"Hmph!"
Hearing Kagura's words, Naraku's face twisted into a cold, sinister smile. With a flip of his palm, a beating heart suddenly appeared in his hand.
His fingers slowly tightened around it as he stared at Kagura and said coldly,
"You don't have to go. But if you refuse, I'll kill you right now."
"Naraku!"
Kagura clutched her chest in pain, hatred filling her eyes. She gritted her teeth and said,
"I'll go."
"Good."
Ignoring the resentment in her gaze, Naraku put the heart away and said indifferently,
"Relax. Kanna was discovered and still returned safely. That means he isn't as dangerous as you think."
"Heh."
Kagura let out a mocking laugh.
"If he's really not that dangerous, why don't you use some roundabout schemes like you do with Inuyasha?"
Before Naraku could speak, his expression darkening, Kagura continued coldly,
"You're afraid that if you anger him, he'll just kill you outright, aren't you? After all, the priestess by his side can easily break through your barriers."
With that, she ignored Naraku's murderous glare, turned around, and walked straight out of the room.
Ever since Naraku had used her as a disposable pawn to test Inuyasha—nearly getting her killed—Kagura had grown more desperate to break free from his control.
And because of that, she had already learned everything about Uchiha Retsu from Kanna.
Seeing this, Kanna silently followed Kagura out of the room.
"Kagura."
After they were far from Naraku's chamber, Kanna suddenly spoke from behind.
"Life and death are in Naraku's hands. Don't provoke him."
Kagura stopped and turned to look at her.
Kanna continued calmly,
"We are just tools."
"Don't worry, Kanna."
Kagura looked at her and curled her lips into a sarcastic smile.
"Naraku won't kill me right now."
Seeing Kanna quietly staring at her, Kagura crouched down and met her gaze, her tone tinged with self-mockery.
"That guy doesn't even control his own life anymore.
"As long as he can't escape his current condition, he has to rely on me to capture demons to stay alive."
She stood up and laughed bitterly.
"Isn't that why we were created in the first place?"
"Alright, I'm going out for a walk. If I'm going to die someday while monitoring that terrifying man with you, I'd rather at least see the world first."
With that, Kagura turned to leave. To her, the castle was nothing more than a cold prison—she didn't want to stay there for even a second longer.
"You won't die, Kagura."
Kanna's voice suddenly came from behind.
"Why?"
Kagura froze and turned around in surprise. Then, as if she had realized something, her face changed drastically.
She immediately scooped Kanna up, rushed out of the castle, threw Kagura's feather to the ground, and shot into the sky with Kanna in her arms, rapidly distancing herself from Naraku's domain.
"Kanna, were you caught by him?"
Only after the castle disappeared from sight did Kagura turn and ask anxiously.
"I was," Kanna replied expressionlessly.
"What did he do to you? Why did he let you go?" Kagura pressed urgently.
"Nothing," Kanna answered calmly.
But in her still, emotionless eyes, a faint ripple flashed for an instant—so subtle that Kagura failed to notice it.
"Then how did you escape from him?" Kagura refused to give up.
"He let me go," Kanna said flatly.
"You mean… he didn't do anything and just released you?" Kagura stared at her in disbelief.
"..."
Kanna didn't answer. She only looked at her quietly.
For the first time, Kagura felt a headache coming on from her little sister's extreme taciturn nature.
"Kanna, does he know you're Naraku's incarnation?" Kagura tried another angle.
"He knows I'm Naraku's subordinate. He doesn't know I'm a fragment," Kanna replied.
"He knows you work for Naraku, but not that you're his incarnation?" Kagura grew even more surprised. "Then why didn't he kill you?"
"..."
Still no response.
"Does that guy really not take Naraku seriously at all?" Kagura muttered, unable to understand.
Someone as detestable as Naraku—shouldn't people react like Inuyasha, charging over with Tessaiga the moment they smelled his scent?
If her heart weren't in Naraku's hands, she would have killed him even more decisively than Inuyasha.
"Why… exactly?" Kagura couldn't figure it out.
"I don't know," Kanna answered softly, as if sensing her confusion.
Uchiha Retsu had no idea that Kagura and Kanna were discussing him.
At this moment, he was sitting on the grass, gazing toward an open field not far away.
Kagome and Kikyo, both dressed in shrine maiden robes, stood side by side. Each held a bow, shooting at straw targets in the distance.
Earlier, Kikyo had planned to leave after eating, but Kagome had suddenly stepped forward and asked her for guidance in archery. That was how this scene came to be.
It had to be said—Kagome's talent with the bow was remarkable.
Even though Retsu didn't understand archery, he could clearly see how quickly she was improving. And honestly, it was exactly what he expected.
In the original story, Kagome started out as a complete beginner who couldn't even draw a bow properly. Yet during her journey to collect the Shikon Jewel shards, she grew rapidly, eventually becoming quite skilled.
Most of the time, she was traveling nonstop, with only occasional guidance from Kaede and almost no formal instruction.
To improve so quickly under those conditions showed just how gifted she was.
Watching Kagome's arrows grow more and more refined as Kikyo taught her to attach spiritual power properly, Retsu understood what was happening. Kikyo was teaching her how to control her inner power.
As Kikyo's reincarnation, Kagome possessed enormous spiritual power. Yet in the story, she often performed worse than Kikyo, who relied on soul collectors to sustain herself.
Still, judging from Kagome's occasional bursts of strength, her power was clearly immense—it was just poorly guided and usually relied on instinct.
Most of the time, she hid behind Inuyasha, acting as a "living radar" for the Shikon Jewel.
Fifty years ago, when Kikyo fought alongside Inuyasha, he was the front-line shield, while she was the core damage dealer. Her sacred arrows were devastating to demons.
Now, Kagome had gone from "main archer" to "support," only becoming decisive when the team was pushed into desperation.
"But if Kagome can truly master that immense spiritual power…"
Retsu's lips curved into a faint smile.
"Then things are going to get a lot more interesting."
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