Hearing Gojo call him really strong, Zoro was somewhat taken aback.
"...You're just realizing that now?"
After all the excitement and talk about strength when Gojo first visited Zoro's house.
'Well, I've never really shown my full strength in front of this guy.'
Maybe it's because his sight is too good. Gojo seemed unaware of things that aren't visible to the eye.
Well, he is strong but still lacks experience. It made sense.
'There are things you can only understand through direct experience.'
For instance, the relationship between energy and Haki was something even Zoro only grasped after swinging his weapon.
Zoro, looking at his weapon imbued with both energy and Haki, thought,
'Now I understand.'
Energy and Haki. These two energies do not interfere with each other.
Like water and oil, energy and Haki coexist within the same weapon but do not mix; they stay separate.
This was both an advantage and a disadvantage. It's good that they don't cancel each other out or clash, but being able to use one doesn't mean you can use the other.
However, that doesn't mean there's no way to manipulate energy with just Haki. A possibility had already come to mind for Zoro.
'I should give it a try.'
Resolved, Zoro sheathed his Wado Ichimonji and held only his weapon.
Tssss.
Black Armament Haki thickly wrapped around his weapon. The black aura whirled around the blade's edge.
Whoosh!
The energy of the weapon suddenly increased as if fuel had been poured on fire, and Gojo's eyes widened. While he couldn't see Haki, he could clearly see the movement of the energy.
'...No, it's not that the amount of energy in the weapon itself has increased.'
Zoro hadn't infused his own energy into the weapon.
'He concentrated it.'
The energy that was spread throughout the weapon was now concentrated entirely on the blade.
This was similar to pouring oil to forcibly move water. Using the characteristic that the two energies do not mix, Zoro densely filled the weapon with a large amount of Haki, causing the separate energy to be pushed out and concentrated in a specific location by the Haki.
Of course, it wasn't as easy as it sounds. If the movement of the energy was misdirected, or if the intensity of the Haki was low, the energy would leak out between the weak Haki and flow to the wrong place, reducing its power.
High-intensity Armament Haki, delicate control of Armament Haki, a high understanding and proficiency with the sword. All these were necessary for it to be possible.
...These were things Zoro had already mastered long ago.
He gripped the weapon in his right hand and tilted it towards his left shoulder. Then, he supported it by grabbing his right wrist with his left hand.
Zoro slowly opened his mouth.
"Eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, mind."
The six roots of a person, with affinity for good, evil, and the neutral mind.
"And each with purity and impurity..."
—In a human lifetime, the 36 afflictions.
"One Sword Style, 36 Pound Phoenix!"
A deep blue slash, imbued with both energy and Haki, swirled like a phoenix, flying towards where Gojo stood.
"...!"
Gojo's eyes widened as the crescent-shaped slash crossed the clearing, passing by him.
Creak, crunch.
The slash didn't cut through the Limitless, but the trees behind Gojo in the forest were sliced through. The trees that the slash passed had jagged, white lines appear on them, and then they were cut in half, falling one by one.
Thump! Thump thump thump!
Gojo turned to look at the forest. The rough traces of energy left on the trees were as clear to his eyes as if they were etched there.
Just now, Zoro had 'launched' a slash filled with energy from where he stood.
Gojo chuckled, then asked seriously,
"What did you do?"
"I launched a slash."
"...Even though you can't manipulate energy?"
Using slashes in techniques wasn't rare. There were sorcerers who could launch slashes at a distance. Even Ryomen Sukuna, known as the King of Curses, was said to possess techniques that launched slashes, according to records.
However, launching a slash without a technique, and that too without manipulating the body, was unprecedented.
Zoro wasn't too smug about it. After all, launching slashes wasn't that uncommon in the Grand Line. Rather, he was focused on organizing the facts he had just learned.
'Energy can be infused into slashes and launched at targets at a distance, just like Haki.'
And whether it's a characteristic of this weapon or all weapons, he wasn't sure, but once energy is infused into a slash and launched at a distance, the inherent energy in the weapon is consumed. The energy does slowly replenish, but at a terribly slow pace.
'Using an attack infused with energy again in this fight would be difficult.'
"Ugh...!"
Suddenly, Zoro's vision spun. Nearly falling over, he managed to stab his sword into the ground to steady himself. Droplets of sweat fell from his face.
"...Huff, huff..."
Zoro, breathing heavily, clutched his trembling right arm and gritted his teeth.
'Damn, my body is still too weak.'
While his proficiency with Haki remained from his past life, his strength and stamina were significantly lacking.
Therefore, the slash caused too much unnecessary destruction, and it wasn't sufficiently imbued with energy and Haki. Just fighting to this extent made his arm hurt and left him breathless.
'A short-term fight might be manageable.'
A prolonged battle was still beyond him.
To increase his chances of winning, he needed to end it quickly.
There was no time to catch his breath. As soon as Zoro pulled his sword from the ground, Gojo extended his hand as if he had been waiting.
"Technique Reversal,"
"...!"
Red.
Boom!
A flash of red light, followed by a tremendous explosion. A repulsive force that pushed everything away now even sent the stump left from Zoro's slash flying.
Whoosh!
Following the swing of Zoro's sword, the thick dust cleared. Gojo made a thoughtful noise upon seeing Zoro's clothes tattered from the dirt and explosion.
"You didn't dodge?"
"I can't dodge at your speed right now."
That's why he defended with Armament Haki. The activation of the Haki was slightly delayed, causing a scrape on his forehead, but that was a minor issue.
Gojo placed a hand on his side. If you can't dodge, you defend. Simple, yet many sorcerers and spirits died because they couldn't manage this simplicity against Gojo's techniques.
