At this moment, the entire pagoda was enveloped by a demonic aura soaring into the sky, and the ground trembled slightly.
"That demon is about to emerge."
Kikyo gripped her longbow tightly and turned to Kagetsu.
"I'll leave the frontal assault to you; I'll provide support."
"Mm."
Kagetsu nodded.
Just as he was about to activate his Mangekyō Sharingan, his eyes flickered and a sly smile curled at the corner of his mouth.
He turned to Kikyo.
"I'll find a helper for this fight."
Before Kikyo could react, he bit his thumb, smeared blood across his palm, and quickly formed hand seals before slamming his hand onto the ground.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
A black summoning circle instantly expanded across the earth.
With a poof, white smoke burst outward as a petite figure appeared within it.
"Kagetsu, why did you call me?"
Natsume's crisp voice rang out before the smoke had even cleared, her tone full of curiosity.
"I was worried you'd be bored, so I found you an opponent," Kagetsu said with a smile, tilting his chin forward.
"Help me fight a battle."
Natsume blinked and first looked toward Kikyo.
Tilting her head, she asked,
"Who's the opponent? This priestess?"
"No."
Kagetsu pointed toward Kikyo.
"By the way, let me introduce you. This is Kikyo, the priestess I mentioned before."
Then he turned to Kikyo.
"This is Natsume, a cat demon from the Leopard Cat Clan. She's the demon I told you about,the one who signed a Summoning Contract with me."
"Hello. I am Kikyo."
Kikyo carefully observed the young girl before her.
She looked only about ten years old, clearly still a child who hadn't grown up yet.
Thinking she posed no threat, Kikyo relaxed and greeted her politely.
"Oh, hello. I'm Natsume."
She smiled brightly.
But the next second, as if remembering something, her eyes widened.
She turned toward Kagetsu in shock.
"Wait! She's the priestess Kikyo who guarded the Shikon Jewel fifty years ago?"
"Didn't you say she was dead?!"
"She died once."
Kagetsu spoke calmly.
"Now she's been resurrected."
Then he raised a hand and tapped his chest.
"Didn't you notice anything different about me?"
"Different?"
Natsume stepped closer and stared carefully at him.
Then she leaned in and sniffed.
Suddenly she gasped.
"The smell of death you had before is gone!"
"You're a real living person now!"
"Exactly."
Kagetsu felt slightly proud seeing her finally notice, though his expression remained calm.
"I used some methods to resurrect myself."
"Really resurrected?"
Natsume stared at him in disbelief.
Then she frowned.
"There won't be any danger, right? You said using the Shikon Jewel for resurrection is risky."
"There were some costs."
Kagetsu smiled.
"But a kind person helped bear them."
"That's great!"
Natsume immediately beamed.
"Kagetsu, congratulations!"
"And thanks to that kind person too!"
Hearing that, a faint smile tugged at Kikyo's lips.
She nodded slightly.
"Indeed. That kind person deserves thanks."
Natsume then glanced at Tsubaki nearby, puzzled.
"So who exactly is the opponent?"
"It can't be this white-haired woman, right?"
"BOOM,!"
Before she could finish, a deafening explosion erupted.
The Precious Pagoda collapsed with a thunderous crash.
Amid flying debris, a massive red demon claw suddenly tore through the ground.
A muscular arm followed.
Then a monstrous head with jagged fangs and two hideous horns emerged.
Crimson eyes scanned the surroundings.
"Your opponent is out," Kagetsu said calmly, pointing.
"It's that demon."
Natsume slowly turned her head.
She looked at the demon claw several times larger than herself.
Then she looked up at the towering monster nearly ten meters tall, its body radiating terrifying demonic energy.
Her fur instantly stood on end.
"I… I'm supposed to beat that?"
"You called me here to fight that giant thing?!"
"That's right."
Kagetsu nodded seriously.
"It was just released from the seal."
"Don't worry. Just beat it up."
"Capture it alive."
"Capture it alive?!"
Natsume suddenly lunged at him, claws nearly scratching his face.
"Are you insane?!"
"When we signed the contract you didn't say anything about a suicide mission!"
"That thing could swat me dead with one slap!"
Kagetsu calmly grabbed the back of her collar and lifted her into the air.
Watching her flail helplessly, he sighed.
"Relax. I'll help you."
"I guarantee you won't lose even a single hair."
"Really?"
Natsume stopped struggling and looked at him suspiciously.
"Trust me."
He patted his chest.
"If I lie, I'm a puppy."
"ROAR,!!"
At that moment the evil demon, now completely free from its seal, locked onto them.
"How dare you steal from me!"
"Unforgivable!"
"Die,ALL OF YOU!"
With a furious roar, it charged forward.
Each step cracked the earth beneath its feet.
"Natsume!"
Kagetsu shouted.
"Transform into your leopard cat form!"
Then he threw her directly toward the demon.
"Kagetsu!"
"If you lie to me I'll never talk to you again!"
Natsume screamed as she flew through the air.
Her demonic aura exploded outward.
Her eyes turned crimson.
Her small body rapidly stretched and expanded.
In the blink of an eye, she transformed into a giant leopard cat, red with black spots, nearly the same size as the demon.
"AWOO,!!"
With a thunderous roar, the leopard cat kicked off the ground and pounced.
At the same time,
Kagetsu flickered.
He instantly appeared standing atop her head.
Seeing him there, Natsume felt slightly reassured.
Her confidence surged.
She raised her massive paw and slammed it toward the demon's face.
"A cat demon?"
The evil demon sneered.
"How laughable."
"Die!"
It ignored her incoming strike and raised its own razor-sharp claws.
The claws sliced through the air toward her soft underbelly, aiming for a lethal counterattack.
Natsume instinctively hesitated, ready to dodge.
But then,
"No need to dodge!"
Kagetsu's voice rang from above.
"Attack with everything you've got!"
"You won't get hurt!"
Hearing that, Natsume gritted her teeth.
Fine!
She stopped holding back.
All her demonic power surged into her claws.
Orange-red flames ignited instantly, burning with scorching heat as she struck toward the demon's head.
At that exact moment,
The crimson Mangekyō Sharingan appeared in Kagetsu's eyes.
Immense ocular power surged outward.
"Susanoo!"
A pale blue Susanoo manifested instantly.
But instead of forming its usual body,
It merged directly onto Natsume's form.
Clack.
Hard spectral armor rapidly covered the giant leopard cat's body.
A terrifying helmet formed over her head.
The eye sockets glowed with crimson light.
Kagetsu stood calmly within the diamond-shaped crystal at the center of the helmet.
Looking down at the massive Susanoo-armored leopard cat, he smiled slightly.
"I don't have the Nine-Tails to cloak…"
"But using Natsume instead isn't bad."
Originally, he had considered forming a full Susanoo upper body on Natsume's back,just like Uchiha Madara's Majestic Attire: Susanoo when he armored the Nine-Tails.
But after thinking about it, that would be too much bullying for the demon in front of them.
So he decided not to waste the chakra.