#youtou shinnoken

[gabriel-gabdiel]

Youtou Shinnoken: Demon Sword Chapter 57: Living Sin (Part 9)

Hiei does his best to take care of Usui Uonuma, who’s gunning for his Jagan. In turn, Yusuke deals with his old behemoth of an enemy who was once merely B-Class in power level.

Kenshin in turn deals with an enemy from his past with the assistance of one of the Spirit World ferry-girls.

Credit for the pictures goes to Ozzy Oz da Vyrus. 

The original source of this idea comes from Chad Yang. I continued his story idea found here.

The rest of the chapters of my Yuyu Hakusho and Rurouni Kenshin crossover fan fiction are available here and here. Enjoy.

First | Previous | Next

Up above the Okushiri Military Base....

The flying fortress made of solidified reiatsu (spiritual pressure or pressurized spirit energy) care of the Quest-Class powers of Detective Daiji Matsudaira (the reincarnation of Aoshi Shinomori) landed on the helipad of the base, startling the soldiers there.

Yahiko had earlier requested Botan to fly even higher up than the flying castle with purple beams of light shooting out of it in order to get the drop on the structure.

Literally.

From 50 kilometers above the earth, Yahiko descended straight towards the moving castle, its concentrated jaki beams dissipating against the ghostly human missile and his neutralizing reiki.

He first skydived from the ferry-girl's oar (much to her surprise and chagrin) up in the stratosphere and did his imitation of the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu's "RYU TSUI SEN! (DRAGON HAMMER FLASH!)" for starters.

The impact then cracked the topmost outer shell of the dense fortress.

A trickle of reiatsu leaked off of the spiritual construct, like scattering fireflies in the night.

He then did one of his own Revisal Techniques of the Kamiya Kasshin School, named, "DOU GAMI! (GOD ON EARTH!)", which rocked the castle further at its core and spread cracks all over its very foundations.

Daiji's solidified reiatsu then turned into a shower of outright sparks, the solidified energy sublimating and ionizing into pure spirit energy.

Finally, the Tokyo Samurai Spirit executed a "TEN GAMI! (GOD IN HEAVEN!)" that started the downward spiral of the moving building, the cracks turning into outright crags and debris as the teenaged ghost got jettisoned high above even the stratosphere, reaching instead all the way to the mesosphere.

He reached a height about 70 kilometers or 43 miles away from earth.

The young samurai kid drove the Onmyouji's prison that whole distance from heaven to earth with a sky-cleaving, earth-shattering strike, or at least a strike powerful enough to send cloudy shockwaves behind them as they broke through the speed barrier.  

"INGA GAMI! (KARMIC GOD!)"

Yahiko's first of two ultimate attacks had enough jaki-neutralizing power to push that huge pillar right into the middle of the military base like a meteorite. A shooting star.

The sublime mix of reiki (spirit energy) and jaki (negative energy) then ionized into their base forms, the kenki (swordsman energy) that bound them fading away into the ether.

All of these forms of energy were neutralized by Yahiko's own strange spirit energy. His own reiatsu or unique mixture of reiki and kenki.

His strike from his self-made sakabatou (Kenshin's reverse-edged sword that Yahiko manifested using his reiki) was powerful enough to warp time and space itself. Like a blunt version of the Jigen Tou.

Only a single helipad-sized spire of the formerly huge fortress was left by the time it crash-landed unto the base.

***

Youtou Shinnoken: Demon Sword

A Rurouni Kenshin/Yuyu Hakusho Crossover Fan Fiction Story by Chester Castañeda

Original Concept by Chad Yang

The Kenshingumi will now take care of their loose ends before fighting the final boss of this arc. This battle is about to explode! FIGHT!

Disclaimer: Yuyu Hakusho is the rightful property of Yoshihiro Togashi, Shueisha, Fuji TV, and Studio Pierrot. Rurouni Kenshin is the rightful property of Nobuhiro Watsuki, Shueisha, Shonen Jump, Viz, Sony Studios, Fuji TV, Studio Gallop, Studio Deen, and ADV. This disclaimer also covers all the other copyrighted materials that are far too many to mention here. Don't sue me please, I'm very poor.

***

Chapter 57: Living Sin (Part 9)

***

Back at Kitaoimisaki Park...

Usui Uonuma shook his head. The newbie member of the New Ten Swords, Kuronue, was outwitted by the legendary demon fox Youko Kurama as well.

If you wanted something done right, do it yourself.

Amidst the burned shadows and silhouettes that were once Kuronue stood Usui, his previously broken Tinbe practically whole now.

With it now capable of withstanding the heat and impact of multiple Jaou-En-Satsu Kokuryuha (Dragons of Darkness Flames) from Jaganshi (Evil Eye User) Hiei, the black serpentine flames were unable to affect the turtle shell one way or another.

But Uonuma knew that Jaganshi Hiei had one more ace up his sleeve. The Chojin's spies had briefed him about the fire demon and his ability to absorb the power of the fiery dragon beings unto himself.

As expected, Hiei boosted his speed and power tremendously by absorbing the flame dragons of the Kokuryuha right into his body, his youki (demon energy) rising to astonishing levels. To S-Level and beyond.

Under the old Reikai rules, Hiei's presence there would've been considered outright illegal. A demon that powerful shouldn't be in the Ningenkai (Human World).

A demon that powerful was on par with one of the Chojin's Ten Swords.

'So this demon's name is Hiei, huh?' thought the blind man, waxing nostalgic. That was also the name of the mountain where the old Juppon Gatana (Ten Swords) stronghold was.

What a curious demon. He had the speed of Souiro "Heaven Sword" Seta and the strength (or even firepower) of Makoto Shishio.

If Usui could conquer this strong demon, then he'd get one more step closer to standing as equals with the Youkiri (Demon-Slayer) Tenro.

To sit at the right hand of an unborn god. To be able to challenge an unborn god and become one himself.

Nah, perhaps that last one was still a bridge too far for him. But this, defeating the fire demon, wasn't.

The dragons roared and gnawed against the Tinbe but like a mountain standing above the earth with a crown of clouds, it wouldn't yield.

His Tinbe then reformed completely, but there was a gap the size of a sword slash right on its upper top left corner.

That was where Hiei focused his attack, sticking the tip of his Jaou-En-Satsu Ken (Sword of Darkness Flame) right into it, forcing its way in.

Hiei learned a lot from Kurama's little trick earlier with the Demon World Moss. This time around, the jaganshi found a weak point before the shield was able to fully heal or reconstitute itself.

Hiei's aura of youki and black flames flared to life, increasing the pressure on that one little crack, like a pressure cooker about to burst.

More cracks appeared on the shield as the pressure built up further and further. It reached the boiling point and then went beyond it. Through this one weakness, Hiei was able to focus his demonic energies and bust through.

The Tinbe cracked apart in twain and then into a million pieces, and from there Hiei released all of the Dragons of Darkness Flame unto Usui's hapless form.

However, that was actually a ruse.

The blind swordsman and spearman had actually activated a second illusion from Jine Udo's Jagan as Hiei attacked with the full power of the Kokuryuha inside of him, knowing full well that his Tinbe wasn't complete yet.

However, by making Hiei dream that he had broken the false Tinbe, this bought Usui enough time to completely manifest his real Tinbe with the small crack or gap finally filled in.

It was this shield that stopped the Dragons of Darkness Flame cold.

Usui baited Hiei into wasting his one shot at him and it worked. Hook, line, and sinker.

Every last one of the flame dragons crashed uselessly against the reinforced and complete Tinbe, like the waves of the ocean crashing against the sea wall or dam. The tides turned but the wall remained unperturbed.

Hiei's Jagan was now his...!

However, as Uonuma began his counter Rochin stab with the intension of pinning both Hiei and Kurama into the nearest wall like twin butterflies, something felt amiss.

His body then literally fell apart into tiny pieces of meat cubes, red mist spraying all around him.

Usui was able to seal the crack on his Tinbe, but the gap of time he needed to do his counterstrike was all Hiei required to strike back.

In that fraction of a fraction of a second, the super-powered fire demon slashed at him at the rate of a hundred times per second. Or more.

Before Usui could block one strike with his shield. Or counter with a thrown spear to the heart or face.  Or even activate Jine's Jagan at the last second and create another illusion to fool Hiei with.

Moving faster than his sensitive hearing could detect. Or predict.

Moving faster than his mind could fathom.

Moving faster than sound itself.

***

About a hundred years ago, around the 1870s, inside Shishio's hidden fortress within Mount Hiei...

From out of the blue, Usui Uonuma asked Makoto Shishio a simple question.

"Between the Ten Ken (Heaven Sword) and myself, who is more powerful?" he had asked out of whimsy. "Who would win in a fight?"

Shishio chuckled, swirling the wine inside his wineglass as he considered Uonuma's unusual query. He decided to humor his former hitokiri (manslayer) rival.

"You can keep up with Sou-kun's speed up until he uses the Shun Ten Satsu (Instant Heaven Kill), which is him using both battoujutsu (sword-drawing techniques) and the Shukuchi (Reduced Earth) at the same time. If you're able to disable him before that, then you will win."

"Shun Ten Satsu, huh?" repeated Usui. "Why do you think that?"

Makoto drunk his drink in one shot and then gave the glass back to his courtesan and lover, Yumi Komagata.

"It's simple. You can counter anything you can hear, smell, sense, and react to, right? Sou-kun's Shun Ten Satsu is faster than sound. Your Shingan won't even hear him coming."

***

Back in 1993, at Mount Kannon...

Kenshin Himura sighed as he trudged on foot back to Mt. Kannon within the Hidaka Mountain Range of Hokkaido.

He had Kazuma Kuwabara place him near the mountain care of the trusty Jigen Tou (Dimension Sword).

Like in the case of the battle at Mount Kamui, Mount Kannon was outside of Okushiri.

Kenshin had absorbed enough spirit energy from all the Reikai Tantei (Spirit Detectives) earlier to manifest himself and his spiritual body on his own, without being wielded by any of them.

Although he was kind of curious what sort of powers would manifest if his sword were held by the likes of Yahiko Myojin, Natsuki Shinkai, Likka Ikumi, or Daiji Matsudaira.

Perhaps another time, they'd find out.

Most of the energy he soaked up came from Yusuke Urameshi, in fact. It should last him until the rest of the battle.

The fact that Yusuke's reiki was that immense was both reassuring and worrying.

Reassuring in that they had the big guns against the Shin Juppon Gatana (New Ten Swords) this time around. Worrying in that he wasn't sure if it was Rando's Kugai (World of Suffering) curse or Urameshi's own developing powers that led him to have this surplus of energy.

Without all those multiple seals that held back his power, Yusuke might still suffer from power incontinence. He might still be unable to control his full immeasurable strength.

Regardless, Himura had other concerns to deal with. He was busy taking care of this Chinese warrior earlier, who wounded him in battle that made it difficult for him to save Hajime Saito from Feng Xinhai's schemes and Toguro Ani's attempt at possession.

A Chinese warrior that ended up related to him and his dark past after all.

The stranger with white hair and crazed eyes that Kenshin fought was no stranger to him after all. He remembered who the man was.

The man's name was Enishi Yukishiro, all grown up. The younger brother of Kenshin's ex-wife, Tomoe.

Since Tomoe was Kenshin's ex-wife, that made Enishi his brother-in-law. A brother-in-law with a century-old grudge regarding Kenshin's (accidental) murder of Tomoe Himura (nee Yukishiro).

"...Tell me, Battousai. Is my sister smiling down on you from heaven?" so said Tomoe's brother, Enishi.

Enishi had somehow ended up in the Heisei Era and got himself mixed up in Kenshin's current affairs. Himura could've almost sworn that his brother-in-law had died back in the Bakumatsu.

The younger brother of Tomoe was one of many unsettled debts Kenshin left when he died fighting against Makoto Shishio back at Mount Hiei.

In their first meeting in a hundred years, Enishi even gave Kenshin the same wound that ultimately killed Tomoe.

Meanwhile, as Himura neared where he previously defeated the martial artist, the cross-shaped scar on his cheek flared with a twinge of pain. No, actually the cuts felt as painful and fresh to him as the first time they were made.

The scar somehow ached even more than the much deeper laceration on his chest that still hadn't fully healed.

Like a paper cut that microscopically tore through skin and thousands of nerve endings like a jagged handsaw.

As though Enishi's very presence had reactivated Tomoe's curse on him. The curse of the cross-shaped scar.

***

At the helipad of the Okushiri Military Base...

"Get the HELL out of THERE! Sadojima Houji!" beckoned Yahiko as he sheathed his sakabatou while Botan herself swooped down from above then behind him.

He further chided, "That strike wasn't enough to take you down, right? No, you still have the Chojin's powers inside you, you dirty rat. Of course that wasn't enough!"

"You're being too loud, Yahiko! You're bothering the military people!" was what Botan resisted herself from saying, inwardly reminding the Kaoru inside her, 'He's supposed to be loud, you silly goose! The Chojin and his forces are invading Okushiri, remember? If not Hokkaido altogether!'

The aforementioned military base had long ago been put on high alert ever since supernatural beings started attacking different parts of the island at once.

Many of their deployed teams didn't return to the base hours after deployment.

"Stand aside, kid!" one of the soldiers said, who in Yahiko's eyes should've looked more shocked at seeing the seeming U.F.O. land in the middle of their base. "Civilians aren't allowed in here. This is now official military business!"

Another private attempted to grab hold of Myojin, only for him to slip his grasp. The teenaged version of Yahiko willed his ghostly self to become incorporeal.

The Jieitai or JSDF (Japanese Self-Defense Forces) then surrounded what was left of Daiji's solidified reiatsu structure, their guns cocked and ready to go.

What remained of Matsudaira's seal broke apart like a hatching egg.

And from there came forth the Onmyouji (Occult Priest) in all his glory, wearing a mix of a business suit with an occultist robe serving as his overcoat. The true right-hand man of the Overfiend.

With purple glowing eyes and a miasmic aura that flowed all over his body like thick black and crimson smoke from a smoldering flame, Houji spoke in askance.

"Why do you want to fight me, Myojin Yahiko? Do you bear a grudge against me? Do you hate me from the bottom of your heart?"

Yahiko was taken aback by the question. "W-What...?"

"Right now, you have no such hate in your heart," said Houji the Onmyouji. "You're fighting out of a sense of duty to your friends. To your idol, Himura Battousai. Otherwise, you'd have no such quarrel against me."

Or perhaps Sadojima was merely acting as the representative speaker to one other person.

Perhaps Myojin was actually talking to the Chojin (Overfiend) himself. The mastermind behind all these resurrected baddies from the Meiji Era to the Heisei Era.

Just who the hell was the Chojin anyway? Was he Makoto Shishio? Or someone else entirely?

The Onmyouji's ghoulish shikigami (familiars) with their tattered robes and sharp scythes flew at the gathered soldiers, who fired at them to no avail.

"STOP!" screamed both Yahiko and Botan at the familiars prior to the massacre that was about to take place.

None of the military men stood a chance against these supernatural beings.

***

Back in Hokkaido, far away from Okushiri, at the foot of Mt. Kannon...

Kenshin witnessed Enishi's strength firsthand.

The Chinese warrior had become so powerful he drove Himura Battousai himself from the forests of Okushiri all the way to a whole separate mountain range in Hokkaido, miles away from the island.

By pure willpower and hatred, Enishi grew strong enough to give pause to even the powered-up version of Battousai that had his own magical Demon Sword.

The Overfiend had indeed prepared for every last contingency. He was every bit as cunning as Youko Kurama himself.

Earlier, Kenshin's chest actually got hit by Enishi Yukishiro's ultimate attack, the Kofuku Zetsu Tou Sei or Kofuku Zettousei (Crouching Tiger Severing Sword Rush), as a counter to the Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki (Heavens Gliding Dragon Flash).

Kenshin was also distracted by the fact that Tomoe's brother managed to find him a century later to enact his rightful revenge. His Jinchu.

That was why he was defeated by a technique Enishi must've trained over and over again to counter all sorts of battoujutsu strikes, including the ultimate one devised for the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu.

Luckily, instead of doing the follow-up strike that would've also missed, Kenshin had the foresight to do a more powerful version of the Dou Ryu Sen on the ground that was enhanced by the vortex created by the succession technique.

This last-minute creative counter was what initially buried Enishi right into the heart of Mt. Kannon.

Regardless, Kenshin arrived back at his earlier starting point.

By Himura's estimation, only he or maybe Yusuke could take Yukishiro out one-on-one. Enishi should not be allowed to join forces with the rest of the Shin Ju.

***

Yahiko manifested his neutralizing reiki and kenki all over the military base with a sparkling blue and yellow light that blended together and formed a green glow. This then warded off the raggedy evil spirits that served as the Onmyouji's shikigami.

It was his own form of spirit pressure. His spirit energy interacted with his swordsman presence in a way that sealed or canceled out the spiritual power of his opponents.

Botan, in turn, flickered back and forth between her original shinigami (death goddess) form and Kaoru Kamiya's form as she saved the soldiers from being reaped by Houji's soul reapers by using her floating boat oar like a bokken (wooden sword) or naginata (glaive).

The two Kamiya Kasshin Ryu practitioners made short work of the familiars before they could take one life of the JSDF military corps.

"Please evacuate from here. You're no match against them," explained Botan to one of the soldiers before swatting multiple weakened shikigami away with her weaponized boat paddle.

One of Myojin's shikigami-dissipating swings swiped mere inches away from Houji's face, creating a thin cut over the bridge of his nose.

"Swinging a sword mindlessly at someone out of hatred is just violence. Kenshin taught me that," said Yahiko. "My duty as the Son of Tokyo Samurai is to defeat you. That is all. I'll even stake my life on it."

Sadojima smirked. "So be it. Samurai-san."

From behind Houji teleported the ever-reliable Gatekeeper Itsuki.

Yahiko turned towards the blue-haired shinigami and told her, "Quick, call Boke (Moron) and tell him to come here right now."

"Boke...?" trailed off Botan.

"KUWABARA! Kuwabara Kazuma! We need him here now! If he needs healing, heal him up as well! He and his space sword are the only ones who can take on that green-haired yoga guy and his goddamn portals!"

"All right! I'll call him! Jeez," said Botan, who turned on her communicator.

"Language, Yahiko!" reprimanded the Kaoru inside her in turn.

Afterwards, Itsuki summoned a multitude of warp gates, this time rectangular and doorway-shaped instead of circular and hole-shaped.

Inside each dimensional door was either the corpse (as well as ashes) or unconscious body of the many different Shin Juppon Gatana members.

It was through these gates that the Occult Priest blasted his purple beams of negative energy. Before, they served as destructive pillars of neon plasma. Now, they were probably used to give the killed or otherwise heavily injured Shin Ju another lease on life.

"Oh no," said Botan. "Not again. He's not going to revive all the New Ten again, is he? Jeez, we just defeated those goons! Learn how to stay down and give up!"

The shining eyes of Houji the Onmyouji then dimmed and faded away, replaced with his actual normal eyes.

"Ah, you returned. The snotty little brat. How does it feel to go back to zero after all the effort you've spent killing the Shin Ju? Like Sisyphus and his rock, right?"

The boisterous nature of the Chojin's conduit had returned. Houji was seemingly awakened from his brief slumber earlier, when he actually sounded "cool" and "aloof" for a hot minute.

"Hey," said Yahiko. "What happened to you earlier? You weren't the one talking, were you?"

Houji raised an eyebrow at that. "What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb. It was the Chojin who talked to us back then, right?" asked Myojin. "Tell it to me straight: The Chojin is Shishio Makoto, isn't he? Of course, he is! Who else would start a war against the Spirit World with a team called the New Ten Swords? No one but him!"

The necromancer chuckled. "That's a... secret."

With a grunt, the samurai teen jumped and attacked the Chojin's right-hand man with a downward slash from the Jodan-no-Kamae (Fire Stance), which was then blocked by Houji's scythe.

They crossed blades, their different energies clashing against each other as arcs of lightning ripped through everywhere like light-filled cracks that broke through reality itself.

Houji's lack of formal training with his weapon was rendered moot due to his seemingly oceanic flow of negative energy that gave his simple block the weight of the world. Or at least the huge water pressure of the ocean depths.

However, regardless, the beams of purple plasma emanating from the dark priest flickered and wavered as it interacted with the reiatsu of Yahiko.

"That's it! You can do it, Yahiko!" said the Kaoru within Botan. "Show them why I consider you the number one pupil of the Kamiya Kasshin School!"

"Can you really do it, boy?" asked Houji, smirking. "Can you seal away the overflowing, overwhelming power of the Chojin himself? The Living Sin?"

The dimensional doors leading to the Shin Ju were then shut down. Or rather, slashed shut.

Gatekeeper Itsuki chuckled, his slashed eye that doubled as a dimensional portal opening. "He's here."

Sure enough, in one of the doors, the jaki beam was slashed in twain, the negative energy cut down by the spiritual might of the Jigen Tou.

It was from this door that Kazuma Kuwabara emerged, the transparent ghost of a recovering Sanosuke Sagara beside hiim.

"You called, Jo-chan (Missy)?" said Sano.

"YOSHA! (HELL YEAH!) Let's get this party started, samurai boy!" shouted Kazuma, the rambunctious teenager with bleached orange hair similarly styled like his best friend Yusuke Urameshi's hair.

***

And so there he was. Buried deep underneath Mt. Kannon itself like Son Goku the Monkey King from the literary masterpiece, "Journey to the West".

The rumbling inside the grumbling mountain roared deeper and harder. Like it was about to explode and turn into a volcano.

"...BATTOUSAI!" screamed Tomoe Yukishiro's little brother Enishi from underneath Kannon Mountain, spewing hot fire along with the brimstone and magma he was surrounded in.

His spectacles had long ago been lost or burned to smoke and ash by molten rock. The rest of his outfit remained intact though, probably protected by his body's significant aura.

Yukishiro crawled out of the hot magma pits of hell, or at least the otherwise dormant mountain in an explosion of fire, smoke, molten rock, and lava flow that scarred and burned the surrounding forest.

The singes and burns on Enishi's (literally) piping hot body, however, started healing right before Kenshin's eyes.

Not quite at the level of instantaneous regeneration as the Elder Toguro, but quick enough to survive a trip down a volcano and live to tell the tale. Still too quick compared to a normal mortal though.

Besides which, he wasn't supposed to only be burned from the fires of a river of magma anyway. It must've taken thousands of degrees of heat to even leave him slightly scalded at all.

His humongous amount of spirit energy kept him from suffering life-threatening injury. The same way Hiei or Yusuke would've survived such a predicament.

The red-hot blade of the Chinese-styled warrior didn't quite reach its melting point but it cooled down from the sheer blast of miasmic spirit energy from him.

If allowed to run rampant like the rest of the Ten Swords, Yukishiro could very well murder every last one of them. The Reikai Tantei, the Kenshingumi, and the Oniwabanshu.

All of them could die. This high-level martial artist could do what at least 8 of the 10 Shin Ju couldn't. He was a one-man army. He was like their Hajime Saito. A true wild card of sorts.

Kenshin foresaw it all through the Youtou Shinnoken.

The last thing Yahiko and the rest of the Reikai Senshi (Spirit World Warriors) needed right now while battling the Onmyouji and the Chojin's wealth of negative energy was a spanner in the works like Enishi.

***

The powers of most of the reincarnations or ghosts from the Meiji Era—most of Kenshin's comrades—were a result of how their spirit energy interacted with their swordsman energy or fighting spirit, creating what was known as reiatsu.

With Daiji Matsudaira (Aoshi Shinomori's reincarnation), it was the Quest-Class manifestation of objects and materials from his spirit energy.

With Natsuki Shinkai (Yutaro Tsukayama's reincarnation), it was the ability to manipulate kinetic momentum or acceleration, usually in the form of reflection or deflection.

With Likka Ikumi (Misao Makimachi's reincarnation), it was her skill to manifest her thoughts into reality, creating visual mirages or even holographic illusions seen by all.

With Sanosuke Sagara's soul, it was his pure fighting spirit that allowed his ghost to approach Regent-Class regeneration abilities, stamina, and pure brute force that allowed him to affect the physical plain like a rampaging poltergeist.

With Kaoru Kamiya's soul, it was a mix between Botan's soul reaper powers and Kaoru's past swordsmanship skills that allowed them to heal, boost, replenish, bind, manipulate, or otherwise enhance the spirit energy within them or of those around them.

With Kenshin Himura's soul, he became one with the Demon Sword, a demon-slaying blade that could arguably injure or kill a god. His own reiki, kenki, and reiatsu interacted with anyone who wielded his blade in ways that raised their very power levels.

Finally, with Yahiko Myojin's soul, his unique brand of spirit energy interacted with other spirit energy (whether it was human or demonic) in a way that suppressed or neutralized them into nothingness.

Yahiko's unique powers worked like how an acid and a base reacted quantitatively with each other when mixed until the acidity of the acid disappeared. Or how Hiei's Jaou-En-Satsu Kokuryuha was cancelled out by Shinobu Sensui's polar opposite power of Sei Kou Ki (Saint Light Ki).

Their reiatsu was different from the reiki and youki used by Yusuke Urameshi and their comrades due to the use of other forms of reiki within the Meiji Era reincarnations and the use of classic shinigami warrior techniques among the revived spirits.

Reiatsu was more comparable to something like Sensui's Saint Light Ki or Yusuke mixing his reiki and youki together to form something approaching Sei Kou Ki instead of either pure reiki or youki. Even jaki.

It was through these souls—these seeds of hope—that Koenma Daio intended to defeat the Chojin and his unnatural powers that defied death and the natural order of the Spirit World.

***

Kurama's board full of chess pieces were in their proper places, which kept the Chojin in check. They were practically on the verge of a checkmate, even.

The pawns were positioned to divide and conquer the Shin Juppon Gatana, with each Reikai Senshi paired up to their appropriate members.

Their source of power, Houji, had his borrowed negative energy suppressed by Yahiko. Their means of transportation, Itsuki, got sealed off by the Reikai's own Kuwabara and his Dimensional Sword.

Botan was there to heal and replenish reiki as well as assist Myojin tactics-wise care of Kaoru. Sanosuke himself was gradually recovering his spirit energy and fighting spirit for good measure as "Jo-chan" or the shinigami she fused with nursed his flickering body back to health.

Kuwabara regained his second wind even, which allowed him to not only create portals but to close or destroy them with his twin Dimension Swords.

This kept the annoying Gatekeeper from transporting jaki to the injured/dead Shin Ju or even getting the recovered members to help Houji out.

Even with his use of Sensui's seven personalities and the new powers it brought him, Kazuma kept him at bay.

As for the shikigami that served as the Onmyouji's infantry, Sanosuke punched them out with the "FUTAE NO KIWAMI! (DUAL EXTREME!)" while riding shotgun on Botan's oar.  

So why did Myojin feel like something was amiss? Like he had a bad feeling about everything? Like something terrible was about to happen?

A new enemy descended from an unseen sky portal that Kuwabara noticed, slashed apart, and closed too late.

"Huh!?" was Yahiko's reaction to the new arrival. This distracted him even as he ended up on the verge of disarming the untrained Houji. "Who is that? Is it another replacement Shin Ju?"

Kuwabara said, "We've already confirmed that Toguro Ani and Kuronue replaced Suzaku and Udo Jine! It's not one of the New Ten! Must be one of the Dai Shin Kan instead!"

Sanosuke's jaw dropped. "No way...!" which made Botan and Kaoru ask in unison, "Who is that supposed to be, Sano?"

Kazuma jumped into action, intending to slash a portal and kick the newcomer into it, only for his Jigen Tou's energy to start unraveling before his eyes.

The woman in courtesan clothes smiled as she floated down using her umbrella as a parachute (like goddamn Mary Poppins, Botan realized), crimson energy emanating from her pale white skin.

"Ah, it's all coming together now." Houji cackled. "Welcome back, Komagata Yumi. Get rid of these insects for me, if you would please."  

And so Makoto Shishio's personal courtesan and lover arrived, dressed in her classic Meiji Era garb but this time there was a hole in her chest where her heart used to be.

The very place where Shishio stabbed her in order to do a surprise attack on Battousai Himura.

Also, she had long fangs inside her mouth.

"Inner Blood Turmoil," Yumi said as she sapped Kuwabara of all his spirit energy using the Kyuuketsuki Kakuto Ryu (Vampire Martial Arts) that Rando stole from her.

"SHIT! Now even Shishio's girlfriend has superpowers too?!" said Sanosuke, remembering the woman whom he did a bridal carry with as they traversed Shishio's Mt. Hiei stronghold.

"...BLOOD WIND!" she screamed, releasing a red energy-sapping tornado at the Reikai Senshi.

***

Originally, Kenshin was barely able to defeat Enishi and get back in time and save Sanosuke Sagara, Kazuma Kuwabara, and Hajime Saito from the nefarious machinations of Karasu, Feng Xinhai, Usui Uonuma, and Gatekeeper Itsuki at Mt. Kamui.

But now that his detour was over, he had to get back to his original business.

He had to. Or else Enishi would undo everything they'd done so far to suppress the New Ten Swords from conquering the island of Okushiri as well as Hokkaido.

"Sessha (This one) wonders why even though I thought I'd never met you before, you seemed to know everything about me de gozaru (that you did)."

"'Sessha'? 'De gozaru'?" Enishi repeated the words with a snarl and a dismissive snort. "Are you kidding me, Battousai? Why is the most fearsome hitokiri of the Bakumatsu acting like a gentle fool with flowery samurai language? Enough of your lies!"

"This one never thought to see you again after a hundred years. I was sure you were already dead," confessed Kenshin.

"I did die. But I live again. Reincarnated in a new era," said Enishi. "I willed this weak new body I was reborn into to become even stronger than I already was before you died in the hands of Shishio Makoto."

'So he survived the Bakumatsu after all,' thought Kenshin, who believed that Enishi had died of starvation as a little boy in the ensuing revolution.

"Now I will enact the revenge that I was robbed of a hundred years ago! If you've been dispensing Tenchu (Heavenly Retribution) in your time as a hitokiri, then this is Jinchu (Earthly Retribution) for all your sins! Prepare yourself, Battousai! ZETSUGI...!"  

From there, he didn't even give Himura the chance to breathe or any breathing room as he attacked, attacked, an attacked some more.

Tomoe's little brother had grown ridiculously strong. As though he'd been training the last hundred years for this one moment. Empowered purely by hate.

However, one way or another, Kenshin was able to contain Yukishiro's growing threat long enough to assist Saito's rescue or allow the Kenshingumi to go through their mission of taking out Houji.

Himura figured out how his Wattoujutsu (a mixture of Japanese swordsmanship and Chinese kung fu) worked after only seeing a couple of techniques from it.

The Demon Sword's blade then shone with an ethereal light before Kenshin's form changed altogether.

From a 30-year-old man, his body returned to his more youthful 15- to-16-year-old self.

The form he had before he developed the cross-shaped scars. When he was still known as the Hitokiri Battousai. This way, he could engage Enishi the same way he did against any other opponent.

Free of bias. Free of shame or guilt.

"SHUUGEKI TOU SEI! (KICKING SWORD RUSH!)"

This technique of Enishí's involved hitting his opponent from below then kicking the blunt side of his sword at the last second to maximize damage.

Thusly, Kenshin answered the technique back with his own, "SOU RYU SEN! (TWIN DRAGON FLASH!)"

"KAISHI TOU SEI! (BAYONET SWORD RUSH!)"

As for the Bayonet Sword Rush, it was a follow-up whirling counterattack or riposte involving Enishi putting the hilt of his sword against his opponent's sword to add momentum to his pivoting swing.

However, Kenshin had a similar counterstrike technique like that as well in the form of "RYU KAN SEN! (DRAGON WRAP FLASH!)"

"SHO HA TOU SEI! (PALM BREAK SWORD RUSH!)"

From the Jodan Stance, Enishi swept his sword starting from over his head down to the ground. Afterwards, he then placed the palm of his hand on the sword's blunt side to push it forward at full force.

The answer to this move that resembled the Dragon Hammer Flash was the "RYU SHO SEN! (RISING DRAGON FLASH!)", which was the natural Ryu Tsui Sen counter that doubled as a two-handed sword block wherein the sword was held by its handle and tip with either hand.

"CHOU TEN TOU SEI! (UP-AND-DOWN SWORD RUSH!)"

This was Wattoujutsu's version of the Ryu Sho Sen. It allowed Enishi to leap upwards using his sword as his pole vault then attack from the air by pulling his sword towards him by its hilt cord immediately after jumping.

Kenshin drew out the fearsome technique with a feinted Ryu Tsui Sen only to do the "RYU KAN SEN ARASHI! (DRAGON WRAP FLASH STORM!) at the last second, the multi-hit forward somersault sword strikes catching Yukishiro off-guard.

"Ugh!" Enishi landed bad on his ankle, his knees buckling from the force of the centrifugal strikes, the chainsaw-like windmill of strikes drawing a fine mist and squall of blood. "Damn you, Battousai...!"

Kenshin cut Enishi's cursing short with a jarring punch to his jaw.

Battousai Himura had a Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu answer to every one of the white-haired young man's Wattoujutsu techniques. He took advantage of Enishi's barrage of hateful, unfocused strikes with clinical precision.

The fact that Himura didn't realize who exactly he was fighting against until the last second helped him figure out the proper counters to Enishi's Wattoujutsu early on and even bury him right inside the Kamui Mountain itself. Albeit temporarily.

Kenshin imagined he'd have a harder time with the kung fu master swordsman were he distracted by his guilt for killing Tomoe and knowing Enishi's identity from the start.

"Is that all you've got, Battousai?" demanded the scuffed-up, bleeding-from-the-mouth Enishi, who spat away blood as his veins—no, his very nerves themselves—hypertrophied or thickened enough to become visible underneath his skin with vascular density.

This was his Kyokei Myaku (Nerves of Insanity) in action.

***

It was bedlam at the Military Base of Okushiri.

Ten things were happening at once, and barely anyone could keep up.

More soldiers were deployed to rescue the fallen and suppress the invaders.

They waged war against the Onmyouji's shikigami, even though many of them couldn't even see the grim reaper familiars.

They had to use their special thermal goggles to detect and shoot the enemy, but neither bullets nor grenades worked on them.

Botan had more luck dissipating the strange creatures into the ether, but that was because it was part of her job description as a soul reaper.

She did double duty in casting her healing and reiki-replenishing spells on Yahiko, Sanosuke, and Kuwabara while at the same time defeating her share of scythe-wielding reapers created from wayward earthbound spirits infected with the Chojin's jaki.

Also, the bodies were really hitting the floor now. Not due to the Kenshingumi (they were basically all ghosts) or their Reikai Tantei comrade falling into a dead faint.

It was because the vampire (or perhaps succubus) Yumi bit the necks and absorbed the blood of all the nearest JSDF soldiers to power her Kyuuketsuki Kakuto Ryu.

As for Gatekeeper Itsuki, he and Kuwabara were having a portal contest of sorts. He kept making portals while Kazuma kept slicing them apart.

Regardless, it took much longer for Yahiko to seal the power of the Chojin, the borrowed ocean of jaki overflowing with immense pressure from within gleeful Sadojima.

"TSUI GAMI...!? (HAMMER OF GOD...!?)"

Myojin's attempt at the sword-breaking, jaki-neutralizing Hammer of God was thwarted with a simple yet shuddering one-handed scythe swipe that belied Houji's actual physical strength.

"So you intend to beat me at this level of strength?" asked a smug Sadojima before releasing a pillar of jaki that made Yahiko kneel before him, as though bearing the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Yahiko felt like he had plunged deep underwater, drowning in negative energy as the oceanic water pressure increased further and further the deeper he went.

Myojin grunted, grit his teeth, and rose up against the harsh and dense waves of pure jaki that bore down on him in waves, his green aura of reiatsu resisting the crushing force of the Overfiend's distant yet overbearing presence.

Like a black sun whose dark rays and heat reached the earth all the way from space despite being millions of miles away.

It was a tug of war between the Chojin's power boosts and Yahiko's neutralization skill.

Thanks to Botan and Kaoru, the ghost of Sanosuke had healed up and reenergized himself with reiki enough to summon his signature Zanbatou (Horse-Chopping Sword) again at long last.

He had more bandages than usual, half of which were spirit seals from Botan that kept his ectoplasm from escaping his ghostly form.

"ZANBATOU ATE! (ZANBATOU DISTANCE HIT!)"

Sanosuke's Zanbatou Ate, based on Anji Yukyuzan's Tou Ate (Bladed Distance Hit), created a landslide aimed at Houji, who shielded himself with his shikigami ghouls.

"ZANKUU ZANBATOU ATE! (ZANBATOU VACUUM DISTANCE HIT!) "

As for his Zankuu Zanbatou Ate, Sanosuke aimed it at the ensuing Blood Wind air funnel that the courtesan in revealing clothing fired off at him.

The last thing Sano expected was to use that 12-foot longsword against Shishio's lover, the non-fighter known as Yumi.

***

Enishi did a low split-legged crouch, only to charge with an onslaught of strikes instead of doing another Zettousei when he saw Kenshin sink his stance low in kind instead of taking his bait and attacking with the Hirameki.

"SENRAN TOU SEI! (WAR SWORD RUSH!)"

"RYU SOU SEN! (DRAGON NEST FLASH!)"

Sparks flew everywhere as though they were in a steel mill or foundry as they parried and attacked each other with impunity, their swords crossing and chipping at their edges.

Blood and ectoplasm stained the ground soon afterward from both combatants.

Enishi moved faster than Kenshin could react. Like an unswattable fly. Or perhaps a whole swarm of flies. Locusts. Bees. Wasps, even. A plague of wasps. His twitch muscles able to react to attacks or counterattacks by lightning-fast reflexes.

It was like dealing with Soujiro Seta's Shukuchi all over again. Himura couldn't even predict Enishi's strikes by reading his sakki (bloodlust) because he was exuding hatred and killer instinct at all times. At every waking moment.

Like the polar opposite of the Heaven Sword. It was no different to deal with someone who lacked bloodlust compared to someone who always exuded bloodlust. There was no sudden spike of killer instinct you could use to read an opponent's moves.

This forced Kenshin to take the initiative and jump high into the air in order to become the aggressor for a change, even if only to draw out a counterstrike that he could then counter.

"RYU TSUI SEN! (DRAGON HAMMER FLASH!)"

Yukishiro countered by also leaping vertically before Kenshin could drop him with the Dragon Hammer Flash. Afterwards, at the point where his jump force was equal to Earth's gravity, he jumped even further, thus essentially doing a double jump or what was known to basketball players as an airwalk.

"SHIKKU TOU SEI! (SLASHER SWORD RUSH!)"

Kenshin's youtou (demon sword) and Enishi's watou (Chinese-style katana) clashed hard against each other, their impactful vibrations strong enough to shatter steel. However, their mystical swords forged from spirit energy and the life force of their very souls both held true.

However, Battousai or no Battousai, the scarless Kenshin realized he had to take Yukishiro out before his own feelings of despair, depression, shame, and remorse got the better of him.

For even now, he felt like he deserved to get hit by every last strike from Enishi for the sin of accidentally killing his ex-wife in an attempt to rescue her from her kidnapper.

"KUZU RYU SEN! (NINE-HEADED DRAGON FLASH!)"

"UGH!"

Like water crushing rock over time, the constant barrage of counters from earlier finally took its toll on Enishi, leading to several lapses of attention that the Battousai took advantage of to great effect.

Kenshin's persistence paid off, with that last multi-hit attack finally landing on his nerve-filled brother-in-law.

He then prepared to do a supersonic noutoujutsu (sword-sheathing technique). The same one he used to disable the super sensitive hearing of Usui Uonuma's Shingan.

"RYU MEI...! (DRAGON CRY...!)"

Kenshin stopped short of doing his high-pitched sheathing technique when he saw a familiar young woman with jet-black hair, doe eyes, a white kimono, and purple shawl appear out of the half-burnt forest.

She brought with her a nostalgic, heartbreaking scent.

"T-Tomoe...?!" stuttered Kenshin before Enishi's Watou ended up stabbing him right in his chest, on the same wound made by the Zettousei that got him earlier.

The pair of scars on his left cheek reappeared. Bleeding with fresh blood (or, in his case, ectoplasm).

***

Back at the Okushiri Military Base...

The Blood Wind dissipated from the strength of Sanosuke's vacuum slash, but Yumi herself blocked the wind pressure with her open, glowing-red umbrella serving as her shield.

Ah, yes. The Blood Wind.

The double-edged, energy-sapping red tornado created from the heat of the spirit energy it stole and the coldness of an injured body that was losing blood.

However, this woman somehow managed to do Blood Winds without the need to be injured. Or perhaps the hole in her chest served as her injury?

Sagara originally thought it was one of Rando's ultimate moves, only to remember something about him stealing techniques. So this energy-sapping technique was actually her move, wasn't it?

Regardless, what was a desperation move for Rando was a normal move for her. It all made sense now. Or at least that part did.

"How the hell did you get superpowers too, lady?" Sano demanded to Yumi. "You even went so far as to change yourself into a vampire! You really are something else!"

"Stop acting so friendly around me, you boorish lout," said Komagata to Sagara with half-lidded eyes, parrying his probing zanbatou stab from more than 12 feet away with her closed umbrella that doubled as her sword. "You should've stayed as a ghost in the Spirit World. You'll regret crossing paths with us again after a hundred years, Sagara Sanosuke."

Sano left his cumbersome giant sword behind, charged unimpeded, and backhanded the woman. "Nothing personal, Neechan. We can't let you or your psycho boyfriend run amok again in this era either."

"...Bastard! You dare hit a lady?! Youki Duantoutai! (Spirit Guillotine!)" Yumi reeled from the slap that caught her by surprise but then kept Sanosuke at bay with the Spirit Guillotines.

"...Son of a bitch! Rando stole that move from you too?!" said Yahiko before breaking the paper-thin waves of demon energy with "Men (Head)" strikes from the Fire Stance and flying skyward with the God in Heaven technique.

"Not exactly," Yumi chatted with a nonchalant smirk. "I stole some of Rando's moves myself in exchange for the moves he stole from me. Tit-for-tat."

As for Sanosuke, his follow-up attempt at chopping Komagata in half with his 12-foot sword led to it getting blasted full of huge holes care of Itsuki. This made the zanbatou look like a macroscopic slice of grey Swiss cheese.

The scattershot blasts responsible for Sano's predicament originated from a gun attached to Itsuki's right arm. It shot out miniature black holes the size of pinholes but had event horizons the size of bowling balls or bigger. They ate up any type of matter nearest them.

It was a (literal) handgun with black holes as its bullets that the Gatekeeper developed through the help of Shinobu Sensui's Kazuya personality.

Itsuki's Black Hole Gun also ate up chunks of Sano's ghostly flesh whole.

"GUUAAAHH!"

The Gatekeeper had taken advantage of Sanosuke's moment of hesitation in killing Yumi. Sano remembered mid-swing how she had originally died by Shishio's hand and then had her corpse burn along with his in a sudden unintended funeral pyre.

Meanwhile, as the flying Myojin attacked Yumi from above, Botan attacked from below. She flew on her oar mere inches from the ground before getting off her ride and using her forward momentum to smash her paddle right into the vampire. She then let the more athletic Kaoru inside her do the rest.

Using jaki and youki together, the succubus imbued her foldable fan and her closed umbrella with enough blood-red energy to stop the oar cold with a cross-block. She then unfurled her umbrella in time to also prevent Yahiko's Ryu Tsui Sen from hitting her noggin.

From this close proximity, she then used her Inner Blood Turmoil to absorb her attackers' spirit energy unto herself, sapping the two of their reiki and making their souls flicker and fade.

Neither the living nor the dead were safe from this vampire queen.

***

"GOU TSUI TOU SEI! (FALLING BLADE SWORD RUSH!)" screamed Enishi after impaling the distracted Kenshin in the chest.

The Falling Blade Sword Rush allowed the white-haired martial artist to pin Battousai at last, lifting him high up and over his head with his sword and upper-body strength.

"At last. At long last. You're going to die, Battousai! You scum! You criminal! You took away everything from me! Now I will return the favor and take away everything from you! This is my Jinchu!"

The Guardian of the Youtou Shinnoken grunted and coughed, his eyes unable to tear themselves away at the visage and silhouette of his ex-wife Tomoe Yukishiro.

Red tears streamed down his cheeks and bloodstained scar.

"T-Tomoe? I-Is that really you?" he mumbled in disbelief, as though not even noticing Enishi's watou inside of him.

He was no longer Hitokiri Battousai (Battousai the Manslayer). Instead, he transformed back to Rurouni Kenshin (Kenshin the Vagabond).

"Tomoe" then told Enishi with an old man's deep voice, "My apologies. This is the best help I can give you for now. That damn Okashira stole all of the jaki that the Chojin gave me and sealed me and my precious Iwanbos away with it, turning the energy into solidified reiatsu."

"You did splendidly, Gein," said Enishi, who smiled for once. He couldn't face the reanimated corpse of his elder sister eye-to-eye, though. "Now please take that puppet away. I don't want you to soil my sister's memory with it."

Kenshin went pale. He'd been duped by one of Gein's puppets. However, his trickery paid off. He didn't feel like hurting Tomoe's little brother any longer.

"Did you know what I went through to get to this moment, Battousai? As an orphaned boy, I ate human flesh in the battlefield to survive. I was adopted by a rich couple, only for me to kill them because I hated how happy they were. I ended up becoming an arms dealer using their wealth for good measure. I then found out you already died, which sapped me of my will to live. Only to be reborn in this era after I found out you became the Demon Sword's guardian."

Enishi dragged Kenshin's bloody (or ectoplasmic) body all over the forest at the foot of Mt. Kannon, savoring the moment before pulling his sword out and stomping on the Battousai's bleeding wound for good measure.

"I'm not sure whether I should wield your damn sword myself or just destroy you along with that sword. Oh well. It doesn't matter. You could die a thousand deaths and it won't bring back my sister. Even after I died, I couldn't find her anymore. I've lost her forever. All that's left is to make you feel the despair I felt when you stole her away from me."

***

Back at the Okushiri Military Base...

Chaos continued. Fires broke out everywhere.  The wind howled like wolves to the moon. The base crumbled and turned into shambles. It was Hell on Earth.

Hell in Hokkaido.

Komagata's Inner Blood Turmoil created her own version of reiatsu—her youki mixed with the Kenshingumi's reiki, the blood of the soldiers she fed on, and the Chojin's jaki—before releasing that pent-up energy towards Yahiko in the form of the "BLOOD FIRE WAVE!" projectile.

However, thinking fast on her feet, Botan purified the surplus of jaki around them then used it to replenish the reiki she and Myojin lost from being in contact with Yumi.

'Wow. She's doing the thing! The same thing Urameshi did when he got hold of the Meikai's crystal ball thingy,' thought Kuwabara. 'She's purifying jaki into reiki!'

Again, Botan used spirit bandages that doubled as spiritual energy seals, acting more like a priestess than Hinageshi the Shrine Maiden or Houji the Onmyouji.

"Nice one, Tanuki-chan!" said Yahiko. "I mean, thank you, Botan."

Botan smiled at the samurai boy. "You're welcome. Now go get 'em."

'This woman is seriously getting on my nerves,' thought Yumi while eyeing the ferry-girl whose astral body housed two souls instead of just one.

A rejuvenated Myojin then did the sword-breaking "TSUI GAMI!" to neutralize the Blood Fire Wave and the pinhole-sized black holes that Itsuki's sneaky Kazuya personality shot right into his heart and head with the Black Hole Gun.

The samurai kid kept moving forward, practically swimming in the thick of "it", with "it" being the Chojin's ocean of jaki.

Meanwhile, Houji frowned, his arms crossed. 'This goddamn brat! For Chojin's sake, he sure is persistent.'

He thought that the Chojin allowing him more access to his boundless negative energy—enough jaki to, quite frankly, revive the long-dead kingdom of Meikai (Nether World)—was sufficient to neutralize the neutralizer.

However, Houji's jaki output remained relatively low and it even started dwindling.

Like opening your water main at full capacity yet still ending up with less water than you expected when filling up your bathtub. Defying the very will of the Overfiend himself.

'The boy is starting to get better control of his neutralization powers, isn't he?' the Onmyouji thought, tapping his scythe's handle to the ground impatiently.

To Yumi and Itsuki, he only had one command. "Kill him."

Yumi then made it rain blood like the Battousai would back in the Bakumatsu.

A literal rain of blood poured down on them, but each droplet contained razor-sharp scalpels. A bloody rain that cut you apart in order to induce a thicker bloodbath afterwards. It pelted the ground like suppressive fire from a machine gun.

She aptly named the technique, "Bloody Rain."

It was the bloodsucker's way of creating the energy-absorbing Blood Wind without having to sacrifice all the plasma that she had already drained from her other victims.

"I don't know who you are, lady, but you leave that boy alone!" said Kuwabara, who finally had time to intervene.

***

Meanwhile, elsewhere on the island...

Yusuke Urameshi had actually been in a punching match with Toguro Ototo all this time.

Right in the middle of Okushiri Island, in fact. Along the Tsurikake River.

Instead of playing with the percentages of his power, the Younger Toguro instead went all out from the start, displaying 100% of his full strength.

