"What?" Sango's eyes widened in shock as she looked at the man dressed as a priest.
"I heard that there are yokai trying to forge the Shikon Jewel," the man said calmly, as if speaking about something trivial.
At that moment, Uchiha Kasage suddenly pulled an arrow from Kikyo's quiver. He handed it to her and spoke in a low voice:
"Kikyo, shoot that hidden one in a moment. Don't use your Sacred Power yet—I need to take something from it first."
"…Alright."
Though she didn't fully understand his intention, Kikyo accepted the arrow without hesitation. She nocked it and gave a small nod, her gaze sharpening.
The instant he finished speaking, Uchiha Kasage vanished.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared before a large tree nearby.
His fist clenched, chakra surging violently around it. With terrifying force, he drove his punch straight into the trunk.
**Boom!**
The tree exploded into splinters.
A figure hidden behind it was blasted out, crashing heavily onto the ground.
"Damn it!"
Mambudai clutched his chest, his face twisted in pain and fear.
He had hidden himself perfectly—how had he been discovered?
But remembering the sheer force of that punch, he didn't dare hesitate. He turned and tried to flee.
Whoosh!
An arrow cut through the air, shooting straight toward his chest.
Mambudai glanced at it. Sensing no spiritual power, he sneered.
"A human's arrow… worthless."
The arrow struck him with a dull *clang*, failing to pierce his body.
But the moment he looked away—
Uchiha Kasage appeared right in front of him.
In one smooth motion, he caught the rebounding arrow… while his other hand, crackling with lightning, thrust forward.
**Squelch.**
His hand pierced straight into the yokai's chest.
A second later, Kasage withdrew his arm and flickered back beside Kikyo.
"Finish him. I've got what I need."
He opened his palm.
Resting there… was a crystalline Shikon Jewel.
Kikyo's eyes narrowed slightly. Though questions flickered in her mind, she acted without delay.
She drew her bow to full extension.
Sacred energy surged into the arrow—
**Whoosh!**
"My Shikon Jewel!" Mambudai roared in fury, his body beginning to transform. Scales spread across his skin as he tried to become a giant serpent.
But he was too late.
The Sacred Arrow pierced him cleanly.
In an instant—
He turned to ash.
Kasage calmly returned the arrow to Kikyo's quiver and handed her the fake jewel.
"Hold this for now."
Their eyes met briefly—hers questioning, his steady and unreadable—before he turned away.
His gaze grew cold as it landed on the "priest" they had rescued.
The man was casually holding a bottle Kagome had given him, admiring it with an oddly smug expression.
But within seconds, his companion had been killed.
Now, under Kasage's icy stare—
Cold sweat formed on his forehead.
The atmosphere shifted instantly.
Kagome, Inuyasha, and the others felt it too.
Even without understanding, they instinctively trusted Kasage.
Inuyasha quickly pulled Kagome behind him, gripping Tessaiga.
"What's going on?" he demanded.
Sango and Miroku stepped back, subtly surrounding the man. Kirara let out a low growl.
The man's expression darkened.
He stared at Kasage.
"…How did you find me?"
Kasage gave a faint, cold smile.
"That clumsy disguise of yours? Any experienced ninja could see through it."
The man's arrogance betrayed him—something no disguise could hide.
Before he could respond, Kasage's hands moved swiftly through seals.
"Wood Release: Piercing Branch Technique."
The ground erupted.
Countless barbed wooden branches shot upward, coiling tightly around the man and binding him completely.
Kasage took the fake jewel back from Kikyo, casually tossing it in his hand.
"Speak. Your name. And where this came from."
His voice dropped.
"Half-yokai… if you lie, you die."
"…Half-yokai?"
Inuyasha and the others froze in shock.
They hadn't expected that.
The bound man stiffened.
"How… did you know?"
Kasage's eyes sharpened.
"I'm asking the questions."
Silence lingered.
"…My name is Izumo."
Kasage sighed softly.
"…Still lying."
His crimson Sharingan flared to life.
In an instant, the man fell into a genjutsu.
His eyes became empty—like a puppet.
"What is your true name?"
"…Gyuoh… My mother named me Gyuoh. Izumo… was my father's name."
"What are these fake Shikon Jewels?"
"…Failed attempts. The true Shikon Jewel is formed by combining the pure soul of a priestess with corrupted yokai souls. These… are made from ordinary human and yokai souls."
Kikyo's expression darkened.
"…You used human souls for this…?"
"…Yes."
Kagome clenched her fists, anger rising in her chest.
"That's horrible…!"
Kasage remained calm.
"You approached us on purpose. Why?"
"…To use your souls… With the shards you carry… your souls could form a complete Shikon Jewel."
Kagome stared in disbelief.
"Why would you do something like that?!"
Kasage glanced at her briefly.
"Isn't it obvious?"
His voice was cold.
"Power. Or a wish. Someone who harvests souls like this isn't sane."
Silence fell.
Then—
Kasage lifted his hand.
The wooden branches tightened.
They formed a coffin around Gyuoh's body.
Slowly—
It sank into the ground.
A faint, muffled cracking sound echoed beneath the earth.
And just like that—
The madman who sought to create a Shikon Jewel… was gone.