Tsumiki and Megumi were sound asleep in the rest area in front of the vending machine at the Jujutsu High.
The two had been drawing pictures together, proudly showing off their ability to write Hiragana, and then, as if by agreement, they simultaneously nodded off into a deep sleep.
'It's true that young kids need a lot of sleep, but they seem to fall asleep quite often.'
Zoro was unaware that they had picked up this habit from him, who could sleep anywhere as soon as his head hit a surface.
He laid the two comfortably on a long bench. Then, he picked up the papers on which they had been practicing Hiragana.
Zoro calmly reviewed the paper with Tsumiki's name (つみき) written in small, round Hiragana characters.
'She missed the dot on "o (お)" again.'
It was a letter Tsumiki frequently made mistakes with.
'Megumi's writing wasn't so much writing as it was drawing.'
Seeing Megumi's scribbled writing, Zoro chuckled to himself.
The two strokes for "i (い)" were so close they almost looked like a U, and when writing "su (す)," instead of twisting the stroke once, it was twisted twice.
'It's not a spring.'
They were still young, so it was understandable. Who knows what they'll be like when they grow up. And if they're still silly... well, that's fine too.
'Fools have their own path.'
The greatest fool of a captain and the former strongest swordsman in the world, who were about equal in their level of foolishness, would later look at Megumi, who managed to score a perfect 10 out of 10 in the Jujutsu High's theoretical (sitting) exams, and think nothing of it.
Sensing a presence, Zoro looked up. Toji had returned to the Jujutsu High after completing a mission, walking towards them with a cursed spirit weapon wrapped around his body.
"Father."
"Nothing happened?"
"No."
Toji picked up a piece of paper fluttering near Zoro. Seeing the crooked writing, a faint smile appeared on Toji's lips.
"You've been checking their Hiragana studies."
"Yeah. Teach them a lot now."
"...?"
"When they grow up, your siblings will be smarter than you."
"Huh?!"
Zoro was quite knowledgeable and level-headed but not particularly intelligent. Usually, intelligent kids are the opposite.
Toji silently sat next to Zoro, careful not to wake the children.
Toji spread his Observation Haki to ensure Gojo's presence was not nearby before asking Zoro.
"Where's he?"
"If you mean Satoru, he's out on a mission with Suguru."
"That's a relief."
After Toji declared he would not teach Haki, Gojo Satoru had been making excuses to stick around Toji incessantly, constantly asking questions and requesting additional lessons.
'He's planning to stick around until I teach him.'
An infuriated Toji once banned the use of techniques during physical training and, with all his might, threw Gojo, who had released his Limitless, to the opposite side of the Jujutsu High.
However, Gojo was not the same as before; the moment he was thrown, he immediately applied the Reverse Cursed Technique to his entire body, recovering from all the damage he received while flying.
"Strictly speaking, the Reverse Cursed Technique isn't a technique, right? It's just one way of manipulating energy. Isn't that so?"
That was what Gojo said when he showed up unharmed shortly after. Watching Gojo, Toji for the first time understood what it felt like to be truly exasperated.
'I should throw him again.'
He was seriously tempted but gave up, knowing Gojo would just use the Reverse Cursed Technique again.
Since then, Toji used his Observation Haki to avoid Gojo as much as possible.
'If it were about defeating him head-on, that's one thing.'
Running away from Gojo was something Toji could do. Of course, since Toji would return to his kids eventually, Gojo would quickly find him again.
The good thing was, both Gojo and Toji were very busy.
As soon as the higher-ups were informed that Gojo had mastered the Reverse Cursed Technique, the level of his missions steadily increased. Therefore, Gojo didn't have much time to follow Toji around.
'If the young master gets promoted to a special grade, the number of missions he and the front-runner go out on together will decrease.'
It's inefficient to assign both a special grade and a grade 1 sorcerer to the same mission.
They're dying to be apart from each other. Toji finished his thought.
"I wish it was a long-term mission."
"It's a simple one. They've been gone for a while, so they'll be back soon."
"Ugh."
Guess I'll have to head to the next mission site right away. Seeing Toji's disgusted expression, Zoro said.
"If it bothers you that much, why not just tell him about Haki?"
"Can't do that."
"Why?"
"It's annoying."
Of course, that wasn't the main reason, but Zoro wasn't great at understanding complex explanations, so it was easier to put it this way.
Fortunately, Zoro accepted the explanation without much fuss.
"He is annoying, isn't he."
"You can't teach him Haki either."
"Why?"
"He'll become even more annoying."
"Just for that reason?"