'His B-Level strength,' was Yusuke's unsaid sentiment. He recalled how easily he manhandled the A-Level Rando earlier now that he wasn't faced with any distractions or dirty tactics.

So dealing with Toguro should be a cakewalk now, right?

In kind, Urameshi himself released his first pair of Spirit Cuffs. Just like the good ol' days, they ended up in a slugfest that turned the peaceful river into roiling rapids from the shockwaves of their punches.

"You've struggled in every encounter you've faced with the Chojin's forces so far yet won every time," said the Younger Toguro. "Why is that?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, man," said Yusuke before blasting the gigantic hulking grey behemoth before him with the "SHOT GUN!" technique, bombarding him with the purest of reiki bullets.

The vascular and muscular Toguro pressed on, healing the missing pieces of his flesh instantly like his older brother would.

An impressive feat a power level or two ago. To Yusuke, it had somehow become old hat. Any S-Level worth their salt should be able to regenerate fast enough as long as they had an abundance of spirit or demon energy inside them.

"I took on Rando, Souther (Xinhai), Suzaku, the blind guy (Usui), and the rest of the Chojin's New Ten Swords fair and square. All I'm doing now is killing time and keeping you from ruining Kurama's plans to take your new gang out. Right until your big bad boss, the Chojin, shows up."

Toguro's eyes narrowed behind his shades. 'His reiki is... overflowing. It almost reminds me of the Chojin's own jaki. Immeasurable.'

Yusuke dodged the Shi Dan (Finger Flip Bullets) by reflex even though he had a feeling he could survive direct hits from Toguro's unnaturally strong finger flicks at this point in time.

It was a B-Level against an S-Level (albeit one who was holding his strength back), after all.

The Shi Dan were even more powerful than the strongest human punches, capable of blasting through concrete, but against Urameshi's wealth of spirit energy, he doubted that they'd even penetrate his skin.

Even with his powers sealed, he teetered from being a high A-Level to a low S-Level.  

'Are you hiding your present power level, Toguro? Is your 100% form not your full power?' Urameshi thought.

There was just no way that the likes of Rando, Xinhai, Usui, Saito, or Suzaku would end up stronger than the Toguro Ototo himself.

Then again, while it took Toguro 50 years to reach B-Level, it took only 10 years for Sensui to reach S-Level. Meanwhile, it took less than 3 years for Yusuke to surpass them both and take on a centuries-old S-Level archdemon, Yomi, to the brink of defeat.

To Toguro, Urameshi asked, "What happened to you deciding to stay in Hell for 100 million years to atone for all the crimes you've committed? Were you plucked from Hell by the Chojin and forced to work for him? Answer me, Toguro!"

"...We're not so different, you and I."

"OH, COME ON! Not this tired cliché again!" the teenaged living warhead told off the demonized human strongman in between bone-crushing punches.

He didn't want to hear such things from someone much weaker than him.

***

The veiny (actually nervy) Enishi got talkative all of a sudden, Kenshin realized.

His life story was as unfortunate as the vagabond expected. Maybe even more so. So he even killed a family after he was given a new lease in life? How much of a monster had he become?

This was a lot for Himura to take in. He could barely breathe right now; much less digest Yukishiro's words.

Meanwhile, Enishi snarled in remembrance of the things he'd been through. The people he killed. The opportunities of happiness he turned his back on in favor of a century-old grudge.

The innocents he murdered in order to harden his heart enough to take on a monster like the Battousai. When he died, he resisted the reincarnation cycle for so long, hoping against hope he'd find Himura's soul in the afterlife and drag him to Hell along with him, torturing him for a million years.

However, his chance had finally arrived only a few decades ago. He reentered the reincarnation cycle and avoided becoming an insect or a slug, getting instead the body of a Chinese boy with his memories of the past as a Japanese man intact somehow.

He then trained his body in martial arts, went to prison more than a few times, became a career criminal, and climbed the ranks of organized Chinese crime known as The Triad (what the Shanghai Arms Dealers eventually developed into a hundred years down the line).

In fact, until a few couple of years ago, Enishi occupied the position of Dragon Head that his protégé, Feng Xinhai, currently had. He had a Chinese name himself, but he long ago abandoned that identity in order to completely become Enishi Yukishiro.

He dedicated himself into becoming what he was in his past life and more.

It was because the Chojin himself reawakened his soul's past memories for the purpose of taking down Kenshin Himura.

Under the guidance of the Chojin and his reformed Shin Juppon Gatana, he even learned how to use his spiritual powers on top of reviving the lost martial arts of Wattoujutsu. He studied the Japanese language.

He began slaying demons himself by helping fund technology that linked the Demon World to the Human World with the money he made by being the Triad Dragon Head.

And now, while serving under Tenro the Demon-Slayer's Yakuza Family as one of his enforcers, he finally crossed paths with the man who stole his happiness a hundred years ago.

His revenge, his Jinchu, was literally a hundred years in the making.

"I will kill you now and then the rest of your friends afterwards. I'll break apart the Demon Sword or steal it for myself. Become its new master. From there, in the Spirit World, I will also hunt your ghost and kill you again until all memory of you is erased. Suffer like I did. Suffer for eternity, Battousai!"

Something stirred inside Kenshin when he heard those words. It was one thing for Enishi to swear to kill him. However, what did the rest of his comrades have to do with his revenge? Was he really going to kill the Kenshingumi or even the Reikai Tantei and the Oniwabanshu all in the name of his Jinchu?

Just as Enishi prepared to finish Himura off, a shinigami flew between them like a bolt from the blue.

The woman who sported a black kimono and raven hair zeroed in not on Enishi and Kenshin but instead on the Tomoe puppet of the Puppet Master.

'Ah, I remember her,' thought the Guardian of the Demon Sword. He met that death goddess before while assisting the training of Sanosuke and Yahiko when they first arrived in the Human World.

From his limited interactions with the shinigami, Kenshin surmised that she mainly did research work for Koenma Daio, not unlike the child inspector Sayaka.

'Ayame, was it? She's the shinigami that Kurama assigned to the Southeast Quadrant of Okushiri. Did she follow us all the way here?'

***

Yusuke wanted to end the fight with Toguro using one gigaton punch or one Chou Rei-Gan (Mega Spirit Gun), but he held back. Kept his cool.

He wanted to bet on a "maybe".  As in, "Maybe Toguro is holding back and is about to show me something more amazing than 100% of his power".

Otherwise, Urameshi would've already blasted Toguro back to Hell where he belonged and had a 100 million year sentence to serve. From there, the teenager would've waited for the Chojin or someone to arrive and force him use 100% of his power instead.

Finishing this fight early presented too much of a risk. Like eating an unripe fruit or something. Besides which, if Yusuke went all out, he'd wipe out several mountain ranges and riverbanks off of the map.

But maybe he was risking hundreds of thousands of lives over his own selfish whims.

'Fine. I'll push a little harder, then.'

The ensuing "REI-KOU-DAN! (SPIRIT WAVE BULLET!)" that fissured the surrounding ground and threatened to break the world in half was mostly absorbed by Younger Toguro's beefy body.

Toguro's 100% form before might instead be his 000.1% now. Maybe he'd been training all this time in Hell. Training from Hell.

Or maybe this was all wishful thinking on Urameshi's part now that he had outgrown his boogeyman from his past.

Yusuke put his hip into his last punch, manhandling the "ultimate" form of Toguro that earlier on threw him around like a rag doll the first time they fought.

"You want to rise to your greatest potential, but unfortunately you've already been there and done that and more. You've become too powerful," Toguro said after fixing his twisted neck that had his head staring straight behind him.

"You're not somehow begging for mercy, are you?" asked Yusuke as he hit another bone-crushing uppercut to Toguro's jaw.

"...Nothing challenges you anymore, but you don't want to sever your attachment to this world of weaklings."

Toguro flexed and did a full-powered tackling punch with enough force to move or even obliterate mountains. Alas, this version of Yusuke ate mountains for breakfast ever since achieving S-Level during his fight against Sensui.

This was nothing to him. Drop a building on him, and he'd wonder if it was raining.

He hated to think in such a way, but to him fighting Toguro now was akin to fighting Kuwabara. It didn't help that the behemoth fought straightforwardly and without trickery, unlike Xinhai and Rando.

"You honestly sound pathetic now, Toguro. What happened to you? Keiko can hit harder than that. Put your hips into it!"

But nothing major really happened to Toguro after dying back in the Ankoku Bujutsukai (Dark Martial Arts Tournament). It was Urameshi who had changed.

Any of the current roster of Roku Youkai (Six Demons) could take him on and turn him into roadkill, to be honest.

Toguro's form doubled or even tripled in size. He was now doing his "100% of 100%" technique that had him stake his very soul's life force in order to unleash his fullest potential.

However, his fullest potential ended up just B-Plus in the end. Not even at A-Level.

'Quit messing around and go 1,000% power or something already, Toguro!' Yusuke inwardly begged. But that never happened. He kept dealing with a Toguro who could barely make him flinch.

"In order to continue to live the lie you call your life, you're someone strong pretending to be weak so you could fit in with the rest of the weaklings."

"Stop yammering! I'm more impressed with your big mouth than any of your punches!"

Yusuke did his signature finger gun pose and focused his ocean of reiki at a single point of his index finger, gathering all that limitless energy into one concentrated shot.

"Great fighters refuse to lose, but you refuse to win just to get back that feeling and exhilaration of conquering something greater than you. So what do you do now that you're in a world where nothing is greater than you?"

"Jeez. Shut up already."

Yusuke sighed. If Toguro really was going to unleash a new superpower on him, he would've done so by now. Meanwhile, he himself hadn't even worked up a sweat.

Was this some sort of long-con, "Sun Tzu's Art of War" deal? Was Toguro hiding his power level like he always had, using only a small percentage of his potential? Or was this indeed his limits after his defeat in the Dark Tournament?

"Maybe you're right. Maybe I have been a little careless in my fights lately. However, in the end, I kept winning anyway. So who cares? It's my curse, I know. REI-GAN!"

***

Back at the foot of Mt. Kannon...

Ayame the Shinigami grabbed hold of the corpse puppet of Gein and cut off its spiritual connection with the mad scientist using her reaper powers.

She then said to Enishi, "There's no way your sister is smiling down on you in heaven! Not while you're doing something as terrible as this, stalking Himura-san for decades! A whole century!"

Enishi scowled at the impudent ferry-girl. How dare she say such things to him.

"What do you know? How can you possibly know the pain I've been through? The pain that my sister and her fiancé suffered from? You're nothing but a stranger! You have nothing to do with me!"

Kenshin tried standing up, but Enishi kicked his chest wound and pinned him down with a foot stomp. "And as for you, stay down! I'm not done with you yet!"

Yukishiro was about to punch Koenma's ferry-girl away when she chanted an incantation that led to the body double of his sister Tomoe to frown at him and cry tears of blood.

"Don't you hear it? Don't you hear the cries of despair of your dearly departed sister Tomoe from a hundred years ago? The last thing she wants to see is you suffering or making everyone suffer along with you!"

Enishi shook and shuddered before he himself screamed in anguish, screaming until his throat became ragged. Clutching his chest at that baleful look that rocked him to his very core.

"Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up, SHUT UP! Enough of your lies, Reikai! I don't believe any of them for a second!

However, he couldn't for the life of him kill even a puppet of his sister. Any young woman who reminded him of his sister, he couldn't bring himself to kill.

He damn well tried to though, his hatred rising. His cognitive dissonance assuring him these were all lies. That his sister had wanted to kill Battousai all along to avenge her fiancé's death.

That the rumor of how Battousai pledged to not kill ever since he killed Enishi's sister was just a rumor.

That Enishi hadn't wasted his multiple chances at a new lease on life for nothing.

He slashed the Tomoe corpse puppet apart with the Sho Ha Tou Sei, his own tears flowing down as he did so. Nauseated by the act, he moved away and puked soon after.

Even though she wasn't the real Tomoe.

'I have to do this. I have to destroy all their lies!'

He had waited for so long and come so far. In the end, it should still matter, right? If it didn't matter then what was the point of all this?

It was all Battousai's fault. He was the one who ruined his life. He was the one who forced him to suffer like this. Everything was perfect until he came along.

Even in the afterlife, Himura haunted him.

"Himura Battousai must die! Suffer! Die a thousand deaths! A million deaths! I won't rest until he has suffered as much as I have and MORE!"

Yukishiro prepared to do his ultimate attack on Kenshin, only for Ayame to get in his way.

This looked mighty familiar.

He hesitated for a whole second in cleaving the shinigami in half. Here was another woman the same age as his sister. Everywhere he looked, such maidens like her kept reminding him of what he had lost.

A second was an eternity in a fight, though.

Kenshin rose up and blocked Enishi's ensuing sword strike even though, unbeknownst to him, his brother-in-law intended to miss Ayame by a mile anyway.

Himura's heart swelled at doing so. Here and now, the vagabond was able to do the sword block that he failed to do against Shishio.

Had he done the same block against his hitokiri successor, would he have survived their mutually assured destruction? Had he not given up back then and decided to fight on, would he have been able to come back to Tokyo with the rest of the Kenshingumi? With Miss Kaoru?

Kenshin really wished he had fought on instead of giving up and dying along with Shishio. That he did.

"...I will fight to the end to protect those I hold dear! That is my truth!"

Himura's resolve in defeating Enishi finally hardened after wavering for so long, his cross-shaped scar seemingly glowing with a red bioluminescent light.

The crouching tiger faced off against the unhidden dragon one more time.

"KOFUKU ZETTOUSEI! (CROUCHING TIGER SEVERING SWORD RUSH!)"

"AMAKAKERU RYU NO HIRAMEKI! (HEAVENS GLIDING DRAGON FLASH!)"

Last time, the tiger was able to cut deep wounds into the flying serpent even though it was driven deep underground by sharp dragon claws.

Would the tiger finish what it had started? Or would the dragon have something hidden behind its upward flight into the heavens?

***

Kazuma attempted to create a portal to serve as a shield over Yahiko, only for Itsuki to seal that portal with Kazuya's Black Hole Gun, the twin rips in space-time canceling each other out.

However, Kuwabara expected the maneuver and teleported right in front of Itsuki in order to slash apart the firearm at pointblank range with the Jigen Tou.

"Motherfucker...!" shouted the foul-mouthed Kazuya possessing Itsuki's body, grasping his damaged handgun.

Itsuki then awoke Sensui's George personality in order to gain access to a hyperdimensional gun vault filled with Tommy guns, pistols, Desert Eagles, mini guns, shotguns, AK-47 rifles, machine guns, grenade launchers, and bazookas.

He had actually restocked his gun collection by stealing many of the armaments and ammunition available in the very military base they were invading right then and there. Knowing full well that ordinary guns were more useful against living, flesh-and-blood beings like Kuwabara versus the solidified souls of shinigami and ghosts from the past.

In retrospect, this made Houji's efforts to shoot Yahiko, a ghost, with a gun moot. However, Itsuki at least had a backup plan.

"I'll kill you all!" said Hitoshi. "I will purify the Human World by getting rid of all the humans!" His shtick was that he wished for human extinction.

However, before he could use one magazine or clip from his guns, he got pummeled to submission by a revived Sanosuke Sagara.

Botan had healed up the wounds of Sano's ghost yet again with purified jaki turned into reiki. He then got the jump on the green-haired youkai through brute strength instead of fancy teleportation techniques.

'Her again?' thought Houji, noticing how Battousai's woman served the same function as he did with the rest of the Shin Ju. 'That Reikai shinigami is making this mission of ours needlessly difficult.'

Furthermore, every attempt Itsuki made to get away from Sagara was blocked by Kuwabara, who himself punched the demon back into portals of his own that redirected him towards Sano's waiting fists and "FUTAE NO KIWAMI!"

"All right, enough of this!" declared Yumi, who shifted from targeting Yahiko to focusing her Spirit Guillotines and Blood Fire Waves at the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu kendoist turned shinigami Botan/Kaoru Kamiya.

Kaoru assisted Botan in deploying evasive maneuvers against the succubus, with her using the reiki-imbued boat paddle to bat and parry away the projectiles headed towards her before flying away from the bloodsucker.

She then ended up blocking the scythe of the unskilled but jaki-empowered Houji, which kept her from taking flight and escaping. "Keep still like a good girl."

Finally, a black hole appeared where her chest used to be. It was actually a dimensional rift that sucked the ferry-girl's ghostly flesh and ectoplasm away.

Gatekeeper Itsuki then closed the portal that mortally wounded Botan/Kaoru with a wave of his hand.

The ferry-girl's jaw opened, clenched, and froze at a silent scream, her red eyes rolling upwards until only her eye whites were visible.

"KAORUUU! BOTAAAAAN! NOOOO!" said Yahiko with an anguished, bloodcurdling shriek of his own.

Itsuki's mouth curved upwards in curiosity. 'What will you do now, Samurai-san? Is this enough to break you into pieces like what happened to my dearest Shinobu (Sensui) when he saw the Black Chapter Tapes?'

***

Back at the foot of Mt. Kannon...

As Enishi Yukishiro's heart wavered, Kenshin Himura's resolve hardened. Tempered by his will to protect those around him.

The Kofuku Zetsu Tou Sei should've countered the Heavens Gliding Dragon Flash by avoiding the first slash completely and countering the second slash with a well-time riposte, unfazed or even aided by the void created by the first slash.

The Zettousei was seemingly designed to break apart or deconstruct the Hirameki, as demonstrated earlier by Kenshin barely surviving it the first time it was used.

It should've halved the effectiveness of the second slash, but by Kenshin drawing the sword low and removing the ground-based leverage of his crouch, Enishi stood no chance.

Kenshin's much faster and stronger Heavens Gliding Dragon Flash hit low to weaken Enishi's strong crouch then hit high with the multiplied centrifugal force of the follow-up second strike of his ougi, the Crouching Tiger Severing Sword Rush buckling under pressure.

Enishi's counter was ultimately overpowered by the much stronger and better applied succession technique.

However, like before, even after his counter was countered by a more experienced, worldlier version of Battousai guarding a powerful demonic sword, he still kept standing.

Sure, Yukishiro shook like a leaf and heaved belabored breaths because his double-edged, hypertrophied Nerves of Insanity multiplied his pain to the point where an ordinary man would've blacked out in a dead faint.

But he wouldn't go down. He refused to go down. He'd rather die than go down.

Whether he was thrown into magma inside a mountain or cut down to oblivion with the Legendary Youtou Shinnoken (Demon Sword: The True Blade), his willpower continued to defy fate and destiny itself.

He braced himself for Battousai to deliver the finishing blow, relying on his twitch reflexes and his thick pulsating nerves that were practically on fire at this point to launch another counter.

Instead, Kenshin told him, "You didn't really mean to raise your sword at Miss Ayame, did you? Cutting down the fake Tomoe puppet to you was like ripping your heart out."

He spat, "What of it, Battousai?! That's just a puppet I tore apart, not my real sister! My sister that you killed!"

"It doesn't matter if the puppet was fake or not. Ripping her apart hurt you at your core. The pain you felt is real."

"DAMN YOU TO HELL! Push me any further, and I'll do the same to the shinigami!"

Himura replied, "Even though you've murdered others because you couldn't stand how happy they were, you hesitated in killing Ayame-dono. She reminded you too much of Tomoe to go through with it, didn't she?"

"DON'T YOU DARE SAY HER NAME, BASTARD! Her murderer has no right to do so!"

"...In the end, what stopped you was your sister. So I ask you the same question you asked me. Is your sister smiling down on you from heaven?"

Delirious, he started having visions.

Visions of his sister taking care of him when he was sick with the flu, sleeping at his bedside. Cooking for him. Taking care of him. Serving as the only family and mother figure that he ever knew.

His revenge against Kenshin was all he had left. All that mattered. His only reason for being, since Battousai robbed him of the original reason for his being. Without this one goal, he'd be nothing.

He could do anything as long as his sister was smiling back at him.

He closed his eyes. All he could see—the face he claimed was a lie made by the Spirit World—was his sister frowning at him with sad eyes full of pity.

The things he'd ignored earlier that bothered him also started making sense.

Why his sister threw herself in between Battousai and the leader of the Yaminobu.

Why his sister stayed with Battousai for so long and even became his wife (being a deep cover agent wasn't enough to explain that away).

Why Battousai vowed never to kill after "easily" killing so many people for such a long time.

'He did that because he felt guilty after killing my sister! And everyone around him! He's a criminal who's celebrated as a hero because he killed during a war when it's 'legal' to do so!'

He opened his eyes. The image of his unhappy, melancholic sister coalesced into Shinigami Ayame's face while bearing the same grim expression with her mouth.

He fell to his knees and broke down bawling. A broken man.

It wasn't the strike from a mystical demonic blade or the most powerful technique of a ghostly guardian from the Bakumatsu that brought him down to his knees.

No. It was him realizing his sister's disapproval of his Jinchu that unraveled his single-minded determination to kill Kenshin and/or make him suffer for an eternity and a day.

Only sheer willpower kept Enishi standing. So when Kenshin broke even that, he had nothing left.

His will to fight went away. All that was left was anguish, despair, and hopelessness.

"Neesan... Neesan...! (Big sis... Big sis...!)"

What was he supposed to do now?

***

To Be Continued...

The main event is about to start, and it's a doozy. Tenro will finally make his appearance to complete the Okushiri Arc!

Ciao, Abdiel

#kenshin himura #yukishiro enishi #jinchu #hiei #yusuke urameshi #usui uonuma #toguro ototo #toguro #jaganshi hiei #yuyu hakusho #幽☆遊☆白書 #rurouni kenshin #るろうに剣心 #demon sword #youtou shinnoken #妖刀真の剣

[gabriel-gabdiel]

Youtou Shinnoken: Demon Sword Chapter 58: Living Sin (Part 10)

The B-Class Toguro fights the S-Class Yusuke Urameshi before unleashing a power beyond the one he had before he died.

Tenro, the reincarnation of Makoto Shishio, finally makes an appearance and wreaks havoc against all the Reikai Senshi before facing off against the man who killed him originally: Kenshin Himura.

The original source of this idea comes from Chad Yang. I continued his story idea found here.

The rest of the chapters of my Yuyu Hakusho and Rurouni Kenshin crossover fan fiction are available here and here. Enjoy.

First | Previous | Next (Youtou Shinnoken) | Next (Demon Sword)

About a hundred years or so ago...

In 1878, after fighting Kenshin "Battousai" Himura to a draw, Makoto Shishio died in a literal blaze of glory (through his own spontaneous combustion when his overheating body broke its limits) and went to Hell.

When he got there, he ended up right before the imposing, gigantic figure of Enma Daio, who asked him, "What are you doing here, mortal? Go back to the Gates of Judgment in order to be judged."

Shishio then replied, "Get out of my throne. I'm the new King of Hell."

***

Youtou Shinnoken: Demon Sword

A Rurouni Kenshin/Yuyu Hakusho Crossover Fan Fiction Story by Chester Castañeda

Original Concept by Chad Yang

Tenro has finally arrived in Okushiri. How will the Reikai Senshi answer his challenge, especially after learning the truth about him?

Disclaimer: Yuyu Hakusho is the rightful property of Yoshihiro Togashi, Shueisha, Fuji TV, and Studio Pierrot. Rurouni Kenshin is the rightful property of Nobuhiro Watsuki, Shueisha, Shonen Jump, Viz, Sony Studios, Fuji TV, Studio Gallop, Studio Deen, and ADV. This disclaimer also covers all the other copyrighted materials that are far too many to mention here. Don't sue me please, I'm very poor.

***

Chapter 58: Living Sin (Part 10)

***

Back at the Okushiri Military Base...

A shouting, crying Yahiko kneeled in front of Botan's unmoving body, seeing the huge hole in Botan's person.

A hole in the shinigami who somehow was also his kendo master from a former life, Kaoru Kamiya  (he didn't quite understand it).

Had he failed again? Like before, when Enishi Yukishiro...?

No. He would not let Kaoru down again. Not after what the Kenshingumi had been through right after Kenshin Himura died and...!

"Bloody Rain," said Yumi Komagata, who again made it rain blood mixed with what seemed like scalpels.

Right above the dark clouds filled with the scarlet squall were Houji Sadojima's shikigami (familiars) that looked like grim reapers in and of themselves due to their ragged clothes, faceless voids covered by hoods for heads, and long scythes.

And beyond them was Gatekeeper Itsuki, who had a mini-gun at the ready in order to test the limits of a solidified ghost body before it became incorporeal once more. Knowing that gunpowder had no spirit energy for Yahiko to neutralize.

"DOU GAMI! (GOD ON EARTH!)" Yahiko's earth-shattering technique blasted away the razor-sharp precipitation and Itsuki's suppressive fire into oblivion, allowing him to dissipate the slicing rain bullets around him and the soul-crushing pressure of the borrowed aura of the Onmyouji (Occult Priest).

"Insolent welp...!" Houji said the thing.

"TEN GAMI! (GOD IN HEAVEN!)" Myojin shouted as he did a much more powerful version of the God on Earth that shot him up high into the heavens. Even the nimbus clouds parted from the strength of his slash.

This rocked and shook the military base like an earthquake while the Tokyo Samurai Descendant himself approached the Onmyouji like the resulting tsunami of such an earthquake.

"INGA GAMI! (KARMIC GOD!)"

It was this technique that suddenly turned the poisonous miasma of the Overfiend into something else. Something filled with positive energy and life-giving, nourishing soul power.

Sanosuke Sagara then noticed how the crimson, purple, and black miasma of jaki surrounding them changed in color, texture, and volume. Flickering back and forth from a cool blue wave to a scarlet mess.

He then checked on Botan, only to gasp in surprise despite being a ghost that didn't need to breathe or have sudden oxygen intakes.

The hole in her chest caused by one of Itsuki's black holes had begun healing. The jaki surrounding them, as Sano suspected, was slowly being purified into reiki, which in turn the ferry-girl used to heal herself.

Not only herself, actually. She shared the wealth by beaming the spirit energy she absorbed unto Kazuma Kuwabara and Sanosuke too. Replenishing their depleted spiritual power and increasing their health at the same time.

A full restore for all her allies, if you would.

'What's going on here? Is this Yahiko's doing? Or hers?'

It was actually both.

Yahiko neutralized the overpowering potency of the Chojin's jaki just short of making it altogether disappear. Botan then purified the weakened negative energy into reiki she used to heal herself and the others while also powering them up, as though she filled the role of the Onmyouji for the Reikai Senshi (Spirit World Warriors).

Meanwhile, Kuwabara and Botan exchanged knowing glances.

They'd gone through this incident before. To be more specific, they witnessed Yusuke do the same thing Yahiko (and Kaoru) attempted to do firsthand.

It was when Urameshi got a hold of the Meikai Crystal and attempted to use it against the last Meikai God standing, Yakumo. The negative energy almost consumed him before his sheer willpower (and at the time hidden demonic lineage) turned the jaki into reiki instead.

Yahiko had decided it was easier to weaken the Chojin's overwhelming negative energy so that Kaoru could turn it into positive (spirit) energy instead of attempting to neutralize or seal it all at once.

The tag team of Yahiko and Kaoru allowed them to replicate what Yusuke himself did alone.

Break it down to its core components first, bit by bit.

The samurai boy then said, "BANZEN GAMI. (PERFECT GOD.)"

***

"Great fighters refuse to lose, but you refuse to win just to get back that feeling and exhilaration of conquering something greater than you. So what do you do now that you're in a world where nothing is greater than you?"

Those were Younger Toguro's words even as Yusuke Urameshi effortlessly tanked through and walked down his offense while blasting him to nigh-oblivion with the Renshya Rei-Gan (Rapid-Fire Spirit Gun).

'What the hell was that supposed to mean?!' Yusuke thought.

Was Toguro Ototo right? Had Urameshi become too powerful? Was he holding back his power level in order to drag out fights he would've easily won otherwise, thus endangering the lives of those he protected?

Ha. As if.

Those words truly did sound deep. They'd sound even deeper and more meaningful if said by a guy who wasn't getting his ass kicked care of him.

If that were true, he would've already hunted down and killed the Chojin himself. He wasn't even the most powerful being in Makai (Demon World), let alone all three worlds. He was a level below the likes of Mukuro and Yomi as well as his deceased ancestor/father figure Raizen.

Not to mention Raizen's old comrades having power levels so high they could band together and conquer both the Human and Spirit Worlds if they so chose.

No, instead of it being a case of Yusuke growing too ridiculously powerful, it was instead a matter of Toguro remaining stagnant and weak by comparison.

The martial artist who belonged to the "baby boomer" generation might've been powerful for a demon not trapped in Makai and blocked off by the Spirit World Barrier. However, he was a pissant compared to the likes of the monsters Urameshi eventually faced in the Demon World Unification Tournament.

On top of all that, Yusuke didn't want to hear that nonsense from the King of Holding Back. The Emperor of Power Percentages.

"Rando's Kugai (World of Suffering) is a low-level technique used by monks to empathically feel the pain and suffering of those around them. The fact that you're still suffering from its effects isn't because of its curse but because of how you reacted to it."

Yusuke frowned. Indeed, for quite sometime since his fight with Rando, every punch he threw at his opponents he also felt. For once, he found out what it was like to get punched by himself.

However, it also served as his training. The more he felt his own punches, the more resistant he became of his own power, thus raising his threshold of pain and his ability to take a punch. He could dish it out and take it.

He wasn't sure he could say the same about Toguro.

His ripcord muscles strained to their utmost, the Younger Toguro ended up having his muscle fibers ripped apart, cracked, and shattered like pottery. The anabolic state he used to grow his muscles to absurd sizes ended up completely wasted because he couldn't handle A-Level to S-Level bursts of power.

Yusuke nevertheless conceded one point to Toguro: The teenager did miss staking his life and limb to defeat an enemy, using all his strength to defend his friends and family.

He hadn't really done so lately. Not really. The last time he had a satisfying match was against Yomi.

Ever since then, his enemies mainly resorted to trickery reminiscent of Kido Asato freezing him with his shadow powers or Hiei kidnapping Keiko Yukimura to defeat him.

All of the Chojin's Shin Ju ended up as weaklings compared to Urameshi. Each and every one of them. To go against them with his full powers would be a waste of effort.

Like lighting a candle with a flamethrower or cutting grass with a chainsaw. Complete overkill.

Then again, wasn't this also the reason why Toguro, even though he was only B-Level, tended to hide his power level or only use a percentage of his power?

Huh. They were more alike than he thought.

***

Botan smiled in spite of herself. Or rather, her lips curved upward on their own and then said things not of her own volition due to her astral body's second inhabitant: Kaoru Kamiya.

"There it is. The Perfect God. That's Yahiko's answer to mastering the Mujinken."

A hundred years or so ago, Kaoru originally taught Yahiko the Tenchijinken (forethought-based techniques involving the prediction of an opponent's moves) and taught Yutaro Tsukayama the Mujinken (reflex-based techniques that reacted to whatever the opponent did in the heat of the moment) to fill in their respective weaknesses.

The two were actually more suited for each other's techniques, since Yahiko fought more off-the-cuff while Yutaro fought more methodically.

She intentionally sealed away the techniques that played to the two's strengths so that they could overcome their weaknesses with the opposite techniques, believing that someday they'd figure out how to do each other's ultimate attacks down the line anyway.

While the Inga Gami showed Yahiko's version of methodical fighting (with him focusing on every counterstrike to unleash the best counters without any wasted movement or energy), it was the instinctual Banzen Gami that showed his fullest potential.

Yahiko was more of a natural with the Perfect God than the Karmic God. It was the opposite for the more thoughtful Yutaro (who now went by the name and identity of Natsuki Shinkai/Xinhai).

"INSECT!" sneered Houji, his wide eyes glowing red, his voice booming like thunder as he produced what seemed like an endless stream of shikigami. Only for Myojin to seemingly cut and disintegrate them with a couple of reflexive waves of his sakabatou.

He wasn't even looking at the reapers as every reflexive slice of his blunt sword blew them apart and sent them to oblivion, his gaze aimed solely at Sadojima

The miasma of black jaki turned into white and blue shining reiki as Myojin neutralized it and Kaoru converted it into pure reiki. Once he reached Houji, their respective weapons clashed, the entire area split between the morning light colors from behind Yahiko and the pitch-black darkness from behind Sadojima.

It was like the clash of day and night, with the point of impact serving as their dusk or dawn. Twilight or daybreak.

To Houji's alarm, his scythe then started to crack and break. 'What the HELL is with this stupid brat!? I thought our only real threats are the Youkiri Battousai and Urameshi Yusuke! Chojin-sama, HELP!'

***

Instead of going down from the barrage of Rei-Gan shots, Toguro merely said, "Stop wasting energy," as though Yusuke left the light or electric fan turned on or something.

To Yusuke's surprise (or perhaps disappointment), the B-Class Toguro reacted to the Spirit Gun bombardment the exact same way as he did during the Ankoku Bujutsukai (Dark Martial Arts Tournament): By attempting to charge at the growing spirit energy bullets to stop them with his bare hands and feet as well as his purely anabolic, hugely muscular body.

And just like that, it was over. With Toguro face down on the ground, his body shattered and torn from its exploded musculature. A tall, lean husk of its former self.

Another one bit the dust. Like the rest of Yusuke's revived enemies that came back stronger because of the Chojin but not quite strong enough to take him on.

To Yusuke's mild surprise, Toguro was still "alive".  Or this revived zombie version of himself made by the Chojin's own personal Dr. Frankenstein was still moving.

The muscleman mercenary then said, "I'm merely at B-Level and I was able to push you this far? Your fighting senses have dulled, Urameshi Yusuke."

"Oh really? Well, I've discovered that at this point, no one could beat me but myself. You're welcome to prove me wrong, though," said Yusuke.

Again, Urameshi pulled something right out of Toguro's playbook. They both looked down on people who weren't on their level.

Toguro looked up at the night sky, which rekindled his memories. The Shichousei (Death Omen Star, also known as the Lifespan Star, Jumyoboshi, Alcor, or 80 Ursae Majoris) wasn't present near the Big Dipper.

"I can't see the Shichousei in the heavens."

"W-What are you talking about, Toguro? Have you gone cuckoo?"

Legend had it that when two warriors fought to the death under the Star of Death and it shone upon one of them, that person would die.

Was the star missing because he was already dead? Or because this wasn't much of a death match?

Fine. He'd turn this match into a death match then.

On the other hand, other Japanese myths and legends alleged that when a person couldn't see the Lifespan Star, he'd pass away within a year. That was appropriate since Toguro himself was not alive anymore.

Thusly, every broken bone from his body reset and healed, but instead of going back to normal, they formed sharp calcified bone spurs that protruded right out of his craggy, callused body like horns or thorns.

"...I knew it! You still had another form after 100%, you son of a bitch! CHOU REI-GAN! (MEGA SPIRIT GUN!)"

As Toguro got a power boost from the way his body decided to recover from his injuries, he punched back the Chou Rei-Gan Yusuke fired at his changing form before punching the teenager as well with his bone spur claws on his fist right at the moment of impact, quadrupling its effect.

He just jumped from Class-B to Class-A in a mere second.

"Ooof!" The world-stopping punch emptied the air from Yusuke's lungs.

"My former 100% has actually become less than a percentage point of my power, but for the sake of giving you a point of reference, I'll base my power increases on what was 100% of my power."

He grew about as big as his 100% of 100% form, perhaps even a little bigger, but this time around the demonized behemoth's black hair turned as grey as steel along with the rest of his vascular body that was covered with huge bony protrusions.

"So you can call this form of mine as me at 500% of my power."

"Whatever! HYAKU RETSU-KEN! (HUNDRED RENDING FISTS!)"

Appropriately enough, the attack Yusuke then used in response to Toguro's transformation was one he saw on television from his favorite anime show as a child of the 1980s, "Hokuto no Ken (Fist of the North Star)".

The Shichousei or Death Omen Star was, after all, also referenced by the same program.

Honestly, it was just Urameshi going ham on an opponent by randomly striking his heavy-handed punches at every opening available to him, with him naming the "technique" after the fact.

***

The devastation of the Okushiri Military base extended outward, with the pairs of Kazuma and Yumi as well as Sanosuke and Itsuki traveling eastward in a trail of devastation that followed Yahiko's own blaze of glory.

The green comet that was the Tokyo Samurai Descendant clashed and burned through the spherical cloud of miasma protecting Sadojima, like a shooting star entering the atmosphere.

The two pairs of enemies fought tooth and nail for proper positioning. The Reikai Senshi pushed the Chojin's forces back to protect Myojin from their interference.

Sanosuke punched through everything Itsuki threw at him from his hyperdimensional portals and busted portal gun. Sano also dodged the dense scattershot black holes and threw pavement debris at the Gatekeeper for good measure.  

Meanwhile, Kazuma fought from afar using his blade that can literally cut through anything and anywhere in order to slash apart every attempt of the wind vampire Yumi to blast tornadoes and energy-absorbing jaki at him.

Finally, Myojin himself struck the Chojin's (and at this point, it was the Chojin controlling the Onmyouji) scythe hard, the blade covered in miasma and dark energy.

The tides of battle then turned.

Using the jaki Kaoru purified into reiki, Yahiko's green aura became denser and denser, creating a white shining void at the center of his body that sucked the darkness of the Chojin away. Acting like a reverse black hole or even white hole that absorbed all of the Overfiend's darkness into his pure light.

'This is it, Botan,' thought Kaoru "telepathically". 'This is the power of Mu (Void). The power of emptiness.'

'Emptiness...?' repeated the ferry-girl.

'Yes. A true martial artist is able to fight with instinct, freeing his mind of all thought and distractions, leading to a Zen State. Yahiko manifested this Zen State into his unique skill: Neutralizing spiritual energy.'

A second later, all energy from everyone dissipated, and from there Houji's scythe shattered like glass as both he and Yahiko plummeted into the docks of the Okushiri Pier.  

The samurai spirit fell into Ryu Tsui Sen (Dragon Hammer Flash) stance and slammed Sadojima into one of the metal crates of the pier below them with an emphatic crash.  

"You stupid kid! I'll show you! ETERNAL...! Wait, what?! My powers are gone!"

Yumi Komagata attempted to do the Hi-Ougi (Hidden Art) of Vampire Martial Arts—a move stronger than the energy-sapping Blood Wind—but nothing of the sort manifested before her. Her aura, the energy she gathered from sucking many a soldier's blood, had disappeared.

The same happened to Itsuki, who couldn't summon his Reverse-Man or escape into his pocket dimension any longer.

Yahiko's reiki had also went out, which normally was dangerous for a ghost but he somehow reached homeostasis with the way he cancelled out the Chojin's jaki.

His dense green aura had now completely neutralized the powers of everyone near him instead of merely mitigating their flow, including the now unconscious Onmyouji.

Like how no light could escape the event horizon of a black hole, not one shadow of the Chojin's dark energy could exist amidst the blinding green light of Yahiko's converging spiritual aura.

However, as a consequence, even Yahiko's allies lost their powers as well, as though he was acting as the reverse version of the Onmyouji. Instead of boosting the powers of those in his vicinity, he nullified them.

Regardless, Sanosuke and Kuwabara immediately took advantage of the loss of powers from Itsuki and Yumi with their physical strength, with the former beating Itsuki to a pulp and Kuwabara breaking the umbrella and fan of Komagata bareheaded before tackling and pinning her down.

"Give it up, lady. You lost," said Kuwabara. "You can't cheat your way out of this one by resurrecting your goons every time we defeat them. Your precious Onmyouji's down for the count."

Yahiko "heaved" a sigh of relief despite being a solidified ghost who didn't need to breathe. "It's finally over."

Botan giggled in glee. "We did it! You did it! The number one pupil of Kamiya Kasshin! I'm so proud of you, Yahiko!" The last few parts of that statement was Kaoru talking.  

Sano looked at his own bloody fists and winced. 'We've won, but why do I feel like it's not yet over? Like there's still something afoot.'

Even though the blood from his right fist wasn't his own but Itsuki's, it burned and ached something fierce. Like he broke his hand or something. 'What's going on? I have a bad feeling about this.'

Sanosuke's bad feeling then turned into reality.

***

At Class-A, Yusuke Urameshi's Hyaku Retsu-Ken would've turned the B-Plus Toguro into mince meat. Or roadkill.

At Class-S, his Hyaku Retsu-Ken would've turned mountains like Mt. Kannon, Mt. Kamui, and even Mt. Fuji into molehills, plains, or even outright trenches and canyons as deep as the United States of America's Grand Canyon.

Like he was a pint-sized Paul Bunyan.

The teenager harrumphed. "Really? 500%? Like I'm fighting 5 Toguros at the same time? So what? That's still nothing compared to the demons I've faced since defeating you, Toguro...!"

The bone-breaking punches cracked the shell of Toguro's chitinous muscle armor bit by bit. However, in turn, Toguro let his fists fly as well but in a more methodical manner.

Targeting his punches at Yusuke's openings rather than punching randomly. Using his martial arts experience to take down the stronger foe.  

His bony yet muscular fists pounded on Yusuke's smaller body, cracking bones here and there.

Yusuke's fists ached from every punch he did on the rock-solid body of Toguro, the multitude of Spirit Cuffs holding his power back also getting pushed to their limit. The restraining cuffs and seals he placed upon himself were at their near breaking point from him merely flexing his immense power.

Thank goodness the likes of Yomi, Mukuro, Enki, and the rest of Raizen's friends (as well as Raizen himself when he was alive) put him in his place early on regarding what real power looked like, or else he'd be full of himself right about now.

The Toguro with chitinous bone spurs and keratinous horns all over his muscle-bound body ended up breaking each and every one of his thick, calcified bones from the impact of Yusuke's attacks.

Toguro's bones rattled as micro-tears appeared all over his muscles and tendons. Despite this, he pushed forward. Like his older brother, he healed quickly, which alerted Urameshi that he still had something in his sleeve.

"All right. Then how about this? TAKO NAGURI!"

The Octopus Assault—Yusuke's version of the Kuzu Ryu Sen (Nine-Dragon Flash) that hit 8 times instead of 9 times in an instant—hammered the horned gray body of the zombified and demonized Toguro before he could get the chance to stab, gore, or spear Yusuke with his many protruding bone spurs.

Urameshi once heard that it took either 23,034 slaps to cook a chicken. Either that, or a slap traveling at 1,665.65 meters per second.

He wasn't sure about the math, but he cooked Toguro's goose at a rate of 8-16 punches a second with every punch traveling at 1,000-2,000 meters per second, so it would've took about 20 minutes of non-stop Tako Naguri to get to around 20,000 punches or 2,500 super-powered Tako Naguri.

Or he would've cooked/burned 20,000 whole chickens with his speedy punches at around the same time it took to cook a chicken in the oven.

However, it was at the second minute that Urameshi broke his hand. He hit a hard shell reminiscent of Usui's shield.

From the pile of minced meat, torn muscle cords, and viscera emerged yet another Toguro form.

What stood before him wasn't the spurred behemoth Toguro but instead a fully armored Toguro, with every inch of his body covered in craggy white bone.

As though his shattered bones healed wrong and ended up calcifying right on top of his pulsating muscles. He broke the calcified armor in sections by flexing his limbs in order to give his new outer shell moving joints.

It also made him look like a white lobster man, thought Yusuke in chagrin.

"This is 1,000% of my power. 100 times the power of my 100% self."

***

At the Okushiri Pier, around 9:47 PM...

The mangled remains of a man landed right in front of Reikai's finest from out of the shadows of the dark harbor.

The Reikai Senshi (and their accompanying shinigami) then felt goose bumps form at the napes of their necks—even the ghostly ones that didn't even have tangible skin, blood, or hair to make such a sensation possible.

Even Itsuki, whom Sano beat from pillar to post with bare-knuckle fisticuffs, looked none the worse for wear compared to the person before them.

He was bathed in blood and his torn clothes were dyed crimson because of it. He looked like he'd been ravaged by a pack of wolves.

The only thing recognizable about him was that he was male.  Probably.

Sanosuke was the first one to try and poke at the figure to see who it was. If he had a ten-foot pole, he'd prod the man with it. As it was, thanks to Yahiko manifesting his full neutralization powers, Sano couldn't even summon one zanbatou right now.

The street fighter then stumbled back, which made Kazuma ask, "What's wrong? Who is it? Is that one of the Chojin's Shin Ju or whatever?"

Botan gulped, hoping against hope that the man before them was the injured body of one of the New Ten Swords instead of one of the Spirit World Warriors.

Before Sano could answer, someone else answered for him.

"That's what remains of Hajime Saito. The former captain of the Shinsengumi's Third Unit."

"...What? Who said that?" demanded Yahiko.

The Reikai Tantei, the shinigami, and the Kenshingumi then turned in time to see the silhouette of a pony-tailed person from the distance.

There stood a human(?) of about S-Level power with sleeked-back hair, a lengthy ponytail, and a half-undone kimono that showed off his rippling swimmer's muscles on his long build.

As realization dawned on them one by one, their mouths went agape, practically unhinged from their upper jaw.

The blood drained from Kuwabara's face while the three spiritual beings' faces (Botan/Kaoru, Sano, and Yahiko) looked more transparent than usual.

The ghosts all looked like they'd seen a ghost (ironically enough), forgetting they were ghosts themselves. Gasping for air they couldn't breathe anymore.

Even Kuwabara, who was alive, looked like he'd seen a ghost himself or even turned into one.

The man, who himself was a bloody mess with stabs wounds and cuts at every inch of his body, held something in his arms.

It was his trophy. His prize after a hard day's battle.

It was the head of his enemy. It was the head of Hajime Saito.

Botan screamed. Or rather, Kaoru did.

The Kamiya Kasshin Master couldn't believe that Kenshin's greatest rival who was so famous he became a Japanese historical figure later on had been defeated.

On the other hand, Botan—through centuries of being a death goddess—had seen worse things before, so she was desensitized enough to not scream. Her own feeling of dread was around the same level as Kaoru's, though.

The pony-tailed assassin then took one look at the Kenshingumi sans Kenshin, the Reikai Tantei sidekick, and their shinigami babysitter then sighed.

"Oh, no one but weaklings left? Pathetic. Imagine, after such a delicious meal, I'm left with leftovers and expired food."

The new arrival then placed Saito's head beside the rest of his body. Almost reverently. "Rest in peace, Saito Hajime. You were truly a worthy rival. I acknowledge you."

"You killed Officer Fujita! You BASTARD!" screamed Kuwabara, a knife-sized Rei-Ken ablaze with reiki and righteous indignation in his grip.

Kazuma would've produced a full-length Jigen Tou with the rage he felt, but Yahiko's neutralizing presence kept his powers in check.

"Wait. Boke (Fool), he's...!" Sano trailed off, moving in front of Kuwabara to block him from doing anything hasty. 'If anyone's going to do something hasty, it was going to be me!' thought Sagara.

"Who are you?" said Yahiko as he pointed his sakabatou at the stranger.

"I'm Youkiri Tenro (Tenro the Demon-Slayer). Remember that name before I send you back to Heaven."

***

Yusuke quickly checked his Spirit Detector. Toguro was now at A-Level with his Bone Armor form. Around the same power level as the most powerful members of the Reikai Tokubetsu Bouetai (Spirit World Special Forces).

This turn of events definitely piqued his interest. Somewhat. Maybe this time, he'd get the battle he so craved from this new version of Toguro since being defeated by Yomi in the Makai Tournament.

However, the extra layer of bone armor made it harder for Yusuke to break apart Toguro's muscle armor with mere punches, no matter what velocity he reached.

As though Toguro now had double the armor.

Also, in turn, the Class-A Toguro Ototo pummeled and stabbed Yusuke with earth-shattering strikes from his bony fists, horns, and claws as well as shattered pieces of his bone armor that kept calcifying and regrowing over and over. Layer by layer. Like samurai armor or shingles on the roof.

Stubbornly, the bloody and bruised Yusuke kept on punching the armored demon to push him away and give himself breathing room.

The bony yet muscle-bound contradiction of a monster that looked ridiculously gigantic yet unencumbered by his musculature having an extra layer of armor on top of it, turning him into a veritable tank with the speed of a Mack truck. He even hit like a truck.

However, as his wounds healed in Toguro Ani fashion, Urameshi realized that he had long ago surpassed the version of him that could get killed by being hit by a car. Or a truck. Or a tank. Or perhaps even a nuclear warhead. Maybe.

"Rei-Kou-Dan (Spirit Light Wave Bullet)."

One of his Spirit Cuffs broke as he put his hip into his punches and imbued his fists with actual spiritual power. They were already harder than steel because of the spirit energy contained within his body. When he emanated reiki from inside and outside himself, his punches also become explosive.

One reiki-imbued punch was all it took for him to crack the bone armor of Toguro at 1,000%. However, he wasn't done.

Perhaps he might have gone overboard, but he decided to punch Toguro 20,000 times in 3 minutes rather than 20 minutes. But it sure felt like 20 minutes.

Furthermore, these weren't just physical punches. His fists were set on fire with spiritual energy this time around. He shot out 20,000 Rei-Kou-Dan blasts, to be more precise.

Every supersonic punch had the impact of a blockbuster bomb, with it breaking the sound barrier and sending extra shockwaves to Toguro and all. Perhaps he'd become even more explosive than multiple blockbusters.

