Facing the oncoming strike, Satsuki's golden Tenseigan narrowed slightly, instantly perceiving the core principle behind the attack.
Without hesitation, she channeled the power of Yin-Yang Sage Arts, layering multiple barriers before her to intercept the raging arcs of sword energy rushing toward her.
"Hah! As expected of Lord Tōga—he can unleash Tessaiga's ultimate art using his demonic power alone!"
From afar, the flea demon Myōga crossed his four tiny arms, wearing a smug look of 'I knew it all along.'
"Flea demon, I recall you saying something quite different a moment ago," Ruri commented coolly, fanning herself with a folding fan adorned with several black pearl tassels. "But it's understandable. That fang blade was born from his own body—no one could wield it better than he."
Hearing this, Myōga's tiny heart nearly stopped.
Who are these people? How do they know so much about Lord Tōga? he thought, trembling inwardly.
But Ruri's voice continued, confident and unwavering. "Still, with that technique alone, defeating Lady Satsuki is far beyond reach."
As if responding to her words, movement stirred once more on the battlefield.
Within the barrier, Satsuki rotated her blade slightly with her left hand. Her golden eyes locked onto a precise point revealed through the Tenseigan's divine vision. Then, she extended the sword forward—one gentle thrust, elegant as the divine stroke of a Sword Saint.
Her blade pierced through the fabric of space itself, reaching into the swirling eye of the storm that powered Lord Tōga's technique. The tip touched the very core—the energy source driving the tempest—and with a whisper of celestial force, she severed it completely.
Everything in existence loses power without its source—be it a microbe, a nation, or a star. And under the Tenseigan's gaze, every flow of energy was laid bare, its weaknesses shining like lightning in the dark.
With that deceptively light thrust, the three massive blades of wind suddenly faltered—as though encountering a natural nemesis. In Lord Tōga's astonished eyes, the Kaze no Kizu's force began to collapse. The currents twisted, reversing direction, crashing into one another and devouring themselves.
Moments later, the mighty secret art of Tessaiga—the Kaze no Kizu—was reduced to nothing but a soft breeze. It brushed past Satsuki's loosened barrier, lifting her sleeves ever so gently before dissipating into silence.
Yet the three colossal gouges left upon the earth between them bore silent witness to the technique's terrifying destructive potential.
"A-ah… th-this…"
Myōga was speechless, trembling uncontrollably. Even Sesshōmaru's expression showed rare shock—the sight before him defied comprehension.
She neutralized Father's Kaze no Kizu? How…? Could a mere human do such a thing?
On the battlefield, Satsuki's tone remained calm and measured. "Though your control over wind and demonic energy in that strike was nearly perfect, the crude execution weakened its true potential."
Lord Tōga nodded solemnly. "I must admit—in all my years of battle, never have I met an opponent capable of dismantling the Kaze no Kizu so precisely."
His words acknowledged what his instincts already knew—he had never faced anyone who could perceive and manipulate energy flow at such an intricate level.
His combat style, like most yokai, relied heavily on raw attributes—strength, speed, demonic power, and the rules or techniques embedded into his weapons. Against opponents of similar simplicity, such power was more than enough to dominate.
But Satsuki was different. She had survived countless battles across worlds, crossed blades with heroes of myth and legends, and even contended with divine and infernal beings alike. To her trained eye, Lord Tōga's attack was filled with flaws.
Timing, variation, rhythm—even the subtle art of psychological warfare within combat—all of these were lacking in him.
If one day he were stripped of his demonic power, forced to duel a skilled human swordsman with nothing but technique, Satsuki doubted he would prevail.
Lowering the divine sword of Yin-Yang Samsara until its tip touched the ground, she spoke softly, "To receive without giving would be discourteous. Since you've shown me your secret art, I shall answer in kind."
Hearing her words, Lord Tōga's battle spirit flared. Gripping the fang blade tightly with both hands, a low growl rumbled from deep within his throat. "Come, then!"
At that command, Satsuki slowly closed her eyes. Her long black hair rose and drifted around her as if drawn by an unseen force.
In that instant, all movement in the world seemed to halt before her gaze—and then, a clear ring of steel resounded.
