"H-How is this possible…?"
Hiten hovered midair, staring in disbelief.
The lightning sphere he had poured nearly all his demonic power into had detonated with enough force to level a fortress. The courtyard below had been reduced to a massive crater of scorched earth and shattered stone.
And yet,
The towering skeletal guardian of pale blue chakra still stood.
Unmoved.
Untouched.
Cracks of fading lightning crawled harmlessly across its surface before dissipating into nothing.
Inside the translucent ribs of Susanoo, Kagetsu stood calmly, black cloak fluttering faintly in the lingering shockwaves. Kagome remained protected at his side, not a single scratch on her.
The difference in power was absolute.
Hiten felt it then.
Not anger.
Not humiliation.
Fear.
Cold and suffocating.
Without another word, he turned and fled.
The flaming wheels beneath his feet spun violently as he shot toward the distant horizon, abandoning pride, abandoning vengeance,abandoning everything but survival.
The pale blue Susanoo slowly dissolved into motes of chakra, fading into the air like drifting embers.
Kagetsu looked up at the retreating figure and sneered faintly.
"Running?"
His crimson Mangekyō Sharingan rotated slowly.
"Too late."
"Flying Thunder God Technique."
Before the final syllable left his lips,
He vanished.
The space he had occupied rippled once,
And he was gone.
Hiten's breathing was ragged as wind tore past his face. His mind screamed only one thing:
Escape.
He didn't understand what that blue phantom was.
He didn't understand how his lightning had failed.
He only understood that staying meant death.
Suddenly,
The air in front of him distorted.
Hiten's eyes widened in horror.
Kagetsu appeared directly before him.
Midair.
As if he had been waiting.
There was no expression on his face.
Only judgment.
Chakra surged violently through Kagetsu's right leg, gathering with focused precision.
He twisted his hips and drove his foot forward.
Crack,
The sound was sickeningly clear.
Bone shattered.
Hiten's sternum caved inward under the force of the kick.
His body folded around the impact as blood erupted from his mouth.
Like a broken kite with snapped strings, he was sent flying backward,straight toward the ruined courtyard where Kagome stood.
Kagome gasped as she saw him hurtling toward her, body limp and spinning uncontrollably.
She instinctively prepared to dodge,
But space rippled again.
Kagetsu reappeared before her.
Pale blue ribs of Susanoo manifested instantly, forming a protective barrier.
Thud.
Hiten's body slammed heavily into the skeletal construct.
Blood splattered across the translucent chakra surface, dripping slowly down its contours.
The flaming wheels beneath his feet flickered once,
Then extinguished.
The courtyard fell silent.
Kagetsu waited several seconds.
Hiten did not move.
The Susanoo dissolved once more.
Kagetsu stepped forward and nudged the unconscious demon with the tip of his foot, flipping him onto his back.
A dark bruise had already formed across his chest, ribs clearly shattered. The wound from the kick bore a faint, unmistakable seal,
The mark of the Flying Thunder God.
"Trash is still trash," Kagetsu said flatly.
"Did you really think a few shards of the Shikon Jewel would make you invincible?"
His tone carried pure Uchiha disdain.
"How laughable."
Three faintly glowing shards were embedded in Hiten's forehead.
Kagetsu reached down and plucked them free with effortless precision.
Pink light shimmered across his fingers.
Without hesitation, he tossed them toward Kagome.
"Catch."
"Eh,?!"
Kagome scrambled forward, barely managing to catch the shards before they fell.
The moment they touched her palm, the pink glow intensified briefly.
"These are… for me?"
Her voice carried both surprise and uncertainty.
"Yeah."
Kagetsu's Mangekyō spun once more.
"Kamui."
A spiraling spatial vortex unfolded beside Hiten's unconscious body.
The distortion swallowed him whole, pulling him into the Kamui dimension without resistance.
The vortex collapsed silently.
Kagome stared at the empty ground where Hiten had been.
It ended so easily.