Perhaps Yusuke had turned into a teenaged nuke or warhead himself.

However, out of the mangled mess of bone armor emerged yet another Toguro. The armor that should've served as his coffin ended up becoming his cocoon for his newest metamorphosis. Which, to Yusuke's surprise, made him breathe a sigh in relief.

Yes! He could still push himself even further!

Was this excited feeling the same one that Toguro felt when, just a few years prior, Yusuke was able to withstand the might of 80% of his power when he killed Genkai in cold blood?

Regardless, a bronze-skinned, taller, and four-armed Toguro emerged from all that mush and burnt flesh he'd become earlier, impossibly towering even higher over Yusuke than before. His current ginormous form made his former seven-foot form look normal-sized in comparison.

His muscles were like taut steel cords now, like those used in heavy-duty tires and conveyer belts. Perhaps even harder. They were definitely harder than the pieces of thick calcified bone armor that they crushed like egg shells with a simple collective body flex.

"This is 100,000% of my power. This is what fighting 1,000 clones of my 100% self looks like."

Yusuke thought for a second what Toguro meant by that, only for him to test the theory out with an additional 20,000 Rei-Kou-Dan blasts in a minute. 20,000 palm blocks later and Urameshi now had a better idea of what his nemesis meant, followed by 20,000 counterpunches in between those blocks.

All in a minute's time.

'100,000% Toguro? He didn't even bother going to 10,000%? Jeez!' Urameshi thought as he got hit with a two-armed lariat that dragged his body across the landscape and river like a trailer home in a tornado.

This was it. This was the A-Plus version of Toguro.

Yusuke couldn't even hide the grin from his face even as this newest form of Toguro beat him to the punch every time.

Toguro at 100,000% had even tighter and tauter musculature with enough strength and torque behind them to break bones to dust. His ripcord muscles could handle punching velocities similar to that of or even faster than Yusuke's.

It also didn't help that Toguro now had a body that could accommodate four arms, thus giving him twice the hand speed and arm speed due to his literal extra limbs.

***

"...SHISHIO!" screamed Sanosuke at Tenro, his blood (ectoplasm) boiling. His right fist, which Makoto Shishio broke, pulsating like a second heart.

Even though Tenro wasn't wearing bandages and his skin wasn't burned to a crisp, Sano could recognize that voice and that demeanor anywhere.

'Shishio?' thought Kuwabara. So Tenro was the man who founded the original Juppon Gatana? Kenshin's greatest rival? The man who ultimately caused Kenshin's demise? The man who might actually be the alter ego of the Chojin himself?

The guy who not only pushed Hiei to his limits, but also possibly two of the Demon World's three kings, Yomi and Mukuro? Was Tenro Shishio's reincarnation or something...?

Before they knew it, they were suddenly faced with the final boss of the game.

The fighting spirit of Sanosuke rose high enough for him to defy the nullifying presence of Yahiko and form half of a zanbatou in his hands, which he swung at the (presumably) non-burned version or reincarnation of the ex-hitokiri and Meiji rebel known as Makoto Shishio.

With one swing of Tenro's Mugen Jin (Unlimited Blade) sword, Sagara's suspicions were confirmed.

"Secret Sword One: HOMURA DAMA!"

Shishio's signature Homura Dama (Burning Soul) technique where his sword burst into flame clashed hard against the 6-foot (normally 12-foot) horse-chopping sword, smelting it in the process like a blacksmith's forge in a shower of sparks.

"A weakling like usual, Sagara Sanosuke," sneered Tenro. "It's been a while, though."

"I don't understand. Wasn't Shishio supposed to look like a mummy or something? He's some guy who was burnt to a crisp and covered in bandages, right?" said Kazuma.

Sano answered, "Yeah, but obviously it's been 100 years. He must've found a way to get a new body, or ended up with a solidified soul, or got reincarnated as this Tenro clown."

Myojin gulped. He considered deactivating his powers to allow either Kuwabara or Sanosuke to attack the youkiri. However, if Tenro was this powerful with his spiritual power nullified, how much more powerful could he get when Yahiko's powers ceased working?

The disheveled Yumi then cackled in the background, the hole in her chest throbbing with a ghostly heart that the man before her had "stolen" from her.

"It's about time you got here, Tenro. What took you so long? Don't tell me the Miburo (Mibu's Wolf) gave you all that you can handle and then some."

Tenro harrumphed. "Perish the thought, Yumi. I merely gave my respects first to the Shinsengumi in the Battle of Hakodate Monument, and guess who I also found there? That's right, our favorite Shinsengumi Captain, Saito Hajime."

'Hakodate?!' thought Yahiko. 'That's four hours away from Okushiri! All the way on the other side of Hokkaido, at that!'

Sanosuke himself snarled at Tenro, his fist burning with pain and fire, as though it remembered how Makoto had shattered it when they'd faced each other back at Mt. Hiei.

'Hakodate is the place that served as the Shinsengumi's last stand. Did Saito go there to pay his respects to his squad? In the middle of our war against the Shin Ju? It's not like him to be so sentimental.'

The street fighter spared a glance at the remains of Hajime Saito. Unbelievable. Just earlier, he pushed several of the Shin Juppon Gatana to their limits, but now he ended up as dead as the rest of the original Shinsengumi.

Well, Saito himself was supposed to already be dead and buried in the first place, but this time around he got killed off for real by Shishio. Or Tenro, which was probably the reincarnation of Shishio.

Kuwabara turned towards Yahiko and said, "Kid, turn off your powers! I'm going to face off with the final boss one-on-one at my full strength!"

"But...!" the ghost kid trailed off before Botan filled in the rest.

"Kuwabara-kun, he can't. He's the only one sealing Tenro's immense power. If he was able to do that to Saito, imagine what he could do to us! Let Yahiko seal his power for now until either Kenshin or Yusuke arrives!" warned the ferry-girl.

"I DON'T CARE!" shouted Kazuma. "Let us face him at his full strength while we're also at full strength! As a real man, I won't back down!"

Tenro smirked. "Fine then. If you're not bluffing then come at me. In this world and beyond it, the same rules of nature apply. Only the strongest survive and the weak are food for the strong."

Sano's eyes narrowed. That convinced him that the man before him really was Shishio. That was totally a Shishio-type line. 'It's now or never. We just have to keep him here until either Kenshin or that delinquent best friend of Boke arrives!'

***

"REI-KOU-DAN!" shouted Urameshi, his Spirit Wave Light Bullets bursting through his fist like bolts of lightning from a Railgun.

The 100,000% Toguro blocked the punch with his elbow, shattering Yusuke's hand bones in the process. "Is this the power of an S-Level? Don't make me laugh. Me at 100,000% of my power is enough for you."

Toguro then grabbed hold of Urameshi's limbs with all four of his arms in a bid to tear the teenager apart literally from limb to limb.

Yusuke considered Toguro's statement for a second and then said, "Fuck that," before flipping the four-armed monster off with his right hand.

The mere idea that someone like Feng Xinhai or The "Beautiful" Suzuki was more powerful than Toguro just didn't sit well with Urameshi. At all.

At any rate, the middle finger he raised at the 100,000% Toguro then flowed with energy he'd been saving for a special occasion.

Yusuke discovered that he could actually save and store his dormant spirit energy as a reserve or extra Spirit Gun blast for use in case of emergencies since it usually took forever and a day to charge his Rei-Gan.

The energy for this one he'd been gathering for weeks' on end.

Also, in order for him to not mistakenly fire off his reserve Rei-Gan, he had this special energy bullet stored in his middle finger. This was how the new technique that he improvised when facing off against the S-Level Xinhai ultimately evolved.

This was his "Fuck You!" Spirit Gun. Also known as the "FAKKU GAN! (FUCK GUN!)"

The 100,000% Toguro chucked Yusuke away like a hot potato in order to better dodge the point-blank spiritual projectile then punted the Fuck Gun back to the teenager who fired it.

However, by instinct borne from his hundreds of fights against spiritually powerful humans and demons, Yusuke jumped away from the Fakku Gan, grabbed Toguro by the ankle, dragged him towards the ball of plasma fire he actually outran, and then threw the monster back into its path.

From there, as the 100,000% Toguro braced himself for impact, Urameshi emerged from behind him. Attacking him from the rear for good measure.

Toguro was now stuck between a rock and a hard place. Or between a demon and his energy blast.

"REI-KOU-DAN! SHOT GUN!" screamed the half-demon prince.

While the Fakku Gan blasted and disintegrated the giant from the front, Yusuke attacked with his Spirit Light Wave Bullets and reiki scattershot from behind, which kept even the four-armed monstrosity from defending himself from the upcoming onslaught surrounding him.

The charged-up blasts of energy in particle and wave forms bore on Toguro like plasma tides or a solar wind. An endless series of reiki tidal waves from the vast ocean of Urameshi's power.

Thanks to the extra pressure brought about by his stored energy blast from many weeks ago, Yusuke's Rei-Kou-Dan was able to penetrate deep into Toguro's core. The technique ripped apart the steel cord muscles of Toguro as they got softened by the comet of energy that cooked him alive.  

Then, as Yusuke had hoped deep in his unbeating heart, the mangled Toguro changed form yet again.

The same heart that stopped beating after Shinobu Sensui first pierced it felt like it had started beating again in anticipation. In excitement. In nostalgia, even.

Toguro still had more forms and powers up his sleeve. Just like old times.

And from there, out of the ashes and melted muscle of the 100,000% Toguro came forth the One Million Percent Toguro.

"One Million Percent. This is me at One Million Percent of my power, Urameshi Yusuke."

***

Kuwabara and Sanosuke attacked Tenro at the same time while Yahiko struggled on the spot to focus all his neutralizing powers on the Shishio reincarnation(?) alone.

Botan checked her Spirit Detector again. Hope sprouted anew within her heart. 'Yes! Tenro's power level went down to A-Level. He's still on the cusp of S-Level, but at least he's not as powerful as someone like Sensui or Xinhai! We have a chance!'

Tenro frowned. His aura of jaki had become fainter and weaker due to Myojin's powers.

'Hmmm. The Shin Ju had warned me about this impudent brat. Even Toguro Ani couldn't heal properly thanks to this kid's neutralizing reiki.'

As Yahiko slowly mastered his neutralization powers so that only Tenro was affected by them, the energy levels of Kuwabara and Sanosuke went up higher and higher than before, their auras flaring with spiritual might that was boosted by Botan's healing powers for good measure.

"JIGEN TOU!" screamed Kazuma, summoning his Dimension Sword.

"ZANBATOU!" shouted Sanosuke, producing his 12-foot long Horse-Chopping Sword.

"How appropriate. Isn't this just a reflection of today's society? The weak are using their great numbers to suppress their betters, not realizing that without the strong to lead them or the will to become strong themselves, they will end up extinct. The world stands on the shoulders of giants."

"SHADDAP! I don't know who you are, but all's fair in love and war," declared Kuwabara.

"Not all men are created equal. Like in the Animal Kingdom, some men are simply better than others. Equal opportunity doesn't guarantee equal results. Forcing equal results in an aberration of nature, like forcing animals to act like men, the pinnacle of evolution."

Tenro used a bare hand to grab hold of Kuwabara's Dimension Sword and used his other hand holding the saw-like Mugen Jin to block the full-length zanbatou.

"Ganging up on the strong can lead to the survival of the weak temporarily. However, their own respective weaknesses will sort them out. Their celebration of mediocrity will make them food for other apex predators in the future or have them subjugated by any of their own who decide to become rams instead of sheep."

The Youkiri then broke the Jigen Tou apart like it was made of cardboard instead of pure energy and stabbed Sanosuke's chest with it while also melting the zanbatou with his Mugen Jin's Homura Dama.

"Regardless, it is better to live one day as a lion than one hundred years as a sheep. These are... THE RULES OF NATURE!"

"AUGH!" grunted Sanosuke, his recently recovered soul flickering in and out of existence, his chest spewing ectoplasm, and his aura dissipating into pinpoints of light like a disturbed nest of bioluminescent fireflies.

He felt the light inside him slowly fade all the while.

"Bastard...!" said Kazuma, who repurposed the broken shards of his Jigen Tou and shot it pointblank at Youkiri Tenro's face, turning them into "REI-SHURIKEN!"

He should've hit him with the projectiles from a distance, though. The first few blades bounced off of the intense aura of jaki that covered Tenro's body like armor, which reminded Kuwabara of the aura that Detective Matsudaira developed.

Reiatsu (Spirit pressure).

Tenro's aura was dense enough to become spirit pressure reminiscent of Bui from the Toguro Team. Or Yusuke whenever he unleashed his full power.

So this was the Chojin's secret weapon? If not the Chojin himself altogether?

The demon-slayer then grabbed the teenager's wrist and redirected the shuriken at Sano again, injuring him further. From there, he broke Kuwabara's hand altogether then grabbed him by the collar, declaring, "Secret Sword Two: GUREN KAINA! (CRIMSON LOTUS ARM!)"

Using his Mugen Jin to ignite the gunpowder-laced glove, the youkiri blasted Kuwabara with the force of a bomb.

The gunpowder-inside-the-glove trick that Shishio used on Kenshin was also used against Kazuma, with the explosion violently blowing him away. A hundred years ago, Makoto's hand was kept safe from the blast using a special metal gauntlet underneath the glove full of gunpowder that resisted the impact.

Tenro somehow ended up doing an even stronger version of the Guren Kaina that was imbued with the chaotic negative energy of the Chojin, which made the explosion strong enough to injure a human with the A-Class power level of Kuwabara.

Yahiko's power-suppressing aura didn't help in this case.

Tenro then shot the samurai ghost teen a look that chilled him to his "bones" or "spine". The youkiri then declared, "You will not drag me down to your level. Know your place, child."

However, while Tenro was distracted, the flickering spirit of Sanosuke stabbed the youkiri with hot molten metal of what was left of his sword in a spectacular display of sparks.

This was Sano's one chance of making a dent, so he had to make it count. However, as he attempted to punch Tenro's heart out, his hand ended up crushed with the youkiri's elbow block.

With a harrumph, Tenro proceeded to punch Sanosuke on the forehead, just like when Sano fought Shishio. "You never learn."

"I don't understand," murmured the Kaoru inside Botan's body. "Isn't Yahiko's aura supposed to suppress Tenro's powers too? Why is he still so strong!?"

She then noticed the unconscious Itsuki open his eyes and wake up, which led her to keep her guard up.

The black-and-blue Itsuki chuckled, tracing his finger over the scar Kuwabara had made on his face back when the Reikai Tantei faced off against Shinobu Sensui. "Y-You don't understand. This is him with his power held back."

"W-What do you mean? That's impossible!" Botan checked her Spirit Detector. "Oh no. His power is fluctuating between A-Level and S-Level when earlier it was just A-Level. That can't be! How powerful is he?"

Sneering, Itsuki said, "Who knows? Rumor has it he's about as powerful as one of the Former Three Kings—Mukuro, Yomi, and even the Late Raizen. He might even reach the mythical X-Level like Kurama did when he took hold of the Demon Sword."

Botan's face went pale blue as though unseen hands suddenly grabbed hold of her thin neck. "X-Level?!"

She remembered the event like it was yesterday.

The Spirit World went on high alert when Kurama went Class-X after wielding the Youtou Shinnoken (Demon Sword). They even called the entire Reikai Bouetai in. Not that it would've done them any good, since the Special Forces were composed of Class-A agents and Class-X was a level beyond Class-S.

She couldn't even fathom how strong an X-Level was since Kurama immediately rejected the Demon Sword, which transformed him back into his "human" self.

However, stronger than Yomi, Mukuro, or Raizen gave her a ballpark estimate of what they were dealing with. Someone as strong as or stronger than a Raizen-possessed Yusuke who ragdolled the mountain-destroying Sensui with ease.

All the same, Tenro stood victorious over the beaten figures of Sanosuke and Kuwabara.

"Will you become rams or sheep? Lions or feral street cats? Wolves or mongrel dogs? Can you evolve and turn into apex predators yourselves? It's natural selection. Kill or be killed. Make your choice."

***

The peaceful Tsurikake River had now become a war zone. A swamp in one part and a desert in another.

It was Baghdad. It was bedlam.

The 1,000,000% Toguro was there at the epicenter of the devastation. A nuke all his own. An unnatural force of nature.

An over-muscled demonized human even taller than his 100,000% version. A walking contradiction of chaos and order.

He had no skin now. He was all pure, red muscle and tendons pulsating and wriggling in every which way.

He also had six arms instead of two or four, with him towering even higher than before because he had to elongate his torso to cartoonish levels just to accommodate his extra pair of limbs.

Curious at how strong this Toguro was, Yusuke flipped the bird on Toguro with his other hand.

Yes, he had also stored another Fuck Gun on his other hand, with about the same amount of potential spiritual energy gathered for multiple weeks since he fired his first Fakku Gan at Feng Xinhai.

"FAKKU GAN!"

Again, Urameshi blasted all of his pent-up "Fuck You!" energy at Toguro by flipping him off, shooting the bolt of concentrated lightning that came out with the force of a shooting star.

Again, he outran the modified reserve Rei-Gan and came up from behind the six-armed insectoid Toguro with the intent of making sure he got hit by it.

He then attacked Toguro with both hands using the Rei-Gan and Shot Gun.

"DOUBLE-BARRELED SHOT GUN! DOUBLE BERRETTA REI-GAN!"

Those extra pair of hands on an even bigger and sturdier body made all the difference.

Two of six arms grabbed and held back the charged-for-weeks Rei-Gan. Another two of the arms parried and blocked all of Yusuke's energy-laden punches as well as the projectiles blasting through them.

This freed up the Million-Percent Toguro's two remaining hands that grabbed hold of Yusuke and pummeled him into submission.

The Younger Toguro utilized punches that carved the landscape. Made and destroyed mountains.

The kind of unnatural force of nature (as contradictory as it sounded) that could affect plate tectonics, weather patterns, or change the area forever, like in the case of Mt. St. Helens when it exploded or the nine ghost villages of France that remained wastelands to this day thanks to the Battle of Verdun in the First World War.  

If Yusuke's reiki-dense body weren't there to absorb the blows they would've shattered and sunk Okushiri right off of the map.

Even though Urameshi was breathing through his mouth, had lost several teeth, and ended up with a shattered jaw he couldn't close, he couldn't help but grin. Or at least do an open-mouthed smile.

"I'm beating you to the punch at every turn. So why is it...?" Toguro tilted his head to the side in askance. "Why do you have such a happy look on your face?"

Disturbingly, Yusuke's teeth grew back. They weren't supposed to do that but they did. Even accelerated human healing wouldn't allow the return of lost permanent teeth. All his bruises healed. All his broken bones mended themselves. His shut black eye's swelling subsided and went back to normal.

There he hung from Toguro's grip. Smiling. None the worse for wear save for torn clothes that couldn't restore themselves to their previous state.

"Come on, Toguro. You can do better than this, you son of a bitch! Gimme your best shot!"

Toguro then proceeded to smash Yusuke and his own heavenly body of a Fakku Gan together, which resulted in a mushroom cloud of pure destructive power.

Another atomic blast had hit Japan.

Toguro the Younger turned Urameshi into the atomic bomb he was afraid he had become.

***

Back at the Okushiri Pier, two things happened.

Botan, using the wealth of leftover negative energy that Kaoru purified earlier, again started healing the damage inflicted upon the available Reikai Senshi.

Kuwabara and Sanosuke stirred, as if shot by multiple doses of adrenalin.

Also, when the youkiri decided to deal with the shinigami herself to keep her from aiding her comrades, Yahiko himself confronted and attacked Tenro head on.

For all the good it did. Bless his ghostly heart.

"DOU GAMI...! (GOD ON EARTH!)" shouted Yahiko, hoping against hope it'd land on Tenro's head or sword or at least near him so that he'd get pelted by rocks and debris.

'So this is Shishio. The leader of the Juppon Gatana. Kenshin's most powerful rival,' the samurai spirit thought.

Tenro caught the reverse-edged blade between his fingers before it could make contact with him or the Mugen Jin. The God Hammer relied on recoil to give Yahiko enough space to consecutively strike something or someone three times fast in order to break their resistance and apply a zero-resistance strike.

No recoil meant the technique was neutralized.

Myojin's jaw dropped. "How...!?"

"So you're the brat who can neutralize spirit energy," said Tenro with narrowed eyes that traveled from Houji's unconscious form then all the way back to Yahiko.

Readjusting his grip of the sword tight with a gloved hand that smelled of gunpowder and negative spirit energy, Tenro again did the "GUREN KAINA!" on the blade.

The explosion blasted Myojin clear away from (presumably) Shishio, the shrapnel from his own spiritual construct of a sakabatou hitting him at the speed of bullets. His spirit fading and dissipating with pinpoints of energy.

''YAHIKO!" both Botan and Kaoru chorused in one unified body, fearing the worst.

However, the shards of Yahiko's shattered blade also penetrated Tenro's body, sealing his power further away from S-Level.

'What a problematic child this is.'

Myojin got up to his feet and charged with his broken reverse-edged blade, hoping to buy Sano and Kuwabara time. Buy Kenshin and Yusuke time as well.

He intended to do the Inga Gami on Tenro's head, only to revert to the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu ougi for Hadome and Hawatari when his opponent beat him to the punch and struck first with the Homura Dama.

However, as he defended against the downwards flaming strike with a crossed-wrist block, Tenro grappled with him and kept him from parrying the strike. "Do you want to know how your idol, Himura Battousai, died a century ago? Like this. Guren Kaina. Homura Dama."

After the explosion from the gunpowder happened, Tenro allowed the resulting fire to flare and roast the hapless ghost of Yahiko Myojin.

"AAAHH...!" screamed the burning Yahiko.

"YAHIKO!" shouted Sanosuke.

"BRAT!" yelled Kuwabara.

Tenro himself stood in the middle of the conflagration, but like in his confrontation with Hiei, he ended up none the worse for wear from the roaring bonfire.

"Too strong... He's too strong...!" gasped Yahiko. "Even after all this time, I'm still as weak as I've always been."

The bright yellow flames turned green then blue as Yahiko's form reverted to that of a hitodama (will-o'-the-wisp).

Meanwhile, Botan shrieked, fell on her knees, and covered her eyes with her hands.

"Who is stronger? A wolf in sheep's clothing or a sheep in wolf's clothing? Don't deny your true nature. Embrace what you really are. It's either you know your place or claw your way up the food chain. Evolve. Transform. Step up or step aside."

The entirety of Okushiri then started to rumble as Yahiko's neutralizing reiki ebbed away.

Like a dam that was about to break.

***

A nuke did damage in three stages.

It irradiated heat and light, it blasted everything to Kingdom Come, and it scattered radioactive materials around.

The bigger you went, the less relevant the radioactive materials became relative to the other effects as the heat irradiation had a much greater and more noticeable immediate effect. Effectively, when a nuke went off, the temperature of the resulting fireball could go up to millions of degrees, but it dissipated relatively quickly.

However, instead of having a repeat of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1993, Yusuke's dense aura (arguably going at reiatsu level at this point) allowed him to absorb most of the impact of his own Fakku Gan.

The explosion became a blockbuster level blast instead of an atomic bomb mushroom cloud.

Yusuke collapsed on the ground, taking the brunt of his own spirit energy.

Before him towered a behemoth of a demonized man. His exposed muscles bursting out of his skin. His six huge arms giving him an insect-like vibe.

This was Toguro using a million percent of his power. He had become the Demigod Asura, a six-armed demon of war and destruction.

However, even in the face of this absolute unit of a monster, something else from many miles away grabbed Urameshi's attention.

Over the horizon, he felt a suppressed Low S-Level power grow and pulse. Like a leaking and cracked dam ready to burst.

Once that dam finally burst forth, Yusuke broke all of his limits at once. Every last Spirit Cuff. Every last bit of hesitation he had from the Kugai curse placed upon him by Rando.

He caught even the Million-Percent Toguro by surprise at how fast his power level rose.

He summoned his version of the Sei Kou Ki, the golden aura serving as his barrier against Toguro's atomic punches.

His hair grew long and turned white for good measure before he proceeded to punch the Million-Percent Toguro a million times. A glowing golden punch for every percentage.

"SEI-KOU-DAN!" Yusuke cried, blasting Toguro with the Sei-Kou-Ki version of the Rei-Kou-Dan.

He had to. That dark presence in the distance sounded all of his internal alarms and red flags. His primitive flight-or-fight instinct activated.

As though feeling the rise in power from a distance spurred him into action more effectively than the golem before him that, quite frankly, took too long to get to S-Level and beyond.

Whichever Reikai Senshi was out there, they were fighting the final boss. The Chojin himself, even.

***

Botan rushed towards Yahiko's side, doing her best to heal his injured hitodama form. But the damage was extensive on his human soul, the light within his spirit fading away fast. "Hold on, Yahiko-kun! I got you! Everything's going to be fine!"

However, no matter how much spirit energy she used to heal Yahiko's damaged soul, it never healed. His hitodama continued to remain in its fireball state, flickering like a candle in the wind.

Kuwabara was the first to get up shakily on his feet, the Rei-Ken in his hand (also) flickering back and forth between its normal form and its Jigen Tou form.

"You talk too much, you bastard!" said the redhead, who attempted to create a portal to send the youkiri to space, only for Tenro to grab the teenager by his curly regent-style hair and put his face into the portal in an effort to suffocate him.

"What happened to Japan? Is this the best warriors that this new age can pony up? Pathetic," said Youkiri Tenro. "It's so sad. The United States of America turned the proud Empire of Japan into a whipped dog. An island full of losers and weirdoes."

Kuwabara ignited Tenro's glove with a small Rei-Ken on his free hand, which made it explode in the youkiri's face. Gasping for air, the redhead attempted another blind swing at the would-be dictator, only for him to end up stabbed in the lung.

He coughed blood as his eyes watered. His insides drowned in his own blood through internal bleeding.

"Sheep will always be sheep. Wolves will always be wolves. Lions will always be lions. A hitokiri will always be a hitokiri. A youkiri will always be youkiri. It's an aberration of nature to be one thing and claim to be another. If you want to become strong then change yourself for real. Defy or accept your fate. Become the predator or become the prey. It's up to you."

Ignoring the throbbing pain from his right fist that somehow trumped the ectoplasmic bleeding he got from the Rei-Shuriken, Sagara attempted a Futae no Kiwami and aimed it right into the chest of Shishio.

Or Tenro. Or the Chojin. Whoever he was or claimed to be.

Tenro tossed aside Kuwabara's quivering body like trash then blocked Sanosuke's punch with his own punch.

Last time, Sano broke his fist on Shishio's concrete face, his own Futae no Kiwami deflecting back to the bones of his hand. This time, his Douhle Extreme was enough to match Tenro's strength.

Only enough to match Tenro's strength though.

As Tenro again attempted to punch and crack Sanosuke's skull open, something unexpected happened.

"...SANJO NO KIWAMI!"

Sano blew Tenro's fist away with the Triple Extreme, which opened up his chest to a direct heart punch.

The coup de grace.

"FUTAE NO KIWAMI! DORYAAH...!"

Sanosuke landed the Futae no Kiwami right into Shishio's heart. Or Tenro's heart.

A second passed. The youkiri cackled.

"Congratulations. You're a little bit stronger now than before."

As the fading, transparent visage of Sanosuke let out a soundless scream, his pupils constricted into tiny dots on a white expanse, Tenro finally attacked the street fighter with his flame-producing weapon, its Homura Dama splitting Sano's head apart in a spectacular spray of ectoplasm.

"S-Sano..." choked out Kuwabara, his own vision fading along with Sanosuke's soul.

All that time, even in his will-o'-the-wisp form, the soul of Yahiko kept sealing the power of Youkiri Tenro. However, he couldn't contain the immense power of the Shishio reincarnation(?) any longer.

His soul finally succumbed, fading to black before shattering into a thousand pinpoints of light.

"Yahiko, no! No! NOOO!" cried Botan. "Dammit, come back! Oh no, what's going on? Why is everything going wrong?!"

Okushiri rumbled as the unleashed power of Tenro began to expand into a tall pillar of darkness and miasma. His jaki shot up into the sky, which gathered nimbus clouds all around them.

The localized quakes grew stronger and stronger. It felt like the world was about to split apart. This was the power of an Upper Class-S being that somehow ended up in the Human World.

He felt like power made flesh. A walking disaster area. A humanoid cyclone.

Tenro smirked as he surveyed the pier. He felt their presence. They were coming. He felt their power, anger, and desperation travel towards him like moths to his flame.

He could feel their strong presences, spirit energy, sword energy, and aura even from miles away.

One was on land, on foot, going faster than a cheetah. The other in the air, presumably ferried by one of Reikai's shinigami.

Who could they be?

First, there was the one half-demon, half-human mazoku descendant of Raizen, Makai's God of War, who was able to harness his demonic power and lineage. Raizen's true son. The Last Son of the Mazoku.

Yusuke Urameshi.

Second, there was the man who "defeated" Makoto Shishio to a suicidal kamikaze draw.  The Hitokiri Battousai who died and then became the Youkiri Battousai, the Guardian of the Demon Sword.

Kenshin Himura.

"Come forth. Show me the best and most powerful champions that this era has to offer. I'll defeat them all!" declared Tenro the Demon-Slayer to his upcoming opponents.

However, before Tenro knew it, his chest tightened. His heart stopped beating.

His negative energy wasn't able to heal the damage in time. He stood there, frozen. His time had stopped care of Sanosuke's efforts.

This happened due to the combination of the Futae no Kiwami and the shards of Yahiko's neutralizing reiki damaging his mortal heart. It kept him from manifesting the full breadth of his power that managed to take down even Hajime Saito.

The Kenshingumi's curse, if you would.

"Before challenging the champions of this era, watch out behind you. The past has a way of catching up with you, Shishio Makoto!"

Speaking of Saito, it was then and there that the headless corpse of Hajime Saito began moving on its own, with his one arm cradling his decapitated head.

As though he were the Headless Horseman. Or a Dullahan of Irish folklore.

That bastard. He was playing possum all this time!?

Tenro willed himself to move, but couldn't. He felt his left arm go numb. The shards of Yahiko's sakabatou might've reached all the way to his coronary arteries.

There was no telling how much cardiovascular damage Sanosuke's punch had done to his heart.

Dammit.

He began to sweat hard while clutching his chest. "Damn you, Saito Hajime."

"I've never seen you so sweaty and pathetic before," the head of Saito mocked before charging with his Gatotsu Ishiki from behind Tenro. "Then again, your sweat glands did get all burned up in your past life."

Instead of aiming at Tenro's head like with his encounter with Shishio, Saito instead aimed his sword right at Tenro's stopped heart while he was in the middle of a heart attack.

Appropriately enough, instead of being defeated by someone stronger than him, it was the desperate alliance of those weaker than Tenro that ultimately dragged him towards his ultimate defeat.

The ultimate irony.

"Go back to Hell, Shishio...!"

"No, I will make this world Hell and feel right at home!"

No. This was the same method Hajime used to "kill" Usui (temporarily). He took advantage of other people's hard work then opportunistically struck at the right time.

There was no way Youkiri Tenro would go down like a punk. Like Usui, of all people. An outsmarted weakling.

Tenro willed himself to move to block the strike.

His Homura Dama melted right through Saito's sword. Apparently, the Shinsengumi Captain was already using the last of his soul's strength to even make the strike, resulting in a vulnerable blade with barely any spirit energy to protect it.

Nevertheless, the rest of the hot blade plunged right into one of Tenro's lungs, spraying his blood all over the empty pier.

Saito smirked and closed his eyes. Instead of a solidified soul, Shishio really was reincarnated into an extra powerful human being. But a human being nonetheless. A mortal one that could be killed.

Tenro awaited the Gatotsu Zeroshiki that never came.

Alas, Saito already spent most of his energy fighting a full-powered X-Level Tenro earlier, with him sacrificing his very life force to just injure him now.

"I win again, Saito Hajime," hissed Tenro, coughing blood. "I survived your attack while you're already as good as dead. I can easily heal this damage and finish off the rest of the Reikai Senshi."

"That's my parting gift," said Saito, his own spirit fading. "You won't be able to reach X-Level in time now."

Before Tenro could wonder any further what Saito meant by his words, a gigaton punch shattered his face from out of the blue.

"Wha...?! GUAAAAH!!!"

Again, the wolf outfoxed him at every turn.

The youkiri realized that he'd just been punched by Raizen's "Son". The Mazoku Descendant. The hanyou (half-demon) that scared the great Enma Daio himself.

His brain sloshed inside his broken skull, leading to a concussion.

Any other impact from a weaker opponent wouldn't have even registered to Tenro. But a punch from an S-Level mazoku? That was a punch that could tear apart entire continents.

He also spotted from behind the long-haired, tattooed, and angry Mazoku Yusuke a warp portal that Kazuma Kuwabara probably made to shorten his best friend's travel time.

This was bad news.

His compromised heart and lungs hadn't recovered yet. Even though his energy levels were rising, his mortal damage kept him from manifesting his full power. He wasn't healing fast enough.

But this also excited him.

Tenro missed out on slaying Raizen—one of the greatest, oldest, and most powerful demons of the Demon World. Fighting his distant half-breed offspring was the next best thing to it.

With Yusuke's white hair and boundless energy, he himself looked to be at the cusp of achieving X-Level.

"Far more important than your power level, you've upended the natural order of things in both the Spirit World and the Demon World," said the gasping yet calm Tenro.

Yusuke picked up the pace, his nuclear-powered punches reaching speeds so impossibly, superhumanly fast that they came with their own eardrum-obliterating sonic booms.

However, the tough-as-nails Tenro absorbed every punch with his hard body and boundless jaki, so his mountain-obliterating punches "merely" made the pier shake and quake like a frightened child suffering domestic abuse.

"When Raizen died, you took over and found a way to keep the warring factions of Mukuro and Yomi from leading Makai into another millennia-long war for power."

Tenro gurgled but laughed with what sounded like a death rattle. Knocking at Hell's Gates with the sea of punches he had to wade through while punching and slashing at the elusive demon spawn in turn.

"You even helped expose the corruption within Reikai and had Koenma Daio depose his father, Enma Daio. Then you saved the Human World again from a Spirit World terrorist group. Imagine that."

The constant battery of kicks, punches, knees, elbows, and headbutts that barely gave Tenro any breathing room took their toll, making him cough and spew blood from many of his body's orifices, like his ears, eyes, nose, and mouth.

"The Chojin views you as a threat not because of your power level but instead of how you affect everyone and everything around you. You're a spanner in the works. Someone who can defy fate itself."

The threat of death made Tenro feel alive. His flight-or-fight instincts were on high alert.

After the thousands of demon hunts he'd participated in for the sake of turning his reincarnated yakuza boss self into someone worthy of housing Makoto Shishio's soul, this was the first time he actually, remotely felt threatened.

It was as he had imagined facing Yomi, Mukuro, or Raizen would've been like when they were still the Three Kings of Makai or at the peak of their power.

"We're cut from the same cloth, Urameshi Yusuke." Tenro sneered, wiping the blood from his nose. "I too exist to spite God. I defied my ultimate fate of death. From one lion to another, I will fight fate itself to write my own destiny. Just like you have."

"What the hell are you blathering on about?" said Yusuke, who kept up his endless barrage of Sei Kou Ki punches and kicks in order to pummel Tenro to submission.

Although he was winning the exchange, Toushin Yusuke's fists ended up aching and bleeding.

They might've even been broken by the dense thickness of Tenro's own reiatsu of negative energy serving as a barrier from inside and outside him, keeping his human body intact in spite of this mauling.

Regardless, the human-demon spawn had to finish Tenro off immediately.

Even though Urameshi was able to best Toguro by going all out, he could still feel his old enemy's presence. The Younger Toguro could still reemerge and possibly go beyond a million percent of his power. Perhaps a billion or a trillion even.

"Let's end this, Tenro. Or Shishio. Or Chojin. Whoever you are.  I'll finish you and your Shin Juppon Gatana off for good! SEI-GAN!"

A black-and-blue Tenro grinned as he felt a meteor-sized blast of purest Sei Kou Ki grow bigger and bigger from Yusuke's pointer finger. A miniature sun that glowed gold instead of bright blue.

This was the correct move. In order to finally penetrate through Tenro's reiatsu, Yusuke had to use his ultimate, ultimate move. A Rei-Gan powered by Sei-Kou-Ki shot by his white-haired demonic form.

However, the Chojin foresaw all this. This was why he gave (back) Tenro his original Mugen Jin.

When Yahiko still had his neutralizing reiki activated, the Mugen Jin could only be used the way it originally was made for, which was to create flames through the body fat and human oils it collected.

However, a hundred years later, the sword itself became a cursed sword with supernatural powers like the Youtou Shinnoken. It gained an extra property.

Without Yahiko's powers sealing its supernatural abilities away, it could absorb, steal, store, and release the spirit energy of others.

Thus, Tenro's Mugen Jin absorbed every last bit of the Sei-Gan from Mazoku Yusuke, only for him to do the third secret sword on him powered by Urameshi's own Sacred Light Spirit Energy.

"Secret Sword Three: KAGUZUCHI! (FIRE-BEARING SPIRIT GOD!)"

A fire tornado that mixed Tenro's demonic negative energy reiatsu with Yusuke's angelic sacred energy tossed the teenaged warhead around in a maelstrom of malcontent (since jaki was basically just energy derived from humanity's hatred and grudges).

If the mixture of volatile energy didn't kill the demonized Urameshi, then the centrifugal force of an F5 hurricane that would normally turn any normal human being into liquefied butter would.

"Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu Ougi: AMAKAKERU RYU NO HIRAMEKI! (HEAVENS GLIDING DRAGON FLASH!)"

The void created by the ultimate attack of the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu destroyed the red, black, and gold wind funnel that had threatened to rage against Okushiri like a seasonal typhoon.

As a battered Yusuke fell from the sky, an erstwhile Kenshin jumped and caught him in midair before he could've crashed into one of the many cargo containers, if not outright fall into the hard concrete below.

They landed safely on ground zero of Yusuke's fight with Tenro, which was filled with craters and debris. From a distance, they could hear the blaring siren of many an ambulance.

"I came here as fast as I could with Ayame-dono's help," said Kenshin.

"K-Kenshin. S-Sorry. I-I almost had him, but he still had a trick up his sleeve," rasped Yusuke, who had transformed back to his human form, with most of his long hair burned away by Tenro's Kaguzuchi.

"Don't worry, Yusuke. I will finish off what you have started. What everyone had started, that I will," said Himura.

Tenro harrumphed, clutching his side. His chest still ached, his heart beating so fast it felt like it could explode. His brain throbbed and pounded inside his skull as well.

However, his adrenalin and his thrill for the fight coursed through his body, making him ignore every bit of pain he felt. He was about to pass the point of no return, after all.

In the corner of Kenshin's eye, he saw Botan stare at him with her own glistening eyes. He had heard the bad news directly from her care of the Spirit Communicator. She reported that the souls of Sanosuke, Yahiko, and Saito were no more. Also, Kuwabara was in critical condition.

They all fell against the hands of the man... the monster... before him. The wannabe dictator that he should've defeated a hundred years ago.

"I also look forward to fighting you again after all this time, Battousai. Come and die in my hands once more. The only law I follow is Survival of the Fittest. Only the strongest survive!"

"Survival of the Fittest, eh?" asked Kenshin. "Tell me, do you know what the first sign of human civilization is? How humanity became the most dominant species on earth?"

"...What?" asked Tenro in turn. "What are you talking about, Battousai?"

"I believe that the first sign of civilization is a femur that's been broken and then healed," said Himura. "In nature, a broken leg meant death. Kill or killed, right? Humans became the dominant species against stronger animals because of our cooperation and compassion. Helping someone else through difficulty is where civilization starts. We are at our best when we serve others. Be civilized."

"No. Nonsense," said Tenro. "Humanity stands on the shoulders of giants. Normal people are trash. Don't let the weak punish the strong for being strong while they themselves drown in their own mediocrity. Civilization or progress came about because of the strong. The exceptional. The best. The intellectuals. The Superman. The Overman. The Ubermensch. The Chojin."

"So you're the Chojin, huh?" said Himura. While it could be translated as "Overfiend", the name "Chojin" could also be translated as "Superman" or "Overman".

"The fates conspired against me and denied me my destiny to rule. I will write my own destiny now," said the youkiri to his fellow demon-slayer. Fellow manslayer, even.

"Regardless of what you say, both fate and time have already decided that you will not emerge victorious," Kenshin insisted. "You're destined to lose."

Tenro cackled. "Fate and time have chosen poorly, hence the pathetic state of Japan. The state of the world that's being led by sheep in wolves' clothing. Let me correct that century-old mistake. Even now, the weak are depending on your strength to protect them. Let the Ubermensch show the world what it's truly like to be strong! I will show them how to win!"

"It is neither the strongest of the species nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change," said Kenshin, quoting Charles Darwin himself as he fell into his battoujutsu stance.

Himura had to attack now, while Tenro was injured and recuperating. He would've attacked sooner, but he himself had barely recovered from battling Enishi.

As soon as the Shishio reincarnation healed and achieved X-Level, it was all over for the Reikai Senshi.

"AMAKAKERU RYU NO HIRAMEKI!"

"KAGUZUCHI!"

Kenshin and Tenro—or rather, Battousai and Shishio—finally clashed swords, the Youtou Shinnoken glowing bright-blue against the bright-red Mugen Jin. They picked up where they left off.

On one hand, Yusuke's leftover sacred energy powered up the Kaguzuchi and overwhelmed the initial strike of the Hirameki. On the other hand, the resulting void still formed, which multiplied the power of Kenshin's second strike many times over.

Tenro learned from his mistakes, understanding a century ago that there was a void formed after blocking the first strike of the Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki. He sunk his stance low and pierced his Mugen Jin in the eye of the maelstrom so that his technique could be magnified in power instead of Kenshin's.

Kenshin hesitated, his soul remembering how Shishio snatched a draw from the jaws of defeat. He willed himself to slash upward regardless as an image of Kaoru filled his mind. Followed by all his friends and comrades.

He wished the same image had filled his mind a hundred years ago too. Then he wouldn't have died against Shishio.

Reality seemed to split from the lightspeed slash Kenshin did that clashed hard against Tenro's... no, Shishio's... red-hot cursed sword Mugen Jin.

On Kenshin's left was one timeline and on his right was another.

In one timeline, Kenshin found the strength and will to live to block Shishio's strike before he spontaneously combusted and died from overheating. Soon after, Shishio became the new King of Hell.

In another timeline, Shishio finished Battousai off then murdered Saito, Shinomori, Sagara, and the rest of the Oniwabanshu and Shinsengumi before forming a New Juppon Gatana and leading a coup d'etat against the Meiji Government. A second Bakumatsu. Afterwards, he died a despot. Japan's Genghis Khan.

In the timeline they were in, Kenshin and Shishio fought to a draw, with Kenshin dying along with Shishio in a blaze of glory. A hundred years after their fateful battle, Shishio ended up forming a New Juppon Gatana in order to lead a coup d'etat against the Spirit World.

In nearly all timelines, Shishio woke up from beyond the grave and ended up with an army of the undead, leading the charge towards world domination. Like a phoenix reborn from its own ashes. Again and again.

Even after his death, he was inevitable.

Would Kenshin falter like a hundred years ago or would he rise up and correct his century-old mistake? Which timeline would prevail?

A shining star of a whirling convergence of afterimages happened afterwards, followed by a huge explosion far into the distance. Right into the Sea of Japan.

A 7.8 earthquake then rocked the west coast of Hokkaido.  

On Monday, July 12, 1993, at 10:17 PM, a tsunami had formed off of the coast of Okushiri, leading to the loss of many lives.

***

To Be Continued...

Oh god, finally it's done. This took years to finish due to real-life things cropping up. Regardless, the arc that's been decades in the making is at last over.

Next up, the Spirit World deals with the aftermath of the failed Okushiri mission. Also, the first sign of civilization speech was taken from a quote from Anthropologist Margaret Mead.

Ciao, Abdiel

#youkiri tenro #youkiri battousai #kenshin himura #shishio makoto #toguro ototo #yusuke urameshi #reikai senshi #chojin #yuyu hakusho #幽☆遊☆白書 #rurouni kenshin #るろうに剣心 #demon sword #youtou shinnoken #妖刀真の剣

[gabriel-gabdiel]

Youtou Shinnoken: Demon Sword Chapter 56: Living Sin (Part 8)

Likka Ikumi and Natsuki Shinkai deal with the Karasu and Kuronue tandem. The Oniwabanshu with Kuwabara deal with Gein and the Omyouji.

Hiei and Kurama deal with Usui as well.

The original source of this idea comes from Chad Yang. I continued his story idea found here.

The rest of the chapters of my Yuyu Hakusho and Rurouni Kenshin crossover fan fiction are available here and here. Enjoy.

First | Previous | Next

At the Okushiri Airport...

Natsuki Shinkai freed herself from Kuronue's tight chains, increasing their velocity even while at rest by focusing and infusing her unique reiki unto them.

Kuronue barely dodged the bullet-fast broken chain shrapnel along with the follow-through Kousa Dageki (Cross Strike) strike and thrust combo that nearly crushed his skull and/or put a hole in his trachea.

Or maybe he didn't. Maybe he got hit after all. And killed.

However, the next thing Natsuki knew, he was about 6 feet or 2 meters away from her, none the worse for wear. As though she had hit and killed a mirage.

Damn. That was close.

They were currently inside the flaming remnants of a 747 cargo plane that Karasu had earlier blown up along with the rest of the airport.

Yes, Natsuki Shinkai could be as softhearted as Kurama in that she wouldn't indiscriminately kill her enemies. However, when she was pushed far enough, she could be every bit as cruel as the Youko.

Especially if she thought you deserved it. Like her father, Feng Xinhai, attempting to kill Daiji Matsudaira with a half-formed supercell of a tornado.

Apparently, a simple humiliating parry of her best friend's flying kick was enough to send her to the edge.

Figuring out what Kuronue meant by Natsuki's limits, Kuronue started blasting the remaining buildings and planes of the decimated Okushiri Airport.

Even though she could redirect the explosions or even rubble away from herself, the mindful Natsuki kept her barrier down against the high-speed shards of earth and glass for fear of accidentally deflecting it against nearby civilians or her friend, Likka Ikumi.

"Dammit," she cursed as she concentrated hard to deflect the individual rubble and debris at only Karasu and Kuronue in order to protect Ikumi.

"I think I understand her weakness now," said Karasu, who sneered and produced Clamshell Shrapnel Bombs for good measure. "She's only as powerful as the attacks directed at her! She also needs to concentrate hard to manipulate the direction and trajectory of a multitude of objects coming at her simultaneously or else there'll be collateral damage!"

"That's right. She can't deflect multiple things at the same time!" said Kuronue, who easily maneuvered through the raining debris, metal shrapnel, glass, and rubble in order to attack Natsuki with them, knowing that she could only dodge and couldn't return fire with any effective offense of her own.

The demons attacked simultaneously at two fronts, which kept Shinkai from focusing her psionic redirection powers properly.

Natsuki held on remarkably well though, redirecting the flying rock shards at both demons while using Hawatari (Sword Halt) and Hadome (Sword Crossing) at the supersonic Kuronue's attempts at stabbing her and making her mess up her concentration.

"Ahhh!" Likka cried out in pain as several bits of shrapnel hit her on the thigh and abdomen.

There were too many bullet-fast objects chaotically shooting at every direction and at different speeds for Shinkai to properly take account of and deflect.

"Likka-tan! I'm sorry!" shouted a tearful Natsuki, only for Kuronue to aim for her neck with his scythe. She then faced her attacker and said, "Fine. You want me to kill you? Then I will!"

She proceeded to do what Kuronue claimed she couldn't do, which was to reverse the flow of his blood in one direction, leading his head swell and burst like a balloon.

A second Kuronue appeared right behind the deceased one, his blade at the ready. "Whoa. Those are some frightening powers, child."

'What the hell was going on anymore?' thought Natsuki as the tip of the sickle cut through her stomach.

Karasu then threw a new grenade at Natsuki, who attempted to deflect it only for it to explode in her face.

***

Youtou Shinnoken: Demon Sword

A Rurouni Kenshin/Yuyu Hakusho Crossover Fan Fiction Story by Chester Castañeda

Original Concept by Chad Yang

The Misao reincarnation known as Likka Ikumi gets to activate her special powers at last.

Disclaimer: Yuyu Hakusho is the rightful property of Yoshihiro Togashi, Shueisha, Fuji TV, and Studio Pierrot. Rurouni Kenshin is the rightful property of Nobuhiro Watsuki, Shueisha, Shonen Jump, Viz, Sony Studios, Fuji TV, Studio Gallop, Studio Deen, and ADV. This disclaimer also covers all the other copyrighted materials that are far too many to mention here. Don't sue me please, I'm very poor.

***

Chapter 56: Living Sin (Part 8)

***

At Nabetsuru Rock...

The Nabetsuru (Pot Handle) Rock was a tourist destination off of the coast of Okushiri Island. It was a rock formation visible across the shores of Okushiri with the appearance of a pot handle.

Speaking of pots, the water surrounding the rock soon boiled, steamed, and bubbled like water inside a pot being heated by a stove. Something was afoot.

