#douhan hirasaka
“SIDE GREEN”
CHAPTER 3: THE KING WHO LIVES UNDERGROUND (Part 2) / Parts: 01/02
TRANSLATION & RAWS: NARU-KUN
The J-ranks who should be assistants share many of Nagare’s secrets. From the idea of "making all mankind kings" to the location of the “secret base” or even the existence of his trump card.
Knowing that, however, it’s quite possible that a J-Rank might not be sympathetic to the idea of style. Nagare couldn’t force sleep on him at that J-rank. If he did that, the meaning of the existence of “Jungle”, which speaks of freedom for everyone, would disappear.
The idea can be passed on, but it is up to the J-Rank to appropriate it.
It was, in a sense, the most dangerous bet.
“That’s why Nagare-chan was planning to close the deadline to some extent when he added Sukuna-chan.”
Mishakuji Yukari looked directly at Sukuna’s face from above and said…
“Jungle” is a clan of freedom, but freedom comes with danger. Nagare-chan himself always takes the risk.“
His clean face wasn’t sweating. He could only think that he is not good at conversing smoothly when he moves and after that, but if told that there is such a difference in ability, he has no words to reply.
It’s been a while since they started fighting training together.
That’s what Sukuna started to say. One is that he has saved time, and the other is that he was not convinced of the agreement with Yukari. And the last one is…
"I think I want to be stronger than I am now.”
Yukari accepted it more easily than he expected.
When he was training for the first time, he muttered…
“You’re weird, I like that.”
He wasn’t sure what was strange.
Regardless, Yukari was strong. He knew that if he fought in his original state, it would be difficult to beat him, but he was disappointed. Using that as fuel, Sukuna got back on his feet, challenged and was bounced back each time.
Lying on the vast floor of the “Secret Base”, Sukuna managed to breathe heavily. The stone pillars lined up like a temple were sucked into the darkness and he couldn’t be seen. The surface is beyond that, and the earth is ruled by other kings.
The appearance of the kings of each clan, projected by the wide “root of the grass” area, came his mind.
Will Sukuna’s power work against those kings?
He wasn’t sure. He at least he thought it wouldn’t be possible until he could beat Yukari. He seems to have the strongest class as a member of the clan, but even Yukari isn’t as good as a king.
He took a breath.
He doesn’t like having someone stronger than Yukari.
“You are a dead child.”
Yukari said, as if he was completely disappointed.
“If you want that much power, why don’t you use "items” like that time? Because now you can use as many points as you want.“
It is probably the decisive battle with the most use of the brain. Certainly, Sukuna at that time was not pretending to be. He used all the points he had to buy "items” and used them against Yukari. Only then could Sukuna go deeper against Yukari.
Yukari says that he should do it this time too.
“I don’t want to do it because I can use it unlimitedly.”
Sukuna got up.
“At that time, it was still good because there was a limit to the points. There is no such thing now. And yet, because you can use it as much as you want, you can use "items” infinitely, isn’t that cheating?“
"What do you mean?”
Sukuna was angry. Explain that this is why people who don’t play are dissatisfied.
“It’s an insult. As a player, it’s something you absolutely shouldn’t do. That’s why it’s wrong to play like that.”
“Hmm.”, Yukari put his hand on his chin and took it as if he was sure.
“The bowmaster does not have a second arrow. If you do not control yourself, you will be alert and you will be defeated. You know it.”
“Hmm. Of course. I’m a game master.”
To Sukuna who says that with complete confidence, Yukari gives a quick smile and…
“Even though you haven’t won a single victory over Nagare-chan?”
“How annoying.”
Sukuna’s face flushed red after being hit in a sore spot.
Yukari was right. Sukuna has never won a game against Nagare.
This was a humiliating feat for Sukuna, who cleared every game and rarely lost in online matches.
Sukuna thought he was good at games.
“I don’t know how to do it. He says that he has been working on "Rocking Climber” for many years, and I can’t switch to another game before I win.“
Yukari looks happily at Sukuna, who makes excuses. As he was exposed to that line of sight, he spoke, feeling that he was doing something terrible.
He can’t beat Nagare in game, he can’t beat Yukari in battle.
It is the first time that he realizes his immaturity.
