Immerse Yourself in the Darkness of the Mangekyo!

Immerse Yourself in the Darkness of the Mangekyo!

"What? Has someone already gone mute?"

"I didn't expect you to be this kind of yokai!"

Though Bai Ye's expression remained calm, Midori still caught the trace of mischief in his eyes.

At their first meeting, she had judged Bai Ye to be a decent gentleman. Although he had seen something by accident, he had acted properly afterward, so even Midori did not dwell on it any further.

During their second encounter at the Sacred Tree, she discovered Bai Ye's different side and felt that they could become friends. He seemed more real then. Like her, he was lonely, so she had believed they were kindred spirits.

But this time, she understood. She completely overturned every opinion of Bai Ye she had held in her heart. Everything before had been an act. He was nothing but a shameless little yokai!

"But weren't you quite willing to let me bully you like that?"

Bai Ye said it lightly.

"I wasn't!"

Midori immediately retorted, but wasn't that what she wanted?

She wanted a friend she could confide in, a friend she could joke and play around with, a friend before whom she could open her heart at any time without having to wear that cold expression.

"You're stronger than me. If you wanted to resist, there's no way I could carry you this easily."

With all of Bai Ye's bizarre abilities, Midori would not be his match. The Rumble-Rumble Fruit's power alone was not something an ordinary human could withstand.

But Midori's raw strength surpassed his. At the very least, by Demon World standards, she possessed the strength of a Great Demon.

If she did not want him carrying her, breaking free would have been easy. It was not as though he would use the Sharingan to hypnotize her or the Rumble-Rumble Fruit to subdue her just because she struggled, right?

She had not struggled at all, which was why Bai Ye had been able to carry her so easily.

"I only didn't resist because I thought you were my friend, but I also hoped you would treat me as a friend!"

Midori explained in embarrassment and anger. She wanted Bai Ye to see her as a friend, so she had not resisted. It did not mean anything else.

"Is that so? Well, becoming friends is fine, but I think our friendship should have a child to hold it together. What do you think—ugh."

Before Bai Ye could finish, Midori's fist flew straight at his head.

Crack, crack.

Bai Ye's head instantly turned into lightning, startling Midori.

She had not used much force. She had only wanted to stop Bai Ye from continuing. She had not punched his head clean off, had she?

"Midori, you're so cruel. I treated you as a friend, and you actually blew up my head?"

"I didn't mean to! Then how are you supposed to recover now?"

A trace of anxiety flashed across Midori's face. This was the first time she had seen anything like it. Lightning filled Bai Ye's "wound," and there was no sign of it recovering.

No way?!

Had she killed her first friend?

"Our Dog Demon Clan has a legend. A head can only be cracked by the person fate has chosen, and if you kiss that fated person, it will recover."

"This..." Midori had never heard of anything so absurd, but hearing Bai Ye's sincere tone and seeing that half his face still had not recovered, she gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, and said, "Come on."

A person chosen by fate...

Were they fated for each other?

A ripple stirred in Midori's heart. No matter how powerful a miko was, she was still a girl inside, especially a miko like her, whom others had revered since childhood.

Yet after waiting for a long time, Midori still felt no movement from Bai Ye. The wind of flight continued to lash against her face, proving that Bai Ye was still alive.

Midori opened her eyes and saw Bai Ye fully restored, along with the teasing amusement in his eyes. She knew she had been played.

"Sorry, it was just one of my abilities. Did I scare you?"

As Bai Ye spoke, he inwardly lamented the missed chance. He admitted that his heart had fluttered just now, but he could not take advantage of the moment to kiss her. If Midori later found out he had been lying to her, she would probably kill him.

"You're just a horrible bastard!!"

As Midori spoke, she twisted and slipped off Bai Ye's back. Her body began plummeting rapidly from the sky, but Kirara caught her at just the right moment.

"Kirara, let's fly faster!"

With that, she turned away and ignored Bai Ye.

Watching her retreating figure, confusion flashed through Bai Ye's eyes. Strange. He had respected her just now, hadn't he?

Taking advantage of someone was not something he wanted to do.

Yokai Byakuya: [This is weird, brothers. Do you think there's something wrong with this woman?]

