"That's right!" Kansuke paid no mind to Kikyo's surprised expression and continued, "I remember that man had a spider-shaped burn scar on his back. He was a villain far worse than I ever was."
His cloudy eyes flickered with memory. "He sought me out himself. He told me the Shikon Jewel could grant any wish—and that it was in the hands of a shrine maiden named Kikyo."
"Onigumo incited me to kill you and seize the jewel, but that bastard deceived me. His real goal was to lure away all my subordinates!" Kansuke reached up and touched his blind right eye. "I lost this eye when I attacked you—injured by the yokai at your side."
"After I failed to obtain the Shikon Jewel, I searched everywhere for Onigumo to settle the score!"
Kansuke suddenly let out a strange laugh, his eyes gleaming wildly as if he had momentarily returned to the ruthless bandit leader he once was. His breathing grew uneven.
"I found him in a pleasure district. To repay his treachery, I cornered him in a room and used gunpowder to burn the entire place down!"
His grin twisted with satisfaction. "But that damnable man refused to die!"
He laughed again, hoarse and triumphant. "I threw his charred body off a cliff—into the abyss where I first met you!"
"...I see," Kikyo murmured. A complex emotion flickered in her eyes. After a brief silence, she asked softly, "And then? What happened after that?"
"That was the end," Kansuke replied, shaking his head as he took out a shard of the Shikon Jewel. "I never saw him again. Later, I heard the shrine maiden Kikyo had died, and the jewel was buried with her."
He looked down at the shard in his hand, his voice laced with bitterness. "I stole this recently from a dying yokai. But it cannot grant my wish. It only keeps this old body alive… forcing me to wander like a hunted dog."
"Heh… Onigumo. Even in death, he still deceives me."
Kikyo gave a faint, complicated smile but said nothing more. She rose to her feet, walked past Kansuke beneath the tree, and continued forward in silence.
Uchiha Kasage watched her retreating figure. He understood—this encounter, this endless chain of cause and effect, had shaken her deeply.
He glanced once more at Kansuke, then quickly followed after Kikyo, leaving the old bandit behind.
"Wait!"
Kansuke's weak voice called out from behind them.
Kasage looked at Kikyo, who had stopped. Gently, he took her hand, interlacing their fingers with quiet reassurance. His gaze met hers, steady and encouraging.
Kikyo inhaled softly, steadying her emotions. She tightened her grip on his hand before turning back. "Is there something else?"
"I have a request… for the shrine maiden," Kansuke said, his eyes fixed on her face. Something about her stirred a deep, unspoken trust within him. "I told you—I've been searching for a place to die."
His throat tightened. Fear—raw and undeniable—flashed in his eyes.
"I lived however I pleased. I killed, burned, destroyed… without restraint. But now that I'm old… I'm afraid of going to hell."
"You seek salvation?" Kikyo asked gently.
"...Yes." Kansuke nodded with difficulty, extending the Shikon shard toward her. "Take this. In return… grant me one request."
Kikyo glanced at the shard but did not take it. "What is your request?"
Kansuke gave a dry, self-mocking laugh. "How pathetic… The Rakshasa Kansuke, begging a woman before death."
He placed the shard on the ground, then picked up a short blade lying near his feet. With trembling hands, he cut off a lock of his white hair and carefully set it beside the shard.
The moment the shard left his grasp, his condition visibly worsened.
Yet suddenly, as if fueled by a final spark, his eyes brightened.
"I heard… there is a place where even men like me can find salvation. I searched for it for years… hoping to die there. But it seems… I'm too late."
His gaze dropped to the lock of hair, then rose again—pleading.
"At least… take this there for me. I beg you."
Kikyo remained silent for a few seconds. Then, under his desperate gaze, she slowly nodded.
"I promise."
Relief softened Kansuke's expression. "Thank you… That place… is Mount Hakurei. A sacred ground where even the wicked can atone. Head north… you will find it…"
His breathing became shallow, then weaker.
Kasage watched closely. He already knew—Kansuke was at the brink of death.
"Oh… one last thing…" Kansuke whispered faintly. "What is your name… truly?"
Kikyo hesitated for a moment.
"...Kikyo."
Kansuke froze.
For an instant, confusion flickered in his fading eyes—as if he were seeing the shrine maiden from fifty years ago.
A faint, peaceful smile appeared on his lips.
"...That's… not funny…"
His head tilted, and his breath stopped.
"He's gone," Kasage said softly.
Kikyo remained still, her gaze lingering on the lifeless body.
"Kasage… is this what they call the cycle of cause and effect?" she asked quietly, her voice tinged with uncertainty.
Kasage gently pulled her into his arms, resting a hand on her back in quiet comfort.
"Perhaps," he said. "But to me… it feels more like someone is guiding you—toward Mount Hakurei."
Kikyo looked up sharply. "You mean… this was Naraku's doing?"
Kasage nodded faintly. "It's too convenient. A dying man carrying a shard… traveling this far… only to meet us."
As he spoke, his expression sharpened.
With one hand, he swiftly formed seals. Chakra surged through him, gathering at his throat.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
A massive fireball erupted forward, roaring through the air like a blazing comet. It slammed violently into the distant cliff—
BOOM!
The explosion lit the sky in a burst of fire and debris.
Flames spread wildly, devouring rock and earth.
Then—
A guttural roar echoed from within the inferno.
From the shattered cliffside, a grotesque creature clawed its way out—its body a twisted amalgamation of multiple yokai, writhing and unstable, radiating a suffocating aura of malice.
"This…!" Kikyo's eyes widened. "Naraku's energy!"
The creature thrashed violently within the flames, its form breaking apart as the fire consumed it.
Kikyo clenched her hand slightly.
She hadn't sensed it at all.
Her attention had been completely drawn into Kansuke's story.
And that… had been the trap.