At 4 p.m. that day, Gojo Satoru came back to the house.
"Hello, gorilla."
"..."
Having had a good rest, Gojo Satoru's face looked much better. The Six Eyes visible beyond his sunglasses sparkled, and he was carefully wrapped in Limitless.
It seemed like he was grinding his teeth at Toji, but that was to be expected.
'When has the young lord of the Gojo family ever been grabbed by the hair and thrown away?'
Moreover, calling him a gorilla, it seemed there was no difference between the Zenin and the Gojo in treating him like a beast. The corner of Toji's mouth twisted sarcastically.
"Satoru, it's rude to call people gorillas."
This time, he brought another person with him. Glancing, Toji looked at the sorcerer standing next to Gojo Satoru.
"Hello, I'm Geto Suguru."
The young male sorcerer with one strand of hair falling forward and the rest coiled up strangely was someone he had seen at the zoo before.
Toji looked at the sorcerer, who was giving a benevolent smile, and assessed him.
'This guy is pretty strong too.'
Only slightly weaker than Gojo Satoru. At this level, he was likely a Grade 1 sorcerer, at the very least a Semi-Grade 1.
Moreover, although he wasn't sure what kind of technique it was, when Toji activated his Observation Haki, he felt a lot of presences around this guy, not just him. It was bustling.
Toji frowned. This feeling was.
'Cursed Spirits?'
Since this sorcerer himself wasn't a cursed spirit, it seemed likely that his technique involved cursed spirit manipulation.
Cursed Spirit Manipulation. A technique that involves capturing subdued cursed spirits and controlling them.
'Although the number and grade of cursed spirits a sorcerer can capture and control vary greatly among sorcerers.'
Still, it's a pretty good technique. Toji had hardly ever sensed a sorcerer with such a technique through Observation Haki, so he couldn't be sure if it was indeed cursed spirit manipulation.
'If we fight... what would happen?'
Toji acknowledged that Zoro stated he was stronger than Gojo, but that was only in a one-on-one scenario. If the other side truly was a Grade 1 Cursed Spirit Manipulator, they might end up fighting dozens against one, if unlucky. Of course, if the captured spirits were of a lower grade, it might just be a case of quantity over quality.
Though there were two on this side, including Zoro, Toji had no intention of letting Zoro face these individuals. Absolutely not.
Gojo barged in eagerly, interrupting their thoughts.
"Enough about that, where's that tennis ball-headed kid—umph!"
"Satoru says he has something to say to the kid in this house. Can we come in?"
"Umph! Umph!"
Getou naturally covered Satoru's mouth and asked politely.
However, Toji easily noticed Getou's glance briefly shift towards the Storage Cursed Object Toji was wearing. Although his smile seemed friendly at first glance, it was cold enough to turn hostile at any moment.
'It seems like he's wearing a mask.'
Young sorcerers from the high school weren't going to fool Toji that easily.
Well, fine. They were also ready to stab and run at any moment.
Toji thought about the natural hairbrush inside the Storage Cursed Object and the escape routes he had planned, making way for them to come in. Gojo, having his hand slapped away by Getou, grumbled.
"This should have been done earlier. Anyway."
Satoru casually threw his shoes off and entered the house. One shoe flew into the house, causing Toji to frown.
Getou Suguru, while remaining tense, neatly arranged his shoes. Toji didn't take his eyes off them as he closed the door and, without looking, kicked Gojo's stray shoe back towards the entrance.
Inside, Zoro was sitting alone on the sofa. Megumi was at the babysitter's, not here.
Gojo Satoru and Zoro's eyes met. The moment he met those ordinary gray eyes, devoid of any trace of cursed energy, Gojo Satoru felt a chill.
'As I thought.'
He wasn't mistaken.
Still, only an ordinary non-sorcerer without any distinguishing features was visible to the Six Eyes.
Yet, Gojo Satoru's soul kept signaling and warning him.
Strong.
The person before him is strong.
...Though he couldn't for the life of him understand why.
For the first time in his life, Gojo Satoru felt fear, curiosity, and tension towards the unknown.
That's why, even after spending nights wandering around for the past 5 days, he urgently sought the answer he wanted to hear as soon as possible.
"What's the answer?"
"..."
"What are you?"
...
Zoro was at a loss for words right now. So, with a deeply furrowed brow, he sat on the sofa, looking up at Gojo Satoru.
"You're asking me what I am?"
"Yes."
"...You came here just to hear the answer to that question?"
At someone's house, and at 4 in the morning, no less?
"Of course. Why else would I have spent several nights searching all over Tokyo!"
Gojo declared proudly, hands on his hips. Then, pointing a finger at Toji, he exclaimed.
"If that gorilla hadn't interfered, I could have gotten an answer from you earlier!"
"..."
It was madness, but Zoro accepted it. After all, in his previous life, Zoro was part of a crew of madmen known as pirates, even considered the craziest among a group that was already deemed insane by its members.
"Keep your voice down in front of the kid, Satoru."
Geto gave Zoro, who was sitting in front of Gojo, a troubled look. Gojo had insisted they visit because he found the child he saw before and wanted Geto to come along, but Geto couldn't understand what business Gojo could possibly have with such a young child.
As before, to Geto's eyes, Zoro looked far too young. Perhaps 6 or 7 years old? Although he wore a sword, he seemed too young to wield it.
Geto smiled gently, bending down to meet Zoro's gaze, and said in a kind voice, "Hello. I'm Geto Suguru. You can call me Geto, Suguru, or just 'bro' if you like."
"Uh."
"Have you met me and Satoru before?"
Zoro shrugged his shoulders.
"For you, this is the second meeting, but for that guy, it's the third. He came here at 4 a.m. today."
"..."
Geto looked at his classmate with a mix of horror and disdain. Gojo bristled in response.
"What's with that look, Suguru?"
"Satoru, you... "
Geto sighed deeply, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Sorry, I'll apologize on his behalf. So... oh, I don't know your name yet. What's your name?"
Zoro didn't think too hard before answering.
"I'm Zoro. Zenin Zoro."
"Hah? Zenin? Zeeeenin?!"
Gojo jumped up from his seat, and Toji flinched. Even Geto trailed off, saying, "Zenin? Could it be...." Zoro blinked, not understanding why everyone was reacting so strongly.
The Six Eyes sparkled.
"Are you a member of the Zenin clan? That gorilla also carries the Zenin name. Are both of you?"
"The Zenin clan?"
"What, you don't know? You're carrying that name without knowing?"
"Speak so I can understand."
Zoro got annoyed, and Gojo looked back at Toji.
"Hey, gorilla. Haven't you told him what Zenin means? I can understand if the kid doesn't know, but you surely know what the Zenin clan is."
"..."
"Not your biological child? Were you originally from the Zenin clan and then kidnapped or adopted him—"
"Don't talk carelessly about my father."
Zoro cut Gojo off sharply. Both Zoro's grey eyes and voice dropped coldly at the same time. He had no intention of fighting, but he also wasn't going to let Toji be insulted openly without saying anything.
The overt and cold threat from the childlike Zoro made Geto's eyes widen. Gojo opened his mouth wide in shock.
"Could he actually be your real father? Really? Your hair is even green."
"So what?"
"You don't resemble him at all! Neither you nor the people of Zenin!"
It's strange. Gathering them together, they sort of give off a similar vibe, which seems to be a trait of that household. Gojo muttered.
Zoro, not understanding the conversation, looked at Toji. Toji's face was stern, and he moved his lips slightly.
"Later."
If that's the case, Zoro was indifferent.
"It seems related to father's past..."
But he wasn't curious about that.