As he spoke, he briefly explained what had happened between him and Midori.

Pirate Byakuya: [Holy shit!! The Rumble-Rumble Fruit gave you such a perfect opportunity, and you didn't cherish it?]

Hokage Byakuya: [Women are like that. You can't be a beast, but you also can't be worse than a beast!]

Slice of Life Byakuya: [Midori: I even closed my eyes! Who cares whether you were lying? You should've kissed me first!]

It was like tricking a girl by saying your cat could do a backflip. Even if it was the most ridiculous excuse imaginable, if she was willing to fall for it, didn't that mean she was interested in you? Everyone knew cats could not do backflips.

It was just an excuse, like that kiss. Midori might have even seen through it already, yet he had given up. What a waste.

Yokai Byakuya: [I know that, but I've never been in love. Besides, only stupid half-demons would get together with humans!]

Pirate Byakuya: [As everyone knows, the person who coined that famous saying has already gotten together with a human!]

Hokage Byakuya: [Inu Taisho: Exactly, exactly!]

Demon World.

Bai Ye scratched his head. Seeing Midori fly farther and farther away, he hurried after her. "Are you angry?"

"..."

Midori ignored Bai Ye and stared ahead as though he did not exist.

"Why are you angry?"

Strange.

Why did it suddenly feel like he was coaxing a girlfriend?

Dead memories suddenly began attacking Bai Ye. Weren't he and Midori just friends?

"I'm not angry. I just think it's childish for you to use that kind of joke to fool me. I treated you as a good friend, but you treated me like this!"

Midori turned to him and spoke seriously.

She had genuinely believed what Bai Ye said. She had even been prepared to let him kiss her, only to discover afterward that he had been fooling her. How could she not be angry?

Still, although she was upset, it only lasted a little while. After thinking it over, she told Bai Ye why she was angry. She did not want him guessing wildly, either.

"I just thought you were too bored. I happened to think of it and found it amusing, so I did it."

"Do you know how worried I was just now?"

Midori widened her eyes and raised her hand to punch Bai Ye again, but after thinking about it, she lowered it. "Can you turn any part of your body into lightning?"

She suddenly recalled how, after she struck Bai Ye, countless Thunder Snakes had appeared where his head was.

It was the first time Midori had seen such a bizarre ability.

"Yeah. Why?"

"Nothing."

Midori subconsciously glanced at him, then quickly turned away. The other side of her face had already turned crimson.

She hurriedly suppressed the tiny thought in her heart, but she could not help being curious. Did that mean...

"Don't say it!"

Bai Ye's face turned cold, and he barely managed to hold himself together.

He had not expected her mind to run that wild. That look alone was practically driving a train.

"I was just curious."

"Midori, are all humans this bold?"

Midori had truly shattered Bai Ye's understanding of humans.

He had originally thought that, in this ancient era, humans would at least be somewhat more reserved.

"It's not being bold. Anyone would be curious about that sort of thing!"

"But other people would be curious about the ability. What you're curious about is completely different."

"Anyway, that's that. I'm not thinking about it anymore. Also, when will we reach Mount Hōrai?"

What a clumsy attempt to change the subject.

Bai Ye looked at Midori, who was dodging the question and answering something else entirely, and understood that she did not want to continue discussing the matter.

Fine.

He would keep it in mind for now and bring it up later as Midori's embarrassing history.

"We should be there soon. I can already see those four guys."

"You can see them?"

Midori turned around in confusion. She was also in the air, yet she had not seen anything. Though puzzled, she assumed it was one of Bai Ye's abilities as a yokai.

Bai Ye did not explain. With the Rumble-Rumble Fruit's Observation Haki, his detection range was extremely broad. He could even hear every sound on Mount Hōrai clearly.

In fact, Bai Ye had sensed the situation there from a great distance away.

"The situation on the island seems pretty bad. Those guys appear to have the upper hand."

It looked like things were nearing their end. Within his senses, many of Mount Hōrai's half-demons had already died beneath the Four Fiends' slaughter.

And the only miko, Kaname, was currently at a disadvantage as well.

"Then let's hurry over!"

Midori glanced at Bai Ye in surprise before quickly replying.

