October 31, 2018, 9:27 PM.
Shibuya.
Once again, Zoro found himself suddenly dropped into this world. Seeing Geto Suguru with stitches on his forehead, he gritted his teeth and asked,
"...You."
Why are you alive?
Before Geto Suguru, or rather Kenjaku, could respond, Zoro drew his two swords like lightning and charged. Kenjaku hastily summoned a cuttlefish curse to block Zoro's swords.
Or at least, he tried to.
Siiing!
The two descending swords sliced through the curse as if mocking it. With no time to summon another curse, Kenjaku enveloped his right arm in cursed energy for defense.
Clang!
The pitch-black haki and blue cursed energy clashed, emitting dark blue sparks. Kenjaku's eyes widened as he saw the black swords gradually cutting through the cursed energy on his arm.
'Impossible.'
Though 'Geto Suguru' wasn't the strongest sorcerer, he wasn't weak enough to be so easily overwhelmed. If he were, Kenjaku wouldn't have bothered taking over this body.
Splurt!
As the swords cut into his arm, Kenjaku leaped back, accepting the deep gash to his arm to gain some distance.
Crunch!
Zoro's swords didn't let up, slicing through Kenjaku's right arm.
Splaash!
Blood splattered, but Kenjaku managed to put some distance between himself and Zoro. He glanced at his right arm, now exposed to the bone and with flesh hanging off in shreds. The damage was worse than expected. It looked more like it had been chewed by a beast than cut by a sword.
Kenjaku's eyes narrowed.
'To be able to fight me like this, he must be at least special grade.'
Perhaps even stronger... on par with Gojo Satoru or Ryomen Sukuna.
The problem was that there was no trace of this person in 'Geto Suguru's' memories. Or even in 'Kenjaku's' memories.
'And he's a non-sorcerer.'
He had very little cursed energy. Not none at all, but just a tiny bit. Kenjaku couldn't understand why a non-sorcerer, who wasn't even a Heavenly Restriction user with zero cursed energy, was this powerful.
'There's not enough information.'
Who he was, why he was hostile, and whether he was hostile to 'Geto Suguru' or 'Kenjaku' was unknown.
Applying a reverse technique to his bleeding right arm, Kenjaku asked,
"...Have we met before?"
Zoro's emotionless gray eyes met Kenjaku's. The lack of any visible emotion in those eyes sent a chill down Kenjaku's spine.
Meanwhile, Zoro slowly began to realize something.
'He's different.'
The guy in front of him was different from the one Zoro had defeated, the one Toji had decapitated. That guy didn't have Suguru's appearance at the end, and most importantly, he was definitely dead. Very certainly.
…However, it did seem to be the same 'Kenjaku.'
Zoro gripped his swords tightly. His eyes darkened as if they were on fire, and a fierce killing intent poured out from his entire body.
'There's no way this guy is taking Suguru's form for no reason.'
He was the one who had used necromancy to create Chie's body to defeat Zoro and Toji. The reason he chose Suguru's body was likely because of Satoru.
As proof, Satoru was sealed in that rectangular curse tool embedded in the ground over there.
'This guy has a lot of schemes.'
So, before he could reveal those schemes, Zoro would kill him here and now.
For sure.
With a swish, Zoro untied the bandana from his arm and tied it around his head. He then drew Wadō Ichimonji and clamped it between his teeth. Even Kenjaku looked baffled at the sight.
"What the hell are you doing now..."
"King of Hell Three-Sword Style (En'ō Santōryū)."
Zoro muttered as he crossed his arms, holding his swords in front of his chest.
Whoosh!
The aura from Zoro's swords turned green from his Conqueror's Haki. The combined power of Armament Haki, Conqueror's Haki, and the cursed energy of the two swords swirled around him.
Feeling a chill, Kenjaku instinctively summoned every curse he had at his disposal.
Old Lady Curse, Catfish Curse, Ray Curse, Mirror Curse, Iron Plate Curse. He even summoned Ganesha, a foreign curse he had been saving in Shibuya, and the special-grade rebellious spirit (Hanrei) Akurootake. Along with thousands of other curses.
The surroundings were covered with black curses. The curses all charged at Zoro with their filthy mouths wide open, looking like the depths of hell itself.
Just as the curse capable of deploying a domain, Old Lady Curse, was about to form a hand seal,
Dash!
Zoro leaped forward.
As Zoro's Conqueror's Haki touched the charging curses, their eyes rolled back, and they collapsed. To Zoro, who possessed Conqueror's Haki, hundreds and thousands of curses were meaningless.
Thump, thump, thump.
Kenjaku, seeing Zoro running through the fallen mountain of curses as if breaking through hell, frantically tried to turn and flee.
But it was far too late.
"Purgatory—"
Zoro's sword and Haki were about to slash Kenjaku's head to pieces.
"Oni Giri!"
Slash!
Kenjaku's stitched scar split exactly in half. Immediately after, Kenjaku's brain was diced into hundreds of pieces and scattered in all directions.
Thud.
Geto Suguru's body collapsed to the ground. Zoro untied his bandana and checked for any remnants of the brain. Seeing the face, which couldn't even close its eyes, Zoro frowned slightly.
'...If only it weren't Suguru's body.'
He would have shattered the entire body, not just the head. Even if it wasn't the same person, Zoro held a lot of grievances against this one.
"Anyway, is this the same world from the exchange event last time?"
