49 Chapter 48

"..."

"..."

"..."

Silence lingered. Gojo Satoru was wearing an expression that seemed to ask, "Well?" without even knowing what he had just proposed, while Zoro rolled his eyes in disbelief. The fellow sorcerer companion awkwardly laughed with an "Ahaha."

"...No."

You crazy bastard. Zenin Toji forcibly swallowed the words that followed.

Toji stood up and flung the door wide open, then grabbed the napes of the two guys and dragged them along. It was lucky for both that they had deactivated their Limitless. If it had been active, Toji would have considered embedding heavenly pheasants in their bodies to drag them out if necessary.

"If you're done talking, then leave."

"I don't wanna— Woah, why are you so strong?! You're incredibly fast too!"

"Um, can I just walk out on my own?"

"No."

Zenin Toji heaved them up and threw them out the open door. Gojo Satoru's scream of "Ack!" and some protesting voices could be heard, but just like before, Toji didn't give a damn and slammed the door shut.

"I'll be back here in three days at this time!"

Gojo yelled from outside the door. Before an infuriated Toji could respond, Gojo and his companion quickly disappeared.

Toji massaged his throbbing forehead. It was ridiculous that these heavenly pheasants were giving him a headache. But given that guy's personality, it was impossible not to have a headache.

Crazy bastard. While it's said all sorcerers are mad, this one was truly, deeply mad. It's as if he sold his sanity to a curse.

"You guys, come to Jujutsu High."

Such an out-of-the-blue suggestion was unexpected.

"Well, considering his fellow sorcerer looked just as shocked, there probably wasn't any discussion with the school authorities."

No, it was certain that Gojo hadn't even thought about making them come to Jujutsu High before arriving here. He just blurted it out as the idea came to him.

"I should have known from the moment he screamed at the door at 4 AM in a house with a child that he was the craziest of the crazy."

Exhaustion surged. Toji wanted to lie down on the sofa, but he had to pick up Megumi from the babysitter's house first. They should all have dinner together.

Zoro scurried up to Toji's side.

"Tired?"

"A bit."

For Toji, meeting Gojo Satoru twice in one day was too much. He was too crazy.

Zoro, who had a much higher tolerance for madness than Toji, didn't feel particularly tired. If he got tired from this much, he wouldn't have lasted a day with his crew.

Zoro glanced at Toji.

"Dislike it?"

"Those guys? Of course, I dislike them."

"Not them. Going to Jujutsu High."

Toji was at a loss for words. After a moment of thought, he pulled Zoro into his embrace while still lying down. Zoro didn't resist and let himself be pulled in.

The warm heat and Zoro's unique body scent filled the air. The smell of metal and blood reminiscent of blades mixed with the scent of sweat and the artificial floral fragrance of fabric softener.

"What do you think? Dislike it?"

"It's not about liking or disliking. You and I can't go to Jujutsu High. At least, not now."

Zoro tilted his head.

"Why?"

"You're too young."

It's hard to believe given how mature and strong he is, but Zoro is only about 5 years old. Considering the typical age for first-year students entering Jujutsu High is 15, sometimes 16 if they've repeated a year, it's almost a decade too early for him.

"And Jujutsu High isn't just a simple high school. It's a place that assigns missions to its affiliated sorcerers."

From the perspective of a high school and as a place that assigns missions, it's not suitable for Zoro to go to Jujutsu High now.

If Gojo Satoru invited Zoro to Jujutsu High with the immediate intention of deploying him as a sorcerer in the field, Toji swore he would drive a spike into Gojo Satoru's white skull.

'He's not even a sorcerer, to begin with.'

He's someone who doesn't need to dive into the world of sorcery at all. Toji desperately wished to belong to that world, but Zoro could be different. After all, there are many sorcerers who want to leave the world of sorcery. Even if it's okay later, he might not want to enter it now.

The mention of missions made Zoro frown.

"Who assigns these missions? Do sorcerers choose the missions they want, and get paid upon completion, like bounties?"

"No. The Jujutsu Headquarters assigns them based on rank to each sorcerer."

"So, it's basically an order?"

"Yes."

Zoro leaned against Toji with a face that lost all its enthusiasm.

"Then I'm out. I don't like being ordered around by someone else. I won't listen anyway."

Except when it's an order from Luffy.

If the work at Jujutsu High involved following someone's orders to exterminate Curses, Zoro had no business being there. Absolutely not.

His interest dropped instantly. Zoro looked at Toji and asked,

"I mean, that's what I think, but what about you? Do you want to go to Jujutsu High?"

"...I need to be by your side."

The corner of Zoro's mouth twisted. It looked like an expression of displeasure, or as if he was saying not to lie.

"Tell me the truth."

Toji clicked his tongue. Only sharp when it comes to this.

"Can Observation Haki read minds too?"

"Well, my Haki isn't like that."

Even Luffy, who was specialized in sensing emotions, couldn't do that. However, Zoro could sense if someone was hiding something. It was closer to intuition and experience than Observation Haki.

Toji sighed. His eldest moss-head son had a good sense only in times like these. How great would it be if that sense could be applied to finding directions?

"...I don't know."

Thoughts of 'it's too late now' and 'it's not too late' crossed his mind simultaneously.

The idea of being acknowledged and living without shame by his children's side, regardless of the sorcerer world, seemed ironic now that such an opportunity had come. It felt empty to see the world he had struggled to enter open up with just a word from the Gojo family's young master.

"That must have been a thoughtless remark from Gojo."

Probably. Zoro agreed.

"But he's not the type to take back what he said."

Zoro had observed Gojo's eyes intensely when he made that offer. There was no hesitation or deceit in those sky-blue eyes. Only an unbreakable pride and the arrogance of believing he could achieve whatever he wanted.

Whether it was a spur-of-the-moment or for some other reason, once he had voiced the offer, Toji knew Gojo wouldn't back down, saying he never said such a thing. He would push forward regardless of any opposition.

He's a person overflowing with vigor and talent. And also someone who has never faced failure. He would be invaluable as an ally.

Of course, there are things that talent and vigor alone can't overcome, so someday he will face a painful failure...

But that's not now.

"If you want to go, you can."

"Don't talk nonsense. I won't leave you two."

This was Toji's sincere belief. He might have been wavering, but he really had no intention of going to Jujutsu High. What would he do at his age? Become a student, or a teacher with no Cursed Energy?

It was enough for Zoro to look after Megumi alone that one time.

'Besides, if Zoro were left alone and went out to buy something...'

The thought of Zoro wandering around Tokyo asking, "Where am I?" made his vision blur. He couldn't stand to see that. Absolutely not.