Toji slowly entered the wooden cabin, his eyes focusing on the two frightened children.
Behind him, all the thugs were already dead, Toji killed them all in less than a second. Initially, he intended to use these guys to finally break those two brats, forcing them to kill them.
However, seeing the children's fear, Toji's lips tightened into a line, and he let out a heavy sigh. In the end, it was better to take things slowly.
Although he had no doubt that forcing them to do it now would improve his acting more than simply letting them adapt to it slowly, in the end, they were just innocent children.
Well, the boy wasn't so innocent anymore, he probably wouldn't need much persuading, but what would be left in the end? Toji wanted to create vigilantes, not psychopaths.
So, he decided to simply deal with the thugs alone, letting those kids go through a period of training first, especially ideological work.
Although Toji has certain issues with the so-called 'Will of Fire,' which is basically brainwashing, the fact is that from a psychological point of view, the 'Will of Fire' is still a great way to stabilize the minds of Konoha's ninjas.
Killing with a clear purpose, such as protecting your comrades, is far better than killing just for the sake of killing, at the very least, the mentality is completely different.
Toji planned to let these boys understand exactly who their targets were before putting weapons in their hands, this, at the very least, should greatly reduce future psychological problems, and the number of them who might end up completely falling and going insane would also decrease accordingly.
Of course, the price to pay was that his acting would suffer, a Demon shouldn't worry about things like right and wrong. However, Toji knew that Demon was just a shell he should wear, not his true self.
Looking at those two brats, Toji's exasperated gaze quickly turned indifferent.
He swung Shakukonto, wiping the blood and placing it in the mouth of the purple snake on his shoulder, before speaking. - If you want to live a better life, you can follow me, but be prepared, the sacrifices you will have to make may be worth more than your own lives.
Toji didn't explain directly, he didn't need to, he started walking away with slow steps, and when he was almost out of sight, he heard hurried footsteps behind him.
Toji knew that what convinced those two brats to follow, at least the older brother, wasn't Toji's words, but the realization that staying was a dead end. Those thugs were dead, but there were people behind them.
Toji glanced over his shoulder, even in the darkness of night, his eyes could see as if it were day. The brat's eyes were full of determination. He had no idea where they were going, but by following Toji, he at least saw a glimmer of hope.
The little girl was frightened, her hand being held by her brother, but she didn't complain. Asuka had lived in poverty with Mukuro, and hard times had forged even the character of this little girl, who couldn't have been more than 10 years old, to the point that even now she hadn't cried or thrown a tantrum, she simply squeezed Mukuro's hand tightly, as if that gave her all the courage she needed.
Toji saw all of this, looked away, and continued walking. He wasn't in a hurry, Mukuro was his first target, so he came personally, but he left several other clones to go after more brats.
He would use the journey back to Taizai no Machi to teach those brats.
The direction he was taking now was precisely towards the thugs' camp, he wanted to let those brats open their eyes and see the world as it really is.
The main camp these guys had was a few dozen kilometers away, at their speed, it could take them half a day to get there. That was also a test.
Toji walked slowly, but didn't stop, walking through the dense forest. He didn't even clear a path with his sword, at most, he prevented poisonous creatures from approaching. Beyond that, he did nothing else: he didn't speak, he didn't stop, he just walked.
The two brats behind him were clearly tired, they were just malnourished children, but Toji wanted to give them one last chance, if they stopped and refused to follow, he wouldn't stop, he would simply keep walking.
Their lives would be an unknown, but it could still be better than what Toji had planned for them. Toji didn't make assumptions, he simply walked around, curious about their choice.
In the early hours, the kids followed in silence, but by the sixth hour, Asuka could barely move. Mukuro gritted his teeth, he wanted to open his mouth to ask, but seeing Toji's broad back and his silent movement, clearly without any intention of stopping, he made Asuka climb onto his back, even though his feet and back ached, and his legs burned, he continued to follow.
The corners of Toji's lips lifted slightly. Three hours later, Toji finally stopped. Behind him, walking like a zombie, Mukuro didn't even notice that Toji had stopped. By the time he realized what was happening, he had already bumped into Toji and fallen.
Asuka and Mukuro fell to the ground, letting out soft cries of pain, with no energy left for anything else. Toji ignored them, they were on a high slope, not far away. A campsite could be seen among the trees, the morning light illuminating the wooden houses.
Toji didn't speak, he just turned and looked at the two brats sprawled on the floor, the smile on his face widening.
-Congratulations, you passed the first test.- Toji said.
Mukuro barely heard, he was breathing heavily, his body no longer responding to him. Asuka crawled to him and grabbed his clothes, sobbing softly.
Toji looked at them again, letting out a sigh. He approached and bent down, beginning to heal them.
Ten minutes later, the children were able to walk again, although they were still tired, at least their bodies no longer ached or burned.
Toji took some strips of meat and dried fruit and handed them to them. - Eat.
Mukuro, sitting on the ground with Asuka beside him, looked at Toji with a slightly furrowed brow. He was wary of Toji, but at this point, he could only continue to follow him.
Toji was strong, he needed power to protect his sister. He took the food and first fed Asuka, then ate it in small bites.
When they finished eating, Toji, who had been looking at the thugs' camp, finally spoke. -Come here.