The black lump burned rapidly upon hitting the flames.
Soon, tendrils of black smoke emerged from the orange firelight.
The smoke swirled mid-air, eventually forming a gaseous portal.
With a creak, the portal opened.
A common-looking man with a shaved head, wearing Warring States period armour, stepped out.
"Sending this signal... has the Celestial Maiden been captured?"
As he spoke, he scanned the cave, then fixed his gaze on Naraku.
At this moment, Luo Shu, disguised as Naraku, spoke with a subtle expression:
"To think you'd only send a controlled wraith. You really trust me, don't you, So'unga?"
'Are all villainous operations this dog-like nowadays?'
Luo Shu complains internally.
Against Kaguya, Naraku had to hide until she fought them, then scavenged the remains.
And against Naraku's contact, So'unga also controlled a wraith to communicate remotely.
'Do you villains have to be this cautious?'
"Heh." So'unga chuckled lowly, then said with amusement: "This is my respect for you, Naraku."
"After all, you're also worried about being controlled by my evil energy and losing yourself, aren't you?"
While saying this, So'unga carefully observed Naraku through his own means.
No changes in aura - the hidden mechanisms he'd planted in the soul, the several pieces of yokai flesh he'd deliberately embedded in the body - all remained undisturbed.
The only thing that puzzled So'unga was that Naraku had not devoured Kaguya, which was unexpected.
However, just as So'unga felt surprised, he suddenly noticed something odd about Naraku's soul.
It felt as if a pocket had been deliberately hidden within the soul.
Through this pocket, So'unga could faintly sense fluctuations in Spiritual Power.
'I see, so he's just absorbed the Celestial Maiden's soul into his body and hidden it?'
'Did he guess I had ulterior motives in telling him about the Celestial Maiden, hence this approach?'
'What a cunning half-yokai!'
'But no matter how cunning you are, you're just a plaything I, So'unga, created. You're still too young to oppose me - even with Onigumo's memories, it's impossible.'
Just as So'unga was silently cursing Naraku's cunning, Luo Shu was also inwardly criticising So'unga's treachery.
This Naraku—both body and soul—was entirely the hidden handiwork of So'unga. And now, even Kaguya's soul seemed to have pitfalls.
If Luo Shu hadn't immediately used Calamity Bestowal to create an illusion for So'unga, along with disguising Naraku's bodily aura, he would have been exposed long ago.
At that moment, So'unga deliberately glanced around and said:
"Has Kaguya not been captured yet?"
"Not yet." Luo Shu continued along So'unga's line of questioning: "The group from the other world is still confronting Kaguya. I need a bit more time."
This was Luo Shu's carefully crafted response, based on Naraku's memories.
"Oh?" So'unga gave Naraku a deep look before saying, "Leave Kaguya for now. I have a new target for you."
"Who?"
Luo Shu deliberately feigned unease:
"You know how troublesome Kaguya is. Dealing with her requires a lot of my focus."
So'unga replied indifferently: "It's just a few humans. I'll send Ryūkotsusei to assist you."
'Ryūkotsusei?' Hearing the name, Luo Shu was surprised.
After all, this was the Great Yokai who had severely wounded Tōga and was later sealed by him.
Had Ryūkotsusei already fallen under So'unga's control?
From Naraku's memories, he only recalled So'unga lurking in the Underworld, scheming. Could this be what he was plotting—gathering Great Yokai?
Luo Shu immediately reassessed So'unga's forces.
To be conservative, he estimated at least five—no, ten—Great Yokai.
As Luo Shu calculated So'unga's hidden cards, So'unga continued:
"This time, the targets are three people."
With a wave of his hand, tendrils of black mist spread out, coalescing into fog-like figures in the air.
"What's this?"
Luo Shu was startled, for the figures formed by the mist were none other than Shin Natsume and Maya Natsume of the Bujin-shū, along with Mr. Masao, who had separated from Sun Seto.
"What? You recognise them?" So'unga looked at Naraku in surprise, though he wasn't puzzled by Naraku's knowledge of the trio.
After all, much of Naraku's memories had been implanted by him. Whatever Naraku knew was his doing.
"Are they three of the visitors from another world?"
Luo Shu deliberately echoed Naraku's knowledge:
"You want me to target them... Are you planning to use their identities to cross into another world?"
"Correct." So'unga nodded, then gazed at the sky beyond the cave: "This world is doomed. My only path to survival lies in the homeland of these otherworldly visitors."
"But to enter that world, identities are indispensable."
"Not just identities, but also the Shikon Jewel, right?" Luo Shu continued playing Naraku's part: "Only the Shikon Jewel can open the Bone-Eating Well's passage, no?"
This was a complete lie.
The Bone-Eating Well only required jumping into to traverse worlds. But according to Naraku's memories, without energy, the well couldn't be used—and the best source of energy was souls.
Yet another trap.
If Luo Shu were truly Naraku, he would have prepared a contingency plan.
One path involves devouring numerous humans and yokai to accumulate the soul energy required for crossing over, while the other is to seek the Shikon Jewel in preparation for traversing the Bone-Eating Well.
Yet in reality, these two paths are one and the same.
Because in Naraku's memories, Kikyo had already taken the Shikon Jewel to the modern world.
Oh, by the way—according to Naraku's memories, Kikyo was coerced into accompanying a certain otherworldly man to the modern world under the threat of the lives of the villagers in Kaede's village.
At this thought, Luo Shu couldn't help but grumble internally:
'Why not just say my name outright? What's with this vague hinting in the memories? Trying to imply I forced Kikyo?'
'And Naraku's subconscious ultimate goal is actually to go to the modern world, rescue Kikyo, play the hero, and get the girl? So I'm the villain in this scenario?'
Just as Luo Shu was drowning in internal complaints, So'unga sneered:
"Seems you understand everything."
"In that case, you should also grasp the importance of these three individuals, no?"
Luo Shu shot So'unga a glance before asking, "Got it. When do we move?"
So'unga smiled at this. "The sooner, the better."