Chapter 33 - Sesshomaru, My Foolish Little Brother!
"Sesshomaru, my foolish little brother, it seems your strength has fallen far behind mine again!"
Having just finished fighting Sesshomaru, Renji felt much more refreshed.
After advancing to the rank of a first-class yokai, the first thing Renji thought of was to test his strength against Sesshomaru.
"Bastard, how is your cultivation speed so fast?"
"You should call me big brother!"
With that, Renji punched Sesshomaru directly on the head.
"No way! Why has your strength improved so quickly?"
A month ago, they were both second-class yokai, but now, in such a short time, while he remained a second-class yokai, Renji had already reached first-class.
"Who knows!"
Renji didn't dwell on Sesshomaru's refusal. His little brother had always been like this—perhaps a bit tsundere?
Getting him to call him "big brother" was harder than killing him.
As for strength, he too was surprised by how quickly his power had grown. The next step would likely be the level of a "strong one" among yokai. Though called a "strong one," it wasn't exactly a complete rank—it was more like being on the cusp of becoming a great yokai, commonly known as the gatekeeper to that realm. At this stage, with a good weapon, he could be considered a "strong one" among yokai.
Reaching the level of a great yokai would mean entering the true "club of the strong." During the era of Inu no Taisho, there were many great yokai, unlike in Naraku's time, when great yokai had become exceedingly rare.
"By the way, I'm planning to leave Inu no Shiro for a while. You'll have to train on your own lately."
Up until now, Renji and Sesshomaru had always trained together—though it was mostly Renji one-sidedly beating Sesshomaru.
Though their strength wasn't vastly different, Renji always managed to win by a slight margin, which left Sesshomaru somewhat resentful. He remained dedicated to his training, hoping one day to defeat Renji.
Of course, he had considered taking shortcuts, but realizing they likely wouldn't truly belong to him, he felt a bit disappointed.
"Leave Inu no Shiro? Are you planning to join the war between Inu no Shiro and the panther tribe?"
With Renji now possessing the strength of a first-class yokai, if he had a good weapon, he'd have power rivaling that of a near-great yokai. Was he planning to go to their father and claim Tessaiga?
"No, not that soon. I don't want to join the war just yet—I'm still missing a weapon!"
"Aren't you interested in Father's three swords of heaven, earth, and man?"
Sesshomaru looked at Renji in surprise. He had assumed Renji would head to the front lines and ask Inu no Taisho for a weapon. But from what Renji was saying, it seemed he wanted to forge his own?
"My foolish little brother, what belongs to you is the best. Sure, the three swords of heaven, earth, and man are powerful, but why not forge your own path?"
Renji rubbed his forehead in frustration. Since Sesshomaru was little, Renji had been instilling in him the idea that relying on oneself was best, not taking what belonged to others.
The three swords—Tessaiga, Tenseiga, and So'unga—were undeniably powerful. Tessaiga could absorb the demonic power of other yokai and evolve with various abilities. Tenseiga could slay messengers of the underworld and revive the dead. So'unga was a downright overpowered weapon, capable of giving even an ordinary human like Setsuna no Takemaru the power to gravely wound Inu no Taisho.
There was no doubt these three swords were incredible, but he didn't need them. Neither did Sesshomaru, really.
From the original story, it was clear that Inu no Taisho had been paving the path for Inuyasha to follow.
Why?
Because Inuyasha was a half-demon, his potential had a ceiling. But Sesshomaru, inheriting the perfect bloodline of Inu no Taisho and Ryukotsusei, had his own path to walk—one that didn't require Inu no Taisho's arrangements. This was Inu no Taisho's way of showing faith in Sesshomaru, though Sesshomaru didn't see it that way early on.
Since transmigrating into this world, Renji had tried to change Sesshomaru's mindset. At first, he felt he was making progress, but later, for some reason, Sesshomaru became interested in Inu no Taisho's swords again.
"You don't understand. You've never seen Father wield Tessaiga."
