"Crack,!"
Kagetsu applied pressure with his fingers, and the clay neck shattered instantly.
He casually tossed Wamaru's remains into the river, watched the soul particles dissipate from the broken body, rolled up the scroll in his hand, and vanished in a flash.
A second later, his figure appeared beside his original body by the river.
Reaching out to take the scroll handed over by the clone, he let the water clone dissolve into a splash of water. Kagetsu tossed the scroll into the Kamui Dimension and said to the two in the tree, "Wamaru has been dealt with. We'll rest here for the night and leave tomorrow morning."
"Is he... really dead?" A hint of gloom flashed in Enju's eyes, quickly replaced by the relief of liberation as a faint smile returned to her lips.
As a fellow deceased resurrected by Ritō, the two had worked together for a long time; it was natural for her to feel some sadness.
But Wamaru's mind had long since become twisted; his demise was actually a form of liberation for Enju.
Kagetsu and Kikyo exchanged a look but said nothing.
They could understand this complex emotion, yet there was no need for much consolation.
Kagetsu raised his hand and activated Wood Release, quickly constructing a simple treehouse on the thick trunk.
The three rested in the treehouse for the night. By the next morning, most of the river water on the ground had flowed back into the channel, leaving only puddles in the deep craters formed by the impact. Although the road was somewhat muddy, it no longer hindered their progress.
---
Shortly after the three left, Inuyasha's group followed the scent to this place, which had been left in a mess by the impact of Water Release.
"Was this... an attack by a demon?" Miroku looked at the broken trees and the traces of rushing water everywhere, whispering with a frown.
Puddles remained in the low-lying areas, and the muddy ground was a chaotic mess, clearly having undergone a fierce battle.
"Inuyasha, can you smell anything unusual?" Walking on the muddy road, Miroku asked as he looked at the destruction caused by the water on both sides.
Inuyasha sniffed hard and shook his head, his tone somewhat helpless. "The scent has been completely washed away by the water. I can't smell anything."
"Crack!"
Just then, a cracking sound came from beneath Kagome's foot. She froze for a moment, then lifted her foot to look down.
Beneath the silt, a section of a human arm was exposed. The sound just now was from her accidentally stepping on and breaking a few fingers.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome's scalp tingled, and she screamed, throwing herself into Inuyasha's arms, her voice filled with fear.
Startled by her reaction, Inuyasha immediately pulled her into his embrace. He drew the tessaiga with one hand and scanned the surroundings alertly. "Kagome, what's wrong? Where is the demon?"
"Kagome, what happened?" Sango and Miroku also immediately went on high alert. Shippō peeked out from Miroku's arms, looking around curiously.
"No, there's no demon..." Kagome regained her composure and explained awkwardly, "I think I stepped on a human hand, right there."
As she spoke, Kagome pointed to where she had just been standing.
Inuyasha looked in the direction she pointed. After seeing the "human hand" she mentioned, he couldn't help but mock her: "It's just the arm of a clay figurine, you coward."
"A clay figurine?" Kagome was stunned by his words. Looking closely, she indeed found that the "human hand" she had just stepped on, while looking like one, was hollow inside when viewed from the break.
Indeed, just as Inuyasha said, it was merely the broken arm of a clay figurine.
While Kagome felt relieved, she was also a bit embarrassed. "What? I thought I really stepped on a corpse."
"Strange, why would something like this be here?" Sango crouched down and picked up the arm of the clay figurine, speaking in confusion.
"Maybe it was washed out by the water?" Shippō guessed, looking at the destroyed trees around them.
As the group continued forward, they were surprised to find more and more clay figurine fragments scattered everywhere.
"So many clay figurine fragments..." Kagome looked at them and found them very familiar. Suddenly, she had a flash of insight and said in surprise, "Inuyasha, don't these clay figurines look like the ones we encountered when Kikyo was resurrected?"
"What?" Inuyasha was taken aback. He immediately picked up a clay shard and sniffed it. His expression turned serious. "You're right! Although the shard was washed by water, it still carries the scent of the herbs Ritō uses!"
"What exactly do you mean?" Sango asked, hearing their conversation.
"If I'm not mistaken, these clay figurines should be the deceased awakened by Ritō, made from bones and grave soil," Inuyasha explained. "Just like Kikyo once was."
"Wasn't that Ritō already killed by Kikyo?" Shippō said, puzzled. He remembered clearly that Ritō was killed by the resurrected Kikyo back then.
"I'm not sure what's going on." Inuyasha tossed the shard aside and shook his head. "But the destruction of these clay figurines is definitely related to Kikyo and Kagetsu ."
"In that case, this destroyed forest must have been to eliminate these figurines." Kagome guessed, looking at the scene that appeared as if it had been swept by a tsunami.
"We'll know once we catch up to them," Inuyasha said, looking ahead.
"Yeah!" The group immediately quickened their pace.
Before long, a thick tree came into view.
Unlike the surrounding trees that had been destroyed and knocked down by the water, it stood intact by the roadside, with an eye-catching, exquisite treehouse built onto its trunk.
"Is that a treehouse?" Miroku looked at the treehouse embedded in the trunk, his tone surprised.
