"H-How is this possible…?"
Hiten stared in disbelief.
His attack, which had consumed a massive amount of demonic power, had been blocked so easily.
Fear instantly seized his heart.
He lost all will to fight and turned to flee without hesitation.
The blue Susanoo slowly dissipated.
Watching Hiten's panicked retreat, Retsu let out a cold laugh.
"Trying to run? Too late."
"Flying Thunder God."
Before the words even faded, he vanished.
In the next instant, Retsu appeared in front of Hiten, chakra surging beneath his foot as he drove a brutal kick into his chest.
Crack—!
The sound of bones shattering rang out clearly.
Hiten spat out a mouthful of blood, his body flying backward like a kite with its string cut—straight toward Kagome.
Seeing Hiten hurtling toward her, Kagome instinctively tried to dodge.
But Retsu appeared in front of her once more.
Pale-blue Susanoo ribs materialized.
Boom!
Hiten crashed heavily into the barrier, blood splattering across its surface.
Once he confirmed that Hiten was no longer moving, Retsu dispelled Susanoo and walked over.
He nudged the unconscious demon with his foot and turned him over.
On Hiten's abdomen, right where the kick had landed, another Flying Thunder God mark was visible.
"Trash will always be trash," Retsu snorted. "You think a few Shikon Jewel shards make you invincible? Ridiculous."
He plucked the three shards from Hiten's forehead and casually tossed them to Kagome.
"Huh? These are for me?"
She scrambled to catch them, staring at the pink glow in her palm in shock.
"Yeah."
Retsu activated Kamui again, sending Hiten's body into the other dimension.
Then he pulled out the katana stuck near Kagome and slid it back into its sheath.
Besides cutting down weak demons, he often used this sword as a marker for Flying Thunder God.
The technique, created by the Second Hokage, allowed instant teleportation between marked objects.
"Retsu, don't you want them?" Kagome asked curiously, clutching the shards. "Aren't you collecting them too?"
"I already took the ones from the other guy. Fair's fair. These are yours," Retsu replied with a smile.
He only collected the Shikon Jewel shards to lure demons to their deaths.
A few more or less made little difference.
Besides, Kagome was Kikyo's reincarnation—the shrine maiden destined to guard the jewel.
Collecting and protecting the shards was her role.
If he took everything, it might discourage her.
But he also couldn't give her all of them.
The main group was still too weak.
Sooner or later, Naraku would snatch them away anyway—just like in the original story, where their hard-earned shards were delivered to him again and again.
Keeping some himself meant Naraku could never complete the jewel.
In a way, it disrupted his plans.
"Retsu… are you human?"
Feeling more at ease, Kagome finally asked the question she'd been holding back.
"Of course I am," Retsu smiled, raising an eyebrow. "You didn't think I was a demon, did you?"
"N-No, of course not! Haha!" Kagome laughed awkwardly, her cheeks warming.
In truth, she had suspected he might be a great demon like Sesshōmaru.
"You're wondering about these cracks… and why I don't look alive, right?" Retsu said calmly, seeing through her.
"Yes! Yes!" Kagome nodded eagerly.
"That's because I'm not alive," he replied casually. "This body is made through the Edo Tensei. It's formed from dust to anchor a soul that should've returned to the afterlife."
"S-So… you're… dead?" Kagome's eyes widened, her voice trembling.
For a modern middle school girl, standing in front of a walking corpse was still a bit much.
"Demons are everywhere. What's so shocking about a dead guy walking around?" Retsu rolled his eyes.
Kagome paused.
Thinking about it… he wasn't wrong.
In a world full of demons, this really wasn't that outrageous.
"Yeah… I guess that makes sense?" she scratched her head, somehow calming down.
"Then… how did you die?" she asked suddenly.
"Got killed," Retsu answered matter-of-factly, though his tone darkened slightly.
"But you're so strong. How could someone kill you?" she pressed.
"I'm not weak," he said through clenched teeth. "The guy I met wasn't human."
"I trained for over ten years, and it still wasn't enough to beat someone who just flipped a switch and cheated."
The memory reignited his anger.
That sense of helplessness still burned deep in his bones.
"Uh… I see…" Kagome sensed his mood and wisely dropped the subject.
An awkward silence followed.
Just as she was thinking of changing topics, familiar voices echoed in the distance.
"Kagome! Kagome—!"
It was Inuyasha and Shippo.
"I'm here! Inuyasha! Shippo!"
Kagome jumped up, waving enthusiastically, relief lighting up her face.
"Your 'dog' found you," Retsu said as he stood and brushed dust from his clothes. "Wait here for them. I'm heading out."
"Retsu, thank you so much for saving me!" Kagome bowed deeply again. "And for the shards too."
"Just happened to be nearby," he waved it off and turned to leave.
Then he paused.
As if remembering something, his left eye glowed crimson. A Kamui vortex opened, and a piece of yellow fox fur emerged.
He caught it and handed it to Kagome.
"This belonged to that little fox demon's father. Give it to him."
"Huh? This is Shippo's dad?" Kagome accepted it in surprise, fingers brushing the soft fur.
She looked up, about to ask how he knew—
But Retsu was already gone.
Only a gentle breeze swept through the ruined courtyard.
"Eh? He left that fast?"