However, it is not something Sukuna cares about. If "what he can’t do” is a big deal, then he’ll somehow change it to “what he can do”, it’s the real thrill of the game.
Despite that, in reality, there is not always time to change it.
“For example,”
Sukuna says that as soon as she takes a deep breath and exhales.
“And if the Blues could get into this place, what would it be like?”
The Blue clan, “Scepter 4”, was the opponent that triggered the most skirmishes when Sukuna was U-Rank.
For “Scepter 4”, who is in a position to crack down on crimes with special powers, “Jungle”, who is in a leading position, is just an enemy.
“An escape move, right?”
Yukari shrugs and answers.
“We can’t compete with other clans right now. We won’t do anything like "Homura” unless we play around a bit, but “Scepter 4” and “Tokijikuin” would team up to crush us. If that happens, there’s no way to counter it.“
"I don’t like running away.”
“Yes. I don’t think it’s beautiful either, but I understand that you will do it to win in the end, right?”
He says that, but once he escaped from the houseboat. Sukuna frowns.
“Ah. It’s different from that.”
“It’s the same. Is it okay, Sukuna-chan? I’ll tell you what’s important to win.”
He raised his index finger and closed one eye. Even though he is a man, these gestures look strangely good.
“If you can’t win, don’t lose. Even if you run away a hundred times, you’ll win if you win the last one. So there’s no shame in running away.”
“But you don’t do that.”
Yukari was naturally proud and said…
“Well, it must be a decree from the King. It’s not shameful, but it’s not beautiful.”
He sharpened his lips as he scratched his crossed legs.
“I really don’t understand what you mean by "beautiful”.“
"You don’t have to know. The beauty I see is only understood by me. Isn’t that right?”
When he asks him, Sukuna gets stuck for words.
“Every person fights for what they think is beautiful. Isn’t it because of your own beauty that you are practicing on me now?”
“……”
He had nothing beautiful.
Sukuna always thought that in the corner of his heart. It wasn’t until Yukari pointed it out to him that he realized it. The moment he noticed that he was turned upside down, he was able to calmly admit that he had nothing.
No. There was nothing.
When asked if he had a dream, Sukuna replied “no”, and there was no such thing. It would be synonymous with Yukari’s “beautiful thing”.
However, when he heard Nagare’s dream, when he found out about his dream of the “world of kings”, he wanted to see it.
He would like to relive the same exciting feeling that he had when he first encountered a different ability. Surprising to himself, that thought began to fill Sukuna’s body.
Beauty for him, is that kind of thing?
“Hey, Yukari.”
“Yes?”
“What did Nagare see in me to want to find me?”
Seeing himself as nothing, Nagare tried to promote him to J-rank. It also means that Nagare found “something” in himself.
Sukuna wanted to know what he was seeing.
Maybe he had “something”. The “King’s” eyes might have found something he couldn’t see.
“Yes.”
Yukari thought quietly and answered Sukuna’s question.
“Remember how I said you were a beast?”
Suddenly Sukuna blinked then took over.
“Oh, I’m broke. I remember it well.”
“Isn’t it because he was a star?”
Sukuna believed that was what he was referring to.
If it was a misguided taunt, he should have brushed it off with a sneer. He couldn’t do that because Yukari’s spot touched a sore spot somewhere on him.
Certainly Sukuna had been a beast. He was just a living animal with no hope or purpose. Or maybe it’s still the case.
But Yukari smiled softly.
“That didn’t make a fool of Sukuna-chan. I just felt that way.”
“Don’t you make fun of yourself by calling people beasts?”
Yukari winked and responded to the dismayed Sukuna.
“Nagare-chan told me the same thing. You are a beast.”
“……”
“By the way, when my teacher saw Nagare-chan as a child, he had the same impression. He was a small but fang-like king.”
Yukari laughed.
“In other words, I wonder if that’s the case. We are the three beasts that are lost in the jungle. That’s why we snuggled up and sharpened our claws together. In the future, this jungle will be on the ground, spreading to every corner and becoming our paradise.”
Sukuna looked up, thought about it, and then answered bluntly.
“I do not know.”
“Oh, I wonder if it’s hard for the kids.”
Sukuna hooked his toes around his long staff and lifted it.
“Shut up. Don’t treat me like a moth.”
