"T-these are Wamaru's pottery troops!"
Enju clutched Kikyo's sleeve tightly, her voice trembling as she stared at the dense tide of terracotta soldiers advancing toward them.
"Don't worry,we're here."
Kikyo steadied her, one hand gripping her longbow as faint spiritual power gathered at her fingertips.
"Even if we can't win, we can retreat at any time."
"Kikyo, they're just trash. This will be easy."
Standing before them, Kagetsu spoke calmly,but the killing intent in his eyes was ice-cold.
"Still, just in case,protect yourself and Enju. If anything goes wrong, leave immediately. Your Soul Reapers can carry you away."
"Mm. I understand."
Kikyo nodded without hesitation.
No matter how strong she was, facing an army like this would exhaust even her. But Kagetsu … he could escape anytime with the Flying Thunder God Technique.
She wasn't worried about him at all.
"Relax," he added with a faint sneer. "Most likely, they won't even survive a single move from me."
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Heavy footsteps thundered through the night, like war drums pounding against the earth.
The terracotta soldiers halted several meters away, forming a massive semicircle that sealed off every path.
Kagetsu remained still, watching.
They had stopped.
That meant one thing,
Their commander had arrived.
Beyond the formation, a massive silhouette slowly emerged under the moonlight.
A towering clay giant clad in black armor stepped forward, twin horns jutting from its head. Its glowing red eyes burned like embers in the dark, exuding an aura akin to a demon reborn.
"Is that… a demon formed from clay?" Kikyo frowned, sensing the ominous presence.
"Wamaru!" Enju shouted, her voice filled with anger. "What do you want?!"
Standing atop the giant's shoulder, a figure looked down at them.
"Enju… I only meant to bring you back to continue your work."
Wamaru's gaze shifted,and locked onto Kikyo.
His expression twisted with obsession.
"But I didn't expect to find something far more valuable."
"You're the priestess who killed Mother… Kikyo, aren't you?"
Kikyo's expression turned cold under his greedy stare. Her fingers tightened slightly around her bowstring.
She could kill him right now.
One arrow,clean and precise.
But she held back.
Kagetsu was interested in Ritō's techniques.
"…That's right," she replied coolly.
"I am Kikyo."
Wamaru trembled with excitement.
"I've inherited Mother's knowledge. I know,you're not a clay construct anymore. You're truly alive!"
His voice grew feverish.
"How did you do it? How did you turn from a resurrected puppet… into a living human?!"
Kikyo's patience snapped.
"Kagetsu . If you don't act soon, I won't be able to stop myself from killing him."
"I'm already acting."
Kagetsu 's voice was casual.
His hands blurred,
Forming seals.
A faint, natural energy began to gather around him as Sage Mode silently activated.
"I was just curious what he wanted."
Wamaru's face darkened.
"Fine. If you won't speak,then I'll force it out of you!"
He raised his hand sharply.
"Capture them!"
The terracotta army surged forward in perfect unison, naginatas gleaming coldly.
Kagetsu didn't even glance at them.
Instead, he looked up at Wamaru and smirked.
"Let me give you a tip."
"When facing a Water Release user…"
"Don't fight near water."
The moment his words fell,
The chakra around him exploded.
Leaves spiraled violently into the air.
"Sage Art: Water Release,Great Waterfall Technique!"
The river behind him erupted.
A colossal wave,nearly a hundred meters high,rose into the sky like an overturned ocean, blotting out the moonlight and plunging everything into darkness.
Wamaru's expression twisted in pure terror.
The wave crashed down.
"BOOM,!!!"
The impact shook the heavens.
The raging torrent devoured everything in its path,soldiers, trees, stone,grinding them into nothing as it surged forward like a world-ending flood.
In an instant,
The forest became a sea.
"The power of your technique is ridiculous…"
Kikyo stood atop a thick wooden branch formed by Wood Release, supporting Enju as she looked down at the flooded landscape.
"…You didn't kill him, did you?"
"…I might've gotten a little carried away."
Kagetsu scratched his cheek, glancing at the devastation below.
"But I avoided his position. He's still alive."
Several hundred meters away,
A hand burst from the water and gripped a rock.
Wamaru dragged himself up, collapsing as he gasped for air.
His clay body was riddled with cracks, white soul-light leaking from every fissure.
"He… didn't even try to kill me…"
His voice trembled.
"That man… he's more terrifying than a demon."
Fear consumed him.
"I have to get away,now!"
He tried to stand,
But the water in front of him exploded.
A liquid arm shot out, clamping around his throat.
A mass of water rose and reshaped itself,
Into a human figure.
Kagetsu stood before him.
"W-who… are you…?!"
Wamaru struggled desperately, but the grip on his neck was like iron.
Unmoving.
Unbreakable.
Kagetsu didn't answer.
Instead, he grabbed Wamaru's chin and forced his head up.
In the darkness,
His Sharingan ignited.
"Look into my eyes."
Wamaru did.
And instantly,
He fell.
The spinning tomoe dragged his consciousness into a crimson abyss.
A genjutsu he could never escape.