A few days later, after Zoro had dominated most of the events at the school sports festival, except for running, he returned to the Jujutsu High.
"...?"
Zoro took off the paper crown he had won as a prize and looked at the building (or what had been one).
Before he went to school, the building had been intact, but now it had a huge, donut-shaped hole through it. Inside the hole, a few bricks that once formed a wall rolled around. The forest behind it also had a round hole, just like a donut.
Using his Observation Haki, Zoro felt a clear trace of sorcery. Having recently attended basic theory classes on sorcery with Nanami and Haibara, Zoro knew what to call this.
'Remnant Impurity.'
A trace that inevitably remains at the scene when someone possesses a strong cursed object for a long time, or uses a sorcery technique. Zoro recalled Yaga's explanation.
Naturally, the Remnant Impurity left behind varies with each sorcerer and technique. Zoro knew well whose and which technique's Remnant Impurity this was.
'The technique itself is new to me.'
Clearly, it was a trace created by Satoru's limitless sorcery.
'Fortunately, there's no sign of anyone being hurt.'
Such an impact would be difficult to block even with Zoro's Armament Haki.
If it were Zoro, he wouldn't block; he'd choose a different method.
"Raise your hand properly, Satoru!"
Yaga's voice came from somewhere. Zoro quickly moved in that direction.
...Well, at least that's what he thought.
"...? Why did I end up here?"
Zoro returned to the torii gate at the entrance of the School, scratching his head in confusion.
From a distance, Nanami and Haibara approached together. Haibara, drinking a can of cola, waved energetically at Zoro.
"Senior Zoro! Are you heading home already?"
"Yeah."
"Yume was so sure she'd win at the sports festival today, did you let her win?"
"No."
The world of competition is harsh. Zoro had tried hard in all the events, winning most of them as long as it didn't harm the other children.
'Because Yume was teary about her class losing at tug-of-war, I eventually gave the prize to her.'
Seeing her tears stop as soon as she received the prize made it seem like she just wanted the prize. It didn't matter much. After all, it was something Zoro wouldn't use anyway.
"Where are you going?"
"I heard Yaga's voice."
"From where—"
"Saa—too—roooo—!!!"
The faint roar of Yaga echoed from a distance, and both Nanami and Haibara immediately grasped the situation. Nanami muttered something.
"It looks like Senior Gojo caused another incident."
"There's a hole in one of the buildings."
"That's serious."
"And the forest behind it too."
"Really..."
Nanami shook his head in dismay and sighed. Now that something had happened, they had to check it out.
"Do you know what used to be there?"
"Not sure. There are only a few bricks left."
"I see."
Nanami made a mental note. If it turned out that the demolished building was his room, he would grab Gojo by the collar, senior or not, and slam him into the ground. He wasn't sure how he would break through Gojo's limitless technique, though.
Nanami grabbed one of Zoro's hands, and Haibara grabbed the other. Caught between the two, Zoro blinked.
"You can let go."
"No, you can't."
"You can't, senior."
Nanami and Haibara firmly stated together. To Zoro's questioning look, Haibara confidently explained.
"Because, if we let go, you'll get lost!"
"Whaat?!"
As they walked briskly, the trio finally reached the scene Zoro had discovered.
"Wow."
"...Really, only bricks are left."
Nanami looked at the gutted building with a nauseated expression. What on earth had happened here?
"Could someone have been hurt—"
"There's no sign of that."
Zoro stated firmly. If there had been, they would have checked the safety of their families and the school students first.
As Nanami scanned the surroundings, he saw Toji walking toward them, holding hands with Megumi and Tsumiki.
"Hey, son."
"Did you see this?"
"Just now. The young master really made a mess."
Toji chuckled. Curious, Zoro asked,
"What kind of mess?"
"The guy, he drank."
"...What?"
"Huh?"
Zoro jumped on the spot.
"He drank?!"
While I was away?! Zoro's outcry echoed through the Jujutsu High.
