_______________________________
extra chapters available in patron
pateron.com Canonbreaker007đź’Ą
_________________________________
Discount code:2BA84 use it while upgrading ♥️
________________________________________
The late afternoon sunlight poured gently through the wooden windows, filling the quiet room with a golden warmth. Outside, the wind brushed softly through the trees, carrying the scent of earth and distant mountains.
"We have grilled sea bream today. And the udon you said you wanted to eat last time."
Uchiha Lie carefully placed Natsume onto a chair beside the dining table before reaching into the swirling space behind him. From within the mysterious vortex of the Kamui Dimension, he retrieved freshly prepared food, still steaming as if it had just come from the stove.
He had traveled to the nearby castle town early that morning, choosing the freshest sea bream himself. He even asked the shopkeeper to pour extra sauce over it. He had long since learned something important about this leopard cat demon girl—she adored fish, but what she loved even more was thick, rich sauce.
Across from him, Natsume's red eyes sparkled.
The scent of grilled fish and broth hit her nose, and her tail swayed excitedly behind her. She didn't even try to hide her anticipation.
She was already used to Uchiha Lie pulling things from another dimension. In fact, he had once taken her inside the Kamui Dimension just to satisfy her curiosity. The endless dark space filled with stored items had fascinated her for hours.
Now that most of her demonic power had recovered, a small cluster of weak red flames ignited in her palm. She held her hand beneath the bowl, gently reheating the slightly cooled udon and sea bream.
Then she began eating.
Not politely.
Not slowly.
She devoured it with complete focus, cheeks puffed, tail swishing happily, not even glancing at Uchiha Lie as if inviting him to share.
She already knew.
He didn't need food to survive.
Watching her eat with such enthusiasm, Uchiha Lie couldn't help but smile. He was genuinely satisfied with this gluttonous little summoned beast.
After several large mouthfuls, Natsume swallowed hard, wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, and suddenly spoke.
"By the way, I'm getting ready to leave soon."
Uchiha Lie paused for a second as he stored the empty plates back into the Kamui Dimension.
"Going back to the Leopard Cat Clan?"
She nodded.
"I've been out for too long. If I don't return, Big Sister Leader will worry."
There was no hesitation in her voice. Beneath her playful nature, she deeply cared about her clan.
Uchiha Lie did not stop her.
"Alright. Be careful on the way back. If anything dangerous happens, use the Summoning Technique. I'll come immediately."
Natsume's eyes narrowed.
She suddenly slammed her palm onto the table.
"Hey! You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?!"
Her red eyes glared at him sharply.
"Did you forget? You promised to tell me about the Shikon Jewel! Did you think I'd actually forget that?"
Uchiha Lie let out an awkward laugh.
He honestly hadn't expected her to remember.
He had thought he could quietly avoid the topic.
"Ah, of course not. How could I forget? Natsume is too smart for that."
Her chin lifted proudly.
"Of course I am."
Her tail wagged again, clearly pleased by the compliment.
"Then hurry up and tell me! Why won't you give me the shard of the Shikon Jewel?"
Uchiha Lie's playful expression disappeared.
Slowly, he reached into his ninja tool pouch and took out a small pale-pink crystal shard.
He placed it gently on the table.
It shimmered under the sunlight, radiating faint but pure spiritual energy.
"This," he said quietly, "is a shard of the Shikon Jewel."
Shikon Jewel
"It contains immense power. If a demon obtains it, their demonic energy will increase dramatically. And even more incredibly… it can bring the dead back to life."
The room fell silent.
Natsume froze.
Her eyes widened.
"Bring the dead… back to life?"
She leaned closer, carefully extending a clawed finger to poke the shard.
This was the very reason she had been sent to gather information. Her clan's leader had heard rumors spreading across the Western Lands.
Rumors that shards of the Shikon Jewel had appeared.
Rumors that they could resurrect the dead.
The Leopard Cat Clan wished to revive their fallen lord and reclaim dominance over the Western Lands from the dog demons.
Natsume had not truly believed it.
But now…
She slowly looked up at Uchiha Lie.
"You wouldn't happen to have been resurrected by this thing, would you?"
She had sensed it long ago.
The faint aura of death clinging to him.
"I am not truly alive," he admitted calmly. "But I was not resurrected by the Shikon Jewel. I exist because of a forbidden technique."
She nodded, accepting that answer.
"Then continue."