So completely.
Kagetsu walked over to retrieve his chakra-infused blade, pulling it from where it had embedded into the earth. He slid it back into its sheath with a soft metallic click.
In his hands, the sword was more than a weapon.
It was a marker.
Every blade strike, every throw,
A potential teleportation point.
The Flying Thunder God Technique, originally created by the Second Hokage, allowed instantaneous movement between marked locations.
In battle,
It was overwhelming.
"Kagetsu… don't you want these?"
Kagome asked, clutching the shards carefully.
"I saw you collecting Shikon shards too."
"I already took the ones from the other demon," Kagetsu replied calmly. "Sharing is caring . Those belong to you."
It wasn't entirely selfless.
He had no real need for every shard.
Keeping some was useful,for bait.
Demons were drawn to the Shikon Jewel like moths to flame.
And Kagome…
She was Kikyo's reincarnation.
Collecting the shards was her burden.
Her destiny.
Taking all of them would only make her feel powerless.
But giving her all of them would be foolish too.
The current strength of the group around Inuyasha was far too weak.
If Naraku moved now, the shards they gathered would become nothing more than delivery packages.
By holding some himself,
Naraku could never complete the Jewel fully.
It was insurance.
Strategic interference.
"Kagetsu…" Kagome hesitated before speaking again.
"Are you… human?"
She had been holding that question back since the beginning.
He was powerful.
Too powerful.
And those cracks across his skin,
His unnaturally pale appearance,
Kagetsu arched his brow.
"Of course I'm human."
"You didn't think I was a demon, did you?"
"O-Of course not! Haha…"
Her laugh was painfully forced.
Kagetsu watched her for a moment, then sighed lightly.
"You want to ask about the cracks on my body."
"Yes!"
She nodded quickly, eyes bright with curiosity.
"Because I'm not a living person right now."
Kagome froze.
"This body is maintained by a forbiddenTechnique called Edo Tensei," he explained calmly, touching his cheek. "Dust and earth given shape to house a soul that should have returned to the Pure Land."
"…So you're actually dead?!" she blurted.
Her modern upbringing struggled to process that fact.
Kagetsu rolled his eyes.
"In a world filled with demons, that's what surprises you?"
Kagome blinked.
When he put it that way…
"…I guess it's not that strange."
She scratched her head awkwardly.
Then curiosity resurfaced.
"How did you die?"
Kagetsu's expression darkened slightly.
"I was killed."
"By someone stronger than you?"
He gave a humorless smile.
"I'm not weak. The problem is… the one I faced wasn't human."
His jaw tightened faintly.
"Working for over a decade wasn't enough to beat someone who cheats."
The bitterness in his tone was unmistakable.
Kagome sensed the weight behind those words and wisely didn't push further.
An awkward silence lingered.
Then,
"KAGOME!"
"Kagome,!"
Familiar voices echoed from the distance.
"Inuyasha! Shippō!"
Relief flooded her face as she waved excitedly.
"I'm here!"
Kagetsu glanced toward the forest edge.
"Your half-demon dog has good timing."
He brushed dust from his cloak.
"Wait here for them. I'm leaving."
"Kagetsu,thank you."
She bowed deeply again.
"For saving me. And for the shards."
"It was nothing."
He paused.
Seeming to remember something.
His left Mangekyō spun.
"Kamui."
A vortex opened briefly.
From it, a piece of yellow fox pelt fell into his hand.
He tossed it to Kagome.
"This belonged to the little fox's father."
Kagome caught it gently.
"Shippō's… father?"
"Give it to him."
Before she could ask how he knew,
Kagetsu vanished.
No teleportation ripple.
No dramatic exit.
Just,
Gone.
A breeze swept through the ruined courtyard.
Moments later,
Inuyasha and Shippō burst into view.
"Kagome! Are you hurt?!"
Kagome clutched the fox pelt and smiled softly.
"I'm okay."
But her eyes drifted briefly to the empty sky.