"Mm..."
Moroha watched Inuyasha and Sesshomaru's figures with growing anxiety.
Their strongest ally--Grandpa--had become an opponent. What a terrifying sight.
Especially with Kirinmaru present, the power of two overlords was simply beyond what other youkai or humans could face.
She knew she couldn't fight against them.
Kirinmaru was serious. If this battle continued, both Dad and Uncle could die!
"Sesshomaru, if I give you Tessaiga again, can you win?"
Speaking gravely to Sesshomaru, Inuyasha made a move quite unlike his usual self.
"?"
Sesshomaru glanced at him, seemingly finding it incredible.
Inuyasha "bowing his head" like this wasn't something you'd normally see.
"I know this might be asking a lot... but honestly, fighting against Dad and that guy, I definitely can't help."
"If you can fight better with Tessaiga, I'll let you have it."
Enduring his body's pain, Inuyasha saw things clearly.
Forget fighting against Dad--just blocking Kirinmaru for a few seconds was his limit now.
That bastard Naraku had calculated this perfectly, deliberately digging a huge pit for them.
Using his own Servant as bait...
Especially since Muzan himself possessed considerable tenacity, wearing their entire group down severely.
Encountering Kirinmaru and the Great Dog Demon's attack in this desperate state was truly the worst outcome.
If there was anyone who might turn things around, it was probably only Sesshomaru.
Though he usually couldn't stand this "brother," Inuyasha had to admit he was far stronger.
"Trust between brothers?"
"How touching."
"Too bad... it's useless."
Kirinmaru glanced at the Great Dog Demon beside him, sensing the other's persistence.
'He noticed the Command Spell's loophole?'
Though he knew this rival wasn't easy to handle, finding a countermeasure so quickly was admirable.
Indeed, Command Spells had forced action authority, but Servants also had ways to evade.
For instance, if ordered to attack without specifying "immediately" or "right now," the Great Dog Demon could maintain killing intent while choosing when to strike.
Though just a delaying form of resistance, it was indeed effective.
At least for now, he wouldn't directly attack Inuyasha and the others, instead intimidating with killing intent and youkai power.
"..."
Facing Inuyasha's words, Sesshomaru didn't respond.
In this situation, forget wielding a self-harming Tessaiga--even at full strength he couldn't necessarily handle the Great Dog Demon and Kirinmaru combo.
Sesshomaru saw more clearly than anyone. This situation couldn't be solved by force.
"Wait!!"
Just then, Kagome's voice rang out, drawing everyone's attention.
"If you want the Dragon Ball, I'll give it to you."
"As a great youkai, you must keep your promise and let us leave!"
She produced Kikyo's Dragon Ball and spoke seriously to Kirinmaru.
"Hmph, in the name of the Eastern Beast King, I, Kirinmaru, never go back on my word."
"Give me the Dragon Ball, and you may safely leave this place!"
Kirinmaru didn't refuse Kagome's condition, speaking frankly.
As an existence equal to the Great Dog Demon, he naturally wouldn't break his word.
Hearing Kirinmaru's words and attitude, the Great Dog Demon knew they were out of danger.
The human girl called "Kagome" had made the right choice.
Dragon Balls were certainly rare, but sacrificing lives for them wasn't worth it.
WHOOSH!
Throwing the Dragon Ball embedded with two stars forcefully, Kagome didn't dare relax.
CATCH!
Grabbing it, Kirinmaru confirmed no one else present held remaining Dragon Balls.
"The rest are with the Shikon no Tama?"
"Finding them..."
"Will be effortless."
Having collected three, Kirinmaru had no intention of staying. He rose into the sky and departed.
"Sesshomaru, Inuyasha, take them and leave."
Glancing at the departing Kirinmaru, the Great Dog Demon knew his descendants were now "out of the game."
With the Dragon Balls taken by Kirinmaru, reclaiming them was nearly impossible.
This war's victor would likely be Kirinmaru in the end.
"..."
Sheathing Tenseiga, Sesshomaru knew Kirinmaru hadn't discovered Rin's hidden Dragon Ball.
Sensing Dragon Balls required specific conditions for Masters.
Rin had told him this.
"Next time... I will defeat him."
Turning around, Sesshomaru had only one thing to say to the Great Dog Demon.
"If it's you... I believe you."
"After all... you've already abandoned your obsession with Tessaiga."
"Surpassing my living self is just a matter of time."
The Command Spell's constraint vanished. Retracting his killing intent and youkai energy, the Great Dog Demon also turned and smiled with satisfaction.
"Inuyasha, at the crucial moment you'd rather give up Tessaiga to protect others. Proves you're no longer that reckless boy the priestess spoke of."
"You've matured..."
"Though it may be hard, you must protect them."
Speaking to the badly wounded Inuyasha beside him, the Great Dog Demon was pleased.
Both his sons were excellent and satisfying...
This time, he truly had no regrets.
"Moroha, live well."
Finally, he thought of his cute, healthy granddaughter and gave her this parting advice.
Flying off in pursuit of Kirinmaru's direction, he departed.
"Dad..."
"Grandpa!"
Watching the Great Dog Demon's disappearing figure, Inuyasha and Moroha's hearts were filled with complicated emotions.
"Sesshomaru?"
Kagome picked up Kikyo, watching Sesshomaru lift Akame with his youkai whip with confusion.
"This so-called war isn't over yet."
With just that, Sesshomaru left with Akame.
If before he'd been indifferent, now Sesshomaru was serious.
Surpass his father, then give Kirinmaru a thorough beating--that was his current thought.
"Right, the Dragon Balls were taken, but we can take them back."
"Besides, their team should still have a hidden Dragon Ball."
Rikuo approached and spoke, recalling the earlier situation.
His, Kagome's, and Archer's Dragon Balls were lost, but Assassin's should still exist.
"I'm just worried there won't be enough time..."
The clouds above had dispersed. Those wandering Demon Youkai were all fading away.
Kagome glanced at everyone's various injuries and sighed with relief.
In their current state, they couldn't recover without resting for a while.
The worry was that Kirinmaru might complete "unification" in the meantime.
With his and the Great Dog Demon's strength... the Shikon no Tama and Naraku probably couldn't stop them.
"Let's not worry about that for now... anyway..."
"We managed to..."
"Survive."