BOOM!
With a thunderous impact, the corpse of the Leopard Cat Lord was hurled out of the spatial portal, crashing heavily into the clearing below and sending dust and fragments scattering into the air.
Shūran stood quietly beside Uchiha Kasage, watching the body land.
Her face was completely calm.
No grief.
No hesitation.
To her—
As long as the corpse had been brought into the Graveyard, that was enough.
How it landed…
Didn't matter.
---
Kasage glanced at her expression and felt a strange discomfort.
The way Yokai thought…
Was truly different.
If one said they didn't care about their Lord—
Then why had Tōran and her sisters gone to such lengths to revive him?
And after failing—
Why come all the way here, risking danger, just to bury him?
But if one said they *did* care—
Then this indifference…
This casual way of discarding the body…
Felt no different from throwing away refuse.
---
He suddenly recalled two familiar figures:
Sesshomaru
and Inuyasha.
Their attitude toward their father—
Inu no Taishō—
Was just as contradictory.
They had fought fiercely over the Tessaiga directly atop his remains…
With no concern for the condition of the corpse.
Yet—
Sesshomaru had once lashed out in anger when his father's resting place was disturbed.
---
"…Yokai really are complicated."
Kasage muttered under his breath.
---
"Big Sister! Over here!"
Shūran suddenly waved toward the portal.
A figure emerged from within—
Swift and imposing.
Tōran.
---
She immediately noticed them and flew over.
But the moment her gaze landed on Kasage—
She paused.
A flicker of surprise crossed her eyes.
"…You."
"Uchiha Kasage."
"The human who formed a contract with Karan."
Her voice was calm, but there was recognition in it.
After all—
They had fought before.
And those black flames…
Were not easily forgotten.
---
Kasage smiled slightly.
"We meet again, Tōran."
She nodded once.
But her gaze sharpened.
"…Why are you here?"
"And why are you with Shūran?"
Then—
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"…Don't tell me…"
"Shūran."
"Did you also sign a contract with him behind my back?"
---
"Of course I did!"
Shūran answered without hesitation.
She grabbed Kasage's arm proudly.
"It's thanks to him that I'm even standing here!"
"I was being chased earlier—if I hadn't summoned him, I would've had to run away!"
"And look—"
"We even found the burial site!"
---
Tōran stared at her in silence for a few seconds.
Then—
She exhaled.
A faint sigh of resignation.
"…You really are reckless."
Still—
She turned to Kasage and inclined her head slightly.
"…Thank you."
"You've been of great help."
---
Kasage waved it off.
"It's nothing."
Then—
His expression changed.
He pointed toward the corpse below.
"…But there's a problem."
---
Tōran followed his gaze.
Kasage's tone grew more serious.
"Your Lord's body…"
"Something is happening inside it."
"It's gathering energy—rapidly."
His eyes narrowed.
"…Is this what Shūran meant?"
"A Yokai born from a corpse?"
---
Tōran didn't seem surprised.
"…Most likely."
She spoke calmly.
"The previous resurrection left traces of the Shikon Jewel inside the body."
"That power is accelerating the process."
She paused slightly.
"If Shūran had been any later…"
"I would've forced open a portal myself and thrown it in."
---
Kasage glanced at her.
…So she really did treat this place like a dumping ground.
No wonder she had thrown the body in immediately.
She simply wanted to get rid of it.
Fast.
Screeeech—!
A sharp tearing sound cut through the air.
All three of them looked down.
---
A gaping hole suddenly split open in the corpse's chest.
A pale—
Bone claw—
Burst out.
Demonic Aura surged violently from within.
Then—
Another claw.
They dug into the flesh—
Pulling outward.
Slowly—
Something emerged.
Not rising.
Not reviving.
But growing.
A skeletal Yokai forced its way out from inside the corpse.
Its body was smaller—
But covered in jagged bone spikes.
A single horn protruded from its skull.
Fragments of tattered armor clung to it—
Mirroring the original corpse.
---
Kasage's eyes sharpened.
He saw it clearly.
The original skeleton of the Lord—
Was still there.
This new creature…
Was separate.
Like a parasite.
Or—
A sprout growing from a dead tree.
---
"…So this is what you meant."
Now he understood.
Completely.
"Born from a corpse"—
Was not a metaphor.
It was literal.
Soon—
The skeletal creature tore itself free completely.
It dropped to the ground.
Then—
Raised its head.
ROAR—!!
Crimson flames ignited within its eye sockets.
Its gaze locked onto them.
---
In the next instant—
It moved.
A blur of white.
Rushing toward the rock with terrifying speed.
---
Kasage's expression shifted slightly.
"…Fast."
Far faster than the previous Skeleton Yokai.
Its aura—
Stronger.
Denser.
Likely due to being newly born—
And enhanced by the lingering power of the Shikon Jewel.
---
"Hmph."
Tōran's voice turned cold.
A trace of irritation flashed in her eyes.
---
She raised her hands.
And—
Swung them down.
A freezing gale erupted instantly.
Like a storm of winter given form.
It surged forward—
Swallowing everything in its path.
CRACK—CRACK—CRACK—!
Ice spread violently.
The climbing skeleton froze mid-motion—
Locked in place.
Encased in solid frost.
---
The cold did not stop.
It expanded outward—
Freezing the ground.
The corpse.
The entire clearing.
---
In seconds—
Everything below turned into a field of ice.
Silent.
Still.
---
Kasage watched quietly.
He could tell—
Tōran's mood was terrible.
Still furious.
Still simmering—
From being deceived by Naraku.
---
"…Let's go."
Tōran's voice was flat.
"The portal will close soon."
Without waiting—
She turned and flew toward it.
---
Shūran looked at Kasage.
"…Can you fly?"
---
He shook his head.
"No."
Flight—
Was rare, even among shinobi.
---
"I'll take you—"
She reached for him.
But Kasage waved lightly.
"No need."
"I can return by releasing the Summoning Technique."
"You should go with your sister."
---
Shūran paused—
Then nodded.
"…Alright."
She smiled faintly.
"See you next time."
---
With that—
She leapt into the portal.
And vanished.
---
Kasage remained alone.
He exhaled slowly.
Preparing to release the technique—
CRACK—!
---
His eyes snapped downward.
The ice—
Was breaking.
---
The skeletal creature—
Had broken free.
The crimson flames in its eyes burned even brighter.
---
It charged again.
Relentless.
---
Kasage didn't react.
Instead—
He casually pulled out a kunai.
Marked with the Flying Thunder God seal.
And embedded it into the rock.
---
Just as the creature lunged—
---
Puff.
---
His body dissolved into white smoke.
Gone.
---
The skeleton passed straight through the fading mist—
Lost its target—
And tumbled forward.
Rolling off the rock—
---
BOOM!
---
It crashed heavily onto the frozen ground below.
Alone.
In the silent graveyard.