Traveling from Kyoto to the western provinces was an almost impossible journey for ordinary humans.
Not because of the distance—but because of the overwhelming number of yōkai and demons lurking along the way, far beyond what any human could possibly contend with. Aside from disciplined Shinto military divisions like those stationed at Yasaka Shrine, most common folk would never venture beyond the boundaries of their birthplace in their entire lifetime.
Of course, this rule did not apply to yōkai—especially not to one as powerful as Sesshōmaru.
A full day had passed since he left Satsuki's side. After traveling without pause, he had left Kyoto's borders, crossed Mount Ōe—domain of Shuten Dōji—and reached the plains of Musashino.
The so-called Musashino Plains were neither vast nor small, but they were home to several yōkai clans, constantly battling one another for territory and resources.
At this moment, two low-tier yōkai factions were locked in combat for reasons unknown.
One side consisted of several dozen kappa, while the other was a strange assembly of beasts—a chaotic gathering of animalistic monsters, led by a grotesque creature born from a nun whose body had been possessed by a malevolent spirit.
Since ancient times, yōkai battles followed one rule: soldiers fought soldiers, leaders fought leaders.
The kappa fought with surprising order, many wielding scavenged weapons likely looted from human battlefields. Against the unarmed rabble of beastly monsters, they quickly gained the upper hand.
However, at the level of the leaders, the tide was reversed.
The kappa leader was a green-skinned creature dressed like an aristocrat from Kyoto, wearing a dark short kariginu and a tall black hat. In his hands, he held an unsheathed katana—a symbol of his authority, and the key to his position as clan leader.
Facing a nun-demon several dozen times his size, the kappa darted and dodged, relying on his agility to stay alive. Finally, he found an opening and slashed down, striking the creature's arm.
But before he could celebrate, a surge of force from the blade's rebound made his expression change dramatically.
"Damn! This old monster's hide is too tough!"
He suddenly recalled that this red-eyed nun-demon had existed for centuries. Though her body was long dead and her yōki depleted, her corpse had transformed into something akin to a zombie, her blackened flesh hard as ironwood. His katana—no more than a sharpened human blade—couldn't possibly cut through it.
Battlefields were ever-changing, and a single failed strike often spelled doom. The kappa's failed attack left him vulnerable. His arms were too short and his strength too low; swinging his sword with full force left him in a state of dangerous stiffness.
The nun-demon seized her chance. With a single motion, she reached out and grabbed the small green creature in her palm.
The kappa species were not particularly strong to begin with, and even as a chieftain, he was barely larger than the demon's hand. He had no power to resist the crushing grip closing around him.
He could only stare in paralyzed horror as she slowly lifted him toward her gaping, fang-filled mouth.
But just then—
An overwhelming surge of demonic pressure and yōki descended upon the battlefield, causing every creature present to tremble uncontrollably.
At some point, Sesshōmaru had appeared, standing silently before them. His golden eyes swept across the scene as he spoke coldly:
"Out of my way. Move."
The sudden, commanding presence stunned even the kappa, who momentarily forgot his peril.
"Who... who are you?" he stammered.
But the nun-demon, with her rotting brain and mindless hunger, ignored Sesshōmaru entirely. Still gripping the kappa, she began to raise him toward her mouth again.
"I told you—get out of my way! Can't you understand that?!"
Sesshōmaru was not known for his patience.
Golden light flashed across his body. Raising his right hand, he conjured a whip of pure energy that cracked through the air, instantly severing both of the nun-demon's arms.
"This is...?"
The kappa fell to the ground, staring in shock at the glowing whip. Before he could even gather his thoughts, the air filled with the sharp whoosh of slicing energy and the agonized screams of countless dying yōkai.
When the kappa finally raised his head, trying to take in his surroundings, his eyes widened in disbelief.
—"In an instant… a clear path was carved straight through the battlefield!"
The sight was so terrifying that even the remaining kappa trembled violently. One by one, they collapsed to their knees, pressing their heads to the ground in reverence and fear on either side of Sesshōmaru.
Sesshōmaru, however, didn't spare them a single glance. Without a word, he simply continued walking forward.
But the kappa chieftain—deeply shaken and utterly captivated by Sesshōmaru's overwhelming strength and cold, elegant demeanor—couldn't take his eyes off him.
Prostrating himself, the kappa watched Sesshōmaru's graceful figure fade into the distance, stars of admiration glittering in his large, round eyes.
"So cool... How can someone be that powerful?"
Compelled by an inexplicable sense of fate, the kappa rose from among his trembling kin and began to follow that distant, shining figure.