'I did control the power a bit.'
But it wasn't thrown lightly. About 70% of the usual intensity of Red?
Facing that level of Red head-on and only getting a scraped forehead, honestly, Gojo was astonished.
'Did that gorilla really need to protect this guy?'
He seemed like someone who didn't need protection at all.
'Was it because he's directionally challenged?'
That made a bit more sense.
'Anyway, if he could withstand that level of Red, maybe I can go a bit stronger—'
Swoosh, shiiing!
Another slash flew towards the Limitless.
Shoosh.
As Gojo used Blue to absorb the slash blocked by the Limitless, Zoro clicked his tongue.
"I hate just being on the receiving end."
It was annoying to be in a situation where Gojo hits and Zoro can't land a single blow. Though it wasn't the first time, it was frustrating.
"After all that chatter when you were launching the slash earlier, now you're silent. Is it an omission of the incantation? A disclosure of information?"
"It's up to me."
"Hm? Oh, right. It's not even sorcery to begin with."
Gojo inadvertently thought of Zoro like a sorcerer and recognized his mistake.
The technique names Zoro shouts are fundamentally different from the incantations (chants) a sorcerer recites to activate a spell. Unlike incantations, the names of the techniques aren't essential for Zoro's technique activation.
In other words, not saying them had no effect on the power of the techniques.
Given that all the strong opponents Gojo had faced, except for Toji, were sorcerers, it was unavoidable that he unconsciously treated Zoro as he would a sorcerer.
'Nanami and Geto at least had the experience of facing the gorilla.'
A typical sorcerer would undoubtedly struggle to face Zoro. A strong opponent who doesn't use sorcery at all would be an unpredictable variable for them.
Zoro tightened his trembling right arm.
'The Phoenix of the 36 Afflictions is now out of the question.'
Not just muscle strength, but his stamina was also running low.
'I can properly launch only one more strike.'
Zoro grinned.
"That should be more than enough."
Gojo hadn't attempted to block Zoro's attacks since activating the Limitless. Clearly, he thought there was no chance of getting hurt as long as he had the Limitless.
Zoro wanted to cut through that belief.
Whoosh!
Blazing Armament Haki engulfed the Wado Ichimonji. The sword, like flickering black flames, absorbed the Haki, emitting an even darker light endlessly.
Pop pop pop!
The flame-like Haki continuously absorbed by the sword enveloped it, making it look as though it was wrapped in black cherry blossoms.
Gojo narrowed his eyes.
Although he couldn't see the principles as clearly as with sorcery, he couldn't fail to notice such an overt display of intent. The dark energy was visibly encircling Zoro and his sword.
The upcoming attack would be different from the previous ones.
—Then, I should respond earnestly.
Gojo lifted his fingers, forming a hand seal. Then, he recited an incantation similar yet different from Jujutsu Purification Blue.
"Phase. Paramita."
A pillar of light.
It was when Toji was about to draw his Inverted Spear of Heaven and intervene. His eyes met Zoro's. Beneath the black hood, the gray eyes warned Toji of just one thing.
"Don't interfere."
A vivid red sphere of energy appeared in front of Gojo's hand.
"Technique Reversal,"
Red.
The moment the energy sphere shone, the whole world was dyed red.
Then,
Boom!
An extremely enhanced repulsive force began to destroy everything around the small piece of land Gojo was standing on. The already ruined sports field was further excavated, and the forest, which had some shape left, was completely uprooted.
"Ugh...!"
Like the other things, Zoro was lifted high and thrown far away. Landing barely on one of the flying trees, Zoro, despite feeling as if his entire body would shatter into dust and disappear, tightly grasped his sword.
"One Sword Style,"
Flying Dragon Flame.
Zoro leaped towards Gojo. With his sword emanating Haki like falling cherry blossoms, he sliced through the Red and swung at Gojo.
Slish.
A black line was drawn in the red world.
The Red was cut.
Because the red energy of Red covered the world, slicing through Red felt like slicing through the world itself.
An unreal silence enveloped the space where everything had been blown away. As if the red destruction just moments before was a lie, everything was simply calm.
Gojo slowly moved his eyes. Zoro was lying a few steps away in a crater, bleeding profusely.
"Ha, ha, ha..."
Breathing heavily, Zoro managed to sit up. Unable to stand, he sat and smirked.
"The Limitless is a good ability. You, huh... use it well."
But, of course. Zoro spoke as blood dripped from his mouth.
"—It's not invincible."
He knew from trying several times just moments ago. Ordinary Armament Haki couldn't penetrate the Limitless.
But what about Armament Haki that could strike an enemy without making contact?
Armament Haki that infiltrates and destroys from the inside without damaging the exterior. Flowing Sakura.
If that Flowing Sakura was applied to the sword.
Could it deliver a hit beyond the Limitless, directly to the body?
The answer was now evident before his eyes.
'Even if the sword doesn't directly touch the body, and without destroying the Limitless itself.'
...The attack connects.
Drip.
Gojo touched his forehead with his hand, feeling a sting. His forehead was slightly cut, and his fingertips came away with red, slippery blood.
Whoosh.
The cut area ignited.
Gojo unconsciously rubbed his fingers to extinguish the flame on the wound. Although the flame was much smaller than one produced by a cheap lighter, it left a mark on Satoru Gojo. A permanent mark that not even a Reverse Cursed Technique could erase.
There was a wound.
On Satoru Gojo, even while wrapped in the Limitless.
︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵
If you want to read 20 chapters ahead or support me, visit my pátreon.com/fumiaki