If she had this big dog traveling with her to exterminate demons, it would actually be pretty useful.

He had not even seen the enemy, yet he already knew exactly what was happening over there. He was a top-tier scout.

"Is that?! The miko of Mount Hōrai?"

As they drew closer, Midori saw Kaname fighting the yokai.

Kaname's Spiritual Power was strong, but against the Four Fiends—four Great Demons—she was clearly struggling.

"Big brother, it looks like more people have arrived?"

Gōra turned and looked behind them as he gave the warning. From Bai Ye, he smelled an aura he deeply disliked.

As soon as Gōra finished speaking, Ryūra, Kyōra, and Jūra all turned toward the direction he indicated.

"Tch, it's that stinking dog's scent. That bastard's son?"

A gloomy look crossed Ryūra's face as he recalled being defeated by Inu Taisho.

After being defeated by Inu Taisho, the four brothers had come to Mount Hōrai to seize its treasure before returning to fight Inu Taisho again.

The four brothers' hatred for Inu Taisho had reached its limit. Now, another dog demon had appeared with an aura somewhat similar to Inu Taisho's.

"There's also a miko. That seems to be Midori. Big brother, this is a bit troublesome!"

That dog demon only had the strength of a First-Rate Yokai, but Midori, who had come with him, was no weakling. Her reputation in the Demon World was immense.

There were very few demon exterminators who could surpass her at this time. Only Abe no Seimei, known as the strongest Onmyoji of the Heian period, could do so.

Heian-kyō was hailed as the safest place, where no yokai dared cause trouble. Although yokai occasionally appeared in the Demon Extermination Village protected by Midori, they were relatively few.

The Four Fiends' sudden stop gave Kaname, who had been under immense pressure, a moment of relief. At the same time, she followed their gaze toward Bai Ye.

Two yokai and a miko made for a strange combination.

Yet Kaname did not find it the least bit out of place. Perhaps it was because she herself protected half-demons and yokai here on Mount Hōrai.

"Kid, are you Inu Taisho's son?"

Ryūra looked at Bai Ye and asked directly without any restraint.

If he was, they would deal with him while they were at it.

"Ah, so the Four Fiends lost and came here to vent their anger on half-demons."

"You bastard?! I'll kill you!"

Jūra had the hottest temper. Hearing the faint mockery in Bai Ye's words, he instantly could not hold back and wanted to attack him.

It was one thing to be defeated by Inu Taisho, but even a First-Rate Yokai dared mock him?

"Don't rush."

Kyōra stopped Jūra. He was the strategist among the Four Fiends.

Faced with Jūra's seemingly mindless decision to switch targets, he hurried to stop him. If Bai Ye had come alone, he would not have needed to think so much. But since a powerful miko had arrived as well...

He naturally could not allow Jūra to act so recklessly.

"Midori? What are you doing here?"

Kyōra exchanged glances with the other three demons, and in an instant, they communicated their plan through their eyes.

Ryūra indicated that he could handle Midori, while Jūra would deal with Bai Ye. Then Gōra and Kyōra would continue fighting Kaname.

The four had clearly divided their roles. Once they dealt with one person first, they could instantly break the current deadlock.

Before that, they could not let Midori ruin their plans.

"Exterminating demons."

The moment Midori spoke, the Four Fiends acted.

Since they knew she was an enemy, they would strike first.

"Kid, I'll kill you first, then I'll kill Inu Taisho later!"

Jūra flew straight at Bai Ye and threw a punch. In his eyes, Bai Ye was merely a First-Rate Yokai and would be easy to deal with.

"Be careful!"

Kyōra warned him.

"Your opponent is me!!"

Holding the Wind Fang Blade and Thunder Fang Blade, Ryūra blocked Midori head-on.

In their eyes, Kaname was already at the end of her rope, Bai Ye was the weakest, and Midori was the strongest. Ryūra would hold her off, and once his three brothers freed up their hands, dealing with Midori would be easy!

So before then, they could not let Midori ruin their plans.

"So scary." A mocking smile appeared at the corner of Bai Ye's mouth. A pair of Mangekyo appeared in his pupils, and then the same Mangekyo appeared in Jūra's eyes. "Immerse yourself in the darkness of the Mangekyo!!"