...
Gojo Satoru had been curious about the taste of alcohol for a long time. The elders of the Gojo family (or "old fogies," as Satoru called them) often drank alcohol.
They drank during happy times, sad times, when they were angry, and when there was something to celebrate. They drank when the Zenin family got the better of them, and when the Kamo family did the same. They always drank.
As a child curious about everything, young Gojo Satoru, as always, boldly told his family members.
'I want to try drinking alcohol.'
But even the Gojo family, which doted on Satoru, wasn't crazy enough to give alcohol to a precious and rare six-eyed sorcerer born once in 400 years. Faced with strong opposition for the first time in his life, Satoru ultimately did not get to drink.
So, he resolved that once he was away from his family, he would definitely try alcohol.
This morning, Satoru had cunningly convinced a classmate to buy alcohol from a convenience store. The reason for doing it this morning was simple: Yaga, Toji, Nanami, Haibara, and Zoro were all away from school.
Satoru, who drew attention wherever he went, distracted the convenience store clerk, while Suguru used a curse to sneakily take the alcohol. They did pay for it, though; they left the money on the counter using a curse.
Satoru sat in his dorm room, excited about drinking for the first time and asked his classmate to bring some snacks. While Geto and Ieiri went out to get them, Satoru opened a bottle of sake and drank it alone.
And…
"I'm drunk."
"I'm really drunk."
Geto and Ieiri knelt, hands raised, coldly glaring at Gojo who was face-down on the floor in an air-raid shelter position.
Geto was grinding his teeth.
'He said we'd drink together.'
It was unbelievable not only that Gojo had guzzled down the sake while they were out getting snacks but also that he had gotten drunk and caused a ruckus in that short time.
He hadn't drunk much. Just three sips. Yes, just three sips and he was drunk.
Of course, the sake was strong. It was 30% alcohol. Even so, getting drunk after just three sips was not normal.
Overwhelmed by the unfamiliar sensation of being drunk, Satoru felt dizzy and screamed at the top of his lungs. Suffering from dizziness and a headache, he made a choice he would never usually consider due to his drunkenness.
He decided to eliminate the cause of his misery with the best technique he could manage.
"Use the 'Purple' technique. It combines the 'Lapse Blue' and the 'Reversal Red' sorcery."
Gojo proudly explained, but Nanami frowned. It was a formidable technique. However…
"Did you… unleash that on the alcohol?"
"Yeah. And my room too."
Ieiri said calmly.
Naturally, the alcohol was completely annihilated by the powerful Purple technique Gojo unleashed. The problem was that not only the alcohol and Gojo's room were destroyed, but the forest behind it as well.
Thanks to that, Geto and Ieiri, who hadn't even had a sip of the alcohol, ended up getting scolded by Yaga who came nearby and witnessed everything.
Gojo winced from the throbbing pain in his head and muttered resentfully.
"It wouldn't be so frustrating if it had at least tasted good."
"Keep it down, Satoru. Who told you to drink at that age!"
"I won't drink anymore! It's just bitter and tastes awful. Just makes my head spin. Ugh."
Being sensitive to alcohol was bad enough, but what was worse for Satoru was the headache that came with being drunk. Due to his Six Eyes, not using reverse cursed energy techniques already made his head hurt just from keeping his eyes open. The alcohol made the pain even worse.
Toji, for the first time, deeply empathized with Satoru's words, as he too disliked alcohol.
'Though the reason I dislike it is different from that guy.'
Unlike Satoru, who was weak to alcohol, Toji found it extremely difficult to get drunk due to his constitution. Alcohol is a kind of poison, and his body naturally detoxified it. In that sense, for Toji, alcohol was nothing more than a bitter and tasteless liquid.
"What a waste."
Zoro genuinely felt it was a waste. To just blow away the alcohol, when it's so hard for a young one to get it! Click, Zoro smacked his lips.
"It tastes good."
