Geto fell silent for a moment before finally saying,
"...It's okay."
"It doesn't seem like it."
Logically, swallowing such things every day couldn't possibly be okay. If it were Luffy, he would undoubtedly be bouncing around yelling, "It tastes awful!" every time he swallowed.
Moreover, Zoro, while not as perceptive as Luffy or a gourmet chef, could still sense emotions to some extent with his Observation Haki. That's how he knew Geto was lying.
Geto sighed. It seemed nothing just passed by simply.
"Zoro, are you really not using mind reading?"
"You just made it too obvious with your lie."
Having been colleagues with some of the greatest liars in a previous life, Zoro calmly recalled the face of a long-nosed friend who constantly spun obvious lies.
"If you're tired, you can rest."
How old was Geto now? Fifteen? If he was fifteen, that's the same age Chopper was when he first joined the crew. That made it clear just how young Geto was. Of course, Chopper was a reindeer, so this was considering human age equivalency.
Geto, looking tired, flicked off pieces of stalactite from his school uniform.
"Everyone is working hard; I can't be the only one to rest."
Gojo, Shoko, Yaga, Mei Mei, Utahime, and many other sorcerers. Even Toji, whether stronger or weaker than Geto, was working hard.
"You've become a sorcerer too."
It was absurd to think that Geto alone could rest, especially when even a much younger Zoro had started acting as a sorcerer. The higher-ups wouldn't just let him be.
Zoro shrugged.
"I don't really think of myself as a sorcerer. And I'm doing this because I want to."
He wanted to fight and become stronger. But in this world, particularly in this country, public safety was too stable, leaving no opponents for a non-sorcerer. That's why Zoro had stepped into the sorcery world.
'I kind of liked the classic sorcery texts anyway.'
If he hadn't liked it, no matter what anyone said, he wouldn't have done it. It's not like he didn't have the power to refuse; if Zoro had said he didn't want to be a sorcerer, Toji would have definitely respected his wishes.
But it didn't seem like Geto was practicing sorcery because he wanted to. At least not now.
Geto rubbed his forehead as if tired.
"...Is what I want important?"
"It's important."
Whether a pirate or a marine. Those who were uncertain in that aspect didn't last long.
"What if I say I don't want to be a sorcerer?"
"It doesn't really matter to me."
Zoro wasn't particularly on the side of sorcerers or non-sorcerers. He had personal connections with a few sorcerers, but that didn't mean he represented all sorcerers.
"Even if you quit being a sorcerer, you're still you, right?"
That wouldn't be a reason for Zoro to cut ties with Geto. Unless Geto turned into a malevolent non-sorcerer who began to harm those around Zoro.
Geto chuckled softly. Despite feeling absurd, there was something comforting about the situation.
"Doing whatever you want. Did Toji teach you that?"
"No."
Even before he met Toji in this life, Zoro had always done things his own way.
Before meeting Luffy, when Zoro was wandering alone in the East Blue, he didn't harm civilians like a pirate would, but he also didn't dedicate himself to vanquishing evil like a marine driven by justice.
"Catching pirates and handing them over to the marines was just for the money."
He had no particular sense of performing good deeds. It was not without reason he was called a bloodthirsty demon in the East Blue. To the unaware civilian, it might have seemed like he was indulging in slaughter without purpose.
Zoro never cared what anyone called him, though.
Geto was different from Zoro, who occasionally helped people. What Geto sought was not personal strength but a correct form of society, where helping the weak was a means to achieve his goals.
The problem was that he indiscriminately labeled the broad category of non-sorcerers as 'weak,' without clearly distinguishing between those he should save and those he should not.
"That's why it's hard."
Zoro didn't save all the weak. He only saved the 'weak who were not enemies.' If the weak were enemies, he wouldn't treat them harshly, but he wouldn't let them obstruct his path either.
Geto hadn't considered the possibility that non-sorcerers (defined as weak by Geto) could become enemies of him and his fellow sorcerers.
"That's naive."
Non-sorcerers may be weaker in personal combat than sorcerers, but physical strength is only one of many capabilities. There are countless ways to harm others without resorting to physical combat.
Since the existence of sorcerers must not be revealed to non-sorcerers, sorcerers can't just indiscriminately use magic to knock down non-sorcerers.
"Suguru, you said an ideal society is about survival of the weak, right? And those weak are the non-sorcerers."
"..."
"Think about whether that's really the world you want."
"Just because they're non-sorcerers doesn't mean they can't harm sorcerers, and you care about sorcerers more than you think."
Even if they're not exceptions like Zoro or Toji, there are many ways non-sorcerers can harm sorcerers. Especially in an era where non-sorcerers far outnumber sorcerers, and their level of weaponry can compete with sorcerers' magic.
Geto is not someone who thinks the strong should be sacrificed for the weak to live peacefully. He's kind.
Moreover, Geto was concerned about Zoro and thought the treatment Zoro received was unfair, not to mention the injustices and hardships his other colleagues faced.
After listening quietly, Geto suddenly asked.
"So, what kind of world do you want, Zoro?"
Me? Zoro blinked.
"I haven't really thought about it."
Ah, there is one thing. Zoro said seriously.
"I wish there was no legal drinking age."
"..."
"To have to wait until you're 20 to drink, it's like they're mocking us—"
"Is that all? Don't you have any other goals?"
"I have a goal. To be the strongest."
"And what after you become the strongest?"
"Well, then I'll probably find a new dream."
Because a person's dreams never end.
"Do what you want, Suguru."
I don't want to say that absolute freedom is always good, but right now, Geto seems too suppressed by his own ideals. It wasn't just that he was overwhelmed by their weight; he seemed to doubt whether these were really the ideals he wanted.
"Think it over carefully," Zoro added.
"World affairs are often too complex to be strictly categorized in one way or another."
Good and evil. Black and white. Strong and weak. Enemies and allies.
Many people live somewhere in between, and their choices can change over time. There aren't many who are completely one-sided.
Just because someone is good doesn't mean they are always good to everyone, and the same goes for the evil. An overwhelming strong person can lose to a seemingly insignificant weak one depending on the compatibility of abilities. Allies can become enemies, and enemies can become allies.
"Luffy... managed to turn them all to his side."
That was a difference between Luffy and Zoro. Zoro wouldn't save someone just because they were objectively good if they were an enemy, but Luffy would save anyone he liked, even if they were enemies, and ultimately turn them into allies.
Good people, evil people, the strong, the weak, enemies, allies. All of them.
That's why Zoro was the captain, and why he was the Pirate King.
He ended the raging old era and ushered in the dawn of a new era.
Like Luffy, Zoro possessed the Conqueror's Haki, but he did not have Luffy's knack for indiscriminately drawing everyone in. Probably Geto didn't have it either.
"That's why you have to choose."
Whom to save.
Whatever choice he made, Geto would have to bear the responsibility himself.
Zoro advised Geto, who was lost in thought.
"Don't just talk to me and decide, talk with Satoru and others too."
That white fool wouldn't know what Geto was pondering unless told directly.
"Let's head back. The kids are waiting."
Geto nodded, took Zoro's hand, and led him out of the stalactite cave. Zoro suddenly asked,
"What about wrapping the curse beads in rice paper or seaweed before swallowing? Would it still be disgusting?"
Or maybe coating them with sugar.
Caught off guard by the suggestion he'd never considered, Geto responded a bit bewilderedly.
"...I've never tried that."
"Give it a shot. It must be tough always eating something you hate."
Geto chuckled softly, his expression easing.
"Alright, I'll try that."
It was the moment Zoro's tumultuous first mission came to an end.
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