Time passed slowly.
While the Straw Hat Pirates were still training through combat with yokai, Ray continued his main mission in the Inuyasha world.
Several days later, Ray brought Jaken and Chouchou to the location of Kaijinbo, the demon swordsmith.
A few days earlier, Ray had commissioned Kaijinbo to forge a sword for him using the fangs of Goshinki—the incarnation of Naraku who had broken Tessaiga.
This sword would be the Tokijin.
This was different from the Tokijin Ray had obtained when he first arrive in the One Piece world.
That one was refined; this one was in its primal state, overflowing with raw, untamed evil energy.
A true demonic blade.
When the three yokai arrived at Kaijinbo's hut, they noticed something unusual.
Both the swordsmith and the newly forged sword had disappeared.
Ray quickly pieced it together.
Kaijinbo must have been consumed by the sword's malice and, under the lingering influence of Goshinki's resentment, had gone to seek revenge on Inuyasha.
Ray recalled the events leading to this.
Goshinki had bitten through Tessaiga, thinking he had Inuyasha at his mercy.
But losing the sword had triggered a fail-safe: the Great Dog Demon bloodline within Inuyasha activated to preserve his life.
When Inuyasha fully demonized, his combat power skyrocketing.
With a single swipe of his claws, he had torn Goshinki to pieces.
Ray estimated that Inuyasha in that state possessed strength equivalent to a Marine Admiral.
In this world, any being worthy of the title "Great Demon" operated on that tier of power.
The Tokijin was forged from Goshinki's teeth and hatred.
Kaijinbo couldn't resist it.
At this moment, he was likely already dead or battling Inuyasha.
Ray had no choice but to intervene.
The body belonging to Sesshomaru needed to see just how powerful Inuyasha had become after demonizing.
Moreover, Ray could sense a deep-seated, conflicted thought bubbling up from Sesshomaru's subconscious:
[Inuyasha... can you become a clansman recognized by me, Sesshomaru?]
Despite his superficial disdain, Sesshomaru harbored a buried protective instinct toward his half-brother.
It explained why he had spared Inuyasha so many times before.
When he seized Tessaiga from their father's grave, he aimed his lethal strike at Kagome, not Inuyasha.
When he obtained Naraku's arm to wield the sword, he ultimately let Inuyasha live.
This Great Demon was a walking contradiction.
Perhaps it was the pack instinct of the dog demon clan, or perhaps it was simply Sesshomaru's profound loneliness.
Detecting the demonic transformation aura from Inuyasha, Ray clearly sensed a shift in Sesshomaru's attitude.
...
The next day, Ray, accompanied by A-Un and Jaken, located Inuyasha's group.
Chouchou was left behind at the camp, tasked with protecting Rin.
By the time they arrived, Kaijinbo had already been reduced to dust, destroyed by the sword's power.
Only the Tokijin remained, planted upright in the ground, pulsating with malice.
Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku, and Sango stood nearby, debating how to seal the cursed blade.
Ray approached slowly.
He reached out and gripped the hilt of the sword that felt both familiar and alien to him.
The moment his skin touched the leather, the Tokijin's consciousness lashed out, attempting to invade his mind.
"Hmph. The consciousness of a mere weak demon dares to try and control me?"
Releasing his own Ray Demonic Power, Ray easily crushed the sword's will.
The Tokijin submitted completely, its malice quieted by a greater darkness.
Ray cast a cold glance at Inuyasha. "Make your move. Let me see your current strength."
He did this based on his body's instinctive drive.
Ray speculated that the second stage of the Tenseiga trial related to Sesshomaru gradually accepting the sword he despised.
And a crucial step in accepting Tenseiga was letting go of his obsession with Tessaiga.
The two engaged in battle.
It was brutal and short.
Inuyasha's Tessaiga was knocked from his hand by a single strike from Ray.
The terrifying pressure of the Tokijin left Inuyasha battered.
