Blood pooled beneath Toji as he stood on his remaining leg, surrounded by Dragon Slug's grotesque offspring.
His severed shoulders throbbed with pain where his left arms had been torn away, while his right leg was a mangled mess of torn flesh and exposed bone.
The five-headed Dragon Slug loomed above him, all mouths twisted into identical expressions of triumph.
"YOUR ARROGANCE HAS BEEN YOUR UNDOING," Dragon Slug proclaimed, his children closing in around Toji. "THE MIGHTY FLAW OF DUSKBORN, FAVORITE OF THE GODS, REDUCED TO A CRIPPLED WRECK."
Toji's head hung low, his breathing labored. Blood dripped from his wounds, forming a growing crimson puddle at his feet.
Then, something unexpected happened.
A low chuckle emerged from Toji's throat. The sound grew steadily, building into full-blown laughter that echoed across the ruined landscape of West City.
Toji raised his remaining right hand to cover his face, his body shaking with mirth rather than pain.
"You think..." he managed between bursts of laughter, "...that I've been beaten?"
Dragon Slug's five heads exchanged confused glances. "YOUR LIMBS HAVE BEEN SEVERED. YOUR BLOOD DRAINS AWAY. EVEN YOU CANNOT SURVIVE SUCH WOUNDS."
Toji's laughter abruptly ceased. His hand dropped from his face, revealing an expression of pure contempt.
"You understand nothing about what I truly am," he stated flatly.
Without warning, brilliant white energy erupted from his severed shoulders. The energy coalesced, taking shape, forming two perfect ki construct arms where his flesh-and-blood limbs had been.
The constructs glowed with blinding intensity, each finger articulating with perfect precision as Toji flexed them experimentally.
"Fascinating," he murmured, examining his new appendages. "In some ways better than the originals."
With a casual gesture, he directed concentrated ki to his mangled right leg. The energy burned white-hot, cauterizing the wound instantly. The smell of burning flesh filled the air, yet Toji's expression showed no pain - only interest.
Dragon Slug's offspring hesitated, sensing the shift in energy.
"IMPOSSIBLE," Dragon Slug growled, his five heads snapping forward. "EVEN YOU CANNOT FIGHT BY SIMPLY REPLACING LIMBS WITH PURE ENERGY!"
"Can't I?" Toji responded, his four eyes gleaming. "You called yourself the supreme being of creation. Allow me to show you what lies beyond your narrow understanding of the word."
Without warning, Toji launched himself forward, moving so quickly that the air ignited around him. His ki-constructed left arms sliced through three of Dragon Slug's offspring before they could react, their bodies disintegrating on contact.
Toji executed a perfect spinning heel kick that decapitated two more creatures, then transitioned seamlessly into a flying knee strike that shattered another's ribcage.
His movements were no longer the playful, theatrical displays from before - now they were brutal, efficient, and devastatingly precise.
"CHILDREN!" Dragon Slug roared, creating more offspring to replace those fallen. "OVERWHELM HIM WITH NUMBERS!"
Dozens more creatures erupted from the ground, each identical to the last. They swarmed toward Toji, who met them with violence.
A reverse roundhouse kick severed limbs. A palm strike with a ki-constructed hand burned through torsos. An axe kick split skulls. Each movement flowed into the next - no energy wasted, no attack without purpose.
From the relative safety of a partially collapsed building, the Z Fighters watched in awe and horror.
"We need to help him," Gohan insisted, his young face set with determination. "He's still outnumbered!"
"Kid's right," Yamcha agreed. "We can't just stand here while he fights alone."
Piccolo's expression remained grim. "Be careful. In his current state, Toji might not distinguish between friend and foe."
The five warriors launched themselves into the battle. Krillin's Destructo Disk sliced through several of Dragon Slug's offspring.
Tien's Tri-Beam carved a path through their ranks. Yamcha's Wolf Fang Fist tore through scaled flesh.
Gohan and Piccolo fought back-to-back, defending each other while cutting down enemies.
