"There's a village ahead. Let's ask for directions to Kaede's village."
After walking along the forest path for some time, the outline of a small settlement came into view.
Kagetsu formed a seal with one hand.
Bang.
White smoke billowed outward, and when it cleared, he stood in the appearance he had worn in life.
A deep-blue, high-collared robe draped over his frame, the Uchiha fan crest embroidered boldly across the back. A katana rested at his hip. His long black hair fell neatly over his shoulders, framing sharp, composed features. The ashen cracks of Edo Tensei were hidden beneath the Transformation Jutsu.
He entered the village at an unhurried pace, gaze sweeping over his surroundings.
It was a small mountain hamlet,no shops, no marketplace. Just scattered wooden homes and dirt paths. Barefoot children ran laughing between houses, only to slow and stare at the unfamiliar stranger. The adults watched him too, their eyes guarded.
The village was encircled by wide stretches of farmland.
He made a slow circuit around the perimeter. Nothing unusual.
If there was anything remotely "special" here, it would be the shrine perched atop the mountain behind the village. A long stairway of bluestone slabs wound upward toward a modest shrine gate.
He glanced at it thoughtfully.
Shrines were practically standard scenery in anime worlds.
Still…
He was currently in an Edo Tensei body. And in this era, priests and miko wielded genuine spiritual power capable of purifying evil and the undead.
Better to avoid misunderstandings,and unnecessary conflict.
He deliberately kept his distance.
"Excuse me. Could you tell me how to reach Kaede's village?"
He stopped a passing farmer carrying a hoe and asked politely.
"Kaede's village?" The man blinked in confusion. "Never heard of it."
Kagetsu asked several more villagers in succession.
The answer was always the same.
He wasn't surprised.
In an age where demons roamed freely, most villagers likely never traveled beyond neighboring settlements in their entire lives. It was normal they wouldn't know.
With no useful information to be gained, he turned toward the village exit, intending to continue in the direction where the Shikon Jewel had shattered.
He had barely stepped beyond the outskirts when he stopped.
"Come out," he said calmly. "You've been following me for quite some time. What do you want?"
A soft, crisp female voice answered from behind the trees.
"You noticed?"
A figure stepped out from the shade.
She wore the traditional red and white robes of a miko. In her hand she held a kagura bell adorned with delicate silver chimes that rang faintly with each movement.
Her long black hair flowed down to her waist, loose except for a few strands framing her pale face. A string of prayer beads rested at her collarbone. Though her aura was pure and tranquil, there was a faint exhaustion lingering in her eyes.
She carried herself like someone burdened by constant vigilance.
"Who are you?" Kagetsu asked evenly.
He had sensed her long before leaving the village.
She must have concealed her presence with spiritual power,but such concealment was meaningless before the Sharingan. He could clearly see the gentle, luminous aura of purification surrounding her.
"I am the priestess of this village," she replied softly. "My name is Tōko."
"Tōko…"
The name stirred a memory.
Yes. She had appeared in the original story.
A priestess born with extraordinary spiritual power,power said to rival Kikyo's. Targeted by Naraku from childhood. Fifteen years later, she would be ambushed with demonic spider silk, killed, resurrected, and manipulated into stealing the Sacred Longbow of Mount Azusa from Kagome… and ordered to kill her.
So this was her.
"Lady Tōko," he said mildly, "is there something you need?"
Her eyes sharpened.
"You… are not among the living."
Her grip tightened around the kagura bell.
The man before her had no warmth. No pulse of life. Instead, a faint, lingering scent of death clung to him like mist.
"Oh?" Kagetsu raised a brow.
As expected of a priestess sensitive to spiritual power.
His Edo Tensei body lacked vitality. It was only natural she would sense it.
He released the Transformation Jutsu.
Bang.
White smoke dispersed.
His true form stood revealed,pale skin etched with dark, web-like cracks. His eyes were dull gray, lifeless. The heavy aura of death radiated from him unmistakably.
"A departed soul… lingering in this world…" Tōko whispered, her wariness deepening. "If you are already dead, why do you remain among the living?"
"Nothing complicated." He shrugged lightly. "I suppose… I simply haven't had enough of life yet."
Her expression hardened.
"You were sent by Naraku, weren't you?" she demanded. "Begone, evil spirit!"
For fifteen years, Naraku's shadow had loomed over her life. Assassins, traps, whispers in the dark,she had lived under constant threat.
Faced with an unfamiliar undead presence, her mind drew only one conclusion.
Without hesitation, she shook the kagura bell.
The clear ringing echoed sharply.
A beam of brilliant white spiritual power shot toward him like an arrow.
Kagetsu's feet flashed with chakra.
"Body Flicker."
He vanished.
"He disappeared?!"
Tōko's eyes widened. She quickly began forming a defensive barrier,
But a voice spoke calmly behind her.
"Lady Tōko, it's unwise to attack without confirming first."
Her heart nearly stopped.
So fast.
Before she could turn, her wrist was seized firmly. A powerful force spun her around to face him.
She found herself staring directly into his gray, lifeless eyes.
His other hand had already risen. A single fingertip rested lightly against the center of her forehead.
The faint chill of his touch froze her in place.
"First," he said quietly, "I have no connection to Naraku. I don't even know him personally."
Her breath trembled slightly.
"Second… since fate brought us together…"
His tone shifted, almost contemplative.
"Allow me to give you a gift."
Before the final word left his lips, his eyes changed.
Scarlet bloomed where gray once stood.
Three tomoe spun, merging seamlessly into a complex, sinister pattern.
The Mangekyō Sharingan.
Its cold, ominous aura seemed to distort the very air between them.
Tōko felt her consciousness pulled toward those eyes,
And the world began to tilt.