"Eh,Kagetsu? Why are you here?!"
Kagome's voice cracked in disbelief.
The shattered courtyard of the village manor still smelled of smoke and scorched earth. Roof tiles lay broken underfoot. Wooden beams smoldered faintly where lightning had struck moments earlier.
And standing amid the destruction,
Kagetsu.
His black cloak stirred lightly in the wind, the faint scent of ozone still lingering in the air from the Thunder Beast Brothers' rampage.
Hiten hovered several meters above the ground, twin wheels of crackling fire spinning beneath his feet. Lightning danced along the jagged edges of the Thunder Strike Blade resting casually on his shoulder.
He glanced between Kagome and Kagetsu, one brow lifting.
"Oh?" His tone was mocking. "You know this man?"
His lips curled upward, revealing sharp fangs.
"So this is the 'Inuyasha' you were talking about earlier?"
His voice dropped, amused and cruel.
"No matter. Since you've come on your own… I'll kill you together."
Before his final word fully fell,
He swung the Thunder Strike Blade.
A violent arc of lightning tore through the air, splitting the sky with a deafening crack. The courtyard was bathed in blinding white as the bolt lunged toward Kagetsu like a furious dragon.
Kagome gasped.
Kagetsu did not.
His feet shifted lightly.
The ground beneath him fractured,
And his body vanished in a blur.
The lightning struck where he had been standing.
BOOM,
The earth exploded. Stone tiles shattered. Splinters of wood and debris blasted outward in all directions, carving gouges into nearby walls.
Hiten's smile widened,
Until,
A sharp whistle cut through the chaos.
Kagetsu's wrist had flicked at the moment he retreated.
The chakra-infused blade in his hand had already left his grasp.
It sliced through the smoke like a streak of silver moonlight,
Not toward Hiten,
But toward Manten behind him.
Manten's eyes widened.
"What,?!"
Too late.
Pfft,
The sword pierced cleanly through his abdomen, exiting from his back in a spray of dark blood.
"Aaagh!"
His shriek echoed across the ruined estate.
"MANTEN!"
Hiten's expression snapped from arrogance to fury in an instant.
But before he could descend,
Kagetsu's voice sounded calmly.
"Flying Thunder God."
Space distorted.
His figure flickered,
And reappeared directly in front of the impaled Manten.
His left hand caught the sword's hilt effortlessly.
The black rune engraved upon it glowed faintly,the Flying Thunder God mark.
Manten's demonic aura flared wildly in panic, electricity and flame erupting around him,
But Kagetsu's right hand was already moving.
Chakra gathered at his fingertips, precise and controlled.
"Five Elements Seal."
His palm struck Manten's abdomen with controlled force.
Boom,
The impact wasn't explosive, but heavy.
Like a hammer striking iron.
Manten's body was launched backward as Kagetsu pulled the blade free in the same motion. Blood scattered across broken stone.
Dark sealing formulas spread from the point of impact, crawling across Manten's torso in complex patterns.
His demonic aura flickered,
Collapsed,
And vanished.
"My… my power…!"
His voice trembled with horror.
The Five Elements Seal suppressed energy systems. For a demon relying on demonic energy flow,
It was crippling.
Critically wounded and stripped of power, Manten hit the ground hard and lay there twitching weakly.
The entire exchange had lasted no more than three seconds.
When Hiten turned fully,
His brother was already defeated.
Kagetsu calmly wiped a trace of blood from his blade before sheathing it in one smooth motion.
His movements carried no wasted energy.
No hesitation.
"MANTEN!"
Hiten dove downward, rage distorting his face,
But Kagetsu vanished again.
"Flying Thunder God."
He reappeared between the brothers mid-motion.
Chakra surged violently through his right leg.
His cloak snapped sharply in the wind as he twisted his hips,
And kicked.
BOOM,
The impact folded Hiten's body in midair.
He was blasted backward like a cannonball, carving a deep trench across the courtyard and crashing through two buildings before finally skidding to a halt in a storm of debris.
The ground trembled.
Kagetsu did not even look in his direction.
Instead, he crouched beside the unconscious Manten.
A fresh Flying Thunder God mark appeared faintly on the demon's chest.
He had deliberately avoided lethal strikes.
Dead enemies were simple.
Living specimens were valuable.
Two shards of the Shikon Jewel gleamed faintly pink from Manten's forehead.
Kagetsu plucked them free with measured precision.
The moment his fingers touched them,
He felt the unstable pulse of spiritual and demonic power within.
Interesting.
He placed them into his ninja pouch.
His Mangekyō Sharingan began to spin slowly.
"Kamui."
A spiraling vortex of space twisted open beside him.
Manten's limp body was dragged into the distortion, swallowed without a trace.
The vortex vanished.
Silence settled.
Kagome stood frozen.
Her bow hung loosely in her hand.
She had seen Inuyasha fight countless demons.
But this,
This had been different.
No wasted movement.
No shouting.
No drawn-out exchange.
Just cold, precise domination.
"Kagetsu-kun…" she breathed softly. "You're incredible…"
Kagetsu glanced at her briefly.
"Miss Kagome. Come here."
His tone was calm but alert.
"The other one isn't finished."
Kagome hurried to his side without hesitation.
Standing near him,
She felt strangely safe.
"Kagetsu-kun… thank you."
She bowed deeply.
Kagetsu gave a faint smile.
"You're welcome. Just call me Kagetsu."
In truth,
He had always preferred Kikyo's composed presence in his previous life.
But Kagome's sincerity carried its own strength.
For a modern girl to endure the Warring States era…
Her courage was undeniable.
"Then call me Kagome," she replied with a small nod.
A roar tore through the dust cloud.
"DAMN YOU!"
Hiten rose into the air again.
Blood trickled from his mouth, but his demonic aura burned brighter than before.
Twin blazing wheels spun beneath his feet once more.
Lightning crackled violently around the Thunder Strike Blade.
The sky darkened slightly as storm clouds gathered overhead, drawn by his fury.
"I will kill you!"
Kagetsu looked up, expression unchanged.
"You're weak… but you're loud."
His voice carried a trace of Uchiha disdain.
"If you can't do it, don't embarrass yourself."
Kagome blinked.
…He really says whatever he wants.
"DIE!"
Hiten thrust the Thunder Strike Blade forward.
A massive sphere of condensed lightning formed at its tip,far larger than before.
The air vibrated violently.
The sphere shrieked downward like a meteor of pure electricity,
Shattering rooftops, vaporizing wooden beams, and tearing through earth in its descent.
"You didn't even name your technique," Kagetsu remarked calmly.
"No sense of ceremony."
Kagome stared at him in disbelief.
Now?!
The lightning sphere crashed down.
"Susanoo."
Mangekyō power surged outward.
Translucent blue ribs erupted from Kagetsu's body, expanding in an instant.
A skeletal torso formed around him, towering several meters high.
The lightning sphere collided.
BOOM,
The explosion swallowed the courtyard.
Blinding white light consumed everything.
The ground ruptured into a massive crater.
Dust and smoke billowed into the sky.
When the light faded,
The skeletal Susanoo remained standing.
Lightning crawled uselessly across its surface.
Inside,
Kagetsu stood unmoved.
Kagome protected beside him.
Hiten hovered midair.
For the first time,
His expression faltered.
Fear flickered in his eyes.
Thunder had met something greater.
And it had shattered.