The moment Inuyasha was sent flying, Kagome and Sango simultaneously sprang into action.
Kagome drew her bow and fired a purple light arrow straight at Ray's head.
Yet Ray caught it with one hand, his venom corroding it to dust in an instant.
But continuing to attack despite knowing it was ineffective—this felt wrong.
Sure enough, from behind Ray, the Hiraikotsu came flying.
The rotating giant bone boomerang shattered every large tree and boulder in its path, heading straight for Ray's "vulnerable" waist.
'Targeting that spot... Do they really think I'm a dog?'
Were they applying the "iron head, steel bones, but weak waist" logic based on observations from Inuyasha? Unfortunately, the gap between them and Ray—or rather, the gap between them and Sesshomaru—was still far too vast.
Ray lightly leaped, effortlessly dodging Sango's Hiraikotsu.
However, just as he jumped into the air, another attack arrived.
"Wind Tunnel!"
Miroku opened the seal on his right hand, unleashing the Wind Tunnel's terrifying suction force.
Facing the horrifying pull, Ray frowned slightly.
He knew full well that no matter how strong he was, once sucked into that void, there would be no escape.
He enveloped his body in demonic power, transforming into a sphere of energy, while using his light whip to lift a massive rock and place it in front of himself.
Using the leverage, he pushed off, shooting out of the Wind Tunnel's range.
Just as Ray was about to land—
"Wind Scar!"
Inuyasha seized the moment, carefully sniffing the vortex of demonic energy, and unleashed a Wind Scar straight at Ray.
Unfortunately, his speed was still a bit too slow.
Ray teleported away, leaving only a scar on the forest floor that would take years to heal.
Ray had to admit, this coordinated assault was impressive.
Their teamwork was remarkably precise. If not for the sheer strength of Sesshomaru's body, it could have been disastrous.
Meanwhile, Kagome, Sango, and Miroku were equally astonished.
Since when did Sesshomaru fight with such high intelligence?
This didn't feel right.
In previous battles, he wasn't exactly a reckless fool, but his fighting style wasn't much better than Inuyasha's.
Why did it feel like, this time, he was fighting like a human general? Especially that move to evade the Wind Tunnel—if it were the old Sesshomaru, he would have likely burst forth with raw demonic power to force his way out.
A purely demonic beast's behavior, relying on sheer strength.
But today, he chose leverage and tactics.
'Could it be related to that little girl? Has Sesshomaru developed human-like thoughts? Or is that Ray truly another consciousness of Sesshomaru? Are the two influencing each other?'
Kagome, Miroku, and Sango couldn't figure it out either.
But one thing was certain: today's Sesshomaru was extremely difficult to deal with.
Ray flew in front of Jaken and Rin.
"Jaken, take Rin farther away. Be careful of accidental injuries."
Jaken and Rin acknowledged simultaneously.
But before leaving, Rin said something.
"Sesshomaru-sama, these people don't seem to be bad. Could you spare them? I feel like Little White looks very upset seeing those people get hurt."
This "Little White" was naturally the name Rin had given to Chouchou.
After all, Ray was currently playing Sesshomaru's role.
Even if he knew Chouchou's name, he wouldn't use its previous nickname.
From Sesshomaru's perspective: You belong to me now. I won't allow you to use the name given by your previous master.
This was indeed more domineering compared to Ray.
Ray glanced at Rin.
He knew today's opportunity had presented itself.
Even if Sesshomaru wanted to kill someone, if Rin pleaded, Sesshomaru would probably stop.
Let alone himself.
Ray snorted coldly. "Don't meddle in others' affairs. Get away quickly. I'll teach them a lesson and come find you."
The pretending Chouchou in Rin's arms was utterly confused.
'Why would his master listen to a little girl like this?'
Nami, Robin, Vivi, and the gravity woman would probably cry if they knew the truth.
No wonder the master never responded to those human women's expressions of affection.
So he prefers young girls?
'Tsk tsk, I, Chouchou, have discovered another shocking secret about my master.'
Suddenly, Chouchou felt Ray's gaze and instantly bristled with fear, pressing closer into Rin's arms.
To Rin, this behavior just seemed like Chouchou wasn't feeling well, and she didn't think much of it.
...
As Rin and Jaken were leaving with Chouchou, Luffy instantly charged over.
"No! Give Chouchou back! Gear Second: JET Rocket!"
Ray blocked Luffy's rocket with one hand.
Luffy's hands hissed as they were corroded by Ray's poison; if not for being coated in Armament Haki, they would have been destroyed immediately.
The still-conscious Nami and Robin just watched and was horrified.
This Sesshomaru showed no mercy toward Luffy.
No matter how harshly Ray trained them, he would never use poison on his comrades.
They became even more certain that the person before them wasn't Ray.
Or even if he was, whatever remained of Ray's consciousness must be minimal.
Yet, as women who had held affection for Ray, and with their stronger intuition, they still clung to a sliver of hope.
They decided to bet their lives on it.
Robin looked at Nami. "Use that move Ray taught us."
Nami nodded. "Right. Let's go together."
Robin activated her ability.
