The emerald-green glow slowly seeped into the little girl's body. The gruesome wound across her abdomen began closing at a visible speed.
After a few minutes, the chakra in Uchiha Retsu's palm gradually faded, and he withdrew his hand from her stomach.
The wound on the girl's abdomen had completely disappeared. Only newly grown skin remained, faintly flushed red, forming a stark contrast with the dried blood on her torn kimono. Her once-weak breathing had become steady and strong.
"That's done," Retsu said as he stood up. "Her injuries are healed. She shouldn't die now."
"Thank you for your hard work, Retsu."
Kikyo looked down at the girl in her arms, whose breathing had stabilized. A hint of amazement still lingered in her eyes. Even though it wasn't the first time she had witnessed this miraculous healing technique, it still felt unbelievable.
Seeing her expression, Retsu secretly felt a bit smug.
He had learned this Mystical Palm Technique directly from Tsunade. To do so, he had paid an enormous amount of money—essentially funding the gambling debts of that notorious big spender.
Back then, he had burned through nearly all of his savings. For a long time afterward, he worked like a madman, taking mission after mission to earn money just to afford the tuition.
In the end, Tsunade not only taught him medical ninjutsu but even passed on the training method for her monstrous strength.
Thinking back on it now, it almost brought tears to his eyes.
He wondered if Tsunade—whose half-student he had essentially "bought with money"—had shed even a single tear after hearing about his death.
While his thoughts wandered, he gently removed the gray cloth bundle the girl was still clutching tightly even in her unconscious state.
"Honestly, the reason she managed to hold on until we arrived… is thanks to this."
He carefully untied the gray cloth wrapping.
The moment it opened, the barrier that had concealed its aura shattered, and a faint yet pure surge of spiritual power spread outward.
Inside the cloth lay a battered, unimpressive stone bowl.
Looking at the worn and shabby object, Retsu's eyes flickered with surprise.
"So it's actually this thing."
"Retsu, do you recognize it?" Kikyo asked quickly. She could sense that the bowl was no ordinary object, and judging from his reaction, he clearly knew what it was.
"This is the Buddha's Stone Bowl, one of the five key items needed to break Kaguya's seal."
Retsu handed it to her.
"No wonder demons attacked the village to seize it. Even though it looks plain and broken, it's actually extremely valuable—on the same level as Inuyasha's Fire-Rat Robe."
He glanced at the unconscious girl beside them, slightly surprised.
In the original story, the child who entrusted the stone bowl to Kikyo had died immediately afterward. Yet somehow, fate had still led this girl to Kikyo.
Only now, thanks to him, she had survived instead of dying after delivering the item.
His gaze swept over the nearby stone stairway.
Only then did he realize that it was the entrance to a temple.
After examining the traces of battle around the area, Retsu quickly pieced together what had happened.
The temple's abbot had entrusted the bowl to the girl and sent her fleeing, while he remained behind to block the pursuing demons.
Unfortunately, he had failed.
The abbot had not delayed the demons for long before being killed. The girl had been gravely wounded as well.
But the special power of the stone bowl had kept her barely alive.
Collapsed on the ground, the girl had unknowingly pressed the bowl beneath her body. The barrier placed on the cloth wrapping by the abbot concealed the bowl's aura, preventing the demons from locating it.
Failing to find their target, the demons slaughtered the village and left.
"Retsu… help bury the villagers," Kikyo said quietly, holding the girl as she looked at the corpses scattered everywhere. Sadness filled her eyes.
"No problem. Where should we bury them?"
For Retsu, such a task was extremely simple. He scanned the surrounding area before asking.
"Beside the temple," Kikyo replied after glancing around. She pointed to a patch of open land nearby. "I hope they can rest in peace."
"Wood Release."
Retsu nodded and pressed his hands together in a seal.
"Crack—crack—"
The sound of rapidly growing wood rose from beneath the ground. A small sapling burst from the soil and grew at an incredible speed.
In the next instant, countless branches split from the trunk. Like living serpents, they shot outward and wrapped around each corpse lying in the village.
The tips of the branches expanded and reshaped themselves, quickly forming square wooden coffins that sealed each body within.
The branches then retracted, dragging every coffin back to the tree in the clearing and arranging them neatly in rows.
Once all the bodies were lined up, Retsu nodded and slapped his palm against the ground.
"Earth Release."
The soil surged like waves, swallowing the coffins and pulling them underground.
Within seconds, the coffins had vanished beneath the earth, replaced by neat rows of small burial mounds.
The corpses and bloodstains were gone, and even the scent of blood in the air faded considerably.
"All done."
In less than a minute, the entire burial was finished. Retsu clapped his hands together.
Then he casually held up a bulging cloth bag.
"They paid a burial fee."
"Thank you for your effort, Retsu," Kikyo said softly.
She glanced across the now-silent village. Apart from the dark bloodstains on the ground, the bodies had vanished, and the air felt much lighter.
"It's nothing," Retsu said with a grin, raising the heavy pouch in his hand.
"I already collected the burial payment."
He had simply gathered valuables from the village and the corpses while handling the bodies. After all, the dead had no use for them anymore.
It was only fair that he accepted them as compensation for his work.
Kikyo stared at the pouch and rolled her eyes helplessly.
She hadn't expected him to casually loot valuables while burying the dead.
Still, she didn't object.
Everyone in the village had already been slaughtered. If they didn't take the valuables, some other passerby eventually would.
"Let's go."
Kikyo carefully placed the unconscious girl onto Kuromaru's back. Then she found some clean clothes from a nearby house and tucked them, along with the Buddha's Stone Bowl, into the girl's arms.
Since Kuromaru was now carrying someone, the two of them walked beside him instead of riding.
Retsu had no objection to Kikyo taking the girl with them.
The entire village was gone. Leaving the child behind here would only mean certain death.
Besides, this wasn't the first time Kikyo had done something like this. Most of the villagers living beneath the shrine in Kikyo Village had once been rescued and sheltered by her in the same way.
They could simply place the girl there once they returned.
With Kuromaru leading the way, the two of them soon left the ruined village behind and continued their journey toward Mount Fuji.
The Sea of the Nest Kagura mentioned was actually Lake Motosu, located near Mount Fuji.
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