Feeling a sudden unease at the earnest remark, Toji swiftly turned his head towards Zoro.
"How would you know that? ...Don't tell me you've tried it?"
"..."
"Tell the truth, you rogue marimo."
"I haven't."
At least not with this body.
Nanami knelt in front of Zoro, leveling his eyes with him, and spoke seriously.
"Senior, you must not become like Senior Gojo. Never. It's a disaster."
"What? Nanami, what did you just say?!"
"Agreed. Zoro, don't be like him."
"You were in on it too, Shoko?"
"I never said to drink alone and make a scene while drunk."
Yaga, perhaps suffering from a headache, pressed his temples with his palm as large as a pot lid. Tsumiki, with wide eyes, asked,
"Mr. Yaga, does your head hurt?"
"...It's okay."
"Really? Dad also gets headaches because of my brother like that."
At the innocent question from Tsumiki, Yaga turned his head to look at Toji. Toji, just like Yaga had done earlier, was pressing his forehead with his fingers. Their eyes met.
"..."
A strange sense of camaraderie flowed between them. It was the camaraderie of guardians dealing with troublemakers.
Ieiri surreptitiously lowered his arm, noticing the mood. Seeing this, Geto followed suit. Gojo stopped the air-raid shelter pose, rubbed his head, and stood up, just as Yaga's sharp gaze landed on him.
Regardless of being classmates and friends, Geto deliberately addressed Yaga to divert his attention.
"Teacher, didn't you come to tell us something?"
Yaga sighed deeply.
"In two weeks, there's an exchange event."
"An exchange event?"
"An exchange meeting with the sister school. It's held with the Kyoto Jujutsu High."
It hadn't taken place last year, but this time it was essential according to the upper echelons. The reasons for insisting on the exchange were unclear, but when did the higher-ups ever bother to explain their reasons to the sorcerers below?
Gojo, massaging his tingling scalp, said,
"Isn't that event for the second and third years? Our numbers should match up with theirs."
The reason last year's exchange wasn't held was also due to the number of participants. Last year, there was only one third-year student, Utahime, enrolled at the Tokyo Jujutsu High. In contrast, the Kyoto Jujutsu High had three second-year students.
If there hadn't been any deaths or retirements, it was clear that those three second-years from Kyoto would have become third-years as the year changed.
"We'd need to have no second-years on their side for it to be three against three."
"I heard there are currently three second-year students at the Kyoto Jujutsu High."
"That would make it three against six, then?"
"Getting cold feet, Suguru?"
"Of course not. Just a simple question."
Geto responded calmly. He was confident they could sweep any exchange event, no matter how many came. With not just him, but also Satoru and Shoko around, there was little to worry about.
"So, this time, the first years will go instead of the third years."
Nanami blinked twice before managing to speak.
"...Excuse me...?"
"Wow, does that mean we're going to Kyoto?"
Haibara asked cheerily, and Yaga nodded.
"Since Kyoto Jujutsu High won the last held exchange, this time it's our turn to go to Kyoto."
Nanami, who had been puzzled, suddenly felt something was off and spoke up.
"Mr. Yaga, didn't you say there are six on the Kyoto side?"
"...That's right."
"But there are only five of us from Tokyo."
There were two first-years and three second-years, totaling five. That was one less than Kyoto Jujutsu High.
"Is Senior Utahime or Mei Mei going with us?"
"It's likely."
"Utahime is currently on a business trip in Tohoku, and Senior Mei Mei is also busy."
As Shoko stated the facts, Yaga grimaced.
"...That's why I'm worried."
The upper echelons had casually suggested sending a young sorcerer from the Tokyo Jujutsu High, but it wasn't easy. Sending either Utahime or Mei Mei to the exchange did not quite fit with their mission schedules or the purpose of the exchange, which was to expose lower years to a major sorcerer event.
Gojo stopped rubbing his head and turned to Zoro with a sly smile before speaking.
"Zoro."
"?"
"Want to go to the exchange together?"
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