Kobe Hikaru stared at the bead, and the system panel popped up automatically.
[Qualified target for capture detected.] [shikon jewel] [Quality: Artifact] [Current Status: Dormant] [Affinity: Cannot be unlocked, prerequisites must be met.]
Kobe Hikaru stared at the text on the panel. Then he looked at the bead in his hand. Then he looked back at the panel.
"..." His expression froze.
"Wait." His voice trembled slightly, filled with disbelief: "What on earth is this thing?!"
The old man didn't seem to hear what he was saying, nor did he answer Kobe Hikaru's question; he simply continued to struggle to deliver his final words.
"Please take this item... to the village... a few mountains away..."
"Give it to a... priestess named Kikyo..."
"She is... the only one who can suppress the shikon jewel..."
"I'm counting... on you..."
Kobe Hikaru was no longer listening. Only one thought kept echoing in his mind.
shikon jewel. The shikon jewel from Inuyasha.
The shikon jewel that could grant any wish. The shikon jewel that caused demons' power to skyrocket. The shikon jewel that drove every faction in the entire series into a frenzy.
The old man's voice grew lower and lower, his breathing faint.
"My... grandchild... is still waiting in the village..."
"Tell them... grandfather..."
"I'm so sorry..."
The voice came to an abrupt halt. The old man's head slumped, and he stopped breathing. Silence filled the cave.
Only Kobe Hikaru remained, looking down at the shikon jewel in his hand. A pale purple light pulsed in his palm, soft and mysterious.
"The world of Inuyasha..." he muttered. Fate is truly (damn) mysterious!
Volume 1: Chapter 5 The shikon jewel's Unlocking Condition, Finding the Suppressor Kikyo
Kobe Hikaru naturally knew long ago that this world was not simple. On the first day of his transmigration, he discovered the existence of demons.
Those hideous faces, twisted bodies, and instinctive bloodlust didn't match anything he had seen in any film or television work. He once thought he had transmigrated into some original fantasy world, a chaotic era purely dominated by demons.
In the first week of his transmigration, he witnessed the spiritual power of an Exorcist. That day, a purifying arrow flying from afar almost pierced him, making him deeply realize the iron rule that'spiritual power suppresses Demonic Qi.'
In the first month of his transmigration, he pieced together the general background of this era from the idle chatter of some demons.
The Japanese Warring States period. Warlords divided the land, feudal lords fought, and human life was as cheap as grass. Demons ran rampant, hundreds of ghosts roamed the night, and villages were in constant danger.
Human forces like Exorcists, Onmyoji, and priestesses checked and balanced the demon factions, with neither side able to consume the other. But he had never been able to determine which world this was. Was it some original Warring States background? Or was it a work he had seen before?
Until now. The shikon jewel. Kikyo. The Demon Slayer clan, the ancestors of Sango and Kohaku. With these keywords put together, the answer was obvious. An anime he had watched countless times before transmigrating. Its name, Inuyasha.
Kobe Hikaru looked at the shikon jewel in his hand. This bead could be said to be the core item of the entire Inuyasha series. It is said to have been born from the Battle of the Four Souls, formed after a priestess perished together with hundreds of powerful demons.
The bead seals four types of souls—Aramitama, Nigimitama, Kushimitama, and Sakimitama—representing the four human virtues of courage, friendship, wisdom, and love. But at the same time, the resentment of demons is also sealed within the bead.
The forces of good and evil are in eternal confrontation within the bead; whoever gains the upper hand, the bead will lean towards them. If held by someone with good intentions, the bead will exert a purifying power; if held by a demon with evil intentions, the bead will cause the demon's power to skyrocket.
This is probably why the group of demons earlier would go to any lengths to hunt down the old man. As long as one obtains the shikon jewel, one can ascend in a single step and become a high-level demon. Or even, a Great Demon!
It's not just the present. In the original work that Kobe Hikaru knew well, countless factions were fighting tooth and nail for this bead. The half-demon protagonist Inuyasha wanted to use it to become a full demon. As the main villain, Naraku, formed by the aggregation of countless demons, also wanted to use it to become the strongest existence.
Even Kobe Hikaru himself had once fantasized in front of the screen, "If only I could get the shikon jewel." Now? It was lying in the palm of his hand.
"Screw it." Kobe Hikaru cursed, not knowing what expression to wear. Surprise? Indeed. But more than that, it was a sense of absurdity.
However, having said that, if this really is the world of Inuyasha, then the point in time he is currently in should be... the era when Kikyo is still alive.
Because the old man said that Kikyo is the only one who can suppress the shikon jewel. In the original plot, Kikyo was indeed the priestess who guarded the shikon jewel.
At this moment, it is at least fifty years away from the original timeline of Inuyasha! That is to say... this period of time is enough for him to do many things. For example...
He looked at the system panel again.
[shikon jewel] [Quality: Artifact] [Current Status: Dormant] [Affinity: Cannot be unlocked] [Unlocking Condition: Find the'Suppressor']
The Suppressor. That name the old man mentioned before he died. Kikyo.
"So I must find Kikyo first to unlock the shikon jewel's affinity?" Kobe Hikaru frowned. This condition was a bit troublesome.
Kikyo is the priestess who guards the shikon jewel. Her spiritual power is formidable, her archery is god-like, and she specializes in dealing with demons. In the original work, she once killed countless demons with a single arrow and was known as the "strongest priestess of the Warring States period."
And what is he now? An Oni Samurai. A demon. Kikyo's prey. He even suspects now that the purifying arrow that almost blew him up back then originated from Kikyo!
"If I deliver it directly, won't I just get turned into a hedgehog by an arrow again?" Kobe Hikaru had a headache. He could imagine that scene—that would be too unjust.
But he soon thought of another possibility. The system only said to "find" the Suppressor, it didn't say he had to have direct contact. Perhaps as long as he brings the shikon jewel near Kikyo and triggers some condition, it will unlock automatically?
"It's worth a try." Kobe Hikaru tucked the shikon jewel into his bosom.
Ãdvåñçé çhàptêr àvàilàble óñ pàtreøn (Gk31)