She lowered her head again, casually poking the shard as if testing it.
Uchiha Lie's voice grew heavier.
"But behind this power lies a deadly trap."
Natsume paused.
"The Shikon Jewel amplifies the holder's obsessions and negative emotions. It magnifies hatred. Fear. Greed. Jealousy. Until those feelings consume them."
He stared at the shard quietly.
"If someone tries to make a wish using it, the jewel twists that wish. It leads the person in the wrong direction. In the end… the holder is devoured by its darkness."
The atmosphere in the room shifted.
Natsume suddenly pulled her hand back.
"You mean… it's alive? It has thoughts?"
"I don't know if it has its own mind," he replied. "But it is definitely ominous."
He continued.
"Almost every human or demon who possessed it met a tragic end."
Her ears twitched.
"There's a story behind it, right? Tell me."
"I don't know every detail. But I know this—the jewel is easily tainted by negative emotions. Once corrupted, it becomes extremely difficult to purify."
He paused before speaking the next name.
"To suppress its darkness, a powerful priestess was needed."
"The priestess who once guarded it…"
"Her name was Kikyo."
Kikyo
"She died filled with resentment because of the Shikon Jewel."
Natsume stiffened.
"Kikyo? The strongest human priestess from fifty years ago?"
She instinctively leaned farther away from the shard.
Even she had heard of Kikyo.
A legendary priestess.
If someone like her had fallen because of this jewel—
Then what chance did a cat demon have?
Her tail puffed up.
Her fur stood on end.
The shard on the table suddenly felt far more dangerous than before.
Uchiha Lie noticed her reaction but dismissed it as typical feline behavior.
He reached out and lightly tapped the shard himself.
"The Shikon Jewel is extremely easy to taint. And once tainted, only an exceptionally powerful priestess can purify it."
As he spoke, he reached into his pouch again.
This time, he removed a sealed bamboo tube.
He opened it slowly.
Inside was another shard.
But this one—
Was different.
Its once-clear interior had turned dark purple-black, like ink spreading through crystal.
A dense, suffocating evil aura radiated from it.
Just looking at it made one's chest tighten.
Negative emotions stirred uncontrollably.
Anger.
Fear.
Despair.
Natsume's reaction was immediate.
She leapt backward from her chair.
Her sharp fangs bared instinctively.
Her ears flattened.
Her tail and fur fully fluffed up.
Her instincts screamed at her.
"That thing is wrong."
The air itself seemed heavier.
Even the sunlight felt dimmer.
"This," Uchiha Lie said quietly, holding the corrupted shard between two fingers, "is what happens when the Shikon Jewel becomes tainted."
The room felt suffocating.
Natsume's voice dropped to a whisper.
"If Big Sister Leader uses something like this to resurrect the Leopard Cat Lord…"
She didn't finish her sentence.
She didn't need to.
Uchiha Lie answered calmly.
"If someone tries to use a corrupted shard to resurrect the dead… what returns may not be what they expect."
The implication hung heavily between them.
Silence stretched for several seconds.
Finally, Natsume slowly lowered her guard, though she kept her distance from the tainted shard.
"So that's why you won't give it to me."
"Yes."
He sealed the corrupted shard back into the bamboo tube.
"I will not let you or your clan fall into that trap."
She stared at him for a long moment.
Then her tail slowly relaxed.
"…You could have just refused."
"I know you," he replied gently. "If I only refused, you would keep searching elsewhere."
She couldn't argue with that.
After a pause, she muttered,
"Then what should we do?"
Uchiha Lie looked toward the distant mountains beyond the window.
"The Shikon Jewel must not fall into the wrong hands."
He turned back to her.
"And if your clan truly wishes to change their fate…"
"They must do it without relying on false miracles."
Natsume clenched her fists.
Her eyes flickered with uncertainty.
But beneath that uncertainty—
There was also understanding.
After a moment, she stood up from her chair.
"I'll return to the clan and tell Big Sister Leader everything."
She glanced once more at the harmless-looking pale shard on the table.
It no longer appeared beautiful.
It appeared dangerous.
"Next time," she said quietly, "if something like this appears again…"
"I'll call you."
Uchiha Lie smiled faintly.
"I'll be there."
And as Natsume prepared to depart—
A silent warning lingered in the air.
The Shikon Jewel was not simply a treasure.
It was not simply power.
It was temptation.
And temptation, once accepted—
Rarely ended well.