Chapter 115: Megumi, You Should Just Be a Gojo Instead
The idea that sacrificing oneself could solve a problem, or make everything around them better—if such a thing could really be achieved, it would probably be a dream for many people.
But no matter what, death and escapism never truly solve anything.
Perhaps the nature of the Cursed Technique could really allow Fushiguro Megumi to take the current enemy with him, but what about the negative impact that follows?
Death is, after all, only liberation for oneself; those who should live must still live.
Just like the initial Emiya, who inherited Kiritsugu's will and took saving the world as his duty, he would certainly think that exchanging his life for the world's salvation was a worthwhile bargain.
But as Yaga Masamichi said, that will was false, and even Emiya himself couldn't be sure whether he would regret it at the moment of death, or whether he would resent Kiritsugu.
It wasn't until the later Emiya clearly recognized his feelings for Miyu that everything truly changed.
For Miyu to live, he even abandoned his original dream of saving the world, not caring if he had to fight the entire world.
Even though Emiya himself was likely to sacrifice himself during the fight against the Ainsworth family, he was willing to risk his life for Miyu.
But his wish after saving Miyu was that he could still spend an ordinary but happy life with her.
Although it may sound selfish, the fulfillment of this wish is indeed predicated on him being alive.
The 'Shirou Emiya' who recently appeared in Emiya's dream reaffirmed this point for him.
The other party was indeed fighting with his life on the line, and it was all for a certain person—but ultimately, he was still afraid of death, because he still wanted to fulfill the promise of living together with that person.
So, the focus is not on whether one is willing to fight with all their strength, but on something else—
"Winning through death is different from winning by fighting with everything you have... the former is a disregard for one's own life, while the latter is precisely a manifestation of cherishing life.
If miracles truly exist, only the latter can create them, and only the latter has room for improvement.
When facing a seemingly insurmountable strong enemy, if you only think about using your Cursed Technique to achieve mutual destruction, instead of trying to use everything you have to defeat the opponent, you will never be stronger than them, because you can't even envision a stronger version of yourself."
Strong individuals also require imagination, not just one-track, single-minded training.
In various myths and legends, didn't those heroes mostly win through skill when facing unsolvable difficulties and enemies?
As he spoke, to increase the credibility of his words, Emiya even shifted his gaze to Itadori Yuji beside him.
"Take Itadori-kun, for example. When he fights, he never thinks that he definitely can't win and must die to solve the problem."
"Huh... me?"
Itadori Yuji, who was standing by and observing, never expected the spotlight to be turned on him.
He pointed at himself blankly, then stammered, "Ah, I guess so... I usually only think about how I must defeat them."
In fact, when Itadori Yuji gets into a fight, his mind is completely blank.
The few remaining brain cells are already focused on how to fight; there's no capacity left to consider what would happen if he lost!
He'll worry about it when he actually loses.
"Winning by fighting with everything you have...?"
Fushiguro Megumi is quite intelligent; otherwise, he wouldn't have become a Grade 2 Sorcerer during the promotion review in his first year.
It's just that after enjoying the early benefits of the Ten Shadows Technique, and then being restricted from the conventional path to becoming stronger by the difficult-to-Tame Shadow Shikigami, he began to feel lost.
Relying on the innate power of the Ten Shadows Technique instead of attempting a breakthrough in his imagination and strength naturally led to an unbreakable bottleneck.
But it doesn't matter. As long as the other party can break free from his previous inherent mindset, coupled with the weapons and skills Emiya provides, his strength will quickly become different from before.
"I understand, Emiya-sensei.
Instead of relying on an uncertain outcome, it's better to try with all my might; maybe I can achieve unexpected results."
Fushiguro Megumi never refuses the well-meaning guidance of elders and others.
Emiya can only hope that this fellow truly understands.
"Don't forget, the first thing you must do is not to be reckless, but to also place importance on your own life."
To prevent Fushiguro Megumi from misunderstanding his meaning, Emiya did not forget to add this sentence.
In any case, even if there is an enemy they truly cannot handle, Emiya will certainly step in.
This might be a bit indulgent, but isn't the meaning of a teacher's existence to protect their students?
Before he has to sacrifice himself, the biggest thing the students need to do is learn and improve themselves as much as possible.
"Mhm."
Fushiguro Megumi nodded seriously in response to the final reminder. Yet, this reply caused the hospital room to fall into a strange silence for a moment. To liven up the atmosphere, Itadori Yuji decided to break the eerie silence!
"Oh right, Fushiguro, I heard that the Ten Shadows Technique is the Zen'in family's inherited technique, right? Why didn't Maki-senpai inherit it, and instead you learned it, when your name isn't Zen'in Megumi?"
"Huh!?"
When she heard this question, Kugisaki Nobara's eyes widened to the extreme.
What kind of question is this guy asking? How did he manage to step on the biggest landmines of two people with just a single sentence?!
But even if she wanted to stop him, it was useless, because Itadori Yuji had already asked the question in one breath.
She could only anxiously turn her head to observe Fushiguro Megumi's reaction. Fortunately, the other party didn't seem to have much emotional fluctuation.
"Because my father, after leaving the Zen'in family, married into the Fushiguro family.
I was originally supposed to be taken back by the Zen'in family after his death, but Gojo-sensei, who killed him, found me first and guided me to become a Sorcerer.
Even if the Zen'in family found out later that I awakened the Ten Shadows Technique, they couldn't take me back because of Gojo-sensei's presence, and I didn't want to go back to that place anyway."
Fushiguro Megumi's tone and emotion were surprisingly calm while recounting this seemingly dramatic story.
"Wait, wait. Fushiguro, are you saying that Gojo-sensei is actually your father's... Mmf, mmph?!"
"Can you please shut up already, you idiot!!"
Before Itadori Yuji could finish his sentence, Kugisaki Nobara had already clapped a hand of justice over his mouth, preventing him from blurting out any more outrageous remarks.
Who discusses such a thing with a smile on their face in front of so many people?
Where is your emotional intelligence?!
"It's fine, I don't have any feelings for that man anyway.
Itadori-kun also knows that Maki-senpai has the constitution of a Reverse Heavenly Restriction, right? But actually, the first person in the Zen'in family to have that constitution wasn't her, but my father.
I basically have no impression of him; he never visited me when he was alive. I only heard from Gojo-sensei that his strength was terrifying, almost the strongest human he had ever encountered."
To receive such an evaluation from Gojo Satoru, one should know what a terrifying person that was.
It was at this moment that Itadori Yuji successfully broke free from Kugisaki's restraint and loudly praised: "Fushiguro's father was such an amazing person? I wish I could have witnessed it with my own eyes."
"Just shut up!!"
Kugisaki Nobara couldn't take it anymore. Who tells someone whose relative has passed away that they wish they could have witnessed them with their own eyes?
If they could really see them, shouldn't the person themselves wish for it even more than you do?!
"But that father was really quite derelict in his duties. If you ask me, the surname Fushiguro isn't even necessary; you might as well just follow Gojo-sensei instead," Itadori Yuji thought hard and nodded.
"I SAID STOP TALKING!!!!!!!!"