"Cooperate with humans?"
Lord Tōga repeated the phrase, then turned his gaze toward Satsuki. "Can you represent humanity, Lady Satsuki?"
"Whether I can represent them or not does not depend on words alone..." A trace of chill appeared between Satsuki's brows. "In this era, I believe that as long as one possesses sufficient power, one can represent. Just as you, Lord Tōga, though merely a dog demon, have countless yokai of all races gathered under your command. In the end, what they acknowledge is your strength—your rule comes second."
"So, what you mean is that you possess a power and rule that humanity can acknowledge? Even though you are not human yourself?"
"In terms of power alone, I am confident that is not an issue," Satsuki replied calmly, her tone as still as an ancient well.
"Hmph, such arrogance~"
At her words, Lord Tōga's lips curved into a rare smile tinged with fighting spirit.
Then, he slowly drew from his waist a plain, rusted, and worn-out sword. The moment it left its sheath, a vast demonic aura erupted from his body. Bathed in golden light, the humble blade transformed into a majestic, awe-inspiring fang sword.
"Then allow me to test this confidence of yours, Lady Satsuki."
As the strongest great yokai of the Western Lands, Lord Tōga's temperament was vastly different from that of his eldest son, Sesshōmaru—one as cold and distant as a glacier, the other as blazing as a volcano.
Yet, they shared one defining trait—the mindset of the strong.
For when a true strong one stands before another of equal power, the urge to determine victory and defeat becomes instinctive—etched into the soul.
Satsuki merely cast a single glance at the blade in his hand before speaking. "Your three swords are quite interesting—one for slaughter, one for protection, and one for salvation. It seems you are not wielding your strongest one."
"Oh?"
That remark startled Lord Tōga. It was the first time anyone had discerned the nature of his three swords upon first meeting. Until now, only their forger, Tōtōsai, understood their true nature.
But Satsuki was no ordinary being. With her Tenseigan, she could perceive the flow of power itself. And with the Akashic Records integrated into her system, she could even discern the laws that governed this world.
That was precisely why she had first sought out Sesshōmaru—because within him, she saw the rule of Eternity.
And from Lord Tōga's three swords, she perceived three distinct laws—Slaughter, Protection, and Salvation.
It was by relying on these three blades that the Great Dog General had subdued nearly sixty thousand square kilometers of the Western Lands, driven out the Panther Tribe—even those guarded by a great yokai—and successfully repelled the invading Moth Tribe from distant continents.
His three swords—Tessaiga, Tenseiga, and Sō'unga.
Each corresponded to one of the three realms.
The Tenseiga, corresponding to Heaven, could save a hundred lives with one swing, or consign a hundred enemies to the underworld.
The Sō'unga, corresponding to Earth, could open the gates of the Netherworld and summon a hundred spirits with one sweep.
The Tessaiga, the blade of Man, could annihilate a hundred foes with a single strike.
Such unimaginable power earned these blades their reputation as the Three Supreme Swords of the World.
Among them, the strongest in direct combat was Sō'unga—the embodiment of Slaughter. Yet now, Lord Tōga had drawn not Sō'unga, but the Tessaiga—the sword of Protection.
"Sō'unga, once unsheathed, must taste blood. Since this is but a friendly duel, there is no need for that blade."
"Holding back, are you? I see."
Satsuki nodded lightly. Since the other party wished only for a test, she naturally would respond in kind.
With a graceful motion of her left sleeve, she pointed skyward. A torrent of Yin-Yang Sage Power surged from her fingertip, and above, vast whirlpools of lightning began to form.
From within those swirling vortices, three Truth-Seeking Orbs emerged, merging in midair to form the embryonic shape of a divine sword. The power of Yin-Yang Sage Art enveloped the form, refining it further, until the divine blade fully took shape.
When the two forces—Yin-Yang and Sage Power—fused completely, what manifested in the air was a sword so resplendent it defied description.
As her finger fell, the divine sword bathed in radiant light split through the heavens, transforming into a streak of brilliance that halted ten inches before Satsuki.
This was a power system developed by Satsuki—one distinct from the force of Vipralopa, born from the fusion of Yin-Yang Sage Arts and the Truth-Seeking Orbs.
—Yin-Yang Sage Art · Sword of Samsara.
The moment it manifested, the sword unleashed an overwhelming storm of sword pressure. Even Lord Tōga, standing at a distance, felt his skin prickle as the blade's aura scraped across him, every hair standing on end as waves of warning surged through his instincts.
As for Sesshōmaru—he was not yet qualified to participate in a battle of this level. The instant Satsuki's Sword of Samsara appeared, every fiber of his being screamed in alarm. Without hesitation, he used his Silent Step to retreat rapidly, covering nearly a kilometer before the dreadful pressure finally subsided.