For a brief moment, it seemed their combined efforts might turn the tide. Then Toji appeared in their midst, his expression cold.
"You're in my way," he stated flatly, before unleashing a telekinetic pulse that sent all five Z Fighters flying backward.
"What the hell, Toji?" Krillin shouted, picking himself up. "We're trying to help!"
"Help?" Toji echoed, his voice eerily calm as he decapitated another of Dragon Slug's offspring without looking. "This isn't a battle that requires help. This is an extermination."
He turned to face Dragon Slug directly, ignoring the creatures still swarming around him. "Your children die faster than you can create them. This game grows tiresome."
Dragon Slug's five heads snarled in unison. "THE DRAGON DOES NOT PLAY GAMES. THE DRAGON CONQUERS."
More offspring burst from the ground, their numbers seemingly endless. Toji cut through them mechanically, his movements becoming increasingly violent yet paradoxically more controlled.
Piccolo, observing from a distance, suddenly narrowed his eyes.
"Something's changed," he muttered, drawing Gohan's attention.
"What is it, Mr. Piccolo?" the boy asked, breathing heavily from exertion.
"His ki signature," Piccolo explained, his expression troubled. "Toji's lost his... rage. There's no anger or hate in his energy anymore."
"Isn't that good?" Krillin asked, joining them.
Piccolo shook his head slowly. "No. This is worse. He's not destroying out of anger or vengeance now. He's destroying for destruction's sake. Like he enjoys it... finds it beautiful."
Tien frowned. "How can you tell? I don't sense that."
"I've been around him longer. I can tell," Piccolo explained grimly. "And his intention now is pure destruction - not to protect, not for justice, not even for revenge. Just destruction itself."
Dragon Slug had noticed the change as well. One of his heads turned toward Toji while the others continued directing his offspring.
"YOUR ENERGY SHIFTS, ANOMALY," Dragon Slug observed. "THE RAGE THAT FUELED YOUR TRANSFORMATION... WHERE HAS IT GONE?"
Toji didn't bother responding, continuing his slaughter of Dragon Slug's children. His silence seemed to unnerve the ancient Namekian more than any retort could have.
"ANSWER THE DRAGON WHEN ADDRESSED!" Dragon Slug demanded, his offspring momentarily pausing in their attacks.
Still, Toji remained silent, his four eyes focused solely on the task of destruction. Each movement was precise, each kill efficient. No wasted energy, no theatrical displays - just the cold application of overwhelming force.
Dragon Slug's frustration mounted at being ignored. "YOU THINK YOURSELF SPECIAL? THE DRAGON HAS FACED THREATS BEYOND YOUR COMPREHENSION! THE DRAGON SURVIVED AGAINST THE FLAW OF THE JINN - THE PRIMORDIAL EVIL ITSELF!"
This finally drew Toji's attention. He paused mid-strike, his four eyes focusing on Dragon Slug.
"THE PINK DEVIL THAT NEARLY DESTROYED THE UNIVERSE!" Dragon Slug continued, seeing he had Toji's interest. "COMPARED TO THAT MONSTER, YOU ARE BUT A YOUNG TIGER, THINKING HIMSELF KING OF THE MOUNTAIN, WHILE THE DRAGON RULES THE SKIES AND EARTH, INCLUDING THE MOUNTAINS!"
Toji tilted his head slightly. "Majin Buu," he said, the name dropping like a stone into still water.
Dragon Slug's five heads recoiled in surprise. "YOU KNOW OF THE ANCIENT EVIL?"
"I don't need to. I hear him from you." Toji replied cryptically before resuming his assault on Dragon Slug's offspring.
The battle continued, but Dragon Slug's tactics shifted.
Rather than directly engaging Toji, the ancient Namekian began targeting the Z Fighters, forcing Toji to divide his attention between attacking Dragon Slug and protecting his allies.
