Days passed as a new group of residents arrived at Toji's Castle in Taizai no Machi.
Children, 47 in total, aged between 8 and 14, all with a common past, but their personalities usually oscillated between two extremes. Seven of the children had gotten their hands dirty soon after encountering Toji and his clones, so their appearance was somber with erratic eyes. There was a repressed inner fury, and their personalities resembled those of lone wolves, they even had difficulty interacting with and trusting others.
The other 41 children hadn't gone through the 'baptism' for various reasons, but Toji wasn't in a hurry, his potion had progressed by at least 20% at that point, so he knew he was on the right track and didn't go looking for more.
Instead, he assigned some subordinates to take care of the children and train them as ninjas, these subordinates were a mix of people Toji had saved and some stronger ninjas who ended up selling their souls to Toji to pay off their debts.
The objective was clear: they would be fed Seimei no Ro while training, greatly accelerating the process. In a few months, when their bodies could withstand it, Toji would give them his curse mark. At that point, these children would have the strength of at least an elite Chunin, if not more, depending on the effort and potential of each one.
Toji also knew that the purer they were, the more beneficial it would be for him, so he even found some kind-hearted nuns to take care of them and let them experience true kindness. He also prevented them from going to the city and becoming tainted by its sins.
Although this would be technically beneficial for Toji, unfortunately, he was still unwilling to cross that line.
Toji had even begun building an orphanage in Heavens so the children could live in a more comfortable environment. Although training was still conducted there, Toji wanted them to maintain this contrast, but not to break down under the extreme pressure.
However, Toji was no longer so focused on the children, because although his progress in terms of acting had a momentary setback while the children trained, he still needed to focus on the more complicated part.
A demigod based on life or purification.
Toji knew that this world had powerful beings comparable to demigods, even angels and perhaps even gods, but still, finding one of them who possessed this specific type of property was very difficult.
It couldn't be just anyone with related powers, it had to be something like in the world of LOTM, something rule-based, otherwise, this would likely hinder his progress. This made the task of finding a suitable target extremely difficult.
Toji thought of the Snake Sage first, that old snake was very ancient, and although its strength was still somewhat lacking, Toji could find a way to make it stronger.
Senjutsu was a nature-based skill, and in a way, connected to life, but... that didn't seem enough, it didn't seem 'absolute' enough.
Unless he could elevate that old snake to the level of an angel, Toji didn't know if it would work. Elevating it to the level of a saint was possible, but to the level of an angel? Difficult, very difficult. Not impossible, but it would still take a lot of time and effort.
He needed something that could be used in a few months, not something that would take years to complete.
The purple heart was also considered, with the Ryūmyaku sealed inside it, the heart itself possesses some aspect of vitality, but again, it wasn't absolute enough. Besides, that heart was sealed in the Tenebrous World, so it already carried the aura of that place, which could negatively affect progress.
Toji had many ideas, but it was when he thought of something, something that was deep in his memory, so much so that he barely remembered it, that he came to the conclusion that it was possible, very possible.
Shion and Moryo, more specifically Shion.
That girl's power... it must be related to purity, right?
Furthermore, as far as he remembered, Shion and Moryo's states were like two sides of a coin, positive energy on one side, negative energy on the other, this created a clear extreme, and with an extreme, an absolute could be formed.
Thus, the more Toji thought about it, the more he believed that the possibility of Shion's power being effective was very high.
However, although he believed that power itself was absolute, Shion and Moryo themselves might be too weak for that 'absolute' to be truly absolute, but that didn't matter much, if the ritual required a god to be used, Toji could say there was no solution, but the goal was only a demigod, a saint would suffice.
As long as Shion's power reached the equivalent of a Saint of sequence 4, that would be enough.
Of course, all of this was purely conjecture, without meeting Shion personally and testing her power, he couldn't say for sure.
How to test it? Very simple, as long as Shion's power can purify Toji's corruption, Toji would be certain that her power possessed purifying properties.
Toji wasted no time, this was too important. After thinking for so long, Shion was the only one he could find with a power that might be usable. If even her power couldn't work... then Toji would probably have to bite the bullet and let Jugo act as an intermediary.
Although far from ideal, an angel's power should be enough to keep him steady during the advance, right?
Toji transformed into a black liquid and shot away from Taizai no Machi, running straight to the land of demons (Oni no Kuni).