"I see. So something like that exists?"
"Meaning this yokai named Naraku has already collected most of the Sacred Jewel shards."
"And you're all chasing after him."
Rikuo stared at the small glass bottle Kagome held up and felt a strange sense of disbelief.
'Come to think of it, I've never heard of this thing.'
Even in his own era, not a single yokai had ever mentioned the legend of the Shikon no Tama.
Something about that nagged at him. After a moment, an idea took shape.
"Um, Master... next time you return to the modern era, could I come with you?"
"Just call me Kagome. And, well, I'm not sure you'd be able to pass through the Bone Eater's Well."
Kagome corrected the formality with a small laugh, then frowned. Inuyasha could make the trip, but no one else had ever managed it.
"Wait, you can't just go through whenever you want?"
"We tried once. Jumped in and nothing happened at all."
Hearing Miroku and the others explain, Rikuo's curiosity only deepened. A well capable of bridging five hundred years of time. The existence of such a thing was fascinating in its own right.
'If this really is five hundred years in the past, then the Nura Clan probably hasn't been established yet.'
That was a significant thought. His grandfather had defeated Hagoromo Gitsune in Kyoto four hundred years ago.
Hagoromo Gitsune.
"By the way, Miroku-san, Sango-san, have either of you heard of a yokai called Hagoromo Gitsune?"
"Hagoromo Gitsune? Never heard the name."
"Neither have I."
"Sounds like a fox. Why do you ask?"
"Oh, no reason."
Everyone looked blank. Rikuo couldn't tell whether the news had been suppressed or whether none of them had simply been to Kyoto.
'If it bothers you that much, just go to Kyoto and check for yourself.'
His yokai half materialized on a tree branch above, tone cool and effortless.
'Yeah. That's the simplest way to confirm it. If Hagoromo Gitsune is really there, then that proves...'
'But let's wait for Inuyasha to get back first.'
"Your sword carries Cursed Poison!!"
Jaken stared at the girl swinging her blade and let out a shocked screech.
He'd watched it happen. A yokai had lunged at them. Akame cut it once, a single shallow wound, and then strange characters had crawled outward from the gash like spreading ink. Within heartbeats, the creature was dead.
As Sesshomaru's longtime retainer, Jaken didn't claim to know everything under the sun. But he had enough experience to recognize what he'd just seen.
That was Cursed Poison. Not ordinary venom. Something far worse.
"Hm? Jaken-sama, is Cursed Poison really that dangerous?"
"Of course it is, you fool! Listen. Normal poison can kill a human easily enough, and certain refined toxins can even take down some yokai. But there's always an antidote. Cursed Poison is different. It's a type of curse. There is no conventional way to neutralize it."
"And did you see how fast that yokai died? Not even a few breaths! That sword of hers is no ordinary blade. She's a human wielding something that could kill her with a single scratch!"
Jaken delivered his lecture with wide, bulging eyes. For once, he was being genuinely informative.
Clap, clap!
"Akame-san is amazing! Maybe she could even beat Naraku!"
Rin listened intently and then applauded, beaming.
"Naraku?"
Akame glanced back at Rin. She had no idea what the girl was talking about.
"Hey, enough chatting! Come eat first. We'll be moving again as soon as Sesshomaru-sama returns."
"Oh, right."
"Can I have a bigger portion, please?"
"Totosai. What is the meaning of this? You dare..."
"All right, all right, Sesshomaru. I'm not here to trade barbs. I came to deliver some very bad news."
The moment Totosai saw Sesshomaru's hand settle on Tokijin's hilt, he threw his palms up in frantic surrender.
"?"
Sesshomaru paused. The old swordsmith's ragged breathing and wide-eyed panic were unusual. He'd hear him out.
But before Totosai could speak, Sesshomaru noticed something else.
Tenseiga was trembling at his waist.
'Tenseiga is resonating?'
He placed his hand over it. The vibration didn't stop. Nothing like this had ever happened before.
"Tenseiga feels it too!"
"I knew my instincts were right!!"
Totosai clutched his head with both hands, completely frazzled.
The man was normally the most laid-back creature alive. Seeing him reduced to this state meant something was genuinely wrong.
"Tessaiga?"
On his way back, Inuyasha felt the blade at his hip buzzing with unfamiliar energy.
"Inuyasha-sama!!"
"Grandpa Myoga?"
A tiny, familiar figure landed on his shoulder. The old flea was bouncing around in a frenzy, too panicked to even think about his usual blood-sucking routine.
"Something terrible has happened, Inuyasha-sama!"
He couldn't even catch his breath. And at the very same instant, miles away, Totosai spoke the same words.
"Master... Your father's aura..."
"It has appeared!!"
"WHAT?!!"
"Setting foot on this land again after so long. Does it feel nostalgic?"
Kirinmaru stood shoulder to shoulder with him at the summit of a towering mountain, gazing down at the world below.
"A little. I just wonder what's become of it."
A warm, gentle voice. The Great Dog Demon watched the restless yokai scurrying across the landscape and murmured to himself.
Sesshomaru.
Inuyasha.
Two hundred years had passed.
He had no idea what kind of men his sons had become.
"Hahaha! I've never felt this alive!"
Kirinmaru threw his head back and laughed. Behind his mask, his eyes burned with anticipation.
By all rights, as the Ruler of the Eastern Beasts, he could have marshaled an army of yokai to join him.
But with the Great Dog Demon at his side, what would be the point?
Two Supreme Rulers, fighting as one.
Invincible.
No reinforcements required.
The other participants? They could simply wait to be crushed.
There was no yokai in this world stronger than the two of them.
This so-called Dragon Ball War? Its conclusion had already been decided.
"Warmed up properly at home. Time to go find the rest of them."
Before departing from the east, Kirinmaru had taken the time to spar with the Great Dog Demon. After centuries in slumber, his body had needed a proper wake-up.
Once he felt ready, the two set out together.
BRRRMMM!!
"Hm? Tessaiga and Tenseiga are resonating."
Kirinmaru heard the trembling from the swords strapped to the Great Dog Demon's back and glanced over.
'Inuyasha and Sesshomaru are out there?'
'Are they carrying the swords themselves, or...'
The Great Dog Demon's expression didn't change, but his gaze swept between two distant points.
He'd given each blade a different purpose. A different fate. He had no idea how things had played out since then.
Had Totosai and Myoga honored the instructions he left behind?
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]