Countless hands and feet emerged from the trees and ground surrounding Ray.
Nami charged forward, swinging her Clima-Tact. Their target was directly aimed at the male weak spot.
A full-coverage attack.
'If he uses poison on me, then he's definitely not Ray.'
Just as they were about to strike, Kagome shouted.
"Step back quickly! Sesshomaru isn't the type to hold back against women!"
As she spoke, Kagome's Sacred Arrow shot over again.
Ray actually felt grateful to Kagome at that moment.
He genuinely hadn't wanted to use poison on Nami and Robin.
While dodging the Sacred Arrow, Ray used a blast of Demonic Power to knock Nami and Robin away.
To outsiders, it appeared ruthless enough, but it spared them the venom.
Taking advantage of Ray's distraction, Inuyasha charged forward again.
Together with Luffy, one attacked Ray's left side while the other slashed at Sesshomaru's right.
Simultaneously, one got punched by Ray while the other was whipped by Sesshomaru.
Before Ray even got injured, these two protagonists were already covered in wounds.
Finally, Ray lost his patience.
With an explosion of Demonic Power, he swung a single hand and sent out a ball of demonic energy, blasting both of them flying simultaneously.
Ray glanced toward where Rin was and noticed the young girl waving at him.
He snorted coldly.
"I'll spare you all for today."
After saying this, Ray leaped up lightly and flew toward Rin in the forest behind them.
Thus, the Straw Hat Pirates' challenge against Sesshomaru was declared a complete defeat.
...
Three hours later, with help from Kagome, Sango, Nami, and Robin, the Straw Hats were all wrapped in supreme-grade bandages.
The entire crew leaned against the grassland where yesterday's banquet had been held, each wearing expressions of pain and sorrow.
Luffy punched the ground with tears streaming down his face.
"How can the gap be this huge! Even if I fight with my life, I can't help Ray even a little bit!"
Zoro and Sanji were even angrier at their own incompetence—what kind of warriors faint halfway through a battle?
They had even caused Robin and Nami to rush forward, ready to die fighting.
Especially Sanji—if the two ladies had died before him, the regret would have been unbearable.
Usopp, Chopper, Nami, and Robin weren't faring much better.
They were confused.
If giving their all couldn't help Ray one bit, what else could they do? One wrong step and they might fall into the abyss of despair.
Just then, Inuyasha swung his sword, the terrifying destructive power drawing everyone's attention.
"You said that Ray isn't dead yet, right?" Inuyasha barked. "What's the use of crying here! At least all the humans I know are incredibly resilient! If you're not satisfied, then just keep getting stronger until you can defeat Sesshomaru! Isn't that simple?"
Later, Kagome helped analyze the oddities in Sesshomaru's behavior.
"Oddity 1: Sesshomaru is accompanied by a human girl. Oddity 2: Though Sesshomaru's attacks were ruthless, he didn't kill any of you. Oddity 3: That little girl stopped him from killing you and he genuinely didn't. Oddity 4: The little dog named Chouchou, held by that girl, didn't show any obvious resistance. Oddity 5: Just a few days ago, that same Sesshomaru harbored absolute killing intent toward me and Inuyasha—definitely no mercy involved."
At this point, some of the brighter members of the Straw Hat Pirates had already picked up on the key detail.
Sanji lit a cigarette. "Kagome-san, are you saying that the yokai named Sesshomaru has changed drastically in just a few days?"
Kagome nodded, and Inuyasha agreed.
Nami pursed her lips, analyzing seriously.
"Though his behavior doesn't resemble Ray's, compared to the Sesshomaru you described, he's indeed become much gentler. And we only arrived in this world a few days ago."
Robin nodded. "There's one crucial point: Ray and Sesshomaru are indistinguishable in appearance. Could they be the same person? Building on that, I have an even wilder theory—what if Ray, after arriving in this world, merged into Sesshomaru's consciousness?"
Usopp smacked his forehead, immediately understanding.
"I've read about a condition called dissociative identity disorder! What if Ray is another personality of Sesshomaru's? Maybe Sesshomaru developed a personality named Ray—one that's kinder and more friendly toward humans. Naturally, Sesshomaru would despise Ray. Then one day, Ray somehow gained a physical form and entered our world. But while protecting us from Enel, he accidentally triggered something and returned here, merging with Sesshomaru. That would explain why Sesshomaru changed so much in just a few days!"
Though the theory sounded outrageous, everyone found it strangely plausible.
"But," Zoro grunted, "then why did Sesshomaru say he wanted to find and kill the person with a similar aura to his?"
Robin rested her chin on her hand. "Maybe he doesn't want others to know his secret. After all, Ray is the same—quite the tsundere."
Luffy scratched his head, utterly lost. "You guys are making this way too complicated!"
If Ray had been nearby, hearing their speculations, his emotions would have been in turmoil.
These people's imaginations were wild—way too good at guessing.
Even if he hadn't come, Sesshomaru would have changed drastically because of Rin's presence.
Unfortunately, they didn't believe Sesshomaru could change so suddenly.
And yet, they had inadvertently guessed the very drama Ray had intended to show them.
'What an ironic twist.'
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