Toji and Afro were in a bandit camp.
The camp was completely destroyed, but the bandits weren't impaled, Toji didn't kill them, but made them kill each other. He promised he would let go of whoever survived in the end.
It was a bloodbath, any camaraderie that had existed before was destroyed while Toji and Afro watched with expressionless stares.
One after another, they fell, caught between bitterness and madness, Toji watched it all coldly while feeling his potion being digested.
In the end, above the groans of those who still breathed and the empty eyes of those who had already died, only one survived, but the victory came at a high price. One of his arms hung weakly to the side, bleeding, and a cut tore his left eye. His only eye still showed signs of that previous madness, but deep down there was relief and happiness, he would survive.
However, Toji's next words threw him into a deep abyss.
-Very well, you survived, however, the lesson hasn't been learned yet.- Toji said indifferently. -An arm or a leg, which do you want to lose?
The bandit's blood ran cold. He looked at Toji and Afro with evident fear. Anger tried to erupt, but fear was deeper. He wanted to argue, but looking into Toji's cold eyes, he knew there was no easy way out.
-An arm.- he finally said, looking at his weakly dangling arm. He'd rather lose that arm, with both legs and an arm, he could still live.
However, the next moment, he was shocked when Toji disappeared. When he reappeared, he felt a deep pain in his leg, falling to the side. He screamed in pain, looking at his left leg, which had been severed from his body.
Toji simply glanced at him, looked away, and walked away. His potion progressed a little further, but there was no joy within him.
The snake clone attached to him had already used a genjutsu on him, keeping his mind stable while doing so, the same genjutsu that Jugo developed to "share" the Bind.
Toji felt nothing, but it was better than feeling the satisfaction the potion would be giving him at that moment.
With empty eyes, he turned and walked away with Afro.
Afro said nothing, he knew what those thugs had done, none of them deserved to live. Although Toji's actions were "excessive", they weren't to the point of making Afro defend the thugs.
Toji had chosen these guys because he'd heard of their deeds, massacre and rape were enough to condemn them. Some thugs were forced into it by circumstances, but not these ones. Toji could smell the stench of sin deep within them.
Even so, he still didn't feel good at all after doing that. To put it more directly, he didn't feel anything.
When the Snake Clone finally released the genjutsu, Toji pursed his lips slightly, but didn't think much about it. If they were good people, he might have felt repulsed, but the fact that he was attacking villains left him with a clear conscience, even if the action itself was excessive.
He spared the man's life, not because he was kind, but because the man's suffering was far more useful to him than a simple death.
Furthermore, that cut he made wasn't simple, Toji poisoned him with it. If he didn't die from bleeding, it wouldn't take long for him to die from the poisoning.
Afro and Toji moved away from each other. Afro looked at Toji for a moment, he sensed that Toji had changed moments before. Before, there had been an inexplicable coldness, like a block of ice, but now he had returned to normal.
Afro didn't ask, but he sensed that Toji probably had some history with bandits, perhaps someone important to him had been killed by them, he couldn't say for sure.
Afro quickly looked away, but then narrowed his eyes slightly, it wasn't just him, Toji felt it too.
They both stopped as they looked west, and from there, they saw some figures appearing quickly.
They all wore black clothes with red clouds, they all had orange hair, and they all had purple eyes filled with concentric circles.
The Six Paths of Pain.
In the air, a figure with purple hair approached calmly, looking at Toji and Afro indifferently, paper wings keeping she steady.
Toji watched Pain on the ground and Konan in the air, doubt clearly appearing on his expression.
He wasn't a Jinchuuriki, nor was Afro, so what did those two want with them? Judging by the fact that they appeared before him, all the Paths of Pain gathered together, it couldn't be anything small, but it didn't take much thought to reach a conclusion, were they trying to recruit him?
It made sense, Itachi was dead, Hidan too.
The problem was that Akatsuki still had many members, so why did Nagato suddenly decide to recruit him?
He knew he was strong, but just as there are ninjas like Afro out there, there are many other strong ninjas hidden around the world, so why go looking for him?
He couldn't say for sure, so he asked directly. -What do you want?
-Fushiguro Toji and... Afro. - Pain Deva spoke in front of the group. - New members are needed in our organization, I believe you are worthy of following me, so... submit, or die.
Toji looked at the path Deva with strange eyes, then looked at Afro, who only had an indifferent look, then looked at Deva again.
-Uh... that was quite an impressive invitation, I must say. This whole boy band vibe really adds a special touch. Do I need to dye my hair and wear contact lenses if I get in? What about my nails? What brand of nail polish do you use? I might be allergic to it, so that could be a problem. Do I need to pay for the clothes? It's like a work uniform, right? I get one for each day of the week?- Toji chattered, clearly mocking them with a serious face.
Pain 'Deva' didn't answer, he just raised his hand and pointed at them. - Shinra Tensei!