Chapter 6: I Want to Be Stronger
White.
Endless white.
No walls. No ceiling. No floor.
Just a vast, silent emptiness stretching in every direction like a blank page waiting to be written on.
In the middle of that empty space sat a metal chair.
And on it—
A young man.
He looked to be in his early twenties. His short black hair was messy, and his pale skin carried the exhausted color of someone who had not slept properly in years. Dark circles hung beneath lifeless brown eyes.
His posture was slouched.
Thin shoulders.
A tired body.
He wore nothing special—just a plain white T-shirt and black pants.
Across from him stood Sanjiro.
The two stared at each other in silence for several seconds.
The air felt strange here.
Still.
Unmoving.
Finally, Sanjiro spoke.
"Who are you?"
The young man chuckled quietly.
He leaned back in the chair as if amused by the question.
Then he raised a finger and pointed directly at Sanjiro.
"You are me."
Then he slowly turned that same finger toward his own chest.
"And I am you."
Sanjiro froze.
His mind tried to process the words.
He already knew one thing about himself: he had been reincarnated.
A car crash.
That much he remembered.
And this world…
It was identical to an anime he had watched in his previous life.
But aside from that, his memories were fragmented. Blurry. Broken.
The strange thing was that he remembered fiction clearly—stories, characters, powers.
But memories about his actual life?
Family.
Friends.
His real name.
All of that was gone.
Lost in the fog.
The young man studied him for a moment.
"How's life treating you?"
His tired eyes slowly scanned Sanjiro from head to toe.
"You look… pretty young."
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Not even a teenager yet."
Sanjiro stayed silent for a moment, thinking carefully before answering.
"…Life has been good."
His voice was quiet but sincere.
"I have people who care about me."
A small smile appeared on his face.
"And I care about them too."
The young man exhaled deeply.
Relief softened his tired expression.
"That's good."
He nodded slowly.
"That's really good."
Sanjiro hesitated before asking the question that weighed on his mind.
"…Am I dead?"
His voice echoed slightly in the empty space.
"I mean… that curse attacked me and—"
"You're not dead."
The young man cut him off calmly.
"You're just… extremely close to it."
He rested his chin on his palm.
"Your body is hanging between life and death right now. But don't worry you won't die."
Sanjiro let out a quiet breath.
Relief washed over him.
"…So you're me from my previous life?"
The young man nodded.
"Yeah."
He scratched the back of his head.
"The name's—"
His mouth moved.
But no sound came out.
Instead—
The name appeared censored.
■■■■.
Sanjiro blinked.
"…Sorry, what?"
The man shrugged.
"Can't say it."
He waved his hand casually.
"Apparently I'm not allowed to reveal that information."
He leaned forward slightly.
"Anyway, introductions aren't important."
A holographic screen suddenly appeared in the air between them.
Lines of glowing text filled the projection.
It was Sanjiro's system interface.
The young man whistled.
"Well… let's see here."
His eyes scanned the screen.
"Oh."
Then his expression slowly turned into disbelief.
"Oh."
Then anger.
"…Oh my fucking god."
Sanjiro flinched.
"You got the Sans template?"
The man pointed accusingly at the hologram.
"That thing has ridiculous potential."
Then he looked back at Sanjiro.
"So why the hell is your fusion percentage this low?"
He swiped the screen with his finger.
"Years of repeatable quests completed…"
His eyes narrowed.
"…and barely any combat experience."
His voice dropped into disbelief.
"Why weren't you killing curses?"
Sanjiro awkwardly scratched the back of his head.
"Uh… well…"
"How do I explain this…"
He looked down.
"I was reborn in the Gojo Clan."
The man blinked.
"And?"
"…As Satoru Gojo's younger brother."
The young man stared at him.
Silence.
Then he slowly covered his face with both hands.
"…You've got to be kidding me."
He dragged his hands down his face in pure frustration.
"You were born with insane potential…"
"…into the strongest clan in the world…"
"…with a system designed to accelerate your growth…"
"And you still managed to waste it."
Sanjiro frowned.
"I didn't waste it."
"Oh really?"
The man leaned forward.
"Then explain."
Sanjiro took a breath.
"I lived comfortably."
He admitted it honestly.
"The clan protected me constantly. I was surrounded by guards and restrictions."
He shrugged slightly.
"I also knew the story of this world."
"So I tried to stay out of it."
His voice softened.
"I wanted to avoid the dangerous parts."
The man stared at him.
Then he laughed.
But there was no humor in it.
"Oh… that's rich."
His eyes suddenly sharpened.
"Do you realize what world you're living in?"
His voice became cold.
"You think your birth didn't change anything?"
"You think the plot will magically stay the same?"
He slammed his hand on the armrest of the chair.
