"…He tried to make me a cursed spirit instead of a human?"
"That's right."
"Disgusting."
It would have been a horrific fate not just for Zoro, but for everyone. If Zoro had gained a cursed spirit's mindset instead of a human one...
Who knows? It might have ushered in a more terrible era than the time when Ryomen Sukuna rampaged.
"Fortunately, Kannon's spell to turn you into a cursed spirit failed. At least it didn't happen the way he intended."
Zoro did acquire power and integrate into this world, but everything else was a mess. He was born more than a thousand years later than Kannon intended and not in the prepared body.
Not as a cursed spirit, sorcerer, reanimated corpse, or any other form, but purely as a non-sorcerer.
Had Zoro's information been put into a body with a soul, he might have become a reanimated corpse. Instead of growing gradually from infancy, he would have instantly taken on his form from his past life.
'The fact that didn't happen means... he entered a seed that naturally had no soul.'
Such things do exist occasionally. They usually disappear before implantation in the womb.
"For some reason, one of your swords came with you to this world, and I've kept it safe for a long time."
"…Because they're connected."
The Wado Ichimonji is not just a sword imbued with powerful Haki. It signifies an unbreakable connection between the swordsman and the sword.
Even Zoro hadn't expected that connection to bring the Wado Ichimonji to this world after death.
"Only this sword came through, right?"
"That's correct. If the other swords remained, they were likely left in your world or lost in the void between worlds."
Zoro nodded. As expected, he'd have to find the other two swords again.
"What about Kannon and the Six Paths?"
"Both disappeared right after bringing you here. Kannon died, and the Six Paths was destroyed. When we found them, they were nothing but ashes."
Tengen thought it was likely the cost of attempting to transcend the truth.
She couldn't believe Kannon's insane act of bringing someone from another world had succeeded.
'Thinking in terms of the world's law of equivalent exchange, it doesn't add up.'
Even with the power gained from killing hundreds or thousands of sorcerers and non-sorcerers, along with Kannon's own power and his life, it still didn't balance out.
'It was either a miracle, or…'
Someone else paid the remaining price.
Tengen stared intently at Zoro, who was the most likely person to have paid that price. Zoro, oblivious to her gaze, scratched his head.
"There are still many unresolved questions."
For instance, the dreams he had before his sixth birthday, featuring a heart and a red thread.
The sound of machinery scraping that he heard repeatedly.
And how Zoro could still use abilities similar to the Haki from his previous world despite the change in worlds.
Tengen spoke decisively.
"This is as far as my knowledge goes regarding your situation."
If anyone holds the answers, it would be you.
After pondering for a moment, Zoro spoke.
"Let me ask one more thing about myself."
"Ask away."
In Zoro's mind, the face of Chie appeared. He remembered her tearful voice, apologizing and expressing gratitude.
"My reincarnation... and my mother's early death."
Is there a connection between the two?
Perhaps due to the unexpected nature of the question, Tengen remained silent for a moment. After a brief pause, Tengen spoke.
"No matter your past life or strength, within the confines of this world, you are merely one non-sorcerer."
This means that just giving birth to you wouldn't be significant enough for your parents to pay a price.
"Unless your mother died immediately after giving birth to you, which I hear is not the case, you have younger siblings with a significant age difference."
Her death was merely a coincidence, an ordinary tragedy that occurred as the wheel of the world turned without the interference of curses.
"However... the fact that your father is Zenin Toji might have a reason behind it."
This wasn't due to fate or causality, but rather a genetic issue. To hold the information of a body and soul from another world without issue, the body would need to be strong.
'You'd have to be at least the child of the Heaven-Sent Child with zero cursed energy.'
Having zero cursed energy means breaking free from the world's constraints, which would be problematic.
Perhaps this is why Zoro was unable to be born for over a thousand years after being called by Kannon. Toji was the first Heaven-Sent Child with zero cursed energy in the long history of sorcery, and he had only recently had children.
'If you consider it, the body Kannon had prepared in advance would have been most suitable...'
For some reason, Zoro did not use that body.
"Not everything in this world is driven by curses."
You know that well. Tengen swallowed her following words and offered condolences.
"I'm sorry about your mother."
Zoro nodded with a calm expression and bowed his head slightly. For a moment, it seemed he might cry, but when he lifted his head, his eyes were dry.
"Now let's talk about someone else. Amanai Riko. She won't be merging with you."
His voice was firm.
"May I ask why you oppose the merging?"
Zoro blinked.
The guardians of the Star Plasma Vessel—Gojo, Geto, Zoro, and Toji—had unanimously decided to oppose the merging. However, their reasons were different.
Geto opposed it because he believed it was not the right thing to do.
Gojo stepped in because he didn't want Amanai to merge.
As for Toji, he simply sided with Zoro.
And the reason Zoro decided to prevent the merger...
"Because she's my friend."
She's his friend, so he couldn't let her die. That was the only reason.
Of course, whether Riko considered Zoro a friend was unknown, but that didn't matter much to him.
