Journey Of Zoro In Another World

"Hey, what did you say to him?"

Gojo looked distastefully at Naoya, who was engaged in an intense discussion about blood manipulation with Choso. Zoro shrugged.

"Nothing much."

"And he changed that much?"

Naoya, who used to openly look down on those weaker than him, subtly look down on women (because he'd get beaten if caught), and swallow his saliva while watching Toji, Satoru, and Zoro, had completely changed.

He now diligently trained every day, restrained his disdainful attitude, and actively sought advice from others.

His attitude towards Nanami and Haibara had softened significantly, to the point where the two were taken aback.

From Zoro's perspective, the reason was obvious.

"He found it necessary."

"Necessary?"

"No one gives advice to someone who openly looks down on them."

Naoya was arrogant but not stupid. He realized that people wouldn't interact with him if he kept his old attitude, so he changed it.

Gojo, catching on, chuckled.

"Well, it's good for his character development, at least. Whether he'll actually become stronger, though, who knows."

"He will."

As long as he moves forward with a firm and unwavering heart, he will.

"Is there a reason to help him that much?"

"Because you don't trample on new sprouts."

Naoya would definitely grow. How far he could go would ultimately depend on himself, but taking the first step was worth celebrating.

Gojo, watching Zoro look at Naoya with satisfaction, spoke with a mix of disbelief and amusement.

"...Hey, you're still 7 years old. That guy's more than twice your physical age. Who's treating whom like a sprout?"

"Ah."

Gojo shrugged and rested his hands behind his head.

"He'll become a Grade 1 sorcerer soon."

Naoya always had the potential to become a Grade 1 sorcerer, regardless of his personality. The real challenge was whether he could surpass that limit.

The place Naoya aimed for was far beyond that.

"Do you think he can really become like us?"

"I don't know."

"Hmm, so you're not sure either?"

"It's not an easy path."

Only those who repeatedly break and rise again can reach the position of the strongest. It's not something that can be achieved with just effort and will. Luck is also needed.

Naoya had just been broken once and had risen once. Naturally, his effort, will, and luck were all still unstable.

Whether he would rise again or remain broken was up to him.

From a distance, Geto approached.

"Satoru, Zoro."

"Hey, Suguru. What's up?"

Satoru tilted his head back and made eye contact with Suguru approaching from behind.

"Yaga-sensei is looking for you. Did something happen?"

"Oh, he said my grade was upgraded."

"Really? What?!"

"Seriously?"

Both Zoro and Satoru's eyes widened.

Geto was originally a Grade 1 sorcerer. And the only grade higher than Grade 1 is Special Grade.

Tsukumo Yuki, Gojo Satoru. Now, Geto Suguru too.

Geto Suguru, who had become one of the only three Special Grade sorcerers in Japan, smiled.

"Let's keep doing our best together, Satoru."

...

Spring passed, and summer arrived.

The summer of 2007 was as hot as 2006, and curses were rampant.

Naturally, all sorcerers were overwhelmed with work.

Suguru, who had just become Special Grade.

Toji, who, despite being officially a Grade 4 sorcerer, handled missions typically assigned to Grade 1 or Special Grade sorcerers.

Satoru, who, as a Special Grade sorcerer with Six Eyes, had to take on numerous missions.

Ieiri, the only reverse curse technique user who could heal others, and many others.

Even Choso became busy.

Previously, Choso wasn't assigned to important missions due to being a hybrid of human and curse, but with the shortage of manpower, he was now given all sorts of missions.

The silver lining was that as Choso interacted more with people through work, the aversion towards mixed-bloods lessened. Choso and his brothers' mindset was clearly human.

"Hey, Choso, long time no see."

"Of course. I've been on missions for three days straight... I couldn't see my brothers for three whole days! I'm a failure as a big brother!"

"...Is that your only complaint?"

Regardless of the changing perception in the sorcerer world, Choso was frustrated with the reduced time he could spend with his brothers.

Of course, Zoro was also busy.

Very busy.

With Toji being preoccupied, Zoro almost exclusively took care of his siblings, and whenever he found a spare moment, he went on missions.

Zoro's incurable trait of being directionally challenged made solo missions impossible, so he worked alongside various sorcerers.

In fact, Zoro wanted to cut down his sleeping time instead of personal training time, but Toji and Ieiri's expressions turned deadly the moment he suggested it, so he gave up.

Still, it wasn't bad.

Not at all.

On a midsummer evening when the sun was still up, Zoro returned to Jujutsu High after completing his mission.

Megumi and Tsumiki, sitting side by side on a large tree, lit up when they saw Zoro and called out.

"Big brother!"

"Brother!"

Toji, who had been watching the kids from under the tree, spread his arms. The two children jumped into his embrace, and Toji gently set them down on the ground.

As the two kids ran towards him, Zoro spread his arms wide and hugged them both at once.

"I'm late, aren't I? Sorry."

"If you're sorry, come back earlier next time."

"Okay."

Zoro patted Tsumiki's head. Megumi looked up and spoke.

"Big brother, play with me."

"Shall we?"

"No, you need to eat dinner before you play."

Toji interjected. Zoro made eye contact with Toji and asked.

"Nothing happened?"

"Yeah. I finished my mission early and watched the kids."

"Dad carried us and flew through the forest!"

"It was fun!"

Seeing the two kids' eyes sparkle, Zoro's eyes narrowed. Toji averted his gaze and spoke.

"The kids wanted to play Tarzan."

Actually, the kids had only asked Toji to make the Tarzan yell, but unable to mimic it, Toji simply sped through the trees so fast the kids couldn't complain.

Both Zoro and Toji turned their heads at a presence. In the distance, Gojo and Geto walked towards them, with Gojo looking fresh while Geto's clothes were tattered.

Zoro looked at Geto's uniform shirt, full of holes, and asked distastefully.

"...What happened to you?"

"A curse shot shrapnel at me."

I'm not hurt, but the clothes are ruined. Geto laughed with a liberated expression.

"But not everything was bad today. I tried a new capsule Nanami made, and it tasted good."

"Oh. What flavor this time?"

"Melon."

Initially made in peach flavor, Nanami's cursed tool capsules had been consistently improved to include orange, strawberry, grape, and now melon.

Geto just had to pick his preferred flavor like selecting candies from a jar and apply it to his cursed tools.

"I'm thinking of asking for a cola flavor next."

"Sounds good."

Gojo clutched his growling stomach.

"Ah, I'm hungry. Should we go out for dinner?"

"It's late, Satoru. We should probably eat at Jujutsu High today."

"I saw Shoko bought ingredients for sukiyaki in the fridge yesterday. Should we eat that?"

"Is it okay to use Shoko's stuff?"

"Why not? We're all eating together. She wouldn't finish it by herself anyway."

Geto smiled and rolled up his sleeves.

"Then, let me show off my cooking skills."

"Heh. I'm better at cooking than you."

"I wouldn't be so sure. Sukiyaki is my specialty."

"What?!"

As the two bickered, Zoro noticed Ieiri walking towards them with a wave and smiled faintly.

It was another summer evening with everyone.

...

No matter how long summer feels, it always comes to an end.

The long days gradually shortened, the moon rose earlier and earlier.

The stifling heat gave way to cool air, sweat no longer trickling down faces for no reason.

The noticeable decrease in the presence of curses in the streets marked the end of summer for Zoro.

The arrival of an unburdened autumn was nothing but welcome.

...

And so, as autumn mostly passed, in late November 2007.

"...This is."

In a remote mountain cave where he had gone to exorcise a curse, Geto Suguru found one of Sukuna's fingers.

...

[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.

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