Sesshomaru had thought the same at first, but then he saw Inu no Taisho use Tessaiga. With a single swing, tens of thousands of yokai were reduced to ash in an instant.
From that moment, the desire to possess Tessaiga took root in his heart.
"So, you want Tessaiga?"
Renji was exasperated. After all this, Sesshomaru still wanted Tessaiga.
It was indeed a cheat-level weapon, but Sesshomaru didn't need it at all.
Yet Renji didn't know how to explain this to him.
Hearing Renji's blunt question, Sesshomaru nodded without hesitation.
This boy, who even considered stealing the sword when his father was near death, naturally wouldn't shy away from his feelings.
Before meeting Rin, Sesshomaru was indeed indifferent to most things.
Even with Renji, who had grown up with him, he didn't show much resistance—their relationship was decent—but he rarely revealed any warmth from his heart.
Perhaps that was why Inu no Taisho gave Sesshomaru Tenseiga instead of Tessaiga.
His demonic nature was too strong, too ferocious.
Renji fell silent for a moment, then shook his head, glancing at Sesshomaru. "Forget it. I'll stick to what I said before—what's yours is the strongest. External power will always be external. Even if it's incredibly strong, if it doesn't belong to you, you can't unleash its true potential."
He knew persuading Sesshomaru at this point was nearly impossible. He wouldn't listen.
"Well then, Sesshomaru, I'll be off. I'm going to find Totosai to forge a sword that belongs to me."
With that, Renji stood up and left, heading off to find Totosai.
"Young Master Renji, it seems Young Master Sesshomaru doesn't really want to listen to you."
Myoga hopped out from Renji's hair. He had been listening to Renji's lecture to Sesshomaru, nodding inwardly the whole time.
No wonder the master said Renji's future achievements would surely surpass Sesshomaru's.
In the end, Renji had his own path and knew what he wanted, firmly believing his way was the strongest—not just following Inu no Taisho's old road.
What would taking the three swords of heaven, earth, and man achieve?
It'd just be retracing Inu no Taisho's steps, and whether he could surpass him would remain uncertain.
"Pretty normal. That guy's stubborn as hell. It's not his time yet."
Oh, Sesshomaru, who hasn't yet understood the heart of protection!
In his past life, Renji was human. Though reborn as a yokai and the first child of Inu no Taisho and Ryukotsusei, he still carried a human heart of protection and wasn't as extreme as Sesshomaru.
Right now, Sesshomaru was still heading down the path of his original story.
"Such a pity. The master's been quite troubled about this too. He had hoped to place his faith in Young Master Renji."
"Let that old man handle it himself—don't dump these things on me!"
Fuck!!
Isn't this Inu no Taisho's own business?
And he wants to push it onto me?
"Heh heh, the master's probably got a headache over Young Master Sesshomaru too. But speaking of which, Young Master Renji, did you know you're about to have another little brother?"
Myoga asked tentatively. Not many knew about this yet.
Only a few yokai in Inu no Shiro had vaguely heard that Inu no Taisho seemed to have fallen for a human woman.
"Now I do, don't I?"
Inuyasha, huh.
Looks like Inu no Taisho's not far from death.
"Hm, the master plans to leave Tessaiga to him."
Myoga glanced at Renji cautiously. If it were Sesshomaru, he definitely wouldn't have said it. This was something Inu no Taisho had instructed him to tell Renji ahead of time.
"That old guy's already dividing up his estate before he's even dead!"
It seems Inu no Taisho didn't just decide this on his deathbed.
He'd already planned it while still alive.
But it makes sense—Inu no Taisho didn't even need those three swords to be a king-level great yokai.
Tessaiga is a necessity for Inuyasha, but not for Inu no Taisho.
"The master's already thought it all out. Maybe once everything's settled, he'll retire."
At the end, a trace of sadness flickered across Myoga's face.
Inu no Taisho had been at war for years. After taking his position, he'd fought nonstop against the likes of Shishinki, Ryukotsusei, and the panther tribe's leader, Kirinmaru—never resting. He was tired. Once everything was resolved, he wanted to live quietly with Izayoi and Ryukotsusei, no longer meddling in these affairs.