Saying that, Sukuna felt a mysterious sensation in his chest.
After all, he wondered if Nagare liked Sukuna because he felt that Sukuna had something similar to him. Every time he wondered if that mighty king had found something in common between him and Sukuna, his emotions deepened.
Could it be that he was proud?
It was embarrassing to make it clear. Sukuna tightened his facial expression and activated his sword that killed his emotions.
“But somehow I realized that I was sharpening my nails. It is important to increase my experience points for the great battle that will come someday.”
Sukuna laughs invincibly and turns to Yukari.
“Let’s do it again, Yukari. This time, I’ll take one from you.”
“Fufufu. Well, that’s the fighting spirit. I’m excited.”
With a bright smile, Yukari was also holding a sword.
Sukuna prepared his breath. He tried to kick the ground with his whole body tight.
At that moment, he heard a voice from behind.
“Sukuna.”
Sukuna lurched forward as if he was about to launch himself and was on the brink. He turned and was held back by Yukari’s feet.
“What are you doing?”
In the upside down view, Yukari’s face was reflected. He gritted his teeth and stood up, and Sukuna glared resentfully at the owner of the voice.
“Why? It’s a good place right now.”
“It’s a mission.”
The “Green King” said to Sukuna without losing his expression.
“Eliminate the traitors.”
++++++++++
Shizume City.
It is one of the most popular areas in central Tokyo, with its huge jumbled intersection and street views as landmarks. Close to the Tokyo Bridge and with easy access to the world’s largest artificial island, Gakuenjima, this city is known as a youth city.
Perhaps because the age group is young, the atmosphere of the city is refined, but somehow mixed with diverse smells.
There they were. As if attracted by the smell, the humans who belong to the “back” of society also had this city as their root castle. Gangsters and foreign mafia were nesting in the multi-tenant buildings and warehouses in the back towns of Shizume, and they are planning crimes with strangers.
A small warehouse works quietly in a corner of such a remote city.
The warehouse, which is only about 40 square meters, is empty and almost like an abandoned castle. If you look to your right hand side from the entrance, you will see several containers along the concrete wall. The third from the left, “he” is inside the white bowl with reddish-brown rust.
The code name in “Jungle” is Shizume D2 “Entrance”.
It is one of the countless entrances to the “secret base” of Tokyo.
Of course, the entrance is completely sealed and electronically disguised. At first glance, the average person would see it as a rusty metal wall.
However, if it was seen by someone other than an ordinary person, such as the “blue clothes”, the story would be different.
Headed by the “Blue King”, they are professional investigators and repressors. There is a complicated route and tight security from the “entrance” to the “secret base”, but if you have enough time and the skill of “Scepter 4”, the location of the “secret base” will eventually be identified. If that happens, they will be forced to withdraw from the “secret base” that is the hub of “Jungle”.
The most important secret to avoid is the “entrance”.
It was exposed.
If it was from the “Scepter 4” investigation, that was even better. They just had to block the passage and get rid of it, so that they do not know the access to the “secret base”.
But if you have inside information, that’s a different story.
The connoisseurs continue to spill information about “Jungle”. No matter how hard you try to hide it, you’ll never be able to get rid of “Scepter 4” while it’s there. It’s like desperately pouring water to fill a bucket with holes. First you have to close the hole in the package.
We must eliminate those who bring holes.
“So it’s a subjugation mission?”
Sukuna muttered as he sat on the railing at Shizume’s jumbled intersection.
The white things begin to mix in the exhaled breath. It seems that winter had begun before he knew it. Sukuna became a J-ranker in mid-autumn, which means several months had passed before he realized it.
The fact that he was off the mission for so long he couldn’t swallow. He was like Urashima Taro.
Sukuna asked on the other side of the PDA as he looked at the unknown talent reflected in the vision on the street.
“Is he a strong enemy to have to go on a business trip?”
“The traitor’s rank is G-Rank. If I just wanted to get rid of him, I could easily do so by applying a suitable U-Rank.”
Sukuna was out of tune and complained.
“What is that? Then you should do that. My first job as a memorable J-Rank, will it be to catch a simple snitch?”
“He’s not just a snitch. This is a very important mission that only J-ranks can do.”
Nagare’s tone is simple.
