Crossover anime, starting with Hachiman Hikigaya replacing Subaru Natsuki!

After dealing with the Shikon Jewel shards, Tsubaki grinned cruelly, grabbed Kagura's chin, and squeezed it until Kagura was in pain.

She sneered, "Does it really think I won't hold a grudge against it? Yes, that's right, I hate Kikyo. What I hate most is that priestess who drove a wedge between me and Miyuki. But why does Naraku think that just because I hate Kikyo, I won't hate it?"

Kagura broke out in a cold sweat. If she were in another place, she might have been able to put up some resistance and wouldn't be completely powerless. Although she still wouldn't be able to win, she wouldn't have been so easily subdued in one move.

However, this dark and hidden area is the residence of the priestess Tsubaki for fifty years. It has a barrier set up by the priestess that has weakened her demonic power, so now her life and death are entirely in the hands of the priestess Tsubaki.

"For example, if Naraku hadn't done these things, Kagome Higurashi wouldn't have traveled back in time, and Miyuki Shirogane wouldn't have known that the Well of Bones could be used for time travel, and he wouldn't have met you fifty years ago."

In order to survive, despite her own loathing for Naraku, Kagura had to rack her brains to come up with these fallacies based on facts to defend him.

He hoped to persuade the shrine maiden Tsubaki to spare his life.

"Heh." Miss Tsubaki remained unmoved and continued to sneer. "What a beautiful face. Naraku wants to cooperate with me, so he sent such a beautiful woman to see me. How thoughtful of him."

A chill ran through Kagura's body; she felt an overwhelming killing intent and quickly compromised: "I can be disfigured!"

She yearned for freedom, but because her heart was in Naraku's hands, she dared not rebel.

For Kagura now, survival is more important than freedom, let alone mere appearance; she doesn't have the same obsession with looks as the shrine maiden Tsubaki.

Unexpectedly, after she shouted that it could disfigure her, Miss Chun's face turned even uglier. She flung her hand away and said, "Are you mocking me?"

Before Kagura could protest her innocence, Miss Tsubaki had already turned and stood up. She had made up her mind and said with a cold smile, "Don't worry, I won't kill you easily. I'll keep you alive and use you as a medium to search for Naraku's whereabouts."

If Naraku had known the truth—that the reason Miyuki hadn't gone back to find her fifty years ago was because the Well of Bones was no longer usable—she might very well have agreed.

But now that she knows the whole truth, how could she possibly still get involved with Naraku, whom Yuuki hates?

For her own sake, she was determined to kill Kikyo no matter what.

For the sake of Gyoukyuu, she was determined to kill Naraku no matter what.

"Hoo—uh, ah!"

The curse, which traces back to its source, begins to be activated. Kagura, who is acting as the medium, had just been thankful for her survival when she was forced to cry out in pain.

Miss Chun is indeed willing to spare her life for now, but she will definitely not let her have an easy time. Let her enjoy the suffering caused by this curse.

In order not to alert Naraku and avoid being discovered, Tsubaki chose a spell that was extremely slow in tracing the source, requiring a lot of time, but which, after paying these costs, had a very concealed effect and was not easy to be discovered.

Kagura's suffering will continue for a very, very long time.

Hearing Kagura's beautiful cries of pain, Miss Tsubaki ignored her and turned her attention back to Shirogane Miyuki.

550. The Corpse Whipping and the Corpse Being Whipped

Inside the shrine, Momiji and Mudan cheered and hugged each other, never expecting that they would also enjoy the same treatment as the tourists.

"Red Leaf, now that we're famous, people will keep coming to us to exorcise demons and monsters!"

"Peony, from now on, we won't go down in history and become one of the greatest priestesses just because we've slain too many monsters!"

The two mediocre apprentice priestesses were already daydreaming, so excited they were practically drooling.

"Whoa! Hongye, look! He's no ordinary person; he has spiritual power!"

"Wow! Peony, listen to me, he must be here to cause trouble, trying to take over the shrine passed down from my master!"

"The conversation between the red leaves and the peonies was so fast and full of imagination that it was like a stand-up comedy routine, leaving no room for Shirogane Miyuki to speak."

"Shirogane Miyuki had to interrupt forcefully: "I'm here to find someone. Who is your master? Is it... a shrine maiden named Tsubaki, who's nearly seventy years old?"

