Silence settled inside the treehouse.
Even the wind outside seemed to soften, as if unwilling to disturb the stillness between them.
Uchiha Kasage glanced at Kikyo, who sat quietly beside him, her expression faintly shadowed by lingering sorrow. After a moment, he broke the silence.
"Do you want to be resurrected?"
Kikyo didn't respond immediately.
"If you do," he continued calmly, "we can do it together. This technique allows multiple revivals. It just requires a few more sacrifices—nothing complicated."
"S-sacrifices…?"
Kikyo looked up sharply, a trace of vigilance flashing through her calm eyes.
"What kind of sacrifices?"
"Living beings will do."
Kasage's tone remained casual, almost indifferent.
"Reversing life and death means stealing vitality—it's only natural. But don't worry, I've already thought about it. There are plenty of low-level yokai around here. Catching a few will be enough."
Kikyo fell silent for a brief moment, then nodded slightly.
As a miko who had spent her life purifying yokai, she held no hesitation toward them. To protect the Shikon Jewel, she had already taken countless yokai lives.
"When will you begin?" she asked quietly. "What do you need me to do?"
"I can start anytime."
Kasage's expression shifted, becoming more serious.
"But right now, you have a problem. Your soul power is too weak. You're barely sustained by resentment."
He paused, his gaze steady.
"Even if I resurrect you now, you'd most likely fall into a coma. We need to wait until your soul recovers to a certain level."
"…My soul…"
Kikyo lowered her gaze slightly, her voice soft and distant.
"My soul has already reincarnated. It exists within Kagome now. What remains here… is only a fragment, bound by resentment."
A faint flicker of determination appeared in her eyes.
"I will gather more souls as quickly as possible."
Kasage frowned slightly.
"Collecting souls like that is too inefficient…"
He lifted his hand to his chin, thinking.
Then—
His Sharingan appeared.
The crimson eyes locked onto Kikyo, observing her with intense focus.
Kikyo felt the weight of that gaze—sharp, penetrating, as if it could see through everything. Yet she didn't move. She simply sat still, allowing him to examine her.
Through the Sharingan's perception, her body revealed its true nature.
It wasn't human.
It lacked meridians… no dantian… no internal structure at all.
Inside, it was hollow—like a carefully crafted shell.
The only thing sustaining it was the soul energy gathered from the dead.
It was unnatural.
And yet—
It worked flawlessly.
"…The one who made your body…" Kasage muttered, genuinely impressed. "I'd like to capture her and study this properly."
He shook his head slightly.
"This is far more absurd than a Shadow Clone."
A Shadow Clone, even if formed from chakra, still replicated the structure of a human body.
But Kikyo's form—
It was nothing more than a vessel of clay, animated purely by soul energy.
That went beyond anything he had seen.
Kikyo shifted slightly under his gaze, a faint discomfort surfacing. She raised a hand instinctively toward her chest.
"What exactly are you looking at?"
"I'm observing how your soul energy operates within this body."
Kasage dismissed the Sharingan, though his tone still carried amazement.
"It's… a miracle."
"…Isn't your Edo Tensei body even stranger?" Kikyo replied, a hint of irritation in her voice.
"That's because my body is maintained by chakra—"
Kasage stopped mid-sentence.
His eyes lit up.
He slammed his fist lightly into his palm.
"I've got it."
Kikyo immediately looked at him, a trace of anticipation returning.
"I think I know how to solve your problem."
"…What do you mean?"
"I'll give you some of my chakra," he said directly. "Let's see if it can replace the souls you're collecting."
"Chakra…?"
Kikyo looked confused.
"It's similar to a miko's spiritual power or a yokai's demonic energy," Kasage explained.
"But as a shinobi, what I use is chakra—a fusion of physical energy and spiritual energy."
His eyes narrowed slightly as he continued thinking aloud.
"It contains both vitality… and soul essence."
He stood up immediately.
"Let's try it."
Kikyo rose as well.
"What should I do?"
Kasage hesitated for a moment.
Originally, he considered directly sealing chakra into her body—but quickly dismissed the idea.
Her body was irreplaceable.
If something went wrong, there would be no way to repair it.
"…Just give me your hand."
Without hesitation, Kikyo extended her hand.
Kasage took it.
Her skin felt cool—
Yet unexpectedly soft.
Not rigid like clay.
Not lifeless.
It felt almost… human.
He paused for a fraction of a second, then focused.
Chakra began to flow.
Slowly, carefully, he guided it into her body.
The moment it entered—
"Mmm—!"
Kikyo let out a soft gasp, her eyes widening instantly.
The sensation was overwhelming.
Completely different from the cold, hollow presence of dead souls.
This energy was warm.
Alive.
It spread through her like gentle sunlight, dissolving the lingering cold that had clung to her existence since death.
For the first time—
Her soul felt… at ease.
She looked up at Kasage, shock clearly visible in her eyes.
"How is it?" he asked, watching her reaction closely.
"…It's incredible."
Her voice carried a faint, unmistakable warmth.
"My soul… it's strengthening. And this feeling…"
She hesitated briefly.
"…It's warm."
Kasage nodded slightly.
That was expected.
The chakra within him was not ordinary.
After his resurrection, his body had fused remnants of **Hashirama's cells**—a byproduct of his past preparations for survival. From that, he inherited a fragment of **Wood Release**.
More importantly—
Those cells carried immense **Yang energy**—pure vitality.
Combined with the **Yin energy** of his Sharingan, his chakra possessed both life force and spiritual essence.
It was the perfect balance.
A power that could sustain life—
Or even defy death.
"…It seems this will work," he said quietly.
And for the first time since her revival—
A faint sense of hope began to take root within Kikyo.