"That sword—what in the world is it? Why does it make me feel such danger?" he muttered.
"The power of All Things, fused with Yin-Yang Sage Arts and sanctified through the Akashic Records. Though it's just a casually created weapon, it's already on par with a world-class divine artifact," replied Ruri—who, at that moment, had also stepped out from the range of the sword's pressure to watch from afar.
She could easily have endured the pressure, of course. Given Satsuki's mastery, ensuring that the scattered force avoided Ruri was a trivial matter.
But her presence beside Sesshōmaru had its own purpose.
"The power of All Things? Yin-Yang Sage Arts? Akashic Records?"
Sesshōmaru had never heard of such terms. The unfamiliar words left him utterly confused.
Yet, true to his nature, he preferred to seek the answer through observation rather than inquiry.
Thus, he fixed his full attention upon the center of the battlefield.
...
"At last, a truly peerless blade. Even my Sō'unga, which fears neither heaven nor earth, trembles at its presence," Lord Tōga murmured.
He gripped his massive fang blade—Tessaiga—tightly with one hand. Surrounded by the crushing storm of sword pressure, a rare expression of solemn gravity crossed his face.
Several meters away, Satsuki stood poised, the divine sword in her hand radiating endless brilliance. Her composure remained unshaken—serene, aloof—as if the being before her, hailed as the strongest great yokai of the entire Warring States era, was nothing more than a passing shadow.
Was this arrogance?
No.
This was the poise of one who had challenged the strongest across the heavens, crushed world-ending demon gods, swept through mythic heroes, outwitted the Alaya System, and stood on equal ground with the Saviors themselves.
Her gaze tilted slightly, her golden eyes glinting. Though she had not entered her [Aspect of the Demon Buddha], an aura surpassing the Three Realms already radiated from her form.
Under that boundless pressure, the tides that had been crashing ceaselessly against the shore were forced backward by an invisible force, retreating deep into the ocean and exposing thousands of meters of the seabed.
Above, the clouds drawn by Lord Tōga's demonic aura were split apart by the surge of sword energy, revealing once more the sun and the blue of the sky.
And in that instant—when the sunlight poured down upon the world—
A faint smile appeared on Satsuki's lips.
Then, with effortless grace, she swung the divine sword in her hand toward Lord Tōga's direction.
Satsuki had never considered herself skilled in swordsmanship—at least, not until now.
Compared to her other powers, her sword techniques lacked the sheer lethality, utility, and defensive strength that her other abilities possessed.
However, as Satsuki had always believed: strength and weakness were relative concepts, never absolute.
When measured against her powers such as Vipralopa, the Dead Line Boundary, or the Sacred Wheel of the Three Divine Kings, her swordsmanship might indeed seem lacking.
Yet, to the strongest great yokai of the Western Lands—Lord Tōga—the sword she now swung had already surpassed his imagination. Having immersed himself in the way of the sword for centuries, Lord Tōga saw clearly what kind of strike it was—this was no mere blade that cleaved flesh, but a sword aimed directly at the spirit.
A sword that cut the body, and a mind that cut the soul.
Those who reached this level could overwhelm others with intent, seize their will through presence, and kill with but a glance.
—This was the realm of the Sword Saint.
This seemingly weightless slash stood in stark contrast to the boundless pressure saturating the heavens.
There was no killing intent in it. Even the sword pressure and slicing wind that broke through the air bloomed into black, radiant flowers.
Within such a technique, even Lord Tōga could find no opening to exploit. His exceptional sense of smell—sharpened beyond most yokai—failed him utterly.
"A flawless strike?"
Finding no chance to counter, Lord Tōga immediately planted Tessaiga into the ground, activating the protective barrier embedded within the blade.
The petal-shaped sword energy struck the barrier, releasing a brilliant surge of lightning at the point of contact.
And in that brief instant, using the barrier's resistance, Lord Tōga transformed into a blur of motion, charging toward Satsuki with incredible speed. His massive fang blade cleaved down toward her.
But Satsuki, holding her sword with a single hand, only gave him a cold, sidelong glance. With a light flick of her wrist, she parried his blow as if brushing aside dust.
When their blades first met, two tremendous forces collided, radiating shockwaves that cut through the air and struck the sea. The resulting sword wind carved deep rifts across the ocean surface.
During the brief stalemate, Satsuki's wrist shifted ever so slightly. In that instant, Lord Tōga felt an immense, unseen power surge through her sword.
Even with his body, he could not withstand such might. Forced back by the overwhelming force, he was driven several meters away.
