If even the Great Dog General could die, what did you expect?

"The Hojo Army... is this the world-renowned Hojo Army?"

Kaede, completely forgotten by both sides locked in attack and defense, stared with eyes that were still far from clouded by age.

Holding up her barrier, she watched everything unfold before her in disbelief.

When she first felt that cold, sinister demonic aura approaching, she had thought the Hojo Army stationed outside the village was doomed.

She had even imagined combining her own abilities with Kagome's and Inuyasha's strength.

Together, the three of them could rescue Hojo Akitoshi in his hour of need, winning his favor and leaving him deeply indebted to them.

But now...

Watching the Hojo Army hold its own against the attacking demon outside the camp, Kaede could only marvel.

"He truly deserves to be called Hojo's Kirin of Sagami, a man who can face Takeda Shingen, the Tiger of Kai, and Uesugi Kenshin, the Dragon of Echigo, head-on!"

"His fame is no empty boast!"

Sighing in admiration once more, Kaede glanced around, preparing to take advantage of the demon's inattention.

She was about to hurry back into Kaede's Village when something out of place beyond the Hojo Army's camp caught the corner of her eye.

"What's that?"

She hurriedly focused her gaze, and a look of regret crossed Kaede's face.

"To think... no, that makes sense. They are only an army of human warriors, after all. Fighting a demon on their own really is beyond them."

Before Kaede's eyes, just as Yura of the Hair was about to turn toward Kaede's Village...

Human and demon alike spotted a flaw in one section of the trench outside the Hojo Army's camp.

Unlike elsewhere, the flames in that section of the trench showed faint signs of dying out.

An opening!

Delighted, Yura of the Hair stopped and stared at the flaw in that seemingly impregnable defensive line.

She immediately seized on it as her point of entry, driving the nearby Hair Sea to surge through the gap all at once.

"Let's see you survive this!"

Yura of the Hair's lost confidence returned, and she floated in the air, swinging her long legs with their rounded toes exposed.

Anticipation filled Yura of the Hair's red eyes.

"They're coming!"

Akechi Mitsuhide, who had reached the front line inside the camp, spoke gravely. To the naked eye, there was nothing in the gap between the trench's flames.

But a warrior's instincts and human intuition told Akechi Mitsuhide and the Hatamoto Samurai beside him the truth.

Something was definitely entering through that gap in the flames.

"As the Lord commanded, first squad, throw!"

Taking a deep breath, Akechi Mitsuhide shouted the order calmly.

At Akechi Mitsuhide's command, soldiers clad in thick iron armor, with every part of their bodies protected to the utmost, moved forward.

Hojo's heavily armored soldiers advanced with heavy footsteps, each carrying a shield as tall as a man in one hand and something resembling a ninja smoke bomb in the other.

Then they hurled the objects toward the gap.

Boom, boom, boom.

The smoke-bomb-like objects struck the invisible sea of hair pouring through the opening.

But instead of releasing thick smoke when they burst, they scattered the various pigments packed inside them onto the invisible Hair Sea.

The invisible Hair Sea became visible to the naked eye!

"Everything is within the Lord's calculations."

Even the usually composed Akechi Mitsuhide could not suppress his delight at the sight. While his admiration for his lord Hojo Akitoshi's strategy grew even deeper...

He did not forget the urgent task at hand, waving the military command fan he held.

"Second squad, attack!"

At his shouted command, another squad of Hatamoto Samurai rushed out.

Unlike the heavily armored soldiers, these Hatamoto Samurai wore only basic armor.

Instead, the blades in their hands were all vicious weapons that had drunk their fill of human blood over years on the battlefield.

For added insurance, Hojo Akitoshi had once again followed Tōdai's traditions and placed additional enchantments on those vicious blades.

"Will it work?"

Seated on the command platform at the rear, Hojo Akitoshi watched the warriors and the Hair Sea about to clash in close combat.

According to Tōdai's ancient traditions, his preparations should have been foolproof.

Unlike the temporarily conscripted foot soldiers serving other daimyo, the elite Hojo Army under his command consisted entirely of vigorous, battle-hardened men.

With the deadly weapons in their hands as well, surely they could cut through Yura of the Hair's hair?

If they could not, then he would have to...

Fortunately, they did not disappoint Hojo Akitoshi.

Before long, amid the Hatamoto Samurai's battle cries...

Under the eyes of Hojo Akitoshi and the entire Hojo Army...

Under Kaede's gaze of utter admiration outside the camp...

And amid Yura of the Hair's fury, as she nearly ground her back teeth to pieces...

Though it was far from slicing through the enemy's hair like a hot knife through butter, the Hojo Army's blades could still sever it with a single blow, tearing apart the Hair Sea!

"So I was the one who admired dragons only until I met one."

Having confirmed that all his arrangements worked, he leisurely tossed roasted soybeans into his mouth.

The smile on Hojo Akitoshi's face deepened.

"They're only demons from Japan, after all. It seems they still follow a few basic rules."

Smiling, Hojo Akitoshi nodded slightly. At that moment, he thought of the elusive Great Dog General from Inuyasha.

While that legendary great demon of the western lands had been alive, he had undoubtedly towered over all the demons of Japan's islands.

But how had he died?

He had been killed by Takemaru of Setsuna, a mortal warrior from some nameless castle...

Was Takemaru of Setsuna incredibly powerful? Not exactly.

Was the Great Dog General's reputation undeserved? That was impossible, too.

Still, even if the Great Dog General had first fought Ryūkotsusei and the panther demon lord Oyakata, then a moth demon, followed by Kirinmaru and Shinigami...

Those successive battles had exhausted his body until he was as weak and limp as a sea cucumber.

Yet to be killed by a mere mortal blade seemed...

"Maybe Japan's demons aren't quite as unfathomable as people make them out to be?"

Shaking his head, Hojo Akitoshi quickly cast aside the arrogance rising in his mind.

"As I am now, I have no right to be arrogant when facing demons."

He tossed another small handful of roasted soybeans into his mouth, and as Hojo Akitoshi chewed...

He silently gave the late Great Dog General a thumbs-up in his heart.

Hojo Akitoshi still regarded this dog who had bravely died for love with due seriousness.

At least, as he was now, Hojo Akitoshi knew he would be no tougher than paper against the Great Dog General's eldest son.

What right did someone like him have to judge the Great Dog General, who had been fierce enough to defeat one great demon after another?

"Soon. Soon."

Lowering his eyes and murmuring to himself, Hojo Akitoshi silently considered how to obtain power.

"Damn it, I'll kill those humans!"

While the Hojo Army surged with unstoppable momentum and displayed its might, Yura of the Hair ground her pearly teeth with an audible creak.

At last, Yura of the Hair stopped considering other options and left part of the Hair Sea behind to keep the Hojo Army inside the camp occupied.

She herself shot toward Kaede's Village.

"The Shikon Jewel! As long as I have the Shikon Jewel, a mere army of human warriors will be nothing!"

A vicious light blazed in her eyes. Yura of the Hair had never craved the Shikon Jewel so fiercely.

And besides seizing the Shikon Jewel, Yura of the Hair sent countless strands of hair toward the humans awakening in the village.

"Hehehe... humans, humans!"

A cruel smile appeared on Yura of the Hair's pretty face.

She watched her hair surge into the undefended village and turn its helpless inhabitants into her puppets.

Thinking of what would happen next sent another ripple of excitement through her heart.

"Oh no."

Almost the instant Yura of the Hair charged into the village, Kaede outside realized something was wrong.

Of course, Kagome, who had been keeping Inuyasha subdued inside the village, also felt a chill in her heart. Human and dog alike rushed outside at the same time.