Don't You Dare Insult My Mother

"Hahaha."

The others were still lamenting his defeat, or taking Sesshomaru's praise as an insult.

Hojo Akitoshi thought otherwise. Looking back over this world's original story, when had Sesshomaru ever praised anyone?

Besides, would someone like Sesshomaru need to resort to such a tactic to humiliate him?

So, faced with Sesshomaru's praise, Hojo Akitoshi set Inuyasha down and laughed heartily.

"Thank you for the compliment. Unfortunately, all my schemes amounted to nothing against such an overwhelming difference in strength."

"I was still overestimating myself, like a mantis trying to stop a cart."

Hojo Akitoshi graciously accepted his enemy's praise, then surprised everyone again by openly admitting that he was outmatched.

His words brought a flicker of astonishment to Sesshomaru's stern face, while Jaken was overjoyed to hear him admit his inferiority.

Naturally, those words also struck the Hojo Army's warriors, who refused to accept defeat and were gripping their weapons, itching to act.

It was as though someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over their heads during the coldest stretch of the Forty-Nine Days.

Their morale visibly plummeted. After all, even their Lord, who always seemed to handle everything with effortless composure,

had said something that came so close to admitting defeat. How could his retainers and subordinates still find the will to fight to the death?

Disappointment immediately spread through the Hojo Army.

Looking at the expressions around her, Kagome shook her head repeatedly. Though she had only known Hojo Akitoshi for a few days, she refused to believe

that he would truly bow to a powerful enemy, let alone hand over Inuyasha.

"He's a great hero!"

Within the Hojo Army's ranks, even Akechi Mitsuhide had fallen into a daze, but the young Kagome shouted at the top of her lungs.

It was as though she was declaring her faith in Hojo Akitoshi while rousing the fighting spirit of everyone in the Hojo Army.

"Hmm?"

Amid the prevailing silence, that shout was like a ray of dawn piercing the darkness.

The Hojo Army's warriors rallied.

Akechi Mitsuhide was especially vexed with himself. Wasn't he supposed to be the Lord's most trusted confidant?

Was he really inferior to some country girl?

"Heh."

Still facing Sesshomaru, Hojo Akitoshi chuckled softly. In truth, he had expected Akechi Mitsuhide to be the first to shout something like that.

Instead, it had been the heroine of the original timeline. They had only known each other for two or three days, after all.

Yet she trusted him so completely. Sure enough, anyone capable of becoming a protagonist had something special about them.

The qualities that shone within her could never be explained away with a simple "she's the protagonist"!

"Hand Inuyasha over to me."

Sesshomaru had also heard Kagome's words and seen the change in the Hojo Army.

At that moment, his best options were clear.

First, he could continue using his overwhelming power to kill Hojo Akitoshi outright. Once their pillar of support fell, the Hojo Army here would be nothing but a rabble.

Second, he could turn around and kill Kagome, the girl who was rekindling the Hojo Army's will to fight.

If he killed the girl before countless witnesses, despite the protection of so many people, it would likewise crush the Hojo Army's morale.

The army, which had only just begun to recover, would collapse in an instant.

Both options would have served him extremely well, yet Sesshomaru chose neither.

The cold, stern nobleman simply extended his hand calmly, demanding his younger brother Inuyasha from Hojo Akitoshi.

Perhaps he intended to crush the Hojo Army's morale through this even more humiliating approach?

Or perhaps he truly acknowledged Hojo Akitoshi, and out of mercy and reluctance to kill him, wanted to give him a chance.

A chance for himself as well, so that he would not have to kill Hojo Akitoshi?

"What?"

"Is this demon trying to humiliate us?"

Whatever Sesshomaru himself intended, the onlookers felt nothing but profound humiliation.

The Hojo Army's warriors wanted nothing more than to charge forward and hack Sesshomaru to death.

"Everyone, stay where you are!"

Seeing his outraged subordinates, Hojo Akitoshi immediately stopped them with a shout.

"My Lord, surely you aren't going to..."