—Ching~~~
At the same moment, a vast wave of sword pressure burst forth from her body, expanding outward for nearly a kilometer—so immense it seemed to engulf the heavens themselves. The immense field of energy merged with the sword aura in the air, forming a domain entirely governed by the blade.
Even the air itself trembled and wailed beneath the weight of that restrained yet unfathomable force.
Even Lord Tōga, standing within the domain, felt an overwhelming pressure unlike anything he had ever encountered.
"H-how... How can a human possess such power?!"
Even a thousand meters away, the flea demon Myōga felt the biting chill of killing intent pierce his tiny body. With a terrified yelp, he buried himself in the snow and fled at top speed.
"Sesshōmaru, watch closely," Ruri said suddenly, standing beside him. "If you ever wish to surpass your father, then remember this strike well."
"..." Sesshōmaru gave no reply, but his eyes gleamed with focused intensity.
No—he had been focused from the very beginning. Now, however, his yokai power surged instinctively, heightening every sense.
Facing her directly, Lord Tōga had already summoned all of his demonic energy, channeling it entirely into the fang blade in his hands. His supernaturally keen senses scanned every vibration, every shift in the air, seeking the one opening that might allow a counterattack.
Then, he heard it—the faint hum from her sword's edge, and in the air, the aura of killing intent growing sharper, colder, purer.
Greed.Anger.Ignorance.Arrogance.Doubt.False View.
These were the six poisons that plagued all beings born with consciousness—the impurities that bound them to the endless cycle of suffering.
And they were the very evils Satsuki had severed within herself since her rebirth, the burdens she had cut away to ascend to her current state—the realm of the Demon Buddha.
Together, these vices formed the foundation of both humanity and bestial nature. They drove all living things to struggle for survival—and yet, they also trapped all beings within the sea of suffering, unable to attain release.
But the Buddha—the Awakened One—was he who, with the Sword of Wisdom, could sever these six afflictions and cross to the far shore of enlightenment.
Thus, this technique was named—
Seven Buddhas' Sin-Purging · Six Senses Purified Slash.
The so-called Seven Buddhas are: Vipassī Buddha, Sikhī Buddha, Vessabhū Buddha, Krakucchanda Buddha, Kanakamuni Buddha, Kāśyapa Buddha, and Śākyamuni Buddha.
And since all seven Buddhas have entered Nirvāṇa, they are known as the Buddhas of the Past.
When the Buddhas fade into history—then demons naturally flourish.
At that moment, Māra the Demon Buddha was born into the world.
...
In the next instant, Satsuki opened her eyes.
The wind stirred! The clouds moved!
The sword moved! The world moved!
Boundless torrents of energy fused into the storm of sword pressure, forming countless dazzling arcs of light. Past, present, and future folded upon one another as innumerable Satsukis appeared, each raising her sword, striking toward every direction in the void.
Within Lord Tōga's sight, each image of Satsuki slashing the air perfectly encompassed every possible escape route. No matter what stance or technique he might take, there was no path to evade this strike.
If evasion was impossible—then he would meet it head-on! For centuries, the Great Dog General who ruled the Western Lands had never once fled from battle.
Without hesitation, he infused his demonic power into Tessaiga. The massive blade turned pitch black, within it flickering faint lights like stars across a cosmic abyss—emitting an aura of chilling death.
It was the very technique he had once taken from the yokai Shishinki, the Mask of Death.
A slash powerful enough to cleave through the boundary of life and death—to open the gate between worlds.
Raising his blade high, he roared: "Take this—Meidō Zangetsuha!"
The space before him split open under the slash of his sword.
A black arc of energy carved through the very fabric of reality, forming a vast, spherical void hundreds of meters wide—an open gateway straight into the Netherworld.
The Meidō.
As the realm of the dead opened, the countless figures of Satsuki were distorted by the immense suction of its power. Some, unable to escape in time, were dragged helplessly into the void—consigned to eternal silence.
"To think someone could force Lord Tōga to use that technique... this human is terrifying," gasped Myōga, poking his head from beneath the snow, a few flakes still clinging to it. "But now that he's unleashed that strike, there's no way that woman—Satsuki—can win. Anything touched by that slash is drawn into the Meidō. Even a great yokai couldn't possibly survive that."
His words were no exaggeration. Though a cowardly deserter by nature, the flea demon had followed Lord Tōga through countless wars and knew the extent of his master's power well.