"Because of your complacency…"
"…you almost died."
The words hit harder than any punch.
Sanjiro lowered his gaze.
"…I know."
His voice was quiet.
"I made mistakes."
He clenched his fists.
"But I'm still human."
His eyes lifted again.
"I'm still a kid."
"I can be lazy. I can be selfish. I can be stupid."
He looked directly at the man.
"But people learn."
Silence filled the white space.
The young man stared at him for several seconds.
Then he rubbed his temples.
"…Fine."
He sighed.
"I get it."
He waved his hand dismissively.
"But from now on you take this seriously."
His voice became firm.
"If you want to live in this world…"
"…you need to become stronger."
Sanjiro nodded.
"I will."
The man snapped his fingers.
The system interface changed.
New lines of code appeared across the screen.
"I'm updating your system."
Sanjiro blinked.
"…Wait."
"You can do that?"
The man looked at him like it was obvious.
"Of course."
He shrugged.
"I built the damn thing."
Sanjiro's eyes widened.
Before he could ask anything else—
The young man stood up.
"Well…"
He stretched slightly.
"That's all the time we have."
The white space around them began glowing brighter.
"I hope we don't meet again."
Sanjiro stepped forward urgently.
"Wait!"
But the light swallowed everything.
---
Gojo Clan Estate
Sanjiro's eyes snapped open.
"Wait—what do you—"
His voice stopped.
He was lying in a large bed inside a quiet traditional room.
Soft sunlight filtered through the window.
A man sat on a wooden stool beside it.
The moment Sanjiro moved, the man glanced over calmly.
"Ah."
"Looks like you're finally awake."
Sanjiro immediately tried to sit up.
Pain exploded through his body.
"…Lord Gojo."
He attempted to bow from the bed.
The man raised a hand.
"No need for that."
His voice was calm and steady.
"You're in no condition to be bowing."
Sanjiro finally noticed the bandages wrapped across his chest, arms, and even his head.
His entire body felt like it had been crushed.
"If it weren't for that young healer girl…"
Lord kozuki Gojo continued casually.
"…you'd already be buried six feet under."
Sanjiro winced.
"How long was I unconscious?"
"Four days."
The answer came instantly.
"You gave everyone quite a scare."
Kozuki folded his arms.
"They carried you in looking half dead."
Sanjiro swallowed.
"…What happened to the others?"
"They're fine."
The older man waved the concern away.
"Minor injuries."
Then his expression darkened slightly.
"As for the curse…"
"Young Satoru and Suguru eliminated it."
A brief silence passed.
"I misjudged things."
Kozuki admitted quietly.
"I believed Satoru's strength would guarantee everyone's safety."
He exhaled slowly.
"But his arrogance has made him neglect certain aspects of his growth."
His eyes drifted toward the window.
"The boy blamed himself."
Sanjiro looked up.
"When they brought you here…"
"…he left immediately."
Not a word.
Not a farewell.
Just gone.
"He felt too ashamed to face you."
Another silence followed.
Then Lord Gojo's voice hardened.
"Furthermore…"
"Our investigation revealed something disturbing."
He looked back at Sanjiro.
"The mission details were falsified."
Sanjiro's eyes widened.
"Someone among the higher-ups attempted to eliminate Satoru by feeding him incorrect information."
A cold edge entered his voice.
"We are currently investigating."
"And when we find the one responsible…"
"…they will be punished severely."
The room fell quiet again.
Sanjiro stared at the ceiling.
Then—
"I want to become stronger."
The words came out suddenly.
Lord Gojo raised an eyebrow.
Sanjiro turned his head toward him.
"Can you train me?"
He asked seriously.
Lord Gojo studied the boy for a moment.
Then a faint smile appeared on his face.
"Of course."
But his tone shifted slightly.
"However…"
His eyes sharpened.
"It will be painful."
Sanjiro didn't hesitate.
"I'll endure it."
Lord Gojo nodded slowly.
"Good."
He stood up from the stool.
"Once you fully recover…"
His voice grew firm.
"I will break you."
"Again and again."
"Until what remains is someone worthy of being called strong."
Sanjiro didn't look away.
"Good."
He whispered.
"Because that's exactly what I want."
....
(A/N): so far, i come to realise i did a bad work in charcter development and properly introducing the protagonist. Instead i focused more on the action part of the story. But, a fics main focus is the story, the development and the plot.
I have also, fast paced the storyline, with not much plot adjustment and charcter development. So, i will try to fix that later on.
I was thinking of skipping the training arc completely into time skip when he attends the jjk high also skipping the star plasma vessel arc. As, even if i don't skip, he won't have any involvement in that arc as it will play out as normal.
So, should i do a time skip or do you wanna read all the boring stuff?