The half-healed zombie corpse body of Usui Uonuma was still licking his wounds from his defeat against Hajime Saito when one of the ferry-girls located him off of Nabetsuru Rock and informed the Reikai Senshi (Spirit World Warriors) of the fact.

Shikigami from Houji had gathered around him to present him with enough spiritual power to restore his body to seeming health.

It was weird how jaki (negative energy) of all things could heal him, but he knew his body was really more of a corpse and he was more of a vengeful ghost than a reincarnated spirit.

He knew and he didn't care. He'd cling to existence by any means necessary after it was nearly snuffed out by Makoto Shishio and "permanently" ended by Hajime Saito.

Usui had by then reconnected his body's top half with his bottom half, but his fatal wounds were still tender and his broken spine was still in bad shape.

The Spirit World Warriors were really hammering their forces down, weren't they?

A few minutes later and there he was: Jaganshi (Evil Eye User) Hiei.

Probably the second or third most powerful member of the Reikai Senshi, behind Kenshin Himura (with his inimitable Demon Sword) and Yusuke Urameshi (the direct descendant of one of the Three Kings of Makai, Raizen).

Usui smirked, opened his mouth, and licked his lips.

This was now a battle between the Shingan (True Eyes) and the Jagan (Evil Eyes).

The blind swordsman turned spearman zombie wondered about something. If he had Jine Udo's Jagan on one eye socket and Hiei's Jagan on his other eye socket, would he finally gain the power he needed to usurp the likes of Tenro? Or the Chojin?

Or Shishio?

'Same difference.'

He remembered how his supernatural Tinbe shield grew thick enough to stop even the ultimate attacks of both a super-powered Kenshin and Saito, which in turn allowed his Rochin to penetrate anything weaker and less dense than his Tinbe.

If he had the power of one Jagan to hypnotize people and another Jagan to gain control of huge amounts of demonic energy, he'd be unstoppable: The most powerful Shin Ju who possessed both superhuman senses and supernatural powers.

'But first thing's first,' Uonuma thought, noticing the fewer number of shinigami (death gods) assisting his healing as Hiei approached his perch on the unusual rock at dangerous speeds.

The sea seemingly parted in twain from the jaganshi's flashing steps as though he were a mix of a miniature speedboat and Moses himself parting the Red Sea like theater curtains.

***

There were too many of them. There was a suffocating amount if multiplying Iwanbos there as well as shikigamis who fed them jaki.

The combination of Houji "Onmyouji (Occult Priest)" Sadojima and Edward "The Puppet Master" Gein (also known as Dr. Shoji Sugino from Unit 731) were too much for this batch of Reikai Senshi to handle.

That was the simple conclusion that the Spirit World Warriors and the Oniwabanshu (Garden Keepers) had when fighting against the armies of undead Iwanbo and shikigami spirits from both of the Chojin's top generals/captains.

Like the Roku Youkai (Six Demons) on Mt. McKinley versus The Nameless Yatsume, the Reikai Tantei and the Oniwabanshu were flooded with Iwanbo versions 1, 2, and 3 and the shikigami they fed on for jaki and power ups, like this was an ecosystem teeming with predators and the Reikai Senshi were their prey.

Kuwabara had been chopping out reanimated puppets and familiars left and right with his twin Jigen Tou (Dimensional Sword) for almost an hour, only to end up sapped of energy.

He ended up with only one flickering Dimension Sword left as more and more of the puppet monsters appeared, multiplying by mitosis or something.

At the same time, he had to contend against Houji turning everything nearest him into fast-healing creatures like Toguro Ani, with their wounds or even pureed bodies healing instantly. Like nothing they did to them could faze them.

Gein, in turn, used his own unique jaki to supply the Chojin's necromancer with fresh corpses to bring to life.

The reincarnated Okashira (Boss) of the Oniwabanshu—Daiji Matsudaira (formerly Aoshi Shinomori) —fluidly maneuvered against the razors-sharp web of trip-wires that the World War II veteran mad scientist ninja known as Gein weaved with diamond-covered threads, only to be bull-rushed by the one Iwanbo Version 3 with the four arms: The Iwanbo Version 3.2.

The Iwanbo 3.2 had thus far trampled on all of the efforts of the Tokyo Oniwabanshu to take it down, whether it was through poison, fire, sword slashes, brute strength, or martial arts.

Like Shikijo, it got cross-slash scars from every part of its body, but it still kept moving, shrugging off the rain of kodachi Daiji produced as well as the pistol shots to the head (the police officer could conjure guns as well).

Kuwabara did notice how the monstrous puppet recovered as quickly as Toguro Ani while sporting the same ridiculous musculature of Toguro Ototo. 'Hiei and Kurama's investigations were true! That old ninja guy really was responsible for demonizing the Toguro Brothers!'

Meanwhile, Kuwabara desperately held on to his knife-sized Jigen Tou, willing it to existence even as he had to contend against an undead army of shikigami and Iwanbos.

He could summon a Rei-Ken (Spirit Sword) instead, but even a dimensional knife had more utility to it.

He sliced apart portals, warp gates, dimensions, space, and even the sky itself with the way his cuts remained in the air like cracks on glass, cutting through the guts of the zombie puppets down below and the ghoulish ghosts from up above.

Houji and Gein pushed him to the brink of using up all his spirit energy, which may then force him to use his own life force to keep on fighting (like what Yusuke did to take down Suzaku the first time they fought).

The Onmyouji sloppily sliced his scythe at Kuwabara, who then blocked the blade but his knees ultimately buckled against the weight of the Chojin's negative energy instead of the strength of the strike.

'Dammit, we're going to lose!'

The bowl-cut necromancer cackled and ranted, "This is the power of the Chojin! This is the power of the gods! You were no match from the start!"

As for the Aoshi Shinomori of the modern era, he threw every last kodachi he could muster at the charging Iwanbo 3.2, whose tackles were so impactful he turned even fellow Iwanbo and stray shikigami inside-out into road kill, ground beef, or ectoplasm.

Even after being turned into a knife holder sculpture or Julius Caesar after his assassination, the four-armed Iwanbo would not stop charging.

The tired Okashira ended up taking a knee. He willed himself to move away with his Water Flow Movement, but Dr. Sugino caught him off-guard from behind with razor-sharp thread that wrapped around and bit into his neck.

"Checkmate, Okashira. You killed me before, right? Well, let me return the favor."

Daiji struggled against the old man, surprised at how strong he was for his age, the piano wire digging deeper into his throat. They'd be both turned into mush by the rampaging Iwanbo 3.2, but only one of them would end up getting resurrected by the Onmyouji when all was said and done.

The air around them then changed as the ghosts of the Oniwabanshu rose again. However, something inside them changed. They exuded menace that wasn't there before.

Hannya, Shikijo, Hyottoko, and Beshimi rose up like zombies hungry for flesh.

"Don't you dare touch the Okaaashiiiraaa...!"

***

As Likka Ikumi—Misao Makimachi's Heisei reincarnation—went unconscious due to blood loss, she dreamed of what had happened earlier, when she was deemed a C-Level martial artist ninja girl while the rest of the people she knew from past and present ranked B-Level and higher instead.

"This isn't fair!" Likka complained to Yahiko Myojin. "You'd be B-Level too if you didn't have special powers yourself, you little brat!"

"Yeah, funny how that works. Even Cat Eyes got better superpowers than you and your quick costume changes! OW!" teased Yahiko before he got hit upside the head with Misao's patented flying kick.

"KECHO GIRI!" Ikumi screamed. "Grrr! I want superpowers too! I don't want to end up in the battlefield being some sort of liability to Uncle Jiji (Daiji) or Tsuki-chan (Natsuki)!

Yahiko then relented, "Jeez, Weasel-chan! Don't be upset about me being stronger than you. You only 'woke up' recently! But you're still the reincarnation of Makimachi Misao and yes, you're better at hand-to-hand combat than I am."

Likka paused then pouted. "Really, Yahiko-chan?"

Kenshin himself then said, "Misao-dono, I know that Shinomori Aoshi's talent might have blinded you of this fact, but shinobi (spies) are not known for their swordsmanship or strength. They're instead known for their cunning."

Natsuki herself interjected, "You are not a swordsman but a spy, Likka-tan. A ninja. A shadow warrior. You can take down a samurai many times more powerful than you by ambush and stealth. Use that."

Likka then woke up back at the Okushiri Airport, in time to see the miko (priestess) ferry-girl tending to her shrapnel wounds, removing the foreign objects and healing her body the best she could.

"Please, wake up! Please, hang on!" pleaded the shinigami known as Hinageshi.

***

Back at the Kyujimayama Observatory...

The combination of Houji the Onmyouji and Gein the Puppet Master was truly too much for Kazuma Kuwabara and the Oniwabanshu to handle.

Daiji Matsudaira then did the Jissen Kenbu (combining the Water Flow Movement with his one-handed kodachi strikes) to escape Dr. Sugino's wire-based grasp. The doctor was not as adept at pure ninjutsu as his Meiji Era counterpart.

However, Shoji's supernatural powers and modern scientific knowledge more than made up for his lack of physical prowess and skills.

However, just behind them, the transformed Oniwabanshu tore apart the four-armed Iwanbo 3.2 like a pack of wolves.

"Saaaave the Okashiraaa! At aaaall cooosts!"

Hannya. Shikijo. Hyottoko. Beshimi.

Again, their supposed Okashira had failed them and soiled their memories. Or this watered-down copper version of their Okashira living in the present Heisei Era did so.

These ghosts that served as Daiji's guardian angels from the death of his wife at the hands of Feng Xinhai to the present, when he discovered his dark destiny as being the reincarnation of the Last Oniwabanshu Okashira, were now forced to demonize themselves.

They abandoned their humanity and turned themselves into monsters in order to save Matsudaira.

Shikijo's muscles bulged and popped as his complexion turned grey or even metallic, with him grabbing one set of the Iwanbo's arms in order to stop him in his tracks.

Beshimi bit the Iwanbo with snake-like fangs and threw toxic spines growing from all over his body at him for good measure, the corrosive toxins directly seeping into the undead veins of the puppet monster.

Hyottoko turned into a full-on kappa youkai who breathed fire, toasting the creature from behind.

And finally, the tri-clawed Hannya mauled the Iwanbo repeatedly by slicing apart the veins of his other arms and ravaging him like a rabid wolverine.

The more they ripped apart the puppet, the more mindless they became. Like wild animals.

Houji chuckled at the display, letting his shikigami deal with the weakening Kuwabara for a change. "How would it feel if I brought your ghost friends back to life, Okashira? Alas, they'd end up as the Chojin's minions, but at least they'd be alive."

Meanwhile, Gein retreated and used his own knowledge of the dark arts in order to form a fresh new Iwanbo 3.2 puppet out of the spare parts of the discarded Iwanbo corpses.

No. Enough was enough.

The deceased Oniwabanshu had been haunting Aoshi's soul all this time, even a hundred years later in another body, because they felt like they had failed in protecting him when the opposite was instead true.

Time and time again, they'd saved him.

His blue eyes shining bright like twin stars on a clear night, Daiji's aura of reiki (spirit energy) flared to life and reacted to the youki (demonic energy) emanating from his former Oniwabanshu comrades.

He then started to absorb their dark energy unto himself, shouldering all their anger and feelings of failure unto his own body.

It was his failure and lack of strength that kept them anchored to him for so long, keeping them from passing on.

It was his turn to save them.

As Matsudaira absorbed more of their dark energy, the Oniwabanshu ghouls started to go back to normal. They were neither demons nor monsters any longer.

"Uh, what happened?" asked Shikijo.

"Beats me. I don't remember much," said Beshiimi.

"I feel hungry," said Hyottoko.

"You can't be hungry! You're a ghost!" admonished Hannya, who then turned towards Daiji's shadowy form. "It's the Okashira. He has saved us again, as usual!"

Daiji then went face-to-face against the Iwanbo 3.2, who had again started to cannibalize the corpses or even the "living" bodies of his undead puppet brethren as well as the nearby shikigami unto him.

To build his strength by feeding upon the weak just like Matsudaira did to his Oniwabanshu underlings' youki.

The Iwanbo Version 3.2 then charged at Matsudaira, with the pair of Houji and Gein close behind him.

"Kill the Okashira! Do so and we'll have this battle in the bag!" said Gein to his puppet.

"We might even be able to revive his soul and turn him into one of the Juppon Gatana," suggested Sadojima.

They were in for the shock of their lives.

***

Back at Nabetsuru Rock...

Jaganshi Hiei ran on water like Jesus Christ in a hurry then blasted the rock where the half-healed (or still-healing) Usui Uonuma lay with a Jaou-En-Satsu Kokuryuha (Dragon of Darkness Flame).

The fire demon didn't want to take any chances. However, as expected, Uonuma's Tinbe still remembered the sheer power of the most powerful strikes given to it by the Battousai and the Miburo.

Thusly, the dense adaptable shield survived even the atomic heat of the Makai flames from Hiei's deadliest attack, neutralizing it completely.

"Hn."

Usui answered that indignant harrumph with a chuckle. "And just like that, my Tinbe is now fireproofed as well as shock-absorbent. Is that your best shot, Jaganshi Hiei?"

Hiei then visually disappeared from Uonuma's midst, but the blind man couldn't even see him regardless, so he wasn't too worried.

Usui heard Hiei all the while though.

The blind spearman could only smile as he caught each and every slash or stab Hiei attempted to hit him with, deflecting them away like rain with his Tinbe umbrella.

Earlier, he was made aware that the Shin Ju had lost contact with Houji and Gein, which meant that there wasn't enough shikigami and jaki left to heal him fully.

However, he was an S-Level entity himself.

This meant that even though Uonuma didn't have the Onmyouji's assistance to restore his damaged body to health, he could damn well heal himself on his own. Not at the cancerous rate that the regenerative Toguro Ani could, but fast enough to count when the chips were down.

'I just need to buy myself a little bit more time,' Usui thought, blocking all of Hiei's sword strikes and countering them with his Rochin spear that was as irresistible as his Tinbe was impenetrable.

'Battousai's reports are accurate,' thought Hiei. 'This man is hard to kill, even without the powers of the Onmyouji aiding him and keeping him alive. Or at least undead.'

The two combatants jumped from the rock to the shore, their feet both using the waves and the surface tension of the saltwater to travel from that long distance.

Not once was Hiei able to scratch the injured man. Not with the Kokuryuha. Not with his blade.

However, the blind Shin Ju in turn wasn't fast enough to counter with his Rochin. He kept missing his kaeshi (ripostes) even though he parried or blocked all of the fire demon's physical attacks.

Getting behind Usui to stab him and avoid the shield didn't work because the spearman sensed the fire demon's presence every time and blocked accordingly.

However, thanks to Hiei's Jagan and his inborn twitch reflexes, the Rochin could not touch him in turn, no matter how badly he missed or got parried by the former bakufu swordsman turned Juppon Gatana member.

Perhaps it was because Usui was too injured. Or perhaps it was because he was too slow from the get go.

They seemed to be at an impasse.

***

"Ahhh!" Natsuki shrieked, her impenetrable deflection powers working against her, drawing the implosion towards her instead of away from her due to the nature of her reversal powers.

The crow demon smirked.

His experimental Pillbug Implosion Bomb was a success.

Shinkai predictably attempted to deflect it like Karasu's other bombs, but she did so by reversing its momentum. This made the bomb explode instead of implode unto itself.

The way Natsuki affected her environment was to use the inertia of the objects going towards her and reverse their momentum so that she didn't have to expend her spirit energy moving them away.

To reverse the momentum of an implosion bomb was to turn it into an explosive.

"Now, Kuronue! While you have the chance!"

Kuronue and his afterimage clones attacked Natsuki. Then, after several more Kuronues died out, one of them decapitated Natsuki with his scythe.

Game. Set. Match.

However, that Natsuki turned out to be a standee advertisement of a stewardess instead. Taken straight from the rubble.

"!?" intoned Kuronue, only to realize it was the Misao reincarnation who duped him into decapitating the decoy.

It was a classic ninjutsu trick. Substituting one object for another.

Karasu attempted to get rid of the troublesome onmitsu (ninja girl) with his variety of bombs, only to be greeted with a rain of kunai (ninja daggers) moving at every which way and direction, defying the laws of physics, gravity, and momentum.

He yelped as a dagger ended up in his eye, which would normally be weak enough for him to swat away. 'Where is that damned ninja...?!'

As for Kuronue and Natsuki, they were locked in a battle of wills and wits. Or perhaps a war of attrition.

For different reasons, both Shinkai and the bat demon ended up cleaving or crushing through dozens upon dozens of their respective "clones".

With Natsuki, they were illusions made by Likka. With Kuronue, it was still a mystery where his doppelgangers came from.

For every Kuronue clone that got beat up, head-crushed, stabbed, blinded, or disabled in some way, so too did every Natsuki clone suffer getting their limbs chopped off, their heads decapitated, and their bodies bisected horizontally or vertically.

The fading corpses of Shinkai and Kuronue that littered the landscape disappeared as soon as they fell.

"I don't care anymore!" the one-eyed Karasu threw implosion bombs at the pair's direction. "I'm sure you'll somehow survive this, Kuronue, but she won't!"

That was Likka's cue to detonate the bombs with her flung kunai, one of which ended up stuck unto Karasu's hand.

"...Fool! You fell into my trap!" said Karasu even as one of the implosions set him ablaze. He then took his mask off with his other hand in order to activate his Full-Body Implosion rather than Explosion. "Now to kill you to get rid of all these illusions!"

Likka then smirked before she shifted forms and turned into Natsuki.

"...What?!"

A flabbergasted Kuronue then spared a glance at the Natsuki he was fighting all that time. The bat demon chopped her up, only for her to turn into a stop sign.

"Since when were you under the impression that you were fighting Tsuki-chan?"

"Natsuki" then appeared behind him and turned him into a kunai holder. Sure enough, this "Natsuki" ended up being Likka in disguise instead, mimicking her friend all the while.

"I will not be a burden to Tsuki-chan any longer! I can help her out with my own special power! We can win against you two!" said Ikumi.

Thus was the power of the "C-Level" Likka Ikumi: Optical Illusion. Perfect Deception. Absolute Fantasy.

In other words, Genjutsu (Illusionary Techniques).

Her skills allowed her reiki to create mirages or hallucinations from her own imagination that, when used properly, could make even gods kneel and devils cry.

A special power that could beat even S-Levels to submission.

A power similar to that of the Kanji Killer and his hypnotic Jagan, but it involved projecting her imagination unto reality like realistic mirages instead of invading her opponent's psyche for them to see what she wanted them to see, thus she used up less reiki to do it.

"You've underestimated the both of us," said Shinkai, whose only injuries were from that one implosion bomb from Karasu that slipped through. "Now pay for your arrogance!"

Just as Karasu was about to explode and take both the girls with him to kingdom come, Yutaro Tsukayama's female reincarnation reflected and focused all that potential energy towards Kuronue, blasting him with her own version of Suzaku's Railgun.

She turned the crow demon into fuel and matter for her own energy gun, the same way Suzaku could turn any piece of steel into a blast of pure energy.

The golden beam of light seemed to kill multiple clones of Kuronue at the same time, his body stubbornly refusing to disintegrate, with him reviving over and over, only for him to die again, until there was nothing left of both Karasu and Kuronue in that seeming infinite loop of life and death.

***

Hiei harrumphed.

His speed did not phase his opponent one bit. Nor did his S-Level youki and Dragon of Darkness Flame.

However, he still had to kill Usui then and there.

The blind swordsman with his adaptable Tinbe was too dangerous to be left alive. He'd just disrupt their plan to take out Houji Sadojima permanently and drive the Shin Ju back without hope of resurrection.

Was it shameful to strike down an injured man? In war, there was no such thing as honor or fairness. Just survival of the fittest.

Uonuma cackled. "The speed by which you attack and how hard it is to catch you off-guard is impressive. You remind me of someone."

Hiei didn't answer back.

"Ah yes. Sou-kun," said Usui with a hint of wistfulness in his voice even though his comrade Soujiro Seta was still with him, just in a different unit of the Chojin's Army (the Dai Shin Kan).

The two used to spar from time to time, with both being amazed at the other's prowess.

Seta was surprised by the fact that no matter how fast he went, the Tinbe would block his strike despite his lack of presence or sakki (bloodlust). Uonuma was shocked at how, at times, the boy would reach supersonic speeds that even his Rochin couldn't hope to counter.

Instead of turtling up in defense, Usui attacked for a change, the sands of the beach underfoot blasting behind him like a sandstorm. His Shingan senses and Hiei's Jagan third eye kept the both of them from making fatal contact with each other. The most they could muster were flesh wounds.

Perhaps the youkai underestimated the revived human's abilities just because he was injured.

"Sou-kun's Shukuchi made him blindingly fast and his lack of bloodlust made him nearly undetectable. Your speed and constant bloodlust reminds me of him. You're always brooding while he's always happy. Like twin sides of the same coin."

"Sou-kun", huh? Soujiro Seta was a thorn in Hiei's side all throughout his mission and investigation on human experimentation at Alaska's Mount McKinley (also known as Denali).

The longer the battle went the further Usui pushed Hiei into a corner (literally even as they battled from the beach to the resort to the streets and to several nearby buildings), much to the prideful demon's shame.

It wasn't because Uonuma was as fast as him. Rather, Shishio's oldest rival was used to fighting people as fast as Hiei was, such as Soujiro.

This allowed Usui to use prediction and skill to match Hiei's superior reflexes.

The jaganshi harrumphed again, growing impatient. Someone who was this injured should not be this hard to kill.

Regardless, the youkai still had an ace up his sleeve that the nimble "Ten Ken (Heaven Sword)" lacked.

Summoning the Sword of Darkness Flame felt like a waste of time, but he did it anyway. If speed didn't work then raw power might tip the scales of their deadlock.

This only made the wistful, deranged, and sightless man happier for some reason.

A wave of nostalgia filled Usui. He couldn't see the fire of Hiei's flaming sword with his own actual eyes, his stolen Jagan from Jine sealed away with his blindfold, but he felt the heat from blade, giving him goose bumps and raising the hairs behind his neck.

Usui was for all intents and purposes a living corpse with an unbeating heart, but his mind made him feel as though his heart raced and his blood flowed like hot fire through his veins. His aortas. His artificial circulatory system.

To Hiei's surprise, the zombie discarded his impenetrable Tinbe and charged with only his Rochin. Shouting one name all the while like a lunatic.

"DIE, SHISHIO!"

Compared to Soujiro and even Hiei, Usui knew more nuanced sword/spear forms and cutting/stabbing techniques than a simple upward, side, or angled slashes. Fire sword or no fire sword.

Like a drunk brawler picking a fight against a championship boxer. Quickness could be countered by experience against predictability.

The jaganshi attempted his usual modus operandi of making his opponent miss and slash at his afterimage, only for him to appear from behind and slash his opponent to bits instead.

However, it was Hiei who ended up slashing at air and an afterimage that wasn't there.

Did Uonuma heal his wounds already? Was he hiding his true speed all this time...?!

Hiei's Jagan tried to sense and locate where Uonuma was, like always. His sight beyond sight served as his means to activate his tripwire reflexes.

Wait a minute. He couldn't see or sense him. Even Usui's jaki was gone. Hiei's vision had become clouded. 'Dammit...!'

The Rochin from out of nowhere stabbed him in the back and shot him right into the sign saying they were in Kitaoimisaki Park, his youkai blood spewing forth his mouth, nostrils, and even his three eyes.

The illusion faded away like a pile of cherry blossom petals blown away by a strong breeze, and soon reality set in.

As soon as the flames from Hiei's Jaou-En-Satsu Ken (Sword of Darkness Flame) enticed Usui's senses, he lifted his blindfold and unsealed the power of Jine's version of the Jagan.

Apparently, even Hiei's artificial Jagan that Shigure transplanted unto him was susceptible to hypnosis. Along with the eyes he was born with.

The Forbidden Child of the Koorime fell into a boneless heap before his blood pooled from underneath him.

He was too careless.

He believed he was there to take care of injured game, forgetting that an animal's flight or fight instincts made them many times more dangerous than usual.

"That was refreshing," said Usui. "I have to thank you, Jaganshi Hiei. Your flaming sword reminded me what I'm truly fighting for, even after a century."

The maneuver Uonuma did on Hiei was something he wished to do on Shishio himself. Trick him with the Jagan then stab him in the back. S-Level or not, such a sneak attack would kill him.

Uonuma then frowned. Inwardly, he thought, 'I haven't mastered Jine's Jagan yet. I can only use it once a day. Maybe more with the help of the Onmyouji's jaki power up, but he's sealed off from the rest of us Shin Ju right now.'

After a minute of pondering, the taller, bearded man grabbed hold of the diminutive demon by the hair and lifted him up high over his shoulders, his bloodstained Jagan in full view.

"No matter," Usui decided. "I have a new Jagan to play with now. As soon as Gein returns, I'll have him surgically implant your Jagan into the empty socket of my other eye. Then I'll have the power of both the Shingan and twin Jagan at my hands."

Uonuma trembled with barely contained excitement, which woke Hiei up after blacking out from the pain of being stabbed so hard.

"Not even Battousai nor Saito Hajime nor Shishio Makoto nor Tenro nor the Chojin will stand a chance against me once I have both those Jagan in my possession along with my Tinbe and Rochin!"

Just as Uonuma was about to melon-ball Hiei's Evil Eye from its artificial socket, Kurama then arrived, parrying the Rochin away with the Grass Blade.

"...Ah. You must be the Legendary Youko Kurama," said Usui with a sneer. "Udo Jine has told us a lot about you."

***

Kyujimayama Observatory suddenly had an entire building sprout from its lookout. Like a gigantic tree of steel and concrete. An ominous castle made of black spires and iron ore.

A structure with no discernible entrance, doors, or windows.

Earlier, just as another Iwanbo 3.2 was on the verge of turning Daiji Matsudaira into a messy pile of shattered bones, giblets, and mince meat, something changed inside the policeman's soul.

He absorbed the guilt and unfulfilled desires of the Oniwabanshu that left them as earthbound spirits, this energy mixing with the reiki of Daiji's soul and the kenki (swordsman spiritual energy) of Aoshi's warrior spirit.

Pushed into a corner and forced to feed into the negative energy of his comrades, his reiki and kenki started to mix with their youki and jaki.

It produced a whole new kind of energy: A swordsman's energy mixed with a human soul's spirit energy and the bloodlust of a demon.

Reiatsu (Spirit Pressure).

Like Shinobu Sensui's Sei Kou Ki (Holy Light Energy), Daiji produced a different sort of spiritual power worthy of one the gods or shinigami themselves or their version of the police, the Reikai Tokubetsu Boueitai (Spirit World Special Defense Squad).

It was through this volatile cocktail of different energies that Matsudaira was able to produce the spire-filled castle by which he trapped Houji Sadojima, Gein, and their undead army in one huge, tangible prison with his Quest-Class powers to create matter out of spirit energy but without sacrificing his life energy to do so.

And, like the One-Eight-Ten Killer before him, he himself was on the verge of breaking through from A-Level to S-Level by suddenly learning this spirit energy blending technique that took Sensui years to perfect.

Afterwards, a flabbergasted Kuwabara created a portal out of the constricting spire and exited with Officer Matsudaira in tow. He then sealed the portal shut before the Onmyouji, Gein, or their creatures could come out.

They'd finally stopped and sealed Houji from reviving the Shin Ju every time they were beaten. For now.

"You're really something else, Officer Matsudaira. You know that?" said Kazuma.

Catching up with his own shallow breaths, Daiji turned behind him and stared back at his ghostly Oniwabanshu comrades. "I can't let them down. Not again."

Kuwabara himself turned towards where the copper was staring at, in time to see the will o' wisp or blue fireball souls of the dearly departed Oni Gang.

The fireballs then formed back into the transparent human bodies of the four deceased shadow warriors. Hannya. Shikijo. Hyottoko. Beshimi.

With a smile hidden behind his mask but could still be heard from his ghostly voice, Hannya said, "As expected of our Okashira."

From there, Uchiko Shikoku (Sayuri), the ferry-girl of the Northeast Quadrant, arrived and started replenishing their spirit energy, although she pouted as she told Daiji, "I was almost sure you'd die, Ikemen (Pretty Boy). Oh well. Maybe next time?"

To Kazuma, the blonde shinigami instead said, "You, I couldn't care less if you died or not."

"Nobody asked you!" shouted back Kuwabara.

***

Back at the Okushiri Airport...

Sayaka finished up her report to the other Reikai Senshi and then said to them. "So far so good. Kurama-san's plans are coming along smoothly. I've also heard reports from Sayuri-san that Sadojima Houji and Gein had been sealed inside a castle-like structure by Matsudaira Daiji-san."

"As expected of the Okashira!" said Likka, mirroring Hannya's sentiments. "We have this mission in the bag!"

Natsuki then told the young Spirit World Inspector, "Tell Shuichi-sempai, I mean, Minamino-sempai to watch out for that Kuronue person. He may still be out there."

Sayaka tilted her head to the side in askance. "Tell Kurama about Kuronue? Why? Isn't he dead? Didn't you just kill him? Killed two birds with one stone by making Karasu into an energy blast?"

"That's the thing. I'm not sure he's dead." Shinkai shook her head. "Killing him is actually easy. Keeping him dead is hard. It must have something to do with his current powers. He might still be out there, hunting Kurama at this very moment."

The Heisei Era Misao piped up, "Yeah, it was weird. Every time it seemed like you've killed him, another him kept popping up in his place."

The youngest ferry-girl considered their words. "Do you think he's like Toguro Ani? An S-Level, Regent-Class regenerator?"

Natsuki shrugged. "The best way I could describe it is that he's like Schrödinger's Cat. Like he's alive and dead at the same time."

"Maybe even Schrödinger's Bat!" Likka quipped to mostly silence.

***

Kitaoimisaki Park was located in the westernmost corner of Okushiri Island.

The Sea of Japan served as its backdrop. It was designed as an open-air museum of sorts filled with sculptures made by Masayuki Nagare, a modernist Japanese sculptor.

Sculptures that soon turned to dust from the battle that ensued.

"RENGOKU SHOU! (PURGATORY WOUND!)" shouted Hiei as he pummeled the wide-open, distracted Usui with his fists of flame, but the flurry of blows were also countered and neutralized by the damnable Tinbe shield.

It did allow him to get away from his captor, though.

Meanwhile, Kurama had arrived there just in time with the assistance of Sayuri's intel and Kuwabara's Jigen Tou.

Kurama asked for their help after they were done sealing away the Onmyouji with Daiji Matsudaira's evolving powers.

"Let's not risk having Usui use Jine's Jagan again," Kurama told Kuwabara. "Leave and don't look anywhere near his face or eyes, Kuwabara-kun."

"You got it, Kurama," said Kuwabara before making a portal out of there. "Hiei, you fucked up! Now Kurama has to bail you out!" Kazuma jumped right into the portal he made before Hiei could follow him and beat him up for his remark.

Kurama then told Hiei, "Kuwabara-kun's right, you know," which made Hiei seethe even more. "I know how you feel, but sit this battle out for now. Let me handle this while Sayuri-san heals you for now."

As for the scythe-bearing Uchiko "Sayuri" Shikoku, she balefully used her shinigami powers to heal the damage done on Hiei, although the pint-sized youkai didn't look too pleased about it.

"Look, we're both not happy about this, so could you stop glaring at me?" said Uchiko, who actually wanted to see what was next for the death-defying "hunk" known as Daiji Matsudaira instead.

Actually, Kitaoimisaki Park was supposed to be under Botan's jurisdiction (she was assigned the northwest quadrant), but she was too busy guiding Yahiko safely towards the Onmyouji to finish him off, so Sayuri had to do for now.

Usui chuckled, rubbing his chin. "Toguro Ani warned me about you," he said. "You're quite the trickster, I hear. So are you going to fight me now?"

"Yes," Kurama said, picking a rose seed inside his hair and turning it into a rose bloom then finally into the Rose Whip. However, this time around, it was a Rose Whip tied around the handle of the Grass Blade, thus turning it into a Rose Kusarigama (Chain Sickle).

"I hate tricksters like you," confessed Usui. "You remind me of a Saizuchi (his fellow Juppon Gatana member) that could somehow fight. The best way to take care of people like you is to kill you before you can come up with a convoluted scheme to take me down."

"Saizuchi?" repeated Kurama as he attempted to scan through Kenshin's memories given to him through his contact with the Demon Sword. "I don't know who that is." Himura must've never met that particular Ten Sword member.

They then proceeded to fight. Kurama was decently fast but not blindingly fast so like Kenshin Himura, Soujiro Seta, Yusuke Urameshi, or Jaganshi Hiei.

However, like with how Usui countered Hiei's speed with technique, Kurama knew how to methodically place his whip strikes and whiplash to minimize movement and maximize his range.

Also, thanks to his new weighted weapon, he could actually maneuver his whip to bounce off the Tinbe then hook-stab Uonuma from the back, as though he were fishing in the ocean.

What a frighteningly clever demon.

It took full focus and concentration from Usui's Shingan to predict the trajectory of every whip strike and whiplash from all sorts of awkward angles.

Kurama even made sure to attack only from a distance. He patiently waited when he'd commit to his strikes to keep himself from giving away any openings. A true chess master that outwitted even the likes of Feng Xinhai.

Truly irritating. Usui had no time for such protracted nonsense.

Usui let the Rose Chain-Sickle wrap around his Tinbe, which allowed him to pull Kurama towards him and stab him with the Rochin at last. The fox spirit turned human was able to twist his body in time to prevent a full-on stab like with Hiei, as though he was used to these situations.

Kurama grunted and tumbled backwards before ending up kneeling and gasping for breath.

Uonuma spared a sightless glance at Hiei and Sayuri, sneering at the youkai in particular. This was more for Hiei's sake (and mockery) than a need for him to sense the demon by turning his head, since he had heightened senses.

"I've defeated both Kurama and Hiei! The right-hand men of Yomi and Mukuro! Even the best demon warriors that Makai (Demon World) could offer are no match against me!"

However, before Usui knew it, he felt his Tinbe start to crumble, with cracks forming all around it like the time Kenshin hit it with the follow-up strike of the Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki (Heavens Gliding Dragon Flash).

"W-What? But how...!?"

His fingers then noticed the growth of moss on the shield, which had taken root throughout the battle. "Moss...?"

Kurama said as he stood up, "A rolling stone gathers no moss. But a turtle shield might. Your Tinbe is amazingly sturdy, with it getting stronger the more you break it apart like organic bone. But since I added Makai Moss to it, the tiny cracks and marks it was supposed to heal couldn't heal because the moss roots had filled up their space."

Like moss on an old building, the moss on Usui's Tinbe compromised the strength of the magic item, keeping it from reconstituting itself properly. Making it crumble as the cracks and gaps where bone or shell was supposed to be was instead replaced with insidious moss.

Also, the Rochin strike to Kurama's side was shallower than before, the spear becoming more and more brittle in cadence with the weakening of the Tinbe.

A cold sweat dripped down Usui's beard. Even after he was warned by Toguro Ani to watch out for Kurama's trickery, he still ended up tricked in the end!

"I take it back," said Uonuma, gasping for air even though he didn't really need to breathe. "You don't remind me of Saizuchi after all, Kurama. You're more like Shishio Makoto himself. You're as shrewd as a fox yet you fight like a demon."

He glanced again at Hiei, this time not to mock him but instead because his Shingan sensed the sudden spike in heat from the fire demon, which in turn knocked Sayuri back.

"Eeek!"

"Jaou-En-Satsu...!"

"NOOOO...!"

"KOKURYUHA!"

Multiple Dragons of Darkness Flame engulfed and blasted open the compromised Tinbe like a roasting chestnut, the Demon World Moss burning away along with the rest of the turtle shield as the second-in-command of the Juppon Gatana and Shin Ju practically got nuked in place.

***

Meanwhile, in the sky overlooking the northwest part of Okushiri Island...

Botan flew top-speed towards the Kyujimayama Observatory, exchanging places with Sayuri since that was under the northeast quadrant's jurisdiction.

Right behind her, riding shotgun, was a tired Yahiko Myojin, who was conserving his strength for the battle ahead against the Chojin's so-called conduit of power.

As soon as they got confirmation of where Houji the Onmyouji hid, they flew up in the sky under Kurama's orders while Natsuki herself met up with Likka in order to run interference against the incoming Karasu and Kuronue (a replacement Shin Ju along with Toguro Ani).

Even better, they stopped bothering to hide in the clouds for fear of aerial strikes after both Natsuki and Daiji neutralized their targets.

The Yutaro reincarnation blasted away Karasu (who could make flying Trace Eye bombs) and the Aoshi reincarnation trapped both Gein (Kaoru didn't remember who that was) and Houji (Kaoru heard of him through Sanosuke) inside a sealed, castle-like structure.

Now was the perfect opportunity for them to strike Houji down before finishing off the rest of the Shin Juppon Gatana and rescuing Okushiri from being under siege by the Chojin.

However, the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.

Instead of them going straight to the sealed Houji, the Chojin's top minion apparently decided to go after them instead.

"What the hell is that, Tanuki-chan!?"

The top portion of the castle of spires proceeded to float towards Botan and Yahiko like some sort of alien ship or U.F.O.

The monument to their success had now become the flying tombstone of their imminent doom.

Jaki laser beams then blasted through the windowless structure, creating windows and doors.

"AHHH! Retreat!" screamed Botan while the Kaoru inside her head wondered how ordinary humans from the Meiji Era could take on something as ridiculous as a floating sky fortress.

***

Before the Kokuryuha could completely sublimate or at least carbonize Usui to the point of Gein needing to create a new body for him, Kuronue blinked into existence and pushed him aside in order to take the full brunt of the Demon World equivalent of a nuclear warhead.

"...Kuronue!" Kurama shouted out at the bat demon, concerned with the wellbeing of his former partner-in-crime despite their circumstances.

Then a curious thing happened.

Kuronue turned into a shadow in the street. Only for another him to (re)appear, who also turned into ash. Another him then replaced him, dying from the flames of the black dragon conflagration. Then another. Then another.

The bat demon died probably a dozen more times before Hiei thought it prudent to return the flames into his arm as tattoos, sealing them. Not willing to let Kurama's partner from millennia ago waste more of his demon energy.

After the present Kuronue gasped his dying breath, a new him took his place, completely healthy and unharmed.

What the hell was going on?

Even Kurama was shaken by the proceedings. He had heard Natsuki's explanation about Kuronue's new powers relayed to him by Sayaka's communicator, but even then he couldn't believe his eyes when he saw it in action.

Was it instantaneous resurrection powers like with Toguro Ani? Clones, like with Suzaku? Or even hypnotic illusions, like with Likka Ikumi and Jine Udo?

The Kuronue whom Kurama knew that died because of a bamboo trap never had such powers. Granted, he was a much weaker demon around that time. But still.

"Uh... Usui, was it?" said Kuronue to Usui. "You should be more careful when fighting Kurama. He's a sneaky one, you see. Don't let him figure you out or else he'll get you killed. It's rare for him to get overwhelmed, like in the case of that one S-Level Reikai Tantei or the Reikai Boueitai."

Uonuma harrumphed. "Ah, so it's you, newbie. Don't get full of yourself. You were only revived by the Chojin because you're the only guy we know who could deal with Youko Kurama's cunning. Udo Jine was supposed to fill the role of Achilles' heel to Kurama, but he ultimately failed and got killed by him."

The bat demon could only laugh. "Haaai (Yeees). Read you loud and clear, sempai (upperclassman)."

Hiei then told the blonde shinigami, ""You better leave now if you don't want to get hurt."

Uchiko said, "But you're not yet finished healing...! Ah. You know what? Fine. Whatever." She then made her exit using her floating scythe as her means of transportation instead of a long boat paddle.

Kurama and Hiei backed away unto each other's sides while both Uonuma and Kuronue loomed towards them, their weapons at the ready.

The Tinbe had already started to reconstruct itself. The gambit Kurama used to weaken it couldn't be used twice now that Usui was aware of how his trick worked.

"Is that really Kuronue or just another imposter?" Hiei asked Kurama, remembering the Meikai (Nether World) god who impersonated the bat demon to mess with the youko's head.

"I'm afraid that's him," Kurama said, his smile looking more like a wincing grimace. "And yes, he does know me like the back of his hand."

"Hn," said Hiei. "Then the same could be said with you to him, right?"

Minamino turned towards his fire demon companion and smiled. "Yes, of course."

Multiple Kuronue "clones" served as Usui's meat shield as his actual shield continued reconstituting its cracked surface, with it now strong enough to resist the Kokuryuha and perhaps even Demon World Moss.

"What's going on? Is Usui using Jine's Jagan again?" asked Hiei.

"No, I don't think so," said Kurama. "From what I remember, Jine's hypnosis affected one person at a time. I'm not sure if Usui evolved the Jagan enough to affect multiple people or create mirages like with Ikumi Likka's powers."

Hiei grunted. Before them was a scene reminiscent of one of the Dai Shin Kan (Great Priests), whose name escaped him at the moment, multiplying endlessly. 'It was Something-Yatsume who did it,' he thought.

Was multiple cloning the M.O. of the Overfiend?

Was it his way of showing his undead army of Dai Kaijin (Great Monsters) were as unlimited as a pestilence of voracious pests? Like a swarm of locusts or a mischief of rats? Unkillable like an intrusion of roaches?

He even heard from his communicator that the same thing happened with Gein and his Iwanbo meat puppets with the assistance of the Onmyouji, which forced Detective Matsudaira to seal them off inside a windowless, spire-filled prison.

Did they intend to infest the world like a plague, from Kuronue to Suzaku or even the Iwanbos of Gein and the Shikigami of the Onmyouji?

Hiei was sick of this clone nonsense but knew that using up his Kokuryuha wasn't in his best interests.

Kurama murdered several shadow clones of his partner, only to succumb to cuts and slices to his neck, abdomen, and thigh. This reminded him of his fight with the Fake Kuronue. That Meikai God did a convincing impression of his old friend.

But this time he was fighting the real deal, and none of his tricks were working against him.

"Rejoice, Youko!" said one of the Kuronues. "When the Chojin snatched me up from the depths of Hell, he told me he did so because he saw you as a threat. You were the only one who wielded the Demon Sword and used it to boost your powers to X-Level."

Kurama frowned, decapitating that one Kuronue and countless others with his Rose Kusarigama. "Who cares about being X-Level?"

Usui shook his head. "Fool! I'd jump at the chance to be as powerful as the Chojin himself! The only X-Level in existence at present! More powerful than the most powerful of the Demon World! You could've single-handedly killed the Shin Ju if you had that kind of power! Save everyone on the Human World you so love! Why do you deny greatness?"

The Youko inside Kurama chuckled, and for a split second his true form emerged. "What's the fun in that? Something given is taken for granted. Something earned is treasured."

The horde of Kuronues laughed upon hearing this and chorused, "Ah, now that's the Youko I know and love."

Hiei also chopped and burned the Kuronues before him with his Jaou-En-Satsu Ken. The sword had flames that, unbeknownst to him, were reminiscent of Shishio's Homura Dama.

The jaganshi did know enough about the Shin Ju to realize that doing the Sword of Darkness Flame would only entice Usui to fight even with his unfinished Tinbe.

The risk of fighting someone with the power of hypnosis was high, but as long as the brilliant and prepared Kurama had his back, Hiei had no fear against such hallucinations.

Whether they were from Kuronue or Usui.

Kuronue continued, "As one of the Chojin's Dai Kaijin, I then developed newfound abilities to help me take you out in the best way possible, Youko. Knowing you, the only way anyone can defeat you is if they're given unlimited retries to do so. You're a cunning fox. Most people would die a thousand deaths first before they can find an opening to take you down. So I chose to develop that kind of power."

Hiei had to admit that that sounded about right. You did not want the Youko as your enemy.

Using the brief rise of energy elicited by Kuronue's tempting words about gaining X-Level through the Youtou Shinnoken, Kurama turned a single stalk of bamboo into the Hydra Bamboo once more.

This weaponized plant of Kurama's was bamboo on "steroids" that multiplied twice for every stalk you cut down. Just like the legendary Hydra of yore. The only ways to kill it involved overcrowding it with other plants or by burning it to the point of carbonization.

The forest of bamboo pierced through the hearts, lungs, stomachs, muscles, intestines, livers, kidneys, and brains of the nearest gathered Kuronues while the rest scattered away like disturbed flies on shit. Or bats, since he was a bat demon.

"Hiei, NOW! While we still have the chance! Kill Uonuma Usui! I'll figure out a way to deal with Kuronue later."

The jagan user charged with his flame sword, able to keep the Hydra Bamboo at bay with his burning slices and cuts so that he wouldn't get overwhelmed himself by the deadly malignant forest.

He wasn't able to kill the half-healed Uonuma earlier but now he should be able to fare better against the blind man's half-formed turtle shield. His airtight defense earlier was now broken in half.

Usui's supernatural hearing and enhanced reflexes allowed him to block Hiei's 17 fire sword strikes in one second.

However, that one second of blocking was the opening the fire demon needed in order to blast a Dragon of Darkness Flame straight into the night sky before it came crashing from behind Uonuma while he busily defended against the Sword of Darkness Flame.

One of the Kuronues ended up protecting Usui from the rear, his chain scythe weapon turning into an iron mine's worth of steel that melted from the heat of the Black Dragon Spirit Wave Technique, which in turn flooded the bamboo forest with fiery molten metal.

Also, the Tinbe had by now reformed two-thirds of itself instead of only half, with it having a pie-sized opening left on an otherwise complete turtle shell shield.

They were running out of time.

The Spirit World Warriors would be back to square one or worse if the Onmyouji managed to escape Daiji's seal before Yahiko could get to him and neutralize his connection with the Almighty Chojin.

Again, Kurama used the Invasive Kudzu Grass to smother and eat the fire away, making it grow with the same uncontrollable rate as the Hydra Bamboo had over being sliced or physically torn apart.

Kuronue said, "I've seen that technique of yours before as well!"

From there, one set of Kuronues served as gardeners who chopped and diced up the Invasive Kudzu before it could absorb enough energy to become a problem, with them even sacrificing several of their own in the process.

Another set of Kuronues kept the blaze of the growing forest fire alive, filling the air with smoke and flames that burned up the mutated bamboo before it could grow enough to become unstoppable.

Unlike the mindless puppets of Gein and the Nameless Yatsume, Kuronue's phantoms had a frightening hivemind that learned from every mistake they made and adjusted thusly with every new generation of himself.

One Kuronue branched out into multiple versions of himself, thusly exploring infinite possibilities.

The Quantum Kuronue.

Maybe Kurama should've gotten hold of the Demon Sword and finished all the Shin Ju off with one or ten slashes. A potential eleventh slash for the Onmyouji.

But that was the boring way of doing things. And Kurama loved a challenge. How should he solve this puzzle that Kuronue suddenly became?

Besides which, Kurama noticed that Hiei had been hiding one more ace up his sleeve all this time. An ace that the Shin Ju were probably also aware of, but had yet to experience firsthand.

Hiei backed off from Usui's Rochin stab, sheathing his sword and adopting the same battoujutsu or iaido (sword-drawing) stance that Himura Battousai was known for.

The whole park had become a mess. One part of it was composed of burning bamboo and molten metal that had started to harden.

The other part was filled with bits and pieces of kudzu grass reaped by scythes, with several of them allowed by the Kuronues to eat the remaining red and black flames, thus controlling the blaze.

That was one helluva landscaping job Kuronue did.

The army of Kuronues then remerged into one body, awaiting the next attack from Kurama to occur that they'd then dissect and deconstruct.

Once Uonuma's Tinbe was completed, nothing in their arsenal would be able to take down his defensive turtle shield.

The shell had already tasted every last technique they could throw at it, from Demon World Moss to Makai Flames. Everything but the kitchen sink.

Regardless Hiei flickered into action and Kuronue multiplied once more.

Usui lay in wait, his Shingan soaking in all the different noises surrounding him yet his supernatural senses able to distinguish which ones were the Kuronues and which ones were Hiei.

He also screamed, "Hey, Newbie! When you decapitate the fire demon, make sure to keep his Jagan intact! I need that!"

Kurama walked calmly towards the chaos of burning bamboo, chopped kudzu grass, a self-contained forest fire, and what seemed like an army of Kuronue converging into what appeared to the naked eye as empty space but instead was actually a supersonic Hiei.

He then snatched the jewel necklace hanging from the neck of (one of the many clones of) Kuronue.

The youko figured out the new powers that the Chojin bestowed upon Kuronue. All of his clones were the real him.

On a quantum level, Kuronue managed to exist in multiple planes of existence and manifest himself in one reality, allowing some of his selves to die and his other selves to live at the same time in an infinite loop.

It enabled him to interact in one dimension in a multi-dimensional manner, so that he could do one, two, three, or more things at the same time until he succeeded in a given instance, his realities branching forth endlessly as he explored every possibility.

For a schemer like Kurama who tended to finish off opponents with cunning and wit, this new version of Kuronue was an absolute nightmare to handle. He was like Yusuke. Creative. Unpredictable. Chaotic.

An honest demon who'd never attack you from behind but knew every trick in the book because he was an expert in unraveling mysteries, traps, techniques, and lies. He loved figuring out the truth behind everything.