Pushed to the brink, Inuyasha's aura changed.
His eyes bled crimson, his fangs and claws elongated, and purple-red demon markings—similar to Ray's own—etched themselves onto his cheeks.
The moment Inuyasha's aura shifted, Ray's body involuntarily felt a surge of fear.
It wasn't fear of power.
Even in his demonized state, Inuyasha wasn't strong enough to threaten Sesshomaru.
[This aura actually made me, Sesshomaru, feel a moment of fear? Why does it feel like Inuyasha's demonization can kill him?]
Sensing these thoughts, Ray shook his head slightly.
'So the fear you felt, Sesshomaru, was the fear of losing your brother.'
'My goodness, how tsundere can you be? I'm not even on your level.'
But it made sense.
In this world, Sesshomaru's only family were Inuyasha and their mother.
No matter how indifferent he acted, the blood tie remained.
It echoed the disappointment he felt fifty years ago during the Panther Cat Tribe war, when Inuyasha failed to show up.
Ray didn't continue the fight.
He watched as Kagome and the others restrained the demonized Inuyasha, pulling him back from the abyss.
...
A few days passed.
Guided by Sesshomaru's memories and instincts, Ray sought out Bokuseno, his father's former advisor, to learn the truth about Tessaiga.
The revelation was stark.
His father hadn't given Inuyasha the Tessaiga because he favored him; he gave it to him as a seal.
Inuyasha, being a half-yokai, couldn't control the Great Dog Demon bloodline.
Without the sword to suppress it, his demon blood would consume his mind, turning him into a mindless monster.
He needed a babysitter.
Sesshomaru, being a full-fledged Great Demon, needed no such protection.
Tenseiga was enough because his father trusted his strength.
[Such a powerful weapon, actually given to a half-yokai as a babysitter? Is this father's reasoning? Truly laughable. I must witness it with my own eyes to believe it.]
At this moment, Sesshomaru's desire for Tessaiga wavered.
He decided to observe whether his brother would truly become a mindless beast without the sword.
Ray noticed that the body's aversion to Inuyasha was shrinking, replaced by that stubborn, unadmitted protective urge.
Just as Ray recalled that in the original story, this was the turning point where Sesshomaru stopped trying to kill Inuyasha, the system chimed in.
"Ding! Congratulations host for successfully triggering the second trial of Tenseiga."
"Mission: In 50 days, use Tenseiga and defeat the Panther Cat Leader together with Inuyasha."
"Reward: Meido Zangetsuha (Dark Path of the Dawn Moon's Wave)."
"Hidden Mission: If you improve your relationship with Inuyasha, you may receive additional rewards."
Hearing the system's words, Ray frowned.
'This isn't right, is it? You want me to get along with Inuyasha?'
When Ray left and Sesshomaru's consciousness returned, making him realize he had been "buddy-buddy" with his brother... wouldn't he be so ashamed he'd want to commit seppuku?
'Is the system even harsher on Sesshomaru than I am? Or is this system a fujoshi who enjoys breaking down tsundere handsome guys?'
It was strange.
In the One piece world, the system just gave him rewards and vanished.
This was the first time it actively issued a mission—and one focused on relationship improvement, no less.
Combined with the system's odd subservience toward him, Ray had several bold guesses about the system's nature.
But he pushed them aside.
'Forget it. Everything will be revealed when the template fusion reaches 100%.'
Ray decided not to overthink it.
He would go check on Luffy and the others first.
As for getting along with Inuyasha? He'd play it by ear.
Using it to torture Sesshomaru's future consciousness seemed like a fun bonus anyway.
-----
Meidō Zangetsuha (冥めい道どう残ざん月げつ破は, "Dark Path of the Dawn Moon's Wave") is an immensely powerful offensive technique that creates a path directly to the Netherworld, pulling in targets like a black hole. Anyone hit by it is instantly sent to the Netherworld, effectively killed without physical harm.