Inside Kaede's hut, the group sat on the floor.
Elder Kaede lit a fire and set a ceramic pot over it to boil water. Amidst the swirling mist, they began to talk.
The socially gifted Monk Miroku spoke first. "Aosora-sama, since both you and Kagome-san come from five hundred years in the future, I wanted to ask, are there still many demons in that era?"
"In that time... there are still many, but certainly far fewer than now. Most hide in the deep mountains and ancient forests. We gods mostly live in seclusion as well. If I hadn't been forced by circumstance, I probably wouldn't have emerged," Aomori said after a moment's thought.
"Oh? Even a god faces 'forced circumstances'?"
"We are called gods, but in truth, we are simply powerful beings. The only difference between us, humans, and demons is that we survive on faith rather than food. If a god loses their faith, they vanish."
"A god vanishes without faith?" Miroku silently noted this. "Could it be that when you spoke of being forced, you meant your faith was running out?"
"Exactly," Aomori nodded.
"How is that possible? A god as powerful as you, Aosora-sama, losing faith?" Sango asked in surprise.
"It's hard for you to imagine, but humans in that era have become the masters of the world. They are well-fed and clothed, changing the entire world with their own hands. Rather than gods, they prefer to believe in themselves."
"Masters of the world? It really is hard to imagine. Right now, most humans live in misery. Demons, war, disease, hunger, there are far too many things that can snatch a human life in an instant." Having lost her family and home to demons, Sango felt this deeply.
The atmosphere in the hut grew heavy.
Seeing this, Aomori said, "Fortunately, the future is bright. Light will surely triumph over darkness. Though the process may be winding, the road ahead is ultimately luminous."
"Well said!" Miroku praised. "But light does not appear out of thin air. For the sake of that beautiful future, we, as the predecessors, must fight even harder to exterminate these atrocious demons!"
"Yeah!"
His words ignited everyone's fighting spirit, making them itch to confront Naraku immediately.
Miroku took a sip of tea and shifted the topic. "Then, Aosora-sama, did you come to help us just to collect faith?"
"At first, it was simply to eradicate evil. After all, humans equal faith; regarding the preservation of human life, our goals are identical. Later, when I learned I could travel back five hundred years, I naturally wanted to take this chance to harvest more faith. Though, I don't know if I'll be successful." Aomori shrugged.
"How do you plan to collect it?"
"It's simple. Defeat the great demons you speak of, then proclaim my name. People who receive my grace will spontaneously believe in me."
"That is quite simple."
Having gathered the information he wanted, Miroku held up his teacup, using the act of drinking to mask his contemplation.
After releasing the bait Miroku sought, Aomori still had one objective left. He turned his gaze toward Sango, specifically, toward her weapon, Hiraikotsu.
"Sango-san, would you let me see your weapon? I can help you strengthen it."
"Strengthen it?" Sango looked at Miroku. Seeing him nod, she handed the Hiraikotsu lying on the floor to Aomori.
"This Hiraikotsu is very important to me."
Her implication was for Aomori to be careful not to break it.
Aomori took the weapon and nodded confidently. "Don't worry."
The Hiraikotsu was a massive boomerang made from demon bones. Aomori wanted to use it to test the effects of the Strengthening Frog.
[Name: Strengthening Frog (Purple) ]
[Description: Contains a hidden dimension; can consume Points to strengthen weapons and items.]
[Note: Strengthening is good, but don't get too greedy.]
Aomori pulled out the Strengthening Frog. Its unique appearance immediately caught everyone's attention.
"What is this?"
"This is a treasure from the heavens; it wasn't easy to get my hands on it. Its function... well, it automatically strengthens weapons," Aomori said with a straight face.
"This can strengthen weapons?" Sango looked at the palm-sized Strengthening Frog, unable to imagine how it worked.
"Yes. Watch closely."
Aomori placed the Hiraikotsu in front of the Strengthening Frog, and an interface popped up.
[Spend 100 Points to strengthen Hiraikotsu (Blue)?]
Only 100 Points?
The wealthy Aomori considered it a pittance and waved his hand to select "Yes."
His Points were immediately deducted. Simultaneously, the Strengthening Frog opened its wide mouth and flicked out a long tongue, wrapping around the Hiraikotsu.
As it was pulled back, the Hiraikotsu continuously shrank until it was swallowed whole by the Strengthening Frog.