The same bat demon who ended up dying, ensnared by the simplest and most primitive of bamboo traps due to his immense sense of sentiment, which was ironic and truly unbecoming of someone as clever as him.

Kuronue should've known better.

Kurama figured out that the Meikai God who impersonated the Fake Kuronue was a fake with the way he discarded the jewel around his neck.

In the same vein, he knew this Kuronue was the real deal when he... all of him... scrambled for the jewel with a high amount of sentimental value to him.

The seeming dozens—perhaps even hundreds or more—of Kuronues all jumped at grabbing hold of the jewel Kurama threw away in the same manner that the Meikai God Kaiki did.

This was the opportunity Hiei was waiting for.

"Jaou-En-Satsu KOKURYUHA!"

***

Thousands of years ago...

A bloodied young Kuronue cackled with gnashed teeth and a raspy throat at Youko Kurama and his bloodstained claws.

Maimed but not broken. His body scourged with lacerations. His limbs flopping uselessly on the floor.

His clenched teeth gripping the string of a necklace.

The leader of the demon bandits looked at the bat demon with disdain and confusion. The kid managed to steal a necklace from their haul.

"Why are you so happy? That's just a trinket compared to the countless treasures we've gathered," Youko Kurama said with a toss of his silken hair.

On shaky legs, Kuronue rose up, his bloody back on the craggy wall. "If it was so insignificant, you wouldn't have almost killed me to get it back."

Kurama raised his clawed hand, the constant lightning from Makai's dark clouds illuminating his silhouette. "Would you die for that necklace?"

Again, through clenched teeth, Kuronue spoke. "What an honor it would be to do so. Let me die a martyr. Let me be known as the one demon who outwitted the Legendary Youko Kurama."

Kurama changed his mind then and there. He put down his raised arm, turned, and walked away.

"HEY! Are you just going to let me go, you coward?" Kuronue spat, which led to him accidentally dropping the necklace. He then went on a mad scramble for it, willing his trembling arms to catch the jewelry.

"Rest up. Heal your wounds. You're now part of my bandits. Bring my jewel along with you," commanded the youko. "We hunt in the next earth day."

After finally grabbing hold of the jewel, Kuronue demanded, "And if I refuse?"

While still facing away from him, Kurama turned his head and gave the bat demon a sidelong glance. "I don't think you will."

From that point forth, the youko ended up with an ally more valuable than the trinket he stole from him.

***

The Dragons of Darkness Flames killed every last one of the Kuronue doppelgangers with its youki-infused flames from the Demon World burning them to sublimation at an atomic level.

Kurama went down on his knees, exhausted. He'd lost a lot of blood from his war with what seemed like a thousand Kuronues converging at him at once.

However, in the corner of his eye, he could've sworn he saw at least one Kuronue move out of the Kokuryuha's line of sight.

If a Kuronue had survived, then there was at least a one in a hundred/thousand possibility that if Kurama had thrown away that necklace, he wouldn't have gone after it.

Kuronue was learning. Changing. Evolving.

Kurama smiled. At least something good came out of the Chojin's plans to revive their dead enemies/comrades to use against them.

***

To Be Continued...

I based Kuronue's new powers on the version of Kuronue featured in my first-ever fan fiction, "Shonen". Something about the (watered-down for fiction version of the) Many-World Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics with a dash of Schrödinger's Cat thrown into the mix.

The boss battle is fast approaching, but those mini-bosses can be quite the handful!

Ciao, Abdiel

#king #king of fighters #hiei #kurama #yuyu hakusho #幽☆遊☆白書 #rurouni kenshin #るろうに剣心 #demon sword #youtou shinnoken #妖刀真の剣

[gabriel-gabdiel]

【Draft】Youtou Shinnoken Chapter 56: Living Sin (Part 8)

The Reikai Senshi hold the Shin Juppon Gatana at bay temporarily, but for how much longer?

The original source of this idea comes from Chad Yang. I continued his story idea found here.

The rest of the chapters of my Yuyu Hakusho and Rurouni Kenshin crossover fan fiction are available here and here. Enjoy.

At the Okushiri Airport...

Natsuki Shinaki freed herself from Kuronue's chains, accelerating them even while at rest by focusing her reiki unto them.

Kuronue barely dodged the broken chain shrapnel along with the follow-through Kousa Dageki (Cross Strike) strike and thrust combo that nearly crushed his skull and/or put a hole in his trachea.

Or maybe he didn't. Maybe he got hit after all. And killed.

However, the next thing Natsuki knew, he was 6 feet or 2 meters away from her, none the worse for wear. As though  she hit and killed a mirage.

Damn. That was close.

They were right inside the flaming wreckage of a 747 cargo plane right that Karasu used to blow up the airport, which served as more shrapnel for the crow youkai to use.

Yes, Natsuki Shinkai could be as soft-hearted as Kurama in that she didn't indiscriminately kill her enemies. However, when she was pushed far enough, she could be every bit as cruel as the Youko.

Especially if she thought you deserved it. Like her father, Feng Xinhai, attempting to kill Daiji Matsudaira with a half-formed supercell of a tornado.

A simple humiliating parry of her friend's flying kick was enough to send her to the edge.

Figuring out what Kuronue meant by Natsuki's limits, he started blasting the surrounding buildings and planes of the Okushiri Airport.

Even though she could redirect the explosions or even rubble away from herself, the merciful Natsuki kept her barrier down against the high-speed shards of earth and glass for fear of deflecting it against nearby civilians or her friend, Likka.

"Dammit," she cursed as she concentrated hard to push the rubble and debris from the explosions at only Karasu and Kuronue in order to protect Ikumi.

"I understand her weakness now," said Karasu. "She's only as powerful as the attacks directed at her! She also needs to concentrate hard to manipulate the direction and trajectory of objects coming at her or else there'll be collateral damage!"

"That's right. And she can't do those two things at the same time!" said the bat demon, who sneered and then produced Clamshell Shrapnel Bombs for good measure.

Meanwhile, Kuronue himself easily maneuvered through the raining debris, metal shrapnel, glass, and rubble in order to attack Natsuki with them, knowing that she could only dodge and couldn't return fire with any effective offense of her own.

The demons attacked simultaneously at two fronts, which kept her from focusing her psionic redirection powers properly.

She held on remarkably well though, redirecting the rocks at both demons while using Hawatari (Sword Halt) and Hadome (Sword Crossing) at the supersonic Kuronue's attempts at making her slip up and

"Ahhh!" Likka Ikumi cried out in pain as several of the shrapnel hit her on the thigh and side.

There were too many flying debris chaotically shooting at every direction and at different speeds for Shinkai to properly take account of and deflect.

"Likka-tan! I'm sorry!" shouted a tearful Natsuki, only for Kuronue to aim for her neck. She then faced her attacker and said, "Fine. You want me to kill you? Then I will!"

She proceeded to do what Kuronue claimed she couldn't do, which was to reverse the flow of his blood in one direction, leading his head swell and burst like a balloon.

A second Kuronue appeared right behind the deceased one, his scythe in the ready. "Whoa. How scary."

'What the hell was going on anymore?' thought Natsuki as the sickle cut through her stomach.

Karasu then threw a new grenade at Natsuki, who attempted to deflect it only for it to explode in her face.

***

Youtou Shinnoken: Demon Sword

A Rurouni Kenshin/Yuyu Hakusho Crossover Fan Fiction Story by Chester Castañeda

Original concept by Chad Yang

The Misao reincarnation known as Likka Ikumi gets to activate her special powers at last.

Disclaimer: Yuyu Hakusho is the rightful property of Yoshihiro Togashi, Shueisha, Fuji TV, and Studio Pierrot. Rurouni Kenshin is the rightful property of Nobuhiro Watsuki, Shueisha, Shonen Jump, Viz, Sony Studios, Fuji TV, Studio Gallop, Studio Deen, and ADV. This disclaimer also covers all the other copyrighted materials that are far too many to mention here. Don't sue me please, I'm very poor.

***

Chapter 56: Living Sin (Part 8)

***

At Nabetsuru Rock...

The Nabetsuru (Pot Handle) Rock was a tourist destination in Okushiri Island. It was a rock formation visible across the shores of Okushiri with the appearance of a pot handle.

Speaking of pots, the water surrounding the rock soon boiled, steamed, and bubbled. Something was afoot.

The half-healed zombie body of Usui Uonuma was still licking his wounds from his defeat against Hajime Saito when one of the ferry-girls located him off of Nabetsuru Rock and informed the Reikai Senshi of the fact.

Shikigami from Houji gathered around him to present him with enough negative energy to heal him up. It was weird how jaki could heal a body, but he knew his body was really more of a corpse and he was more of a vengeful ghost than a reincarnated spirit.

He knew and he didn't care. He'd cling to existence by any means necessary after it was nearly snuffed out by Makoto Shishio and "permanently" ended by Hajime Saito.

He had by then reconnected his body's top half with his bottom half, but the wounds were still tender and his spine was still in bad shape. The Spirit World Warriors were really hammering their forces down, weren't they?

A few minutes later and there he was.

Jaganshi (Evil Eye User) Hiei.

Probably the second or third most powerful member of the Spirit World Warriors, behind Kenshin Himura (with the Demon Sword) and Yusuke Urameshi (once he got over his Kugai issues and fully unleashed the power of the Spirit Light Wave Gem).

Usui smirked, opened his mouth, and licked his lips.

It was the Shingan (True Eyes) versus the Jagan (Evil Eyes).

The blind swordsman turned spearman zombie wondered. If he had Jine Udo's Jagan on one eye socket and Hiei's Jagan on his other eye socket, would he finally gain the power he needed to usurp the likes of Tenro? Or the Chojin?

Or Shishio?

'Same difference.'

He remembered how his Tinbe grew thick enough to stop even the ultimate attacks of both a super-powered Kenshin and Saito, which in turn allowed his Rochin to penetrate to anything weaker than his Tinbe.

If he had the power of one Jagan to hypnotize people and the other Jagan to gain control of demonic energy, he'd be unstoppable.

The most powerful Shin Ju who possessed both superhuman senses and supernatural powers.

'But first thing's first,' he thought, noticing the fewer number of shinigami (death gods) assisting his healing as Hiei approached his perch on the rock at dangerous speeds.

The sea seemingly sliced in twain from his flashing steps as though he were a miniature speedboat Moses himself parting the Red Sea like theater curtains.

***

There were too many of them. There was a suffocating amount if Iwanbos there as well as shikigamis who fed them jaki (negative energy).

The combination of Houji "The Onmyouji (Occult Priest)" Sadojima and Edward "The Puppet Master" Gein (also known as Dr. Shoji Sugino from Unit 731) were too much for this batch of Reikai Senshi to handle.

That was the simple conclusion that the Reikai Senshi (Spirit World Warriors) and the Oniwabanshu (Garden Keepers) had when fighting against the armies of Iwanbo and shikigami from both

Like the Roku Youkai in Mt. McKinley versus The Nameless Yatsume, they Reikai Tantei and the Oniwabanshu were flooded with Iwanbo versions 1, 2, and 3 and the shikigami they fed on for jaki and power ups, like this was an ecosystem and the Reikai Senshi were prey.

Kuwabara had been chopping out Iwanbos and familiars left and right with his twin Jigen Tou (Dimensional Sword), only to end up sapped of energy and with only one flickering Dimension Sword left as more and more of the puppet monsters appeared.

At the same time, he had to contend against Houji turning everything nearest him into freaking Toguro Ani, with their wounds or even pureed bodies healing instantly.

Gein, in turn, used his jaki to supply Houji with fresh corpses to bring to life and heal.

The reincarnated Okashira (Boss) of the Oniwabanshu, Daiji Matsudaira (formerly Aoshi Shinomori) fluidly maneuvered against the razors-sharp web of trip-wires that the World War II era mad scientist ninja known as Gein weaved with his diamond-covered threads, only to be bull-rushed by the one Iwanbo Version 3 with the four arms: The Iwanbo Version 3.2.

The Iwanbo 3.2 had thus far trampled on all of the efforts of the Tokyo Oniwabanshu to take it down, whether it was through poison, fire, sword slashes, brute strength, or martial arts.

Like Shikijo, it got cross-slash scars from every part of its body, but it still kept moving, shrugging off the rain of kodachi Daiji produced as well as the pistol shots to the head it got a little while later.

Kuwabara did notice how the monstrous puppet recovered as quickly as Toguro Ani while sporting the same ridiculous musculature and power of Toguro Ototo. 'Hiei and Kurama's investigations were true! That old ninja guy really was responsible for demonizing the Toguro Brothers!'

Meanwhile, Kuwabara desperately held on to his knife-sized Jigen Tou, willing it to remain in his hands even as he had to contend against an undead army of shikigami and Iwanbos.

He sliced apart portals, warp gates, dimensions, space, and even the sky itself with the way his cuts remained in the air like cracked on glass, cutting through the guts of the zombies down below and the ghoulish ghosts from up above.

Houji and Gein pushed him to the brink of using up all his spirit energy, which may then force him to use his own life force to keep on fighting.

The Onmyouji sloppily sliced at Kuwabara, who then blocked the blade but buckled on the weight of the Chojin's negative energy instead of the strength of the strike. 'Dammit, we're going to lose!'

The bowl-cut man cackled and ranted, "This is the power of the Chojin! This is the power of the gods! You were no match from the start!"

As for the Shinomori of the modern era, he threw every last kodachi he could master at the charging Iwanbo, whose tackles were so impactful he turned even fellow Iwanbo and stray shikigami into road kill, ground beef, or ectoplasm.

Even after turning into a knife holder sculpture or Julius Caesar after his assassination, he would not stop charging.

The tired Okashira ended up taking a knee. He willed himself to move away with his Water Flow Movement, but Dr. Sugino caught him off-guard, the razor-wire biting into his neck. "Checkmate, Okashira. You killed me before, right? Well, let me return the favor."

Daiji struggled against the old man, surprised at how strong he was for his age, the piano wire digging deeper. They'd be both turned into mush by the rampaging Iwanbo 3.2, but only one of them would end up getting resurrected by the Onmyouji when all was said and done.

The air around them then changed as the ghosts of the Oniwabanshu rose again. However, something was different about them. They exuded menace that wasn't there before.

Hannya, Shikijo, Hyottoko, and Beshimi rose up like zombies hungry for flesh.

"Don't you dare touch the Okaaashiiiraaa...!"

***

As Likka Ikumi, Misao Makimachi's Heisei reincarnation, went unconscious due to blood loss, she dreamed of what had happened earlier, when she was deemed a C-Level martial artist ninja girl while the rest of the people she knew from past and present ranked B-Level and higher.

"This isn't fair!" Likka complained. "You'd be B-Level too if you didn't have special powers yourself, you little brat!"

"Yeah, funny how that works. Even Cat Eyes got better superpowers than you and your quick costume changes! OW!" teased Yahiko right at the moment he got hit upside the head with Misao's patented flying kick.

"KECHO GIRI!" Likka screamed. "Grrr! I want superpowers too! I don't want to end up in the battle field being some sort of liability to Uncle Jiji (Daiji) or Tsuki-chan (Natsuki)!

Yahiko then relented, "Jeez, Weasel-chan! Don't be upset about me being stronger than you, you only 'woke up' recently! But you're Makimachi Misao and yes, you're better at hand-to-hand combat than I am."

Ikumi paused then pouted. "Really, Yahiko-chan?"

Kenshin himself said, "Misao-dono, I know that Shinomori Aoshi's talent might have blinded you of this fact, but shinobi (spies) are not known for their swordsmanship or power. They're instead known for their cunning."

Natsuki herself interjected. "You are not a swordsman but a spy, Likka-tan. A ninja. A shadow warrior. You can take down a samurai many times more powerful than you by ambush and numbers. Use that."

Likka then woke up in time to see the miko (priestess) ferry-girl tending to her shrapnel wounds, removing the foreign objects and healing her body the best she could.

"Please, wake up! Please, hang on!" pleaded the shinigami known as Hinageshi.

***

Back at the Kyujimayama Observatory...

Hannya. Shikijo. Hyottoko. Beshimi.

Again, their supposed Okashira had failed them and soiled their memories. Or this watered-down copper version of their Okashira living in the present Heisei Era.

These ghosts that served as Daiji Matsudaira's guardian angels from the death of his wife to the present, when he discovered his dark destiny as being the reincarnation of the Last Oniwabanshu Okashira, were now forced to demonize themselves.

They abandoned their humanity and turned themselves into monsters in order to keep

The combination of Houji the Onmyouji and Gein the Puppet Master was truly too much for Kazuma Kuwabara and the Oniwabanshu them to handle.

Daiji did the Jissen Kenbu (combining the Water Flow Movement with his one-handed kodachi strikes) on Gein, who was not as adept at pure ninjutsu as his Meiji Era counterpart, but his supernatural powers and modern scientific knowledge more than made up for his lack of athleticism.

Just behind them, the transformed Oniwabanshu tore apart the four-armed Iwanbo 3.1 like a pack of wolves.

"Saaaave the Okashiraaa! At aaaall cooosts!"

Shikijo's muscles bulging and popping as his complexion turned grey or even metallic, grabbing one set of the Iwanbo's arms and stopping him on his tracks.

Beshimi biting and throwing spines growing from all over his body, the corrosive poison seeping into the undead veins of the puppet monster.

Hyottoko turning into a full-on kappa youkai who breathed fire, toasting the creature from behind.

And finally, there was the tri-clawed Hannya, who stabbed the Iwanbo, sliced the veins of his other arms, and ravaged him like a rabid wolverine.

The more they ripped apart the puppet, the more mindless they became. Like animals.

Houji chuckled at the display, letting his shikigami deal with the weakening Kuwabara for a change. "How would it feel if I took away your ghost friends and brought them to our side, Okashira?"

Meanwhile, Gein was already using his own knowledge of the dark arts in order to form a fresh new over-muscled Iwanbo 3.1.

No. Enough was enough.

The deceased Oniwabanshu had been haunting his soul all this time, even a hundred years later in another body, because they felt like they had failed in protecting him when the opposite was instead true.

Time and time again, they'd saved him.

His blue eyes shining bright like stars on a clear night, Daiji's aura of reiki (spirit energy) flared to life and reacted to the youki (demonic energy) emanating from his former Oniwabanshu comrades. He then started to absorb their dark energy unto himself, shouldering all their anger and feelings of failure unto him.

It was his own failure and lack of strength that kept them anchored to him for so long, keeping them from passing on.

It was his turn to save them.

"Uh, what happened?" asked Shikijo.

"I don't remember much," said Beshiimi.

"I feel hungry," said Hyottoko.

"You can't be hungry! You're a ghost!" admonished Hannya, who then turned towards Daiji. "It's the Okashira. He has saved us again, as usual!"

As the Okashira absorbed more of their dark energy, the Oniwabanshu ghouls started to go back to normal. They were neither demons nor monsters any longer.

Daiji then went face-to-face with the Iwanbo 3.2, who had again cannibalized the corpses or even "living" bodies of his undead brethren as well as the nearby shikigami unto him. To build his strength by feeding on the weak just like Matsudaira.

The Iwanbo 3.2 charged at Matsudaira, with the pair of Houji and Gein close behind him.

"Kill the Okashira! Do so and we'll have this battle in the bag!" said Gein to his puppet.

"We might even be able to revive him and turn him into one of the Dai Kaijin," added Sadojima.

They were in for the shock of their lives.

***

Back at Nabetsuru Rock...

Jaganshi Hiei ran on water like Jesus Christ in a hurry then blasted the rock where the half-healed or still-healing Usui Uonuma lay with a Jaou-En-Satsu Kokuryuha (Dragon of Darkness Flame).

The fire demon didn't want to take any chances. However, as expected, Uonuma's Tinbe still remembered the sheer power of the most powerful strikes given to it by Battousai and the Miburo.

It was able to survive the atomic heat of the Makai flames from Hiei's deadliest attack, neutralizing it.

"Hn."

Usui answered that indignant harrumph with a chuckle. "And just like that, my Tinbe is now fireproofed as well as shock-absorbent. Is that your best shot, Jaganshi Hiei?"

Hiei then visually disappeared from Uonuma's midst, but the blind man couldn't even see him even when he was floating in the sea or running on the water anyway, so he wasn't too worried.

He was able to hear him all the while though.

The blind spearman could only smile as he caught each and every slash or stab Hiei attempted at him, deflecting them away like rain with his Tinbe umbrella.

He was made aware that the Shin Ju had lost contact with Houji and Gein, which meant that there wasn't enough shikigami and jaki left to heal him soon.

However, he was an S-Level entity himself.

This meant that even though he didn't have the Onmyouji's assistance to heal him, he could damn well heal himself. Not at the cancerous rate that Toguro Ani did, but fast enough.

'I just need to buy myself a little bit more time,' Usui thought, blocking all of Hiei's sword strikes and countering with his Rochin spear that was as irresistible as his Tinbe was unbreakable.

'Battousai's reports are accurate,' thought Hiei. 'This man is hard to kill, even without the powers of the Onmyouji aiding him and keeping him alive. Or at least undead.'

The two combatants jumped from the rock to the shore, their feet both using the waves and the surface tension of the saltwater to travel from that long distance.

Not once was Hiei able to scratch the injured man. Not with the Kokuryuha. Not with his blade.

However, the blind Shin Ju in turn was not fast enough to counter with his Rochin. He kept missing his kaeshi (ripostes) even though he parried or blocked all of the fire demon's physical attacks.

Getting behind Usui to stab him and avoid the shield didn't work because the spearman sensed his presence every time and blocked accordingly.

However, thanks to Hiei's Jagan and his inborn twitch reflexes, the Rochin could not touch him in turn, no matter how badly he missed or got parried by the former hitokiri turned Juppon Gatana member.

Perhaps it was because he was too injured. Or perhaps it was because he was too slow from the get go.

They seemed to be at an impasse.

***

"Ahhh!" Natsuki shrieked, her impenetrable deflection shield working against her, drawing the implosion towards her instead of away from her due to the nature of her reversal powers.

The crow demon smirked.

His experimental pillbug implosion bomb was a success.

Shinkai predictably attempted to deflect it like Karasu's other bombs, but she did so by reversing its momentum. This made the bomb explode instead of implode unto itself.

The way Natsuki affected her environment was to use the inertia of the objects going towards her and reverse their momentum so that she didn't have to expend her spirit energy moving them away.

To reverse the momentum of an implosion bomb was to turn it into an explosive. "Now, Kuronue! While you have the chance!"

Then, after several more Kuronues died out, one of them decapitated Natsuki with his scythe.

Game. Set. Match.

However, that Natsuki turned out to be a standee advertisement of a stewardess instead. Taken from the rubble.

"!?" intoned Kuronue, only to realize it was the Misao reincarnation who duped him into decapitating the decoy.

A classic ninjutsu trick.

Karasu attempted to get rid of the troublesome onmitsu (ninja girl) with his variety of bombs, only to be greeted with a rain of kunai (ninja daggers) moving at every which way and direction, defying the laws of physics, gravity, and momentum.

He yelped as a dagger ended up in his eye, which would normally be weak enough for him to swat away. 'Where is that damned ninja...?!'

As for Kuronue and Natsuki, they were locked in a battle of wills and wits. Or perhaps a war of attrition.

For different reasons, both Shinkai and the bat demon ended up cleaving or crushing through dozens upon dozens of their respective "clones". With Natsuki, they were illusions made by Likka. With Kuronue, it was still a mystery where they came from.

For every Kuronue that got beat up, head-crushed, stabbed, or disabled by some way, so too did every Natsuki suffer getting their limbs chopped off, their heads decapitated, and their bodies bisected horizontally or vertically.

The fading corpses of Shinkai and Kuronue that littered the landscape disappeared as soon as they fell.

"I don't care anymore!" the one-eyed Karasu threw implosion bombs at the pair's direction. "I'm sure you'll somehow survive this, Kuronue, but she won't!"

That was when Likka Ikumi finally decided to show herself and detonated the bombs with her flung kunai, one of which ended up stuck unto Karasu's hand.

"...Fool! You fell into my trap!" said Karasu even as one of the implosions set him ablaze, with him taking his mask off with his other hand in order to activate another Full-Body Implosion. "Now to kill you to get rid of all these illusions!"

Likka then smirked before she shifted forms and turned into Natsuki.

"...What?!"

A flabbergasted Kuronue spared a glance at the Natsuki he was fighting. The bat demon chopped her up, only for her to turn into a stop sign.

"Since when were you under the impression that you were fighting Tsuki-chan?"

"Natsuki" then appeared behind him and turned him into a kunai holder, who sure enough ended up being Likka instead, mimicking her friend all the while.

"I will not be a burden to Tsuki-chan any longer! I can help her out! We can win against you two!" said Ikumi.

Thus was the power of the "C-Level" Likka Ikumi: Optical Illusion. Perfect Deception. Absolute Fantasy.

It allowed her reiki to create mirages or hallucinations from her own imagination that, when used properly could make gods kneel and devils cry.

A special power that could beat even S-Levels to submission.

A power similar to that the Kanji Killer and his hypnotic Jagan, but it involved projecting her imagination unto reality like realistic mirages instead of invading her opponent's psyche to see what she wanted them to see, thus she used up less reiki to do it.

"You've underestimated the both of us," said Shinkai, whose only injuries were from that one implosion bomb that slipped through. "Now pay for your arrogance!"

Just as Karasu was about to explode and take both the girls with him, Yutaro's reincarnation reflected and focused all that potential energy towards Kuronue, blasting him with her own version of Suzaku's Railgun.

She turned the crow demon into fuel and matter for her own energy gun, the same way Suzaku could turn any piece of steel into a blast of energy himself.

The golden beam of light seemed to kill multiple clones of Kuronue at the same time, his body stubbornly refusing to disintegrate, with him reviving over and over only for him to die again, until there was nothing left of both Karasu and Kuronue.  

***

Hiei harrumphed.

His speed did not phase his opponent one bit. Nor did his S-Level youki and Dragon of Darkness Flame.

However, he had to kill him there and then. He with his Tinbe was too dangerous to be left alive. He'd just disrupt their plan to take out Houji Sadojima permanently and drive the Shin Ju back without hope of resurrection.

Was it shameful to strike down an injured man? In war, there was no such thing as honor or fairness. Just survival of the fittest.

Usui cackled. "The speed by which you attack and how hard it is to catch you off-guard. You remind me of someone."

Hiei didn't answer back.

"Ah yes. Sou-kun," said Uonuma with a hint of wistfulness in his voice even though his comrade Soujiro Seta was still with him, just in a different unit of the Chojin's Army (the Dai  Shin Kan).

The two used to spar from time to time, with both being amazed at the other's prowess.

Seta shocked that no matter how fast he went, the Tinbe would block his strike despite his lack of presence or sakki (bloodlust). Uonuma surprised at how, at times, the boy would reach supersonic speeds.

Instead of turtling up in defense, Usui attacked for a change, the sands of the beach blasting behind him like a sandstorm. His Shingan senses and Hiei's Jagan kept the both of them from making fatal contact with each other, the most they could do was flesh wounds.

The longer the battle went the further Usui pushed Hiei into a corner (literally even as they battled from the beach to the resort to the streets and to several nearby buildings), much to the prideful demon's shame.

Perhaps the youkai underestimated the revived human's abilities just because he was injured.

"His Shukuchi made him so fast and his lack of bloodlust made him absolutely dangerous. Your speed and constant bloodlust reminds me of him. You're always brooding like he's always happy. Like twin sides of the same coin."

"Sou-kun", huh? Soujiro Seta was a thorn in his side all throughout his mission and investigation on human experimentation at Alaska's Mount McKinley (also known as Denali).

Hiei harrumphed again, growing impatient. Someone this injured should not be able to be this hard to kill.

He still had an ace up his sleeve that the nimble "Ten Ken (Heaven Sword)" lacked.

Doing the Sword of Darkness Flame felt like a waste of time, but he did it anyway. If speed didn't work then power might tip the scales of their deadlock.

This only made the deranged and wistful yet sightless man happier for some reason.

A wave of nostalgia filled Usui. He couldn't see the fire of Hiei's flaming sword with his own actual eyes, his stolen Jagan from Jine sealed away with his blindfold, but he felt the heat from blade, giving him goose bumps and raising the hairs behind his neck.

He was for all intents and purposes a living corpse with an unbeating heart, but his mind made him feel like his heart was racing and his blood was flowing like hot fire through his veins. His aortas. His artificial circulatory system.

To Hiei's surprise, Usui discarded his impenetrable Tinbe and charged with only his Rochin. Shouting one name all the while like a lunatic.

"DIE, SHISHIO!"

The longer the battle went the further Usui pushed Hiei into a corner (literally even as they battled from the beach to the resort to the streets and to several nearby buildings), much to the prideful demon's shame.

It wasn't because Uonuma was as fast as him. Rather, Shishio's oldest rival was used to fighting people as fast as he was, like Soujiro.

This allowed him to use prediction and skill to match superior reflexes.

Compared to Soujiro and even Hiei, Usui knew more nuanced sword/spear forms and cutting/stabbing techniques than a simple upward, side, or angled slashes. Fire sword or no fire sword.

Like a drunk brawler picking a fight with a championship boxer. Quickness could be countered by experience against predictability.

Perhaps the youkai underestimated the revived human's abilities just because he was injured.

The jaganshi attempted his usual modus operandi of making his opponent miss, slashing at his afterimage, only for him to appear from behind and slash him to bits.

However, it was Hiei who ended up slashing at air and an afterimage that wasn't there.

Did he heal his wounds already...? Was he hiding his true speed all this time?!

Hiei's Jagan tried to sense and locate where Uonuma was, like always. His sight beyond sight serving as his means to activate his tripwire reflexes.

Wait a minute. He couldn't see or sense him. Even his jaki was gone. His vision had become clouded. 'Dammit...!'

The Rochin shot him right into the sign saying they were in Kitaoimisaki Park, his youkai blood spewing forth his mouth, nostrils, and even his three eyes.

The illusion faded away like a pile of cherry blossom petals blown away by a strong breeze, and soon reality set in.

As soon as the flames from Hiei's Jaou-En-Satsu Ken (Sword of Darkness Flame) enticed Usui's senses, he lifted his blindfold and unsealed the power of Jine's version of the Jagan.

Apparently, even Hiei's artificial Jagan that Shigure transplanted unto him was susceptible to its hypnosis. Along with the eyes he was born with.

The Forbidden Child of the Koorime fell into a boneless heap before his blood pooled from underneath him.

He was too careless.

He believed he was there to take care of injured game, forgetting that an animal's flight or fight reflexes made them many times more dangerous than usual.

"That was refreshing," said Usui. "I have to thank you, Jaganshi Hiei. Your flaming sword reminded me what I'm truly fighting for, after a century."

The maneuver he did on Hiei was something he himself wished to do on Shishio himself. Trick him with the Jagan then stab him in the back. S-Level or no, that would kill him.

Uonuma then frowned. Inwardly, he thought, 'I haven't mastered Jine's Jagan. I can only use it once a day. Maybe more with the help of the Onmyouji's power up, but he's sealed off from the rest of us right now.'

After a minute of pondering, the taller, bearded man grabbed hold of the diminutive demon by the hair and lifted him up high over his shoulders, his bloodstained Jagan in full view.

"No matter," Usui decided. "I have a new Jagan to play with now. As soon as Gein returns, I'll have implant Shigure's Jagan into the empty socket of my other eye. Then I'll have the power of both the Shingan and the Jagan at my hands."

Uonuma trembled with barely contained excitement, which woke Hiei up after blacking out from the pain of being stabbed hard.

"Neither Battousai nor Saito Hajime nor Shishio Makoto nor Tenro not the Chojin will stand a chance against me once I have both those Jagan in my possession along with my Tinbe and Rochin!"

Just as Uonuma was about to melon-ball Hiei's Evil Eye from its artificial socket, Kurama then arrived, parrying the Rochin away with the Grass Blade.

"...Ah. You must be the Legendary Youko Kurama," said Usui with a sneer. "Udo Jine has told us a lot about you."

***

Kyujimayama Observatory suddenly had an entire building sprout from its lookout.

An ominous castle made of black spires and iron ore.

A structure with no discernible entrance, doors, or windows.

Earlier, just as the Iwanbo 3.2 was on the verge of turning Daiji Matsudaira into a messy pile of shattered bones, giblets, and mince meat, something changed inside the policeman's soul.

By absorbing the guilt and unfulfilled desires of the Oniwabanshu that left them as earthbound spirits, that energy mixed with the reiki of Daiji's soul and the kenki (swordsman spirit energy) of Aoshi's warrior spirit.

Pushed into a corner and forced to feed into the negative energy of his comrades, his reiki and kenki started to mix with their youki and jaki.

It produced a whole new kind of energy: A swordsman's energy mixed with a human soul's spirit energy and the bloodlust of a demon.

Reiatsu (Spirit Pressure).

Like Shinobu Sensui's Sei Kou Ki (Holy Light Energy), Daiji produced a different sort of spiritual energy worthy of one the gods or shinigami themselves or their version of the police, the Reikai Tokubetsu Boueitai (Spirit World Special Defense Squad).

It was through this cocktail of different energies that he was able to produce the spire-filled castle by which he trapped Houji Sadojima, Gein, and their undead army in one huge, tangible prison with his Quest-Class powers to create matter out of spirit energy but without sacrificing his life energy to do so.

And, like the One-Eight-Ten Killer before him, he himself was on the verge of breaking through from A-Level to S-Level by learning this technique that took Sensui years to perfect.

Afterwards, a flabbergasted Kuwabara created a portal out of the constricting spire, with the similarly exhausted Matsudaira in tow.

They'd stopped the Onmyouji from reviving the Shin Ju every time they were beaten. For now.

"You're really something else, Officer Matsudaira. You know that?" said Kazuma.

Catching up with his own shallow breaths, Daiji turned behind him, "I can't let them down. Not again."

Kuwabara himself turned towards where the copper was staring, in time to see the will o' wisp or blue fireball souls of the dearly departed Oniwabanshu.

Hannya. Shikijo. Hyottoko. Beshimi.

With a smile hidden behind his mask but could be heard from his ghostly voice, Hannya said, "As expected of our Okashira."

From there, Uchiko Shikoku (Sayuri), the ferry-girl of the Northeast Quadrant, arrived and started replenishing their spirit energy, although she pouted as she told Daiji, "I was almost sure you'd die, Ikemen (Pretty Boy). Oh well. Maybe next time?"

To Kazuma, the blonde shinigami instead said, "You, I couldn't care less if you died or not."

"Nobody asked you!" shouted back Kuwabara.

***

Kitaoimisaki Park located in the westernmost corner of Okushiri Island.

The Sea of Japan served as its backdrop and it was designed as an open-air museum of sorts that was filled with sculptures made by Masayuki Nagare, a modernist Japanese sculptor.

"RENGOKU SHOU! (PURGATORY WOUND!)" shouted Hiei as he pummeled the open Usui with his fists of flame, but the flurry of blows were also countered and neutralized by the damnable Tinbe shield.

It did allow him to get away from his captor, though.

Meanwhile, Kurama had actually arrived there just in time with the assistance of both Sayuri the Ferry-Girl and Kuwabara's Jigen Tou. He did tell them to go immediately.

"Let's not risk having Usui use Jine's Jagan again," Kurama said. "Leave and don't look anywhere near his face or eyes. Kuwabara-kun."

"You got it, Kurama," said Kuwabara before making a portal out of there. "Hiei, you fucked up! Now Kurama has to bail you out!"

Kazuma jumped right into the portal he made before Hiei could follow him and beat him up for his remark.

Kurama then told Hiei, "Kuwabara-kun's right, you know," which made Hiei seethe even more. "I know how you feel, but sit this one out for now. Let me handle this while Sayuri-san heals you for now."

As for the scythe-bearing Uchiko "Sayuri" Shikoku, she balefully used her powers to heal the damage done on Hiei, although the pint-sized youkai didn't look too pleased about it.

"Look, we're both not happy about this, so could you stop glaring at me?" said Uchiko, who wanted to see what was next for the death-defying "hunk" known as Daiji Matsudaira.

Actually, Kitaoimisaki Park was under Botan's jurisdiction (she was assigned the northwest quadrant), but she was too busy guiding Yahiko safely towards the Onmyouji, so Sayuri had to do for now.  

Usui chuckled, rubbing his chin. "Toguro Ani warned me about you," he said. "You're quite the trickster, I hear. So are you going to fight me now?"

"Yes," Kurama said, picking a rose seed inside his hair and turning it into a rose then finally into the Rose Whip. However, this time around, it was a Rose Whip tied around the handle of the Grass Blade, thus turning it into a Rose Kusarigama (Chain Sickle).

"I hate tricksters like you," confessed Usui. "You remind me of a Saizuchi that could somehow fight. The best way to take care of people like you is to kill you before you can come up with a convoluted scheme to take me down."

"Saizuchi?" repeated Kurama as he attempted to scan through Kenshin's memories given to him through his contact with the Demon Sword. "I don't know who that is." Himura must've never met that particular Ten Sword member.

They then proceeded to fight. Kurama was decently fast but not blindingly fast like Kenshin Himura, Soujiro Seta, Yusuke Urameshi, or Jaganshi Hiei.

However, like with how Usui countered Hiei's speed, Kurama knew how to methodically place his whip strikes and whiplash to minimize movement and maximize his range.

Also, thanks to his new weighted weapon, he could actually maneuver his whip to bounce off the Tinbe then hook-stab Uonuma from the back, like her were fishing in the ocean.

What a frighteningly clever demon.

It took full concentration from Usui's Shingan to predict the trajectory of every whip strike and whiplash from all sorts of awkward angles.

Kurama was also careful enough to attack from the distance and patiently wait when he'd commit to the strikes to keep himself from giving away any openings. A true chess master that outwitted even the likes of Feng Xinhai.

Truly irritating. He had no time for such nonsense.

Whatever they did to Houji wouldn't stick and the boy they were pinning their hopes to would be killed by either him or another surviving Shin Ju member. It was inevitable.

Usui let the Rose Chain-Sickle wrap around his Tinbe, which allowed him to pull Kurama towards him and stab him with the Rochin at last. The fox spirit turned human was able to twist his body in time to prevent a full-on stab like with Hiei, as though he was used to these situations.

Kurama grunted and tumbled backwards before ending up kneeling and gasping for breath.

Uonuma spared a sightless glance at Hiei and Sayuri, sneering at the youkai in particular. This was more for Hiei's sake (and mockery) than a need for him to sense the demon by turning his head, since he had Jine's Jagan sealed.

"I've defeated both Kurama and Hiei! The right-hand men of Yomi and Mukuro! Even the best that Makai (Demon World) could offer is no match against me!"

Before he knew it, he felt his Tinbe start to crumble, cracks forming all around it like the time Kenshin hit it with the follow-up strike of the Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki (Heavens Gliding Dragon Flash). "What? But how...!?"

His fingers then noticed the growth of moss on the shield, which had taken root throughout the battle. "Moss...?"

Kurama said as he stood, "A rolling stone gathers no moss. But a turtle shield might. It's amazingly sturdy, with it getting stronger the more you break it like organic bone. But since I added Makai Moss to it, the tiny cracks and marks it was supposed to heal couldn't heal because the moss roots had taken its space."

Like moss on an old building, the moss on Usui's Tinbe compromised the strength of the magic item, keeping it from healing properly. Making it crumble as the parts where bone or shell was supposed to be was instead replaced with moss.

Also, the Rochin strike to his side was shallower than before, the spear becoming brittle in cadence with the weakening of the Tinbe.

A cold sweat dripped down Usui's beard. Even after he was warned by Toguro Ani to watch out for Kurama's trickery, he still ended up tricked in the end!

He glanced again at Hiei, this time not to mock him but instead because his Shingan sensed the sudden spike in heat from the fire demon, which in turn knocked Sayuri back.

"Jaou-En-Satsu...!"

"NOOOO...!"

"KOKURYUHA!"

Multiple Dragons of Darkness Flames engulfed and cracked open the compromised Tinbe like a nut, the Makai Moss burning away along with the rest of the turtle shield as the second-in-command of the Juppon Gatana and Shin Ju practically got nuked into place.

"I take it back," said Uonuma, gasping for air even though he didn't really need to breathe. "You don't remind me of Saizuchi after all. You're more like Shishio Makoto himself. Shrewd as a fox yet fights like a demon."

***

Back at the Okushiri Airport...

Sayaka finished up her report to the other Reikai Senshi and then said to them. "So far so good. Kurama-san's' plans are coming along smoothly. I've also heard reports from Sayuri-san that Sadojima Houji and Gein had been sealed inside a castle-like structure by Matsudaira Daiji-san."

"As expected of the Okashira!" said Likka, mirroring Hannya's sentiments. "We have this mission in the bag!"

Natsuki then told the young Spirit World Inspector, "Tell Shuichi-sempai, I mean, Minamino-sempai to watch out for that Kuronue person. He may still be out there."

Sayaka tilted her head to the side in askance. "Tell Kurama about Kuronue? Why? Isn't he dead? Didn't you just kill him? Killed two birds with one stone by making Karasu into a Railgun?"

"That's the thing. I'm not sure he's dead." Shinkai shook her head. "Killing him is actually easy. Keeping him dead is hard. He might still be out there, hunting Kurama at this very moment."

The Heisei Era Misao piped up, "Yeah, it was weird. Every time it seemed like you've killed him, another him kept popping up in his place."

The youngest ferry-girl considered their words. "Do you think he's like Toguro Ani? An S-Level, Regent-Class regenerator?"

Natsuki shrugged. "The best way I could describe it is that he's like Schrödinger's Cat. Like he's alive and dead at the same time."

"Maybe even Schrödinger's Bat!" Likka quipped to mostly silence.

***

Before the Kokuryuha could completely sublimated or at least carbonize Usui's body to the point of Gein probably needing to create a new one for him, with Jine's Jagan forever lost along with him, Kuronue pushed him aside and took in the full brunt of the Demon World equivalent of a nuclear warhead.

"...Kuronue!" Kurama shouted out at the bat demon, concerned with the wellbeing of his partner in spite of their circumstances.

Then a curious thing happened.

Kuronue turned into a shadow in the street. Only for another him to appear, who also turned into ash. Another him then replaced him, dying from the flames of the black dragon conflagration. Then another. Then another.

The bat demon died probably a dozen more times before Hiei thought it prudent to return the flames into his arm as tattoos, sealing them. Not willing to let Kurama's partner from millennia ago to waste more of his demon energy.

After the present Kuronue gasped his dying breath, a new him appeared, completely healthy and unharmed.

What the hell was going on?

Even Kurama was shaken. He heard Natsuki's explanation about Kuronue's new powers relayed to him by Sayaka, but even then he couldn't believe his eyes when he saw it in action.

Was it instantaneous resurrection powers like with Toguro Ani? Clones, like with Suzaku? Or even hypnotic illusions, like with Likka Ikumi and Jine Udo?  

The Kuronue Kurama knew that died because of a bamboo trap never had such powers. Granted, he was a weaker demon around that time. But still.

"Uh, Usui, was it?" said Kuronue to Usui. "You should be more careful when fighting Kurama. He's a sneaky one, you see. Don't let him figure you out or else he'll get you. It's rare for him to get overwhelmed, like in the case of that one S-Level Reikai Tantei or the Reikai Boueitai."

Uonuma harrumphed. "Ah, so it's you, newbie. Don't get full of yourself. You were only revived by the Chojin because you're the only guy we know who could deal with Youko Kurama. It was supposed to be Udo Jine, but he failed and got killed by him."

The bat demon could only laugh. "Haaai (Yeees). Read you loud and clear, sempai."

Hiei told the blonde shinigami, ""You better leave now if you don't want to get hurt."

Uchiko said, "But you're not yet finished...! Ah. You know what? Fine." She then used her scythe as her means of transportation instead of a long boat paddle.

Kurama and Hiei backed away unto each other's sides while both Uonuma and Kuronue loomed towards them, their weapons at the ready.

The Tinbe had already started to reconstruct itself. The gambit Kurama used to weaken it couldn't be used twice now that Usui was aware of how his trick worked.

"Is that really Kuronue or just another imposter?" Hiei asked Kurama, remembering the Meikai (Nether World) god who impersonated the bat demon to mess with the youko's head.

"I'm afraid that's him," Kurama said, his smile looking more like a wincing grimace. "And yes, he does know me like the back of his hand."

"Hn," said Hiei. "Then the same could be said with you to him, right?"

Minamino turned towards his fire demon companion and smiled. "Yes, of course."

***

Meanwhile, in the sky overlooking the northwest part of Okushiri Island...

Botan flew top-speed towards Kyujimayama Observatory, exchanging places with Sayuri since that was under the northeast quadrant's jurisdiction.

Right behind her, riding shotgun, was a tired Yahiko Myojin, who was conserving his strength for the battle ahead against the Chojin's conduit.

As soon as they got confirmation of where Houji the Onmyouji was hiding, they flew up in the sky under Kurama's orders while Natsuki met up with Likka in order to run interference against the incoming Karasu and Kuronue (a replacement Shin Ju along with Toguro Ani).

Even better, they stopped bothering to hide in the clouds for fear of aerial strikes after both Natsuki and Daiji neutralized their targets.

The Yutaro reincarnation blasted away Karasu (who could make flying Trace Eye bombs) and the Aoshi reincarnation trapped both Gein (Kaoru didn't remember who that was) and Houji (Kaoru heard of him through Sanosuke) inside a sealed castle-like structure.

Now was the perfect opportunity for them to strike Houji down before finishing off the rest of the Shin Juppon Gatana and rescuing Okushiri from being under siege.

However, the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.

Instead of them going straight to the sealed Houji and Gein, the two Chojin minions apparently decided to go to them instead.

"What the hell is that, Tanuki-chan!?"

"!?"

The top portion of the castle of spires proceeded to float towards Botan and Yahiko like some sort of alien ship or U.F.O.

The monument to their success had now become the monument of their imminent doom.

The jaki laser beams blasting through the windowless structure, creating windows at last certainly weren't in their best interests.

"AHHH! Retreat!" screamed Botan while the Kaoru inside her head and body wondered how ordinary humans from the Meiji Era could take on something as ridiculous as a floating sky fortress.

***

Multiple Kuronue "clones" served as Usui's meat shield as his actual shield reconstituted itself, now strong enough to resist the Kokuryuha and perhaps even Demon World Moss.

"What's going on? Is it Jine's Jagan again?" asked Hiei.

"No, I don't think so," said Kurama. "From what I remember, Jine's hypnosis illusion affected one person at a time. I'm not sure if Usui evolved the Jagan to do multiple hypnosis or mirages like with Ikumi Likka's powers."

Hiei grunted. It was a scene reminiscent of one of the Dai Shin Kan (Great Priests), whose name escaped him at the moment, multiplying endlessly. Something Yatsume.

Was this the M.O. of the Overfiend?

Was it his way of showing his undead army of Dai Kaijin (Great Monsters) were as unlimited as a pestilence? Like a swarm of locusts or a pack of rats? Unkillable like an intrusion of roaches? Were they going to infest the world like a plague, from Kuronue to Suzaku or even the Iwanbos of Gein and the Shikigami of the Onmyouji?

He even heard from his communicator that the same thing happened with Gein and his Iwanbo meat puppets with the assistance of the Onmyouji, which forced Detective Matsudaira to seal them off inside a windowless, spire-filled prison.

He was sick of this clone nonsense but knew that using up his Kokuryuha wasn't in his best interests.

Kurama was able to murder several shadow clones of his partner, only to succumb to cuts and slices to his neck, abdomen, and thigh.

This reminded him of his fight with the Fake Kuronue. That Meikai God did a convincing impression of his old friend.

But this time he was fighting the real deal, and none of his tricks were working against him.

"Rejoice, Youko!" said one of the Kuronues. "When the Chojin snatched me up from the depths of Hell, he told me he did so because he saw you as a threat. You were the only one who wielded the Demon Sword and used it to boost your powers to X-Level."

Kurama frowned, decapitating that one Kuronue and countless others with his Rose Kusarigama. "Who cares about being X-Level?"

Usui shook his head. "Fool! I'd jump at the chance to be as powerful as the Chojin himself! The only X-Level in existence at present! More powerful than the most powerful of the Demon World! You could've single-handedly killed the Shin Ju if you had that kind of power! Save everyone on the Human World you so love! Why do you deny greatness?"

The Youko inside Kurama smirked, and for a split second his true form emerged. "What's the fun in that? Something given is taken for granted. Something earned is treasured."

A horde of Kuronues laughed upon hearing this and chorused, "Ah, now that's the Youko I know and love."

Hiei also chopped and burned the Kuronues before him with his Jaou-En-Satsu Ken with flames that, unbeknownst to him, were reminiscent of Shishio's Homura Dama.

He did know enough about them to know that doing so would entice Usui to fight even with his unfinished Tinbe.

It was risky fighting someone with the power of hypnosis, but as long as the brilliant and prepared Kurama was there, Hiei had no fear against such hallucinations. Whether they were from Kuronue or Usui.

Kuronue continued, "The Chojin then let me choose my powers according to the best way to take you on, Youko. Knowing you, I told him that the only way I can defeat you is if I'm given unlimited retries to do so. You're a cunning fox. Most people would die a thousand deaths first before they can find an opening to take you down. So I chose that power."