"Lord Jaken?" another small kappa cried, startled.
But the one called Jaken turned back, his expression uncharacteristically resolute. "From this day forth, forget that I ever existed."
Before his companions could react, Jaken rushed after Sesshōmaru, disappearing from sight.
...
"Forgive my blindness, great one! Perhaps you did not mean to, but you saved my life nonetheless. Please, I beg you—allow me to serve you!"
Sesshōmaru continued walking through the forest, ignoring Jaken's desperate cries. He gave no reply—neither acceptance nor refusal.
He simply walked on.
Behind him, Jaken raised his head from where he knelt, staring at the silver-haired figure ahead. Suddenly, as if struck by a revelation, he scrambled to his feet.
That next action would define the rest of his life.
Without hesitation, he sprinted forward and shouted, "Wait for me!"
Sesshōmaru gave no sign of acknowledgment. His gait was steady and unchanging—if the path ahead remained clear, he would not stop.
And so, the two yōkai moved in silence through the forest, until Sesshōmaru finally arrived at a waterfall.
With a light leap, he landed upon a boulder beneath the rushing cascade. Narrowing his golden eyes, he focused his yōki through his senses, searching for the presence he had been tracking.
The waterfall roared, crashing against the rocks below in foaming waves, filling the air with a deep, thunderous splashing sound.
After only a brief pause, Sesshōmaru's gaze sharpened—he had located his target behind the waterfall.
Extending one hand through the torrent, he grasped something and drew it forth.
When he pulled back, a peculiar staff adorned with a grotesque human head rested in his grasp.
"Hey."
The voice, deep and cold, reached Jaken's ears. With the rushing water all around, he couldn't tell whether he had imagined it or not.
But a moment later, his doubts vanished—something flew straight toward him.
The startled kappa barely managed to catch the strange staff before it hit him squarely in the face.
Holding it awkwardly in both hands, he blinked in confusion. "Uh… what is this…?"
"If you find it useful, then use it," Sesshōmaru said flatly.
Such generosity from someone so formidable made Jaken's small heart leap with excitement. His eyes filled with reverence as he bowed deeply. "May I… may I ask your name, great one?"
"Sesshōmaru."
—"Lord Sesshōmaru…"
In that moment, the kappa known as Jaken felt a clarity he had never known before. He had found the master he was destined to serve.
Raising the Staff of Heads high above his head, he knelt with solemn devotion, as a loyal samurai might before his lord.
Before him stood Sesshōmaru—the one to whom he would devote the rest of his existence.
...
Several days had passed since Jaken began following Sesshōmaru. Though he spent much of the time chattering to himself, he was, surprisingly, content. Somehow, even this aimless journey felt meaningful—because simply walking beside the being known as Sesshōmaru was enough.
Still, the perceptive little yōkai could sense that the air was gradually growing heavier, more oppressive. The creatures they encountered along the way grew stronger and more ferocious with each passing day.
At first, Jaken had been able to use the Staff of Heads to strike a few blows here and there. But now, he could do nothing but stand aside and watch Sesshōmaru dispatch their foes with effortless precision.
Finally, unable to contain his curiosity, he asked, "Lord Sesshōmaru, where exactly are we going?"
"West Country," came the curt reply.
"W–W–W–West Country!?" Jaken stammered, his jaw nearly unhinging. Though he had long lived upon the Musashino Plains, he had heard countless tales of the western lands from other yōkai.
And then, his imagination took off.
—They said the West was ruled by the Dog Demon clan, led by none other than the Great Dog General, the strongest yōkai of the Warring States. Could it be that Lord Sesshōmaru intended to challenge the Great Dog General himself—and seize the West to found his own empire?
Yes, that must be it! Lord Sesshōmaru was the most powerful being Jaken had ever seen! That so-called Great Dog General wouldn't stand a chance! Once Lord Sesshōmaru triumphed, Jaken—his most loyal follower—would be recognized as the first of his retainers, a founding minister of the new yōkai empire! Hehehehehe…
As he indulged in his fantasy, Jaken's already green face seemed to glow even greener.
Meanwhile, the one at the center of his delusions—Sesshōmaru—was silently gazing down at the weapon hanging from his waist: the Bakusaiga, formed from the transformed Tenseiga.
Over the past few days of battle, he had come to understand the immense destructive power contained within it. Yet that very realization filled his heart with confusion.
"So this is the power Lady Satsuki spoke of—the force sleeping within me. A wound struck by this blade continues to fester until it completely destroys its target… But why did Father and Mother never mention it to me? From their reaction that day at the Cloud Palace, they clearly knew what power lay within me."