"It... it swallowed it?" Sango's eyes went wide.
"Ribbit!" In less than a second, the Strengthening Frog spat the Hiraikotsu back out.
Aomori picked it up. The exterior hadn't changed, but a new line appeared on the strengthening interface: [Strengthening +1 Successful. Gained Durability +2.]
"How is it? Did it work?" Sango asked nervously.
"It worked, but I think we can go further."
With Sango's consent, he strengthened it again.
The second time cost 200 Points. Success, gained Sharpness +2.
The third time cost 400 Points. Success, gained a Passive Skill: [When slaying demons, there is a small chance to devour the demon's remains to self-augment.]
A passive skill actually appeared?
Aomori was surprised. This was only +3; would another skill appear at +6? Moreover, the devouring evolution passive turned the Hiraikotsu into a weapon that could level up. Even if the "small chance" was very low, it was enough to make it a legendary heirloom.
This strengthening didn't seem like a loss at all.
Aomori's heart began to itch with anticipation. He looked at the interface again; the next level required 600 Points. He was relieved it wasn't exponential growth, but a new disclaimer appeared: [Risk of Strengthening Failure.] He stopped.
A failure would only waste Points, not destroy the weapon, but he felt it was a trap with a high probability of diminishing returns.
Thus, Aomori returned the Hiraikotsu to Sango. "There, have a look."
"Okay." Sango hurriedly took the weapon and inspected it.
Having used the weapon for so long, she was intimately familiar with it and quickly noticed the difference. "It seems... sharper and harder."
She swung the Hiraikotsu a few times, instantly falling in love with the upgrade. "Thank you so much. I love it."
Aomori teased, "Actually, I added an interesting function to it. You can discover it slowly for yourself later."
"Eh?" Sango stroked the Hiraikotsu, her eyes full of expectation.
"Aosora-sama, strengthening a weapon like this surely doesn't come without a price, does it?" Miroku asked.
"Don't worry. These weapons of yours are mere mortal objects; the cost of strengthening them is negligible. Besides, as comrades who are about to fight side-by-side, consider this a 'meeting gift' from me."
"A meeting gift? Then I get one too, right?" Shippo said, hopping up and down.
"Shippo, don't be too greedy."
"Oh."
"It's fine," Aomori said with a smile, though he decided in his heart that one strengthening for Shippo was enough. A cute mascot only needs to be cute.
Miroku coughed and held out his staff. "Then, please strengthen this first. I beg of you."
"Ah, Miroku, you're so sly!"
"Hehe."
A short while later, when Kagome and Inuyasha returned to Kaede's hut, they saw the others cradling their weapons and "giggling" foolishly.
"What's wrong with you guys?"
"Ah, Kagome-san and Inuyasha are back," Miroku said with a smile. "Aosora-sama helped strengthen our weapons just now. There's been a massive improvement. Inuyasha, why don't you let him strengthen the Tessaiga too?"
"What the heck?" Inuyasha and Kagome were still confused.
After Miroku explained in detail, Inuyasha said disdainfully, "My Tessaiga doesn't need any 'strengthening'."
"Indeed it doesn't," Aomori agreed.
After several tests, he had roughly figured out the rules of the Strengthening Frog.
First, the higher the quality of the weapon, the more Points it cost. The Tessaiga's quality was likely "Purple"; a +1 would probably start at 500 Points, and Aomori didn't have enough to strengthen it multiple times. Besides, the Tessaiga's path had already been laid out by Inuyasha's father, the Great Dog General. There was no need for an outsider like Aomori to interfere.
"Of course! My Tessaiga is the best in the world!" Inuyasha boasted.
"Alright, alright. It's almost dark. Let's have our strategy meeting," Kagome urged. Her Sacred Arrows were hit-or-miss and she wasn't primarily a front-line combatant, so she didn't need a weapon upgrade; her job was detection.
Under Kagome's organization, the group sat down again to discuss tomorrow's plan.
"So, during the two days Inuyasha and I were away, did you find any leads on Naraku's movements?" Kagome asked.
"Yes, we were just about to mention that."
Miroku's expression turned solemn. "Yesterday, we caught wind of some news. Many demons sensed a powerful, ominous evil aura flying toward the Northeast."
Inuyasha's eyes narrowed. "A powerful, ominous aura? Could it be Naraku?"