“Because the traitor found the entrance to the "secret base”, even though he’s a G-Rank. I need to know how he found the cleverly hidden passage by chance, or if there’s a depression I don’t know about.“
Sukuna had a fierce smile.
"Can you interrogate him and ask?”
“It’s ridiculous! Kids don’t use loud words at all!”
The voice that echoed was Iwafune’s, apart from Nagare. He was listening next to him.
“And why should I ask U-Rank how he found the entrance? The location of the "secret base” should only be known to J-Rank. You have to go with Mishakuji-chan to maintain confidentiality.“
"Well, that’s right. That’s fine. Oh, I get it.”
He touches his neck. It’s been a while since his opponent wasn’t a G-rank, but he understood the importance of the mission.
“So where is it? Didn’t you say finding out is part of the mission?”
“The agent should be there in five minutes. Get in touch and get some information.”
“Agent?”
He bends his neck. He doesn’t know why he does something so confusing. It would be nice if he could give him that information here and now.
“It’s me.”
A familiar voice echoed off to the side and Sukuna shrugged.
A woman in a draft suit was right next to him. She had on high heels and stockings, was holding a black bag under her arm, and wore plain glasses. It was lunch break, but only her smokey golden hair floated.
She smiled a satisfied smile, her eyes sleepy at him.
“It’s been a long time, Five.”
“Kuroko, why…?”
He realized as he said that.
This is what Nagare called an “agent”. Certainly the most active “Jungle” player comes to mind first.
“Wow, the appearance changes every time I see you…”
“No wonder. Where are the idiots who show up in combat uniforms and street clothes in places like this?”
The person who pushes up her glasses and says that coldly is surprisingly apt as a “competent secretary to the president”.
“I don’t know how far I’ve heard from the "Green King”, but I’ll give you a general description of the target.“
Kuroko took out the PDA from the bag.
"The "traitor” sends information about “Jungle” to “Scepter 4”. I knew because he contacted me.“
Kuroko’s day.
She has a wide range of connections in her work. The people who are primarily involved are the "back” people, but not without a connection to the “front”. The front and back are exactly one. There is a profession like Kuroko’s to solve problems that cannot be shown.
“Not the most direct connection. People in the front tend to avoid connecting directly to the back. I am aware of the information store that provides information to "Scepter 4”. I was contacted by the “traitor” asking me to mediate with the store of information.“
"Is that why it’s you again?”
“So it seems, I accept a wide range of jobs. I also have business cards.“
Kuroko said that seriously, and Sukuna couldn’t say anything.
"I introduced the information shop to the "traitor”. The “traitor” taught the information shop the location of the “entrance”, and thus “Scepter 4” knew the location of the “entrance”.“
Sukuna looks at Kuroko and collapses.
"Are you not his accomplice?”
“I was just a go-between. I don’t even know the location of the "entrance”.“
"So, this time, you sell the information about the "traitor” to the “Green King”?“
"What’s wrong with selling something?”
Kuroko said that without being afraid.
Sukuna’s eyes on Kuroko would have been towards the “traitor”. He knows that there is no ethics or loyalty in this woman.
However, welcome to that place, that’s how “Jungle” is.
“We’re monitoring the trends of "traitors”. But disturbing signs have appeared recently. He started wandering around the back town of Shizume, far from where he lived. I guess she was looking for a new “entrance”.“
Sukuna narrowed his eyes.
If that’s true, then the "traitor” knows how to find Nagare’s cleverly hidden “tickets.”
“The sooner you catch him, the better. The mission includes helping you catch him. Therefore, I will guide you to his place.”
“Hmm. Well, whatever. Let’s go!”
Sukuna backed away from the railing.
As he does so, he tells Kuroko.
“But at least show me his face and tell me his name. If you don’t, I’ll lose him even if I find him.”
“That’s right. I’ll send you a picture now.”
There was an incoming call on the PDA. Kuroko’s email. He opened it and looked at the photo.
Sukuna’s heart stopped.
“The identifier name is "Nine”. The real name is Hikotaro Kue. That is the name of the “traitor”.“
++++++++++
"In other words…”
Iwafune’s expression is bitter, like the feeling in that heart.
“Was he a close friend of old Sukuna?”
“Affirmative. Hikotaro Kue was a friend of Sukuna Gojo. I have been informed that he was the one who taught Jungle to Sukuna.”