Red Leaf and Peony scoffed, "What nonsense are you talking about? We don't know anyone like that!"

"It's obvious this is the third generation; even Tsubaki doesn't know about it anymore. In that case, Shirogane Miyuki has no choice but to ask the second generation: 'Then please let me see your master; I have something to ask her.'"

"Unfortunately, my master passed away recently; you're too late."

"At this point, their gazes sharpened, and they exchanged a glance—probing for information, reopening old wounds, and feigning politeness—they really are here to challenge us!"

"Even if Master is gone, you won't be able to take this shrine from us! Heave-ho, let's go, Momiji!"

"Alright, let him see what we're capable of, Peony!"

"Whoa—Don't look, don't look, the red leaves!"

"Oh dear—don't look, don't look! Peonies!"

One second they were still immersed in the dream of being the best in the world, the next second, both girls reached out and covered their eyes, only able to hear the defiant voices of their future selves after their defeat.

They are all inherently self-aware.

If it's just that kind of spiritual power at the level of a Maitreya monk and a physique close to that of a demon, the two of them could definitely handle it.

The problem is that Shirogane Miyuki has known Tsubaki for two years and has received her full knowledge. He is probably more familiar with their lineage's magic and spells than they are. As soon as he sees their pre-cast animation, he can immediately stop them.

They had the skills but couldn't use them, and neither of them had any real combat experience, while Shirogane Miyuki had already experienced the war against the Leopard Cat Clan. With such a double disparity, it would be a miracle if they didn't lose.

Once her two fellow disciples stopped talking, Hongye and Mudan quietly spread their fingers, leaving a gap, and secretly looked up.

"Taking action, losing, and receiving a stern lecture."

"Both Hongye and Mudan stammered, their faces flushed, and they were so ashamed that they kept bowing their heads and apologizing."

"Shirogane Miyuki didn't seem to care about their sudden attack, but he warned them that they were fighting like it was nothing, that they were too lenient, that they lacked the will to kill, and that they were only thinking about showing off their strength, which was not acceptable."

"If a shrine maiden debuts with this kind of mentality, she is very likely to be ambushed while tracking monsters, and by then it will be too late."

"Although I was just watching from the sidelines and cheering as an atmosphere-maker, saying things like 'Wow, Tsubaki-san is really amazing~', Shirogane Miyuki did witness the various situations of the shrine maiden hunting monsters up close on several occasions."

"In this respect, he is not as experienced as Miss Tsubaki or Miroku, but compared to Momiji Mudan, he is definitely a senior."

"Red Leaf Peony obediently nodded and listened to his heartfelt advice."

"After that, Shirogane Miyuki searched the entire shrine but found no information or letters left by Miss Tsubaki. He stood in the shrine for a long time, closing his eyes and sighing."

"Being a shrine maiden or an exorcist is a very dangerous profession because you never know when you might encounter a monster that you can't handle."

"Although Miss Tsubaki was very strong fifty years ago, she wasn't as strong as Kikyo. If she had encountered a powerful enemy like Sesshomaru or the Four Generals of the Leopard Cat in those fifty years, it wouldn't be hard to imagine that she would have been defeated or even killed."

"According to Hongye and Mudan's accounts, their master also suffered from accumulated injuries during his many demon-hunting expeditions, which is why he died so quickly instead of dying of old age."

"...Are you really dead? Will I never be able to see you again, to apologize in person? Miss Tsubaki..."

"It's impossible to draw a definitive conclusion, but Shirogane Miyuki can't deceive himself; he believes that Tsubaki-san is most likely dead."

"Whether he was really dead or not, he continued to follow Naraku's path, asking people in various places to see if anyone in this era had encountered a priestess named Tsubaki... or an old priestess."

"If Miss Tsubaki were still alive, she wouldn't be completely unknown."

Is Miss Chun dead or not?

At this moment, in all three worlds, no one else knew except for herself and Naraku.

However, Hachiman Hikigaya felt that if Miss Tsubaki was still alive and truly remained forever young, maintaining the appearance of a twenty-year-old, then she should appear before Miyuki Shirogane as soon as possible.

The longer time drags on, the more Shirogane Miyuki's image of Miss Tsubaki, a girl of marriageable age, will be replaced by the image of Granny Kaede, who is old and faded.

