Deep within Panther Cat City, behind a massive barrier, stood a magnificent castle.
This was the real Panther Cat City.
"So the outer city and inner city were just decoys. The real stronghold is here," Kagome remarked.
"They say a clever rabbit has three burrows, but I never thought cats would use the same trick. We could learn from this," Miroku added.
"Oh? Is the monk planning to build hidden rooms in his own house later?" Sango teased.
The three of them—Kagome, Miroku, and Sango—had all been captured and brought to the real Panther Cat Castle.
Miroku had been caught after being distracted by a beautiful woman, and Sango was captured when she tried to rescue him.
Around them were nearly a thousand villagers from nearby villages, all seized by the Panther Cat tribe.
Shippo had been separated from them during the battle in the outer city, and her whereabouts were still unknown.
Just as Kagome, Miroku, and Sango were looking for a way to escape, a Panther Cat officer appeared.
"Take these humans up to the altar. The leader will need their flesh and blood after his resurrection."
...
Ray entered the inner city, sniffing carefully, but found no trace of the Panther Cat tribe.
The Four Heavenly Kings had all vanished.
'Is there a barrier hiding them?' he wondered.
Just then, Inuyasha and Koga arrived.
"Ray, have you found Kagome and the others?" Inuyasha asked.
Ray glanced at Inuyasha, his calm expression carrying a hint of judgment.
Inuyasha could already tell—this dog was looking down on him.
And he was right.
Ray was unimpressed with how long it had taken Inuyasha to get here.
Still, considering he was only a half-demon, making it through all those obstacles wasn't too bad.
So, following his instincts, Ray offered a word of "comfort."
"For a half-demon like you, you're actually not doing too poorly."
That only made Inuyasha howl with rage, while Koga chimed in, saying Ray was being too polite—weak was weak.
"Hurry up and cut this barrier down. Don't waste time," Ray urged.
At Ray's request, Inuyasha turned the Tessaiga red—the form specialized in breaking barriers.
"Wind Scar!"
A flash of golden light, and the barrier shattered.
Before the three of them stood a massive, ruined castle.
In the center was the enormous, dried-up corpse of a Panther Cat demon, over a hundred meters tall even while sitting.
'Is this Panther Cat Leader? He looks much stronger than in the original.'
Through his experiences in this world, Ray had realized that the Inuyasha anime he'd watched had severely downplayed the power of these great demons.
Which one of them wasn't capable of shaking the heavens and earth?
After all, Panther Cat Leader was once a rival of the Inu no Taisho—how could he be weak?
Beneath Panther Cat Leader's dried corpse was a huge altar.
On it were thousands of villagers, along with Kagome, Sango, and Miroku.
Glowing runes at the base of the altar showed that a blood ritual was already underway.
Soon, all the lives on the altar would be sacrificed to provide the flesh and blood needed to resurrect the Panther Cat leader.
The humans huddled together, trembling in fear.
"Don't be afraid," Kagome reassured them. "We will be saved."
After all, three very reliable men had arrived!
Especially Sesshomaru—as an enemy, he was terrifying, but as an ally, he was incredibly reassuring.
...
Seeing Kagome on the altar, Inuyasha and Koga immediately charged forward.
At the same time, Ray hurled a ten-meter-wide sphere of demonic power straight at the Panther Cat leader's skeletal head.
But the Four Heavenly Kings made no move to stop him, only smirk mockingly.
As expected, Ray's attack was easily blocked by a barrier.
Inuyasha and Koga were also repelled by the barrier around the altar.
Shuran laughed scornfully.
"A bunch of lowly dog demons, daring to oppose our great Panther Cat tribe? How arrogant."
"Shuran, don't say that. Sesshomaru does have some skill. It's the other two who are truly weak."
"This is our Panther Cat tribe's strongest barrier. They could never break through."
While the Four Heavenly Kings were chatting, they had already embedded the Shikon Jewel shard they took from Kagome into their leader's skeleton.
Suddenly, an immensely powerful demonic energy began to spread.
Panther Cat Leader's dried-up pupils began to rotate, and his withered arm stretched forward, slowly accelerating as it moved to devour all the humans on the altar.
Ray looked helplessly at Inuyasha.
"Fool, hurry up."
"No need to tell me!" Inuyasha shot back.
He turned the Tessaiga red and unleashed the Wind Scar, shattering the Panther Cat tribe's "strongest barrier" in an instant.
The sight left Shuran and Karan stunned.
Weren't they just boasting about how unbreakable it was? And now it was broken just like that?
