"What killed me wasn't some disease or old age. It was something much stronger than that."
Satoru said suddenly, his tone as calm as if he were discussing someone else's business,.
He twitched the corner of his lips as if trying to smile, but it only formed a slightly strange arc.
"To be honest, I think... it's actually quite good."
Suguru listened quietly without interrupting.
Satoru looked up, his gaze seemingly piercing through the trees of the training ground toward a distant and bloody battlefield.
"I've already thrown out everything I could use, everything I could think of, everything I could do... everything. Nothing is left."
There was no regret or resentment in his voice. Instead, there was a sense of almost serene satisfaction.
"I just wonder... if I made that guy feel a bit satisfied?"
"That guy?" Suguru asked knowingly, a hint of inquiry flashing in his eyes. "You mean... Sukuna?"
"Yeah." Satoru nodded, his gaze behind the sunglasses seemingly turning distant for a moment.
"Ryomen Sukuna. King of Curses. A true monster who has lived since the Heian era until now."
"Very strong?"
"Strong?" Satoru scoffed, this time with a smile that carried undisguised, almost admiring helplessness and recognition.
"Absurdly strong. Like a damn god descended to earth."
He paused, seemingly searching for the right words to describe him.
"My Domain was crushed head-on. Simple Domain, Falling Blossom Emotion, consecutive Black Flashes, using Blue and Red together, Hollow Technique: Purple... I threw every trick I had at his face. And the result?"
Satoru spread his hands, his tone light, but the content of his words was incredibly heavy. "He didn't even use his full power. I could feel it... that old monster was holding back the whole time. Like an adult playing with a child. At first, it was just teasing, then he got a bit more serious, but only a bit."
He fell silent for a few seconds, the light smile on his face gradually fading, replaced by a rare, complex expression—a mix of apology and dissatisfaction.
"I even feel a bit sorry for him."
"Sorry for him?" Suguru was somewhat surprised.
"Yeah."
Satoru nodded, his voice lowering. "I had a blast. Honestly, it's been a long time since I've let everything go and fought with all my might. Even if I was crushed, even if I might die, this feeling of burning everything to ash isn't bad."
He looked up at Suguru, the sharpness behind his sunglasses as keen as ever, yet tinged with self-deprecation.
"But he probably didn't feel the same. I couldn't give him his fill. I couldn't force out his true, full power. I couldn't make him think, 'Ah, the strongest of this era is indeed quite interesting.' It makes me feel a bit impolite, and a bit regretful."
As Satoru spoke, he shook his head again as if to cast off these useless emotions.
He looked at the peaceful training ground and the familiar silhouette of the Jujutsu High buildings in the distance. Deep in his eyes, a very faint, almost imperceptible worry flickered.
"And..."
He paused, his tone becoming light again, but beneath that lightness was a deeper weight.
"Just patting my ass and leaving like this, throwing such a huge mess to those kids, Itadori, Fushiguro, Kugisaki, and those new ones... I feel like I'm being a bit irresponsible as their teacher."
"Sukuna is still there. Kenjaku, that old schemer, is hiding who knows where. The Jujutsu World is a complete mess."
He shrugged, as if to say, "There's nothing more I can do."
"But then again, this is as far as I can go."
Satoru took one last look at his silent best friend. Suguru was also watching him quietly, a calm, all-knowing smile on his face.
"The rest... I'll leave to them."
"Believing in your juniors is also one of the responsibilities of a senior, right, Suguru?"
Suguru didn't answer. His smile only seemed to deepen slightly, carrying a hint of encouragement, a hint of understanding, and a hint of... farewell.
Just then, from the corner of his eye, Satoru seemed to catch sight of another figure. They were standing quietly under the cherry blossom tree not far behind him and Suguru, as if they had been there all along.
It was a boy in ordinary casual clothes, with a somewhat shy yet sunny smile—it was Haibara Yu, the friend of Nanami Kento who was always full of energy and looked up to his seniors, only to die early on a mission. He was also their former junior.
Seeing Haibara Yu, Satoru's thoughts seemed to drift even further back. He remembered some older, more subtle memories.
"Right, Suguru." Satoru suddenly spoke, his tone carrying the drift of nostalgia. "Do you remember Haibara? And Nanami?"
Suguru nodded. "Of course."
"Once, probably not long after Haibara enrolled, the kid foolishly ran up to me and asked how he should choose his path after graduation. He said Mei Mei told him that if he wanted to become a brand-new person, he should head north. If he wanted to stay as he was, he should go south."
Satoru laughed as he spoke. "At the time, I even mocked him, saying he asked the wrong person—that I only knew where to find good sweets, not where to become brand-new."
Suguru also seemed to recall that sunny and somewhat clumsy junior, a softness appearing in his eyes. "And then?"
"Then?"
Satoru shrugged. "Then I just pointed in a random direction and said, 'Then head north, it sounds cooler.' The kid actually believed me and thanked me so seriously."
He paused, his voice dropping, carrying an imperceptible trace of melancholy. "Later... he never had the chance to choose again."
Silence descended once more.
"Heading north..." Satoru whispered these words, his gaze behind the sunglasses seemingly piercing through this space of consciousness toward some unknown distance.
Then, he slowly took off the sunglasses from the bridge of his nose, revealing those eyes known as the "Six Eyes," which were now clear and calm.
He turned his head and looked at Suguru again. His best friend's figure appeared somewhat blurred in the backlight of the setting sun, as if he might scatter with the wind at any moment.
"Hey, Suguru." Satoru's voice was very soft, yet it carried an unprecedented, clear resolve.
"As for me..."
"Probably..."
"It's time for me to head north too."
Suguru watched him quietly for a long time. Then, he smiled. It was the purest, most relieved smile—the one that most resembled a "best friend"—in Satoru's memory.
"Yeah." Suguru gave a soft response and nodded.
"Safe travels, Satoru."
Satoru also smiled. This time, the smile was serene and unburdened, carrying a hint of his unyielding pride.
He took one last look at this illusory and warm scene, then slowly and completely relaxed his tensed nerves and consciousness, allowing that deep, lightless tranquility to swallow him.
The training ground, the sunlight, the figure of his best friend...
Everything was like a fading photograph, rapidly blurring, dimming, and dissipating.
Before Satoru's final consciousness was submerged in the boundless darkness and cold, the last remaining thought was not fear or resentment, but a strange sigh mixed with exhaustion, relief, and a hint of regret.
'Everyone... I'm sorry...'
'The rest is up to you all.'
***
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