Iaijutsu

Beneath a towering tree, Sesshomaru cultivated in his sumptuous white robes, the demon power within him constantly shifting under his control.

At that moment.

Sesshomaru's eyes snapped open, a flash of lightning seeming to spark within them as his gaze shone with an almost tangible light.

Father suddenly unleashed such overwhelming pressure!? What happened!?

Though puzzled, his expression remained as cold as ever. He merely stopped cultivating and lightly tapped the ground, his figure appearing atop the tree like a phantom.

He stood on a treetop that could not possibly support a person, as though he weighed nothing at all.

"That's..."

Sesshomaru looked toward the source of Tōga's overwhelming pressure, just in time to see Tōga and Mingye streaking across the sky as trails of light, one behind the other.

That other presence seems to belong to the wolf tribe... Is it Mingye, the Demon Wolf...?

As a dog yokai, Sesshomaru had a sense of smell far keener than that of ordinary yokai. He instantly identified the icy-blue streak following his father as a yokai of the Demon Wolf Tribe.

Though he had been fighting the Leopard Cat Tribe on the battlefield all this time, he had still heard news of Mingye.

How could the unfamiliar scent of Mingye, the Demon Wolf who had suddenly arrived at the Dog Tribe Base, escape his notice?

That fighting spirit... Could it be...?

Sesshomaru was remarkably perceptive. Sensing Mingye's intense fighting spirit, he had already guessed part of what was happening.

"Interesting..."

Sesshomaru stepped forward and appeared in the distance as though he had teleported. That uncanny footwork brought his speed to a truly terrifying level.

He followed in the direction Tōga and Mingye had gone.

In a broad mountain valley, Tōga landed first.

Mingye landed opposite him a few breaths later.

It was not that Mingye's flying speed had caught up with Tōga's, but that Tōga had deliberately slowed down.

Mingye understood that much.

A vast waterfall thundered within the valley, like a celestial river hanging upside down, washing away all the filth upon the earth.

The two figures stood motionless, as though waiting for something.

Not a single opening. Standing there, he's like an enormous mountain. Steady as an old hound, through and through!

Mingye murmured inwardly, his eyes burning as he fixed his gaze on Tōga, dozens of yards away.

Tōga's presence seemed to blend into the valley itself, utterly immovable and without any discernible weakness.

Mingye's gaze sharpened. His blood energy surged, and his demon power threatened to erupt like a volcano. He stomped down with tremendous force, instantly cracking the ground beneath his feet.

As though a giant elephant had stamped upon it, the earth flew in all directions. Dust billowed up, hiding Mingye from view.

Yet Mingye was already gone from that spot, appearing directly above Tōga's head.

His body flipped at blinding speed, his right leg cleaving down viciously toward Tōga like a battle-axe capable of splitting mountains!

The strike carried tremendous weight. Sharp cracks rang through the air-the explosive shock of airflow caused by that sudden burst of strength and speed!

Tōga raised his right hand slightly. Seemingly slow yet actually swift, he blocked upward!

Mingye's right leg collided with his right arm in an instant. Tōga felt the tremendous force behind it, and a hint of surprise appeared in his eyes. That was no small amount of strength.

Unable to withstand the force, the ground beneath Tōga's feet sank and fractured.

With his strike blocked, Mingye flipped again. His blood energy and immense demon power gathered in his right fist, violently displacing the surrounding air.

The punch drove straight toward Tōga's chest, unleashing a mingled torrent of icy-blue power and crimson blood energy!

Tōga's expression shifted slightly. He thrust his palm forward, finally using his demon power. Terrifying power coated his palm as he took Mingye's mighty punch head-on!

Clang!

The collision actually rang out like metal striking metal, crisp and thunderous!

Violent waves of air rose dozens of feet around them, roaring like ocean breakers that could swallow and crush everything.

"Such strength!"

Tōga could not help praising him. The Demon Wolf Tribe was not known for physical strength, and its members' bodily toughness differed little from that of the Dog Tribe.

As a Greater Yokai, Tōga naturally possessed strength far beyond the ordinary. Yet for Mingye to possess such strength at his age was truly astonishing!

Tōga's words did not stir Mingye's emotions in the slightest. His assault continued, his movements growing ever faster as a flurry of punches and kicks erupted amid the surging of his blood energy!

Thunderous explosions echoed throughout the valley. Every one of Mingye's blows carried tremendous force.

Yet after a full ten minutes of attacks, Tōga had countered every last one.

Tōga had the edge in strength, and his combat experience far surpassed Mingye's.

"Draw your sword. Show me your true strength!"

Tōga spoke calmly. He had already sensed that the sword at Mingye's waist was extraordinary. It seemed almost unable to restrain itself from leaving its sheath.

"All right!"

Mingye understood that their probing exchange was over. Continuing to fight with fists and feet would gain him no advantage.

His hand reached for the Evil Sword. The blade left its sheath in an instant, impossibly fast. Icy-blue sword light sliced through the waves of air, severing everything before it.

Tōga's expression shifted slightly. Tessaiga abruptly appeared in his hand, the unremarkable blunt sword transforming in an instant into an enormous fang-shaped blade!

Golden sword light burst from Tessaiga, concentrated and swift as a golden ray, meeting Mingye's sword light.

Yet that blindingly fast slash passed through the golden sword light in an instant. The slash Tōga had unleashed failed to stop it.

Or rather, the golden sword light was a beat slower than the icy-blue slash, creating the illusion that Mingye's sword light had passed through Tōga's golden attack.

Boom!

A tremendous blast erupted where Tōga stood. Dust surged upward into the sky in the shape of a mushroom cloud.

"That... sword!"

Sesshomaru had just reached a spot in the valley and witnessed that utterly outrageous scene.

He had sensed danger in the sword strike Mingye had just unleashed!

Within the dust cloud, Tōga released his demon power. A sudden gust of wind pressure rose from Tessaiga in his hand, scattering all the dust.

That blindingly fast slash had not struck him. The enormous Tessaiga stood before him, blocking the attack.

But he had been pushed back dozens of feet, proof of the extraordinary power behind that strike.

"What an excellent Iaijutsu strike!"

Tōga recognized the strike Mingye had performed. It was an exceedingly ordinary movement: drawing a sword!

But honing that sword draw to such a level was anything but ordinary!

At least, Tōga had never seen any human or yokai train an Iaijutsu strike to such speed.

Even his own slash had been a beat too slow. Against a yokai with slightly less combat experience, that sword draw alone could have claimed their life.

He blocked it, just as I expected...

This sword-drawing technique was one of the signature skills Mingye had mastered in his previous life. Combined with demon power in this life, it could unleash even more extraordinary force!

Yet it was still somewhat lacking if he wanted to wound a Greater Yokai!

No, more precisely, it was not enough to wound a top-tier Greater Yokai like Tōga.