At that time, Gojo Satoru was feeling like he was shouting at a wall.
"Ah, how many times do I have to say it! He's a non-sorcerer, a non-sorcerer!"
Despite repeatedly explaining since his arrival, those damned rotten old folks, who seemed to have decided not to use their ears anymore, refused to listen to him.
An elder from the higher-ups, hidden behind a long draped cloth, retorted sharply.
"How can a 5-year-old non-sorcerer exorcise a Special Grade Curse? If that were possible, there'd be no need for sorcerers at all! He must be a sorcerer, or he has some special curse object or tool."
As the others echoed in agreement, Satoru seriously considered his options.
'Should I hit them?'
Would they die if he did? Maybe getting rid of these rotten old folks quickly is actually for the betterment of the sorcerer community. Alright, Satoru will step up for the sake of the sorcerer community. Ah, would Yaga-sensei scold me? No, he'd probably give me a thumbs up if he saw this. Shoko too. Of course, Suguru as well. …Maybe not?
Satoru decided to hold back just one more time and ruffled his hair.
"Hey, are you all senile? Do you not know what my eyes can do?"
Satoru lowered his sunglasses. The higher-ups shut their mouths upon seeing the brilliantly shining Six Eyes. The Six Eyes that the Gojo clan had finally been blessed with after 400 years of waiting. There was no way those eyes could miss anything sorcerous.
"I've seen it with my own eyes. He's a non-sorcerer. The weapons he uses aren't curse tools either."
A silence filled with disbelief and doubt followed.
"If what you say is true, that's a problem in its own right, Gojo Satoru."
The calm voice made Gojo turn around. Hidden behind the cloth, he immediately recognized who sat there by the bald head, astonishingly long grey eyebrows, and beard.
It was Gakuganji Yoshinobu, the principal of the Kyoto Sorcery School.
"A mere 5-year-old has single-handedly defeated a Special Grade Curse. In history, the only being capable of such a feat was Ryomen Sukuna."
Even Gojo Satoru, born with both the Six Eyes and the Limitless, hadn't been able to achieve that at such a young age. Considering that Ryomen Sukuna, despite being a curse user, was treated as a being close to a natural disaster, Zoro too might grow into a being with similar powers in the not-too-distant future.
"If he achieved this without any sorcerous power, then that's terrifying in its own way. It means a new power has emerged that we neither know of nor can control."
Gojo Satoru cleared his throat and took off his sunglasses.
"So, what, you're suggesting we get rid of him? Wasn't it a fundamental virtue of sorcerers to protect non-sorcerers, old man?"
Like it or not, it's a sorcerer's duty to protect non-sorcerers. The moment they shirk this responsibility, they become no better than curse users.
Regardless of his personal feelings about the rule, Satoru was well aware of this fact.
Gakuganji spoke smoothly, unobstructed.
"If he is a non-sorcerer, then so be it. However, the blind spot here is that we don't know what he really is."
It's possible that he's a curse capable of deceiving even the Six Eyes with some high-level cursed technique, or he could be a completely new type of being.
"Gojo Satoru, you said you saw him as a non-sorcerer with your Six Eyes. But you also know that a non-sorcerer cannot exorcise a Special Grade Curse. Can you clearly tell us what he is?"
Gojo Satoru thought about Zoro, whom he had observed at the academy over the past few days.
Sleeping anywhere he lays his head. Waking up instantly when his siblings are around. Always playing with his siblings. Strictly scolding them when they do something they shouldn't. Diligently feeding the kids. Clinging to his siblings like a koala to a tree, walking around clumsily.
Lifting heavy rocks, even with the kids sitting on top, then standing up. If you take your eyes off him for a moment, he's off somewhere else, usually brought back by his younger sister. Answering his father's calls immediately, whether he's eating, sleeping, or training. When he's taking care of his sword, he's more meticulous than anyone.
Just as Gojo Satoru was about to answer Gakuganji's question, the door opened with a slide!
At the serious moment, an elder from the higher-ups yelled out, annoyed.
"Who the hell is—!"
"It's me."
Behind the door, Toji Zenin appeared, holding a large sword. A gasp was heard from a corner, and someone stood up abruptly. It was an elder from the Zenin clan.
With trembling fingers, he pointed at Toji.
"You, Toji! How dare you come here!"
"Why not. It's about my son."
"What, what…?!"
"Didn't you hear? You old man, so lazy."
