Watching the blizzard tornado sweep toward him like a collapsing sky, Uchiha Retsu put on an exaggerated look of shock.
"Wow—so impressive!"
Even as he spoke, his hands moved rapidly through seals. He took a deep breath, his chest swelling abruptly.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"
A massive surge of chakra burst from his mouth.
A spark ignited in front of him—then, in the next instant, an overwhelming torrent of orange-red flames filled the entire space ahead, completely engulfing the canyon.
The raging inferno surged like ocean waves, instantly swallowing the incoming tornado. The ice and snow within it were vaporized on the spot.
Not only did the fierce wind fail to extinguish the flames, it instead fueled them.
Driven by the gale, the fire exploded outward, bursting free from the canyon and shooting into the sky, dyeing the heavens crimson.
On the opposite side, Qiu Lan was scorched by the intense heat. His fur began to smell faintly burned, and he staggered back several steps in panic.
His expression changed dramatically as he shouted,
"Big Sister!"
"Big Sister!!" Xia Lan and Chun Lan also sensed the danger and cried out anxiously.
Xia Lan spun around and yelled at Retsu,
"Retsu, hurry and save my big sis—!"
Before she could finish, she froze in surprise.
Dong Lan was sitting on the ground nearby, pale-faced but unharmed, her arm firmly held by Retsu.
"Huh?"
Seeing that her sister was safe, Xia Lan let out a sigh of relief. She quickly dragged Chun Lan and ran over.
Dong Lan sat there, still in shock, unable to process what had just happened.
Moments earlier, when she released the tornado, a massive sea of flames had surged forward, devouring it and racing straight toward her.
Surrounded by blazing heat, despair filled her eyes. She was just about to revert to her panther-cat form and take it head-on—
When suddenly, a kunai pierced through the flames and appeared beside her.
In the next instant, that human materialized before her.
One hand gripped the kunai.
The other seized her arm.
And in the blink of an eye, she was pulled out of the inferno.
"Looks like I won," Retsu's voice sounded beside her as she stared blankly at the still-raging flames.
She froze, then turned her head.
He was calmly sheathing the blade he had planted in the ground, smiling at her.
"..."
Dong Lan was about to speak when Chun Lan and Xia Lan rushed over, their worried expressions stealing her attention.
On the other side, Qiu Lan also hurried over after seeing her surrounded.
"All right, my job's done. I'm heading back," Retsu said to Xia Lan while the three checked on Dong Lan. "Call me if you need anything."
"Oh, bye!" Xia Lan nodded casually. There was no need to stop him—she could summon him anytime anyway.
"Your name is Uchiha Retsu, right?"
Dong Lan had finally recovered. She stood up and looked at him, her expression conflicted.
"Yeah. What's up?" Retsu asked with a smile.
"Um… thanks."
She looked away slightly, speaking with some difficulty.
"Of course. It was just a spar," Retsu replied lightly.
With that, he released the summoning technique.
Bang!
A puff of smoke exploded outward, and his figure vanished instantly.
Dong Lan stared blankly at the spot where he had disappeared, then suddenly called out,
"Xia Lan!"
"H-Huh? B-Big Sis!"
Xia Lan stiffened, remembering how she had tried to take over earlier. She panicked.
"Big Sis, you should stay the leader! I'm not taking your spot anymore!"
"..."
Dong Lan looked at her speechlessly.
"You really dared to think about that?"
She turned and walked toward the canyon exit.
"I'll think more about the revival of the lord…"
Just as Xia Lan was clutching her head, bracing for punishment, she heard Dong Lan's voice.
She looked up and saw her standing in the distance.
"What are you standing around for? Let's go!"
"Y-Yes, Big Sis!"
Xia Lan exchanged glances with Chun Lan and Qiu Lan, then hurried after her.
"Hm?"
Uchiha Retsu, who was practicing Sage Mode, suddenly felt something and opened his eyes.
"What is it?"
Kikyo, who was meditating beside him, sensed his movement and opened her eyes in confusion.
"Something feels strange," Retsu frowned. "Just now, the natural energy around us was disturbed for a moment. It felt like something was there… but I couldn't detect anything."
Recently, he had been trying to teach Kikyo how to sense natural energy.
It started when she once curiously asked what he was doing while he trained in Sage Mode. He had explained natural energy and Sage Mode to her, and unexpectedly, she became interested.
Since they had plenty of free time, he decided to try teaching her.
On one hand, he wanted to test his theory—whether shrine maidens, who naturally possessed powerful souls, could sense natural energy.
Kagome's soul was exceptionally strong. In the original story, Naraku's incarnation Kagura once tried to absorb her soul with a mirror, yet failed—something that should have been effortless with ordinary people.
That alone proved how powerful Kagome's soul was.
What made Retsu even more curious was this:
If Kikyo truly learned to sense natural energy, could it merge with her spiritual power in the absence of chakra?
Of course, that was a question for later. First, she needed to sense it at all.
He didn't have toad oil to assist training, but natural energy in the Inuyasha world was far more active than in the Naruto world. It should be easier to perceive.
To increase her chances, they had left the temple where they had stayed and moved into a forest rich in natural energy.
Using Wood Release, Retsu built a small cabin there for their training.
Whenever Kikyo practiced sensing natural energy, he would sit beside her and enter Sage Mode, actively drawing in and concentrating natural energy to increase its density.
Yet just now, he had clearly felt a disturbance.
With his Sage Mode perception, if a human or demon had approached, he should have noticed.
But there was nothing.
"Maybe I imagined it," Retsu said after thinking for a moment, shaking his head.
He turned to Kikyo and asked,
"So? Any progress sensing natural energy?"
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