"Is she the one who drove the Bird Yokai to attack the village?"
In the shrine courtyard, Kikyo fixed her gaze on the Animal Path standing before her. Her eyes lingered briefly on Abi's chest before she asked calmly,
"Is her name Abi?"
"Yes, it's her."
Uchiha Kasage nodded and explained,
"She attacked the village to collect human blood for her mother, Tekkei, to dilute the toxins in her body."
As she spoke, she raised her hand. The King of Hell manifested behind her, and from its mouth she retrieved a faintly glowing soul.
She held it out toward Kikyo.
"This is her soul. Do you need it?"
"I don't."
Kikyo glanced at the soul and replied calmly,
"If you don't need it either, let it return to the underworld. Forcibly keeping a soul is never a good thing."
"Hmm."
Kasage considered it briefly, then released her grip.
The soul transformed into a sphere of soft light, drifting upward before disappearing into the sky.
Kasage watched quietly, knowing it had returned to the underworld.
Kikyo's gaze shifted back to Abi, who stood motionless like a puppet. Her eyes lingered again on her chest before she turned to Kasage, a faint teasing smile appearing.
"You're keeping her body as a puppet… not to have her bear your child, are you?"
Kasage gave her a flat look.
"That's impossible. She's a corpse. How could she have a child?"
Kikyo's smile deepened slightly.
"So if she weren't a corpse… you'd consider it?"
Kasage rolled her eyes, clearly unwilling to continue that conversation.
Rather than engage further, she changed the subject.
"There's something I don't understand."
As she spoke, she summoned Kohaku's body from the King of Hell and placed it gently on the ground.
"This is Sango's younger brother. You've met him before."
Kikyo's expression immediately became serious.
Kasage continued,
"After Naraku killed him, he survived using a shard of the Shikon Jewel, but remained under Naraku's control."
"Not long ago, I removed the shard… and extracted his soul as well."
She summoned the King of Hell again and retrieved a wisp of soul, holding it in front of Kikyo.
"The Naraka Path should be able to return the soul to the body and revive him… but I've tried several times."
Her tone turned thoughtful.
"And it didn't work."
She looked at Kikyo.
"Do you know why?"
This was her first time deeply exploring the Rinnegan's abilities. She wasn't sure whether this was a limitation of her power—or a rule of this world.
Kikyo stepped forward and knelt beside Kohaku.
She placed her fingertips lightly against his chest.
After examining him carefully for a moment, understanding appeared in her eyes.
"It's simple."
She stood slowly.
"Because his 'spirit' has already disappeared."
"Spirit?"
Kasage frowned slightly, intrigued.
"What do you mean?"
Kikyo gave a faint smile and explained patiently,
"What we call a 'soul' is actually made of two parts."
"The soul represents the heart, consciousness, memory, and will."
She paused.
"The spirit represents the body. It is the force that sustains physical existence."
She turned her gaze toward Abi.
"Take her as an example."
"Although you extracted her soul, her spirit still remains in her body."
"That means her body hasn't truly died."
Her tone shifted slightly, a trace of amusement returning.
"So technically… she isn't completely a corpse."
Then she looked back at Kasage, her eyes carrying a subtle teasing glint.
"So yes… she could still have children."
"And if you want her body to remain intact," she added calmly, "you should feed her regularly."
Kasage paused.
That detail… had never crossed her mind.
Creating Six Paths puppets didn't require a living body—only a usable vessel.
Unlike Deva Akane, who still retained consciousness, Abi had none. Kasage had treated her as a simple corpse, using black receivers to transmit chakra and control her movements.
She had never noticed this distinction before.
But now—
It made sense.
"So that means…"
Kasage's gaze shifted to Kohaku.
"Deva Akane could be revived because her soul never fully left her body… and her body was still alive."
She exhaled softly.
"But Kohaku…"
Her voice lowered.
"His spirit disappeared the moment Naraku killed him."
Kikyo nodded.
"That's right."
She continued,
"A body can sometimes continue functioning even after the soul has left, as long as the spirit remains."
"Some powerful Yokai can keep moving and fighting even after death, simply because their spirit hasn't completely dissipated."
Kasage let out a quiet breath.
"I see…"
"So the spirit is essentially the body's life force."
A hint of regret crossed her expression.
"Naraku is already on guard against my illusions. I won't be able to control him the same way again."
Kikyo's gaze softened slightly.
"That's unfortunate."
"If he could use Rinne Tensei again… Enju might have been revived as well."
Kasage's lips curved into a faint, dangerous smile.
"It's fine."
Her eyes gleamed.
"If illusions won't work… we'll use another method next time."
Kikyo looked at her, slightly surprised.
"You have another way to control him?"
"Of course."
Kasage's tone carried quiet confidence.
Then her gaze returned to Kohaku.
"His case is different from ours before. His body still exists."
"That means we can try other methods."
Kikyo's eyes sharpened with interest.
"You can revive him?"
Kasage smirked faintly.
"I prepared multiple methods to ensure my own revival."
"If one doesn't work… I use another."
Kikyo gave her a speechless look.
"You really went that far…"
Kasage didn't deny it.
Instead, her Sharingan flickered to life.
Space twisted.
Kamui activated.
A spiraling vortex opened before her.
From within it, a massive scroll emerged—nearly as tall as a person—before dropping heavily onto the ground.
Kikyo stared at it.
"What is that?"
Kasage answered calmly,
"Life force I collected from various Yokai before I met you."
"I originally prepared it for myself… but thanks to Naraku, I never needed to use it."
She looked down at Kohaku.
"Now… we'll use it on him."
Kikyo frowned slightly.
"Life force?"
Kasage nodded.
"It's similar to what you call 'spirit.'"
"In the ninja world, we call it vitality."
"If a ninja exhausts all their chakra…"
She looked at Kohaku's still body.
"…their life force is depleted, and they die."
The courtyard fell silent.
Both of them understood—
This attempt would decide everything.