"THE DRAGON SEES YOUR WEAKNESS," Dragon Slug taunted as one of his heads launched a beam that Toji was forced to deflect away from Krillin. "YOU KI MAY CLAIM TO CARE NOTHING FOR DESTRUCTION, BUT STILL YOU PROTECT THESE INSECTS."
Simultaneously, Dragon Slug's offspring began herding the Z Fighters into a tight circle, preventing their escape while Dragon Slug himself maintained distance from Toji, creating new children faster than they could be killed.
Toji's eyes narrowed as he assessed the situation. Dragon Slug was using the Z Fighters as shields, attacking them to force Toji into defensive positions.
Meanwhile, the offspring had formed a perimeter, ensuring the Z Fighters couldn't escape and thus would continue to serve as unwilling hostages.
"A clever strategy," Toji acknowledged, hovering above the battlefield. "But ultimately futile."
He closed all four eyes, seeming to retreat into himself. When he spoke again, his voice carried an odd resonance.
'I've been preparing for this since the first week I woke up in this world,' he thought to himself. 'I had intended to wait at least a decade before attempting it. But desperate times...'
Dragon Slug sensed the shift in Toji's energy and paused his attacks, all five heads watching warily.
"WHAT NEW TRICK DO YOU ATTEMPT?" the ancient Namekian demanded.
Toji's eyes snapped open, all four blazing. "Not a trick. An inevitability."
His aura began to change, the white energy darkening at the edges. His expression shifted, becoming more savage, more primal.
'Pride,' he whispered in his mind, the word carrying unexpected weight. 'Aggression. Chaos.'
With each word, his aura darkened further. The Z Fighters felt the change in pressure, the air becoming heavy around them.
"WHAT IS THIS?" Dragon Slug demanded, his offspring backing away instinctively.
"Destruction," Toji answered simply.
For an instant, his aura flickered completely black before returning to its normal white. Then it happened again - a pulse of darkness that came and went.
With each flicker, the ground beneath him cracked further, reality itself seeming to protest the energy he was channeling.
Piccolo's eyes widened in shock. "Everyone back!" he shouted to the other Z Fighters. "NOW!"
They retreated just as Toji's aura flickered black once more, this time maintaining the darkness for several seconds before returning to white.
"What's happening to him?" Gohan asked, his voice trembling.
"I don't know," Piccolo admitted. "But whatever it is, it's not natural. It feels... wrong."
Toji continued his internal struggle, pushing himself deeper into the mindset of pure destruction. Each time his aura flickered black, it stayed dark longer before reverting.
Dragon Slug began to retreat, all five heads weaving nervously. "THE DRAGON RECOGNIZES THIS ENERGY," he hissed. "THIS IS NOT POSSIBLE FOR A MORTAL!"
Toji didn't respond, his concentration absolute as he focused on a single concept: destruction in its purest form.
Not destruction as a means to an end, not destruction in service to creation, but destruction as an absolute - the final state of all things.
With a sound like reality tearing, a pillar of black ki erupted from Toji, shooting straight into the sky. The darkness pierced the clouds, creating a column of void that seemed to connect earth and heaven.
---------------------
On a distant planet, surrounded by floating trees and strange architecture, a blue-skinned figure paused in his meal preparation.
Whis, attendant to the God of Destruction, slightly gasped in surprise as he sensed the distant energy.
"My, my," he murmured, turning his gaze toward a specific point in the cosmos. "How interesting. A mortal attempting to channel destruction energy without divine ki."
He tapped his staff lightly on the ground, creating a viewing portal that showed Toji surrounded by black energy.
"I should perhaps inform Lord Beerus," Whis mused, then glanced at the sleeping purple cat-like deity nearby. "Although... he's been napping for only forty-seven years. He does get so grumpy when woken early."
Whis continued watching through his portal, his expression curious rather than concerned.
"Let's see how this plays out, shall we?"
----------------------
Back on Earth, Toji stared at his hands - two flesh, two constructed of ki - as black energy coursed around them.