Hiei had to admit that that sounded about right. You did not want the Youko as your enemy.

Using the brief rise of power elicited by Kuronue's tempting words about gaining X-Level through the Youtou Shinnoken, Kurama turned a single stalk of bamboo into the Hydra Bamboo once more.

The persistently growing bamboo that few faster the more you cut it down. The only ways to kill it was overcrowding or by burning it to the point of carbonization.

The forest of bamboo pierced through the hearts, lungs, stomachs, muscles, intestines, livers, kidneys, and brains of the nearest gathered Kuronues while the rest scattered like flies. Or bats, since he was a bat demon.

"Hiei, NOW! While we still have the chance! Kill Uonuma Usui! I'll figure out a way to deal with Kuronue later."

The jaganshi charged with his flame sword, able to keep the Hydra Bamboo at bay with his burning slices and cuts so that he wouldn't get overwhelmed himself by the deadly malignant forest.

He wasn't able to kill the half-healed Uonuma earlier but now he should be able to fare better against the blind man's half-formed turtle shield. His airtight defense earlier was now broken in half.

Usui's supernatural hearing and enhanced reflexes allowed him to block Hiei's 17 fire sword strikes in one second.

However, that second of blocking was the opening the fire demon needed in order to blast a Dragon of Darkness Flame straight at the night sky before it came crashing from behind Uonuma while he was busy defending against the Sword of Darkness Flame.

One of the Kuronues ended up protecting Usui from the rear, his chain scythe weapon turning into a mine's worth of steel and iron ore that melted from the heat of the Black Dragon Wave Technique, which in turn flooded the bamboo forest with molten metal.

Also, the Tinbe was now about two-thirds complete instead of just once half, with it having a pie-sized opening left on an otherwise finished turtle shell shield.

They were running out of time. They would be back to square one or worse if the Onmyouji managed to escape Daiji's seal before Yahiko could get to him and neutralize his connection with the Almighty Chojin.

Again, Kurama used the Invasive Kudzu to smother and eat the fire and demonic energy away, making it grow with the same uncontrollable menace as the Hydra Bamboo had over being sliced or physical torn apart.

Kuronue said, "I've seen that technique of yours before as well!"

From there, one set of Kuronues served as gardeners who chopped and diced up the Invasive Kudzu before it could absorb enough energy to become a problem, with them even sacrificing several of their own in the process.

The other set of Kuronue's kept the blaze of the growing forest fire alive, filling the air with smoke and flames that ate up the bamboo before it could grow enough to become unstoppable.

Unlike the mindless clones of Gein and the Nameless Yatsume, Kuronue's phantoms had a frightening hivemind that learned from every mistake they made and adjusted thusly with every new generation of himself.

One Kuronue branching out into multiple versions of himself, thusly exploring infinite possibilities. The Quantum Kuronue.

Maybe he should've gotten hold of the Demon Sword and finished all the Shin Ju off with one or ten slashes. A potential eleventh slash for the Onmyouji.

But that was the boring way of doing things. And Kurama loved a challenge. How should he solve this puzzle that Kuronue suddenly became?

Besides which, Kurama noticed that Hiei had been hiding one more ace up his sleeve all this time. An ace that the Shin Ju were probably also aware of, but had yet to experience firsthand.

Hiei backed off from Usui's Rochin stab, sheathing his sword and adopting the same battoujutsu/iaido (sword-drawing) stance that Himura Battousai would do.

The whole park had become a mess. One part of it was composed of a bamboo forest engulfed in flames and molten metal that was starting to harden.

The other parts were bits and pieces of kudzu grass reaped apart by scythes, with several of them allowed to eat the red and black flames and grow, controlling the blaze.

That was one helluva landscaping job Kuronue did.

The army of Kuronues had remerged unto one body, awaiting for the next attack from Kurama to occur that they'd dissect and deconstruct.

Once Uonuma's Tinbe was completed, nothing in their arsenal would be able to take down his defensive turtle shield.

The shell had already tasted every last technique they could throw at it, from Demon World Moss to Makai Flames. Everything but the kitchen sink.

Hiei disappeared, and Kuronue multiplied once more.

Usui lay in wait, his Shingan soaking in all the different noises yet his supernatural senses able to distinguish which ones were Kuronue and which ones were Hiei. He also screamed, "Hey, Newbie! When you decapitate the fire demon, make sure to keep his Jagan intact! I need that!"

Kurama walked calmly towards the chaos of burning bamboo, chopped kudzu grass, a self-contained forest fire, and what seemed like an army of Kuronue converging into what appeared to the naked eye as empty space but instead was actually Hiei.

He then snatched the jewel necklace hanging from the neck of (one of the many clones of) Kuronue.

The youko figured out the new powers that the Chojin bestowed upon Kuronue. All of his clones were the real him.

On a quantum level, Kuronue managed to exist in multiple planes of existence and manifest himself in one reality, allowing one of his selves to die and his other selves to live at the same time in an infinite loop.

It allowed him to interact in one dimension in a multi-dimensional manner, so that he could do one, two, three, or more things at the same time until he succeeded in an instance, his realities branching forth endlessly as he explored every possibility.

For a schemer like Kurama who tended to finish off opponents with cunning and wit, he was an absolute nightmare to handle. He was like Yusuke. Creative. Unpredictable.

A demon who'd never attack you from behind but knew every trick in the book because he was an expert in unraveling mysteries, traps, techniques, and lies. He loved figuring out the truth behind everything.

The same bat demon who ended up dying, ensnared by the simplest and most primitive of bamboo traps due to his immense sense of sentiment, which was ironic and truly unbecoming of someone as clever as him.

He should've known better.

Kurama figured out that the Meikai God who impersonated the Fake Kuronue was a fake with the way he discarded the jewel around his neck. In the same vein, he knew this Kuronue was the real deal when he... all of him... scrambled for the jewel with a high amount of sentimental value to him.

The seeming dozens, perhaps hundreds, of Kuronue all jumped at grabbing hold of the jewel Kurama threw away in the same manner that the Meikai God Kaiki did to finish him off.

This was the opportunity Hiei was looking for.

"Jaou-En-Satsu KOKURYUHA!"

***

A bloodied young Kuronue cackled with gnashed teeth and a raspy throat at Youko Kurama and his bloodstained claws.

Maimed but not broken. His body scourged with lacerations. His limbs flopping uselessly on the floor.

His clenched teeth gripping the string of a necklace.

The leader of the demon bandits looked at the bat demon with disdain and confusion. The kid managed to steal a necklace from their haul.

"Why are you so happy? That's just a trinket compared to the treasures we've gathered," Youko Kurama said with a toss of his silken hair.

On shaky legs, Kuronue rose up, his bloody back on the craggy wall. "If it was so insignificant, you wouldn't have almost killed me to get it."

Kurama raised his clawed hand, the constant lightning from Makai's dark clouds illuminating his silhouette. "Would you die for that necklace?"

Again, through clenched teeth, Kuronue spoke. "What an honor it would be to do so. Let me die a martyr. Let me be known as the one demon who outwitted the Legendary Youko Kurama."

Kurama changed his mind then and there. He put down his raised arm, turned, and walked away.

"HEY! Are you just going to let me go, you coward?" Kuronue spat, which led to him dropping the necklace, leading to him going on a mad scramble for it, willing his trembling arms to catch it.

"Rest up. Heal your wounds. You're now part of my bandits. Bring my jewel along with you," commanded the youko. "We hunt in the next earth day."

After finally grabbing hold of the jewel, Kuronue demanded, "And if I refuse?"

While still facing away from him, Kurama turned his head and gave the bat demon a sidelong glance. "I don't think you will."

From that point forth, the youko ended up with an ally more valuable than the trinket he stole from him.

***

The Dragons of Darkness Flames killed every last one of the Kuronues with its flames of the Demon World burning them to sublimation at an atomic level.

Kurama went down on his knees, exhausted. He'd lost a lot of blood from his battle with what seemed like a thousand Kuronues converging at him at once.

However, in the corner of his eye, he could've sworn he saw at least one Kuronue move out of sight.

If a Kuronue had survived, then there was at least a one in a hundred or one in a thousand possibility that if Kurama had thrown away that necklace, he wouldn't have gone after it.

He was learning. He was evolving.

Kurama smiled. At least something good came out of the Chojin's plans to revive their dead enemies/comrades to use against them.

***

To Be Continued...

I based Kuronue's new powers on the version of Kuronue featured in my first-ever fan fiction, "Shonen". Something about the (watered-down for fiction version of the) Many-World Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics with a dash of Schrödinger's Cat thrown into the mix.

The boss battle is fast approaching, but those mini-bosses can be quite the handful!

Ciao, Abdiel

#nabetsuru rock #okushiri #accelerator #railgun #aizen sōsuke #yuyu hakusho #幽☆遊☆白書 #rurouni kenshin #るろうに剣心 #demon sword #youtou shinnoken #妖刀真の剣

[gabriel-gabdiel]

【Draft】Youtou Shinnoken Chapter 58: Living Sin (Part 10)

The final chapter of the Okushiri Arc. Tenro finally makes an appearance.

The original source of this idea comes from Chad Yang. I continued his story idea found here.

The rest of the chapters of my Yuyu Hakusho and Rurouni Kenshin crossover fan fiction are available here and here. Enjoy.

About a hundred years or so ago...

In 1878, after fighting Kenshin "Battousai" Himura to a draw, Makoto Shishio died in a literal blaze of glory (through his own spontaneous combustion when his overheating body broke its limits) and went to Hell.

When he got there, he ended up right before the imposing gigantic figure of Enma Daio, who asked him, "What are you doing here, mortal? Go back to the Gates of Judgment in order to be judged."

Shishio then replied, "Get out of my throne. I'm the new King of Hell."

***

Youtou Shinnoken: Demon Sword

A Rurouni Kenshin/Yuyu Hakusho Crossover Fan Fiction Story by Chester Castañeda

Original Concept by Chad Yang

Tenro has finally arrived in Okushiri. How will the Reikai Senshi answer his challenge, especially after learning the truth about him?

Disclaimer: Yuyu Hakusho is the rightful property of Yoshihiro Togashi, Shueisha, Fuji TV, and Studio Pierrot. Rurouni Kenshin is the rightful property of Nobuhiro Watsuki, Shueisha, Shonen Jump, Viz, Sony Studios, Fuji TV, Studio Gallop, Studio Deen, and ADV. This disclaimer also covers all the other copyrighted materials that are far too many to mention here. Don't sue me please, I'm very poor.

***

Chapter 58: Living Sin (Part 10)

***

Back at the Okushiri Military Base...

A shouting, crying Yahiko kneeled in front of Botan's unmoving body, seeing the huge hole in Botan's person. In the shinigami who somehow (he didn't quite understand it) was also his kendo master from a former life, Kaoru Kamiya.

Had he failed again? Like before, when Enishi Yukishiro...?

No. He would not let Kaoru down again. Not after what the Kenshingumi had been through right after Kenshin Himura's death...!

"Bloody Rain," said Yumi Komagata, who again made it rain blood mixed with what seemed like scalpels.

Right above the dark clouds filled with the scarlet liquid were Houji Sadojima's shikigami (familiars) that looked like grim reapers in and of themselves due to their ragged clothes, faceless voids for heads, and long scythes.

And beyond them was Gatekeeper Itsuki, who had a mini-gun at the ready in order to test the limits of a solidified ghost body before it became incorporeal once more. Knowing that gunpowder had no spirit energy to neutralize.

"DOU GAMI! (GOD ON EARTH!)" Yahiko's earth-shattering technique blasted away the razor-sharp squall and Itsuki's suppressive fire into oblivion, allowing him to dissipate the slicing rain bullets around him and the soul-crushing pressure of the borrowed aura of the Onmyouji (Occult Priest).

"Insolent welp...!" Houji said the thing.

"TEN GAMI! (GOD IN HEAVEN!)" Myojin shouted as he did a much more powerful version of the God on Earth that shot up high up into the heavens. Even the nimbus clouds parted from the strength of his slash.

This rocked and shook the military base like an earthquake while the Tokyo Samurai Descendant himself approached the Onmyouji like the resulting tsunami of such an earthquake.

"INGA GAMI! (KARMIC GOD!)"

It was this technique that suddenly turned the poisonous miasma of the Overfiend into something else. Something filled with positive energy and life-giving, nourishing soul power.

Sanosuke Sagara then noticed how the crimson, purple, and black miasma of jaki surrounding them started changing in color, texture, and volume. Flickering back and forth from a cool blue wave to a scarlet mess.

He then checked on Botan, only to gasp in surprise despite being a ghost that didn't need to breathe or have sudden oxygen intakes.

The hole in her chest caused by one of Itsuki's black holes had started healing. The jaki surrounding them, as Sano suspected, was slowly being purified into reiki, which in turn the ferry-girl used to heal herself.

Not only herself, actually. She shared the wealth by beaming the spirit energy she absorbed unto Kazuma Kuwabara and Sanosuke too. Replenishing their depleted spiritual power and increasing their health at the same time.

A full restore for all her allies, if you would.

'What's going on here? Is this Yahiko's doing? Or hers?'

It was actually both. Yahiko provided the reiki by purifying the jaki. Botan used that reiki to heal herself and the others while also powering them up, as though she was the Onmyouji of the Reikai Senshi (Spirit World Warriors).

Meanwhile, Kuwabara and Botan exchanged knowing glances.

They'd gone through this incident before. To be more specific, they witnessed firsthand Yusuke do the same thing Yahiko was attempting to do now.

It was when Urameshi got a hold of the Meikai Crystal and attempted to use it against the last Meikai God standing, Yakumo. The negative energy almost consumed him before his sheer willpower (and at the time hidden demonic lineage) turned the jaki into reiki instead.

Yahiko had decided it was easier to transform the Chojin's overwhelming negative energy to positive (spirit) energy instead of attempting to neutralize or seal it all at once. Break it down to its core components first, bit by bit.

The samurai boy then said, "BANZEN GAMI. (PERFECT GOD.)"

***

'Great fighters refuse to lose, but you refuse to win just to get back that feeling and exhilaration of conquering something greater than you. So what do you do now that you're in a world where nothing is greater than you?'

Those were the Younger Toguro's words even as Yusuke Urameshi effortlessly tanked through and walked down his offense while blasting him to nigh-oblivion with the Renshya Rei-Gan (Rapid-Fire Spirit Gun).

'What the hell was that supposed to mean?!' Yusuke thought.

Was Toguro Ototo right? Had Urameshi become too powerful? Was he holding back his power level in order to drag out fights he would've easily won, thus endangering the lives of those he protected with his great strength?

Ha. As if.

If that were true, he would've already hunted and killed the Chojin himself. He wasn't even the most powerful being in Makai (Demon World), let alone all three worlds. He was a level below the likes of Mukuro and Yomi as well as his deceased ancestor/father figure Raizen.

Not to mention Raizen's old comrades having power levels so high they could band together and conquer both the Human and Spirit Worlds if they so chose.

Those words truly did sound deep. They'd sound even deeper and more meaningful if said by a guy who wasn't getting his ass kicked care of him.

No, instead of it being a case of Yusuke growing too ridiculously powerful, it was rather a matter of Toguro remaining stagnant and weak.

The martial artist who belonged to the "baby boomer" generation might've been powerful for a demon not trapped in Makai and blocked off by the Spirit World Barrier, but he was a pissant compared to the likes of monsters Urameshi eventually faced in the Demon World Unification Tournament.

On top of all that, he didn't want to hear that nonsense from the King of Holding Back. The Emperor of Power Percentages.

"Rando's Kugai (World of Suffering) is a low-level technique by monks used to empathically feel the pain and suffering of others around them. The fact that you're still suffering from its effects isn't because of its curse but because of how you reacted to it."

Yusuke frowned. Indeed, for quite sometime since his fight with Rando, every punch he threw at his opponents, he also felt. For once, he found out what it was like to get punched by himself.

However, it also served as his training. The more he felt his own punches, the more resistant he became of his own power, thus raising his threshold of pain and his ability to take a punch. He could dish it out and take it.

He wasn't sure he could say the same about Toguro.

His ripcord muscles strained to their utmost, the Younger Toguro ended up having them ripped apart, crack, and shatter like pottery. The anabolism he used to grow his muscles to absurd sizes was completely wasted because he couldn't handle A-Level to S-Level blasts of power.

He'd give Toguro this. He did miss staking his life and limb to defeat an enemy, using all his strength to defend his friends and family.

He hadn't really done so lately. Not really. The last time he had a satisfying fight was with his match against Yomi.

Ever since then, his enemies mainly resorted to trickery reminiscent of Kido Asato freezing his movements with his shadow powers or Hiei kidnapping Keiko Yukimura.

All of them ended up as weaklings. Each and every one of them. To go against them with his full powers would be a waste of effort.

Like lighting a candle with a flamethrower or cutting grass with a chainsaw. Complete overkill.

Then again, wasn't this also the reason why Toguro, even though he was only B-Level, tended to hide his power level or only use a percentage of his power?

Huh.

***

Botan smiled in spite of herself. Or rather, her lips moved on their own and then said things not of her own volition due to her astral body's second inhabitant: Kaoru Kamiya.

"There it is. The Perfect God. That's Yahiko's answer to mastering the Mujinken."

A hundred years or so ago, Kaoru originally taught Yahiko the Tenchijinken (forethought-based techniques involving the prediction of an opponent's moves) while taught Yutaro Tsukayama the Mujinken (reflex-based techniques that reacted to whatever the opponent did in the heat of the moment) to fill in their respective weaknesses.

The two were actually more suited for each other's techniques, since Yahiko fought more off-the-cuff while Yutaro fought more methodically.

She intentionally sealed away the techniques that played to the two's strengths so that they could overcome their weaknesses more, believing that someday they'd figure out each other's ultimate attacks down the line anyway.

While the Inga Gami (Karmic God) showed Yahiko's version of methodical fighting, with him focusing hard enough on every strike to unleash the perfect counters without any wasted movement or energy, it was the Banzen Gami where he relied more on instinct instead of forethought showed his fullest potential.

He was more of a natural with the Perfect God than the Karmic God, while it was the opposite for the more thoughtful Yutaro (who now went by the name and identity of Natsuki Shinkai/Xinhai).

"INSECT!" said Houji, his wide eyes glowing red, his voice booming like thunder as he produced what seemed like an endless stream of shikigami. Only for Yahiko to seemingly cut and disintegrate them with a couple of reflexive waves of his sakabatou.

He wasn't even looking at the reapers as every reflexive slice of his blunt sword blew them apart and sent them to oblivion, his gaze aimed solely at Sadojima

The miasma of black jaki turned into white and blue shining reiki as Myojin passed by it. Once he reached Houji, their respective weapons clashed, the entire area split between the morning light colors from behind Yahiko and the pitch-black darkness from behind Sadojima.

It was like the clash of day and night, with the point of impact serving as their dusk or dawn. Twilight or daybreak.

To Houji's alarm, his scythe then started to crack and break. 'What the HELL is with this stupid kid!? I thought only the Youkiri Battousai and Urameshi Yusuke are our only real threats!  Chojin-sama, HELP!'

***

Instead of going down from the barrage of Rei-Gan, Toguro merely said, "Stop wasting energy," as though Yusuke left the light or electric fan turned on or something.

To Yusuke's surprise (or perhaps disappointment), the B-Class Toguro reacted to the Mega Spirit Gun bombardment the exact same way as he did during the Ankoku Bujutsukai (Dark Martial Arts Tournament): By attempting to charge at the growing spirit energy bullets and stop them with his bare hands and feet as well as his purely anabolic, hugely muscular body.

And just like that, it was over. With Toguro face down on the ground, his body shattered and torn from his exploded musculature. His body a tall, lean husk of its former self.

Another one bit the dust. Like the rest of Yusuke's revived enemies that came back stronger because of the Chojin but not quite strong enough to take him on.

To Yusuke's mild surprise, Toguro was still "alive".  Or this revived zombie version of himself made by Chojin's necromancer priest and his own personal Dr. Frankenstein was still moving.

The muscleman mercenary also said, "I'm merely at B-Level and I was able to push you this far? Your fighting senses have dulled, Urameshi Yusuke."

"Oh really? Well, I've discovered that at this point, no one could beat me but myself. You're welcome to prove me wrong, though," said Yusuke.

...Shit. Maybe Toguro and he were more alike than Urameshi realized. Right down to looking down on people who weren't on their level.

Toguro looked up at the night sky, which rekindled his memories. The Shichousei (Death Omen Star, also known as the Lifespan Star, Jumyoboshi, Alcor, or 80 Ursae Majoris) wasn't present near the Big Dipper.

Legend had it that when two warriors fought to the death under the Star of Death and it shone upon one of them, that person would die.

Was the star missing because he was already dead? Or because this wasn't much of a death match.

On the other hand, other Japanese myths and legends alleged that when one couldn't see the Lifespan Star, he'd pass away within a year. That was appropriate since Toguro himself was not alive anymore.

Fine. He'd turn it into a death match. Then, for once, he and Genkai would be looking at the same star. A fatal attraction to a fatalist's heavenly body.

Thusly, every broken bone from his body healed, but instead of going back to normal, they formed sharp calcified bone spurs that protruded right out of his rock-hared craggy body like horns or thorns.

He also got a power boost from the way his body decided to recover from his injuries, punching back a Chou Rei-Gan right into Yusuke's face before punching him as well with his bone spur claws on his fist right at the moment of impact, quadrupling its impact.

He just jumped from Class-B to Class-A in a mere second.

"Ooof!" The punch emptied the air from Yusuke's lungs.

"My former 100% has actually become less than 1% of my power, but for the sake of giving you a point of reference, I'll base my power increases on what was 100% of my power."

He grew about as big as his 100% of 100% form, perhaps even a little bigger, but this time the demonized behemoth's black hair turned as grey as steel along with the rest of his vascular body that was covered with huge bony protrusions.

"So you can call this form of mine me at 500% of my power."

Appropriately enough, the attack Yusuke used in response to Toguro's transformation was one he saw on T.V. From his favorite anime show, as a child of the 1980s, "Hokuto no Ken (Fist of the North Star)".

"HYAKU RETSU-KEN! (HUNDRED RENDING FISTS!)"

The Shichousei or Death Omen Star was, after all, also referenced by the same program.

Honestly, it was just Urameshi going ham on an opponent by randomly striking his heavy-handed punches at every opening available to him, with him naming the "technique" after the fact.

***

The devastation of the Okushiri Military base extended outward, with the pairs of Kazuma and Yumi as well as Sanosuke and Itsuki traveling eastward in a trail of devastation that followed Yahiko's own blaze of glory.

The green comet that was the Tokyo Samurai Descendant clashed and burned through the spherical cloud of miasma protecting Sadojima, like a shooting star entering the atmosphere.

The two pairs of enemies fought tooth and nail for proper positioning. The Reikai Senshi pushed the Chojin's forces back to protect Myojin from their interference.

Sanosuke punched through everything Itsuki threw at him through his hyperdimensional portals and busted portal gun, dodging the dense scattershot black holes and throwing pavement debris at the Gatekeeper in turn.  

Kazuma, meanwhile, fought from the distance, using his blade that can literally cut through anything and anywhere in order to turn every attempt of the wind vampire Yumi to blast tornadoes and energy-absorbing jaki apart.

Finally, Myojin himself struck the Chojin's (and at this point, it was the Chojin controlling the Onmyouji) scythe hard, the blade covered in miasma and dark energy.

The tides of battle then turned.

Using the jaki Kaoru purified into reiki, Yahiko's green aura became denser and denser, creating a white shining void at the center of his body that sucked the dark of the Chojin away. Acting like a reverse black hole or even "white" hole that absorbed all of the Overfiend's darkness into his pure light.

'This is it, Botan,' thought Kaoru "telepathically". 'This is the power of Mu (Void). The power of emptiness.'

'Emptiness...?' repeated the ferry-girl.

'Yes. A true martial artist is able to fight with instinct, freeing his mind of all thought and distractions, leading to a Zen State. Yahiko manifested this Zen State into his unique skill: Neutralizing spirit energy.'

A second later, all energy from everyone dissipated, and from there Houji's scythe shattered like glass as both he and Yahiko plummeted into the docks of the Okushiri Pier.  

The samurai spirit fell into Ryu Tsui Sen (Dragon Hammer Flash) stance and slammed Sadojima into one of the metal crates of the pier below them with an emphatic crash.  

"You stupid kid! I'll show you! ETERNAL...! Wait, what?! My powers are gone!"

Yumi Komagata attempted to do the Hi-Ougi (Hidden Art) of Vampire Martial Arts—a move stronger than the energy-sapping Blood Wind—but nothing of the sort manifested before her. Her aura, the energy she gathered from sucking many a soldier's blood, was now gone.

The same happened to Itsuki, who couldn't summon his Reverse-Man or escape into his pocket dimension any longer.

Yahiko's reiki had also went out, which normally was dangerous for a ghost but he somehow reached homeostasis with the way he absorbed and purified the Chojin's jaki.

His dense green aura had now completely neutralized the powers of everyone near him instead of merely mitigating their flow, including the now unconscious Onmyouji.

Like how no light could escape the event horizon of a black hole, not one shadow of the Chojin's dark energy could exist amidst the blinding white light of Yahiko's converging green spiritual aura.

However, as a consequence, even Yahiko's allies lost their powers as well, as though he was acting as the reverse version of the Onmyouji. Instead of boosting the powers of those in his vicinity, he nullified them.

Regardless, Sanosuke and Kuwabara immediately took advantage of the loss of powers from Itsuki and Yumi with their physical strength, with the former beating Itsuki to a pulp and Kuwabara breaking the umbrella and fan of Komagata before tackling and pinning her down.

"Give up, lady. You lost," said Kuwabara. "You can't cheat your way out of this one by resurrecting your goons every time we defeat them. The Onmyouji's down for the count."

Yahiko "heaved" a sigh of relief despite being a solidified ghost who didn't need to breathe. "It's finally over."

Botan giggled in glee. "We did it! You did it! The number one pupil of Kamiya Kasshin! I'm so proud of you, Yahiko!" The last part of that statement was Kaoru talking.  

Sano looked at his own bloody fists and winced. 'We've won, but why do I feel like it's not yet over? Like there's still something afoot.'

Even though the blood from his right fist wasn't his own but Itsuki's, it burned and ached something fierce. Like he broke it or something.

'What's going on? I have a bad feeling about this.'

Sanosuke's bad feeling then turned into reality.

***

At Class-A, Yusuke Urameshi's Hyaku Retsu-Ken would've turned the B-Plus Toguro into mince meat. Or roadkill.

At Class-S, his Hyaku Retsu-Ken would've turned mountains like Mt. Kannon, Mt. Kamui, and even Mt. Fuji into molehills, plains, or even outright trenches and canyons as deep as the United States of America's Grand Canyon.

Like he was a pint-sized Paul Bunyan.

The teenager harrumphed. "Really? 500%? Like I'm fighting 5 Toguros at the same time? So what? That's still nothing compared to the demons I've faced since defeating you, Toguro...!"

The bone-breaking punches cracked the shell of Toguro's chitinous muscle armor bit by bit. However, in turn, Toguro let his fists fly as well but in a more methodical manner.

Targeting his punches to Yusuke's openings rather than punching randomly. Using his martial arts experience to take down the stronger foe.  

His bony yet muscular fists pounded on Yusuke's smaller body, breaking bones here and there. He was approaching the same level as the one who killed him after every punch.

Yusuke's fists ached from every punch he did on the rock-solid body of Toguro, the multitude of Spirit Cuffs holding his power back also being pushed to their breaking point without him opening them up with his Jyu-Rei-Jyou Ante (Luminescent Spirit Ante) password.

The restraining cuffs and seals he placed upon himself were at their near breaking point from him merely flexing his immense power.

Thank goodness the likes of Yomi, Mukuro, Enki, and the rest of Raizen's friends (as well as Raizen himself when he was alive) put him in his place early on regarding what real power looked like, or else he'd be full of himself right about now.

The Toguro with chitinous bone spurs and keratinous tusks and horns all over his muscle-bound body ended up breaking each and every one of his thick, calcified bones from the impact of Yusuke's punches.

Toguro's bones rattled as micro-tears appeared all over his muscles and tendons. Despite this, he pushed forward. Like his older brother, he healed quickly, which notified Urameshi that he still had something in his sleeve.

"All right. Then how about this? TAKO NAGURI!"

The Octopus Assault—Yusuke's version of the Kuzu Ryu Sen (Nine-Dragon Flash) that hit 8 times instead of 9 times in an instant—hammered the horned gray body of the zombified and demonized Toguro before he could get the chance to stab, gore, or spear Yusuke with his many protruding bone spurs.

Urameshi once heard that it took either 23,034 slaps to cook or a slap traveling at 1,665.65 meters per second to cook a chicken.

He wasn't sure about the math, but he cooked Toguro's goose at a rate of 8-16 punches a second with every punch traveling at 1,000-2,000 meters per second, so it would've took about 20 minutes of non-stop Tako Naguri to get to around 20,000 punches or 2,500 super-powered Tako Naguri.

Or he would've cooked/burned 20,000 whole chickens at around the time it took to cook a chicken in the oven.

However, it was at the second minute that Urameshi broke his hand. He hit a hard shell reminiscent of the healing turtle shell that was Usui's shield.

From the pile of minced meat, torn muscle cords, and viscera emerged yet another Toguro.

What stood before him wasn't the spurred behemoth Toguro but instead a fully armored Toguro, with every inch of his body covered in craggy white bone.

As though his shattered bones healed wrong and ended up calcifying right on top of his pulsating muscles. The parts where his joints were, he simply muscled to existence, breaking the calcified armor in sections.

"This is 1,000% of my power. 100 times the power of my 100% self."

It also made him look like a white lobster man, thought Yusuke in chagrin.

***

At the Okushiri Pier, around 9:47 PM...

The mangled remains of a man landed right in front of Reikai's finest from out of the shadows of the dark harbor.

The Reikai Senshi (and their accompanying shinigami) then felt goose bumps form at the napes of their necks, including the ghostly ones that didn't even have tangible skin, blood, or hair to make such a sensation possible.

Even Itsuki, whom Sano beat from pillar to post with bare-knuckle fisticuffs, looked none the worse for wear compared to the person before them.

He was bathed in blood and his torn clothes were dyed crimson because of it. He looked like he'd been ravaged by a pack of wolves.

The only thing recognizable about him was that he was male.  Probably.

Sanosuke was the first one to try and poke at the figure to see who it was. If he had a ten-foot pole, he'd prod the man with it. As it was, thanks to Yahiko manifesting his full neutralization powers, Sano couldn't even summon one zanbatou from the ether.

The street fighter then stumbled back, which made Kazuma ask, "What's wrong? Who is it? Is that one of the Chojin's Shin Ju or whatever?"

Botan gulped, hoping against hope that the man before them was the injured body of one of the New Ten Swords instead of one of the Spirit World Warriors.

Before Sano could answer, someone else answered for him.

"That's what remains of Hajime Saito. The former captain of the Shinsengumi's Third Unit."

"...What? Who said that?" asked Yahiko.

The Reikai Tantei, the shinigami, and the Kenshingumi then turned in time to see the silhouette of a pony-tailed person from the distance.

There stood a human(?) of about S-Level power with sleeked-back hair, a lengthy ponytail, and a half-undone kimono that showed off his rippling swimmer's muscles on his long build.

As realization dawned on them one by one, their mouths went agape, practically unhinged from their upper jaw.

The blood drained from Kuwabara's face while the three spiritual beings' faces (Botan/Kaoru, Sano, and Yahiko) looked more transparent than usual.

The ghosts all looked like they'd seen a ghost, forgetting they were ghosts themselves. Gasping for air they couldn't breathe anymore.

Even Kuwabara, who was alive, looked like he'd seen a ghost himself or even turned into one.

The man, who himself was a bloody mess with stabs and cuts at every inch of his body, held something in his arms.

It was his trophy. His prize after a hard day's battle.

It was the head of his enemy. It was the head of Hajime Saito.

Botan screamed. Or rather, Kaoru did.

The Kamiya Kasshin Master couldn't believe that Kenshin's greatest rival who was so famous he became a Japanese historical figure later on, had been defeated.

On the other hand, Botan, through centuries of being a death goddess, had seen worse things before, so she was desensitized enough to not scream. Her own feeling of dread was around the same level as Kaoru's, though.

The pony-tailed assassin then took one look at the Kenshingumi sans Kenshin and their shinigami babysitter and sighed.

"Oh, no one but weaklings left? Pathetic. Imagine, after such a delicious meal, I'm left with leftovers and expired food."

The new arrival then placed Saito's head beside the rest of his body. Almost reverently. "Rest in peace, Saito Hajime. You were truly a worthy rival. I acknowledge you."

"You killed Officer Fujita! You BASTARD!" screamed Kuwabara, a knife-sized Rei-Ken ablaze with reiki and righteous indignation in his grip.

Kazuma would've produced a full-length Jigen Tou with the rage he felt, but Yahiko's neutralizing presence kept his powers in check.

"Wait. Boke (Fool), he's...!" Sano trailed off, moving in front of Kuwabara to block him from doing anything hasty.

'If anyone's going to do something hasty, it was going to be me!' thought Sagara.

"Who are you?" demanded Yahiko as he pointed his sakabatou at the stranger.

"I'm Youkiri Tenro (Tenro the Demon-Slayer). Remember that name before I send you back to Heaven."

***

Yusuke quickly checked his Spirit Detector. Toguro was now at A-Level with his Bone Armor form. Around the same power level as the most powerful members of the Reikai Tokubetsu Bouetai (Spirit World Special Forces).

This turn of events definitely piqued his interest. Somewhat. Maybe this time, he'd get the battle he so craved from this new version of Toguro since being defeated by Yomi in the Makai Tournament.

However, the extra layer of bone armor made it harder for Yusuke to break apart Toguro's muscle armor with mere punches, no matter what velocity he reached.

Also, in turn, the Class-A Toguro Ototo pummeled and stabbed Yusuke in turn with earth-shattering strikes from his bony fists, horns, and claws as well as shattered pieces of his bone armor that kept calcifying and growing over and over. Layer by layer. Like samurai armor or shingles on the roof.

Stubbornly, the bloody and bruised Yusuke kept on punching the armored demon to push him away and give him breathing room.

The bony yet muscle-bound contradiction of a monster that looked ridiculously gigantic yet unencumbered by his musculature having an extra layer of armor unto him, turning him into a veritable tank with the speed of a Mack truck. He even hit like a truck.

Alas, as his wounds healed in Toguro Ani fashion, Urameshi realized that he had long ago surpassed the version of him that could get killed by being hit by a car. Or a truck. Or a tank. Or perhaps even a nuclear warhead. Maybe.

"Rei-Kou-Dan (Spirit Light Wave Bullet)."

One of his Spirit Cuffs broke as he put his hip into his punches and imbued his fists with actual spiritual power. They were already harder than steel because of the spirit energy contained within his body. Put when he emanates reiki from inside and outside himself, his punches also become explosive.

One reiki-imbued punch was all it took for him to crack the bone armor of Toguro at 1,000%. However, he wasn't done.

Perhaps he might have gone overboard, but he decided to punch Toguro 20,000 times in 3 minutes rather than 20 minutes. But it sure felt like 20 minutes.

Also, these weren't just physical punches. His fists were on fire with spirit energy this time. 20,000 Rei-Kou-Dan blasts, to be exact.

Every supersonic punch had the impact of a blockbuster bomb, with it breaking the sound barrier and sending extra shockwaves to Toguro and all. Perhaps even more explosive than that.

Perhaps he'd become a teenaged warhead himself.

However, out of the mangled mess of bone armor emerged yet another Toguro. The armor that should've served as his coffin ended up becoming his cocoon for his newest metamorphosis. Which, to Yusuke's surprise, made him breathe a sigh in relief.

He could still push himself even further.

Was this excited feeling what Toguro felt when, just a few years prior, Yusuke was able to withstand the might of 80% of his power when he killed Genkai in cold blood?

Regardless, a bronze-skinned, taller, and four-armed Toguro emerged from all that mush and burnt flesh he'd become earlier, impossibly towering even higher over Yusuke. His current form made his former seven-foot form look normal-sized in comparison.

His muscles were like taut steel cords now, like those used in heavy-duty tires and conveyer belts. Perhaps even harder. They were definitely harder than the pieces of thick calcified bone armor that they crushed like egg shells with a simple collective body flex.

"This is 100,000% of my power. This is what fighting 10,000 clones of my 100% self looks like."

Yusuke thought for a second what Toguro meant by that, only for him to test the theory out with an additional 20,000 Rei-Kou-Dan blasts in one minute.

20,000 palm blocks later and Urameshi now had a better idea of what his nemesis meant, followed by 20,000 counterpunches in between those blocks. All in a minute's time.

'100,000% Toguro? He didn't even bother going to 10,000%? Jeez!' Urameshi thought as he got hit with a two-armed lariat that dragged his body across the landscape and river like a cow or trailer home in a tornado.

This was it. This was the A-Plus version of Toguro.

Yusuke couldn't even hide the grin from his face even as this newest form of Toguro beat him to the punch every time.

Toguro at 100,000% had even tighter and tauter musculature with enough strength and torque behind in them to break apart from his bone cocoon or calcified eggshell. His ripcord muscles could handle punching velocities similar or even faster than Yusuke's.

It also didn't help that Toguro now had a body that could accommodate four arms, thus giving him twice the hand speed and arm speed due to his literal extra limbs.

***

"...SHISHIO!" screamed Sanosuke at Tenro, his blood (ectoplasm) boiling. His right fist, whom Makoto Shishio broke, pulsating like a second heart.

Even though he wasn't wearing his bandages and his skin wasn't burned to a crisp, Sano could recognize that voice and that demeanor anywhere.

''Shishio?' thought Kuwabara. So this is the man who founded the original Juppon Gatana? Kenshin's greatest rival? The man who ultimately led to the demise of the samurai spirit? The man who might actually be the alter ego of the Chojin himself?

The guy who not only pushed Hiei to his limits, but also possibly two of the Demon World's three kings, Yomi and Mukuro?

Before they knew it, they were suddenly faced with the final boss of the game.

The fighting spirit of Sano rose high enough for him to defy the nullifying presence of Yahiko and form half of a zanbatou in his hands, which he swung at the (presumably) non-burned version or reincarnation of the ex-hitokiri and Meiji rebel known as Shishio.

With one swing of Tenro's Mugen Jin (Unlimited Blade) sword, Sagara's suspicions were confirmed.

"Secret Sword One: HOMURA DAMA!"

Shishio's signature Homura Dama (Burning Soul) technique where his sword burst into flame clashed hard against the 6-foot (normally 12-foot) horse-chopping sword, smelting it in the process like a blacksmith's forge in a shower of sparks.

"A weakling like usual, Sagara Sanosuke," sneered Tenro. "It's been a while, though."

"I don't understand. Wasn't Shishio supposed to look like a mummy or something? He's some guy who was burnt to a crisp and covered in bandages!" said Kazuma.

Sano answered, "Yeah, but obviously it's been 100 years. He must've found a way to get a new body, ended up with a solidified soul, or he got reincarnated as this Tenro clown."

Myojin gulped. He considered deactivating his powers to allow either Kuwabara or Sanosuke to attack the youkiri.

However, if Tenro was this powerful with his spiritual power nullified, how much more powerful could he get when Yahiko's powers ceased working?

The disheveled Yumi then cackled in the background, the hole in her chest throbbing with a ghostly heart whom the man before her had stolen from her.

"It's about time you got here, Tenro. What took you so long? Don't tell me the Miburo (Mibu's Wolf) gave you all that you can handle and then some."

Tenro harrumphed. "Perish the thought, Yumi. I merely gave my respects first to the Shinsengumi in the Battle of Hakodate Monument, and guess who I also found there? That's right, our favorite Shinsengumi Captain, Saito Hajime."

'Hakodate?!' thought Yahiko. 'That's four hours away from Okushiri! All the way on the other side of Hokkaido, at that!'

Sanosuke himself snarled at Tenro, his fist burning with pain and fire, as though it remembered how Makoto had shattered it when they'd faced each other back at Mt. Hiei.

'Hakodate is the place that served as the Shinsengumi's last stand. What was Saito doing there? Was he paying his respects to his squad? It's not like him to be so sentimental.'

The street fighter spared a glance at the remains of Saito. Unbelievable. Just earlier, he pushed several of the Shin Juppon Gatana to their limits, and now he ended up as dead as the rest of the Shinsengumi?

Well, he was already originally dead and buried in the first place, but this time around he got killed off for real by Shishio. Or Tenro, which was probably the reincarnation of Shishio (the same way Aoshi was reincarnated as a copper).

Kuwabara turned towards Yahiko and said, "Kid, turn off your powers! I'm going to face off with the final boss one-on-one!"

"But...!" the ghost kid trailed off before Botan filled in the rest.

"Kuwabara-kun, he can't. He's the only one sealing Tenro's immense power. If he was able to do that to Saito, imagine what he could do to us! Let Yahiko seal his power for now until either Kenshin or Yusuke arrives!" said the ferry-girl.

"I DON'T CARE!" shouted Kuwabara. "Let us face him at his full strength while we're also at full strength! As a real man, I won't back down!"

Tenro smirked. "Fine. If you're not bluffing then come at me. In this world and beyond it, the same rules of nature apply. Only the strongest survive and the weak serve as food for the strong."

Sano's eyes narrowed. He was definitely sure this was Shishio before him now. That was totally a Shishio line. 'It's now or never. We just have to keep him here until either Kenshin or that gangster best friend of Boke arrives!'

***

"REI-KOU-DAN!" shouted Urameshi, his Spirit Wave Light Bullets bursting through his fist like bolts of lightning from a Railgun.

The 100,000% Toguro blocked the punch with his elbow, shattering Yusuke's hand bones in the process. "Is this the power of an S-Level? Don't make me laugh. Me at 100,000% of my power is enough for you."

Toguro then grabbed hold of Urameshi's limbs with all four of his arms in a bid to tear the teenager apart literally from limb to limb.

Yusuke considered Toguro's statement for a second and then said, "Fuck that," before flipping the four-armed monster off with his right hand.

The mere idea that someone like Feng Xinhai or The "Beautiful" Suzuki was more powerful than Toguro just didn't sit well with Urameshi. At all.

The middle finger he raised at the 100,000% Toguro then flowed with energy he'd been saving for a special occasion.

Yusuke discovered that he could actually save and store his energy as a reserve or extra Spirit Gun blast for use in case of emergencies since it usually took forever and a day to charge his Rei-Gan.

Also, in order for him to not mistakenly fire off his reserve Rei-Gan, he had this bullet stored in his middle finger. This was how his technique that he developed when facing off against the S-Level Xinhai.

This was his "Fuck You!" Gun. Also known as the "FAKKU GAN! (FUCK GUN!)"

The 100,000% Toguro let go of Yusuke to bring distance between him and the spiritual projectile then punted the Fuck Gun towards the teenager.

However, by instinct borne from his hundreds of fights against spiritually powerful humans and demons, Yusuke jumped away from the Fakku Gan, grabbed Toguro by the ankle, dragged him towards the ball of plasma fire, and then threw him back into its path.

From there, as the 100,000% Toguro braced himself for impact, Urameshi emerged from behind him. Attacking him from the rear for good measure.

Toguro was now between a rock and a hard place. Or between a demon and his energy blast.

"REI-KOU-DAN! SHOT GUN!" screamed the half-demon prince.

While the Fakku Gan blasted and disintegrated the giant from the front, Yusuke attacked with his Spirit Light Wave Bullets and reiki scattershot from behind, which kept even the four-armed monstrosity from defending himself from upcoming impacts surrounding him.

The charged-up blasts of energy in particle and wave forms bore on Toguro like plasma tides or a solar wind. An endless series of reiki tidal waves from the ocean of Urameshi's power.

Thanks to the extra pressure brought about by his stored energy blast from many weeks ago, Yusuke's Rei-Kou-Dan was able to strike through this time, with him ripping the steel cord muscles of Toguro apart as they got softened by the comet of energy that cooked him alive.

Then, as Yusuke had hoped deep in his unbeating heart, the mangled Toguro changed form yet again.

The same heart that Shinobu Sensui pierced so that it'd stop beating felt like it started beating yet again in anticipation. In excitement. In nostalgia, even.

Toguro still had more forms and powers up his sleeve. Just like old times.

And from there, out of the ashes and melted muscle of the 100,000% Toguro came forth One Million Percent Toguro.

"One Million Percent. This is me at One Million Percent of my power, Urameshi Yusuke."

***

Kuwabara and Sanosuke attacked Tenro at the same time while Yahiko struggled on the spot to focus all his neutralizing powers on the Shishio reincarnation(?) alone.

Tenro frowned. His aura of jaki became fainter despite him doing damage to the Tokyo Samurai Descendant.

'Hmmm. The Shin Ju warned me about this. Even Toguro Ani couldn't heal properly thanks to this kid's neutralizing reiki.'

Botan checked her Spirit Detector again. Hope sprung in her heart. 'Yes! Tenro's power level went down to A-Level. He's still on the cusp of S-Level, but at least he's not as powerful as someone like Sensui and Xinhai! We have a chance!'

As Kuwabara and Sanosuke awoke, their energy levels went higher and higher, their auras flaring with spiritual might that was boosted by Botan's healing powers.

"JIGEN TOU!" screamed Kazuma, summoning his Dimension Sword.

"ZANBATOU!" shouted Sanosuke, producing his 12-foot long Horse-Chopping Sword.

"How appropriate. Isn't this just a reflection of today's society? The weak are using their great numbers to suppress their betters, not realizing that without the strong to lead them or the will to become strong themselves, they will end up extinct."

"SHADDAP! I don't know who you are, but all's fair in love and war," declared Kuwabara.

"Not all men are created equal. Like in the Animal Kingdom, some men are simply better than others. Equal opportunity doesn't guarantee equal results. Forcing equal results in an aberration of nature, like forcing animals to become like men, the pinnacle of evolution."

Tenro used his bare hand to grab hold of Kuwabara's Dimension Sword and used his other hand with a sword to block the full-length zanbatou coming at him with his saw-like Mugen Jin.

"Ganging up on the strong can lead to the survival of the weak temporarily. However, their own weakness will sort them out. Their celebration of mediocrity will make them food for other apex predators or any of them who decide to become rams instead of sheep."

The Youkiri then broke the Jigen Tou apart like it was made of chalk and stabbed Sanosuke's chest with it while also melting his second attempt at a half-zanbatou with his Mugen Jin's Homura Dama.

"Regardless, it is better to live one day as a lion than 100 years as a sheep. These are... THE RULES OF NATURE!"

"AUGH!" grunted Sanosuke, his recently recovered soul flickering in and out of existence, his chest spewing ectoplasm, and his aura dissipating into pinpoints of light like a disturbed nest of bioluminescent fireflies.

He felt the light inside him slowly fade all the while.

"Bastard...!" said Kazuma, who repurposed the broken shards of his Jigen Tou and shot it pointblank at Youkiri Tenro, turning them into "REI-SHURIKEN!"

He should've hit him with the projectiles from a distance, though. The first few blades bounced off of the intense jaki of Tenro, which reminded Kuwabara of the aura that Detective Matsudaira developed.

Reiatsu (Spirit pressure). Tenro's aura was dense enough to become spirit pressure reminiscent of Bui from the Toguro Team. Or Yusuke when he unleashed his full power nowadays.

So this was the Chojin's secret weapon? If not the Chojin himself altogether?

The demon-slayer then grabbed of the teenagers wrist and redirected the shuriken at Sano again. From there, he broke Kuwabara's hand then grabbed him by the collar, declaring, "Secret Sword Two: GUREN KAINA! (CRIMSON LOTUS ARM!)"

Using his Mugen Jin to ignite the gunpowder-laced glove, the youkiri blasted Kuwabara with the force of the bomb.

The gunpowder inside the glove trick that Shishio used on Kenshin was also used against Kazuma, with the explosion blowing him clear off. Makoto's hand was kept safe from the explosion using a special metal gauntlet underneath the glove full of gunpowder that resisted the impact.

Tenro somehow ended up doing an even stronger version of the Guren Kaina that was imbued with the chaotic negative energy of Tenro, which made the explosion strong enough to injure a human with the power level of Kuwabara. Yahiko's power-suppressing aura didn't help.

Tenro then shot Yahiko a look that chilled him to his "bones" or "spine". The youkiri said, "You will not drag me down to your level. Know your place, child."

However, while Tenro was preoccupied, the flickering spirit of Sanosuke stabbed the youkiri with hot molten metal or what was left of his sword in a spectacular display of sparks.

This was Sano's one chance of making a dent, so he had to make it count.

However, as he attempted to punch Tenro's heart out, his hand ended up crushed with the youkiri's elbow block.

With a harrumph, Tenro proceeded to punch Sanosuke on the forehead, just like when Sano fought Shishio. "You never learn."

"I don't understand," murmured the Kaoru inside Botan's body. "Isn't Yahiko's aura supposed to suppress Tenro's powers too? Why is he still so strong!?"

She then noticed Gatekeeper Itsuki waking up, which led her to keep her guard up.

