"Who was talking? There's nobody around here!"
Jaken looked around, a little nervous.
Rin, seated on Moomoo's back, also blinked her large, curious eyes.
It was worth mentioning that Sesshomaru's pet Moomoo had never had a saddle cushion before. But since Rin arrived, Moomoo had become the little girl's exclusive mount, complete with a soft cushion that made riding comfortable.
This also meant that Sesshomaru's cold, hard heart was gradually softening.
"Old Man Bonsai, from what you're saying, did you already know I would come?"
Sesshomaru led his two little followers beneath an ancient tree over a hundred meters tall, with an extraordinarily vast canopy.
When an aged face emerged from its trunk...
"Ah, a tree demon!"
Rin was quite amazed.
Jaken, meanwhile, was utterly shocked.
"Lord Sesshomaru, who exactly is this..."
"A Japanese umbrella pine over two thousand years old. An old friend of my father's."
The noble young lord answered indifferently.
A faint smile also appeared on the aged face in the trunk. "That's right. My name is Old Man Bonsai. The scabbards of both Tenseiga and Tessaiga were carved from my branches."
"Really? You're truly remarkable!"
Jaken seized the opportunity to flatter him.
But he meant it, too.
He was even silently muttering to himself:
So both swords' scabbards were made from the branches of this ancient, sentient tree demon. No wonder the scabbards possess such incredible powers. Seeing him somehow makes it understandable.
"Well then, Sesshomaru, you must have come about Tessaiga, the keepsake your father left behind? Or perhaps..."
Old Man Bonsai's gaze had remained fixed on the noble young lord.
But when he noticed the two familiar scabbards hanging at Sesshomaru's waist:
"Hmm? Why is Tessaiga in your hands? And how are you able to use it?"
This was undoubtedly beyond his expectations.
At