"That 'sage' isn't here?" Kikyo asked, scanning the room. Aside from the three small demons she had just shot down, there was no one else inside.
"Yeah." Kagetsu didn't even look back as he rummaged through the ceramic jars and wooden boxes scattered around the room. "I've already checked the surroundings. There's someone with a strange aura near that man-faced fruit tree we saw earlier,not here."
He replaced the lid on a ceramic jar filled with human-faced fruit and continued searching.
"Let's hurry and see if there are any manuals or something similar. After that, we'll go deal with that so-called 'sage.' That guy is definitely bad news."
"The opponent is a 'sage.' Are you sure about this?" Kikyo asked, a trace of concern creeping into her voice at his casual tone.
Kagetsu finished sealing the jar and turned toward her. A confident smile curved across his lips.
"Relax. I already have a rough idea of who that guy is. His strength isn't anything special."
Seeing him return to his usual arrogant confidence, Kikyo felt a bit reassured.
She knew that if Kagetsu said something like that, it meant he was completely certain of victory.
Truthfully, even Kagetsu had initially been fooled by the Peach-Fruit Person's performance in the original story.
When that creature first appeared, it had looked incredibly powerful. Inuyasha's Tessaiga couldn't damage its body at all. It even withstood the Wind Scar without injury and had easily sucked Inuyasha into its gourd.
Because of that, Kagetsu had cautiously sent a Shadow Clone to investigate.
But after discovering that the shrinking spell had clear limitations,and sensing that the two auras near the demon tree weren't particularly strong,he understood the truth almost immediately.
The Peach-Fruit Person had only managed to trouble Inuyasha's group because they happened to encounter him on the night of the new moon, when Inuyasha temporarily lost his demonic power. At that time, his strength had already dropped to its lowest point.
Without the Tessaiga, the faint remnants of his demonic energy couldn't even awaken the demon blood within him.
Yet once dawn arrived, even though the Peach-Fruit Person was strengthened by the man-faced fruit tree and possessed three shards of the Shikon Jewel, Inuyasha had still cut him down with a single Wind Scar.
After searching the building from top to bottom, the two of them found nothing valuable.
Aside from numerous ceramic jars and pots filled with human-faced fruits soaking in liquid, there was nothing of interest.
"It seems there are no spell manuals or treasures belonging to that 'sage,'" Kikyo said softly, glancing at Kagetsu.
"I'm done searching." Kagetsu let out a sigh, clearly disappointed. "I thought we might find some legendary sage techniques or something. Looks like that was wishful thinking."
He stood up and stretched his shoulders.
"Forget it. Let's just go ask him directly."
Kikyo tightened her grip on her bow and nodded solemnly.
Next, they would be facing the so-called "sage."
The two of them left the building together and headed toward the man-faced fruit tree Kagetsu had sensed earlier.
Soon, the tree came into view.
A lush peach tree stood at the edge of a cliff, its branches heavy with plump, crimson fruit. At first glance, it looked like a perfectly ordinary fruit tree.
But the thick demonic aura pouring from it revealed its true nature.
This was the man-faced fruit tree,a demon tree that grew by feeding on human lives.
"Such a powerful demonic aura…" Kikyo frowned and instinctively drew her bow, a demon-slaying arrow already nocked. "This must be the tree."
"Wait."
Kagetsu reached out and pressed her wrist down.
"That thing isn't going anywhere. Let's deal with the 'sage' first. We can come back and destroy the tree afterward."
Kikyo glanced at him, then slowly lowered her bow.
Without another word, she followed him toward the demon tree.
"Oh?"
As soon as they approached, a voice rang out.
"Someone actually managed to break in?"
Neither Kagetsu nor Kikyo had bothered to hide their presence. Beneath the man-faced fruit tree sat a portly figure, who now slowly rose to his feet.
It was the Peach-Fruit Person who had eaten the human-faced fruit.
Before either of them could speak, the creature's gaze suddenly fell on Kikyo.
His eyes lit up instantly.
