Looking at the serpent yokai still trapped in the illusion, he couldn't help but kick it hard, complaining,
"Disgusting. You're so big, yet so timid. You made me waste a lot of time."
According to Kikyo, the venom of this serpent yokai, known as the Anti-Nose Viper, was an extremely valuable medicinal ingredient.
However, this yokai was extremely cautious. At the slightest sense of danger, it would use its abilities to hide among underground rocks and remain there for a long time.
The most troublesome part was that once the serpent yokai was injured or killed, the venom inside its body would undergo a qualitative change, completely losing its medicinal value.
That was why Uchiha Kasage had deliberately used the Transformation Technique to turn into a child and wander around its hiding place, luring it out before striking.
Just as he turned to head back to the shrine, his brow suddenly twitched.
Ignoring the serpent yokai on the ground, he vanished in a blur and rushed toward the direction where he had sensed the disturbance.
A moment later, Uchiha Kasage arrived in a valley filled with rubble and towering rock pillars. His gaze immediately locked onto a spherical black void floating in the air not far away.
Its interior shimmered with starlight, while its edges were wrapped in a dark purple aura.
Seeing this, a flash of surprise crossed his eyes.
"The Meido Zangetsuha?"
He carefully sensed his surroundings but found no trace of Sesshomaru or Inuyasha. This made him wonder who had just unleashed it.
The Netherworld path before him had clearly been opened only moments ago, meaning its user couldn't have gone far.
Curiosity rising, he stepped onto a rock pillar and focused, searching for any lingering aura.
At that moment—
A figure staggered out from the Netherworld and fell heavily to the ground, kicking up dust.
"This is… Shinigami Oni?"
As the figure stood up, revealing a face half-covered by a mask, Kasage recognized him instantly.
He couldn't help but feel curious about how this man had emerged from the Netherworld.
Rubbing his chin, Kasage muttered,
"I wonder if he's already crossed paths with Sesshomaru…"
In the original events, this man had been sent to the Netherworld by Sesshomaru's Meido Zangetsuha. Had they not met yet?
Before he could finish thinking—
Boom!
A surge of blinding purple demonic energy erupted.
A pitch-black Netherworld sphere, about three meters wide, suddenly appeared, swallowing Kasage's position like a ravenous maw.
"Hmph. Weak human."
Shinigami glanced at the area with disdain and turned to leave.
Swish!
A sharp sound cut through the air.
Shinigami froze, barely dodging a kunai aimed at his head. A flash of contempt appeared in his eyes beneath the mask.
"Pathetic."
"What?!"
A presence suddenly appeared behind him.
Before he could react—
A cold flash streaked past.
Crack!
With a sharp, piercing sound, the mask covering half his face shattered into pieces, fragments scattering across the ground.
"You—"
Before Shinigami could finish speaking, a tremendous force struck his chest.
The sound of bones cracking echoed as his body was sent flying like a broken kite.
Boom!
He slammed violently into a rock wall, dust erupting around him.
Kasage slowly lowered his leg after the kick, calmly sheathing the katana in his hand.
A second later, several Netherworld spheres burst wildly out of the smoke.
Kasage's figure flickered and vanished instantly.
Boom!
A deafening explosion shook the valley as the rock wall shattered, debris flying everywhere.
Shinigami burst out of the rubble once more, carving a long trench in the ground before crashing into a boulder and barely stopping.
Kasage stepped out from the smoke of the collapsed wall, the pale blue arm of Susanoo still extended in a punching stance before slowly fading away.
"Cough… cough… who… who are you?"
Shinigami struggled to stand, leaning on his staff. His mutilated face twisted in pain, his eyes filled with resentment—and fear.
"Interesting."
Kasage stopped a few meters away, his gaze cold and slightly mocking.
"You attacked me without warning… and now you're asking who I am?"
He tilted his head slightly.
"I have to admit, your body is impressive. Even with half your head gone, you're still alive."
Hearing this, Shinigami gritted his teeth, breathing heavily.
"…I admit I was reckless. Can you let me go?"
"Of course not—"
Kasage was about to finish his sarcastic reply when his pupils suddenly shrank.
Shinigami's staff erupted with intense purple energy.
In an instant, a spherical Netherworld expanded around him—
But instead of attacking Kasage directly, it enveloped Shinigami himself and dragged him into the Netherworld.
"I won't forget this! One day, you'll regret it!" Shinigami shouted, his expression ferocious.
"Hmph. Trying to run? Not happening."
A cold glint flashed in Kasage's eyes.
His figure vanished.
The next second, he appeared directly in front of Shinigami, whose fierce expression instantly turned to terror.
Before he could react, Kasage grabbed him by the throat.
Both of them disappeared—
And reappeared back in the valley.
"You—"
Shinigami tried to speak, but Kasage's hand was already pressed against his chest.
A pale purple Rinnegan appeared in his eyes as his voice rang out coldly:
"Human Path."
The light in Shinigami's demonic eyes vanished instantly.
His body went limp.
Only then did the Netherworld passage slowly close and disappear.
After reading his memories, Kasage raised his hand and directly extracted Shinigami's soul from his body.
Holding both the corpse and the extracted soul, he casually threw them into the mouth of Yama, which appeared behind him.
Bang.
His figure then burst into smoke and vanished.
Not far away, a rock atop a massive boulder shifted and reshaped itself.
Soon, Kasage's figure emerged from it.
The one who had fought Shinigami earlier—
Was only his Shadow Clone.
Although Shinigami Oni wasn't particularly strong, his Meido Zangetsuha ability was extremely troublesome. Being dragged into the Netherworld could have been dangerous.
When Shinigami launched his first attack, Kasage's real body had already hidden underground using an Earth technique, leaving the clone behind to fight.
After all, even if Shinigami wasn't strong, his Netherworld abilities were strange and unpredictable. Kasage had no intention of taking unnecessary risks—especially with Kikyo waiting for him at the shrine.
"I didn't expect him to fake his death and escape. He's more cunning than he looks."
After receiving the memories from the Shadow Clone, Kasage let out a quiet sigh.
From Shinigami's memories, he learned that he had recently encountered Sesshomaru and Inuyasha, and just like in the original events, had been struck by Sesshomaru's complete Meido Zangetsuha and swallowed by it.
However, Shinigami yokai could freely return from the Netherworld.
He was impossible to kill that way.
Knowing he couldn't defeat Sesshomaru, he had deliberately allowed himself to be hit, using it as a chance to escape.
Kasage wasn't surprised.
After all, Inuyasha himself had once returned from the Netherworld using Tessaiga after absorbing Meido Zangetsuha.
It would be strange if Shinigami, the original wielder of that technique, couldn't do the same.
From those memories, Kasage also learned that Shinigami Oni and his clan were originally oni from the Netherworld, which explained their ability to use Meido Zangetsuha.
More importantly, the true purpose of that technique was to allow their kind to return to the Netherworld.
To them, entering it was like going home.
They would never be devoured by it.
"No wonder Inu no Taisho didn't kill him back then…"
Kasage muttered, recalling how he himself had just attempted to escape through the Netherworld.
"…he must have used the same trick."