"Y-Yes, that's right!"
The second villager swallowed nervously, glancing at the katana at Kagetsu's waist before continuing in a cautious voice.
"This thief is very strange. They only steal food. Money, clothing, valuables,none of it has been touched."
"Only food?"
Kagetsu raised an eyebrow.
The suspicion forming in his mind grew clearer.
Demons.
To most demons, human currency was meaningless. Silk robes and household ornaments had no value. But food,especially grain stored for winter,was survival.
He had encountered similar incidents before.
In a prosperous merchant's residence, the kitchen had repeatedly been raided at night. At first, they assumed it was a desperate thief. They stationed servants in the kitchen to wait for the culprit.
The culprit turned out to be a rat demon, barely intelligent, driven purely by hunger.
Kagetsu had eliminated it in passing.
This situation carried the same scent.
"Take me to the house most recently robbed," he said evenly.
"Yes! Right away, my lord!"
The two villagers bowed repeatedly and hurried ahead, clearly eager to keep him satisfied.
The deeper they walked into the village, the more the poverty showed itself.
Cracked walls patched with straw.
Roofs sagging from age.
Thin children playing barefoot in the dirt.
When they reached the house in question, several children in tattered clothing stood in the open yard. They stared at Kagetsu with wide eyes,curiosity mixed with fear.
The moment his gaze shifted toward them, they instinctively huddled together.
Kagetsu ignored them.
He lifted the woven grass curtain at the doorway and stepped inside.
The interior was sparse.
Straw mats on packed earth.
A worn wooden table with uneven legs.
A few clay jars stacked neatly in the corner.
No signs of wealth.
He closed his eyes briefly.
His perception extended outward.
There,
In the corner.
A faint but unmistakable demonic aura lingered in the air.
Unlike shinobi chakra, demonic energy in this world behaved differently.
Weaker demons rarely possessed fine control. Their aura seeped into the environment, clinging to walls and objects long after they departed. It dissipated over time,but it left tracks.
Stronger demons, especially those capable of assuming human form, could suppress their presence almost completely,unless they actively released demonic power.
This aura?
Weak.
Unrefined.
Not the presence of a great yōkai.
Kagetsu stepped back outside.
"You don't need to search for a thief anymore," he said calmly.
The two villagers stiffened.
"It wasn't a human."
"It was a demon."
"A-A demon?!"
Their faces drained of color.
One man's hands began trembling visibly.
In the Sengoku era, demon involvement rarely ended well for commoners.
"My lord…" One of them hesitated, eyes pleading yet fearful. "Could you… perhaps…"
He couldn't finish the sentence.
Kagetsu understood instantly.
He waved a hand dismissively.
"Since I've encountered it, I'll handle it."
The relief on their faces was immediate and overwhelming.
"Thank you, my lord! We'll prepare a reward at once!"
"No need," Kagetsu replied flatly. "Looking at this place, I doubt you possess anything worth taking."
The bluntness made them flush, but they bowed deeply in gratitude regardless.
Kagetsu turned and followed the lingering demonic aura out of the village.
With chakra enhancing his legs, his speed increased dramatically.
The forest blurred past him.
The faint trail of demonic residue guided him like a thread through the trees.
Soon, the village fell far behind, replaced by rising terrain and narrowing paths.
He arrived at the entrance of a steep valley.
Perching lightly on the tip of a tall tree overlooking the canyon, Kagetsu stilled his breathing and extended his perception.
His eyes narrowed.
There wasn't just one aura.
There were many.
Faint.
Weak.
But clustered together.
"A group?" he murmured.
That was unexpected.
Demons that formed communities typically secured stable territory and food sources. They didn't resort to stealing grain from impoverished villages,especially not repeatedly.
And judging from the villagers' accounts, the thief never harmed anyone.
No blood.
No disappearances.
Only grain.
"Interesting…"
Either they were desperate,
Or something had driven them into this state.
Kagetsu didn't dwell on it long.
Weak demons were rarely capable of posing real problems.
He leapt down from the treetop.
The Transformation Jutsu dissolved, revealing his true Edo Tensei form.
Pale skin marked with cracks.
Eyes sharp and crimson.
He made no effort to suppress his presence.
To weaker beings, his aura was overwhelming.
Intentionally so.
He walked directly into the valley.
The valley itself was surprisingly serene.
A clear river cut through the center, reflecting sunlight like silver.
Natural caves dotted the cliff walls along both sides.
In the open space below, dozens of figures moved busily.
They resembled upright dogs,canine-faced demons standing on two legs.
Their fur was patchy.
Their clothing ragged and repeatedly mended.
Some washed cloth by the river.
Some sorted dried herbs.
Others carried sacks that bulged oddly across their backs.
Kagetsu slowed slightly.
The scene was… domestic.
Orderly.
Hardly the lair of bloodthirsty monsters.
Because he did not hide his presence, it took only moments for one of them to notice him.
"A human Demon Slayer!"
The cry pierced the air.
"Run! Hide!"
Instant chaos erupted.
Tools clattered to the ground.
Bundles dropped.
Within seconds, the demons scrambled into the caves along the cliffs.
In less than a minute,
The valley fell silent.
Wind rustled through abandoned tools and scattered fruit.
The lively scene vanished like a mirage.
Kagetsu stood alone amid the sudden stillness.
"…Cowardly."
He almost laughed.
He could clearly sense them.
They hadn't fled far.
They were hiding just inside the cave mouths, watching him nervously.
He raised his voice.
"Come out."
Silence.
"I'm not here to kill you. I have questions."
Only the echo of his words answered him.
His patience thinned.
"You're making this difficult."
His hands formed seals with practiced speed.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique."
Chakra surged from his lungs.
A massive fireball, several meters wide, erupted forward.
The temperature spiked instantly.
The river hissed as its surface began to boil, steam rising thickly.
BOOM,
The fireball collided with the far cliff face.
The explosion shook the valley.
The stone shattered.
Flames spread through dry shrubs and grass, igniting patches of the canyon in flickering orange light.
Heat distorted the air.
Kagetsu's crimson gaze swept across the dark cave entrances.
"One who can speak," he said coldly, voice carrying across the valley.
"Step forward now."
"Or I burn this valley to ash."
The threat was not exaggerated.
Given his chakra reserves, he could reduce the entire canyon to cinders.
Silence stretched.
Then,
From one of the larger caves, a trembling voice called out.
"M-My lord! Please spare us!"
A small canine demon slowly emerged, shaking from head to toe.
"This humble one… will speak."