It seemed like quite some time had passed in this world since the exchange event, just like in Zoro's world.
'Why was I transported again without even touching any cursed tools?'
And not to Tokyo Jujutsu High, but to Shibuya.
Sensing an approach, Zoro turned around. Out of the shadows emerged the familiar faces of twin sorceress sisters.
"Give him back."
"Give back Geto-sama…"
Their gloomy demeanor was quite different from their cheerful appearance in Zoro's world, where they had been shopping happily with Tsumiki in Shibuya to buy a birthday present for Geto.
"...Monkey, stay away from Geto-sama."
Zoro frowned.
"Why am I a monkey?"
"Because you're a non-sorcerer! Someone like you shouldn't be handling him. Don't insult Geto-sama's death any further."
Listening to their trembling voices, Zoro began to understand the situation.
'So he defected and became a curse user.'
It seemed that the Geto in this world hated non-sorcerers.
The reason was obvious. Before Zoro fully entered the jujutsu world, it was a den of defectors and casualties. Without Zoro, that reality probably didn't improve here. In such a situation, it was natural to hate non-sorcerers who created curses.
'...How foolish.'
It wouldn't have improved anything. Not even his own feelings. Zoro sighed briefly, looking at his friend in this twisted parallel world.
"I have no intention of insulting Suguru's death."
"Don't dare utter his name, monkey—"
"Nanako. Mimiko."
Hearing their names in a reprimanding tone, the twins stopped speaking, their eyes widening in shock. They couldn't understand how this man knew their names.
"Who are you?"
"Zoro. Zenin Zoro. But that's not important now. What's important is sending Suguru off properly."
The best thing might be to cremate the body right here… but because of Satoru, that didn't seem appropriate. If they were to hold Geto Suguru's funeral, the person who should be there the most would be Gojo Satoru.
Proper mourning is crucial, not for the dead but for the living. Zoro knew this better than anyone.
"I will take the body to Jujutsu High and ensure it's cremated so it can't be used again. When the funeral arrangements are made, come then."
"...I can't trust the word of a monkey. Bind him with a vow."
"Go ahead."
Zoro agreed to a binding vow to ensure Geto Suguru's body would be cremated at Jujutsu High. He also took their contact information to notify them when the funeral would take place, even though it was the same number as the sisters' in his own world.
The twins disappeared as soon as they gave their numbers. Zoro thought that was for the best. The area was teeming with the presence of powerful individuals, and the twins would be in great danger if they stayed longer.
Zoro picked up the Prison Realm containing Gojo Satoru and pondered with a serious expression.
"Now, what do I do with this?"
If he used extremely strong Armament Haki, he might be able to nullify the curse technique by cutting it with his haki-covered swords... but he was worried that he might accidentally cut Gojo as well. Armament Haki nullified everything.
"The best option is Dad's Heavenly Restriction."
But he had no idea where it might be in this world. Last time, it seemed Megumi didn't have it.
Zoro scratched his head. Thinking like this wasn't his strong suit.
Just then, Zoro sensed a familiar presence with his Observation Haki and widened his eyes. The air opened up, and Gojo's long leg appeared, followed by the Gojo Satoru from Zoro's world, who emerged with both hands making a V-sign.
"Yo, I'm here☆"
"How did you..."
"Master Tengen contacted me, said he sensed danger in the world you visited and opened a portal to send you here. It sounded fun, so I asked to come too!"
"…That damned old geezer, I'm going to cut him next time I see him."
Sending people to other worlds on a whim? Zoro gritted his teeth.
Well, it was a good thing Gojo had come. Zoro handed him the Prison Realm.
"Take this. Only you can handle it."
"Oh, it's really me in there. Can the person inside hear us? Hello~ it's weakling me, sealed in this cursed tool~?"
"Stop joking around."
How could he think of teasing himself from another world right away? Zoro shook his head as he watched Gojo tap the Prison Realm with his fingers.
Gojo's gaze fell on Geto's body on the ground and froze. His Six Eyes reflected disbelief, shock, anger, confusion, and finally a strange relief mixed with enduring sorrow.
"This world's Suguru. He's dead."
"I can see that too. Why..."
"The damn brain took over his dead body. I killed the brain."
"The brain... ah, that damn bastard?"
Gojo had seen the numerous bodies of Chie created through necromancy, so he quickly understood the situation. So that's why Zoro had been so adamant about cutting off the head.
"I made a binding vow with Nanako and Mimiko that I'd take him to Jujutsu High for cremation. Until then, I'm entrusting this world's Suguru and you to them. The situation here is critical, so I need to go."
"...Got it!"
Gojo's response was cheerful. Even though he knew this was another world and his Suguru was alive and well, he didn't sound like someone who had just seen his best friend's corpse.
But Zoro knew it wasn't truly okay. He patted Gojo's shoulder.
"When you get back, take some time off with Suguru."
"..."
"I'll take care of Jujutsu High."
"...Heh, as if the great Gojo Satoru would need that!"
Zoro smiled, left a "Take care," and vanished. Gojo stood still for a moment, then suddenly realized a critical issue and yelled out.
"Hey, wait! Zoro! How can you go alone? Your dad will be here soon! Go with him! Hey! Marimo! Can't you hear me! Hey, you idiot!!!"
That damned directionless fool!!! Gojo shouted at Zoro's already distant back.
...
[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