"Thank you for the hospitality, we must take our leave." Retsu and Kikyo stood side-by-side at the gate of the Demon Slayer Village stronghold, bidding farewell to the Demon Slayers who had come to see them off.
"Don't mention it!" The Leader of the Demon Slayers stood at the front of the group and waved his hand. He hesitated for a moment, then suddenly waved behind him and called out, "Kohaku!"
"Yes!" A crisp child's voice responded, and a small boy ran out from the crowd, holding a wooden box in both hands, which he obediently presented to his father, the Leader of the Demon Slayers.
Retsu's gaze fell upon Kohaku, the unfortunate child. He was Sango's younger brother and the Leader's son.
The first time he followed the Village's Demon Slayer team, he encountered Naraku, was manipulated, and personally killed everyone in the team, including his father. Only his older sister, Sango, survived.
Afterwards, he became Naraku's Puppet, forced to turn his blade against his own sister.
Kohaku, unaware of his tragic fate, returned to the group after handing the box to his father.
The Leader took the wooden box, stepped forward, and bowed as he presented it to Miss Kikyo, his tone sincere: "Miss Kikyo, we hope you can accept these shards of the shikon jewel. Our Village has no way to purify them, and keeping them will only attract a constant stream of covetous demons. We hope you can take them away."
"I understand." Kikyo thought for a moment after hearing this, reached out, opened the box, and took out the shards of the shikon jewel inside.
She knew that Naraku was also collecting the shards of the shikon jewel, and keeping them here might cause disaster.
"Thank you very much for your help, Miss Kikyo!" The Leader's face showed a look of relief mixed with a touch of guilt.
He clearly knew that doing this might put Kikyo in danger, but keeping the shards would bring danger to the Village, which was why he had hesitated earlier.
Seeing Kikyo agree, he said gratefully, "I know this will cause you trouble, yet... if Miss Kikyo ever encounters anything requiring assistance, please do not hesitate to ask."
"Don't mention it." Kikyo gently shook her head, turned, and mounted the Black Bear Demon behind her, waving to the crowd again. "We are leaving now."
Retsu also leaped up, ensuring Retsu was seated comfortably on the bear's back.
Kikyo raised her hand, patted the Black Bear's head, and said softly, "Let's go, Kuro Maru."
Kuro Maru was the name Kikyo gave to the Black Bear Demon she was riding. Since she had decided to turn it into a Shikigami, Kikyo gave it a name while she was at it.
Just as the Black Bear was about to start descending the mountain, Retsu suddenly turned back and reminded the Leader:
"Oh, right. I sensed the presence of many demons nearby, likely heading toward your Village. Be careful lately; your Village tends to attract a lot of demonic hatred."
"What?! I understand!" The Leader's expression changed drastically, and he quickly bowed in thanks. "Thank you for the warning! We will be careful!"
Kikyo turned to look at Myoga, who was still standing on her shoulder with a hesitant look, and asked softly, "Grandpa Myoga, are you coming with us?"
"W-well..." Myoga suddenly pulled out a miniature bundle from nowhere and slung it over his back. "No, no, Miss Kikyo! I have to go find Young Master Inuyasha, so I'll take my leave now!"
"Travel safe." Kikyo nodded, watching Myoga jump "swoosh" into the grass, vanishing instantly without a trace.
Kuro Maru carried the two of them out of the stronghold gate and slowly descended the mountain along the winding path beside the cliff. Just as they reached halfway down, a figure suddenly approached from below.
She wore a vermillion striped Haori paired with a narrow-sleeved green Hakama Skirt, highlighting her graceful figure.
Her skin was fair, her face exquisitely beautiful and gentle, her almond-shaped eyes adorned with light purple eyeshadow, and a waterfall of dark hair cascaded behind her.
Most striking was the massive bone weapon on her back, which was Sango's hiraikotsu.
Retsu hadn't expected to encounter Sango here. He stared at her intently.
As expected of a core member of the Protagonist Group, her beauty was in no way inferior to Kikyo's or Kagome's.
What was even rarer was the heroic spirit unique to a Demon Slayer that radiated from her, making him sigh internally that Miroku, that skirt-chasing monk, really had it good.
Sango also noticed the strange combination approaching her: a Priestess and a Samurai, riding a Black Bear Demon.
She was curious; this road was only used by people traveling to and from the Village. Judging by the direction they were coming from, they had clearly just left the Village.
Guests of the Village, perhaps? Sango didn't ask further; she simply stood obediently on the roadside, watching the two people and one bear pass by.
Just as Retsu withdrew his gaze and prepared to continue down the mountain, Kikyo, who was in front of him, suddenly spoke plainly, her tone unreadable: "Was that female Demon Slayer just now very pretty?"
"Huh?" Retsu was startled, then chuckled softly, admitting frankly, "She is quite beautiful, yes."
"Is that so." Kikyo's voice remained flat, but Retsu keenly sensed that she seemed a little angry.
This made him inwardly amused, and he immediately said, "But, she's definitely not as beautiful as you are."
Without waiting for Kikyo to reply, he reached his hand past her side and opened his palm, revealing a faintly glowing shard of the shikon jewel lying quietly there.
"What is this?!" Kikyo's attention was instantly captured. She reached out and took the shard of the shikon jewel, turning to look at him with confusion in her eyes. "Where did you get this? You didn't steal it from that girl just now, did you?"
She had indeed sensed the presence of the shikon jewel on Sango just now, but she hadn't expected Retsu to take it without making a sound.
"You guessed right~" Retsu smiled slyly. "But you can't call this stealing. At most, it's 'preemptive safekeeping.'
It's too dangerous for them to keep this item, and they would likely hand it over to you anyway. I merely lent a helping hand."
Kikyo didn't refute him. The Demon Slayer Village really couldn't keep the shards of the shikon jewel safe.
She then asked curiously, "How did you manage that? I didn't see you move."
"Hehe, just a small trick using Chakra."
Retsu shot out a nearly invisible Chakra Thread from his fingertip, gently wrapping it around the shard in Kikyo's hand. With a flick of his wrist, the shard of the shikon jewel was pulled back as if by an invisible string, flying "swoosh" into his palm.
"This is the Chakra Thread, originally used by Puppet Masters among the Ninja to control Puppets."
He handed the shard back to Kikyo and explained, "Although I don't know how to use Puppet Jutsu, I learned a little bit. It's quite convenient for retrieving small objects nearby, or throwing Hidden Weapons.
Like just now, when I retrieved the shard of the shikon jewel from that Demon Slayer."
While Retsu was showing off to Kikyo, on the other side, Sango, who had just returned to the Demon Slayer Village, discovered that the shard of the shikon jewel on her person was missing.
Sango anxiously searched and confirmed that it had indeed been stolen.
To prevent accidentally losing it, Sango had specifically placed it in a cloth bag inside her robes.
Now, the small cloth bag was still there, but the shikon jewel inside was gone.
She suddenly remembered the two strange people she had met on the way back to the Village.
Before meeting them, she had checked the shard at the foot of the mountain; it was definitely still there!
"Could it have been them?!" Thinking this, Sango immediately looked up at her father, who was standing in front of her, and asked:
"Father, I met two people riding a Black Bear Demon on the way back. Were they guests of the Village?"
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