Stopped by Hojo Akitoshi, their morale, which Kagome's words had only just restored, faltered again.

The warriors imagined the worst.

Ignoring his subordinates' varied expressions, Hojo Akitoshi turned and kicked Inuyasha beside him.

Sesshomaru had squeezed his neck so hard earlier that he could not breathe. Even with his half-demon constitution, Inuyasha needed quite some time to recover.

"Can you move now?"

Hojo Akitoshi asked Inuyasha.

"Hmph. Just go. I'll deal with him myself."

After taking that kick, Inuyasha struggled to his feet. He had seen everything that had happened.

He was grateful to Hojo Akitoshi for saving him at the critical moment.

So even if Hojo Akitoshi wanted to hand him over after proving no match for Sesshomaru, he bore him no resentment.

Clear-cut in his love and hatred-that was Inuyasha, a fellow who was both endearing and infuriating.

"If you faced Sesshomaru head-on and fought seriously, without letting your guard down, how many exchanges could you last before losing?"

Knowing that Inuyasha had misunderstood him, Hojo Akitoshi offered no explanation and instead asked another question.

"Huh?"

Inuyasha froze for a moment, clearly bewildered.

You're about to run away, and you still care how long it'll take Sesshomaru to beat me to death?

Even if you want to rub it in, isn't that going too far?

"What, you don't have the confidence to last a few exchanges against him?"

Hojo Akitoshi raised an eyebrow. Sesshomaru seemed remarkably patient, not minding in the slightest that he was standing right in front of him

and discussing how to deal with him. In that case, Hojo Akitoshi saw no reason to hold back.

"Your opponent is Sesshomaru, the eldest son who carries the blood of the mighty demon known as the Great Dog General. He is a peerless power throughout the Demon World, standing at the pinnacle of countless demons."

"And you, Inuyasha, carry the Great Dog General's blood as well. Do you really believe you're bound to lose to him?"

"In other words, you believe the other half of your blood, inherited from the human Princess Izayoi, your mother, is inferior to the blood of Sesshomaru's mother!"

"Your mother Princess Izayoi's blood! Your mother Princess Izayoi was low-

born!"

The emotion built with Hojo Akitoshi's words, each statement hitting harder than the last.

He succeeded in making Inuyasha's eyes turn red.

"Shut up!"

Inuyasha snarled under his breath, instinctively glancing to the side at the false Princess Izayoi lying on the ground.

Though he knew she was a fake, that face and the maternal tenderness radiating from her

still brought back endless memories of his mother's loving care before she died.

Just imagine a single mother in the war-torn world of Ancient Japan, raising a child who was half human and half demon.

Never mind Princess Izayoi's former standing, or how delicate a woman she had been, one who had never done a day's household work.

Raising a child alone was already terribly, terribly difficult.

Without enough love for her child, it would have been impossible!

"I can do it! My mother's blood-my mother was absolutely not lowborn!"

"My mother was the best mother in the world! I won't let anyone insult her!"

Even in a rural village, if someone truly insulted a man's mother, any man with spirit might spill blood on the spot.

That went all the more for Inuyasha. Hojo Akitoshi's words had pushed his fury past its limit and reminded him of the hardships his mother had faced during his childhood.

Staring at Sesshomaru before him, Inuyasha felt no fear.

With a roar, Inuyasha charged without consulting Hojo Akitoshi beside him. In his rage, all he wanted was to tear Sesshomaru apart.

"Foolish."

Having kindly waited for so long, Sesshomaru was even more disappointed by the charging Inuyasha.

I even allowed you to discuss your battle tactics, and made no particular effort to listen in.

And this is all you have?

You haven't even planned how to coordinate your attacks, Inuyasha. You're just charging straight at me again, exactly as before.

"Boring."

Murmuring under his breath, Sesshomaru felt that expecting anything from Inuyasha had been a complete waste.

I should end this farce as soon as possible. As for that human I found agreeable,

since you rejected my goodwill, you can fall into the Underworld alongside Inuyasha.