"No need to be so nervous. It'll be over very soon." Kagetsu spoke with a hint of helplessness as he watched Kikyo, fully armed and carrying a samurai sword at her waist.
"It's better to be perfectly safe. No surprises are the best outcome." Kikyo's gaze was serious, her hands gripping her longbow tightly. Worry lurked in her eyes, though she tried to hide it.
"All right, then." Kagetsu understood,she was only concerned for his safety. He stopped trying to persuade her; finishing quickly would put her mind at ease.
"I'm starting." He gave her a brief warning and then neatly removed his upper garments.
"W-what are you… taking your clothes off for?" Kikyo's previously solemn eyes widened in shock, and her cheeks flamed crimson. Yet, she didn't look away; her gaze remained fixed on him.
"I need to fuse the chakra inside this," he said, his eyes flicking to her reddening ears, amusement glinting in them. "It looks like wood, but it's actually a product of Yin-Yang Release Chakra. Essentially, it's energy. Fusing its power is surprisingly simple."
As he spoke, he stripped off his shirt completely, revealing a strong, well-defined chest, his skin glowing warmly in the sunlight.
Kikyo blinked, swallowing her embarrassment, curiosity overtaking her shyness. She watched intently, eager to see how he would proceed.
Kagetsu gripped the broken white horn tightly, no longer hesitating.
With a soft "squelch," he pressed it against his chest, right over his heart. Though it didn't pierce deeply, the sudden motion made Kikyo instinctively cover her mouth, suppressing the gasp that threatened to escape.
She stared intently as Kagetsu closed his eyes, concentrating fully, his internal chakra flaring. Sweat beaded on her palm as she gripped her longbow.
The moment the horn touched his chest, its chakra flooded into him like a spring thawing a dry riverbed. At first, he watched nervously, wary of any violent reaction,but the energy was astonishingly obedient. It was absorbed rapidly by his cells, filling them with vitality, integrating seamlessly into his body.
The cells seemed to awaken from dormancy, activating in ways he hadn't expected. Kagetsu's heart stirred. He realized immediately that he had made the right choice.
Indra's chakra,the essence of the Uchiha ancestor,and the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki's power were both tied to the origins of the Uchiha and the shinobi themselves. It was a primal power that ran deep in his bloodline.
Feeling this, he deliberately directed his chakra back into the horn, accelerating the fusion. In an instant, a torrent of highly condensed chakra surged through his body, permeating every cell.
Simultaneously, a dormant power within him stirred,the Ashura power from the Hashirama cells. Though the Ten-Tails chakra from the horn was more refined, Indra's chakra, activated through his Uchiha bloodline, was harmonizing with the Ashura energy.
For a moment, the Ashura power flickered, then subsided, but Kagetsu could sense a crucial "balance" forming within him. Indra's chakra had awakened a potential lying dormant deep in his Uchiha bloodline. Over time, this power would grow, eventually fusing perfectly with Ashura's power to form the true Six Paths ability.
In Kikyo's eyes, the broken horn seemed to melt into Kagetsu's chest like snow dissolving into water.
When the chakra fully integrated, Kagetsu opened his eyes. The Sharingan flashed briefly, crimson against the sunlight.
" Are you all right!?" Kikyo immediately stepped forward, reaching to touch his chest, though carefully, not wanting to disturb him.
"I'm fine," he said, smiling at her concern. "Better than ever, actually."
He glanced at his left chest. The horn had vanished without a trace, leaving only a faint white mark. Feeling the chakra reshaping his body, he couldn't suppress his smile. If he weren't concerned about appearances, he might have let out the classic "Uchiha laugh" that had struck fear into many.
"Are you really safe?" Kikyo asked, still scrutinizing him. She had just seen the horn melt into his body and needed reassurance.
"Don't worry. It should be safe," Kagetsu said as he put his shirt back on. Stretching, he allowed the crimson glow of the Mangekyō Sharingan to flash briefly before fading. "I feel no discomfort whatsoever."
Kikyo stepped closer, checking him thoroughly. Once she confirmed his breathing was steady and his body unharmed, she finally relaxed.
"I'll clear out the nearby demons. You rest at the shrine for a while," she said, lifting the barrier that sealed the shrine. With bow and arrows slung over her back, she prepared to leave.
"I'll go with you," Kagetsu said immediately, following her lead. Recent days had been hectic; with Naraku gone, many small demons had begun to emerge. If Kikyo hadn't worried for him, she would have gone long ago.
"Do you really not need to rest? I can handle this alone," Kikyo asked, concerned.
"No rest needed. Or rather… fighting enemies is the best kind of rest," he said with a smile. High-intensity combat would accelerate the fusion of Indra's power within him.
Kikyo nodded, saying no more. "Then let's go."
Side by side, they stepped out of the shrine, their figures disappearing along the narrow path below.
Meanwhile, on the northeastern border of Musashi Province, a small village,the very place where Kagetsu had first descended into this world in his Edo Tensei body,stood quietly.
Yuriko clutched her young daughter, Little Chrysanthemum, holding her tightly as villagers huddled in the open center of the village. She gripped a small plaque, eyes fixed on the monk preparing a protective ritual nearby.
"They're coming!" the monk shouted suddenly, his voice tense with urgency.
Yuriko flinched, instinctively pulling her child closer, burying her face in her daughter's hair, and staring toward the village entrance in terror.
The clear sky darkened abruptly, an evil aura sweeping past. In the next moment, a horde of grotesque demons surged into the village like a tidal wave.
Yuriko trembled violently. She was about to crush the plaque in her hands when a brilliant barrier materialized out of thin air, enveloping the village.
"Bang!" The first wave of demons slammed into the barrier. Flashes of spiritual light erupted as they were violently repelled, shrieking in pain.
The villagers sighed in relief, some crying with joy at surviving the first assault.
But their relief was short-lived. The demons crashed against the barrier again, shaking it violently. Ripples of energy spread across the protective wall, visible even to ordinary villagers.
Panic returned as the snarling horde pressed against the barrier. The monk maintaining the seal was drenched in sweat, his body trembling. The determination in his eyes was slowly being replaced by despair.