Within Kaede’s Village, a priestess suddenly raised her head the moment Inuyasha left the forest.
She wore the traditional red-and-white robes of a priestess and had a beautiful, heroic face, though an eyepatch covered her right eye.
‘Impossible!
No human or demon should be able to break Kikyo-neesan’s seal.
Then why can I sense Inuyasha getting closer…?’ “Kaede-sama, is something wrong?” A villager who had been practicing archery nearby saw Kaede lower her bow and hurried over, asking the priestess respectfully.
During this period, the shogun’s waning influence had allowed political power to slip from his grasp, leading to endless warfare among humans.
At the same time, the Sengoku period was an age when yokai ran rampant.
Countless people had died from hunger and war, leaving resentment to fester throughout the land.
Priestesses who understood herbal medicine, archery, and the extermination of yokai were therefore held in great respect.
That was especially true for Kaede.
She had grown up in Kaede’s Village and had long since become its undisputed leader.
“Gather the others and follow me!” After Kikyo’s death, Kaede had gradually shouldered responsibility for the village’s survival before she was even twelve.
She had grown into a decisive woman who acted swiftly and without hesitation.
‘I need to find out what’s happening with Inuyasha!’ Several warhorses were brought over.
Kaede swung into the saddle and led the village guards along the ridges between the fields, racing straight toward the forest.
Before long, they spotted a familiar figure in bright red at the forest’s edge.
He was a demon Kaede could never forget.
Silver hair fell to his waist, his golden eyes shone brightly, and his clothes were made from the Robe of the Fire-Rat.
He only ever reined in his claws and arrogance around Kikyo.
At all other times, he was unbearably cocky.
Kaede had once believed her sister and Inuyasha would remain together until old age.
No one could have imagined that their story would end in tragedy.
“Kaede-sama, that’s Inuyasha!” Years of archery training had sharpened the village guards’ eyesight, allowing many of them to clearly see Inuyasha’s completely unchanged face.
Just as the people of Kaede’s Village saw him, Inuyasha noticed them as well.
“Is that…
Kaede?” She was neither the little girl he remembered nor the elderly woman she would become.
The person leading the group was a valiant priestess galloping toward him with the reins in one hand.
Kaede reached behind her shoulder and gripped the exposed body of her bow, pulling the longbow free with her left hand.
Her right hand moved toward the quiver at her waist.
Three fingers caught an arrow by the nock, drew it out, and placed it against the string.
Every motion flowed smoothly into the next, without the slightest hesitation or wasted movement.
Combined with her piercing gaze, the sight made Inuyasha think he was looking at Kikyo again.
Whoosh!
The arrow buried itself beside his foot.
Inuyasha stopped and watched Kaede bring everyone to a halt ten meters away.
“Inuyasha!” Suppressing the shock in her heart, Kaede shouted, “How did you break the seal?!” Inuyasha did not answer.
He merely tilted his head as he studied the fierce and imposing Kaede.
The timid child from his memories and the gentle old woman he knew from the story seemed to overlap with the mounted priestess drawing her bow before him.
She was so vibrant and wonderfully alive.
At the same time, the contrast between past and future left Inuyasha feeling a little fortunate.
He had the potential to gain eternal life and share it with the girls he loved.
Eventually, he would also possess enough power to face anything.
Whoosh!
This time, the arrow brushed past his trouser leg before plunging into the ground.
“Inuyasha!” “Look at me and answer!” Over the years, Kaede had investigated why Kikyo-neesan and Inuyasha had suddenly turned against each other.
She refused to believe the Shikon Jewel alone could make them try to kill one another in the blink of an eye.
After twenty years of searching, she had also begun to notice that something about the incident was wrong.
Furthermore, Kikyo-neesan had only sealed Inuyasha rather than killing him.
As the younger sister, Kaede had no right to interfere as long as he caused no trouble.
Now, she felt little more than annoyance toward Inuyasha, along with excitement at the possibility of finally uncovering the truth.
However, she also understood the mutt’s temper.
A few gentle words might have coaxed the entire story out of him, but with her current attitude, that was absolutely impossible.
Kaede wanted to provoke Inuyasha into attacking.
Then she could justifiably tie him up and drag him before Kikyo-neesan’s grave to repent.
“You’re nowhere near as pretty as Kikyo!
Why would I want to look at you?!” Inuyasha shot back without mercy after returning to his senses.
He stomped on the arrow beside him and snapped it in half.
Crack!
The sound echoed through the area.
Inuyasha swept the group with the same defiant gaze he had possessed in the past, then rolled his shoulders and twisted his neck as a threatening aura surged from his body.
“You brought this many people with you.
If you want a fight, then come at me!
Stop wasting time!” The happy life he should have enjoyed had fallen apart for no reason, leaving him with a bellyful of anger.
Some was directed at himself, while the rest was meant for Kikyo.
As for Naraku, he was nothing more than a stray dog by the roadside.
If not for the lack of a scent to follow, Inuyasha would have immediately hunted him down and killed him.
There was no reason to upset himself over a dead man walking.
After awakening his past-life memories and absorbing one [Alternate Self], Inuyasha was far stronger than before, even without Tessaiga.
He might still be weaker than Sesshomaru and Kikyo, but at the very least, he would no longer have to endure a one-sided beating.
As Inuyasha advanced, his rising aura made the horses whinny uneasily.
“Kaede-sama!” One of the villagers looked nervously at the frowning Kaede.
“Inuyasha is coming!” “Should we attack?” Only twenty years had passed since Kikyo’s death.
The children who once played with Inuyasha had now grown into warriors who protected the village.
They still remembered their old friendship with him.
Now that they faced an Inuyasha who clearly looked ready for trouble, none of the villagers truly wanted to attack.
With everyone watching her, Kaede naturally understood what they meant.
However, she was still young, and her pride would not allow her to back down in front of Inuyasha.
“Don’t get too arrogant, Inuyasha.” Kaede watched the silver-haired dog demon approach step by step as she slipped one hand inside her robes, preparing to use her trump card.
“Don’t think no one can control you now that Kikyo-neesan is gone.
I have—” A figure suddenly flashed before her.
One hand shoved forcefully into the front of her robes.
A moment later, Inuyasha pulled out a strand of prayer beads decorated with fangs and triumphantly raised it into the air as Kaede stared in shock.
The silver-haired dog demon stood atop her horse’s head, blocking the afternoon sun.
His shadow covered Kaede completely as her eyes went blank and her mouth fell open in a perfect O.
“Heh-heh, these beads…” Inuyasha held the Beads of Subjugation beneath his nose and sniffed them.
A nostalgic expression appeared on his face.
They carried his scent, Kikyo’s scent, and…
“You damn mutt!
Give those back!” Kaede flew into a rage, grabbed her longbow, and swung it at Inuyasha’s legs.
He leaped away and laughed arrogantly.
“Nope!
Nope!
I’m never giving them back!” “Hahaha!” To Inuyasha, the Beads of Subjugation were like the tightening spell on Sun Wukong’s golden headband.
Now that the beads had fallen into his hands, only an idiot would give them back.
Ignoring Kaede’s furious shouting, Inuyasha tucked the beads inside his robes.
With only a few steps, he crossed over a hundred meters and soon arrived at Kikyo’s former home, which was now Kaede’s residence.