Sesshōmaru continued his silent advance toward the Dog General's fortress, his mind a storm of unanswered questions.
Along the way, the traces of yōki in the air grew stronger and more turbulent. The very atmosphere was thick with chaotic energy—an unrecognizable mixture of countless scents. It was no longer the orderly aura of a land ruled by high-ranking yōkai.
In the western lands, where dog demons reigned supreme, scent was an integral part of governance. Every region had its own olfactory signature—a code that conveyed the presence, number, and type of yōkai inhabiting it. This system allowed the ruling Dog clan to maintain control with near-perfect precision.
Since Sesshōmaru's birth, the scents of the West had never once been this chaotic—save for the times of great war.
And now, that chaos could mean only one thing: the West was facing a crisis of unprecedented scale.
Suddenly—Sesshōmaru halted.
Lost in his fantasies, Jaken didn't stop in time and crashed right into his master's leg, landing flat on his backside.
"What is it, Lord Sesshōmaru?" he asked, rubbing his sore head.
Sesshōmaru didn't answer. He lifted his gaze toward a distant patch of clouds, his expression sharper and more solemn than Jaken had ever seen.
Startled, Jaken followed his gaze.
Amid thunderclaps and swirling black clouds, a massive claw—scaled in violet, with four talons—flashed briefly within the storm.
Jaken's heart skipped a beat.
He tried to keep watching, despite the instinctive dread crawling over his skin.
Then, as a roll of thunder echoed across the heavens, a colossal silhouette—vast as a mountain—emerged faintly within the churning clouds.
In that instant, Jaken felt as if an invisible hand had seized his heart. Terror gripped his throat like iron shackles, leaving him gasping for air.
"Hmph."
Only when that familiar, reassuring voice reached his ears—and the overwhelming pressure and suffocating aura surrounding him seemed to part under an unseen force—did Jaken finally manage to breathe again.
The first thing he did, once able to draw air into his lungs, was shout, "Lord Sesshōmaru! Th-th-th-th-that just now—was that a dragon!?"
"..."
Sesshōmaru gave no reply. His golden eyes were fixed on the direction of the great dragon's aura—Ryūkotsusei.
From that creature, he sensed a strange yet familiar scent. It was the same essence that emanated from his Bakusaiga.
"Interesting... It seems I've found a worthy opponent."
A faint glimmer of battlelust flickered across Sesshōmaru's face. In the next instant, his figure blurred into a streak of light, soaring through the sky toward the colossal dragon-shaped yōkai.
As for Jaken—at the last possible moment, he latched desperately onto Sesshōmaru's thick, fluffy tail and was promptly dragged along into the air, following in pursuit of Ryūkotsusei.
...
"Oh? The show's about to begin."
Back in Kyoto, several days had passed peacefully since Ruri and Satsuki had left Kamo no Tadayuki's residence. Ruri, unaccustomed to idleness, had begun seeking new ways to entertain herself.
Recently, she had taken to using a crystal orb imbued with a clairvoyant spell—a form of the Telescope Technique—to spy on Sesshōmaru and Jaken's movements.
Unlike the limited version that the Third Hokage would one day use only within the borders of Konoha, Ruri's power was vast enough to extend her sight across the entire continent.
Thus, she had clearly seen Sesshōmaru charging toward Ryūkotsusei's immense form.
Hands tucked neatly into her long kimono sleeves, she smirked and called over to Satsuki, who was quietly brewing tea nearby. "Lady Satsuki, won't you come take a look? It's about to get interesting."
Satsuki didn't even glance up. "If I wished to observe, I wouldn't rely on something like that—narrow field of view, unstable focus, and highly restrictive environmental requirements. That kind of ninjutsu seems better suited for voyeurism."
Otherwise, why else would such a convenient spying technique never have been taught to Jiraiya? Whether for gathering information or… 'information,' it would have suited him perfectly.
Setting down her teacup, Satsuki lifted one graceful hand. Before her palm, a projection of the massive Tenseigan appeared—its smaller, condensed form shimmering with divine light.
Over time, through her gradual infiltration and deconstruction of this world's laws, Satsuki had learned to establish a reverse link between herself and the great Tenseigan, allowing her to summon a projection of it.
Though the true Tenseigan itself served as an energy conversion and transmission core in the shinobi world and could not be moved freely, even a mere projection was more than sufficient for Satsuki's purposes now.
Through it, she could easily observe the unfolding clash between Sesshōmaru and Ryūkotsusei.