"Susanoo: Yasaka no Magatama!"
Kagetsu's low voice cut through the flames.
The spinning Chakra Magatama in Susanoo's palm shot forward,
Boom,!
It tore through the air and struck Ginkotsu square in the chest.
His massive steel body warped into an afterimage as he was blasted backward, smashing through rows of trees before slamming into a distant cliff,
BOOM!
His body exploded on impact, fragments scattering everywhere.
Kagetsu didn't even glance back.
He turned instantly.
Susanoo moved with him.
Its arm swung,
The massive chakra blade flew out like a streak of pale-blue light.
Slash,!
The blade cleaved through a thick tree,and revealed Renkotsu, frozen mid-step behind it.
His expression twisted in shock.
He had been circling around,aiming straight for Kikyo and the others.
Too late.
The chakra blade pierced straight through his chest, pinning him to the ground.
Blood spread rapidly beneath him.
"Damn it…" Renkotsu coughed, glaring toward Kikyo and the others with unwilling hatred. "Just… a little more…"
Whoosh!
A sacred arrow cut through the air.
It struck the shard at his throat with perfect precision.
His voice stopped.
His body crumbled into withered bones.
"Even if he hadn't acted, do you really think you could've ambushed us?"
Kikyo lowered her bow, her tone calm and unwavering.
"You are the fifth."
Kagetsu's gaze shifted.
Bankotsu hadn't run.
Instead, he walked forward step by step, Savage Dragon resting on his shoulder.
Calm.
Resolute.
Kagetsu dismissed Susanoo.
The pale-blue chakra faded as he stood quietly, waiting.
"Looks like it's just the two of us now, Big Brother."
Jakotsu forced Inuyasha back with a swing of his chain blade and leapt to Bankotsu's side.
Back-to-back.
This time, no playfulness remained.
Only resolve.
"Yeah…" Bankotsu exhaled slowly, glancing at his weapon. "It's a shame… Savage Dragon hasn't taken a thousand heads yet."
"That is a pity," Jakotsu smiled faintly, his eyes drifting to Inuyasha. "But I've already died once. Got another chance… and even met someone cute like him."
"…You really are something." Bankotsu chuckled.
Then his gaze sharpened, locking onto Kagetsu.
"Tell me your name."
A pause.
"So I know who killed me."
Kagetsu shook his head lightly.
"…No. Forget it. Once you're dead, that's the end. No hell. No paradise. Nothing."
Kagetsu's tone was flat.Emotionless.
Bankotsu's smile vanished.
"I don't care about the afterlife… but hearing that from you pisses me off."
He raised Savage Dragon.
"I am Bankotsu,the leader of the Band of Seven!"
His voice roared across the battlefield.
"Don't you dare look down on me!"
He charged.
All his strength gathered into a single strike.
The blade came down,
Kagetsu didn't move.
He simply raised his hand.
A skeletal arm of Susanoo materialized,
and caught the blade.
Clang,!
The impact shook the ground, cracks spreading beneath their feet.
Bankotsu's arms trembled from the recoil.
"…What,"
Too late.
Kagetsu stepped forward.
A single punch,
wrapped in dense chakra,
slammed into his abdomen.
Boom!
The force blasted straight through him.
Blood sprayed from his back as his body bent violently.
He dropped his weapon,and collapsed.
Kagetsu caught Savage Dragon mid-fall.
One clean swing.
Slash.
Bankotsu's head flew into the air.
Mid-flight,
it turned to bone.
Then dust.
"The sixth."
He caught the shard without a ripple in his expression.
"Wind Scar!"
A golden arc tore across the battlefield.
Jakotsu was struck head-on and blasted away, crashing into the ground.
"It's over."
Inuyasha sheathed Tessaiga, exhaling deeply.
Cough…
A faint sound.
Inuyasha froze.
"…He's still alive?"
Kagetsu stepped forward and confirmed it.
Then he turned to Inuyasha, expression strange.
"…You held back?"
A pause.
Then,
loudly:
"Inuyasha, are you planning to abandon Kagome and change your affections?"
Kagome froze mid-step.
Her smile cracked instantly.
Shippō blinked in shock.
Sango, Miroku,even Kikyo,
all turned to stare.
"W-What nonsense are you talking about?!" Inuyasha exploded, face turning bright red. "Who said I don't want Kagome?!"
"Oh?" Kagetsu raised a brow, clearly enjoying himself.
"So you want both?"
He tilted his head.
"Didn't expect that from you."