He could feel the price his body was paying for this power: blood vessels bursting beneath his skin, blood boiling in his veins, muscles tearing themselves.
'So this is the cost,' he murmured internally, oddly detached from the pain. 'A mortal trying to use the power of a destroyer without divine ki.'
Dragon Slug backed away, all five heads hissing in alarm. Every instinct screamed at the ancient Namekian to flee, to escape while he still could.
"WHAT HAVE YOU BECOME?" Dragon Slug demanded, his offspring clustering protectively around him.
"What I always was," Toji replied, his voice eerily calm. "Just more honest about it."
He moved with impossible speed, appearing directly before Dragon Slug. Before the ancient Namekian could react, Toji reached out with his flesh-and-blood right hand and touched Dragon Slug's central head.
The effect was immediate and horrifying. Where Toji's hand made contact, Dragon Slug's flesh began to disintegrate - not burning or melting, but simply ceasing to exist.
Dragon Slug roared in agony, all five heads thrashing as the destruction energy spread through his body faster than he could regenerate. "IMPOSSIBLE! THE DRAGON CANNOT BE DESTROYED BY MORTAL HANDS!"
"I'm not feeling particularly mortal at the moment," Toji replied, his voice devoid of emotion as black energy continued to flow from his hand into Dragon Slug's body.
The ancient Namekian's offspring rushed forward, trying to save their progenitor.
The black energy responded, extending like grasping hands from the central mass surrounding Toji and Dragon Slug.
These tendrils of darkness seized each creature, pulling them inexorably toward the vortex of destruction.
"NO! NO!" Dragon Slug's voice became increasingly desperate as his body continued to disintegrate. "THE DRAGON IS SUPREME! THE DRAGON CANNOT-"
His words were cut off as the black energy completely enveloped him. For a moment, the entire battlefield was consumed by darkness, the only light coming from Toji's four eyes glowing within the void.
Then, with a sound like thunder, the black energy collapsed inward before exploding outward in a controlled sphere. When the darkness cleared, nothing remained of Dragon Slug or his offspring - not even ash.
In the center of a perfectly circular crater stood Toji, his form changed once more. The extra eyes and arms were gone, the black markings faded. He had returned to his original height of 6'2", with only his right arm remaining of his original limbs.
The Z Fighters approached cautiously, unsure what to expect after the display of power they had just witnessed.
Toji gaze was focused on the sky. 'They're not erased,' he thought to himself. 'That wasn't really Ultra Ego or Hakai. Just... my attempt to understand the principle. To see how that mental state affects normal ki.'
"Toji?" Krillin called uncertainly. "Are you... you again?"
A weak smile crossed Toji's face as he turned towards them. "Yeah. Sorry about that. The transformation... it went to my head. I put you all in danger because I was high on power."
He took a shaky step forward, then stumbled. Piccolo moved quickly, catching him before he could fall.
"Thank you," Toji murmured, "Tell Megumi... tell him..."
His voice trailed off as his eyes closed, his body going limp in Piccolo's arms.
"Toji!" Gohan called, rushing forward. "Mr. Toji!"
The other Z Fighters gathered around their fallen comrade, their voices calling his name fading into silence as darkness claimed him completely.
--------------------------
(Author note: Hello everyone! I hope you all enjoyed the chapter.
Do tell me how you found it.
Yeah, Toji tried to see what such a mental state would do to normal Ki, well, it just made it more destructive, but no Hakai, no erasure, none of the benefits of Ultra Ego.
His body literally was being destroyed from within since without the calm of 'God' Ki, his Destructive Ki began attacking his own body.
Don't expect him to ever use it again. This was more... Baby steps for his desire.
Yep, Toji's plan has always been to become a Destroyer, or at least a candidate. It's why he told Slug, he was being honest about who he was.
I hope it wasn't too out of the blue. I tried foreshadowing it a bit with his philosophy, and then with his desire to increase the mortal level, etc.
Well, I hope to see you all later,
Bye!)