"A woman?" he exclaimed, revealing a mouth full of jagged fangs as a greedy grin spread across his face. "What luck! A woman actually came to my doorstep!"
He licked his lips.
"The human-faced fruit loves women the most,especially young ones!"
Completely ignoring Kagetsu's presence, he waddled forward, his heavy body thudding against the ground with every step.
His fan-like hands reached straight toward Kikyo, clearly intending to seize her and feed her to the demon tree.
Seeing him completely disregard his existence,and openly target Kikyo,
A cold glint flashed through Kagetsu's eyes.
A sneer tugged at the corner of his mouth.
Sage Mode chakra suddenly burst beneath his feet.
His figure flickered.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared in front of the Peach-Fruit Person like a ghost.
His right hand shot out and grabbed the creature's head.
"Get down."
With a savage grin, Kagetsu slammed him downward.
BOOM!
With a deafening crash, the Peach-Fruit Person's head was driven straight into the ground.
The earth shattered instantly.
Stone fragments flew everywhere as his fat body sank deep into the cracked rock, dust erupting into the air.
"You arrogant pig," Kagetsu said coldly.
He grabbed the creature by the hair and yanked him back up from the rubble, revealing a bloodied and miserable face.
Kikyo lowered her bow and watched quietly.
Although there was almost no obvious demonic aura around this man, the thick scent of death and blood clinging to him made it obvious he had slaughtered countless people.
Her gaze suddenly sharpened.
"He has a shard of the Shikon Jewel," she said. "In his abdomen."
"What kind of demon are you," the Peach-Fruit Person roared through the pain, "to dare attack this sage?!"
His eyes filled with fury.
Ignoring the tearing pain in his scalp, he reached for a gourd hanging at his waist.
He bit off the stopper and pointed it toward Kagetsu with a vicious grin.
"Get inside the gourd!"
A powerful suction burst from the mouth of the gourd.
At the same time, that strange energy Kagetsu had sensed earlier enveloped him once again.
The shrinking spell.
But Kagetsu didn't even bother to dodge.
He simply stood there, watching with a cold smile.
Feeling the spell again, he couldn't help but think how unlucky Inuyasha had been.
The mutt had encountered this creature on the night of the new moon, when his demonic power had vanished completely.
If his demonic energy had been intact, he could have broken free from the spell with brute force alone.
In the original battle, although Inuyasha himself had been shrunk by the spell, the Tessaiga in his hand hadn't changed size at all.
Clearly, magic like this had no effect on a weapon of Tessaiga's caliber.
"W-What?!"
Seeing that Kagetsu remained completely unchanged, the Peach-Fruit Person's grin froze.
His eyes widened in disbelief.
"Why didn't you shrink?!"
"You're far too weak," Kagetsu said with a mocking snort. "Just another piece of trash."
His left hand flashed forward, snatching the gourd away and tossing it aside.
Then he grabbed the Peach-Fruit Person by the throat.
With a sudden burst of strength, he lifted the fat man into the air,
,and slammed him back-first into the ground.
BOOM!
The earth exploded again.
A larger crater formed as dust billowed into the sky.
The Peach-Fruit Person lay sprawled in the pit.
But Kagetsu had no intention of stopping.
Sage Mode chakra gathered at the soles of his feet as he raised his leg and stomped down hard onto the creature's abdomen.
The impact sent a violent shockwave through the ground.
The earth collapsed further beneath the Peach-Fruit Person, spiderweb cracks spreading in every direction.
"Gah,!"
Even with the reinforcement of the Shikon Jewel shard strengthening his body, the Peach-Fruit Person couldn't withstand the terrifying power of Sage Mode.
He coughed up a large mouthful of blood, staining his chest red.
Kagetsu looked down at him coldly.
To be fair, all that fat did provide some protection. Even after taking several brutal hits,combined with the power of the Shikon Jewel,he still hadn't died or lost consciousness.
Without another word, Kagetsu reached toward the shard of the Shikon Jewel embedded in the Peach-Fruit Person's abdomen.
He intended to rip it out directly.