He had witnessed the Great Dog General's battle with Shishinki firsthand—he knew just how deadly this technique truly was.
However—what happened next would once again leave the little demon utterly dumbfounded.
From within the sword domain, Satsuki's overlapping voices echoed: "An impressive technique... but to pit it against the Six Senses Purified Slash—you're still far from enough."
As if to prove her words true, the countless Satsukis swallowed by the Meidō suddenly burst forth once more—tearing through the boundary of realms, traversing past and future alike. They pierced straight through the Meidō opened by Tessaiga, converging into a single, final gesture.
Under Sesshōmaru's disbelieving gaze, that sword-hand extended forward—its fingertip lightly touching the forehead of his father, the mightiest great yokai of the Western Lands.
At that moment, the sword domain erupted. Endless sword energy surged skyward, transforming into an immense lotus bloom that enveloped the Meidō from the outside in—sealing it completely shut.
Through this act, Satsuki demonstrated that not only could she bypass the Meidō—she could close it as well. To one who stood beyond the boundaries of realms, sealing dimensions was but a trivial matter.
"It seems this spar ends slightly in my favor," Satsuki said calmly, withdrawing her hand from Lord Tōga's forehead. Her expression showed not the faintest ripple of emotion—defeating the strongest demon of the Warring States seemed to her no more than routine.
"Such swordsmanship... and this is what you call a spar?"
Letting out a long exhale, Lord Tōga finally recovered from the daze caused by her strike. Even now, he could not fathom how she had done it.
He had used the Tessaiga's ultimate technique. Though among his three swords the most powerful was Sō'unga, even its Dragon Strike of Purgatory could not erase the Meidō Zangetsuha.
Her response—her technique—lay completely beyond his comprehension.
The truth lay bare before them. After a brief silence, the strongest great yokai of the Western Lands slowly sheathed the Tessaiga. His voice was calm and steady as he spoke, "You have won, Lady Satsuki."
"H-how could this be?" The flea demon Myōga was utterly dumbfounded. "Even after using the Meidō Zangetsuha, Lord Tōga was defeated? Impossible! He's the strongest great yokai of the Western Lands—how could he lose?!"
"Judging from your expression, you didn't expect your father to lose, did you?" Ruri asked with amusement, watching the shock flicker across Sesshōmaru's golden eyes. "But in truth, the moment your father agreed to cross blades with Lady Satsuki, this result was inevitable."
The system knew Satsuki's strength better than anyone. And through the Akashic Records, it could also analyze the full structure of Lord Tōga's power.
To the system, Lord Tōga was indeed one of the strongest beings in this world. Yet compared to the apex entities Satsuki had faced across other worlds, there was still an undeniable gap.
However, to Sesshōmaru—who had admired his father's might since childhood and longed to one day surpass him—such words struck deeply. His proud belief that he alone should be the one to defeat his father clashed with the cold certainty in Ruri's tone.
The sense of condescension he felt from her words stoked his anger.
"What did you mean by that?" Sesshōmaru demanded, his voice laced with fury. "Do not think that victory in a single battle grants you the right to look down upon us."
"I merely stated the truth," Ruri replied evenly, her gaze lingering on him for a brief moment before she continued. "Still, once you've awakened the true potential within you, perhaps we will have our chance to fight properly."
With that, she brushed the snow from her shoulders and began walking toward the battlefield.
...
At the center, Satsuki once again appeared calm and serene—her expression returning to its usual stillness, as tranquil as an ancient lake.
But the first words she spoke next surprised Lord Tōga deeply.
"This sparring match—the process and the outcome—I would prefer that it remain between us. None beyond this circle should know of it."
"Why is that?" Lord Tōga asked, puzzled. "Even if this was but a spar, I acknowledge openly that you are stronger than I. There is no shame in admitting defeat, and I have no reason to conceal it. What purpose does secrecy serve, Lady Satsuki?"
"It was merely a friendly bout—hardly worth mention," Satsuki replied nonchalantly. "What matters more to me is your answer. Will you agree to cooperate with humanity in opposing the Lunar Palace?"
"..."
At those words, Lord Tōga's expression grew conflicted. Then, glancing to be sure Sesshōmaru had not yet approached, he lowered his voice and said quietly, "That is not a decision I can make alone. I must first seek counsel... from my mate."