The black-and-blue Itsuki chuckled, tracing his finger over the scar Kuwabara had made on his face back when they faced off against Shinobu Sensui. "Y-You don't understand. This is him with his power held back."

"W-What do you mean? That's impossible!" Botan checked her Spirit Detector. "His power is fluctuating between A-Level and S-Level. That can't be! How powerful is he?"

Sneering, Itsuki said, "Who knows? Rumor has it he's about as powerful as one of the Former Three Kings—Mukuro, Yomi, and even the Late Raizen. He might even reach the mythical X-Level like Kurama did when he took hold of the Demon Sword."

Botan's face went pale blue as though she was being choked. "X-Level?!"

She remembered the event like it was yesterday.

The Spirit World went on high alert when Kurama went Class-X after wielding the Youtou Shinnoken (Demon Sword). They even called the entire Reikai Bouetai in. Not that it would've done them any good, since the Special Forces were composed of Class-A agents and Class-X was a level beyond Class-S.

She couldn't even fathom how strong an X-Level was since Kurama immediately rejected the Demon Sword transforming him back into his youko self.

However, stronger than Yomi, Mukuro, or Raizen gave her a ballpark estimate of what they were dealing with. Someone as strong as or stronger than a Raizen-possessed Yusuke who ragdolled the mountain-destroying Sensui with ease.

All the same, Tenro stood victorious over the beaten figures of Sanosuke and Kuwabara.

"Will you become rams or sheep? Lions or stray cats? Wolves or mongrel dogs? Can you evolve and turn into apex predators yourselves? It's natural selection. Kill or be killed. Make your choice."

***

The peaceful Tsurikake River had now become a war zone. A swamp in one part and a desert in another.

It was Baghdad. It was bedlam.

The 1,000,000% Toguro was there at the epicenter of the devastation. A nuke all his own. An unnatural force of nature.

An over-muscled demonized human even taller than his 100,000% version. A walking contradiction of chaos and order.

He had no skin now. He was all pure, red muscle and tendons pulsating and wriggling in every which way.

He also had six arms instead of two, with him towering even higher than before because he had to elongate his torso to cartoonish levels just to accommodate his extra pair of hands and limbs.

Curious at how strong this Toguro was, Yusuke flipped the bird on Toguro with his other hand.

Yes, he also stored another Fuck Gun on his other hand, with about the same amount of potential spiritual energy gathered for weeks' on end since he fired his first Fakku Gan at Feng Xinhai.

"FAKKU GAN!"

Again, Urameshi blasted all of his pent-up "Fuck You!" energy at Toguro by flipping him off, shooting the bolt of concentrated lightning that came out with the force of a shooting star.

Again, he outran the modified Rei-Gan and came up from behind the six-armed insectoid Toguro with the intent of making sure he got hit by the Fakku Gan.

He then attacked Toguro with both hands using the Rei-Gan and Shot Gun.

"DOUBLE-BARRELED SHOT GUN! DOUBLE BERRETTA REI-GAN!"

Those extra pair of hands on an even bigger and sturdier body made all the difference.

Two of six arms grabbed and held back the charged-for-weeks Rei-Gan. Another two of the arms parried and blocked all of Yusuke's energy-laden punches as well as the projectiles blasting through them.

This freed up the Million-Percent Toguro's two remaining hands that grabbed hold of Yusuke and pummeled him into submission.

The Younger Toguro used punches that carved the landscape. Made and destroyed mountains.

The kind of unnatural force of nature (as contradictory as it sounds) that could affect plate tectonics, weather patterns, or change the area forever, like in the case of Mt. St. Helens when it exploded or the nine ghost villages of France that remain wastelands to this day thanks to the Battle of Verdun in the First World War.  

If Yusuke weren't here to absorb the blows they would've shattered and sunk Okushiri right off of the map.

Even though Urameshi was breathing through his mouth, had lost teeth, and ended up with a shattered jaw he couldn't close, he couldn't help but grin. Or at least do an open-mouthed smile.

"I'm beating you to the punch at every turn. So why is it...?" Toguro tilted his head to the side in askance. "Why do you have such a happy look on your face?"

Disturbingly, Yusuke's teeth grew back. They weren't supposed to but they did. Even accelerated human healing wouldn't allow the return of lost permanent teeth. All his bruises healed. All his broken bones mended themselves. His shut black eye's swelling subsided and went back to normal.

There he hung from Toguro's grip. Smiling. None the worse for wear.

"Come on, Toguro. You can do better than this, you son of a bitch! Gimme your best shot!"

Toguro then proceeded to smash Yusuke and his own heavenly body of a Fakku Gan together, which resulted in a mushroom cloud of pure destructive power.

Another atomic blast had hit Japan.

Toguro the Younger turned Urameshi into the atomic bomb he was afraid he had become.

***

Back at the Okushiri Pier, two things happened.

Botan, using the wealth of leftover negative energy that Kaoru purified earlier, again started shot reiki to heal the damage inflicted upon the available Reikai Senshi.

Kuwabara and Sanosuke stirred, as if shot by doses of adrenalin.

Also, when the youkiri made the move to deal with the shinigami herself to keep her from aiding her comrades, Yahiko himself confronted and attacked Tenro head on.

For all the good it did. Bless his ghostly heart.

"DOU GAMI...! (GOD ON EARTH!)" shouted Yahiko, hoping against hope it'd land on Tenro's head or at least near him so that he'd be pelted by rocks and debris.

'This is Shishio. The leader of the Juppon Gatana. Kenshin's most powerful rival,' the samurai spirit thought.

Tenro caught the reverse-edged blade between his fingers before it could make contact with his Mugen Jin. The God Hammer relied on recoil to give Yahiko enough space to consecutively strike something or someone three times fast in order to break their resistance and apply a zero-resistance strike.

No recoil meant the sword's three strikes were neutralized.

Myojin's jaw dropped. "How...!?"

"So you're the brat who can neutralize spirit energy," said Tenro with narrowed eyes that traveled from Houji's unconscious form then all the way back to Yahiko.

Readjusting his grip of the sword tight with a gloved hand that smelled of gunpowder and negative spirit energy, Tenro again did the "GUREN KAINA!" on the blade.

The explosion blasted Myojin clear away from (presumably) Shishio, the shrapnel from his own spiritual construct of a sakabatou hitting him as well like bullets. His spirit fading and dissipating with pinpoints of energy.

''YAHIKO!" both Botan and Kaoru chorused in one body, fearing the worst.

The shards of Yahiko's blade penetrated Tenro, sealing his power further away from S-Level. 'What a problematic child this is.'

Myojin got up to his feet and charged, hoping to buy Sano and Kuwabara time. Buy Kenshin and Yusuke time as well.

He was prepared to do the Banzen Gami on Tenro's head, only to revert to the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu ougi for Hadome and Hawatari when his opponent beat him to the punch and struck first with the Homura Dama.

However, as he defended against the downwards flaming strike with a cross-wrist block, Tenro grappled with him and kept him from parrying the strike. "Do you want to know how your idol, the Himura Battousai died a century ago? Like this. Guren Kaina. Homura Dama."

After the explosion from the gunpowder happened, Tenro allowed the resulting fire to flare and roast the ghost of Myojin.

"AAAHH...!" screamed the burning Yahiko.

"YAHIKO!" shouted Sanosuke.

"BRAT!" yelled Kuwabara.

Tenro himself was in the middle of the conflagration, but like with his confrontation with Hiei, he was none the worse for wear from the roaring bonfire.

"Too strong... He's too strong...!" gasped Yahiko. "Even after all this time, I'm still as weakk as I've always been."

The bright yellow flames turning blue as Yahiko's form reverted to that of a hitodama (will-o'-the-wisp).

Meanwhile, Botan shrieked, fell on her knees, and covered her eyes with her hands.

"What happened to Japan? Is this the best warriors that this new age can come up with? Pathetic," said Youkiri Tenro. "It's so sad. The United States of America turned the Empire of Japan into a whipped dog. An island full of losers."

The entirety of Okushiri started to rumble as Yahiko's neutralizing reiki ebbed away.

***

A nuke did damage in three stages.

It irradiated heat and light, it blasted everything to Kingdom Come, and it scattered radioactive materials around.

The bigger you went, the less relevant the radioactive materials become relative to the other effects as the heat irradiation had a much greater and more noticeable immediate effect. Effectively, when a nuke went off, the temperature of the resulting fireball could go up to millions of degrees, but it dissipated relatively quickly.

However, instead of having a repeat of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1993, Yusuke's dense aura (arguably reiatsu level at this point) allowed him to absorbed most of the impact of his Fakku Gan.

Yusuke collapsed on the ground, taking the brunt of his own spirit energy.

Before him was a behemoth of a demonized man. His exposed muscles bursting out of his skin. His bulging muscles wriggling and moving all over the place. His six huge arms giving him an insect-like vibe.

This was Toguro using a million percent of his power. He had become the Demigod Asura, a six-armed demon of war and destruction.

However, even in the face of this absolute unit of a monster, something else grabbed Urameshi's attention many miles away.

Over the horizon, he felt a suppressed Low S-Level power grow and pulse. Like a leaking and cracked dam ready to burst.

Once that dam burst, Yusuke broke all of his limits at once. Every last Spirit Cuff. Every last bit of hesitation he had from the Kugai curse placed upon him.

He caught even the Million-Percent Toguro by surprise at how fast his power level rose.

He summoned his version of the Sei Kou Ki, the golden aura serving as his barrier against Toguro's atomic punches.

His hair grew long and turned white for good measure before he proceeded to punch the Million-Percent Toguro a million times. A gold-glowing punch for every percentage.

"SEI-KOU-DAN!" Yusuke cried using the Sei-Kou-Ki version of the Rei-Kou-Dan.

He had to. That dark presence in the distance sounded all of his alarms and red flags.

Whichever Reikai Senshi was out there, they were fighting the final boss. The Chojin himself, even.

As though feeling the rise in power from a distance spurred him into action more than the golem before him that, quite frankly, took too long to get to S-Level and beyond.

***

Botan rushed towards Yahiko's side, doing her best to heal his hitodama form. But the damage was extensive on his human soul, the light in his spirit fading away. "Hold on, Yahiko-kun! I got you! Everything's going to be fine!"

However, no matter how much spirit energy she used to heal Yahiko's damaged soul, it never healed. His hitodama continued to remain in its fireball state, its light fading away fast.

Kuwabara was the first to get up shakily on his feet, the Rei-Ken in his hand flickering back and forth between its normal form and its Jigen Tou form.

"You talk too much, you bastard!" said the redhead, who attempted to create a portal to send Tenro to space, only for the youkiri to grab the teenager by his curly regent-style hair and put his face into the portal in an effort to suffocate him.

"Who is stronger? A wolf in sheep's clothing or a sheep in wolf's clothing?"

Kuwabara ignited Tenro's glove with a small Rei-Ken on his free hand, which made it explode in the youkiri's face and allowing him to escape. Gasping for air, the redhead attempted another blind swing at the would-be dictator, only for him to end up stabbed in the lung.

He coughed blood as his eyes watered. He was drowning in his blood.

"Sheep will always be sheep. Wolves will always be wolves. A hitokiri will always be a hitokiri. A youkiri will always be youkiri. It's an aberration of nature to be one thing and claim to be another."

Ignoring the throbbing pain from his right fist that somehow trumped the ectoplasmic bleeding he got from the Rei-Shuriken, Sagara did the Futae no Kiwami and aimed it right into the chest of Shishio.

Or Tenro. Or the Chojin. Whoever he was or claimed to be.

Tenro tossed aside Kuwabara's quivering body like trash then blocked Sanosuke's punch with his own punch.

Last time, Sano broke his fist on Shishio's concrete face, his own Futae no Kiwami deflecting back to the bones of his hand. This time, his Douhle Extreme was enough to match Tenro's strength.

Only to match Tenro's strength though.

As Tenro again attempted to punch and crack Sanosuke's skull open, something unexpected happened.

"...SANJO NO KIWAMI!"

Sano blew Tenro's fist away with the Triple Extreme, which opened up his chest to a direct heart punch.

The coup de grace.

"FUTAE NO KIWAMI! AHHH...!"

Sanosuke landed the Futae no Kiwami right into Shishio's heart. Or Tenro's heart.

A second passed. The youkiri cackled.

"Congratulations. You're a little bit stronger now than before."

As the fading, transparent visage of Sanosuke let out a soundless scream, his pupils constricted into tiny dots on a white expanse, Tenro finally attacked the street fighter with his flame-producing weapon, the Homura Dama splitting Sano's head apart in a spectacular spray of ectoplasm.

"S-Sano..." choked out Kuwabara, his own vision fading along with Sanosuke's soul.

All that time, even in his will-o'-the-wisp form, the soul of Yahiko kept sealing the power of Youkiri Tenro.

However, he couldn't contain the immense power of the Shishio reincarnation(?) any longer.

His soul finally succumbed, turning dark before shattering into a thousand pinpoints of light.

"Yahiko, no! No! NOOO!" cried Botan. "Dammit, come back! Oh no, what's going on? Why is everything going wrong?!"

Okushiri rumbled as the unleashed power of Tenro began to expand into a tall pillar of darkness and miasma. His jaki shot up into the sky, which gathered nimbus clouds all around them.

The localized quakes grew stronger and stronger. It felt like the world was about to split apart. This was the power of an Upper Class-S being somehow ending up in the Human World.

He felt like power made flesh. A walking disaster area. A humanoid cyclone.

Tenro smirked as he surveyed the horizon. He felt their presence. They were coming. He felt their desperate presence travel towards him.

One was on land, on foot, going faster than a cheetah. The other in the air, presumably ferried by one of Reikai's shinigami.

First, there was the one half-demon, half-human mazoku descendant of Raizen, Makai's God of War, who was able to harness his demonic power and lineage. Raizen's true son. The Last Son of the Mazoku.

Yusuke Urameshi.

Second, there was the man who "defeated" Makoto Shishio to a suicidal draw.  The Hitokiri Battousai who died and then became the Youkiri Battousai, the Guardian of the Demon Sword.

Kenshin Himura.

"Come forth. Show me the best and most powerful champions that this era has to offer. I'll defeat them all!" declared Tenro the Demon-Slayer to his upcoming opponents.

He could feel their strong presences, spirit energy, sword energy, and aura even from miles away.

However, before Tenro knew it, his chest tightened. His heart stopped beating.

His negative energy wasn't able to heal the damage in time. He stood there, frozen. His time had stopped care of Sanosuke's efforts.

It was a combination of the Futae no Kiwami damaging his heart with the shards of Yahiko's neutralizing reiki. It kept him from manifesting the full breadth of his power that managed to take down even Hajime Saito.

The Kenshingumi's curse, if you would.

"Before challenging the champions of this era, watch out behind you first. The past has a way of catching up with you, Shishio Makoto!"

Speaking of Saito, it was then and there that the headless corpse of Saito began moving on its own, with his one arm cradling his decapitated head.

As though he were the Headless Horseman. Or a Dullahan of Irish folklore.

That bastard. He was playing possum all this time!

Tenro willed himself to move, but couldn't. He felt his left arm go numb. The shards of Yahiko's sakabatou might've reached all the way to his coronary arteries.

There was no telling how much cardiovascular damage Sanosuke's punch had done to his heart.

Dammit.

He began to sweat hard while clutching his chest. "Damn you, Saito Hajime."

"I've never seen you so sweaty before," the head of Saito said before charging with his Gatotsu Ishiki from behind Tenro. "Then again, your sweat glands did get all burned up in a past life."

Instead of aiming at Tenro's head like with his encounter with Shishio, Saito instead aimed his sword right at Tenro's stopped heart while he was in the middle of a heart attack.

Appropriately enough, instead of being defeated by someone stronger than him, it was the desperate alliance of those weaker than Tenro that ultimately dragged him towards his ultimate defeat.

The ultimate irony.

"Go back to Hell, Shishio...!"

"No, I will make this world Hell and feel right at home!"

No. This was the same method Hajime used to "kill" Usui (temporarily). He took advantage of other people's hard work then opportunistically struck.

There was no way Youkiri Tenro would go down like a punk. Like Usui, of all people. An outsmarted weakling.

Tenro willed himself to move to block the strike.

His Homura Dama melted right through Saito's sword. Apparently, the Shinsengumi Captain was already using the last of his soul's strength to even make the strike, leading to a vulnerable blade with barely any spirit energy to protect it.

Nevertheless, the rest of the hot blade plunged right into one of Tenro's lungs, spraying his blood all over.

Saito smirked and closed his eyes.  Instead of a soul, Shishio really was reincarnated into an extra powerful human being. But a human being nonetheless. A mortal that could be killed.

Tenro awaited the Gatotsu Zeroshiki that never came.

However, Saito already spent most of his energy fighting a full-powered X-Level Tenro earlier, with him sacrificing his very life force to just injure him now.

"I win again, Saito Hajime," hissed Tenro, coughing blood. "I survived your attack while you're already as good as dead. I can easily heal through this and finish off the rest of the Reikai Senshi."

"That's my parting gift," said Saito, his own spirit fading. "You won't be able to reach X-Level in time now."

Before Tenro could wonder any further what Saito meant by his words, a gigaton punch shattered his face from out of the blue.

"Wha...?! GUAAAAH!!!"

Again, the wolf outfoxed him at every turn.

The youkiri realized that he'd just been punched by Raizen's "Son". The Mazoku Descendant. The hanyou (half-demon) that scared Enma Daio himself.

His brain sloshed inside his broken skull, leading to a concussion.

Any other impact from a weaker opponent wouldn't have even registered. But a punch from an S-Level mazoku? That was a punch that could tear apart entire continents.

He also spotted from behind the long-haired, tattooed, and angry Mazoku Yusuke a warp portal that Kazuma Kuwabara probably made to shorten his best friend's travel time.

This was bad.

His compromised heart and lungs hadn't recovered yet. Even though his energy levels were rising, his mortal damage kept him from manifesting his full power. He wasn't healing fast enough.

But this was also exciting.

Tenro missed out on slaying one of the greatest, oldest, and most powerful demons of the Demon World, Raizen. Fighting his distant half-breed offspring was the next best thing to it.

With Yusuke's white hair and boundless energy, he looked to be at the cusp of X-Level himself.

"Far more important than your power level, you've upended the natural order of things in both the Spirit World and the Demon World."

Yusuke picked up the pace, his nuclear-powered punches reaching speeds so impossibly, superhumanly fast that they came with their own eardrum-obliterating sonic booms.

However, the tough-as-nails Tenro absorbed every punch with his hard body, so his mountain-obliterating punches "merely" made the pier shake and quake like a scared child.

"When Raizen died, you took over and found a way to keep the warring factions of Mukuro and Yomi from leading Makai into another millennia-long war for power."

Tenro gurgled but laughed with what sounded like a death rattle. Knocking at death's store with the sea of punches he had to wade through while punching and slashing at the elusive demon spawn in turn.

"You even helped expose the corruption within Reikai and had Koenma Daio depose his father, Enma Daio. Then you saved the Human World again from a Spirit World terrorist group. Imagine that."

The constant battery of kicks, punches, knees, elbosws, and headbutts that barely gave Tenro any breathing room took their toll, making him cough and spew blood from many of his body's orifices, like his ears, eyes, nose, and mouth.

"The Chojin views you as a threat not because of your power level but instead of how you affect everyone and everything around you. You're a spanner in the works. Someone who can defy fate itself."

The threat of death made Tenro feel alive. His flight or fight instincts were on high alert.

After the thousands of demon hunts he'd participated in for the sake of turning his reincarnated yakuza boss self into someone worthy of housing Makoto Shishio's soul, this was the first time he actually, remotely felt threatened.

It was as he had imagined facing Yomi, Mukuro, or Raizen would've been like when they were still the Three Kings of Makai at the peak of their power.

"We're cut from the same cloth, Urameshi Yusuke." Tenro sneered, wiping the blood from his nose. "From one lion to another, I will fight fate itself to write my own destiny. Just like you have."

"What are you blathering about?" said Yusuke, who kept up his endless barrage of Sei Kou Ki punches and kicks in order to pummel Tenro to submission.

Although he was winning the exchange, Toushin Yusuke's fists were aching and bleeding.

They might've even been broken by the dense thickness of Tenro's own reiatsu of negative energy serving as a barrier from inside and outside him that kept his human body intact.

Regardless, the human-demon spawn had to finish Tenro off immediately.

Even though Urameshi was able to best Toguro by going all out, he could still feel his old enemy's presence. If he could heal, then he could possibly go beyond a million percent of his power. Perhaps a billion or a trillion even.

"Let's end this, Tenro. Or Shishio. Or Chojin. Whoever you are.  I'll finish you and your Shin Juppon Gatana off! SEI-KOU-GAN!"

A black-and-blue Tenro grinned as he felt a meteor-sized blast of purest Sei Kou Ki grow bigger and bigger from Yusuke's pointer finger. A miniature sun that glowed gold instead of bright blue.

This was the correct move. In order to finally penetrate through Tenro's reiatsu, Yusuke had to use his ultimate, ultimate move. A Rei-Gan powered by Sei-Kou-Ki shot by his white-haired demonic form.

However, the Chojin foresaw all this. This was why he gave (back) Tenro his original Mugen Jin.

When Yahiko still had his neutralizing reiki activated, the Mugen Jin could only be used the way it originally was made for, which was to use body fat and human oils to constantly ignite flames unto it.

However, a hundred years later, the sword itself became a cursed sword with supernatural powers like the Youtou Shinnoken. It gained an extra property.

Without Yahiko's powers sealing its supernatural abilities away, it could absorb, steal, and store energy.

Thus, Tenro's Mugen Jin absorbed every last bit of the Sei-Kou-Gan from Mazoku Yusuke, only for him to do the third secret sword on him powered by  Urameshi's own Sacred Light Spirit Energy against him.

"Secret Sword Three: KAGUZUCHI! (FIRE-BEARING SPIRIT GOD!)"

A fire tornado that mixed Tenro's demonic negative energy reiatsu with Yusuke's angelic sacred energy tossed the teenage warhead around in a maelstrom of discontent (since jaki was basically just energy let off from humanity's hatred and grudges).

If the mixture of volatile energy didn't kill the demonized Urameshi, then the centrifugal force of an F5 hurricane that would normally turn any normal human being into liquefied butter would.

"Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu Ougi: AMAKAKERU RYU NO HIRAMEKI! (HEAVENS GLIDING DRAGON FLASH!)"

The void created by the ultimate attack of the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu destroyed the red, black, and gold wind funnel that had threatened to rage against Okushiri like a seasonal typhoon.

As a battered Yusuke fell to the sky, an erstwhile Kenshin jumped and caught him in midair before he crash into one of the many cargo containers, if not outright fall into the hard concrete below.

They landed safely on ground zero of Yusuke's fight with Tenro, which was filled with craters and debris. From a distance, they could hear the blaring siren of an ambulance.

"I came here as fast as I could with Ayame-dono's help," said Kenshin.

"K-Kenshin. S-Sorry. I-I almost had him, but he still had a trick up his sleeve," rasped Yusuke, who had transformed back to his human form, with most of his long hair burned away by Tenro's Kaguzuchi.

"Don't worry, Yusuke. I will finish off what you've started. What everyone had started, that I will," said Himura.

Tenro harrumphed, clutching his side. His chest still ached, his heart beating so fast it felt like it could explode. His brain throbbed and pounded inside his skull.

However, his adrenalin and his thrill for the fight soared, making him ignore every bit of pain he felt. He was about to pass the point of no return, after all.

"The fates conspired against me and denied me my destiny to rule. I write my own destiny  now," said the youkiri to his fellow demon-slayer. Fellow manslayer, even.

"Time has already chosen. You were meant to lose," rebutted Kenshin. In the corner of his eye, he saw Botan stare at him with glistening eyes.

He heard the bad news from her. She reported that the souls of Sanosuke, Yahiko, and Saito were no more. Also, Kuwabara and Yusuke were in critical condition.

They all fell against the hands of the man... the monster... before him. The wannabe dictator that he should've defeated a hundred years ago.

"I also look forward to seeing you again after all this time, Battousai. Come and die in my hands once more. The only law I follow is Survival of the Fittest. Only the strongest survive!"

"Survival of the Fittest, eh?" asked Kenshin. "Do you know what is the first sign of civilization?"

"...What?" asked Tenro in turn. "What are you talking about, Battousai?"

"I believe that the first sign of civilization is a femur that's been broken and then healed," said Himura. "In nature, a broken leg meant death. Kill or killed, right? Humans became the dominant species against stronger animals because of our cooperation and compassion. Helping someone else through difficulty is where civilization starts. We are at our best when we serve others. Be civilized."

"No. Nonsense," said Tenro. "Humanity stands on the shoulders of giants. Without the strong, the weak shall die unless they too can become strong. Otherwise, humanity will decline. Don't let the weak punish the strong for being strong while celebrating their own mediocrity. Civilization or progress came about because of the strong. The best. The intellectuals. The Superman. The Overman. The Ubermensch. The Chojin."

"Chojin..." said Himura. While it could be translated as "Overfiend", the name "Chojin" could also be translated as "Superman" or "Overman". "Fate and time have already decided that you will not emerge victorious."

Tenro cackled. "Fate and time have chosen poorly, hence the pathetic state of Japan. The state of the world that's being led by sheep in wolves' clothing. Let me correct that century-old mistake. Even now, the weak are depending on your strength to protect them. Let the Ubermensch show the world what it's truly like to be strong! I will show them how to win!"

Kenshin fell into his battoujutsu stance. He had to attack now, while Tenro was injured and recuperating. As soon as he healed and achieved X-Level, it was all over for them.

"AMAKAKERU RYU NO HIRAMEKI!"

"KAGUZUCHI!"

Kenshin and Tenro... or rather, Kenshin and Shishio... finally clashed swords, the Youtou Shinnoken glowing bright-blue against the bright-red Mugen Jin. They picked up where they left off.

In one timeline, Kenshin found the strength and will to live to block Shishio's strike before he spontaneously combusted and died from overheating. Soon after, Shishio became the new King of Hell.

In another timeline, Shishio finished Battousai off then murdered Saito, Shinomori, Sagara, and the rest of the Oniwabanshu and Shinsengumi before forming a New Juppon Gatana and leading a coup d'etat against the Meiji Government. A second Bakumatsu. Afterwards, when he died, he came back to the Human World with his New Juppon Gatana.

In the timeline they were in, Kenshin and Shishio fought to a draw, with Kenshin dying along with Shishio in a blaze of glory. A hundred years after their battle, and Shishio ended up forming a New Juppon Gatana in order to lead a coup d'etat against the Spirit World.

In nearly all timelines, Shishio woke up from beyond the grave and ended up with an army of the undead, leading the charge towards world domination. Like a phoenix reborn from the ashes. Again and again.

Even after his death, he was inevitable.

Would Kenshin falter like a hundred years ago or would he rise up and correct his century-old mistake?

On one hand, Yusuke's leftover sacred energy powered up the Kaguzuchi overwhelmed the initial strike of the Hirameki. On the other hand, the resulting void still formed, which multiplied the power of Kenshin's second strike many times over.

Tenro learned from his mistake, understanding that there was a void formed after blocking the first strike of the Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki. He sunk his stance low and pierced his Mugen Jin in the eye of the maelstrom so that his technique could be magnified in power instead of Kenshin's.

Kenshin hesitated, his soul remembering how Shishio snatched a draw from the jaws of defeat. He willed himself to slash upward regardless as an image of Kaoru filled his mind. Followed by all his friends and comrades.

He wished the same image had filled his mind a hundred years ago too. Then he wouldn't have died. Then he wouldn't have turned into the Guardian of the Demon Sword.

Then, in the Second World War, he wouldn't have...!

A shining star of a whirling, converging afterimages happened afterwards, followed by a huge explosion far into the distance. Right into the Sea of Japan.

Reality seemed to split from the lightspeed slash Kenshin did that clashed hard against Tenro's... no, Shishio's... red-hot cursed sword Mugen Jin. On Kenshin's left was one timeline and on his right was another.

A 7.8 earthquake then rocked the west coast of Hokkaido.  

On Monday, July 12, 1993, at 10:17 PM, a tsunami had formed off of the coast of Okushiri, leading to the loss of many lives.

***

To Be Continued...

Oh god, finally it's done. This took years to finish due to real-life things cropping up. Regardless, the arc that's been decades in the making is at last over.

Next up, the Spirit World deals with the aftermath of the failed Okushiri mission. Also, the first sign of civilization speech was taken from a quote from Anthropologist Margaret Mead.

Ciao, Abdiel

#makoto shishio #youkiri tenro #demon slayer #yuyu hakusho #rurouni kenshin #幽☆遊☆白書 #るろうに剣心 #demon sword #youtou shinnoken #妖刀真の剣

[gabriel-gabdiel]

【Draft】Youtou Shinnoken Chapter 57: Living Sin (Part 9)

Kenshin’s long-awaited match against Enishi Yukushiro is a hundred years in the making.

The original source of this idea comes from Chad Yang. I continued his story idea found here.

The rest of the chapters of my Yuyu Hakusho and Rurouni Kenshin crossover fan fiction are available here and here. Enjoy.

Up above the Okushiri Military Base....

The flying fortress made of solidified reiatsu (spiritual pressure or pressurized spirit energy) care of the Quest-Class powers of Detective Daiji Matsudaira (the reincarnation of Aoshi Shinomori) landed on the helipad of the base, startling the soldiers there.

Yahiko had earlier requested Botan to fly even higher up than the flying castle with purple beams of light shooting out of it in order to get the drop on it. Literally.

From 50 kilometers above the earth, Yahiko descended straight towards the moving castle, its concentrated jaki beams dissipating against the ghostly human missile.

He first skydived from the ferry-girl's oar (much to her surprise and chagrin) the stratosphere and did his imitation of the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu's "RYU TSUI SEN! (DRAGON HAMMER FLASH!)" for starters, which cracked the topmost outer shell of the dense fortress.

A trickle of reiatsu leaked off of the spiritual construct, like scattering fireflies in the night.

He then did one of his own Revisal Techniques of the Kamiya Kasshin School, named, "DOU GAMI! (GOD ON EARTH!)", which rocked the castle at its core and spread cracks all over its very foundations.

Daiji's solidified reiatsu then turned into a shower of outright sparks, the solidified energy sublimating and ionizing into spirit energy.

Finally, the Tokyo Samurai Spirit did a "TEN GAMI! (GOD IN HEAVEN!)" that started the downward descent of the moving building, the cracks turning into outright crags and debris as the teenaged ghost flew high above even the stratosphere, reaching instead all the way to the mesosphere.

"INGA GAMI! (KARMIC GOD!)"

He this time reached a height that could've resulted in a 70 kilometer drop back to earth.

The young samurai kid traversed that whole distance from heaven to earth with a strike that shook the sky itself, or at least sent cloudy shockwaves as they broke through the speed barrier.  

Yahiko's first of two ultimate attacks had enough jaki-neutralizing power to drive that huge structure right into the middle of the military base like a comet.

The sublimated gaseous mix of reiki (spirit energy) and jaki (negative energy) then ionized into their base forms, the kenki (swordsman energy) binding them fading away into the ether.

All of which were neutralized by Yahiko's own strange spirit energy. His own reiatsu or mixture of reiki and kenki.

His strike from his self-made sakabatou (reverse-edged sword) was powerful enough to warp time and space itself. Like a blunt version of the Jigen Tou.

Only a single helipad-sized spire of the huge fortress was left by the time it crash landed into the base.

***

Youtou Shinnoken: Demon Sword

A Rurouni Kenshin/Yuyu Hakusho Crossover Fan Fiction Story by Chester Castañeda

Original Concept by Chad Yang

The Kenshingumi will now take care of their loose ends before fighting the final boss of this arc. This battle is about to explode! FIGHT!

Disclaimer: Yuyu Hakusho is the rightful property of Yoshihiro Togashi, Shueisha, Fuji TV, and Studio Pierrot. Rurouni Kenshin is the rightful property of Nobuhiro Watsuki, Shueisha, Shonen Jump, Viz, Sony Studios, Fuji TV, Studio Gallop, Studio Deen, and ADV. This disclaimer also covers all the other copyrighted materials that are far too many to mention here. Don't sue me please, I'm very poor.

***

Chapter 57: Living Sin (Part 9)

***

Back at Kitaoimisaki Park...

Usui Uonuma shook his head. The newbie member of the New Ten Swords, Kuronue, was outwitted by the legendary demon fox Youko Kurama as well.

If you wanted something done right, do it yourself.

Amidst the burned shadows and silhouettes that were once Kuronue stood Usui, his previously broken Tinbe practically whole now.

Capable of withstanding the heat and impact of multiple Jaou-En-Satsu Kokuryuha (Dragons of Darkness Flames) from Jaganshi (Evil Eye User) Hiei, the black serpentine flames unable to affect the turtle shell one way or another.

But he knew that Jaganshi Hiei had one more ace up his sleeve. The Chojin's spies had briefed him about the fire demon and his ability to absorb the power of the fiery dragon beings unto himself.

As expected, Hiei boosted his speed and power tremendously by absorbing the flame dragons of the Kokuryuha into his body, his youki (demon energy) rising to astonishing levels. To S-Level and beyond.

'His name is Hiei, huh?' thought the blind man, waxing nostalgic. That was also the name of the mountain where their old stronghold was.

What a curious demon. He had the speed of Souiro "Heaven Sword" Seta and the strength (or even firepower) of Makoto Shishio.

Under the old Reikai rules, Hiei's presence there would be considered outright illegal. A demon that powerful shouldn't be in the Ningenkai (Human World).

A demon that powerful was on par with one of the Chojin's Ten Swords.

If Usui could conquer such a demon, then he was yet another step closer to standing as equals with the Youkiri (Demon-Slayer) Tenro.

To sit at the right hand of an unborn god. To be able to challenge an unborn god and become one himself.

Nah, perhaps the last one was still a bridge too far for him. But this, defeating the fire demon, wasn't.

The dragons roared and gnawed against the Tinbe but like a mountain standing above the ocean and clouds, it wouldn't yield.

His Tinbe was now complete, but there was a gap the side of a sword slash on its upper top left corner.

That was where Hiei focused his attack, sticking the tip of his Jaou-En-Satsu Ken (Sword of Darkness Flame) right into it, forcing its way in.

Hiei learned from Kurama's little trick earlier, with the Demon World Moss growing roots at small cracks and gaps on the shield before it could heal or strengthen it, thus compromising its integrity.

This time around, the jaganshi found a weak point before the shield was able to fully heal or reconstitute itself.

Hiei's aura of youki and black flames flared to life, increasing the pressure on that one crack, like a pressure cooker about to burst.

More cracks appeared on the shield as the pressure built up further and further. It reached the boiling point and then went beyond it. Through this one weakness, Hiei was able to bust through.

It then cracked apart into two then into a million pieces, and from there Hiei released all of the Dragons of Darkness Flame unto Usui's form.

However, that was actually a ruse.

The blind swordsman and spearman had actually activated a second illusion from Jine Udo's Jagan as Hiei attacked with the power of the Kokuryuha inside of him, knowing full well that his Tinbe wasn't complete yet.

However, by making him dream that he had broken the false Tinbe, this bought Usui enough time to completely manifest his real Tinbe with the small crack or gap finally filled in.

It was this shield that stopped the Dragons of Darkness Flames cold.

He baited Hiei into wasting his one shot at him and it worked. Hook, line, and sinker.

Every last one of the flame dragons crashed uselessly against the reinforced complete Tinbe, like the waves of the ocean crashing against the sea wall or dam. The tides turning but the wall remained unperturbed.

Hiei's Jagan was now his...!

However, as he began his counter Rochin stab that he intended to pin both Hiei and Kurama into the wall like twin butterflies, something felt amiss.

His body then literally fell apart into a fine rest mist and tiny pieces of meat cubes.

He was able to seal the crack on his Tinbe, but the gap of time he needed to do his counterstrike was all Hiei needed to strike back.

In that fraction of a fraction of a second, the super-powered fire demon slashed at him at the rate of a hundred times per second. Or more.

Before he could block one strike with his shield. Or counter with a thrown spear to his heart or face.  Or even activate Jine's Jagan at the last second and create another illusion to fool Hiei with.

Moving faster than his sensitive hearing could detect. Or predict.

Moving faster than his mind could fathom.

Moving faster than sound itself.

***

About a hundred years ago, around the 1870s, inside Shishio's hidden fortress within Mount Hiei...

One day, from out of the blue, Usui Uonuma asked Makoto Shishio a simple question.

"Between and the Ten Ken (Heaven Sword) and myself, who is more powerful?" he had asked out of whimsy. "Who would win in a fight?"

Shishio chuckled, swirling the wine inside his wineglass as he considered Uonuma's unusual query. He decided to humor his former hitokiri (manslayer) rival.

"You can keep up with Sou-kun probably until he uses the Shun Ten Satsu (Instant Heaven Kill), which is him using both battoujutsu (sword-drawing techniques) and the Shukuchi (Reduced Earth) at the same time. If you're able to disable him before that, then you will win."

"Shun Ten Satsu, huh?" repeated Usui. "Why do you think that?"

Makoto drunk his drink in one shot and then gave the glass back to his courtesan and lover, Yumi Komagata.

"It's simple. You can counter anything you can hear, smell, sense, and react to, right? Sou-kun's Shun Ten Satsu is faster than sound. Your Shingan won't even hear him coming."

***

Back in 1993, at Mount Kannon...

Kenshin Himura sighed as he trudged on foot back to Mt. Kannon within the Hidaka Mountain Range of Hokkaido.

He had Kazuma Kuwabara place him near the mountain care of the trusty Jigen Tou (Dimension Sword).

Like in the case of the battle at Mount Kamui, Mount Kannon was outside of Okushiri.

He had absorbed enough spirit energy from all the Reikai Tantei (Spirit Detectives) earlier to manifest himself and his spiritual body on his own, without being wielded by any of the Reikai Senshi (Spirit World Warriors).

Although he was kind of curious what sort of powers would manifest if his sword were held by the likes of Yahiko Myojin, Natsuki Shinkai, Likka Ikumi, or Daiji Matsudaira.

Perhaps another time, they'd find out.

Most of the energy he soaked up came from Yusuke Urameshi, in fact. It should last him until the rest of the battle.

The fact that Yusuke's reiki was that immense was both reassuring and worrying. Reassuring in that they had the big guns against the Shin Ju (New Ten). Worrying in that he wasn't sure if it was Rando's Kugai (World of Suffering) curse or Urameshi's own developing powers that led to him having this energy surplus.

Without all those multiple seals in his power, he might still suffer from power incontinence. He might still be unable to control his immeasurable strength.

Regardless, he had other concerns to deal with. He was busy taking care of this Chinese warrior earlier, who wounded him in battle that made it difficult for him to save Hajime Saito from Feng Xinhai's schemes.

A Chinese warrior that ended up related to him and his dark past after all.

The stranger with white hair and crazed eyes that Kenshin fought was no stranger to him after all.

Kenshin remembered who the man was.

He was Enishi Yukishiro, all grown up. The younger brother of Kenshin's ex-wife, Tomoe Himura.

"...Tell me, Battousai. Is my sister smiling down on you from heaven?" so said Tomoe's brother, Enishi.

He'd somehow ended up in the Heisei Era and got himself mixed up in Kenshin's current affairs. Himura could've almost sworn that Enishi had died back in the Bakumatsu.

The boy was one of many unsettled debts Kenshin left when he died fighting against Makoto Shishio back at Mount Hiei.

Enishi even gave him the same wound that ultimately killed Tomoe.

Meanwhile, as Himura neared where he previously defeated the martial artist, the cross-shaped scar on his cheek had a twinge of pain to it. No, actually the cuts felt as painful and fresh to him as the first time they were made.

The scar somehow ached even more than the much deeper laceration on his chest that still hadn't healed.

Like a paper cut that microscopically tore through skin and thousands of nerve endings like a jagged handsaw.

As though Enishi's very presence had reactivated Tomoe's curse on him.

***

At the helipad of the Okushiri Military Base...

"Get the HELL out of THERE! Sadojima Houji!" beckoned Yahiko as he sheathed his sakabatou while Botan herself swooped down from above then behind him.

He further chided, "That strike wasn't enough to take you down, right? No, you have the Chojin's powers at your side, you dirty rat. Of course it wasn't enough...!"

"You're being too loud, Yahiko! You're bothering the military people!" was what Botan resisted from saying, inwardly reminding the Kaoru inside her, 'He's supposed to be loud, you silly goose! The Chojin and his forces are invading Okushiri, remember? If not Hokkaido altogether!'

The aforementioned military base was actually on high alert, with the supernatural beings attacking different parts of the island at once.

Many of their deployed teams not returning to the base hours after deployment.

"Stand aside, kid!" one of the soldiers said, who in Yahiko's eyes should've looked more shocked at seeing the seeming U.F.O. land in the middle of their base. "Civilians aren't allowed in here. This is official military business!"

Another private attempted to grab hold of Myojin, only for him to slip his grasp. The teenaged version of Yahiko was a ghost, after all.

The Jieitai or JSDF (Japanese Self-Defense Forces) then surrounded what was left of Daiji's solidified reiatsu structure, their guns cocked and ready to go.

What remained of Matsudaira's seal broke apart like a hatching egg.

And from there came forth the Onmyouji (Occult Priest) in all his glory, wearing a mix of a business suit with an occultist robe serving as his overcoat. The true right-hand man of the Overfiend.

With purple glowing eyes and a miasmic aura billowing all over his body like thick black and crimson smoke from a smoldering flame, Houji spoke in askance.

"Why do you want to fight me, Myojin Yahiko? Do you bear a grudge against me? Do you hate me from the bottom of your heart?"

Yahiko was taken aback by the question. "W-What...?"

"Right now, you have no such hate in your heart," said Houji the Onmyouji. "You're fighting out of a sense of duty to your friends. To your idol, Himura Battousai. Otherwise, you'd have no such quarrel against me."

Or perhaps he was merely acting as the representative speaker to one other person.

Perhaps Myojin was actually talking to the Chojin himself.

Just who the hell was the Chojin anyway?

Was he Makoto Shishio? Or someone else entirely?

His ghoulish shikigami (familiars) with their tattered robes and their own scythes flew at the soldiers, who fired at them to no avail.

"STOP!" screamed both Yahiko and Botan after the soldiers prior to the massacre that was about to take place.

None of the military men stood a chance against these supernatural beings.

***

Back in Hokkaido, far away from Okushiri, at the foot of Mt. Kannon...

Kenshin witnessed the man's strength firsthand.

The Chinese warrior was so powerful he drove Himura Battousai himself from the forests of Okushiri all the way to a whole separate mountain range in Hokkaido, far away from the island.  

Only Kenshin or maybe Yusuke could take him out one-on-one. He should not be allowed to join forces with the rest of the Shin Ju.

He was that powerful. By pure willpower and hatred, he grew to become strong enough to even give the version of Battousai with his own magical Demon Sword pause.

The Chojin (Overfiend) had indeed prepared for every last contingency. He was every bit as cunning as Youko Kurama himself.

Earlier, Kenshin's chest actually got hit by Enishi Yukishiro's ultimate attack, the Kofuku Zetsu Tou Sei or Kofuku Zettousei (Crouching Tiger Severing Sword Rush), as a counter to the Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki (Heavens Gliding Dragon Flash).

Distracted by the fact that Tomoe's brother managed to find him a century later to enact his rightful revenge.

Defeated by a technique Enishi must've trained over and over again to counter all sorts of battoujutsu strikes, including the ultimate one devised for the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu.

Luckily, instead of doing the follow-up strike that would've also missed, Kenshin had the presence of mind to do a more powerful version of the Dou Ryu Sen on the ground that was enhanced by the vortex created by the succession technique.

This creative last-minute counter was what initially buried Enishi right into the heart of Mt. Kannon.

Regardless, Kenshin had arrived back at his earlier starting point.

And so there he was. Buried deep underneath Mt. Kannon itself like Son Goku the Monkey King from the literary masterpiece, "Journey to the West".

The rumbling inside the grumbling mountain roared deeper and harder. Like it was about to explode and turn into a volcano.

"...BATTOUSAI!" screamed Tomoe Yukishiro's little brother Enishi from underneath Kannon Mountain, spewing hot fire along with the brimstone and magma he was surrounded in.

His spectacles had long ago been lost and presumably burned to smoke and ash by molten rock.

Since Tomoe was Kenshin's first wife, that made Enishi his brother-in-law. A brother-in-law with a century-old grudge regarding Kenshin's murder of Tomoe Himura (nee Yukishiro).

***

Yahiko manifested his neutralizing reiki and kenki all over the military base with a sparkling blue and yellow light that mixed and turned green, which then warded off the raggedy evil spirits that served as the Onmyouji's shikigami.

It was his own form of spirit pressure. His spirit energy interacted with his swordsman presence in a way that sealed or canceled out the spiritual power of his opponents.

Botan, in turn, flickered back and forth between her original shinigami (death goddess) form and Kaoru Kamiya's form as she saved the soldiers from being reaped by Houji's soul reapers by using her floating boat oar like a bokken (wooden sword) or naginata (glaive).

The two Kamiya Kasshin Ryu practitioners made short work of the familiars before they could take one life of the JSDF military corps.

"Please evacuate from here. You're no match against him," explained Botan to one of the soldiers before swatting multiple weakened shikigami away with her boat paddle weapon.

Myojin's last shikigami-dissipating swing swiped mere inches away at Houji's face, creating a thin cut over the bridge of his nose.

"Swinging a sword mindlessly at someone out of hatred is just violence. Kenshin taught me that," said Yahiko. "My duty as the Son of Tokyo Samurai is to defeat you. That is all. I'll even stake my life on it."

Sadojima smirked. "So be it. Samurai-san."

From behind Houji teleported the ever-reliable Gatekeeper Itsuki.

Yahiko turned towards the blue-haired shinigami and told her, "Quick, call Boke (Moron) and tell him to come here right now."

"Boke...?" trailed off Botan.

"KUWABARA! Kuwabara Kazuma! We need him here now! If he needs healing, heal him up as well! He and his space sword are the only ones who can take on that green-haired yoga guy and his goddamn portals!"

"All right! I'll call him! Jeez," said Botan, who opened her Spirit Compact Communicator.

"Language, Yahiko!" reprimanded the Kaoru inside her in turn.

Afterwards, Itsuki summoned multiple warp gates, this time rectangular and doorway-shaped instead of circular and hole-shaped.

Inside each dimensional door was either the corpse, unconscious body, or even ashes of the many different Shin Juppon Gatana.

It was through these gates that the Occult Priest blasted his purple beams of negative energy. Before, they served as destructive pillars of neon plasma.

Now, they were probably used to give the killed or otherwise heavily injured Shin Ju another lease on life.

"Oh no," said Botan. "Not again. He's not going to revive all the New Ten again, is he? Jeez, we just cleaned their mess up! And cleaned house with them! Learn how to stay down and give up!"

The shining eyes of Houji the Onmyouji then dimmed and faded away, replaced with his actual eyes.

"Ah, you returned. The snotty little brat. How does it feel to go back to zero after all the effort you've spent killing the Shin Ju? Like Sisyphus and his rock, right?"

The boisterous nature of the Chojin's conduit returned. Houji was seemingly awakened from his brief slumber earlier, when actually sounded "cool" for a hot minute.

"Hey," said Yahiko. "What happened to you earlier? You weren't the one talking, were you?"

Houji raised an eyebrow at that. "What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb. It was the Chojin who was talking back then, right?" asked Myojin. "Tell it to me straight: The Chojin is Shishio Makoto, isn't he? Of course, he is! Who else would start a war the Spirit World with the so-called New Ten Swords? No one but him!"

The necromancer chuckled. "That's a... secret."

With a grunt, the samurai teen jumped and attacked the Chojin's right-hand man with a downward slash from the Jodan-no-Kamae (Fire Stance), which he blocked with his scythe.

They crossed blades, their different energies clashing against each other as arcs of lightning ripped through everywhere, like light-filled cracks that broke through reality itself.

Houji's lack of training with the weapon irrelevant due to his seemingly oceanic flow of negative energy giving his simple block the weight of the world. Or at least the huge water pressure of the ocean depths.

However, regardless, the beams of purple plasma emanating from the dark priest flickered and wavered as it interacted with the reiatsu of Yahiko.

"That's it! You can do it, Yahiko!" said the Kaoru within Botan. "Show them why I consider you the number one pupil of the Kamiya Kasshin School!"

"Can you really do it, boy?" asked Houji, smirking. "Can you seal away the overflowing, overwhelming power of the Chojin himself? The Living Sin?"

The doors leading to the Shin Ju were then shut. Or rather, slashed shut.

Gatekeeper Itsuki chuckled, his slashed eye that doubled as a dimensional portal opening. "He's here."

Sure enough, in one of the doors, the jaki beam was slashed in twain, the negative energy cut down by the spiritual might of the Jigen Tou.

It was from this door that Kazuma Kuwabara entered, the transparent ghost of a recovering Sanosuke Sagara beside hiim.

"You called, Jo-chan (Missy)?" said Sano.

"YOSHA! (HELL YEAH!) Let's get this party started, samurai boy!" shouted the rambunctious teenager with bleached regent hair.

***

Yukishiro was able to crawl out of the hot magma pits of hell, or at least the otherwise dormant mountain in an explosion of fire, smoke, molten rock, and lava flow that scarred and burned the surrounding forest.

