As Kagetsu watched the direction Sesshomaru had disappeared, lost in thought, his expression suddenly sharpened.
His gaze snapped toward a shadowed corner of the battlefield.
Several wasp-like Mōryōmaru were skittering low across the ground, their hooked claws clutching something that glimmered faintly in the firelight,a shard of the Shikon Jewel. They were clearly trying to slip away unnoticed.
It was the shard embedded in the human arm Naraku had given Sesshomaru. When Sesshomaru transformed into his true form, the unstable demonic power had torn the arm free, and it had fallen amid the chaos.
Naraku was reclaiming his property.
"Tch."
"Wind Release: Wind Blade!"
Kagetsu flicked his hand.
A razor-thin arc of compressed wind sliced through the air. Before the Mōryōmaru could react, the blade carved cleanly through them, severing their bodies mid-flight.
The shard slipped from their claws with a faint, crystalline ting as it struck the ground.
"Ah! A shard of the Shikon Jewel!" Kagome exclaimed.
She hurried over and picked it up.
But instead of placing it into the small glass bottle she carried, she turned and ran back to Kagetsu, holding it out with both hands.
"Kagetsu, here!"
"Kagome" Inuyasha began instinctively, but he stopped himself.
He knew the truth.
If Kagetsu hadn't stepped in tonight, none of them would have survived Sesshomaru's assault. By rights, the shard belonged to him.
Kagetsu merely waved a hand dismissively. His senses, still heightened in Sage Mode, stretched across the surrounding forest. Within a few kilometers, everything lay within his perception.
And not far away,
A mass of chaotic, tangled demonic aura.
Naraku.
But Kagetsu had no intention of moving.
First, Naraku was like a sewer rat,his personal combat strength wasn't top-tier, but his ability to hide was unparalleled. What he sensed was likely nothing more than a puppet body.
Second, Naraku was the perfect whetstone for Inuyasha and the others.
Killing him now would only rob them of their necessary trial.
"You keep it," Kagetsu said calmly. "It was 'kindly' delivered by a 'well-wisher.' Might as well make good use of it."
"Well-wisher?" Kagome echoed as she carefully sealed the shard inside her bottle. "Who?"
"The one who gave Sesshomaru that arm. Naraku."
"Naraku?!" Miroku stiffened instantly. Having taken the antidote Kagome gave him, his complexion had improved, but the name alone darkened his expression.
"Where is he?!" Inuyasha demanded, storming up to Kagetsu. His eyes burned with killing intent.
"I sensed his demonic aura over there just now." Kagetsu pointed deeper into the forest. "But it's already disappeared."
Inuyasha immediately tensed to dash off,
Only for Kagetsu to grab him by the shoulder.
"If you want to find him," Kagetsu continued evenly, "it's actually very simple."
All three of them turned toward him at once.
"You have a way?" Inuyasha's eyes lit up.
"It's obvious," Kagetsu replied . "You've been collecting Shikon shards. Naraku just tried to take this one back. That means he's searching for them too."
Kagome nodded slowly, understanding dawning. "So as long as we keep collecting the shards… we're bound to cross paths with him."
"That's what I've believe as well," Miroku said quietly. Then his hand drifted unconsciously to the Wind Tunnel sealed in his palm. "But… time may not be on my side."
The curse Naraku had placed upon him could swallow him whole at any moment.
"Don't worry," Kagetsu said firmly. "It won't take long."
"The Shikon Jewel has been shattered for quite some time now. Naraku may be impatient,but the jewel itself is even more so. It won't tolerate remaining broken forever. It will drive him to gather the shards."
"The jewel… driving Naraku?" Kagome asked, stunned.
"Yes." Kagetsu's tone turned cold. "That mess of demonic aura I sensed,his power is already intertwined with the Shikon Jewel's. He thinks he's using it. In truth, it's been influencing him all along."
He gave a derisive snort.
"Greedy fool."
"But… isn't the Shikon Jewel supposed to grant any wish?" Inuyasha frowned. He had clung to that legend for years.
"You actually believe that fairy tale?" Kagetsu looked at him like he'd just announced the sky was green. "You really think it can grant your wish?"
"For hundreds of years, that's what people have said!" Inuyasha shot back stubbornly.
"Use your head," Kagetsu said flatly.
"If it could truly grant any wish, it wouldn't still be floating around after all these centuries. You think powerful daiyōkai and ambitious warlords wouldn't have fought to the death over it already?"
His voice sharpened.
"And if it were that simple, would it still be left for a half-demon like you, a reincarnated shrine maiden, and a wandering monk to collect?"
Inuyasha faltered.
"And let's talk about something closer to home," Kagetsu continued mercilessly. "Your father ruled the Western Lands. Sesshomaru's mother is still alive. If the jewel could really grant any wish, don't you think she would've used it to resurrect Inu no Taishō?"
Silence fell.
Inuyasha opened his mouth,
,and closed it again.
For the first time, the flaw in the legend stood plainly before him.
"That said," Kagetsu added after a moment, his tone easing slightly, "it's not entirely a Kagetsu. It can 'grant wishes.' Just not in the way you imagine."
"What do you mean?" Kagome asked immediately.
Kagetsu turned to Inuyasha instead.
"What wish would you make?"
Inuyasha hesitated. Kagome's eyes were gentle, encouraging.
"…I want to become a full demon," he admitted quietly.
"Then yes," Kagetsu said calmly. "It can grant that."
Inuyasha's eyes widened.
"The jewel could merge with you. Forcefully awaken your demonic blood. Strip away your human half."
His voice grew colder.
"But the price would be your reason. Your will. You'd be consumed by its malice,reduced to a monster that exists only to slaughter."
Kagome's face went pale. She instinctively grabbed Inuyasha's sleeve.
"But in a twisted sense," Miroku murmured grimly, "that would still be granting the wish."
"Exactly."
"The Shikon Jewel is not some benevolent treasure," Kagetsu continued. "It's a vessel of corruption. That's why Kikyo had to purify it constantly,and why she chose to take it with her into death."
His eyes narrowed.
"Naraku is already being warped by it. He'll only grow more unstable from here. You won't need to chase him forever. He'll come to you."
Inuyasha stood silent, head lowered.
Conflicted. Unwilling. Shaken.
Kagetsu studied him for a moment before speaking again.
"You know something interesting?" he said. "Your brother Sesshomaru despises the Shikon Jewel."
Inuyasha looked up.
"He craves strength. He's tried repeatedly to take Tessaiga from you. But he has no interest in relying on that jewel."
Kagetsu's voice grew more serious.
"Inuyasha. The demon blood in you,that's your father's gift."
He stepped closer.
"The human blood in you,that's your mother's legacy."
Inuyasha froze.
"When you obsess over becoming a full demon," Kagetsu continued quietly, "you're not just chasing power. You're denying the very part of you your mother left behind."
The words struck like thunder.
"Human blood… is my mother's legacy…"
Inuyasha's hand slowly rose to his chest.
Beneath his palm, his heart beat steadily.
That blood,warm, fragile, human,
It carried his mother's gentleness. Her love. Her sacrifice.
All this time, he had viewed his half-demon nature as a curse.
He had never once considered that the human half he wanted to cast aside was the most precious thing she had given him.
For the first time,
Inuyasha felt ashamed.