He'd arranged everything: Renji, with his own path and unwavering resolve, would inherit So'unga—he believed Renji could suppress it. Sesshomaru would take Tenseiga, hoping he'd learn the meaning of a protective heart. The yet-to-be-born half-demon Inuyasha would get Tessaiga.
The three brothers would each inherit one of his weapons. Myoga knew, Totosai knew, and most of the old retainers were aware of Inu no Taisho's plans.
"Retiring's fine. Retiring with a human woman—she'll live a few decades at most before dying. Falling in love with a human only hurts yourself. Sure enough, only a foolish half-demon would be with a human!"
At first, Renji hadn't agreed with that sentiment.
But later, after one of his human friends died, his perspective shifted.
Turns out, only a foolish half-demon would really be with a human.
Because they're yokai—their lifespans are far longer than humans'.
In this chaotic era, setting aside accidents, even if someone lived peacefully to old age, humans here typically only reached about thirty—sixty if they were lucky.
Watching his friend grow old, even becoming ugly in their final years and begging to be turned into a yokai, Renji saw it clearly. Most humans, facing natural death while watching their once-friend remain young, couldn't truly accept it calmly.
And being friends with humans meant preparing for them to leave before you.
"Ahem, Young Master Renji, you shouldn't say that. Who knows, maybe you'll fall for a human woman someday?"
"Me? Sorry, Myoga, I might disappoint you there. I don't want to watch someone I love grow old and die before me, so I won't fall for a human in this lifetime."
Renji didn't want to see someone he cared about leave him. Sure, there was pure gold in the One Piece world, but whether he could find it was uncertain.
He'd been to human places before, but he'd never met anyone who stirred his heart. Since coming to this world, Renji only wanted to cultivate, nothing else.
Only by growing stronger could he protect what he wanted to protect.
"By the way, Myoga, what's the situation on the battlefield?"
This war was probably the one where Inu no Taisho takes down the panther tribe leader. After Inuyasha's birth, it'd be Ryukotsusei next, then Setsuna no Takemaru, and that's how Inu no Taisho dies.
Renji had always thought Inu no Taisho's death felt a bit rushed.
Maybe he'd been injured fighting Kirinmaru?
"The master's side has the upper hand for now, but Kirinmaru's strength isn't to be underestimated. The master's under a lot of pressure. If Young Master Renji joined the battlefield, it might ease things a bit!"
Myoga actually wanted to convince Renji to join the fight and lighten Inu no Taisho's load.
But before returning, he'd received orders from Inu no Taisho: don't persuade Renji. Let him decide everything himself. He's grown up, and Inu no Taisho didn't want to control his choices anymore.
"Is that so? Then go to the battlefield and tell that old man I'll head over after I find Totosai and get my weapon forged."
Renji thought it over and finally decided to go to the battlefield.
Since he knew Inu no Taisho was going to die, whether out of years of familial bond or to change the story, Renji had to stop it.
"Thank you so much, Young Master Renji! Just drop me off here, and I'll report to the master right away!"
"Hm."
"Hey!!! Young Master Renji, put me down!!! Don't just toss me!!!"
Renji was flying in the air and dropped him from a few hundred meters up. Myoga was on the verge of tears.
He did that on purpose!!!
"Sorry, Myoga, I forgot you can't fly."
"..."
Whether you forgot or not, don't you know in your heart?
Myoga didn't want to say more—his sorrow flowed like a river. Compared to Sesshomaru's ferocity, Renji's sly, cunning nature seemed inherited from his mother, Ryukotsusei. Staying with him meant you could get tricked at any moment.
After dropping Myoga, Renji flew swiftly toward Totosai's home. By nightfall, as he prepared to stop and rest, maybe catch some fish to eat—
Moonlight spilled onto the lake's surface. A figure slowly stepped into the river, clothes and a long sword placed by the bank. A holy aura radiated from her, and Renji, gazing at the person before him, murmured unconsciously, "A miko?"
(End of Chapter)
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