"I understand. Then do as you wish. In the end, it will be you who pays for your choices in the future world."
After a moment of silence, the hand gripping the cane tightly finally loosened.
With a deep sigh, Gakuganji chose to let go of what could be called a long-held knot in his heart.
Just as Mukuro had said, there was nothing he could do.
In the entire jujutsu world, and even in human society, special grade sorcerers were the sky. Whoever they wanted dead, no one could save. Whoever they were determined to protect, no one could kill.
Challenging their authority over and over would only bring suffering upon himself.
At his age, to put it bluntly, even if Sukuna really revived through the vessel, there was no guarantee he would live to see that day.
Perhaps it was time to let go. To hand over important decisions to young people who could bear the responsibility. Maybe the ending would be better that way.
"A wise choice."
Mukuro snapped his fingers, showing approval of Gakuganji's decision.
"Enjoy your remaining years in peace. Leave the matters of the new world to the young ones."
With that, he waved his hand and pulled the door open, leaving behind only a lonely old man inside, his head hanging low.
* * *
"Fushiguro-sensei, may I talk with you?"
Just as Mukuro closed the door, he found Noritoshi, who was supposed to be leading the team this time, waiting outside.
"You want to talk about Sukuna's vessel too, right? That's fine. Let's talk while we walk."
Mukuro could roughly guess his thoughts. Hands in his pockets, he walked past him, and Noritoshi followed.
"Sukuna's… no. Yuji Itadori isn't just a ticking time bomb. He only joined the jujutsu world halfway through, and it's very hard to judge whether he…"
Noritoshi did not say it outright, but his stance was clear.
As a sorcerer, he did not want Sukuna to return using Yuji's body and believed he should be eliminated.
As a member of one of the Big Three Families, he also looked down on someone who had become a sorcerer halfway, someone so uncertain. Deep down, he could not trust such a person.
Mukuro's attitude left him confused.
It was said that Yuji was allowed to live as a vessel only because both special grade sorcerers agreed to it. That was why he could stand here now.
Noritoshi did not know how to accept that Yuji might become his comrade on the path of jujutsu.
"Did you know? Back when my brother and I hadn't left the Zenin family yet, a lot of people called us useless."
Mukuro did not answer directly. Instead, he spoke of how he and Toji had once been treated, though it had made no difference to them.
"How could that be… Sensei, you were…"
Noritoshi froze. Even his nearly always closed narrow eyes opened wide.
He suddenly recalled rumors within his clan, whispers that the Zenin clan had been declining in recent years.
Could it be…
Was it true?
"The beginning, the process, and the ending are all necessary parts of life. Don't judge your own life or someone else's just from the start. You're not at that level yet."
Mukuro simply patted his shoulder.
The value of a life is never fixed at a single moment or stage.
It was just that those born into the Big Three Families often failed to understand this, trapped by the rotten ideas passed down within their clans.
Just like the Zenin clan more than ten years ago.
They foolishly turned against the two brothers, then foolishly lost nearly half of their clan members and main combatants.
"My life…"
Noritoshi stood there in a daze.
His thoughts no longer lingered on Yuji. Instead, they traced the path he himself had walked.
More than ten years of life finally froze on a face that was clearly smiling, yet looked more painful than crying.
"Noritoshi Kamo has talent. One day, he will help many people. And when that happens, many people will help Noritoshi in return…"
He remembered now.
His original wish was never to become a rigid, conservative man like those in the Kamo clan. He did not want to become one of the jujutsu world's upper ranks.
He did not want to be a cold executioner of the jujutsu world. He did not want to be the legitimate heir nor the next head of the Kamo clan.
He had not become a sorcerer out of passion or lofty ideals. He had entered this world for personal reasons. And in essence, how was he any different from Yuji?
Restraining himself with the ideals of the Big Three Families was only a means to achieve that one goal faster and more efficiently.
There had always been only one thing he truly wanted to do.
Give his mother a warm home.
"Listen to your own voice. The future belongs to you young people. Do your best."
Seeing his slightly lost expression, Mukuro turned away, waved his hand, and walked toward the teachers' temporary monitoring room.
"Why are you still standing here? Everyone's already waiting for you."
As Noritoshi stood there blankly, still deep in thought, a metal hand covered in a wooden shell rested on his shoulder in reminder.
It was Mechamaru.
"Oh, right. Sorry about that. Let's go."
Noritoshi returned to his usual squinting-eyed expression. He smiled, turned around, and walked toward where they were supposed to gather.
Yet he did not think about why the other person, who should have gone ahead with the others, was still here.
Behind him, Mechamaru did not immediately follow. He paused, looking in the direction Mukuro had gone.
He raised his hand. His jaw opened and closed once. His fingers trembled, yet not a single word came out.
In those emerald-like eyes, something hidden seemed to flicker.
* * *
Elsewhere, in a place few knew of, dim lights shone inside a sealed space.
The air was filled with the stench of rot and mold, so foul that even rats wanted nothing to do with it.
Yet in this environment, there was a disabled boy wrapped head to toe in bandages, soaking in a bathtub filled with a special medicinal liquid.
His neck rested against the edge of the tub. He stared up at the ceiling. Pain and struggle flashed through his eyes, but in the end, he slowly closed them.
"Mechamaru~"
A girl's smile and voice flashed through his mind.
He wanted to see her.
With a normal body.
**
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