Gojo took a moment to observe Toji. The smell of blood was strong, but there wasn't a single drop on his clothes or body, spotlessly clean compared to the large sword he held, dripping with blood.
Gojo looked past the open door, where dozens of sorcerers lay on the ground. Despite everything, these were the higher-ups. The level of sorcerers tasked with their protection was undeniably high.
'It's just that this gorilla is off the charts.'
"Did you kill them all?"
"With those eyes and you ask? I just knocked them out."
"Ugh, that's even more disturbing."
"The ones lying down there wouldn't think so."
After all, living is preferable to the alternative.
Toji stepped into the room with large strides, causing the Zenin clan elder to erupt in anger.
"Get out! Leave at once! How dare someone like you—"
"Don't fuss. I don't like seeing your face either."
Another higher-up murmured in surprise.
"There should have been a barrier. How did he...?"
"Well, I have a peculiar constitution."
Toji wasn't here to talk about himself, so he didn't plan on elaborating.
"It seems you were discussing my son just now. Why don't you enlighten me?"
Silence fell. The higher-ups, now mute as if they had eaten honey, didn't utter a sound. They couldn't. The pressure and murderous intent Toji exuded were that intense.
Especially the Zenin elder, buried in the fear from the day of Toji's past assault, could only tremble.
Toji hummed and then spoke leisurely.
"Then let me start the conversation. Today, I destroyed three curse user communities related to the incident where my son encountered a Special Grade Curse at the department store: Tokyo Sorcery Association, Q, and Invincible. And... I found quite interesting stuff."
Hearing the names of the organizations, there were twitchy reactions from around. The only one who didn't move was Gakuganji.
"You monkey, what are you trying to say!"
"It seems like it'd be easier for you to make decisions if you knew."
The fact that the curse user communities had been bribing the higher-ups was circumstantial evidence. Toji also had no direct evidence. But the higher-ups didn't know that.
'So, just hinting at it is enough.'
Reveal that you have something on them, but not what it exactly is. Making them anxious about how much Toji knows, so they squirm and protect themselves.
Toji sheathed his blood-soaked sword back into the curse's mouth, disarming himself. Yet, even unarmed, the higher-ups' sorcerers dared not attack him.
They knew it would be a losing battle. That fact instinctively popped into their heads.
Toji declared coldly.
"Zoro is a non-sorcerer. Do you understand what that means? He's not within your reach to meddle with."
Sorcerers should not antagonize non-sorcerers. It's a principle compulsively taught within the sorcery community. Yet, the higher-ups repeatedly crossed that line. Toji was warning them about this.
Gakuganji opened his mouth to speak.
"Do you truly believe that?"
Toji and Gojo turned towards the voice.
"Can you assert that he is merely a non-sorcerer, your son, even after witnessing power and anomalies never reported in history?"
Toji looked pensively at Gakuganji.
Of course, Zoro was significantly different from an ordinary non-sorcerer.
He knew things he shouldn't, spoke of experiences he couldn't have had.
Zoro wielded the Wado Ichimonji as if he had been practicing for decades, a gift from Toji on his fifth birthday.
Sometimes, Zoro hinted at having trained in Haki for years, which was impossible considering his age.
Zoro's combat experience was excessively vast, as if he had been through wars or large-scale battles multiple times.
Zoro detested when Megumi or Tsumiki ran on the stairs, as if he knew someone who had suffered greatly from such an act.
It was different from merely being mature or strong. There were too many questions, none of which Toji had satisfactorily resolved.
"Buy some ginger tea on your way back."
...Yet, when he thought of Zoro, who asked for ginger tea for ginger-loving Megumi, none of that seemed to matter.
"He is human, a non-sorcerer, and my son."
Toji was certain of that much.
Therefore, nothing else mattered.
Toji indifferently regarded the higher-ups.
Killing everyone here would be easy, but eliminating them would only replace them with other trash. It was cheaper to leave them be and threaten them.
"If you pull something like this again, you'll find yourself an enemy of me."
Toji turned and left without hesitation. There was still unfinished business he planned to settle before returning to the jujutsu high school. The higher-ups dared not stop or detain Toji.
Only Gojo casually yelled at Toji's retreating back.
"Hey, gorilla! When will you be back at the high school?"
"Tomorrow."
"Tell Zoro I said hi." Toji waved offhandedly.
That afternoon, the sorcery world was rocked by news of the Sorcerer Killer devastating another curse user organization.
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