In this way, it would be difficult for Miyuki Shirogane to bring up any romantic feelings or desires with Tsubaki.

Although he didn't fall in love with Miss Tsubaki fifty years ago, he at least had a slight flutter in his heart that he himself didn't realize. If he didn't have any feelings at all, he wouldn't have reacted so strongly when he saw Miss Tsubaki's body.

Just like Hachiman Hikigaya, he didn't feel anything when he first saw Saki Kawasaki's panties, but when he later fell in love with Yukinoshita, just being close to her made his heart flutter.

"It's really pitiful that Miss Tsubaki can't reach it, just like Miss Crusch in the Sanctuary Trials."

His adorable voice held a playful undertone. After finishing his thought, Hachiman Hikigaya stretched out his right hand and roughly ruffled Anastasia's pale purple hair.

He couldn't bear to treat this girl the same way he had confronted Priscilla, so he could only sigh helplessly and say, "I told you not to bully Yukinoshita, but that doesn't mean you can bully Crusch."

"I'm just stating the facts."

Anastasia, with her lovely crescent-shaped fingers, tilted her head and placed a slender, white finger against her lips.

Just then, Kurei, in the distance, was deeply moved and wholeheartedly supporting Miss Tsubaki.

551. Chun's Autobiography

"Forty-two years ago, I hated Yukichi to the core, but I did not give up."

In the shadowy area, a consumable that was at her mercy, Miss Tsubaki, who had kept her thoughts to herself for fifty years, spoke eloquently, sharing her experiences and ideas with Kagura.

"No matter what, I must at least go to Yu Xing in person and question him about why he could be so cruel and vicious to me."

"To achieve this goal, I need to be strong enough to uncover the secrets of the Bone-Eating Well. I need to have spiritual power that is unfathomable to the extent that I can do this. That's when I set my goal."

“I need to cultivate diligently, but at that time I was already quite famous, and people troubled by demons would often come to the shrine to find me.”

"Later, I burned down the shrine, found this remote place, and patiently cultivated alone."

Miss Chun gave a self-deprecating laugh. Now that she thought about it, she really regretted it. That was a place that held the scent of her and Yu Xing living together for two years, and it was burned to the ground in one fire.

As for why the shrine was rebuilt, it must be because, fifty years ago, one of the master's ordinary disciples encountered difficulties and wanted to seek help from her, the master's only true disciple.

But unable to find anyone, he decided to stay after seeing the charred shrine, rebuild it, open it to disciples, and treat it as his own territory.

“Every ten years of cultivation, I would go to the Well of Bone-Eating to try and see if I could uncover the secrets of the well… and then I would fail four times in a row.”

“Every time I failed, I felt more resentful, and I practiced even harder after I came back.”

Kagura, standing to the side, watched Tsubaki's changing expression, sometimes good and sometimes bad, and listened with trepidation.

She understood why the shrine maiden Tsubaki could become so strong fifty years later, because in this world and in this era, strong enough emotions could give rise to something.

Even an ordinary person, if their emotions are strong enough, can give birth to powerful demons and monsters, let alone a shrine maiden like Tsubaki.

The shrine maiden Tsubaki's resentment and obsession caused her to break through her innate potential and gain even stronger potential.

Generally speaking, such vile negative emotions can make a person stronger, but at the same time, they can also become twisted and degenerate, lacking morality, having distorted values, and resembling a monster.

Chun only enjoyed the benefits and suffered no harm. Perhaps it was because her innate emphasis on appearance helped her resist the negative effects and thus she remained a normal human being.

"This situation is simply unimaginable!" Even as an enemy, Kagura was amazed and greatly admired the shrine maiden Tsubaki's strength in both body and mind.

While Kagura was amazed, Miss Tsubaki fell into a deep silence after finishing her story, feeling very down.

Having lived a secluded life for fifty years, she had long lost her fame and, being someone who rarely went out, would probably have had little idea that Shirogane Miyuki had reappeared fifty years later.

In the original future, without the light screen playing, it's uncertain whether Naraku would have known about her and sent Kagura to seek her out for collaboration.

"In the originally planned future, am I really going to miss out on Yuyuki fifty years from now?"

The thought of this made Miss Tsubaki grit her teeth, her mood clouded with gloom. And seeing the laughing and joking Red Leaf Peony beside Shirogane Miyuki, she felt an urge to kill.