Chapter 303

The wind continued to howl across the clearing.

Sesshōmaru’s gaze rested briefly on the Shikon Jewel shards in Kagura’s palm, yet not the slightest ripple of interest stirred within him.

He looked back at her, his golden eyes every bit as indifferent as before.

"You intend to betray Naraku?"

"Hmph. It’s not like I ever followed him willingly."

Kagura clenched her hand around the shards, their sharp edges digging painfully into her palm.

Resentment and hatred for Naraku churned in her eyes.

From the moment she had been born, she had been nothing more than his puppet, her heart literally held in his hand.

If even the direction the wind blew was decided by someone else, then how could she possibly call herself free?

She was sick of being controlled.

Sick of living beneath Naraku’s shadow.

"So what do you say, Sesshōmaru? You won’t lose anything by joining forces with me."

Kagura stepped half a pace closer, making one more attempt to persuade him.

Sesshōmaru merely looked at her.

"Unfortunately, I have no interest in the Shikon Jewel."

The words struck Kagura like a bucket of ice water.

Her expression stiffened.

Before she could recover, Sesshōmaru continued in the same emotionless tone.

"If you want freedom, take those shards and defeat Naraku yourself."

The color slowly drained from Kagura’s face.

She had risked everything to come here, only to receive such a casual rejection.

Her teeth clenched.

In desperation, she resorted to the most obvious provocation she could think of.

"Are you afraid of Naraku?"

Sesshōmaru did not react in the slightest.

"I said I have no obligation to help you."

Someone else’s plea was not enough to change how he chose to act.

Kagura’s freedom was her own concern.

It had nothing to do with him.

"If you don’t even have the resolve to fight for it yourself, then don’t speak so lightly of betrayal."

Kagura’s expression darkened.

Of course she understood that betraying Naraku meant being prepared to bear the consequences herself.

But if she had the power to kill Naraku alone, why would she have traveled all this way, swallowed her pride, and begged Sesshōmaru for help?

She had thought Sesshōmaru’s hatred of Naraku would be enough to make him accept.

She had underestimated just how proud he truly was.

"You coward!"

Kagura’s voice rose sharply.

The wind around her erupted, whipping sand and loose stones into the air.

"And you call yourself a man?!"

Sesshōmaru remained expressionless, as though her anger were nothing more than another meaningless gust passing by his ears.

"Hmph! I was a fool to think anything of you!"

Kagura trembled with fury.

She no longer wanted to remain here for another second.

Her hand shot up toward the feather tucked into her hair, ready to summon the wind and leave.

Then Haruto’s voice cut cleanly through the roaring gale.

"If what you really want is to escape Naraku’s control, I might be able to help."

Kagura froze.

The wind she had gathered dispersed almost instantly.

She whipped around and stared at Haruto—the man she had barely paid any attention to until now.

Haruto met her stunned gaze with a faint smile and casually raised one hand in greeting.

Kagura was not the only one who looked over.

Sesshōmaru also turned his head slightly, his golden eyes settling on Haruto.

He said nothing and made no move to leave.

From the beginning, Haruto had already piqued his curiosity.

"You can kill Naraku?"

Kagura looked Haruto up and down, suspicion plainly written across her face.

Another gust swept over him.

Yet she still sensed nothing particularly overwhelming.

His spiritual power seemed weak.

Nothing about him suggested someone capable of killing Naraku.

"Well..."

Haruto straightened and pretended to think carefully for a moment before spreading his hands.

"I can definitely beat Naraku."

"Whether I could actually kill him is harder to say."

That was not modesty.

With Haruto’s current strength, overpowering Naraku in a direct confrontation would not be difficult.

The problem was that Naraku’s greatest strength had never been straightforward combat.

It was his absurd ability to survive.

If Naraku abandoned everything and focused solely on escaping, even Haruto could not guarantee that he would be able to completely finish him off.

Kagura’s frown deepened.

She clearly disliked that answer.

"Then what makes you think you can help me?"

As far as Kagura was concerned, there was only one way to escape Naraku’s control.

Kill him and recover her heart.

If Haruto could not even guarantee Naraku’s death, what exactly could he do for her?

"What do you actually want?"

Haruto looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

"To kill Naraku—or to escape his control and become free?"

Kagura’s expression shifted.

Before she could answer, Haruto continued.

"If all you want is freedom, then killing Naraku may not be necessary."

"And as it happens, I know a method that might let you sever his control without killing him at all."

For Haruto, killing Naraku might be troublesome.

Helping Kagura escape from him, however, was another matter entirely.

His idea was simple.

He would awaken Kagura’s Nen and help her develop a Nen ability of her own.

When a Nen user possessed an exceptionally powerful desire or obsession, there was a strong chance that their ability would take shape around it.

And Kagura’s longing for freedom had already seeped into her bones, into her very existence, into every current of wind she commanded.

Once her Nen was awakened, Haruto believed there was at least a ninety-percent chance that she could develop an ability capable of severing every connection between Naraku and her heart.

At that point, even if Naraku physically kept possession of her heart, he would no longer be able to control her life or death.

He would no longer be able to chain down the wind.

Kagura would finally be free.

And she would not need to kill Naraku to obtain it.

"What method?"

Kagura’s breathing quickened.

Hope reignited in her eyes.

He was right.

She did not truly care whether Naraku lived or died.

What she had always wanted was freedom.

To reclaim ownership of her own heart.

To stop living beneath Naraku’s shadow like a puppet dancing on invisible strings.

If there were any way to accomplish that, she would try it.

Even if the odds were one in ten thousand.

"The method is called Nen."

Haruto looked at Kagura and began explaining the system carefully.

He started with the nature of Nen itself, then moved through the Four Major Principles—Ten, Zetsu, Ren, and Hatsu—before explaining how every practitioner could ultimately develop a unique ability of their own.

He placed particular emphasis on the relationship between powerful desire and the shape a Nen ability could take.

"Nen is a power that responds very closely to who you truly are."

"If someone possesses a desire strong enough, an obsession firm enough, their ability can take form around that wish."

"Someone obsessed with protecting others might develop an unbreakable barrier."

"Someone consumed by revenge might create a blade capable of cutting through anything."

Haruto’s gaze settled on Kagura.

"And your obsession is freedom."

"Not being restrained by anyone or anything."

"So your Nen could become the power to sever every chain that binds you."

Of course, there was no absolute guarantee that things would unfold exactly that way.

Haruto deliberately left that part unsaid.

Not because he wanted to deceive Kagura, but because hesitation at the critical moment could interfere with the direction her Nen ability took.

His explanation carried clearly across the clearing.

Sesshōmaru stood nearby in silence, his golden eyes shifting almost imperceptibly.

As he listened to Haruto describe Nen, one particular blade immediately came to mind.

Tessaiga.

The sword that had always rejected him.

His father had left Tessaiga to Inuyasha and Tenseiga to him, and Sesshōmaru had never truly let go of that resentment.

If Nen was really as unusual as Haruto claimed...

Could his own Nen break through that restriction?

Or perhaps—

Could it allow him to abandon Tessaiga altogether, walk a path that belonged only to him, and create a blade that was truly his own?