"So as long as I can retrieve my heart, I can escape immediately?"
Kagura stared at Uchiha Retsu, suspicion filling her eyes. Her tone carried obvious doubt.
"Is what you're saying really true?"
"Relax."
Retsu smiled faintly. A small wooden strip suddenly appeared in his hand, quickly shaping itself into an ordinary-looking wooden token. He handed it to her.
"If you fail to escape, just break this token. I'll come personally to rescue you."
"…Alright. I accept."
Kagura looked at the wooden token in her hand and gritted her teeth.
In the end, the temptation of freedom was too strong to resist. She accepted it and asked,
"What do I need to do for that escape technique you mentioned?"
"Just sit there and don't move."
Retsu raised his hand and pointed a finger toward her forehead.
Kagura could clearly feel his fingertip touch her skin.
Her fear instantly magnified.
At that moment, with a single thought, Retsu could easily take her life.
But she forced herself not to move, her body stiff as she waited.
To her relief, the attack she expected never came.
Yet the moment she relaxed slightly—
Retsu's eyes suddenly changed.
Scarlet Mangekyō Sharingan patterns appeared in his pupils, their complex shapes swirling with an unsettling pressure.
"Transcription Seal."
The moment Kagura met that crimson gaze, every hair on her body stood on end.
The next second, a sharp pain pierced her eyes.
"Mm—!"
She groaned quietly, biting her lip hard to keep from crying out.
Kikyo, watching from the side, clearly saw something unusual.
For a brief instant, the same Mangekyō pattern appeared within Kagura's eyes before disappearing again.
But Kikyo didn't interrupt—she simply watched silently.
"Done."
Retsu withdrew his hand and explained calmly.
"I left a dōjutsu in your eyes.
"When you retrieve your heart from Naraku, the technique will activate automatically and send you into the Kamui dimension.
"I'll sense it happening and release you from there. Don't worry—Naraku will never be able to find you."
"…Thank you."
Once the pain in her eyes faded, Kagura quietly expressed her gratitude.
After a moment's hesitation, she continued.
"Since we're cooperating now, I'll tell you something about Naraku.
"First, his power weakened drastically tonight. Even the barrier around his castle loosened. Inuyasha has already discovered the castle's location.
"And there's a wolf demon named Kōga traveling with him and his companions."
"His demonic power weakening… is probably because he's a half-demon," Kikyo said thoughtfully.
"Half-demons carry human blood, so at certain times they lose their demonic power and become human.
"Naraku may be composed of countless demons, but he's still fundamentally a half-demon. He should share that weakness."
"His power weakens at certain times?"
Kagura's eyes brightened with sudden excitement.
For her, this was an unexpected revelation—a fatal weakness.
She looked at Retsu deeply before continuing.
"Second, Naraku is still suffering from the effects of your technique.
"He continues to age and weaken.
"Even with the Shikon Jewel supporting him, he needs Kanna and me to capture demons so he can replace the parts of his body that are decaying.
"That's why he's been hiding inside the castle and rarely comes out."
"Using other demons' life force to bear the burden of Rinne Rebirth…"
Retsu raised his eyebrows in genuine admiration.
"Naraku really is clever."
His praise left Kagura unsure how to respond.
"Anyway, that's all the information I have for now," she said simply.
She then stood up and put the Shikon Jewel shards away.
"I should leave. If I'm gone too long, Naraku will notice."
"He probably already knew the moment you left the castle," Retsu said casually, recalling the story.
"Be careful. Don't die."
"It's fine. He still needs me to capture demons for him. As long as I don't delay too long, he won't do anything to me," Kagura replied as she walked toward the door.
A gust of wind surged outside.
She leapt onto a giant feather, which quickly carried her away into the night sky.
"It's getting late. I'm going to rest," Kikyo said after watching Kagura leave. She stretched lazily and stood up, preparing to head upstairs.
"Wait a moment."
Retsu suddenly spoke.
"Inuyasha and the others are following Kagura. They'll reach the shrine soon."
"They're coming here?"
Kikyo paused in surprise, then nodded thoughtfully.
"With Kagome there, she can sense the Shikon Jewel fragments. It makes sense they would follow her trail."
At that moment, Kikyo noticed something else.
A vast amount of natural energy was gathering around Retsu.
A faint orange pigmentation appeared around his eyes—he had already entered Sage Mode.
During this period, both of them had been practicing Sage Power, and Kikyo had grown extremely sensitive to the flow of natural energy.
Interestingly, perhaps because he was no longer in the ninja world, Retsu's Sage Mode had changed.
The old toad-like features had vanished completely.
Now, aside from the orange eye markings, he looked exactly the same as usual—even the old frog-like horizontal pupils were gone.
Kikyo knew how far Retsu's Sage Mode sensing range could reach.
"How far away are they?" she asked.
"Less than three kilometers."
Retsu glanced at her.
"Do you want to meet them?"
"Not necessary."
Kikyo shook her head after thinking for a moment.
"Kagura has already left. They'll probably continue chasing her."
She turned toward the shrine's altar in the corner of the room.
"I'll activate the shrine's barrier and keep them outside."
The altar not only stored the Shikon Jewel fragments they had collected, it also served as the core of the shrine's barrier.
But just as Kikyo reached out to activate it, her gaze fell upon the fragments resting inside.
She suddenly changed her mind.
"…Actually, never mind. If they really do come here, we can just give these fragments to Kagome."
She took out the three fragments stored inside and returned to sit beside Retsu.
Placing them gently on the table, she said softly,
"Tonight is the night of the new moon. If I remember correctly, Inuyasha's demonic power disappears tonight and he becomes human.
"If they catch up with Kagura in that state… they might be in danger."
"Alright. Then we'll wait here for them."
Retsu nodded.
He was also curious.
He had always wanted to see what Inuyasha looked like in his human form with black hair.
Looking at Kikyo sitting quietly beside him, Retsu suddenly felt a bit bored.
So he reached over and took her hand, gently playing with her fingers.
Kikyo glanced at him with soft eyes but didn't stop him.
She simply let him continue holding her hand.
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