Nagare’s expression did not waver. He couldn’t tell what he was doing from the expression that calmed down like the surface of a lake.
“King” is another name for a monster.
A huge force that can even destroy an entire city. It is a surplus of power in the human body. If he is drunk, he will bring ruin.
In order not to get drunk on power, he have to drink power. There is no choice but to prepare a huge vessel that can control the enormous power equal to God without being confused and overwhelmed.
The bowl will swallow it all. The power of the “King” and human feelings are only “one to control” in him. Iwafune thinks that the “Dresden Slate” has a criterion for choosing a “King”, because he has the will to do what he needs when he needs it, without being carried away by anything.
Nagare definitely has that container.
“There has been no interaction between the two since Sukuna left home. Perhaps they broke up at that time. It was unclear from my investigation what happened. Meanwhile, Kue Hikotaro’s family will be moving out of a luxury condo in Jimmachi to a cheap apartment in Shizume.”
“Nagare. You…”
Iwafune’s voice sank heavily.
“Did you know and dared to send Sukuna?”
“Affirmative.”
“King” is another name for a monster.
Therefore, Nagare Hisui existed in front of Iwafune as an unmistakable monster.
He doesn’t think he made a mistake in bringing it up.
Nagare was like that as much as possible. Iwafune did not teach him the ambition to change the order of this world as the “Green King”. He overflowed from Nagare himself.
Iwafune said in a soft voice.
“Are you trying to get that kid to kill his friend?”
Iwafune is also a “King”. He is aware that he is a monster. That’s why he couldn’t finish it. The fact that the man he raised is trying to make a ruthless decision, is because he is a “King”.
Nagare replied.
“Sukuna is a J-Rank. He will Dream of me. So I have to see Sukuna’s performance. I have to find out what kind of judgment and what kind of action he will take. Isn’t that right, Iwa-san?”
Nagare looked at Iwafune and said that clearly.
“Iwa-san, you are like my father, an executive of Jungle, and my trump card. But you don’t have to be caught up in that.”
“……”
“You can always leave me when the time comes when you can’t forgive me. Iwa-san has Iwa-san’s freedom.”
Iwafune shook his head with a withered smile.
“I can’t. I’m just a guy who should have died.”
Iwafune was infinitely transparent and pure, and thus he looked into the eyes of the “King” with merciless eyes.
“I said what Seigo Otori would probably say, but that person is dead. Right now I am Iwafune Tenkei. My job is to watch over your future.”
“Yes. Please take a look with me.”
One of the screens shows Sukuna walking with Kuroko. Nagare says as he calmly looks at his faces.
“What do you think Sukuna thinks and does?”
Iwafune thought.
He hoped that the “King’s” action would not harm the child.
++++++++++
It was a moonless night.
Shizume is a city that never sleeps. As it is one of the most popular central areas of the city, it is more lively at night than during the day. The varied noises and bright lights of the city never go out, from the front of the station to the back of the city.
However, there are places where the light does not reach.
“There” was no back city. A small park halfway between the office and the residential areas. There were no children’s games. It was a blank space with benches and drinking fountains in a space the size of a cat’s forehead, that not even the neighbors would look at.
There was a small sewer near the restroom in the park.
The sewers in Tokyo are always engraved with the seal of the Yoshino cherry tree, but it wasn’t the flowers that were engraved in the sewer. Naturally, it is not Tokyo who managed the sewer.
He had engraved a wooden seal. The seal of the world tree that takes root in the ground and spreads branches and leaves in space.
The stamp of “Jungle”.
Shizume B1 “Entrance”, was the name of the sewer.
Only the executives, or perhaps only Nagare Hisui, can know. Yukari, Sukuna, Iwafune, Kotosaka, they wouldn’t use the entrance to such a strange place. This is because they use the “input” which is a bit more accessible. This was just an urgent entry, a loophole created with “just in case”.
A figure was passing through the lagoon.
In a small park, in a lonely bathroom, he squatted on the side of a sewer next to it, reached out, touched the cold iron and stroked it. When he took the PDA out of his pocket and held it over the seal on the manhole, the incoming call lamp on the PDA lit up green.
White breath leaked out for a long time.
“Bingo.”
