1 The Talking Rabbit

Waking up to the view of a rocky ceiling and walls with designs of odd beings he knew nothing about, memories of his body being sliced by Sukuna resurfaced in his head. Gojo just smiled as he remembered the feeling of how fun it was to be able to go all out against an opponent.

But then another memory entered his head as he saw a door with a tower that pierced through the sky and a sun at the top. The door opened, and his soul left his body and entered the mysterious door. Then he woke up inside this mysterious place.

'Is that the door that would lead me to my great paradise?' Gojo thought to himself, full of optimism.

He looked around and saw how bland the place looked, which went against his image of paradise.

"I definitely don't deserve to be in hell. If I go to hell, then who will keep that snoozefest of a world interesting?"

Even though the situation would scare most people, Gojo didn't feel any fear and was still yet full of optimism.

"My, my. It hasn't even been that long, yet there is another one. The tower will be changing greatly in the future."

The voice paused and continued, "My name is Headon. I'm the guardian of the first floor of the tower. What's your name, young man?"

Gojo heard a mysterious voice coming from the shadows. Usually, Gojo would be able to tell if someone was near him using his six eyes, but after he died to Sukuna, he put down all his defenses, thinking he was alone in this paradise or hell.

Gojo saw a weird-looking rabbit, and he knew at first glance that it wasn't a cursed spirit. And he could tell from his experiences alone that this rabbit was powerful.

"A talking rabbit. I've seen a lot of things such as a talking volcano, but a rabbit is a first. Also, my name is Gojo Satoru."

Headon listened to Gojo's words carefully and said, "You must be talking about your experiences on the outside. While I don't know how it is on the outside, I do know how it is in the tower, which is where you are currently."

Gojo finally got up off the floor and said, "Is this the afterlife?" Completely ignoring Headon's words.

Headon found his question confusing. Why would someone ask if they're in the afterlife if they aren't dead? Didn't he open the doors by force?

"Are you dead? You seem very much alive to me," Headon said.

Gojo couldn't refute Headon's words. While no one knows what the afterlife truly is, he felt alive right now. His heart was pumping, blood was flowing, and he was talking to a rabbit. And he highly doubted that there would be a talking rabbit at the gates of his paradise.

Gojo noticed something wrong with the rabbit and asked, "Where is your tail? Are you hiding your puffy white inside your clothes?"

Gojo tried walking behind Headon to examine his clothes, but Headon didn't allow that and backed away.

Gojo didn't pester Headon any longer, after his obvious annoyance from his antics. Headon dismissed Gojo's disrespect since Gojo was from the outside and this type of action may be normal out there, especially after meeting Urek Mazino.

Headon was about to speak, but Gojo cut him off, "Can you tell me what this tower is? And how am I here?"

Headon responded, "You must have patience, young one. I was just getting to that point before you rudely interrupted me."

Hearing his words, Gojo stopped playing around and became serious. Now that he knew he wasn't dead and was alive, he had to take his situation seriously for the time being and get as much information about his situation as possible.

Noticing that Gojo was now planning on listening rather than fooling around, Headon continued speaking.

"The tower is a place of many things such as wealth, immortality, absolute power, happiness, truth, glory. All these things are at the top of the tower. But the road ahead isn't easy, rather it is painful, and you may possibly die."

"Now for every floor of the tower, there is a test given to you by an administrator. If you pass the test then you are qualified to go to the next floor. Keep in mind that the tests get harder the higher the floor you reach."

"In other words, if you want to go up to the next floor, you need to pass my test."

"And that test is…" Headon tapped the ball of his staff on the wall, and a cage appeared.

Gojo wondered what type of power the rabbit was using to do this, or was it all an illusion. Thinking about power, Gojo wondered if there was cursed energy in this place.

He would usually instantly be able to sense the cursed energy, but if he came to a whole new world through a magical door, some things may have changed such as his own powers.

And just as he suspected, there was a faint amount of cursed energy within this floor. Barely enough to use his other abilities.

But then he sensed something else in the air, something far superior to cursed energy. He didn't know what it was, but his body was feeling quite familiar with it. Almost as if he knew how to use it already.

Suddenly, there was a loud bang at the cage, and Gojo saw a huge fish slam against the cage.

"Your test is called the 'ball'. It's really simple, all you have to do is hit it hard enough so it will pop. But beware of the fish as it hasn't eaten in months so it's very aggressive."

Gojo stared at the fish intently, inspecting what type of monster it was since it wasn't a cursed spirit.

"Ahhh man, I hate the smell of fish, do you have something better?" Gojo said, as he walked towards the gate.

"Unfortunately not. You'll have to make do with what's in front of you." Headon replied.

Gojo was preparing to enter the gate but was stopped by Headon's voice.

"Here, take this."

Gojo noticed a black marble floating towards him.

"It's called a pocket. It will translate every language in the tower to Macsethian. Say 'invisible mode' to the pocket."

Following direction, Gojo said, "Invisible mode," and the next moment the pocket disappeared.

"Also, you're what we call an irregular. Your kind isn't very welcomed here so I suggest you keep that information hidden from others when you climb the tower." Headon warned Gojo.

Gojo faced Headon and said, "You're telling me all this as if I'll pass the test?"

Headon smiled, showing his sharp row of teeth and said, "Aren't you?"

Gojo began laughing and said, "Tell me, should I give this overly grown fish the easy treatment or the hard treatment."

"The choice is yours, young man." Headon replied.

Gojo entered the cage and confidently walked towards the fish.