The Rinne Rebirth , born from the Mangekyō Sharingan facilitated by an infinite chakra and enormous life energy , resonated at its peak into one flawless, complete technique.
In that instant, the chakra and ocular power within Kagetsu were devoured at a terrifying rate. Veins bulged along his temples as he bore the crushing strain, his jaw clenched tight against the backlash.
Naraku's condition was even worse.
The forbidden art siphoned away his life force without mercy. His long, jet-black hair bleached to gray before the naked eye. His once-robust body withered like a tree drained of sap, shriveling and hollowing out. Deep wrinkles carved themselves into his face.
"Six Paths level forbidden technique… it truly lives up to its name," Kagetsu muttered, clicking his tongue. "Even a daiyōkai's life force can't withstand it."
Demons were nothing like humans with their fleeting century of life. Many lived hundreds,some even thousands,of years. Longevity did not equal vitality, but compared to mortals, a demon's life force was undeniably vast.
And yet Naraku had been reduced to this.
That alone proved how monstrous the price of reversing life and death truly was.
The agony of his life force being torn away, combined with the collapse of the Sharingan genjutsu as Kagetsu's ocular power neared depletion, jolted Naraku awake.
At the same time, his dwindling chakra could no longer sustain the Self-Cursing Seal. The black curse marks coating Naraku's body receded like an ebbing tide.
Freed from the seal's restraint, Naraku collapsed onto the ground, gasping weakly.
But by then, the Rinne rebirth had already been completed. Kagetsu paid him no mind, concentrating solely on stabilizing the technique's final stage.
",Aaaagh!!"
Naraku's scream tore through the night, hoarse and raw.
"You… what have you done to me?!"
He could feel it,his life spilling out of him like water from a shattered dam. Seeing his own body age and decay, terror and fury twisted across his face as he glared at Kagetsu.
He tried to summon demonic aura and miasma to escape,
Only to discover, in horror, that both were being forcibly refined into pure life energy and siphoned away, leaving nothing behind.
At that moment, a hazy white radiance enveloped both Kagetsu and Kikyo.
A miracle was unfolding.
Kagetsu's Edo Tensei body began dissolving at visible speed, the dust and ash dispersing like sand in the wind. In its place, living flesh regenerated,firm, warm, pulsing with vitality. Blood coursed anew through real veins. The cold stillness of the dead vanished, replaced by the heavy, undeniable presence of the living.
On Kikyo's side, faint cracking sounds echoed.
Fine fractures spread across her clay vessel. Then,
With a soft shattering burst, her artificial body broke apart, scattering into countless motes of light that drifted away like fireflies.
When the glow faded, what remained was a truly living body.
Her skin was pale and delicate, carrying the warmth and luster only the living possessed. No longer the cold clay construct sustained by borrowed souls.
Her miko robes had always been real garments. Now, resting upon a body restored to life, they remained intact and pristine.
As for Kagetsu,his Edo Tensei form had included even its clothing as part of the jutsu's manifestation. With his resurrection complete, the technique's residual power reshaped a set of armour upon him, identical in style he wore in the last ninja war. Even the Uchiha fan crest adorned his back, sparing him any awkwardness upon revival.
With Kikyo restored, the barrier she had maintained lost its spiritual anchor and dissolved into drifting sparks of light.
Outside, Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku, Sango, and Shippō stood frozen.
No one dared move.
"They… they really came back…" Shippō stammered, eyes wide as he sensed the unmistakable aura of the living radiating from them.
"…Kikyo," Inuyasha breathed, staring at her as though afraid she would vanish. His heightened senses caught her scent instantly,the same scent he remembered from fifty years ago.
It was unmistakable.
"How… how is this possible?" Miroku murmured. "To return the dead to life…"
Kagome stood speechless. Someone long deceased,restored. Her modern understanding of life and death had been overturned in an instant.
Sango, however, felt something different.
Hope.
Her gaze locked onto Kagetsu.
If he could do this…
If he could truly bring back the dead…
Then could Kohaku,
Her heart trembled.
She had watched carefully. She knew who had performed the technique.
For the moment, no one spared Naraku a glance.
Kagetsu slowly clenched his fist.
The sensation of solid flesh. The pulse of blood beneath the skin. The sheer density of chakra flowing through him.
An indescribable exhilaration surged in his chest.
He had broken free from the shell of dust and ash.
He was alive.
Drawing in a slow breath, he savored the cool night air filling his lungs. The simple act of breathing felt intoxicating.
Almost instinctively, he activated his Sharingan.
Crimson light flared in his eyes,the Mangekyō pattern spinning into existence.
He blinked in surprise.
His chakra was abundant. His ocular power,full. Complete. Even stronger than before.
"I didn't expect this," he murmured. "Not only is my chakra fully restored… even the strain on my Mangekyō is gone."
Moments earlier, forcing the Rinne rebirth had drained him dry. His Mangekyō had even regressed to a three-tomoe Sharingan. He had assumed months of recovery awaited him.
Yet this new body surpassed the old.
His gaze shifted toward Naraku, now lying on the ground,white-haired, shriveled, barely clinging to life.
A thought crossed his mind.
Had Naraku's excess life force been absorbed in the process?
A daiyōkai is reduced to this state… it couldn't be unrelated.
"You're tougher than I expected," Kagetsu said lightly, stepping forward and looking down at him. "Still breathing after all that."
Naraku could barely respond. His body trembled, hatred and venom burning in his sunken eyes as he stared at Kagetsu.
Soft footsteps approached.
Kikyo came to stand beside Kagetsu.
She looked down at her hands, feeling the steady flow of spiritual power within her,a power rooted in true life. Relief softened her expression. A faint, serene smile touched her lips.
"Kikyo," Kagetsu asked, glancing at her, "how does it feel?"
"It feels… right." She lifted her gaze to him. Clear. Calm. "Thank you."
Her gratitude was simple and sincere.
He grinned, tilting his head toward Naraku. "No need. He paid the price. We're merely the beneficiaries."
"…Kikyo!"
Inuyasha finally moved.
He stepped forward cautiously, voice unsteady, eyes filled with a storm of emotions,joy, guilt, longing.
"…Inuyasha."
At the sound of his voice, Kikyo turned to him. Her expression was composed, yet layered with feelings too complex to unravel.
Her gaze shifted briefly to Kagome behind him.
She inclined her head slightly,a quiet acknowledgment.
Then her eyes returned to Naraku.
A cold glint flickered within them.
Satisfaction.