"I understand you've only known the Star Plasma Vessel for a few days."
"Just because the time spent together is short doesn't mean you can't become friends."
Just as people can become family even without sharing blood. Zoro thought of Tsumiki, his sister with a beautiful smile.
Tengen carefully observed Zoro's face, where a faint smile had appeared.
Whether walking beside his father, talking about his mother, or thinking of someone now, the same emotion was always present on Zoro's face.
Some sorcerers called it the most twisted curse, but true curses, not being human, couldn't understand or feel this emotion.
It was love.
"...."
The day Zoro was born, Tengen instinctively knew that the being Kannon had summoned had been born into this world. She couldn't pinpoint the exact location, but she knew it was within Japan, as it was detected by the barriers she had set up across the country.
'Tengen, I will kill that two-faced demon and save the people of this world.'
Even if it means borrowing the power of another demon.
Tengen vividly remembered the last words Kannon had sent in a letter. That's why she thought that the one he brought might be someone like Ryomen Sukuna from another world. So, she began searching for Zoro.
'Though I failed.'
That was partly because Zenin Toji had completely erased his traces, but also because Zoro had behaved quietly.
'If he had, like Ryomen Sukuna, slaughtered his parents and family as soon as he could stand on his own, I would have found him.'
But Zoro hadn't done such things. Instead, he cared for his younger siblings and cherished his father.
Still, Tengen remained vigilant. There was always the chance that, being the child of the Heaven-Sent Child with zero cursed energy, he might just be hiding his true nature for now.
She had deliberately allowed him to come to the jujutsu high training grounds and interact with many people for this reason. Curses typically revealed their malevolent nature before long. Besides, there were many experienced sorcerers at the training grounds, making it easier to detect his true nature.
However, what Tengen saw was not a demon, but just a person who cherished his friends and family.
'In the end, my waiting was for nothing.'
She muttered to herself. Although it wasn't the scene she had expected, it brought her peace of mind.
"I will strip Amanai Riko of her status as the Star Plasma Vessel."
"Strip her of it?"
"Yes. Once she is no longer the Star Plasma Vessel, she will be just a girl who can see curses, free to live her life outside the sorcery world."
Zoro's eyes narrowed. After watching Tengen for a moment, he quietly asked,
"Do you intend to never merge again?"
He's a perceptive child. Tengen spoke.
"When you were born, it effectively turned the world's causality and order upside down. Even if we force a merger, it's impossible to restore the previous order."
With an anti-heavenly being like you, a non-sorcerer capable of challenging Ryomen Sukuna, one more upheaval in causality wouldn't make a difference.
I've already lived over a thousand years; becoming a cursed spirit won't change anything. I always thought a day like this might come. And with Kenjaku dead, there's no one left to target Tengen, who no longer meddles in human affairs.
For now, all issues are settled. Tengen took a long breath. Honestly, it was hard to believe.
When Zoro stood up, Tengen, as if remembering something, made a sound of realization.
"Take what was almost your body with you."
"What?! What am I supposed to do with that?"
"There are beings called Semi-Cursed Humans in the Star Palace. You could use it as their body."
They are half-cursed spirits, half-humans... but for someone who can become friends with a Star Plasma Vessel in just a few days, it shouldn't matter much.
As expected, when Zoro heard Tengen's explanation about the Semi-Cursed Humans, he simply responded with a disinterested, "Okay." Whether human or half-human, half-cursed spirit, it made no difference to him.
Zoro stretched his stiff body after sitting for so long. A loud crack came from his knuckles. Not all questions were answered, but there was no help for that.
"Anything else to say? I'm leaving. I'll take that thing and the Semi-Cursed Humans later when I get a chance."
He couldn't bring such a thing home without consulting Toji. Toji hadn't slept a wink while Zoro was unconscious for two days, and he might actually collapse.
"Oh, and don't forget to announce that you've stripped Riko of her status as the Star Plasma Vessel."
"Got it."
Tengen smiled bitterly.
To be born, to grow, to live, and finally to die in one's own world—such a natural end was not allowed for the man before her.
Even if Zoro died in this world, he couldn't return to his original one.
'All life in this world follows the cycle of reincarnation.'
Unless one reaches enlightenment, they continue to cycle through birth and death within this world.
"...."
Tengen couldn't apologize. It wasn't something she could apologize for, and even if she did, there was no way to change it.
Zoro's existence had now become an irremovable part of this world, no matter who came. Even if Kannon returned to life or Ryomen Sukuna intervened, they couldn't sever him from this world and send him back to his original one.
He's a strong-willed person. To be able to smile even in such circumstances. Since she couldn't apologize, Tengen offered a lukewarm wish instead.
"Please, live well."
To the distant stranger caught up in my friend's mad schemes.
...
[Author's Note]
Vote with your power stones, it motivates me to keep posting chapters.
If you're interested, you can read 20 advance chapters on my Patréon.
patréon.com/fumiaki