At this moment, Retsu wasn't paying any attention to Inuyasha's group at all.
It had been some time since they left the Demon Slayer Village, and during this period, they had been moving around the nearby areas.
Kikyo was primarily focused on collecting the shards of the shikon jewel while carefully searching for traces of Naraku.
As for Retsu, he wasn't particularly keen on finding Naraku. If he truly wanted to find him, he could simply use the Shadow Clone Jutsu and enter Sage Mode to conduct a carpet search; he would definitely find the guy.
After all, in this world, aside from the villain Naraku, there weren't any beings powerful enough to destroy the world, nor were there any aliens like in the Naruto World who wanted to hang everyone on a tree.
So, most of the time, he just quietly followed by Kikyo's side, watching her busy herself with her goals.
Occasionally, he would lend a hand with chores, such as dealing with wandering samurai who harbored ill intentions upon seeing Kikyo's beauty, or Bandits blocking the road.
Just like now, he was heading deep into the forest to gather herbs according to Kikyo's instructions.
Back in Konoha, as a transmigrator, he was full of curiosity about various extraordinary abilities and had studied some Medical Ninjutsu in his spare time.
However, in the Naruto World, the presence of medicinal herbs wasn't particularly strong.
Ordinary wounds could be healed quickly with the Healing Technique or Mystical Palm Technique. When medicine actually needed to be prepared, it was usually special medicine influenced by Chakra with unique effects.
To be honest, since he wasn't a medical Ninja, he didn't recognize many of these ordinary herbs. Now that he was in a different world, the types and names of the herbs were completely different, leaving him somewhat at a loss.
However, Kikyo wanted to use her identity as a Miko to interact with the nearby villagers and gather information about the shikon jewel and Naraku.
In a Miko's daily work, besides helping Villages exorcise demons, they also treated the villagers' injuries and illnesses.
Thus, the task of gathering common herbs naturally fell onto Retsu's head.
"Let me see what I need to find." Retsu took out a list Kikyo had given him and opened it to take a look. "Hmm... Lingyu Flowers for healing, Soul-Purifying Grass for dispelling evil energy..."
They were all strange herbs he had never seen in his past life or the Naruto World. Fortunately, Kikyo had written down the approximate growth locations and drawn simple sketches of the herbs' appearances on the back of the list; otherwise, he might have returned empty-handed.
"Alright, let's begin." After memorizing the information on the list, Retsu quickly formed hand seals and shouted softly, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
As the smoke dissipated, three Shadow Clones identical to him appeared behind him.
"Alright, let's go!" At his command, Retsu and his Shadow Clones instantly vanished from the spot.
An hour later, Retsu returned to their temporary residence with a full back basket of herbs and walked straight to Kikyo: "Kikyo, take a look, are these the right herbs?"
"Okay, thank you for your hard work." Kikyo, who was crushing previously dried herbs, heard his voice and reached out to take the basket from his hand, carefully inspecting the herbs inside.
Retsu didn't mind the dirt and sat on the ground, quietly watching her work. Anyway, with Chakra, it was very easy to remove dust.
The place they were currently staying was a temple located outside the city. Because the evil energy in this area had suddenly increased recently, Kikyo suspected Naraku might be up to something, so she stayed at this temple temporarily to help the local people with healing and exorcism.
The temple wasn't large, and only one elderly Monk lived there.
Retsu had easily convinced the old Monk to let them stay with just a heavy bag of copper coins.
"There's no problem with these herbs. Once I've processed them, help me put them on the rack to dry," Kikyo said after checking the herbs in the basket a moment later.
"No problem, just call me when you're ready," Retsu agreed. He had done this kind of work several times already and was well-acquainted with it.
He had originally wanted to help process the herbs, but he learned from Kikyo that processing these herbs with special effects required the Spiritual Power of a Miko to be effective.
For this reason, he had specifically asked how a Miko's Spiritual Power was obtained and whether he could cultivate it.
Kikyo's answer, however, put an end to his thoughts. A Miko's Spiritual Power is innate. If a girl has the potential to become a Miko, her soul will carry Spiritual Power from birth, and as she grows older, her Spiritual Power will increase.
Of course, if one had heaven-defying talent like Kikyo, their Spiritual Power would be extremely powerful even at a young age.
A Miko with ordinary talent, like Grandma Kaede, might not have very strong Spiritual Power, but protecting a Village was still no problem.
As for males, those with Spiritual Power are Monks, which is also innate.
In other words, there was no cultivation method. This was even different from the Miko he knew from his past life.
In his past life's memories, Miko were clergy members who served deities, but Kikyo didn't believe in any so-called gods. Her Spiritual Power was innate, with no other path of cultivation.
Upon hearing this, Retsu gave up the idea of cultivating Spiritual Power. This innate-power style fit the Japanese 'bloodline theory' perfectly.
"Alright, you can take these to dry now." Kikyo's voice interrupted his thoughts. Retsu looked up and saw that she had already finished sorting the processed herbs and was handing him a small bamboo basket.
"Okay!" Reaching out to take the basket, Retsu stood up and walked toward a corner of the temple. There was a rack specifically for drying herbs, and some medicinal materials dried from previous days could be seen on it.
He skillfully spread out the newly collected herbs evenly, then organized the already dried medicinal materials and tossed them into the Kamui Dimension.
Since coming to this world, the only use for the Kamui from Kakate's Sharingan was as a portable storage space. The demons he had encountered so far were too weak; none were worth attacking with Kamui.
"Lady Miko, please save us!"
"Miss Miko, please save me, I don't want to die yet."
Just as he had finished putting away the herbs, a sudden clamor of shouts came from outside the temple, mixed with painful groans. At the same time, a strong scent of blood wafted in with the wind.
Retsu's eyes narrowed, and he immediately stood up and walked out. He saw a group of wounded, ragged Ashigaru crowding around the temple entrance, surrounding Kikyo with faces full of pleas.
He stepped forward quickly, inconspicuously shielding Kikyo behind him, his sharp gaze sweeping across the group.
They wore tattered Doumaru armor and were thin and frail. Most of the 'weapons' in their hands were farm tools like hoes and wood-chopping knives; they were clearly just peasants who had been temporarily conscripted, not even real samurai.
Judging by their myriad scars and wretched appearance, they were likely wounded soldiers who had been defeated and fled from a battlefield, posing no great threat themselves.
But Retsu did not lower his guard, asking in a deep voice, "Who are you? What do you want?"
Seeing Retsu's luxurious clothing and the Tachi hanging at his waist, the Ashigaru subconsciously backed away a few steps, their eyes filled with fear.
The man before them was very likely a noble, or perhaps a bold individual who dared to impersonate one.
But regardless of which it was, he was not someone these peasants conscripted by a lord could afford to provoke.
"Retsu, don't worry," Kikyo said gently as she stepped out from behind him. "They are just injured and seeking treatment. Leave it to me; you just watch from the side."
Retsu nodded upon hearing this and said nothing more, but his gaze remained coldly locked on the group of wounded soldiers. He knew that although these deserters were conscripted peasants, they could easily turn into Bandits out of desperation.
Even though he knew that with Kikyo's strength, these people weren't even comparable to a low-level demon, he still chose to stay by her side to intimidate these wounded soldiers and avoid unnecessary trouble.
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