

"If it's long, about six months, if short, about three months."

During that period, Sukuna will be as docile as a beast in hibernation. It would be hard for him to take control, or even to speak.

As Zoro was speaking, he faintly frowned.

'I'm... a bit tired.'

He wasn't in pain, just exhausted.

'Maybe it's because I used too much Haki all at once.'

Or it could be because he fought Sukuna. Even at 70% power, he's still the King of Curses.

Zoro subconsciously pressed his temples with his fingers. At that moment, everyone from Zoro's world stared intently at him.

"? Why..."

As Zoro was about to ask why they were looking at him like that, Shoko from Zoro's world scowled and gave a gloomy order.

"Lie him down."

Toji lifted Zoro and laid him on a patient bed. As Megumi prevented Zoro from getting up, Gojo and Geto blocked his escape routes.

The other Gojo Satoru watched with a dumbfounded expression, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Hey, what are you all doing?"

"Preventing the patient from escaping."

"Who's a patient?!"

Zoro snapped, but no one took him seriously. Ignoring Zoro's protests, Shoko began examining him. Noticing the bewildered look on Zoro's face, Geto explained.

"Zoro never shows when he's in pain, so if he looks even a little bit hurt, we always make sure to check him out."

There was a time when he bled 3 liters of blood, sent a civilian who lost 1 liter to the hospital in an ambulance, and then took a taxi back to Jujutsu High himself. Of course, the civilian's life was in more danger, but still.

Ieri quickly finished her examination.

"No internal or external injuries. It's probably just exhaustion from using too much Haki. As a doctor, my prescription is sleep. Just sleep, Zoro."

For Zoro, sleeping is enough to heal most injuries.

"Look, I have things to do..."

"Just sleep."

Watching Toji patting Zoro, Fushiguro Megumi felt a strange, mixed emotion.

Zenin Toji looked at Zoro briefly, then turned his gaze to Fushiguro Megumi. As their eyes met, Fushiguro frowned instinctively.

"What is it?"

"There's something I need your opinion on."

"...?"

...

A few hours later.

"..."

Fushiguro Toji opened his eyes in front of Fushiguro Megumi.

...

[Author's Note]

Vote with your power stones, it motivates me to keep posting chapters.

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