Zoro was accustomed to pain.
Living as a swordsman aspiring to reach the pinnacle in the harsh seas, he inevitably had to get used to a certain level of pain. The sea was vast, teeming with all kinds of enemies. No matter how talented and strong a pirate was, it was impossible to advance without ever getting hurt.
Of course, being accustomed to pain didn't mean he enjoyed it.
'Unless you're a lunatic.'
Although Zoro was indeed a lunatic, he wasn't the kind that enjoyed pain. He endured it for the sake of reaching greater heights and protecting those around him.
The good news was that this wasn't the worst pain Zoro had ever felt.
The bad news was that it was close enough to be second worst.
'Damn it...!'
In the abyss of excruciating pain, Zoro writhed, suppressing his screams.
When had he last felt this much pain? Maybe when the wound Mihawk inflicted on him at Arlong Park had reopened, or when every bone in his body had been broken on Onigashima.
At least it wasn't as painful as during Thriller Bark. Back then, he couldn't even muster the strength to suppress his screams.
'Not in front of my father.'
He might be a man with many sins, but he hadn't committed enough to deserve hearing his dying son's screams. At least not from Zoro.
His mouth was filled with the taste of blood. He wasn't sure if it was his own blood or the blood around him seeping into his mouth. It felt like being in a blazing fire or drowning in a sea of blood.
A familiar hell, Zoro thought to himself.
Suddenly, Zoro sensed something and turned his gaze. A skeletal reaper, draped in white, holding a long black scythe, stood not far away.
A face he had seen several times before.
The reaper raised its scythe high.
Then, it swung it down toward Zoro's neck.
Swoosh!
Thump.
Zoro caught the sharp blade of the scythe with his hand clad in Haki. Grinning, he pushed back against the reaper's force.
"Too bad."
It's not my time to be here yet.
Srrrng.
He moved his other hand to draw his sword. Without a moment's hesitation, Zoro swung his blade at the reaper. The sharp sword slashed through the reaper and the crimson hell simultaneously.
The reaper, being cut, didn't bleed or show any signs of pain. Instead, it slowly lowered its scythe.
With a strangely satisfied expression, it moved its bony mouth to make a peculiar sound.
'Return.'
You, our king who escaped us.
...
Zoro opened his eyes.
As soon as he did, his blurry vision was filled with the sight of a woman with short brown bobbed hair and a man with black hair looking down at him. It was Shoko and Toji.
"...You're awake," Shoko said in a voice that clearly expressed relief.
Zoro tried to reply but only managed a groan. He wished that the pain would have vanished the moment he opened his eyes, but his entire body still ached.
Shoko, with dark circles under her eyes, pulled out her medical tools to examine Zoro as she spoke. "Don't push yourself. You were at death's door for a full two days."
Even as she said it, Shoko was a bit astounded.
Using the talisman from Tengen that temporarily increased her cursed energy reserves, she was able to use more Reverse Cursed Technique on Zoro, but she couldn't remove all the poison. Zoro had endured the remaining poison with his own natural poison resistance.
'Well, he not only withstood the poison, but the process also degraded his organs.'
He should be bedridden for at least six months for a full recovery, but here he was, up after just two days. Shoko found it remarkable.
'Of course, there are those who have gone through hell during these two days.'
Shoko glanced at Toji. Toji, who had not slept or eaten for those two days, looked like he had just stepped out of hell, but now he finally looked somewhat human again.
Zoro tried to sit up but gave up when Toji shot him a fierce look.
Instead, he asked another question. "What about Amanai?"
Toji looked exasperated that this was his first concern, but he answered honestly. "She's safe."
When Zoro had disappeared, Geto immediately contacted Toji.
'Zoro's gone.'
The moment he received the message, Toji checked Zoro's Vivre Card. Seeing that more than half of it had burned away, he ran straight in the direction it pointed.
'If I had arrived earlier, I would've torn that bastard apart myself.'
Unfortunately, by the time Toji arrived, the battle was already over. All he could do was finish it off, splitting that bastard's head and torso vertically to ensure he was completely dead.
Since Zoro had arrived at the infirmary, both Geto and Toji had stayed by his side. Gojo had remained at the safe house with Amanai, as there was no one else suitable to stay there.
Toji and Gojo even had a phone conversation in the meantime.
'Honestly, I don't really remember what we talked about.'
At the very least, he knew that Amanai wasn't dead or fused with Tengen. She must have been hiding in the safe house like a mouse.
'And with the full moon phase passed.'
They wouldn't be able to perform the fusion until the next full moon anyway.
Speaking of the fusion, it naturally brought up another memory. Toji's face darkened as he recalled the visit from the sorcerer from the Star Palace two days ago.
Toji had sent the sorcerer from the Star Palace away with the promise that he would speak to Zoro once he woke up. The sorcerer surprisingly retreated without argument.
'Maybe he was scared, or perhaps he had prior instructions from Tengen.'
That part was unclear.
After the sorcerer left, Geto had asked with a puzzled expression.
"Teacher, has Zoro ever changed his name?"
It was a natural inference for Suguru to make, given the sudden mention of an original name.
And Toji's answer to the question was 'no.'
Zoro's name had been Zoro since birth. It was a name that Toji was supposed to decide, but since he couldn't come to a decision, Chie ended up naming him. It was a short name composed only of katakana, without kanji or specific meaning.
In the world of sorcery, where most names were written in kanji, a name composed solely of katakana was quite unique, but that was all. They had never considered changing it, nor had they debated using a different name.
The reason Toji couldn't say this to Geto was because he couldn't claim to know every moment of Zoro's life.
Not just the times when Toji was away from Zoro…
…But possibly even before that.
"Zoro."
"Yeah?"
At Toji's call, Zoro's gray eyes met his. Just that alone allowed Toji to breathe a sigh of relief.
"Tengen provided help for your treatment."
"…He did? Why?"
Zoro looked completely bewildered. Toji shook his head slowly.
"I don't know either. But he did say there was something he wanted you to tell him."
"What?"
"He said he wanted to hear your… original name from you directly."
Seeing the surprise and confusion on Zoro's face, a part of Toji's heart sank. It felt like the moment he had long avoided was now right in front of him.
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