"Wait… you're not planning to revive your lord anymore?"
Uchiha Retsu looked at Haran in surprise.
From what he remembered of the original story, the panther-cat clan had gone to great lengths to revive their lord—fighting Inuyasha's group and even getting betrayed by the very lord they revived before finally giving up.
So why the sudden change now?
He didn't believe for a second that Natsuran had managed to persuade their stubborn eldest sister.
Haran's eyes flickered with mischief at his question.
She suddenly leaned in close—so close her lips were almost at his ear.
At that distance, Retsu could clearly smell a faint scent of grass and flowers from her, like standing in a lively spring breeze.
"Our big sister wasn't willing to give up," Haran whispered conspiratorially.
"She secretly went to those stupid dog demons' territory to look for Shikon Jewel shards… and ended up getting tricked by a guy named Naraku!"
She lowered her voice even more, sounding mysterious.
"That Naraku tampered with the shard he gave her. When we tried to revive our lord, he went berserk—turned into a mindless monster that only knew how to kill and even tried to devour our demon power!"
As she spoke, she patted her chest, still shaken.
"We almost got killed by him! Luckily, our big sister was cautious—she forcibly removed the shard from the body and stopped the resurrection."
Then her expression turned serious.
"Our big sister is furious right now after being played like that. She doesn't want anyone to know about this embarrassing mess. You have to keep it a secret—don't let her know I told you!"
"Don't worry, I won't say a word," Retsu replied solemnly, though he nearly burst out laughing.
She was acting all serious about secrecy… while casually spilling everything.
"I knew you were reliable!" Haran grinned, patting his arm.
Her demonic power had recovered a bit, and she pointed ahead energetically.
"Come on! Help me find a good burial spot for our lord!"
"Alright."
Retsu nodded and followed beside her.
He was actually quite curious about this "graveyard of demons."
In the original story, there was a gate in the human world that led here, guarded by statues of ox-head and horse-face demons. Interestingly, the place was also called the Land of Fire—though, of course, it didn't have any ninja village called Konoha.
As they walked, Retsu observed the surroundings carefully.
Aside from the ever-present mist, the occasional skeletal monsters, and the countless bones and massive demon corpses scattered across the land…
Everything else felt strangely normal.
There was sunlight, blue skies, and clouds.
Breathing felt natural.
Trees grew thick and wild, grass pushed stubbornly through the ground, and occasionally even ordinary animals could be seen.
Retsu followed Haran curiously, unsure of their destination.
But Haran clearly knew this place well.
She moved swiftly through piles of bones, navigating with ease. As a member of the panther-cat clan, she seemed to possess inherited knowledge of this demon-exclusive graveyard.
BOOM!
Another skeletal monster lunged at them.
Retsu's Susanoo flickered briefly—its skeletal arm smashing the creature into pieces with a single punch.
Haran burst into laughter.
"Your technique fits this place perfectly—both are giant skeletons!"
Retsu smirked.
She wasn't wrong. The skeletal Susanoo really did blend in with the environment.
He casually kicked aside a massive bone blocking their path and asked,
"By the way, I remember you specialize more in illusions, right? That's not exactly effective against things like these. Why are you here alone? Where are Natsuran and the others?"
"They can't come, so it has to be me," Haran replied, circling around a massive stone pillar and continuing along a river at the mountain's base.
"Our big sister is guarding our lord's body. Ever since the shard was removed, the corpse has been acting strange—its aura keeps leaking out and won't dissipate. She's worried something might happen."
"As for Natsuran and Akiha, they got injured during the rampage. They're recovering back at our territory."
"Natsuran got hurt?" Retsu frowned. "Is it serious?"
"It's fine!" Haran waved it off casually.
"We demons heal quickly—as long as we're not dead, we recover fast."
Then she suddenly grinned mischievously.
"Actually, Natsuran wasn't that badly hurt at first. She's pretty nimble, after all.
But after we defeated our rampaging lord, Naraku showed up—he had been hiding nearby the whole time!
When we were exhausted, he snatched the Shikon Jewel shard back. It was obvious from the start he was just toying with our big sister!"
"…Let me guess," Retsu said dryly.
"Natsuran couldn't resist mocking her?"
"Exactly!" Haran laughed, clearly enjoying the memory.
"Our big sister was already furious, and Natsuran went right up to her and started teasing her for not listening and getting tricked by Naraku—
So she got beaten half to death! Worse than Akiha!"
"…Serves her right," Retsu muttered, twitching slightly.
Honestly, he understood.
That kind of behavior was just asking to get punched.
Haran, at least, knew to laugh behind her sister's back—not to her face.
"Still, isn't it dangerous for you to come here alone? Couldn't you wait until they recover?" he asked.
"No time," Haran shook her head.
"Our lord's body is changing—it's about to turn into a demon. We have to bring it here as soon as possible."
Then she smiled again.
"Don't worry. If things get dangerous, I can escape.
But the gemstone used to enter this place is rare—we don't have many. Leaving midway would waste one, so I tried summoning you instead… and it actually worked!"
"I see."
Retsu nodded.
He recalled that in the original story, the black pearl in Inuyasha's eye was the key to this place—crafted by the demon smith Hōsenki.
"By the way," he continued,
"you said your lord's corpse is turning into a demon. What exactly does that mean?"
"It just means… the corpse becomes a demon," Haran said as if it were obvious.
Seeing his confusion, she pointed ahead behind a massive rock.
"Like that!"
A skeletal demon in tattered armor leapt out, red flames burning in its eye sockets as it charged toward them.
Retsu casually punched it—
CRACK!
The skeleton shattered instantly.
He looked back at Haran, surprised.
"You're saying… these skeleton monsters are all formed from dead demon corpses?"
"Yep!" Haran nodded.
"When powerful demons die, the residual demonic energy in their bodies can, under certain conditions, give birth to new demons.
But most of them have no عقل—just mindless killing machines."
"That… actually makes sense," Retsu murmured, recalling what Kikyo had told him earlier about handling demon corpses.
Then he asked,
"So what does that have to do with bringing your lord's body here so urgently?"
Haran answered matter-of-factly:
"These corpse-born demons are dangerous in the living world.
But if you throw the body here before it transforms, then even if it becomes a monster later, it'll be trapped here forever and won't cause trouble."
"…So basically," Retsu said slowly,
"you're dumping the body here so even if it turns into a monster, it won't affect the living world?"
"Exactly!" Haran nodded brightly.
Retsu fell silent for a moment.
So… this "demon graveyard" was essentially a giant hazardous waste disposal site for unstable demon corpses.
Crude.
Brutal.
But… strangely practical.
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