"A… a demon made this?!"
Seeing the Shadow Clone eating with such gusto, Kagome was just about to stuff the food into her mouth when she froze mid-motion after hearing his words. She stiffened slightly, then silently put the demon jerky back.
"This is pretty good, isn't it? Problem solved in one go!" Inuyasha said with relief, visibly relaxed. Without hesitation, he tossed a piece of demon jerky into his mouth.
"Mmm… it actually tastes pretty good!" he said after chewing twice, eyes lighting up in surprise.
Kagome watched him happily eating and quietly handed over her portion.
"You're not eating? This stuff is actually really good," Inuyasha asked, glancing at her while taking it.
"Uh… I-I'll pass," Kagome replied awkwardly, waving her hand.
"How strange," Inuyasha muttered, scratching his head. He didn't think much of it and casually ate her portion as well. "Then I'll just finish it all."
Now that the demon jerky issue was settled, Kagome quickly returned to the main topic.
"But isn't there a problem with your plan?" she asked. "I need the plaque to summon you first. If I can't come back through the Bone-Eaters' Well in the future, or if I lose the plaques, wouldn't this all become useless?"
"Correct," the Shadow Clone nodded. "This method requires one of my clones to remain on this side. If the clone disappears and there are no spare plaques left, the connection to this world will be completely cut off."
"I can give them to my mom for safekeeping!" Kagome quickly suggested.
"That's one option." The Shadow Clone took out three Summoning Technique plaques from the Kamui Dimension and handed them over. "I've only made three so far. Take all of them."
After Kagome accepted them, he added with a smile, "But I have another idea I want to test."
"What idea?" Kagome asked curiously.
"Using the Flying Thunder God Technique directly to teleport would be much more convenient," he said simply.
Without further explanation, he stepped forward and pressed his palm against the trunk of the time tree.
A Flying Thunder God mark appeared briefly on the bark… then slowly faded into invisibility.
After finishing, he looked at Kagome and Inuyasha.
"I'll release the summoning technique now and return. If everything goes smoothly, I'll be back soon."
"So soon?" Kagome blinked in surprise. "You just got here. I still wanted to introduce you to my family."
"I'm just a clone," he replied with a faint smile. "If it works, I'll bring Kikyo over next time. I'm actually curious,what will your family think when they see someone who looks exactly like you?"
"Oh!" Kagome's eyes lit up immediately. That thought clearly intrigued her.
Kagome and Kikyo looking identical… the reaction from her family would definitely be chaos.
Meanwhile, Kagetsu casually handed the remaining five or six pieces of demon jerky to Inuyasha.
"Thanks!" Inuyasha took them without hesitation.
"Wait… this is really edible?" Kagome asked, staring at the jerky with curiosity.
"Try it," Inuyasha said, immediately handing her a piece.
Kagome hesitated, then carefully took a bite.
Her eyes lit up instantly.
"Oh! It's actually really good! Kind of like dried mushrooms!"
"Right?" Kagetsu smiled. "But remember,eat it directly. Never boil or burn it. If you do, the demon mycelium will revive and turn back into demons."
He glanced at her meaningfully. "Of course… if you ever want to try them fresh, that's your choice."
Inuyasha immediately stuffed the remaining pieces into his mouth.
"Then I'll just finish it all. No risk that way."
Kagetsu shook his head slightly at the straightforward solution but said nothing more.
"I'll head back first," he said. "I'll bring Kikyo over later."
Poof!
With a light burst of smoke, his figure vanished.
Kagome held the plaque in her hand, watching the spot where he disappeared.
"Do you think he can really bring Kikyo here?" she asked.
"He probably can," Inuyasha replied casually. "And even if he can't, you still have that plaque. You can always go back to the Sengoku era anyway."
"True." Kagome nodded, carefully storing it away. "I'll go give this to Mom first!"
She ran toward the shrine house.
Inuyasha glanced at the time tree, then followed.
Sengoku Period
Back at the Bone-Eaters' Well, a puff of smoke suddenly rose as the Shadow Clone reappeared.
Kagetsu and Kikyo, who had been resting together nearby, immediately stood up.
"You're back," Kikyo said calmly.
The Shadow Clone nodded and dissolved into white smoke.
After receiving the memories, Kagetsu immediately turned to Kikyo and held out his hand.
"Let's go. I'll take you to Kagome's world."
Kikyo followed him to the time tree.
"You've already found a way?" she asked.
"Yes," he said, placing his hand on the trunk. A faint smile appeared. "Do you remember what I said about the Flying Thunder God? It only works through marked space."
Kikyo nodded slightly.
"In normal circumstances, I can't sense a mark in another world. But these two time trees are different."
He tapped the trunk lightly.
"They are anchors connecting two worlds. Their space-time energy is linked."
"As long as I use this connection, I can sense the mark I left in Kagome's world through this tree."
He placed a Flying Thunder God mark on the trunk again.
Then he pulled Kikyo into his arms.
"Ready?"
Kikyo wrapped her arms around him and nodded.
The next instant,
Flash!
Both figures vanished from the time tree.