A soft emerald glow seeped into the little girl's body, and the gruesome wound on her abdomen began to close at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Within minutes, the torn flesh had completely healed.
As the chakra in Kagetsu's palms gradually faded, he withdrew his hands.
The wound had vanished entirely, leaving behind only newly formed skin with a faint rosy hue,standing in stark contrast to the dried blood staining her tattered kimono. Her breathing, once faint and erratic, had now steadied into a slow, healthy rhythm.
"She'll be fine," Kagetsu said as he rose to his feet. "The injury's healed. She's out of danger."
"Thank you," Kikyo murmured, looking down at the girl in her arms.
Even now, there was still a trace of amazement in her eyes. Though she had witnessed this healing technique before, it never failed to feel miraculous.
Kagetsu caught her expression and felt a flicker of pride.
He hadn't learned the Mystical Palm Technique easily.
Back then, he had practically emptied his savings,and then some,to pay Tsunade for her instruction. To make up the difference, he'd thrown himself into mission after mission, working like a man possessed just to scrape together enough money to satisfy that legendary gambler's "tuition."
Not only had he learned medical ninjutsu,he had even acquired the foundation for her monstrous strength.
Thinking back on it now almost brought tears to his eyes.
He wondered, not for the first time… if Tsunade would shed even a single tear for him after his death,her "half-disciple bought with money."
Shaking off the thought, he reached out and gently pried loose the gray cloth bundle the unconscious girl still clutched tightly.
"The reason she lasted this long… is because of this," he said.
As he untied the bundle, the concealed barrier broke with a faint ripple, and a subtle yet pure spiritual aura spread outward.
Inside lay a worn, unremarkable stone bowl.
Despite its crude and weathered appearance, Kagetsu's eyes sharpened in recognition.
"So it really is this…"
"Kagetsu, you know what it is?" Kikyo asked immediately, sensing the object's unusual presence.
"This is the Buddhist Stone Bowl,one of the five key items needed to break Kamihime's seal."
He handed it to her.
"No wonder demons attacked this village to seize it."
He glanced at the bowl again.
"It may look ordinary,almost worthless,but it's a treasure on the same level as the Fire Rat Robe Inuyasha wears."
His gaze then shifted to the unconscious girl, a hint of surprise crossing his face.
In the original course of events, this child had died after entrusting the bowl to Kikyo.
But now…
She was alive.
His eyes drifted toward the nearby stone staircase, finally noticing it led up to a temple.
Taking in the scattered traces of battle, he quickly pieced everything together.
The head monk of the temple must have entrusted the bowl to the girl and sent her away, staying behind to stall the demons.
But he had failed.
The monk had been killed, the village massacred,and the girl gravely wounded.
Yet, sustained by the stone bowl's power, she had clung to life.
After collapsing, she had unknowingly pinned the bowl beneath her body. The barrier placed on the bundle had concealed its aura, preventing the demons from locating it. Failing to find their target, they eventually left after slaughtering everyone.
"Kagetsu… help me bury them," Kikyo said softly, her voice heavy with sorrow as she looked at the corpses scattered across the village.
"No problem," he replied easily. "Where?"
"Beside the temple," she said, pointing toward an open space. "Let them rest there."
Kagetsu nodded.
"Wood Release."
He brought his hands together.
A sharp cracking sound echoed as a sapling burst from the earth, growing rapidly into a towering tree in mere seconds.
Branches shot outward in all directions, moving with eerie precision as they wrapped around each corpse. The wood shifted and reshaped itself, forming solid, rectangular coffins around the bodies.
Then, just as swiftly, the branches retracted,carrying the coffins back to the clearing and laying them out in neat rows.
Once everything was in place, Kagetsu pressed his palm to the ground.
"Earth Release."
The soil surged like a rising tide, swallowing the coffins as they sank beneath the surface.
Moments later, the ground settled.
In place of the bodies now stood orderly burial mounds.
The corpses were gone.
The bloodstains remained,but even the heavy stench of death had begun to fade.
"Done," Kagetsu said, dusting off his hands. The entire process had taken less than a minute.
A bulging cloth pouch suddenly appeared in his hand.
"They covered the burial costs."
"Thank you, Kagetsu," Kikyo said quietly, scanning the now silent village.
Then her gaze fell on the pouch.
"…You took that while burying them?"
Kagetsu gave a small shrug, holding it up casually.
"Valuables from the houses and bodies. They won't be needing them anymore. Might as well put them to use."
Kikyo let out a faint sigh, shaking her head at him.
Still… she didn't object.
The village was gone. If they didn't take these things, someone else eventually would.
"Let's go."
She carefully placed the unconscious girl onto Kuro-Maru's back. From a nearby house, she gathered a set of clean clothes and wrapped them around the girl, tucking the Buddhist Stone Bowl securely alongside her.
With someone riding on Kuro-Maru, the two of them walked on foot beside him.
Kagetsu didn't protest.
The girl had nowhere left to go. Leaving her behind would be a death sentence.
Besides, this wasn't unusual for Kikyo.
Many of the villagers living below her shrine had once been people she rescued just like this.
They could simply take the girl there and let her recover.
Without further delay, the three of them left the ruined village behind and continued their journey toward Mount Fuji.
The Sea of Motosu that Kagura had mentioned,was none other than Lake Motosu, nestled at the foot of the mountain.