"How could this be? Lord Tōga was forced back?!"
From afar, the flea demon Myōga poked his head out from the snow, eyes wide in shock at the sight before him.
Sesshōmaru, watching from beside Ruri, was equally astonished by the outcome of this initial exchange.
His father—the strongest yokai of the Western Lands—had been driven back by a single-handed strike! Though not using his full strength, it was still an event that had never occurred before in Sesshōmaru's memory.
Just who is this woman?
Yet, the battle did not stop there.
Having forced Lord Tōga back with a single strike, Satsuki advanced, her sword style shifting in endless variations—now as light as a feather, now as heavy as a mountain. From complexity to simplicity, her assault was unstoppable.
Using the recoil of her immense power to steady himself, Lord Tōga pushed aside his astonishment. Drawing on the intuition forged through countless battles and centuries of sword mastery, he read the changing flow of her technique.
Just before the next clash, he managed—barely—to intercept her thrust.
"To control the instantaneous transformation of power to such an extent… among all my opponents, you are the first," Lord Tōga said, genuine admiration in his voice as he met Satsuki's gaze from less than two meters away.
"You flatter me," Satsuki replied calmly. "To me, this is merely a way to pass the time."
Their words and their movements were one—conversation and combat intertwined seamlessly.
Before her words even faded, Satsuki's right arm surged with renewed strength. In an instant, she broke the balance of Lord Tōga's fang blade. Her right hand lifted, striking lightly against the flat of his sword.
At the same time, Lord Tōga poured demonic power into his arm, his grip tightening as he mirrored her motion, striking the side of Satsuki's sword in return.
Two titanic forces coursed through the blades, clashing and intertwining.
BOOOOOOMMMMM!!!
With a thunderous explosion, Lord Tōga was blasted back a hundred meters—while Satsuki did not move a single step!
"Such power... this is even more troublesome than that Ryūkotsusei fellow. What a pity Lord Tōga is using Tessaiga instead of Sō'unga," muttered Myōga, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Though Tessaiga is said to slay a hundred yokai with a single swing, it cannot exert its full power against humans."
"What did you just say, flea?" came a sudden voice behind him.
Startled, Myōga leapt in panic, instinctively trying to burrow back into the snow. But before he could, a hand reached out and caught him.
The cold, stern face before him belonged to Sesshōmaru.
"You just said my father cannot unleash Tessaiga's true technique. What do you mean by that?"
"Eh… uh…" Myōga stammered. He had considered fainting to escape the question, but the murderous intent gleaming in Sesshōmaru's eyes quickly changed his mind.
"It's because Lord Tōga's Tessaiga ultimate technique relies on cutting through the gaps between an opponent's demonic aura to create a devastating windstorm. But that woman—she hasn't used any yokai energy at all. Without demonic aura to clash against, Tessaiga's secret art cannot be performed. Without that, it's little more than a sharper-than-average fang blade."
"Cutting through the gaps between yokai energy... to create a hurricane?"
"Exactly. Under that kind of strike, ordinary enemies are annihilated instantly—even great yokai would suffer severe wounds."
"Is that so? So Tessaiga holds such power..." Sesshōmaru murmured, his eyes narrowing. For the first time, genuine curiosity sparked within him toward his father's three legendary swords.
...
On the battlefield, Lord Tōga's fighting spirit burned brighter.
Having been outmatched both in technique and power, he felt an old, fierce competitiveness stir within.
Halting his backward slide, Lord Tōga raised Tessaiga horizontally with one hand. With the other, he brushed along the blade's edge, soothing the mournful hum born from their violent clash. As his palm glided across the sword, the massive fang blade began to pulse with life.
Lifting his head, eyes blazing with vigor, Lord Tōga called out, "Representative of humanity—let your next strike surprise me once more!"
For the first time, Satsuki's golden eyes focused fully on his blade. Within it, she perceived a strange force awakening.
It was true—Tessaiga could not manifest its full might against humans. That limitation, however, stemmed not from weakness, but from circumstance. The sword required surrounding vortexes of yokai energy as catalysts.
But this design had been deliberate—not to restrain his own strength, but to serve a purpose: to train his sons in the future.
After all, as one saying went—who says a man without a spearhead cannot kill?
And for Lord Tōga, that truth became—who says Tessaiga cannot unleash its secret art without yokai vortices?
As the blade pulsed rhythmically, Lord Tōga raised it high and swung down with all his might. Three colossal arcs of sword energy erupted from the Tessaiga, surging toward Satsuki like a storm unleashed.
This was none other than Tessaiga's secret art—the strike that could slay a hundred yokai with a single swing.
—The Kaze no Kizu! (Scar of the Wind)