The group soon arrived under the tree. Inuyasha smelled a familiar scent and said to Kagome and the others, "I'll go up and take a look."
With that, he leaped up, landed at the treehouse entrance, pushed open the door, and walked inside.
"Inuyasha, did you find anything?" A moment later, Kagome saw Inuyasha emerge from the wooden house and asked hurriedly.
Inuyasha jumped down from the wooden house and said, "The treehouse has the scents of Kikyo and Kagetsu , as well as the scent of Ritō's herbs." They must have rested here and taken a resurrected clay figurine with them."
"It seems these clay figurines were killed by Miss Kikyo and Kagetsu . If nothing else, this is the center of the battlefield." Miroku pointed behind the treehouse. "Look over there."
The group looked where he pointed and saw a sizable pond behind the treehouse.
They had initially thought it was just an ordinary puddle, but now they realized the bottom of the pond was covered with clay figurine remains and broken branches. The edges were piled with mud and rocks washed up by the impact. It was clearly a deep pit formed by a massive water surge that had turned into a pond after collecting water.
"This was blasted out by a massive flow of water?" Looking at the pond and the destroyed forest around it, Sango murmured in shock, "The power is simply too great."
"Kagome, hurry up!" Inuyasha felt the still-damp trunk and immediately crouched in front of Kagome, urging, "The tracks are still fresh. They must have just left not long ago. Let's catch up!"
"Okay!" Kagome immediately climbed onto his back.
Inuyasha grabbed Shippō from beside his feet and tossed him to Kagome, shouting to Sango and Miroku, "Let's go!"
With those words, he sniffed the residual scent in the air and chased forward rapidly.
"Monk, let's go!" Sango flipped onto Kirara's back and called out to Miroku. Following closely behind, the group chased in the direction Kikyo and Kagetsu had gone.
Miroku surveyed the devastated landscape, his brows furrowed.
Broken trees lay scattered everywhere. Mud and water covered the ground, forming shallow pools.
It was clearly the aftermath of an intense battle.
"Inuyasha, can you smell anything?" he asked.
Inuyasha sniffed the air, then clicked his tongue.
"…No. The scent's completely washed away."
"Crack!"
Kagome suddenly froze.
Slowly, she lifted her foot,
,and revealed a human arm beneath the mud.
"Inuyasha!!"
With a shriek, she threw herself into his arms.
Startled, Inuyasha instinctively pulled her close, drawing Tessaiga as he scanned the surroundings.
"What?! Where's the demon?!"
"There's no demon!" Kagome stammered, embarrassed. "I just… stepped on a hand…"
She pointed weakly behind her.
Inuyasha glanced over,
Then scoffed.
"It's just a broken clay arm. You scared yourself over that?"
"A… clay arm?"
Kagome looked again.
Sure enough, the fracture revealed a hollow interior.
Relief flooded her,but so did embarrassment.
"I thought it was a real corpse…"
"Strange…" Sango crouched down, picking up the fragment. "Why would something like this be here?"
"Maybe the water washed it out?" Shippō suggested.
As they moved forward, more fragments appeared.
Scattered everywhere.
"So many…" Kagome murmured, then suddenly paused.
"…Wait. Don't these look like the ones from when Kikyo was revived?"
Inuyasha stiffened.
He grabbed a shard and sniffed it carefully.
His expression darkened.
"You're right. Even after being washed, there's still a trace of Ritō's herbs."
"What does that mean?" Sango asked.
"These are clay bodies made from bones and grave soil," Inuyasha explained. "The same kind Kikyo once had."
"But Ritō was already killed, wasn't she?" Shippō said, confused.
"I don't know what's going on," Inuyasha muttered, tossing the shard aside. "But this,"
He gestured at the destruction around them.
",this definitely has something to do with Kikyo and that guy."
"If that's the case…" Kagome looked around at the devastated forest.
"This must've been where they wiped them out."
"We'll know once we catch up," Inuyasha said.
"Yeah!"
They quickened their pace.
Soon, they spotted something unusual.
A lone tree stood untouched amid the destruction.
And built into its trunk,
An intricate wooden structure.
"A treehouse?" Miroku said in surprise.
They approached quickly.
"I'll check it out," Inuyasha said.
With a leap, he landed at the entrance and stepped inside.
Moments later, he reappeared.
"Well?" Kagome asked eagerly.
"They were here."
He jumped down.
"I can smell Kikyo and Kagetsu … and Ritō's herbs. They must've rested here,and took a revived clay body with them."
"That means…" Miroku pointed behind the tree.
"Look."
Behind the treehouse lay what looked like a small pond,
But it wasn't natural.
The bottom was littered with clay fragments and broken branches. Mud and rocks were piled unevenly around the edges.
It was a crater.
Formed by overwhelming force.
"…This was caused by water?" Sango whispered, stunned.
"The scale is insane…"
"Inuyasha, hurry!"
Inuyasha crouched down, touching the still-damp ground.
"The trail's fresh. They just left."
He turned sharply.
"Let's move!"
"Okay!"
Kagome jumped onto his back. He grabbed Shippō and tossed him up as well.
"Come on!"
Sango leapt onto Kirara, Miroku following close behind.
With that,
The group surged forward, chasing the fading trail of Kikyo and Kagetsu .