Chapter 36: Geto Suguru

As usual, I was either treating a jujutsu sorcerer who had gone out of their way to visit the traditional school for healing or conducting research on myself.

That was when it happened.

With a click, the infirmary door slid open—and there he was.

My classmate.

“Geto?”

“Ieiri-chan.”

It was Geto Suguru.

I tilted my head and looked at him.

If they’d been sparring or gotten into trouble, Gojo would’ve come too, but since I didn’t see him anywhere, it seemed Geto had come alone with a specific purpose.

I tilted my head again, but gestured for him to sit anyway.

“If you’ve got business here, then sit down first.”

“Thanks.”

Though he looked hesitant, he sat down, and I crossed my arms and asked,

“So, what’s this about?”

“Hahaha… This might sound a bit strange, but… Ieiri-chan, would you train me?”

“Huh?”

His bitter smile told me enough.

In the original timeline, Geto had unwavering faith that he and Satoru were the strongest.

He truly believed they would always be unrivaled together.

That’s why he began to question things—why he started thinking they needed to be kinder to the weak.

And when those thoughts were challenged, he spiraled into darkness.

But the Geto standing before me now didn’t even have room in his mind for such thoughts.

He was consumed by one thing:

Doubt.

‘Can I really become someone equal to Satoru?’

It was only natural.

Right now, he was nothing more than a downgraded version of Gojo.

His Cursed Spirit Manipulation—his core strength—had been copied by Satoru as well.

And with that, Gojo had essentially become a version of himself with Limitless and the Six Eyes, without needing to rely on anything else.

That’s when Geto began to question everything.

Could someone like him, a mere copy, ever stand by Satoru’s side?

Could he ever be “the strongest” alongside him?

Ironically, he was now so caught up in that insecurity that he no longer had time to think about the weaker ones—the very thing that once led him down the path to darkness.

But this was still a matter of utmost importance to Geto.

He wanted to remain friends with Gojo Satoru—not just as companions, but as equals.

To maintain that balance, to grow stronger, he needed a method.

And that method… was me.

Someone clearly stronger than the current Gojo Satoru.

The strongest.

If it was me, maybe—just maybe—I could make him stronger.

That was the hope that brought Geto Suguru to me, without even telling Satoru.

“I want… you to make me stronger!!”

As he bowed his head, I rubbed my chin.

My first thought?

“Seriously?”

This world was just a game.

The most efficient way to survive was to build up my own strength. Spending time teaching someone else—especially someone just living inside this ‘game world’—felt like a waste.

After all, once I left this world, he’d disappear too.

But then again… it could be fun.

That thought had crossed my mind before—what if Geto Suguru never turned evil?

What if he became stronger, strong enough not to fall?

And so, I made up my mind.

Closing the book I was reading with a thud, I looked straight at him.

“Alright, Geto Suguru. Let’s make a deal. A binding vow.”

“A deal, huh? Actually, that sounds good.”

“I only want one thing. Whenever I ask, you have to grant me three wishes.”

“…Fine. But I won’t grant any wishes that would hurt the people important to me. Got it?”

“Of course. I’ll only ask for things related to you.”

If he ever did go dark, I planned to use those wishes to stop him.

With that thought in mind, I formed a binding vow with Geto Suguru—and in exchange, I agreed to make him stronger.

***

“First of all, Geto, the most logical way for you to grow stronger is to engrave a second cursed technique into your body, like Satoru and me. But unfortunately, the Six Eyes are off-limits for you.”

“Because?”

“To accept the Six Eyes, you’d have to defy the natural laws of the world—just like I did. You’d have to break the rule that there can only be one pair of Six Eyes. And unfortunately, I can’t do that for you.”

“…I see. Not that I was expecting to get them anyway.”

The curse that there can only be one pair of Six Eyes in existence still poured endlessly into me.

And I cut it down immediately, over and over, to protect my own pair.

Even if I plucked out my Six Eyes and handed them to Geto, he’d quickly lose their light and return to having ordinary vision.

In short, they couldn’t be inherited.

“And that’s why things like Limitless, or my own Domain Technique, won’t bring you a massive power-up either. So we’ll need a different technique. And I have one in mind I’d like to recommend.”

“What technique?”

“The Ten Shadows Technique.”

“…Isn’t that Zenin clan’s inherited jujutsu?”

He recalled what he’d studied and asked that, and I nodded.

Back when I had a connection with Fushiguro Toji, I also saw his son—Fushiguro Megumi.

I hadn’t been able to study it back then, but now that I had the Six Eyes, I could easily steal and transfer the technique.

As I considered that, Geto seemed to remember more about the Ten Shadows Technique and finally spoke again.

“But… isn’t the Ten Shadows Technique basically the same as my Cursed Spirit Manipulation? They both summon shikigami. Honestly, that makes it feel kind of redundant.”

“Shikigami and cursed spirits are fundamentally different. Especially the Ten Shadows Technique—it creates shikigami through the medium of shadows, which is a very unique and appealing trait.

Normally, you can only summon one of each type. But if you activate a Domain, you can summon countless copies of a single shikigami.”

“And if your cursed spirits could be converted into shikigami… then what?”

“Exactly. A fusion of the Ten Shadows Technique and your Cursed Spirit Manipulation. Right now, your ability lets you consume and control a bunch of cursed spirits.

And the Ten Shadows Technique limits you to ten types of shikigami, but with Domain Expansion, you can summon infinite copies of one type—and even fuse them to pass on power.”

“So, if we could merge those two techniques…? If I could convert my special-grade spirits into shikigami, then infinitely summon them… or even fuse them into something greater…?”

“Then—”

‘I might be able to create a shikigami, a cursed spirit, on par with even Gojo Satoru…!!’

Geto’s eyes widened in shock.

It would be the ultimate fusion—of shikigami technique and cursed spirit manipulation.

As the image of that future flashed through his mind, he realized—

It was possible.

He could become Gojo Satoru’s equal.

And just like that, his head nodded almost on reflex.

He had decided to accept everything I had offered.