The voice shook the figure.
The voice came from a boy standing behind him at the entrance to the park’s office district.
“Isn’t that one? You find them often.”
The voice was neither cold nor warm. Just dry.
“I’ve always been good at that kind of thing. I notice something that others don’t and I take advantage of it. It’s about hitting people’s blind spots.”
Move forward as he speaks. When he entered the circle of light from the streetlight, the appearance became clear.
The figure in the sewer looked at his face and murmured in a trembling voice.
“Sukuna.”
“Hikotaro.”
Called out by a dry voice, Hikotaro Kue shrugged his shoulders as if he had been whipped.
Sukuna looks at the figure as if it is frozen.
When he found out that Hikotaro was a “traitor”, Sukuna felt resentment for the first time.
Most of that went to Nagare Hisui. There is no reason why the “Green King”, who has a wealth of information, would not know about the relationship between Sukuna and Hikotaro. He found out and then went to Sukuna, to eliminate his old friend.
However, Sukuna was aware of the emotions behind that resentment.
It was “fear”.
He had to hunt down Hikotaro with his bare hands. Like many rankers who were once eliminated in many subjugation missions, or used and ultimately killed. He has to put a “Thunder Blade” in his chest, steal the account from him and throw it in the city on a winter night.
He had a feeling that if he did that, he would definitely change.
And that was not the only “fear”.
“Long time not see you.”
Hikotaro smiled weakly.
Sukuna bit his lip and stiffened.
So…
Hikotaro Kue, if he begs for his life, what should he do?
What if he begs for mercy out of the goodness of being old friends? What if he told him to get lost, like the many players he once hunted down? What kind of face should he have at that moment? What would he have to do? Could he really bear the pain at that moment?
That was the only thing that scared him, more than when he left his house, than when he faced Kuroko and Yukari, than when he met the “Green King”.
Above all, Sukuna feared that memories of him would be decisively woven.
Hikotaro stood up. Sukuna was ready.
And he said…
“Rank…”
In a small conversational tone that doesn’t seem out of place.
“How far have you come? I’m moving up to G-Rank.”
“……”
Sukuna blinked several times and then in a soft voice, said…
“…J.”
Hikotaro widened his eyes. He took a step forward. The dim streetlights that illuminated the park caught his eyes for a moment and made them sparkle.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, that’s really amazing! Now that you’re a J-Rank, did you get to meet the "King”? Did you meet him? The “Green King”!“
Sukuna jerked as if the tip of her nose had been turned around.
He didn’t know what to answer. Various emotions swirled in his chest. There would have been anger there. There should have been some irritation. The joy and the fear of shrugging invaded him at the same time.
But there was no "sadness” anywhere.
Hikotaro gave a small salute and laughed embarrassedly.
“No, I said something strange. I’m sure you met him. So that’s why you came here?”
“……”
“I’m a "traitor”. My account was just frozen. In the end, I thought I should just find this place, but it was tempting. I don’t want to come so early. Besides, you're…"
“Why?”
Sukuna asks seriously.
“Why did you do this?”
Hikotaro’s expression was strong.
“Oh, you’re smart. You know that, right? If you do this, they will definitely find out. You will be found and eliminated as a traitor. You must have known.”
Yes.
He couldn’t have expected it. A man who is smart enough to find the “entrance” cleverly hidden by the “Green King” by himself cannot have thought of this ending.
“Why?”
“I need money.”
Hikotaro answered clearly.
There was no longer a smile on his face. Only the dry, worn and aged atmosphere that does not look like that of a child, was miserable.
“Kue’s house used to be a well-known family, but it seems that the owner of the family was a ridiculous person a long time ago. He was small.”
Sukuna looked at the appearance of Hikotaro Kue, who spoke clearly.
“Grandpa seems to have given up, but my father hasn’t. He started thinking about how he wanted to revive the Kue family. But my dad didn’t have that talent. The more I scratched my feet, the more I got stuck in the swamp.”
He spoke only of the facts before him.
The “Green King”. For some reason, he resembled Nagare Hisui.
“My dad thought he had that talent.”
Who was it that distorted Hikotaro’s lips? Was it him, his father or his destiny?
