"Pant! Pant! It hurts so much. Damn it, what the hell was going through my head?"
The screams of my entire body made me bitterly regret my decision. Once the adrenaline faded, the injuries I had inflicted on myself were even more painful than they had already been.
I was lying on a hospital bed, groaning in pain. Toji was also lying on a bed next to mine, but he still hadn't woken up.
We stayed more than three hours inside the pit before someone finally came to get us out.
Needless to say, they were shocked. Seeing the room that had once been filled with cursed spirits completely empty—
And it seemed to have been done by two children.
They advanced cautiously the entire time. Yet I could almost see their faces rejoicing when they noticed our condition.
They then transferred us to the Kukuru infirmary, of course without commissioning a single doctor to take care of us.
My only luck was that the infirmary was, for some unknown reason, filled with milk. I thanked my One Piece physique because drinking it was enough for the fractures to heal on their own.
Of course, my ribs were still broken and I had internal injuries.
I began thinking about what to eat to recover faster, and an answer quickly came to mind: I need to eat meat. I should try alcohol too if possible.
I didn't really like alcohol, but the fact remained that I had Roronoa Zoro's physical constitution. Drinking alcohol to recover didn't seem like an absurd assumption.
But before I could put my experiment into practice, a Kukuru member burst into the infirmary.
"Get up, mon—Zoro. You've received a mission."
'He was going to say monkey, right? But more importantly, a mission in my condition? They're trying to kill me.'
To be honest, I wasn't surprised. In fact, I was almost sure they would do this. No—rather, I was hoping they would.
'They'll definitely falsify the mission level, but that's fine. It was planned.'
The more difficult missions they sent me on, the stronger I would become.
Yet even if this followed my plan, something still worried me.
'I just hope they're selfish enough not to send me against a Grade 1 or Semi-Grade 1.'
At my peak, I would say I'm capable of defeating a Grade 2, though with great difficulty. A Semi-Grade 1 if I were ready to lose limbs.
But I wasn't at my peak.
'In my current state, even a Semi-Grade 2 would already put me in serious trouble.'
Still, I didn't believe they would go beyond Semi-Grade 1.
They would never pass up an opportunity to gain influence by exorcising powerful cursed spirits.
While I was thinking, the Kukuru member continued,
"You must eliminate a cursed spirit. The mission will take place tomorrow. I'll send you a document detailing the situation."
With those words, he left, though I could still hear him muttering under his breath.
"Tch, why do I have to talk to these monkeys?"
I didn't really pay attention. I was mostly concerned with the information I had received.
"So they're not sending me today directly. They must think one or two days won't change much."
A smile formed on my lips. "They've made a grave mistake."
I got down from the bed with great difficulty. I almost stumbled when my feet touched the ground.
"Alright, let's go restock on meat."
---
The next day
Narrator
Zoro could be seen sitting in the rear passenger seat of a black car. In the driver's seat was a disheveled man with messy hair and flushed cheeks.
'It's 7 a.m. How is he already drunk?'
That was the question Zoro asked himself every time the man demonstrated terrible driving.
It had gotten to the point where Zoro activated his Observation Haki just to make sure he could exit the car in time if an accident happened.
However, he needed to focus on the document in his hands.
Case No. 29994082 — March 14, 1985
Two young children were found hanged from the railing of their daycare.
So far, more than fourteen similar incidents have been recorded within a 2 km area.
It is highly likely that the cursed spirit will strike again at the daycare located at XX Street XX.
The windows have evaluated the cursed spirit at Grade 3.
Low risk but mission must be carried out urgently.
That wasn't everything in the report, but it was most of what Zoro considered relevant and memorized.
After putting the report down, he grabbed the two katanas placed beside him. Ordinary katanas provided by the Kukuru for this mission.
'They gave me katanas without cursed energy to fight a cursed spirit. It's so obviously a trap.'
He continued mocking them mentally for several minutes until the car stopped.
He didn't wait for a word from the driver. He immediately opened the door and stepped out.
As soon as he closed it, the driver suddenly sped off without asking for anything else.
Zoro paid it no attention. All his senses were focused on the large building before him.
The building had a sign with its name written on it, surrounded by drawings of flowers.
Walls surrounded it, covered in all kinds of drawings.
There was a large open gate through which he could see parents and children entering.
He didn't observe the front for long. He circled the building and quickly reached the back.
He looked around carefully to make sure no one was watching. After confirming he was alone, he stepped back and took a sprinting stance.
'Here we go.'
He launched forward and quickly found himself face-to-face with the wall. Without slowing down, he planted his foot against it and used it to propel himself upward.
He grabbed the top edge while avoiding injury from the wall spikes.
He jumped over the wall and landed in a garden.
It was morning, so no one was in that area yet.
Zoro stood up and carefully scanned the surroundings. He found a discreet spot and quickly hid his katanas there.
Fortunately, he wore normal clothes, allowing him to blend in by pretending to be a final-year daycare child.
He still kept a dagger on him just in case.
He then merged into the crowd.
It was almost the end of the school year, so excitement filled the air. Everyone was too busy making memories to pay attention to him.
And Zoro wasn't wandering aimlessly. He used his Haki across every square centimeter of the daycare throughout the entire day.
But not a single trace of the cursed spirit.
The day quickly came to an end, and the sun began to set.
He had long since taken refuge on the roof to observe everything happening below.
He watched children leave one after another as their parents picked them up. Then came the workers' turn.
Night drew closer when he heard something.
Sniff!!
Sniff!!
It was the sound of a child crying.
'Why is he still here at this hour? Where are her parents?'
Ten minutes passed, yet no one came to pick her up.
Zoro couldn't endure it anymore, so he climbed down from the roof.
Upon arriving in the schoolyard, he could better see the child's silhouette.
It was a little girl, barely four years old. Her eyes were swollen and her voice trembling.
"Are you okay, little one?"
"Hik!"
Hearing his voice startled her, making her curl into herself even more.
Zoro raised his hands peacefully and spoke gently.
"Don't worry, I don't want to hurt you."
Hearing that made her relax slightly, so he continued,
"Where are your mom and dad? Aren't they supposed to come pick you up?"
Her face darkened, and she spoke sadly.
"Daddy isn't here anymore, and mommy is probably working right now. Aunt Miyuki was supposed to pick me up, but she still hasn't come. I've been here for hours. It's dark, it's cold, I'm all alone. I'm scared."
Tears began forming again in her eyes. He slowly approached her.
"Don't worry, they'll come eventually. I'll stay with you while you wait."
She looked surprised when he said that, but she nevertheless stopped crying.
_"You're not lying?" she asked skeptically.
"Of course not. I can stay with you all night if needed."
A smile bloomed on her face.
"Really? That's great! Wait, does that mean you're my friend? YES!! Aunt Miyuki will be so happy when I tell her! And did you know that spider aren't insects? Oh Oh and…"
Hearing the little girl ramble, he began regretting his decision to intervene.
But just as he was about to ask her to calm down, he felt a wave of disgust.
The same kind of disgust he felt toward cursed energy.
'Seriously… it chooses to show up now.'
Author's note
You seriously thought there wouldn't be a chapter today ?
SURPRISE MOTHERFUCKER