Were the Dog Demon tribe's weapons really that powerful?
Before they could recover from their shock, something even more unexpected happened.
"Azure Dragon Break!"
Ray launched a massive Azure Dragon Break directly at Panther Cat Leader's mummified body.
"Dancing Ice Dragon!"
The two powerful attacks collided and canceled each other out.
The explosive force sent the other three Heavenly Kings flying dozens of meters away.
Panther Cat Leader's mummified body was also thrown off balance by the shockwave and crashed to the ground.
"Now! Wind Scar!"
Inuyasha's Wind Scar struck at the same time.
To protect their weakened leader, Karan, Shuran, and the others released their own attacks to block it, actually managing to push back the Wind Scar.
"I've been waiting for this—Backlash Wave!"
Inuyasha unleashed his most powerful move at this stage—a terrifying whirlwind of demonic power that swept back the combined energy of the three Heavenly Kings.
But just then, something no one expected happened.
Just as Karan, Shuran, and the others were gathering their strength to resist the Backlash Wave, a claw attack struck them from behind.
The mummified Panther Cat Leader suddenly muttered and move.
"Hungry… give me power~"
In one swift motion, he swallowed the souls of the three Heavenly Kings.
Though the Backlash Wave struck Panther Cat Leader, it didn't kill him—it only knocked him down and left numerous gashes across his massive body.
The Shikon Jewel shard embedded near Panther Cat Leader's neck pulsed, instantly absorbing the souls of the three Heavenly Kings.
The great demon's flesh and blood began to regenerate.
In that moment, the aura of a supremely powerful demon spread across the land.
The sky, which had previously cleared, was once again shrouded in dark clouds.
It was as if the sky itself was paying respect to the appearance of such a mighty demon.
The water vapor had rested long enough and was now rising with overwhelming force.
Far away, the Straw Hat Pirates, who were still fighting Panther Cat soldiers, cursed inwardly.
'It's getting dark again…'
...
Toran, who was battling Ray, felt her spirit tremble.
'Why? Why did you have to kill my younger siblings?'
'Leader, we worked so hard to revive you, and this is how you repay us?'
Looking at the fully restored Panther Cat Leader, Toran felt disheartened.
She didn't continue fighting Ray but instead leaped away, flying high into the air, lost in thought.
Ray didn't pursue her.
His goal in coming here was to kill the Panther Cat Leader.
First, because it was a trial mission for the Tenseiga.
Second, he wanted to experience just how strong the enemies of the Inu no Taisho were.
So, Ray told Inuyasha to rescue Kagome while he gripped the Tokijin tightly and engaged Panther Cat Leader in battle.
The demonic sword clashed with Panther Cat Leader's massive claws.
The moment they crossed blades, Ray felt the difference in strength.
This was the first time since using Sesshomaru's body that he had encountered an opponent who could overpower him in raw strength.
In an instant, Ray was sent flying.
He spun mid-air to disperse the force and landed gracefully on the ground.
But to ensure Inuyasha could successfully complete the rescue, Ray once again brandished the Tokijin and charged forward.
This time, he avoided direct confrontation, using high-speed movement to evade attacks while occasionally launching demonic power orbs from a distance.
He remained intensely focused, with Observation Haki fully activated.
The leader was not only incredibly powerful but also astonishingly fast.
Panther Cat Leader intermittently released lightning, flames, and fierce winds to strike at Ray.
But because Ray possessed the Haki system in addition to Sesshomaru's original combat skills, he didn't end up like Sesshomaru in the original story—instantly sent flying, morale shattered, and forced to unleash his demon form for revenge.
If this dragged on, Ray felt he could fight this leader for ten days and ten nights.
'I may not be able to kill you, but you can't hit me either.'
'Wait—who says I can't kill you?'
Ray's aura erupted, and an emerald-golden energy field rapidly expanded around him.
Some of the weaker demons still in the real Panther Cat City immediately fainted.
The Conqueror's Haki shook the entire demon army.
"Secret Technique—Azure Dragon Break!"
A super-sized Azure Dragon, formed from perfected demonic power and infused with Ray's Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki, collided head-on with the leader's elemental attacks.
...
Toran who's watching from high above, was shocked, her pupils trembling.
"Sesshomaru's fighting style has changed so much. What are those strange energies?"
"Hmm? The humans outside the city seem to use similar attacks."
"Sesshomaru, you've actually learned human combat techniques. Interesting."
---
The current arc will end in 3 chapter and we'll be back to one piece world.