Silence lingered in the treehouse. Even the wind outside seemed to quiet, brushing gently through the leaves.
Kagetsu glanced at Kikyo, who sat beside him with her head lowered, lost in lingering sorrow.
He broke the silence first.
"Do you want to be restored to life?"
His tone was calm, direct.
"If you do, we can do it together. The Reincarnation method can revive more than one person at a time. It just requires additional sacrifices. Aside from that, it's not difficult."
"Sacrifices?" Kikyo looked up sharply, vigilance flashing in her eyes. "What kind of sacrifices?"
"Any living being will do."
He spoke as though discussing the weather.
"Reversing life and death always comes at a cost. You have to seize vitality from somewhere. But don't worry,I've already thought about it. There are plenty of worthless demons in these forests. Catching a few would be more than enough."
Kikyo considered this, then nodded faintly.
As a priestess who had fought demons her entire life, she felt no hesitation over their fate. To guard the Shikon Jewel, she had already purified countless yōkai without remorse.
"When would you begin?" she asked. "What would I need to do?"
"I can perform it anytime."
He shifted the topic abruptly and studied her with a more serious expression.
"But there's a problem. The soul power inside you is too thin. Your strength hasn't recovered. Right now, you're being sustained almost entirely by resentment."
"Even if I restore you as you are, you might fall into a coma. You'll need to rebuild your soul to a certain level first."
"My soul…"
Kikyo's voice softened.
"My true soul has already been reincarnated. It lives within Kagome now. The only reason I can remain here is because the resentment I carried at death binds this fragment of my soul to this body."
After a brief pause, determination flickered in her eyes.
"I will gather spirit-souls more quickly and restore my power."
"Collecting wandering souls one by one?" Kagetsu frowned slightly. "That's inefficient."
He lifted a hand to his chin in thought.
Then his eyes shifted.
Scarlet bled into his irises,the Sharingan spinning slowly to life.
His gaze was fixed directly on Kikyo.
She felt the weight of that piercing stare, as though he could see through her completely,but she did not move away.
She simply allowed him to observe.
Though the Sharingan lacked the precise tenketsu perception of the Byakugan, it was highly sensitive to fluctuations of energy.
Within his vision, Kikyo's body appeared filled with condensed soul energy,glowing threads woven throughout her form.
Yet beneath the surface, there was nothing.
No meridians.
No chakra pathways.
Or circulatory network as a living body should possess.
It was an empty vessel,hollow clay animated purely by spiritual force.
Eerie.
And astonishing.
"The one who created this body…" Kagetsu murmured. "I'd really like to meet her."
He shook his head in admiration.
"This craftsmanship is absurd. It's even more outrageous than a Shadow Clone."
A Shadow Clone was formed of chakra, but under Sharingan scrutiny, its internal structure mirrored the original,meridians and energy pathways intact.
Kikyo's body, however, moved entirely on soul energy alone.
It defied everything he understood.
Being studied so intently made Kikyo slightly uncomfortable. She instinctively raised a hand to cover her chest.
"What exactly are you looking at?"
"I'm observing how your soul energy sustains the body." He deactivated his Sharingan, though wonder still lingered in his tone. "It's practically a miracle."
"And your undying Edo Tensei body isn't?" she replied coolly.
"That's different. Mine is maintained by chakra,"
He cut off mid-sentence.
His eyes widened.
A sudden spark of realization lit his expression. He slapped his fist into his palm.
"That's it."
He looked at her, excitement rising.
"I might know how to fix your problem."
Kikyo's gaze sharpened instantly.
"How?"
"I'll try transferring some of my chakra into you. It might replace the need for wandering souls,at least temporarily,and strengthen your fragment of soul."
"Chakra?" she asked, unfamiliar with the term.
"It's energy," he explained simply. "Similar to spiritual power for a priestess,or demonic aura for a yōkai. For shinobi, it's the foundation of all techniques."
He knew well that chakra was a fusion of physical energy and spiritual energy. It contained both vitality and soul.
It could create autonomous clones like the Shadow Clone Technique.
It could even linger after death, as Minato's residual chakra once had.
If anything could supplement Kikyo's fragmented soul,
Chakra might.
"Let's try it," he said, standing.
Kikyo rose as well.
"What should I do?"
"For now, we'll test whether my chakra has any effect on you."
He briefly considered sealing chakra directly into her body,but abandoned the idea.
Oni-Kijo had already perished. If something went wrong with this clay vessel, there would be no repairing it.
"Give me your hand."
Without hesitation, Kikyo extended it.
Kagetsu clasped her palm.
It was cool,but unexpectedly soft.
Not brittle. Not stiff like fired clay.
It felt almost indistinguishable from living flesh.
Whatever method had been used to reconstruct her… it was extraordinary.
He pushed the thought aside and focused.
Chakra gathered within him,flowing down his arm and into his hand.
Slowly, carefully, he guided it into Kikyo's body.
"hmm,"
The moment it entered her, Kikyo hummed softly.
Her eyes widened.
This energy was entirely different from the cold, hollow sensation of borrowed souls.
It was warm.
Vibrant.
Like sunlight in winter.
The chill that lingered deep within her body began to melt. Even the faint fragment of her soul felt as though it were expanding,stabilizing,strengthening.
She stared at him, astonishment clear in her eyes.
It was difficult to believe that such life-filled power came from someone technically dead.
"How is it?" he asked, watching her expression carefully. "Does it work?"
"Yes."
There was no hesitation in her answer.
Her voice carried unmistakable relief.
"The soul energy within me is growing stronger… and it's warm. My spirit feels steadier."
Kagetsu considered that.
His chakra carried both Yin and Yang attributes,the spiritual power of the Sharingan and the vitality of Hashirama's cells.
Enhancing both body and soul simultaneously was only natural.
A faint smile tugged at his lips.
Maybe this would be simpler than he'd thought.