Six Slashes a Second Was Only the Body's Limit

United as one, the Hojo Army braced themselves to march together into death.

Every one of them knew they would die, but before they did, they would at least tear a chunk of flesh from Sesshomaru.

Each of them also silently swore that, even if they died, they would die before Hojo Akitoshi.

Until the last of them fell, they would not let a single hair on their Lord Hojo Akitoshi's head be harmed.

Gazing at these human warriors so willing to die, Sesshomaru could not help recalling the other human army he had encountered on his way here.

When he had crushed those warriors as easily as crushing ants...

The warriors of that human army had possessed none of the resolve these men before him showed.

For some inexplicable reason, he then thought of the subordinates who had once followed him onto the battlefield to fight the Panther Cat Tribe to the death.

Sesshomaru felt the figures of those former subordinates overlap with the men standing before him.

"They will die."

Unexpectedly overcome by a touch of melancholy, Sesshomaru lowered his eyes and questioned Hojo Akitoshi in the quiet night.

"As their lord, you brought them onto a battlefield where death is certain."

"Don't you think you have failed in your duty?"

"Failed in my duty?"

Hojo Akitoshi chuckled softly at the question, already guessing what was going through Sesshomaru's mind.

Earlier, when Sesshomaru had gripped Inuyasha by the throat, sorrow had briefly hung about him.

And now he was asking something like this...

Hojo Akitoshi made to squeeze through the crowd and stand in front of everyone.

But under Sesshomaru's inscrutable gaze, he tried several times and failed to get past the warriors protecting him.

Helpless, yet finding the men around him endearing, Hojo Akitoshi stood among them and called out to Sesshomaru.

"I don't think I've failed in my duty, whether we face the strong or the weak."

"I will not keep the glory of victory to myself, and I will shoulder the bitterness of defeat alone."

"They are my subordinates, but they are also the source of my strength."

"It is their support that allows my Hojo Army to ride beneath these blue skies and white clouds, striving for the pinnacle of dominion over the land."

"As their lord, all I must do is bring them home to the best of my ability."

"Nothing more."

"Oh."

Sesshomaru's gaze flickered. He had not expected Hojo Akitoshi to answer him like that.

Wasn't this normally where someone said something deeply moving? Yet these words were so plain and direct...

His gaze shifted back to the Hojo Army warriors who had heard those words.

To his astonishment, he found that their fighting spirit seemed to be soaring.

Why?

They had followed their lord onto a battlefield where death was certain, yet they bore him no resentment at all?

"Hey, what would a monster like you know?!"

Perhaps noticing the surprise in Sesshomaru's eyes, a low-ranking warrior in the front row suddenly shouted.

"The benevolent world Lord Hojo Akitoshi speaks of isn't just empty talk!"

"When our lord eats meat, he makes sure his followers get to eat meat too!"

"Do you even know what eating meat feels like?"

His words were mocking, and pride shone across his face.

"That's right! That's right!"

With that warrior leading the way, more warriors in the Hojo Army began shouting.

"Last time, I got such a fat cash bonus! I thought it was my pay for the next ten months."

"Turns out it was just a reward our Lord handed out after we defeated the enemy!"

"I was stunned! Those rewards were what let me marry and have a kid!"

"That's nothing! Our Lord is always the first to shoulder responsibility."

"Right, how did that old saying from the great land to the east go?"

"If all the people are guilty, the fault lies with me; if I am guilty, the people must not bear the blame!"

"To find a lord like this in times like these is enough! Giving him our lives is worth it!"

More and more warriors spoke up, each recounting Hojo Akitoshi's benevolence and righteousness.

As so many of his righteous deeds were recounted, their own words filled the warriors with renewed strength.

Six slashes a second was only the limit of their bodies, certainly not the limit of their spirits.

Staring at Sesshomaru, who still had not made a move, the Hojo Army warriors who had feared death earlier now seemed almost eager.

"I see."

Raising his head, Sesshomaru swept his gaze across every warrior's face, checking whether their words truly came from the heart.

Yet no matter how hard he searched, even releasing his killing intent to intimidate them...

Not one warrior of the Hojo Army averted his eyes, further proving the kind of man Hojo Akitoshi was.

"Did they feel the same way?"

Another inscrutable murmur escaped Sesshomaru, and the cold, noble young man's will to fight visibly melted away.

Lifting his head to gaze at the round moon overhead, Sesshomaru seemed to look across time and space.

Back to the battlefield where he had fought the Panther Cat Tribe in a bloody war.

When had I begun pursuing the power my late father left behind?

That's right. It was after that war.

At that thought, Sesshomaru turned around, leaving his back completely unguarded.

"He's leaving?"

They had been shouting and had steeled themselves to die, but when they saw that vicious monster Sesshomaru...

Seemingly about to leave, the Hojo Army warriors all breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, it was better not to die if they could help it.

"Sesshomaru?"

Watching his retreating back, Hojo Akitoshi was also taken aback. He would not need to use his remaining trump cards?

He was really just leaving like that?

Didn't Sesshomaru want the Great Dog General's Tomb hidden in Inuyasha's eye anymore?

Still, if he really did not want it, that would be fine too.

Hojo Akitoshi certainly would not go looking for trouble when there was none. He would do nothing unnecessary now.

Ideally, tonight would end like this-not perfectly, but in a way everyone could accept.

Yet just as the Hojo Army began to relax, Sesshomaru, whom they had thought was leaving, flashed to Inuyasha's side.

Once again, he seized the mutt by the throat with one hand and lifted him up.

"I noticed it earlier."

"A place one can see, but cannot see through. A place the true gravekeeper can never see."

"So this is what it meant."

In a rare occurrence, Sesshomaru delivered a lengthy stretch of speech in one breath.

"What?"

"He tricked us!"

The sudden turn of events horrified the Hojo Army, and they tensed up again.

Hojo Akitoshi had not expected this development either, but it was not a bad one.

A strange gleam flashed in his eyes, and he made to rescue Inuyasha.

But as he moved, the warriors surrounding him held him back, naturally slowing him down a little.

In that brief delay, Sesshomaru had already finished what he intended to do.

Using his demonic power, he drew a jet-black pearl out of one of Inuyasha's eyes.

Then Sesshomaru casually swept his hand, releasing his now considerably weakened demonic power and sending many of the charging Hojo Army warriors tumbling.

Ignoring everyone around him, Sesshomaru then opened the seal on the Black Pearl, revealing a path straight to his late father's resting place, the Great Dog General's Tomb.

"Leave. What remains is none of your concern. I will not take Inuyasha's life tonight, either."

This was probably the greatest goodwill Sesshomaru could offer. Before entering the vortex suspended in the air...

He spoke to Hojo Akitoshi, who had rushed close by, then stepped into the vortex without looking back.

"Bastard. That damn bastard."

Covering one eye, Inuyasha spoke to Hojo Akitoshi as he arrived.

"The rest is my business. Hurry up and leave."

Like Sesshomaru, the gravely wounded Inuyasha jumped into the vortex after speaking.

"They really are brothers."

Standing before the vortex, Hojo Akitoshi did not know whether to laugh or be annoyed.

"Kagome, do you want to go?"

He turned his head and asked the girl, who was the second to reach him.