“I’m stupid, really. I’m still a kid. What do you expect from an elementary school student who is ten years old or so? He leaves it to others, so even though he has fallen to the bottom, he still doesn’t seem to know. Why not make money? How can I do that?”
“But you did. You knew how to do it.”
In “Jungle” you can do that.
Because it is the power of the weak. Age and status do not matter. As long as you have the eyes to see things and the head to understand things, you can get to that point, if you have that intention.
Hikotaro pointed at Sukuna.
“Disgusting.”
He laughed weakly and shook his head.
“I couldn’t do it. I didn’t have the talent.”
Hikotaro wipes the bruise from his mouth with his thumb.
“I couldn’t be like you. Not with my family or with a talent. I couldn’t leave my house. My parents thought that way anyway.”
Sukuna thought.
What if Hikotaro had left his house as Sukuna and spent all of his talent on “Jungle”? He had no status, money or credit. If he had immersed himself in this world with that talent, would he have been able to stand by his side?
It might have been possible; it might not have been possible.
He doesn’t know what the answer would be, but there must have been a possibility. As a J-Rank, the future who was by the “Green King’s” side, would be aligned with Sukuna.
Hikotaro didn’t abandon his family, his connections.
Instead, he abandoned his potential in “Jungle”.
“Forever…”
Hikotaro hesitated.
“…I wanted to apologize to you, for everything that happened.”
He approached Sukuna as Sukuna’s parents ordered. Perhaps it was the “scratch” from Hikotaro’s father. It must have been so that the fallen members of the Kue family could take advantage of the Gojo family and rise up.
“I didn’t like it because it was an order at first. I thought it was annoying to pretend to be friends with a guy who didn’t know hardship.”
“……”
“But no. You were a fun guy. You were funny, smart, bad personality, but it was exciting to be with you.”
(I also.)
“It was the first time I really wanted to be friends with someone, from the bottom of my heart.”
(I also.)
“Then it got spicy. You believed in me, but I hid the truth from you. I said I’d take care of the cat. I couldn’t give you anything back. All I could do was play with "Jungle”, but only then did I feel like I was truly alive. Do you remember the “Emergency Mission” at that time?“
(How could I forget it!)
He can’t forget it. Even for a moment, the brilliance of that era has never faded. Therefore, Sukuna has suffered. Because he saw the glitter once, everything else seemed faded.
"It was fun. We took pictures of various places.”
(I ate sweets.)
“Oh, yeah! I’ve never eaten sweets before!”
“Did he taste terrible? I don’t know if it was a gummy bear.”
“Bah, that’s right! That’s why it wasn’t that good!”
Hikotaro laughed out loud. Sukuna also relaxed. Like that summer day, in the park on a winter night, the two boys were immersed in memories of the past.
Eventually, after laughing, Hikotaro tossed the PDA in front of him.
“Ah! It was fun. But that’s it.”
In a tone that seemed to end, Sukuna gripped his cane tightly and looked towards the residential area side exit.
Kuroko stood as if she was leaning against a wall.
When Sukuna finds Hikotaro, Kuroko is supposed to get rid of him.
Sukuna activated “Thunder Blade” on him.
“I also.”
Sukuna says in a weak voice, waving the death god’s sickle.
“I thought I had to apologize to you.”
“What?”
“Nine, the stray cat. My mother got rid of him without permission, even though he was so cute, he’s dead.”
“Oh.”
Hikotaro waved his hand as if nothing had happened.
“It’s fine. By the way, he’s not dead.”
“Eh?”
“I ordered it and picked it up at home. Not just the stray cat, Nine. I also included the white cat your mother bought and immediately threw away.”
“I called him "Five”. He has a pedigree, so he’s perfect, right?“
In response to Hikotaro’s words, Sukuna clenched his fist tightly.
He thought that stray cat had died because of him. He thought that the white cat was punished because he said that he didn’t need it. When he found out about that, somewhere in his heart, the two animals that he had as "remorse”, were saved by Hikotaro.
“Why is it like this?”
“Because…”
Hikotaro laughs lonely.
“It would be too much of a salvation to decide everything and throw it away just for the convenience of adults.”
At those words, Sukuna’s heart had settled.
Sukuna tightly gripped his long staff. Hikotaro closed his eyes as if he had lost his fear. Sukuna held his breath, silenced his heart, and lowered his sickle.
