Uchiha Retsu's eyes instantly turned crimson.
Three tomoe appeared within his pupils as he twisted his body to the side, narrowly dodging the lashing tongue.
At the same time, he drew the katana from his waist. Wind Release chakra wrapped around the blade in an instant.
With a powerful flick of his arm, he hurled it forward, turning it into a streak of white light.
"Slash—!"
The blade grazed the toad demon's cheek.
Wind chakra carved a bone-deep gash across its face, and dark-red blood sprayed out violently.
The demon glanced in lingering fear at the katana embedded in the wall behind it. Just as it turned to sneer—
Retsu vanished.
"Flying Thunder God Technique!"
In the next moment, he appeared behind the toad demon.
His hand snapped out, gripping the katana's hilt with precision. Wind chakra surged several times stronger along the blade.
With a sharp twist of his wrist—
He slashed downward.
"Splurt!"
The demon's ugly head flew into the air.
Blood erupted like a fountain. Its grotesque body collapsed heavily to the ground, while the severed head rolled aside.
Beneath the torn bandages, its pupils still held lingering confusion and unwillingness.
Retsu bent down and retrieved a Shikon Jewel fragment from the corpse.
As the fragment was removed, dense demonic energy rapidly dissipated from the body.
Moments later, only an ordinary-looking male corpse remained—the possessed lord himself.
"Damn it. I forgot to collect the life force."
Retsu smacked his forehead and complained to the body.
"All your fault for being too weak. You died in one hit."
He was about to bury the corpse with Earth Release when his eyes fell on the sword at the man's waist.
He drew it.
A cold flash gleamed across the blade. It was razor-sharp, far superior to the shabby ronin sword he had been using.
"Not bad. A decent trophy."
Satisfied, Retsu replaced his old sword and fastened the new one at his waist.
Then he pressed both hands to the ground.
"Earth Release!"
The soil around the corpse churned and rose, quickly swallowing it whole. The ground flattened again, leaving no trace.
"Next, I'll rescue those girls."
Chakra gathered beneath his feet.
He leaped up and moved swiftly across rooftops and courtyards, heading toward where he had sensed their presence.
Soon, he reached a secluded room and pushed the door open.
Inside lay dozens of girls—the same ones who had been escorted earlier.
They were all trapped in genjutsu, fast asleep. The demon hadn't had time to harm them yet.
He didn't wake them.
Instead, he turned and walked toward another hidden chamber nearby.
The moment he opened the door, a strange, sickly-sweet stench rushed out.
Before him were enormous transparent spheres, clustered together and filling the room like frog eggs.
And inside them—
Were women.
Curled up, suspended within the viscous sacs.
"So these are the eggs of the Ninety-Nine Toad…"
Retsu sighed softly at the sight.
Such a weak demon had still managed to harm so many innocent girls.
If not for shrine maidens, priests, and other empowered humans, ordinary people in this world would have long been wiped out.
According to the story, the toad demon waited until the girls' souls "matured" before devouring them.
Retsu didn't know what "mature" meant.
He didn't know how long they had been trapped.
Or whether irreversible damage had already been done.
All he could do was save them first.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
Puff!
White smoke exploded outward.
Nine identical shadow clones appeared beside him.
"Let's move. Save them quickly."
As soon as he spoke, Retsu and his clones drew their swords and carefully sliced open the transparent sacs.
Most of the girls were pale and weak.
After being pulled out, some regained consciousness quickly, while others remained unconscious.
Nearly half an hour later, all the girls had been rescued.
Retsu escorted the conscious ones back to the earlier room and cast genjutsu again, putting them to sleep.
There were still many unconscious soldiers in the castle.
Once they woke up, chaos was inevitable.
Letting the girls sleep longer was safer.
Finally, he returned to the hidden chamber.
Three girls still lay on the floor.
They were breathing. Their hearts were beating.
Yet their eyes were empty.
They didn't respond to anything.
Like soulless dolls.
"It seems their souls have already been devoured," Retsu said quietly, his gaze darkening.
That was precisely why he had chosen to kill the demon outright.
Even though he knew from the story that Fire Release could force the demon out.
The lord was not completely innocent.
When he was first possessed, he had been conscious.
Even later in the story, he would briefly regain clarity after being struck by Inuyasha.
As a lord, he couldn't possibly be unaware of demons.
He also knew that shrine maidens and priests could exorcise them.
Yet he never sought help.
Instead, he cooperated with the demon, capturing girls from his territory for it to consume.
Whether out of greed for power, fear of death, fear of being purified along with the demon, or sheer stupidity—
None of it mattered.
He had to pay the price.
Otherwise, how unjust would it be for the girls he had personally sent to hell?
"Kamui."
Retsu's eyes transformed into the Mangekyō.
Space twisted into a vortex, swallowing the three soulless girls and sending them into Kamui space.
"When Inuyasha and the others arrive, I'll ask Myōga if there's still a way to save them."
He cast one last glance at the shattered egg sacs.
Sticky liquid dripped down the walls. The faint sweet stench still lingered in the air.
Then he turned and left the chamber, heading back toward the lord's room.
Creaaak—
As he opened the door, a pink figure came into view.
A girl lay on the floor, dressed in a pale pink kimono with a red haori draped over it. Her features were delicate and pure.
She was the lord's newlywed wife.
Retsu remembered her name—Ruki.
"A beauty… too bad she's married," he muttered.
He bent down, gently laid her flat, found a blanket in the room, and covered her.
After that, he sat down in the corner and waited quietly for Inuyasha and Kagome.
If he remembered correctly, they would arrive at the castle at night.
Whether it would be tonight, he wasn't sure.
If they didn't come, he planned to lift the genjutsu and leave the next morning.
It was already evening.
Outside the window, the sky darkened.
The castle lay in deathly silence, broken only by the occasional chirping of insects in the distance.