"Yes," Sango nodded. "Miroku and I also believe it's him. However, being this conspicuous isn't Naraku's style. We aren't sure if it's a trap he set intentionally."
"Trap or not, we finally have a lead on his whereabouts. We have to go check it out," Inuyasha said without hesitation.
"True." Miroku glanced at the silent Aomori and added, "Now that we have Aosora-sama with us, we can afford to be a bit more aggressive."
"Once we find this Naraku, leave him to Inuyasha and me. If we work together, we won't let him escape," Aomori said to Inuyasha with a smile.
"Hmph! Don't worry, I won't hold you back. But I'm the one who's going to chop off that guy's baboon-head!"
"Okay!" Kagome clapped her hands, summarizing the plan. "Then tomorrow we head Northeast, find Naraku, and take back the Shikon Jewel shards!"
"Yeah!" everyone nodded in unison.
Kagome looked around. "Does anyone have anything else to add?"
"I do!" Miroku raised his hand. "Aosora-sama just arrived and isn't familiar with us yet. For the sake of future coordination, I think it's necessary to demonstrate our techniques."
"At the very least, he needs to know about my Wind Tunnel, otherwise it would be a problem if he got sucked in."
"True. Miroku's Wind Tunnel is a massive weapon that doesn't distinguish between friend and foe."
Sango usually fought with Hiraikotsu, and they had all seen Inuyasha's moves. Shippo could be ignored. Only Miroku's Wind Tunnel was worth explaining.
Aomori was also quite interested in this Wind Tunnel. It could suck in anything yet reacted to toxins, it was truly mystical.
The group stepped outside the hut. Miroku took two steps forward, unwrapped the prayer beads from his right hand, aimed it at the sky, and shouted, "Wind Tunnel!"
A void appeared in the center of his palm, generating a powerful suction that pulled in the surrounding air, grass, and debris in one fell swoop. Two seconds later, Miroku wrapped the beads back around his hand, sealing the tunnel.
"See? This is my most powerful move, and also the curse Naraku placed on me. Be careful not to get caught in its range during battle."
"Hmm, a powerful force indeed." Aomori feigned deep thought. "If I'm not mistaken, Naraku surely has a way to counter this move."
"He does," Kagome explained. "Naraku releases insects called Saimyosho. If they are sucked into the Wind Tunnel, Miroku-sama will be poisoned."
"And sucking in too much miasma will cause my body to break down," Miroku added.
"I see. So, as long as the insects and miasma are kept out, you could open the Wind Tunnel without restraint?"
"Essentially. Does Aosora-sama say that because you have a solution?"
"Perhaps." Aomori walked to Miroku's side, pressed two fingers together, and traced a few lines in the air around him.
"Barrier, rise!"
A curtain of light sprang from the ground, locking Miroku inside.
"A barrier?" the group asked in surprise.
"Exactly. I've tuned it. This barrier only intercepts and purifies filth. It should eliminate weak demons and miasma automatically," Aomori said nonchalantly.
"Let me test it." Inuyasha immediately leapt into the woods, quickly catching a few weak demons and tossing them into the air.
Miroku understood and opened his Wind Tunnel again.
The powerful wind sucked the demons toward him, but the moment they hit the barrier, they were instantly reduced to ash.
"So cool!" Shippo cried. "Doesn't that make Miroku invincible?"
"But if the barrier is set, he can't move, right?"
"Not an issue. I'll make a few talismans so Miroku-sama can activate it at the right moment," Aomori replied.
Sango said worriedly, "But doesn't Miroku-sama's Wind Tunnel grow larger the more it's used? Eventually, it will swallow him whole." She was worried that without a natural deterrent, Miroku would use it recklessly.
"That's also not a major problem." Aomori reached out and grabbed Miroku's right hand, channeling Holy Light.
Under the influence of the Holy Light, the opening of the Wind Tunnel began to slowly shrink, eventually becoming no larger than a glass marble.
"It's... it's back to how it was five years ago. This... this is... thank you so much!" With the shadow of death that had been loitering over him finally dispersed, Miroku was so emotional he could barely speak.
"You're very welcome."
"It feels like all our old problems are being solved by Aosora-sama. Inviting you along was truly the right decision," Kagome said with relief.
"Tch!" Inuyasha remained stubborn, but the look in his eyes when he looked at Aomori had softened significantly.
"Everyone, get some rest. Tomorrow, we move out to take down Naraku!"
"Yeah!"
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