"That's right."
Zoro observed Toji, then smirked.
"That's not it."
"..."
"There's another reason. It's not entirely a lie, but the reason you don't want to teach Satoru Haki isn't just that."
Toji clicked his tongue. Zoro was sharp. Faced with Zoro's expectant gaze, Toji had no choice but to speak.
"He's already too strong."
If he becomes any stronger, then he might truly become an existence that even Zoro can't catch up to.
'I've already said too much about Haki to him.'
I'm not at a level to teach anyone.
That meant there could be someone capable of learning and surpassing Toji in the use of Haki.
'He might have already realized that.'
Even if he's crazy, he's definitely not dumb.
Zoro's grey eyes examined Toji for a moment before he laughed as if he had realized something.
"Are you afraid that if Satoru learns Haki, I'll never be able to beat him?"
"..."
"Father, I'm going to be the strongest."
And to become the strongest, naturally, he had to surpass Satoru as well. However, he had no intention of hindering Satoru's growth to achieve that.
'It would be a waste.'
To lose a good rival like that.
'People's growth isn't something you can just stop if you want to.'
In a previous life, those in power tried everything they could to halt the growth of the Straw Hat crew, mobilizing forces from all over the world. In the end, they all failed.
"I have no intention of becoming the strongest by belittling others, Father."
"..."
"It might be your choice not to teach Satoru Haki."
But that doesn't mean Zoro has a reason not to teach Satoru Haki.
Well, even though I say that.
"I wonder if it would really be beneficial for Satoru to learn Haki."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm honestly not sure what would happen if a sorcerer learned Haki."
Energy, as we know, has a negative (-) nature.
The Reverse Cursed Technique generates positive (+) energy by multiplying negative energy by negative energy.
—So, what about Haki?
"What kind of energy is Haki? Positive? Or negative?"
"...You don't know?"
"I don't."
In a previous life, there was no energy with a clear negative (-) nature like cursed energy.
Unlike cursed energy, which originates from negative emotions and has negative properties, Haki is derived from a strong will.
This raises the question.
Does the will of living beings originate from positive or negative things?
'Can we even categorize human will as either positive or negative?'
Will is usually a mix of a person's emotions, beliefs, circumstances, and enlightenment. It's mostly impossible to pinpoint it as either positive or negative.
If it's neither positive nor negative, then what is Haki?
Currently, it's unknown. Toji and Zoro never used cursed energy in combat at all. There's also never been a sorcerer who learned or used Haki.
"Since we don't know the nature of Haki, we can't predict how it would interact with immense cursed energy."
Perhaps, for a sorcerer, learning Haki might be incredibly difficult, or even if they learned it, Haki and cursed energy might cancel each other out, actually weakening the power of sorcery.
In short, it might be better for sorcerers not to learn Haki. Toji muttered, having realized what Zoro was implying.
"I didn't feel a decrease in power when I used Armament Haki on a tool."
"That's because you're flowing Haki into an already created tool. It might be different when a person directly generates both Haki and cursed energy."
Besides, Toji has no cursed energy at all.
Since Zoro, a non-sorcerer with a bit of cursed energy, uses Haki just fine, it's assumed that a sorcerer learning Haki wouldn't have a fatal effect. But it's uncertain since the difference in cursed energy between sorcerers and non-sorcerers is vast.
Zoro thought,
'I should borrow a cursed tool from Father and spar with him.'
It seemed like a good opportunity to truly experience the essence of cursed energy.
Toji ruffled his hair, overwhelmed by the unexpected conversation. He hadn't even considered the impact of Haki's nature on sorcerers.
"...Got it. I'll be back from the mission, so we'll talk in the evening—"
Zoro and Toji's heads turned in a certain direction. Someone had arrived. It was a strong presence.
Toji pulled the handle of a cursed tool from the mouth of the storage cursed spirit he carried. Zoro, without making any particular movement, watched the hallway. The strong presence didn't seem hostile.
Clack, clack. The sound of brisk footsteps approached. From the end of the Jujutsu High's corridor, a young woman appeared with long, blond hair and a charming mole under her eye.
She lit up upon seeing Toji.
"Hello, Zenin Toji. Lucky me to meet you."
"...Who are you?"
"Tsukumo Yuki. A special grade sorcerer."
There was no need to add that title. Everyone in the Jujutsu High knew the name of the only existing special grade sorcerer.
...Especially since she was infamous for abandoning her duties and wandering abroad.
As if she hadn't noticed Toji's attempt to draw his weapon, she asked casually,
"What's your type in women?"
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