"Naraku?"
Uchiha Madara stood on a tree limb, looking calmly at the miko below.
"I have no idea where he is."
A few months earlier that shadow-lurking fellow had sought him out, proposing an alliance.
Madara had unhesitatingly destroyed Naraku's puppet, then went on to gather several more shards of the Shikon Jewel, wiping out a pack of man-eating Wolf-Demon Tribe yōkai along the way. After that he met a woman who called herself Kagura.
When Kagura repeated Naraku's offer of cooperation he did not flat-out refuse; instead he used her information to seize more jewel shards.
Observing that Naraku kept circling around Inuyasha's party—and, after meeting Kikyo, professed undying love for her while spouting nothing but lies—Madara felt nothing but disgust.
So he decided to discard an ally he had never truly trusted.
To be fair, the half-demon Naraku was a troublesome opponent, a schemer who seemed to see straight through people's hearts—yet his concern for Kikyo was an obvious weak point.
Using Kikyo as bait, Madara persuaded the already disloyal Kagura and launched a sudden assault. He snatched the shards Naraku carried along with Kagura's heart, then lost interest in the stubbornly hard-to-kill half-demon and walked away. Until today.
…
"What do you intend to do with the Shikon Jewel?"
Priestess Kikyo asked softly. She held an arrow but had not yet nocked it. She did not know why he was collecting shards, only that he had robbed Inuyasha's group four times, fought Naraku, and kept hunting for pieces.
Judging by the count, he was very close to completing the jewel.
The Shikon Jewel changes its nature according to its holder. The moment one gives in to desire, the jewel's taint deepens, which in turn magnifies that desire until the bearer destroys himself.
Kikyo's sharp spiritual senses told her the half-demon before her was not an evil man: first, in the four robberies he had never killed anyone; second, he had systematically hunted hostile yōkai.
From the Wolf-Demon Tribe to the Panther-Demon Clan, then the sealed great demon Ryūkotsusei, the murderous Iron-Chicken demon, and countless lesser monsters—he was practically a walking abattoir for yōkai. Villages and towns had begun offering him worship as a "divine savior."
Yet even a good man, unless he were a miko like herself—desireless and fully aware of the jewel's danger—could easily be corrupted.
Madara spared the priestess a cold glance, gave no answer, and leapt off toward a distant cliff.
He was not about to finish the collection; he had already completed it. The whole jewel lay in his robe.
As his understanding of yōkai deepened, his aim kept shifting. Even in his original world, though he had slaughtered untold numbers and strove to cast humanity into endless illusion, at heart he still yearned for peace.
First came humanity. Yōkai and humans could hardly coexist; to most demons, humans were food. Demons devoured other demons too—cruelty and indifference were their nature. Even humans who fell into demonhood bore malice toward their former kind.
At first he thought to use the Jewel to become a full demon. Later he wondered if he could remain human and gain greater strength. As his own power resurfaced he grew confident: demonic might no longer mattered.
When he finally assembled the Jewel and, through the Mangekyō Sharingan, beheld the priestess Midoriko sealed within, his plans changed completely.
That woman… Madara noticed that Kikyo was still trailing him, frowned, and ignored her.
…
Hours later, Kaede's Village
"Ughhh."
Kagome Higurashi yawned and slumped over the table. "What do we do? It's been half a month and we haven't found a single shard. Don't tell me Uchiha Madara has finished collecting them!"
"Why, you—!" Inuyasha, who had been leaning against the doorframe, sprang up. "It's all because you're so lazy! Exams, feeling sick, overslept, teacher wanted to talk—too many excuses!"
"If it weren't for yo—"
"Sit!"
THUD! Inuyasha slammed face-first into the floor.
Flushing, Kagome muttered, "It's not all my fault. Even if we do find shards, that guy just steals them anyway."
"Ahh…" Monk Miroku sighed into his teacup. Not only Inuyasha—none of them had any way to handle the half-demon who wielded no yōki at all.
"If his power used even a hint of demonic energy I could counter it," Inuyasha grumbled, head popping up from the floor. Though he had Tessaiga's destructive force, Madara never used yōki, so Inuyasha could not strike back in kind; in straight hand-to-hand every move of his felt as though it were being read.
Nearby, Sango merely shook her head and kept polishing her Hiraikotsu. Madara had barged into her exterminator village and taken the shard enshrined there. He had hurt no one, ignored them all, but the village still sent her to recover it—after this and that adventure they had ended up traveling together. Having been robbed of shards several times already, she had long since resigned herself.
"Eh?" Inuyasha sniffed the air. "He's heading for the village—I can smell him!"
Without waiting he dashed out, brandishing Tessaiga. The others hurried after him and soon reached the Bone-Eater's Well.
As on the previous four occasions, Inuyasha was flattened in a blur, left on his knees, eyes rolling.
Uchiha Madara stood before the Sacred Tree of Ages, one hand on the trunk; with the other he casually drew out the Shikon Jewel.
"Kikyo - sama!" Miroku exclaimed, spotting the belated priestess.
Is he going to use this tree to cross worlds? Madara wondered, holding the Jewel as it began to glow murkily.
He was no saint without desire and could not frame a "proper" wish—but his will was iron, and the stubbornness of Uchiha blood made him hard to sway.
Yes, a layered, resonant voice murmured from the Jewel. Until you are satisfied I shall…
…grant your every desire.
Brilliant light flared. Madara felt himself rush through a kaleidoscopic tunnel and, at last, be forced out.
Tap. He landed on a rooftop of steel and concrete, frowning at the forest of high-rise buildings in the distance.
"Is this… another world?"