The singes and burns on Enishi's (literally) piping hot body, however, started healing right before Kenshin's eyes.

Not quite at the level of instantaneous regeneration as the Elder Toguro, but quick enough to survive a trip down a volcano and live to tell the tale.

Besides which, he wasn't supposed to only be burned from the fires of a river of magma anyway. It must've took thousands of degrees of heat to even leave him slightly scalded at all.

His humongous amount of spirit energy kept him from suffering life-threatening injury. The same way Hiei or Yusuke Urameshi himself would've survived such a predicament.

The red-hot blade of the Chinese-styled warrior that didn't quite reach its melting point yet cooled down from the sheer blast of miasmic jaki from him.

He was one of the strongest of the Ten Swords indeed.

If allowed to run rampant like the rest of the Ten Swords, Yukishiro could very well murder every one of them. The Reikai Tantei, the Kenshingumi, and the Oniwabanshu.

All of them could die. The high-level martial artist could do what at least 8 of the 10 Shin Ju couldn't. He was a one-man army. He was like their Hajime Saito. A true wild card of sorts.

He foresaw it all through the Youtou Shinnoken.

The last thing Yahiko and the Kenshingumi needed right now while battling the Onmyouji and the Chojin's wealth of negative energy was a spanner in the works like Enishi.

***

The powers of the reincarnations or ghosts from the Meiji Era—most of Kenshin's comrades—were a result of how their reiki interacted with their kenki, creating what was known as reiatsu.

With Daiji Matsudaira (Aoshi Shinomori's reincarnation), it was the Quest-Class manifestation of objects and materials from his spirit energy.

With Natsuki Shinkai (Yutaro Tsukayama's reincarnation), it was the ability to manipulate kinetic momentum or acceleration, usually in the form of reflection or deflection.

With Likka Ikumi (Misao Makimachi's reincarnation), it was her skill to manifest her thoughts into reality, creating visual or even holographic illusions seen by all.

With Sanosuke Sagara's soul, it was his pure fighting spirit that allowed his ghost to approach Regent-Class regeneration abilities, stamina, and pure brute force that allowed him to affect the physical plain like a rampaging poltergeist.

With Kaoru Kamiya's soul, it was a mix between Botan's soul reaper powers and Kaoru's past swordsmanship skills that allowed them to heal, boost, replenish, bind, manipulate, or otherwise enhance the spirit energy within them or of those around them.

With Kenshin Himura's soul, he became one with the Demon Sword, a demon-slaying blade that could arguably injure or kill a god. His own reiki, kenki, and reiatsu interacted with anyone who wielded his blade in ways that raised their very power levels.

Finally, with Yahiko Myojin's soul, it was spirit energy that interacted with other spirit energy (whether it was human or demonic) in a way that suppressed or neutralized them into nothingness.

Yahiko's unique powers worked like how an acid and a base reacted quantitatively with each other when mixed until the acidity of the acid was gone. Or how Hiei's Jaou-En-Satsu Kokuryuha was cancelled out into nothing by Shinobu Sensui's polar opposite power of Sei Kou Ki (Saint Light Ki).

Their reiatsu was different from the reiki and youki used by Yusuke Urameshi and their comrades due to the presence of kenki within the Meiji Era reincarnations and the use of classic shinigami warrior techniques among the revived spirits.

Reiatsu was more comparable to something like Sensui's Saint Light Ki or Yusuke mixing his reiki and youki together to form something approaching Sei Kou Ki than either pure reiki or youki. Even jaki.

It was through these souls, these seeds of hope, that Koenma Daio wished to defeat the Chojin and his unnatural powers that defied death and the natural order of the Spirit World.

***

Originally, Kenshin was barely able to defeat Enishi and get back in time and save Sanosuke Sagara, Kazuma Kuwabara, and Hajime Saito from the nefarious machinations of Karasu, Feng Xinhai, Usui Uonuma, and Gatekeeper Itsuki at Mt. Kamui.

But now that his detour was over, he had to get back to his original business. He had to. Or else he would undo everything they'd done so far to suppress the Shin Juppon Gatana (New Ten Swords) from conquering the island of Okushiri as well as Hokkaido.

Meanwhile, the cross-shaped scar on Kenshin's cheek had a twinge of pain to it. No, actually the cuts felt as painful and fresh to him as the first time they were made.

"Sessha (This one) was wondering earlier why even though I thought I'd never met you, you seemed to know everything about me de gozaru (that you did)."

"'Sessha'? 'De gozaru'?" Enishi repeated with a snarl and a dismissive snort. "Are you kidding me, Battousai? Why is the most fearsome hitokiri of the Bakumatsu acting like a gentle fool? Enough of your lies!"

"This one never thought to see you again after a hundred years. I was sure you were already dead," confessed Kenshin.

"I did die. But I live again. Reincarnated in a new era," said Enishi. "I willed this weak new body that I was reborn into to become as strong as I already was before you died in the hands of Shishio Makoto."

'So he survived the Bakumatsu after all,' thought Kenshin, who believed that Enishi had died in the ensuing revolution.

"Now I will enact the revenge that I was robbed of a hundred years ago! If you've been dispensing Tenchu (Heavenly Retribution) in your time as a hitokiri, then this is Jinchu (Earthly Retribution) for all your sins! Prepare yourself, Battousai! ZETSUGI...!"  

From there, he didn't even give Himura the chance to breathe or even any breathing room as he attacked, attacked, an attacked some more.

***

Kurama's board full of chess pieces were in their proper places, which kept the Chojin in check. They were practically on the verge of a checkmate, even.

The pawns were positioned to divide and conquer the Shin Juppon Gatana, with each Reikai Senshi paired up to their appropriate members.

Their source of power, Houji, had his borrowed negative energy suppressed by Yahiko. Their means of transportation, Itsuki, was sealed off by the Reikai's own Kuwabara and his Dimensional Sword.

Botan was there to heal and replenish reiki as well as assist Myojin tactics-wise care of Kaoru. Sanosuke himself was gradually recovering his spirit energy and fighting spirit for good measure as "Jo-chan" or her shinigami she fused with healed his flickering body.

Kuwabara regained his second wind even, which allowed him to not only create portals but to close or destroy them with his twin Dimension Swords.

This kept the annoying Gatekeeper from transporting jaki to the injured/dead Shin Ju or even getting the recovered members to help Houji out—even with his use of Sensui's seven personalities and the new powers it brought him.

As for the shikigami that served as the Onmyouji's infantry, Sanosuke punched them out with the "FUTAE NO KIWAMI! (DUAL EXTREME!)" while riding shotgun on Botan's oar.  

So why did Myojin feel like something was amiss? Like he had a bad feeling about everything? Like something terrible was about to happen.

A new enemy descended from an unseen sky portal that Kuwabara noticed, slashed apart, and closed too late.

"!?" was Yahiko's reaction to the new arrival. He was distracted even as he was on the verge of disarming the untrained Houji of his scythe. "Who is that? Is it another replacement Shin Ju?"

Kuwabara said, "We've already confirmed that Toguro Ani and Kuronue replaced Suzaku and Udo Jine! It's not one of the New Ten! Must be one of the Dai Shin Kan instead!"

Sanosuke's jaw dropped. "No way...!" which made Botan and Kaoru ask in unison, "Who is that supposed to be, Sano?"

Kazuma leapt into action, intending to slash a portal and kick the newcomer into it, only for his Jigen Tou's energy to start unraveling before his eyes.

The woman in courtesan clothes smiled as she floated down using her umbrella as a parachute (like goddamn Mary Poppins, Botan realized), crimson energy emanating from her pale white skin.

"Ah, it's all coming together now," Houji cackled. "Welcome back, Komagata Yumi. Get rid of these insects for me, if you would please."  

And so the vampire version of Makoto Shishio's courtesan and lover arrived, dressed in her classic Meiji Era garb but this time there was a hole in her chest where her heart used to be.

The very place where Shishio stabbed her in order to do a surprise attack on Battousai Himura.

"Inner Blood Turmoil," Yumi said as she sapped Kuwabara of all his energy using the Kyuuketsuki Kakuto Ryu (Vampire Martial Arts) that Rando stole from her.

"SHIT! Even Shishio's girlfriend has superpowers now too?!" said Sanosuke, remembering the woman whom he did a bridal carry with as they traversed Shishio's Mt. Hiei stronghold.

"...BLOOD WIND!"

***

Tomoe's little brother had grown strong. Frighteningly strong. Ridiculously strong. Like he'd been training the last hundred years for this one moment. Empowered purely by hate.

However, one way or another, Kenshin was able to contain Yukishiro's growing threat long enough to assist Saito's rescue or allow the Kenshingumi to go through their mission of taking out Houji.

Himura was able to figure out how his "Wattoujutsu" (a mix of Japanese swordsmanship and Chinese kung fu) worked after only seeing a couple of techniques from it.

The Demon Sword then shone, and Kenshin's form started to change.

From a 30-year-old man he returned to his more youthful 15 to 16-year-old self.

The form he had before he developed the cross-shaped scars. When he was still known as the Hitokiri Battousai. This way, he regarded Enishi the same way he did against any other opponent. Free of bias.

Free of shame or guilt.

"SHUUGEKI TOU SEI! (KICKING SWORD RUSH!)"

This technique of Enishí's involved hitting his opponent from below then kicking the blunt side of his sword at the last second to maximize damage.

Thusly, Kenshin answered that back with, "SOU RYU SEN! (TWIN DRAGON FLASH!)"

"KAISHI TOU SEI! (BAYONET SWORD RUSH!)"

As for the Bayonet Sword, it was a follow-up whirling counterattack or riposte involving him putting the hilt of his sword against his opponent's sword to add momentum to his pivoting swing.

However, Kenshin had a similar counterstrike technique like that as well in the form of the "RYU KAN SEN! (DRAGON WRAP FLASH!)"

"SHO HA TOU SEI! (PALM BREAK SWORD RUSH!)"

From the Jodan Stance, Enishi swept his sword starting from over his head down to the ground. Afterwards, he then placed the palm of his hand on the sword's blunt side to push it forward at full force.

The answer to this move like the Dragon Hammer Flash was the "RYU SHO SEN! (RISING DRAGON FLASH!)", which was the natural Ryu Tsui Sen counter that doubled as a two-handed sword block wherein the sword was held by its handle and tip with either hand.

"CHOU TEN TOU SEI! (UP-AND-DOWN SWORD RUSH!)"

This was Wattoujutsu's version of the Ryu Sho Sen. It allowed Enishi to leap upwards using his sword as his pole vault then attack from the air by pulling his sword towards him by its hilt cord immediately after jumping.

Kenshin drew out the fearsome technique with a feinted Ryu Tsui Sen only to do the "RYU KAN SEN ARASHI! (DRAGON WRAP FLASH STORM!) at the last second, the multi-hit forward somersault sword strikes catching Yukishiro off-guard.

"Ugh!" Enishi landed bad on his ankle, his knees buckling from the force of the centrifugal strikes, the chainsaw-like windmill of blade strikes drawing a fine mist and squall of blood. "Damn you, Battousai...!"

He had a Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu answer to every one of the white-haired young man's sword techniques. He took advantage of Enishi's hateful, unfocused strikes with clinical precision.

In fairness to him, the fact that Himura didn't realize who exactly he was fighting until the last second helped him figure out the proper counters to Enishi's Wattoujutsu early on and even bury him right inside the mountain itself. Albeit temporarily.

He imagined he'd have a harder time with the kung fu master swordsman were he distracted by his guilt for killing Tomoe and knowing Enishi's identity from the start.

"Is that all you've got, Battousai?" demanded the scuffed-up, bleeding-from-the-mouth Enishi, who spat away blood as his veins—no, his very nerves themselves—hypertrophied or thickened enough to be visible under his skin with vascular density.

This was his Kyokei Myaku (Nerves of Insanity) in action.

***

It was bedlam at the Military Base of Okushiri.

Ten things were happening at once, and barely anyone could keep up.

More soldiers were deployed to rescue the fallen and suppress the invaders.

They waged war against the Onmyouji's shikigami, even though many of them couldn't even see the grim reaper familiars.

They had to use their special thermal goggles to see and shoot the enemy, but neither bullets nor grenades worked on them.

Botan had more luck dissipating the strange creatures into the ether, but that was because it was part of her job description as a shinigami.

She did double duty in casting her healing and reiki-replenishing spells on Yahiko, Sanosuke, and Kuwabara while at the same time defeating her share of scythe-wielding reapers created from wayward earthbound spirits infected with the Chojin's jaki.

Also, the bodies were really hitting the floor now. Not due to the Kenshingumi (they were basically all ghosts) or their Reikai Tantei comrade falling to a dead faint.

It was from the vampire (or perhaps succubus) Yumi biting the necks and absorbing the blood of the nearest JSDF soldiers to power her Kyuuketsuki Kakuto Ryu.

As for Gatekeeper Itsuki, he and Kuwabara were having a portal contest of sorts. He kept making portals and Yusuke's best friends kept slicing them closed.

Regardless it was taking much longer for Yahiko to seal the power of the Chojin, the borrowed jaki overflowing with immense pressure from within gleeful Sadojima.

"TSUI GAMI...!? (GOD HAMMER...!?)"

Myojin's attempt at the earth-shattering, jaki-neutralizing God on Earth was thwarted with a simple one-handed scythe swipe and belied Houji's actual physical strength.

"So you intend to beat me at this level of strength?" asked a smug Sadojima before releasing a pillar of jaki that made Yahiko kneel before him, as though bearing the weight of the world on his shoulders.

The negative energy felt like he was drowning and plunging deep underwater and feeling the oceanic water pressure increase further and further the deeper he went.

Myojin grunted, grit his teeth, and rose up against the harsh and dense waves of pure jaki that bore down on him in waves, his green aura of reiatsu resisting the crushing force of the Overfiend's distant yet overbearing presence.

Like a black sun whose rays and heat reached the earth all the way from space despite being millions of miles away.

It was a tug of war between the Chojin's power boosts and complete neutralization.

Thanks to Botan and Kaoru, the ghost of Sanosuke had healed up and reenergized himself with reiki enough to summon his signature Zanbatou (Horse-Chopping Sword) again at long last.

He had more bandages than usual, half of which were spirit seals that kept his ectoplasm within his soul.

The last thing he expected was to use that 12-foot long sword against Shishio's lover, the non-fighter known as Yumi.

"ZANBATOU ATE! (ZANBATOU DISTANCE HIT!)"

Sanosuke's Zanbatou Ate, based on Anji Yukyuzan's Tou Ate (Distance Hit), created a landslide aimed at Houji, who shielded himself with his shikigami ghouls.

"ZANKUU ZANBATOU ATE (ZANBATOU VACUUM DISTANCE HIT!)!"

As for his Zankuu Zanbatou Ate, he aimed it at the Blood Wind tornado that the courtesan in revealing attire used to gather the bodies of soldiers towards herself for her to feed on like the vampire she was.

***

Enishi crouched low again with a leg split, only to charge with an onslaught of strikes instead of doing another Zettousei when he saw Kenshin sink his stance low in kind instead of taking his bait and attacking with the Hirameki.

"SENRAN TOU SEI! (WAR SWORD RUSH!)"

"RYU SOU SEN! (DRAGON NEST FLASH!)"

Sparks flew everywhere as though they were in a steel mill or foundry as they parried and attacked each other with impunity, their swords crossing and chipping at their edges.

Blood (and/or ectoplasm) stained the ground soon afterward from both combatants.

Enishi was now moving faster than Kenshin could react. Like an unswattable fly. Or perhaps a whole swarm of such flies. Locusts. Bees. Wasps, even. A plague of wasps.

It was like dealing with Soujiro Seta's Shukuchi all over again. Himura couldn't even predict Enishi's strikes by reading his sakki (bloodlust) because he was exuding hatred and killer instinct at every second. At every waking moment.

Like the polar opposite of the Ten Ken (Heaven Sword). It was no different to deal with someone who lacked bloodlust compared to someone who always exuded bloodlust. There was no sudden spike of killer instinct you could use to read such an opponent's moves.

This forced Kenshin to take initiative and jump high into the air in order to become the aggressor for a change, even if only to draw out a counterstrike that he could then counter.

"RYU TSUI SEN! (DRAGON HAMMER FLASH!)"

Yukishiro countered by jumping high in the air before Kenshin could drop with his Dragon Hammer Flash the, at the point where his jump force was equal to the gravity, he jumped even further, thus essentially doing a double jump or what basketball players would call an airwalk.

"SHIKKU TOU SEI! (SLASHER SWORD RUSH!)"

Kenshin's youtou (demon sword) and Enishi's watou (Chinese-style katana) clashed hard against each other, their shuddering vibrations enough to break steel but their mystical swords forged from spirit energy and the life force of their very souls held true.

"KUZU RYU SEN! (NINE-HEADED DRAGON FLASH!)"

Like water crushing rock over time, the constant barrage of counters from earlier took its toll on Enishi, leading to several lapses of attention, which Battousai took advantage of to great effect.

However, Battousai or no Battousai, the scarless Kenshin realized he had to take Yukishiro out before his own feelings of despair, depression, shame, and remorse got the better of him.

For even now, he felt like he deserved to get hit by every last strike for the sin of accidentally killing his ex-wife in an attempt to rescue her from being kidnapped.

He was prepared to do a supersonic noutoujutsu (sword-sheathing technique). The same one he used to disable the super sensitive hearing of Usui Uonuma's Shingan.

"RYU MEI...! (DRAGON CRY...!)"

Kenshin stopped short of doing his high-pitched sheathing technique when he saw a familiar young woman with jet-black hair, doe eyes, a white kimono, and purple shawl appear in the half-burnt forest in a rain of white plum petals.

She brought with her a nostalgic, heartbreaking scent.

"T-Tomoe...?!" stuttered Kenshin before Enishi's Watou ended up stabbing him right in his chest, on the same wound made by the Zettousei that got him earlier.

The pair of scars on his left cheek reappearing. Bleeding fresh blood (or, in his case, ectoplasm).

***

Back at the Okushiri Military Base...

The Blood Wind dissipated by the strength of Sanosuke's vacuum slash, but Yumi herself blocked the wind pressure with her open, glowing-red umbrella serving as her shield.

Ah, yes. The Blood Wind.

The double-edged, energy-sapping red tornado created from the heat of the spirit energy it stole and the coldness of an injured body that was losing blood.

However, this woman somehow managed to do Blood Winds without the need to be injured. Or perhaps the hole in her chest served as her injury?

Sagara originally thought it was one of Rando's moves, only to remember something about him stealing techniques. So this spirit-energy-sapping technique was actually her move, wasn't it?

Regardless, what was a desperation move for Rando was a normal move for her.

It all made sense now. Or at least that part did. As for the rest:

"How the hell did you get superpowers too, lady?" demanded Sano to Yumi. "You even went so far as to change yourself into a vampire! You really are something else!"

"Stop acting so familiar with me, you boorish lout," said Komagata to Sagara with half-lidded eyes, parrying his probing zanbatou stab from 12-feet away with her closed umbrella.

She then dug her fingers deep into his sizes until it hit a vein. A ghostly vein full of ectoplasm rather than blood. Feeding on his reiki instead of his plasma.

"You should've stayed as a ghost in the Spirit World. You'll regret crossing paths with us again after a hundred years, Sagara Sanosuke. Youki Duantoutai (Spirit Guillotine)."

Sano backhanded the woman and raised his zanbatou high up his head. "Nothing personal, Neechan. We can't let your boyfriend run amok again in this era either."

"...Son of a bitch! Rando stole that from you too?!" said Yahiko before breaking the paper-thin waves of demon energy with "Men (Head)" strikes from the Fire Stance and flying skyward with the God in Heaven technique.

"Not exactly," she said. "I learned some of the moves of the Vampire Discipline from him. The Blood Wind is one of my original moves from it."

As for Sanosuke, his attempt at chopping Yumi in half led to his 12-foot zanbatou getting blasted full of huge holes on it care of Itsuki, making it look like a macroscopic slice of Swiss cheese.

Black holes that also ate up chunks of Sano's ghostly flesh whole.

"GUUAAAHH!"

It was all due to a gun attached to where Itsuki's right hand used to be that shot miniature black holes the size of pinholes but had an event horizon the size of bowling balls that ate up any type of matter near it.

It was a (literal) handgun the Gatekeeper developed through the help of Shinobu Sensui's Kazuya personality.

The Gatekeeper took advantage of Sanosuke's moment of hesitation in killing Yumi, remembering how she originally died by being stabbed by Shishio and then having her corpse burn along with him.

Meanwhile, as the flying Myojin attacked Yumi from above, Botan attacked from below, flying low on her oar before getting off her ride and using the paddle as her weapon, letting the Kaoru inside her do the rest.

Using jaki and youki together, the succubus imbued her foldable fan and her closed umbrella with enough blood-red energy to stop the oar cold with a cross-block. She then unfurled her umbrella in time to also stop Yahiko's Ryu Tsui Sen.

From this close proximity, she was able to use her Inner Blood Turmoil to absorb their spirit energy unto herself, sapping the two of their reiki and making their souls flicker and fade.

Neither the living nor the dead were safe from this vampire queen.

***

"GOU TSUI TOU SEI! (FALLING BLADE SWORD RUSH!)" screamed Enishi after impaling the distracted Kenshin in the chest.

The Falling Blade Sword Rush allowed the white-haired martial artist to pin Battousai at last, lifting him high up and over his head with his sword and upper-body strength.

"At last. At long last. You're going to die, Battousai! You scum! You criminal! You took away everything from me! Now I will return the favor and take away everything from you! This is my Jinchu!"

The Guardian of the Youtou Shinnoken reeling, his eyes unable to tear themselves away at the visage and silhouette of his ex-wife Tomoe Yukishiro.

Red tears streaming down his cheeks and bloodstained scar.

"T-Tomoe? I-Is that really you?" he mumbled in disbelief, as though not even noticing Enishi's watou inside him.

He was no longer the Hitokiri Battousai (Battousai the Manslayer). Instead, he transformed back to the Rurouni Kenshin (Kenshin the Vagabond).

"Tomoe" then told Enishi with a deep old man's voice, "My apologies. This is the best help I can give you for now. That damn Okashira stole all the jaki the Chojin gave me and sealed me and my precious Iwanbos away with it, turning it into solidified reiatsu."

"You did splendid, Gein," said Enishi, who was smiling for once. He couldn't face the reanimated corpse of his elder sister, though. "Now please take that puppet away. I don't want you to soil my sister's memory with it."

Kenshin went pale. He'd been duped by one of Gein's puppets. However, his trickery paid off. He didn't feel like hurting Tomoe's little brother any longer.

"Did you know what I went through to get to this moment, Battousai? I ate human flesh in the battlefield to survive. I was adopted by a rich couple, only for me to kill them. I ended up becoming an arms dealer for good measure. I even waited and died, only to be reborn in this era when I found out you're still in existence as the Demon Sword's guardian."

Enishi dragged Kenshin's bloody (or ectoplasmic) body all over the forest on the foot of Mt. Kannon, savoring the moment before pulling his sword out and stomping on the Battousai's bleeding wound for good measure.

"I'm not sure whether I should wield your damn sword myself or just destroy you along with the sword. Oh well. It doesn't matter. You could die a thousand deaths and it won't bring back my sister. Even after I died, I couldn't find her anymore. All that's left is to make you feel the despair I felt when you stole her away from me."

***

Back at the Okushiri Military Base...

The chaos continued. Fires broke out everywhere.  The wind howled like wolves to the moon. The base was in shambles. It was Hell on Earth. Hell in Hokkaido.

Komagata's Inner Blood Turmoil created her own version of reiatsu—her youki mixed with the Kenshingumi's reiki, the blood of the soldiers she fed on, and the Chojin's jaki—before releasing the pent-up energy towards Yahiko in the form of the "Blood Fire Wave!" projectile.

However, thinking fast on her feet, Botan purified the surplus of jaki around them then used it to replenish the reiki she and Myojin lost from being in contact with Yumi.

'Wow. She's doing the thing! The same thing Urameshi did when he got hold of the Meikai's crystal ball thingy,' thought Kuwabara. 'She's purifying jaki into reiki!'

Again, she used spirit bandages that doubled as sealing magic, acting more like a priestess than the shrine maiden Hinageshi or Houji the Onmyouji.

"Nice one, Tanuki-chan!" said Yahiko. "I mean, thank you, Botan."

Botan smiled at the samurai boy. "Go get them."

'This woman is seriously getting on my nerves,' thought Yumi while eyeing the ferry-girl whose astral body housed two souls instead of just one.

A rejuvenated Myojin then did the sword-breaking "TSUI GAMI!" to neutralize the Blood Fire Wave and the black holes that Itsuki's sneaky Kazuya personality shot right into his heart and head using the Black Hole Gun.

The samurai kid kept moving forward, practically swimming in the thick of "it", with "it" being the Chojin's ocean of jaki.

However, Houji frowned, his arms crossed. 'This goddamn brat. I swear.'

He thought that the Chojin allowing him more access to his boundless negative energy—enough jaki to, quite frankly, revive the long-dead kingdom of Meikai (Nether World)—but his output remained low and it even started dwindling.

Like opening your water main at full capacity yet still ending up with less water than you expected when filling up your bathtub.

Defying the very will of the Overfiend himself.

'The boy is starting to get better control of his neutralization powers, isn't he?' the Onmyouji thought, tapping his scythe to the ground impatiently.

To Yumi and Itsuki, he only had one command. "Kill him."

Yumi then made it rain blood like the Battousai would back in the Bakumatsu.

It was literally a rain of blood, but each droplet contained razor shape scalpels. A bloody rain that cut you apart in order to induce a bloodbath as well. It pelted the ground like suppressive fire from a machine gun.

She called technique, "Bloody Rain."

It was a bloodsucker's way of creating the energy-absorbing Blood Wind without having to sacrifice the plasma that they had already drained from their other victims.

"I don't know who you are, lady, but you leave that boy alone!" said Kuwabara.

***

Yusuke Urameshi had actually been in a punching match with Toguro Ototo all this time.

Right in the middle of Okushiri Island, in fact. Along the Tsurikake River.

Instead of playing with percentages of his power, the Younger Toguro instead went all out from the start, displaying 100% of his full strength.

'His B-Level strength,' was what Yusuke avoided in even thinking, remembering how easily he manhandled the A-Level Rando earlier, now that he wasn't faced with any distractions or dirty tactics.

In kind, Urameshi himself released his first pair of Spirit Cuffs. Just like the good ol' days, they ended up in a slugfest that turned the river in roiling rapids from the shockwaves of their punches.

"You've struggled in every encounter you've faced with the Chojin's forces yet won every time," said the Younger Toguro. "Why is that?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, man," said Yusuke before blasting the gigantic hulking grey behemoth before him with the "SHOT GUN!" technique, bombarding him with the purest reiki.

The vascular and muscular Toguro pressed on, healing the missing pieces of his flesh instantly like his older brother would.

An impressive feat a power level or two ago. Now it somehow became old hat. Any S-Level worth their salt should be able to regenerate fast enough given they have enough spirit or demon energy left in their person.

"I took on Rando, Souther (Xinhai), Suzaku, the blind guy (Usui), and the rest of the Chojin's New Ten Swords fair and square. All I'm doing now is killing time in keeping you from ruining Kurama's plans to take your whole lot out. Right until your big bad boss the Chojin shows up."

Toguro's eyes narrowed behind his glasses. 'His reiki is... overflowing. It almost reminds me of the Chojin's own jaki.'

Yusuke dodged the Shi Dan (Finger Flip Bullets) by reflex even though he had the feeling he could survive direct hits from Toguro's finger flicks at this point in time.

They were even more powerful than the strongest human punches, capable of blasting through concrete, but against Urameshi's wealth of spirit energy, he doubted that they'd even faze him.

Even with his powers sealed like this, he teetered from a high A-Level to low S-Level.

'Are you hiding your power level, Toguro?' he thought. There was just no way that the likes of Rando, Xinhai, Usui, Saito, or Suzaku would end up stronger than the Toguro Ototo himself.

Then again, while it took Toguro 50 years to reach B-Level, it took only 10 years for Sensui to reach S-Level.

Meanwhile, it took less than 3 years for Yusuke to surpass them both and take a centuries-old archdemon, Yomi, to the brink of defeat.

To Toguro, Urameshi asked, "What happened to you deciding to stay in Hell for 100 million years to atone for all the crimes you've committed? Where you plucked from Hell by the Chojin and forced to work for him? Answer me, Toguro!"

"...We're not so different, you and I."

"OH, COME ON! Not this tired cliché again, Toguro!" the teenaged living warhead told off the mountain of a demonized human in between bone-crushing punches.

He didn't want to hear such things from someone much weaker than him.

***

The veiny (actually nervy) Enishi got talkative all of a sudden, Kenshin realized. His life story was as pathetic as the vagabond expected. Maybe even more so. He even killed a family after he was given a new lease in life? How much of a monster did he become?

This was a lot for Himura to take in. He could barely breathe right now, much less digest Yukishiro's words.

Meanwhile, Enishi snarled in remembrance of the things he'd been through. The people he killed. The opportunities of happiness he turned his back on.

The innocents he murdered in order to harden his heart enough to take on a monster like Battousai. When he died, he resisted the reincarnation cycle for so long, hoping against hope he'd find Himura's soul and drag him to Hell along with him, torturing him for a million years.

However, his chance had finally arrived only a few decades ago. He reentered the reincarnation cycle and avoided becoming an insect or a slug, getting instead the body of a Chinese boy with his memories of the past as a Japanese man.

He trained his body in martial arts, went to prison more than a few times, became a career criminal, and climbed the ranks of organized Chinese crime known as The Triad (what the Shanghai Arms Dealers eventually developed into a hundred years down the line).

In fact, until a few couple of years ago, he occupied the position of Dragon Head that his protégé, Feng Xinhai, currently occupied. He had a Chinese name himself, but he long ago abandoned that identity as well to become Enishi Yukishiro.

Under the guidance of the Chojin and his reformed Shin Juppon Gatana, he also learned how to use his spiritual powers on top of reviving the lost martial arts of Wattoujutsu. He studied Japanese. He began slaying demons himself by helping fund technology that linked the Demon World with the Human World.

And now, while serving under Tenro the Demon-Slayer's Yakuza Family as one of his enforcers, he finally crossed paths with the man who stole his happiness a hundred years ago.

His revenge, his Jinchu, was literally a hundred years in the making.

"I will kill you now and take away the rest of your friends afterwards. I'll break apart the Demon Sword or steal it for myself. Become its new guardian. From there, in the Spirit World, I will also hunt you and your friends down and kill you again until all memory of you is erased. Suffer like I did. Suffer for eternity, Battousai!"

Something stirred inside Kenshin when he heard those words. It was one thing for Enishi to swear to kill him. However, what did the rest of his comrades have to do with him? Was he really going to kill the Kenshingumi or even the Reikai Tantei and the Oniwabanshu all in the name of his Jinchu?

Just as Enishi prepared to finish Kenshin off, a shinigami flew between them like a bolt from the blue.

The woman who sported a black kimono and raven hair zeroed in not on Enishi and Kenshin but instead on the Tomoe puppet of the Puppet Master.

'Ah, I remember her,' thought the Guardian of the Demon Sword. He met that death goddess before while assisting the training of Sanosuke and Yahiko when they first arrived in the Human World.

From his limited interactions with the shinigami, Kenshin surmised that she mainly did research work for Koenma Daio, not unlike the child inspector Sayaka.

'Ayame, was it? She's the shinigami that Kurama assigned to the Southeast Quadrant of Okushiri. Did she follow us all the way here?'

***

Yusuke wanted to end the fight with one gigaton punch or one Chou Rei-Gan (Mega Spirit Gun) on the gigantic muscle-bound freak of nature before him, but he held back.

Kept his cool. He wanted to bet on a "maybe".  As in, "Maybe Toguro is holding back and is about to show me something more amazing than 100% of his power".

Otherwise, Urameshi would've blasted him back to Hell where he belonged and has a 100 million year sentence in and waited for the Chojin or someone to arrive and force him use 100% of his power instead.

Finishing this fight early presented too much of a risk. Like eating an unripe fruit or something.

But maybe he could go all out and wipe the map out of several mountain ranges and riverbanks. So far, none of his attacks fazed Toguro in turn.

Or maybe he was risking hundreds of thousands of lives over his own selfish whims.

'Fine. I'll push a little harder, then.'

The "REI-KOU-DAN! (SPIRIT WAVE BULLET!)" that fissured the surrounding ground and threatened to break the world was all absorbed by Younger Toguro's beefy body.

His 100% form before might instead be his 000.1% now. Maybe he'd been training all this time in Hell. A Training from Hell.

Or maybe it was all wishful thinking and Urameshi had outgrown his boogeyman from his past.

He put his hip into his last punch, manhandling the "ultimate" form of Toguro that earlier on threw him around like a rag doll the first time he saw it.

"You want to rise to your greatest potential, but unfortunately you've already been there and done that and more. You've become too powerful," Toguro said after fixing his twisted neck that had his head staring straight behind him.

"You're not begging for mercy now! Are you?" asked Yusuke with an bone-crushing uppercut to Toguro's jaw.

"...Nothing challenges you anymore, but you don't want to sever your attachment to this world of weaklings."

Toguro flexed and did a full-powered tackling punch with enough force to move or even obliterate mountains. Alas, Yusuke ate mountains for breakfast ever since achieving S-Level in his fight against Sensui.

This was nothing to him. Drop a building on him, and he'd wonder if it was raining.

He hated to think this, but fighting Toguro now at this point was akin to fighting Kuwabara.

"You honestly sound pathetic now, Toguro. What happened to you? Keiko can hit harder than that. Put your hips into it."

But nothing major really happened to Toguro after dying back in the Ankoku Bujutsukai (Dark Martial Arts Tournament). It was Urameshi who had changed.

Toguro's form doubled or even tripled in size. He was now doing his "100% of 100%" technique that had him stake even his very soul's life force in order to unleash his fullest potential.

Any of the current roster of Roku Youkai (Six Demons) could take him on and turn him into roadkill, to be honest.

However, his fullest potential ended up just B-Level in the end. Not even at A-Level.

'Quit messing around and go 1,000% power or something already, Toguro!' Yusuke inwardly begged. But that never happened. He kept dealing with a Toguro who could barely make him flinch.

"In order to continue to live the lie you call your life, you're someone strong pretending to be weak so you could fit in with the rest of the weaklings."

"You're still talking, huh? I'm more impressed with that fact than any of your punches."

Yusuke did his signature finger gun pose and focused his ocean of reiki at a single point of his finger, gathering all that limitless energy into one concentrated shot.

"Great fighters refuse to lose, but you refuse to win just to get back that feeling and exhilaration of conquering something greater than you. So what do you do now that you're in a world where nothing is greater than you?"

Yusuke sighed. If Toguro really was going to unleash a new power on him, he would've done so by now. Meanwhile, he himself hadn't even worked up a sweat yet.

Was this some sort of long-con, Sun Tzu's Art of War deal? Was Toguro hiding his power level like he always had, using only a small percentage of his power? Or was this indeed his limits after his defeat in the Dark Tournament?

"Maybe you're right. Maybe I have been a little careless in my fights lately. However, in the end, I keep winning anyway, so who cares? It's my curse, I know. REI-GAN!"

***

Back at the foot of Mt. Kannon...

Ayame the Shinigami grabbed hold of the corpse puppet of Gein and cut off its spiritual connection with the mad scientist using her reaper powers.

She then said to Enishi, "There's no way your sister is smiling down on you in heaven! Not while you're doing something as terrible as this, stalking Himura-san for decades! A century!"

Enishi scowled at the impudent ferry-girl. How dare she say such things to him.

"What do you know? How can you possibly know the pain I've been through? The pain that my sister and her fiancé suffered from? You're nothing but a stranger! You have nothing to do with this!"

Kenshin tried standing up, but Enishi kicked his chest wound and pinned him down with a foot stomp. "And as for you, stay down! I'm not done with you yet!"

Enishi was about to punch Koenma's ferry-girl away when she chanted an incantation that led to the body double of his sister Tomoe to frown at him and cry tears of blood.

"Don't you hear it? Don't you hear the cries of despair of your dearly departed sister Tomoe from a hundred years ago? The last thing she wants to see is see you suffer or make everyone suffer along with you!"

Enishi shook and shuddered before he himself screamed in anguish, screaming until his throat was ragged. Clutching his chest at that baleful look that rocked him to his very core.

"Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up, SHUT UP! Enough of your lies, Reikai! I don't believe it for a second!

However, like with Kaoru Kamiya, he couldn't for the life of him kill even a puppet of his sister. Any young woman who reminded him of his sister, he couldn't kill.

He damn well tried to, though, his hatred rising. His cognitive dissonance assuring him these were all lies. That his sister had wanted to kill Battousai all along to avenge her fiancé's death.

That the rumor how Battousai pledged to not kill ever since he killed his sister was just a rumor.

That he hadn't wasted his multiple chances at a new life all for nothing.

He slashed the Tomoe corpse puppet apart with the Sho Ha Tou Sei, his own tears flowing down as he did so. Nauseated by the act, he moved away and puked soon after.

Even though she wasn't the real Tomoe.

'I have to do this. I have to destroy all lies!' He had waited so long and come so far. In the end, it should matter. If it didn't matter then what was the point of all this.

It was all Battousai's fault. He was the one who ruined his life. He was the one who forced him to suffer like this. Everything was perfect until he came along.

Even in the afterlife, Himura haunted him even though he was the one who was ghost at the time."

"Himura Battousai must die! Suffer! Die a thousand deaths! A million deaths! I won't rest until he has suffered as much as I have and MORE!"

Enishi prepared to do his ultimate attack on Kenshin, only for Ayame to get in his way.

This looked mighty familiar.

He hesitated for a split-second in cleaving the shinigami in half. Here was another woman the same age as his sister. Everywhere he looked, maidens like her kept reminding him of what he lost.

A split-second was an eternity in a fight, though.

Kenshin rose up and blocked Enishi's sword strike even though, unbeknownst to him, his brother-in-law intended to miss Ayame by a mile anyway.

His heart swelled at doing so. Here and now, he was able to do the sword block that he failed to do against Shishio.

Had he done the same block against his hitokiri successor, would he have survived their assured mutual destruction? Had he not given up back then and decided to fight on, would he have been able to come back to Tokyo with the rest of the Kenshingumi? With Miss Kaoru?

He really wished he had fought on instead of gave up and died along with Shishio. That he did.

"...I will fight to the end to protect those I hold dear! That is my truth!"

Himura's resolve in defeating Enishi finally hardened after wavering for so long, his cross-shaped scar seemingly glowing with a red light.

The crouching tiger faced off against the hidden dragon one more time.

"KOFUKU ZETTOUSEI! (CROUCHING TIGER SEVERING SWORD RUSH!)"

"AMAKAKERU RYU NO HIRAMEKI! (HEAVENS GLIDING DRAGON FLASH!)"

Last time, the tiger was able to cut deep wounds into the flying serpent even as it was buried into deep underground.

Would the tiger finish what it had started? Or did the dragon have something hidden behind its sharp claws?

***

Kazuma attempted to create a portal to serve as an shield over Yahiko, only for Itsuki to seal that portal for a change with Kazuya's Black Hole Gun, the twin rends in space-time canceling each other out.

However, Kuwabara expected this and teleported right in front of Itsuki in order to slash apart the firearm at pointblank range with the Jigen Tou.

"Motherfucker...!" shouted the foul-mouthed Kazuya, grasping his damaged handgun.

Itsuki then awoken Sensui's George personality in order to gain access to a hyperdimensional gun vault filled with Tommy guns, pistols, Desert Eagles, mini guns, shotguns, AK-47 rifles, machine guns, grenade launchers, and bazookas.

He had actually restocked his guns by stealing many of the armaments and ammunition available in the very military base they were invading right then and there.

Knowing full well that ordinary guns were more useful against living, fleesh-and-blood beings like Kuwabara versus the solidified souls of shinigami and ghosts from the past.

In retrospect, this made Houji's efforts to shoot Yahiko, a ghost, with a gun moot, but at least he had a backup plan.

"I'll kill you all!" said Hitoshi. "I will purify the Human World by getting rid of all the humans...!"

However, before he could use one magazine or clip from his guns, he got pummeled to submission by a revived and teleported Sanosuke Sagara.

Botan had healed up his wounds yet again with purified jaki turned into reiki, which allowed him to get the jump on the green-haired youkai through brute strength instead of fancy teleportation techniques.

'Her again?' thought Houji, noticing how Battousai's woman had again served the same function as he did with the rest of the Shin Ju by supporting the Reikai Senshi. 'That Reikai shinigami is making this mission needlessly difficult.'

Furthermore, every attempt Itsuki made to get away was blocked by Kuwabara, who himself punched the demon back to portals that redirected him towards Sano's waiting fists and "FUTAE NO KIWAMI! AHHH!"

"All right, enough of this!" declared Yumi, who instead of targeting Yahiko now instead aimed her Spirit Guillotines and Blood Fire Waves at the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu kendoist turned shinigami Botan/Kaoru Kamiya.

Kaoru assisted Botan in deploying evasive maneuvers against the succubus, with her using the reiki-imbued boat paddle to bat and parry away the projectiles headed towards her before flying away from the bloodsucker.

She then ended up blocking the scythe of the unskilled but jaki-empowered Houji, which kept her from taking flight and escaping. "Keep still like a good girl."

Finally, a hole where her chest to be appeared as a portal sucked all that ghostly flesh and ectoplasm away.

Gatekeeper Itsuki closed the portal that created the cavity in Botan's person with a wave of his hand.

The ferry-girl's jaw opened, clenched, and froze at a soundless shriek, her red eyes rolling upwards until only her eye whites were visible.

"KAORUUU! BOTAAAAAN! NOOOO!" said Yahiko with an anguished, bloodcurdling scream of his own.

Itsuki mouth curved upwards in curiosity. 'What will you do now, Samurai-san? Is this enough to break you into pieces like what happened to my dearest Shinobu (Sensui) when he saw the Black Chapter Tapes?'

***

Back at the foot of Mt. Kannon...

As Enishi Yukishiro's heart wavered, Kenshin Himura's resolve hardened. Tempered by his will to protect those around him.

The Kofuku Zetsu Tou Sei should've countered the Heavens Gliding Dragon Flash by avoiding the first slash completely and countering the second slash with a well-time riposte, unfazed or even aided by the void created by the first slash.

The Zettousei was seemingly designed to break the Hirameki, as demonstrated earlier with Kenshin barely surviving it the first time it was used.

It should've halved the effectiveness of the second slash, but by Kenshin drawing the sword low and weakening the ground-based leverage of his crouch, Enishi stood no chance.

Kenshin's much faster and stronger Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki (Heavens Gliding Dragon Flash) hit low to loosen Enishi's crouch then hit high with the multiplied centrifugal force of the follow-up second strike of his ougi, his Kofugi Zettousei (Crouching Tiger Severing Sword Rush) buckled under pressure.

Enishi's counter was ultimately overpowered by the much stronger and better applied succession technique.

However, like before, even after his counter was countered by a more experienced, worldlier version of Battousai guarding a powerful demonic sword, he still kept standing.

Sure, he was shaking like a leaf and heaved belabored breaths because his double-edged, hypertrophied Nerves of Insanity multiplied his pain to the point where an ordinary man would've blacked out from the pain in a dead faint.

But he wouldn't go down. He refused to go down. He'd rather die than go down.

Whether he was thrown into magma at the center of the earth or cut down to oblivion with the Legendary Youtou Shinnoken (Demon Sword: The True Blade), his willpower continued to defy fate and destiny itself.

He braced himself for Battousai to deliver the finishing blow, relying on his twitch reflexes and his thick pulsating nerves that were practically on fire at this point to launch another counter.

Instead, Kenshin told him, "You didn't really mean to raise your sword at Miss Ayame, did you? Cutting down the fake Tomoe puppet to you was like ripping your heart out."

He spat, "What of it, Battousai?! That's just a puppet I tore apart, not my real sister! My sister that you killed!"

"It doesn't matter if the puppet was fake or not. Ripping her apart hurt you at your core. The pain you felt is real."

"DAMN YOU TO HELL! Push me any further, and I'll do the same to the shinigami (death goddess)!"

Himura replied, "Even though you've murdered others because you couldn't stand how happy they were, you hesitated in killing Ayame-dono. She reminded you too much of Tomoe to go through with it, didn't she?"

"DON'T YOU DARE SAY HER NAME, BASTARD! Her murderer has no right to do so!"

"...In the end, what stopped you was your sister. So I ask you the same question you asked me. Is your sister smiling down on you from heaven?"

Delirious, he started having visions.

Visions of his sister taking care of him when he was sick with the flu, sleeping in his bedside. Cooking for him. Taking care of him. Serving as the only family and mother that he ever knew.

His revenge against Kenshin was all he had. All that mattered. His only reason for being, since Battousai robbed him of the original reason for his being. Without this one goal, he'd be nothing.

He could do anything as long as his sister was smiling back at him.

He closed his eyes. All he could see, the face he claimed was a lie made by the Spirit World, was his sister frowning at him with sad eyes full of pity.

The things he'd ignored earlier that bothered him also started making sense.

Why his sister threw herself in between Battousai and the leader of the Yaminobu.

Why Battousai vowed never to kill after "easily" killing so many people for such a long time.

'He did that because he's guilty of killing my sister! And everyone around him! He's a criminal who's celebrated as a hero because he killed during a war when it's 'legal' to do so!'

Why his sister stayed with Battousai for so long and even became his wife (being a deep cover agent wasn't enough to explain that away).

He opened his eyes. The image of his unhappy, melancholic sister coalesced into Shinigami Ayame's face while bearing the same grim expression with her mouth.

He fell to his knees and broke down, bawling. A broken man.

It wasn't the strike from a mystical demonic blade or the most powerful technique of a ghostly guardian from the Bakumatsu that brought him to his knees.

No. It was him realizing his sister's disapproval of his Jinchu that unraveled his single-minded determination to kill Kenshin and/or make him suffer for eternity.

Only sheer willpower kept Enishi standing. So when Kenshin broke even that, he had nothing left.

His will to fight was gone. All that was left was anguish, despair, and hopelessness.

"Neesan... Neesan...! (Big sis... Big sis...!)"

What was he supposed to do now?

***

To Be Continued...

The main event is about to start, and it's a doozy. Tenro will finally make his appearance to complete the Okushiri Arc!

Ciao, Abdiel

#kenshin himura #enishi yukishiro #demon sword #youtou shinnoken #妖刀真の剣 #rurouni kenshin #るろうに剣心 #yuyu hakusho #幽☆遊☆白書

[gabriel-gabdiel]

【Draft】Youtou Shinnoken Chapter 54: Living Sin (Part 6)

Sano deals with Karasu, Kurama deals with Rando, and Saito is ganged up on by Xinhai, Itsuki, and Usui.

The original source of this idea comes from Chad Yang. I continued his story idea found here 

The rest of the chapters of my Yuyu Hakusho and Rurouni Kenshin crossover fan fiction are available here and here. Enjoy.

Back at Sanosuke's death match with Karasu...

"SANO!" Kenshin screamed after his friend, his head woozy from all the ectoplasm he'd lost from his... earlier fight. After the smoke cleared, he realized that his Demon Sword had ended up wedged into a stone like a Japanese Excalibur.

The blond Karasu was on his way to retrieve the sword and magnify the jaki he received from the Onmyouji when he noticed that Sagara was charging at him at full speed.

Sanosuke summoned one final zanbatou from what was left of his spirit energy, his ghost body transparent and fading fast.

His reiki then turned blood red, and so did his ectoplasm, making it look like real blood. Ghost's blood.

Bomb after bomb exploded all around him from above and below. Blockbusters. Landmines. Homing bombs made of demon energy floating around him like glowing balloons.

However, he wouldn't go down, his zanbatou holding up like a wrecked car that somehow could still drive forward, slicing through cluster after cluster of military-grade demonic artillery.

He'd gone through worse before when he faced off against the tricky teleporting Itsuki and two Suzaku clones with the help of Aoshi's reincarnation.

"ZANBATOU ATE! ZANKUU ZANBATOU ATE!"

He did his Zanbatou Ate to destroy all the landmines and his Zankuu Zanbatou Ate to blow away the falling blockbusters, the bombs he missed exploding with fire and shrapnel that shredded both him and his horse-chopping sword.

But he kept moving forward. For a change though, Karasu himself charged towards him, his wish to break him apart growing stronger and stronger. His sadistic side rearing its ugly head.

"SARU-SAN!" Karasu's hair glowed and undulated from his youki and the Chojin's jaki like the tendrils of a bioluminescent jellyfish underwater. Or the lit fuses of a box of dynamite.

"KARASU! C'mere, you crow bastard! FIGHT ME LIKE A REAL MAN!"

His zanbatou exploding in sparks and molten steel, the "bloody" yet vengeful spirit of Sano kept tanking hit after hit from the floating energy bomb mines that surrounded the youkai like a cluster of suns that formed into his own Milky Way.

Yet he kept moving. Irresistible. Unfettered. Smiling like a madman. His face a crimson mask.

Due to the decreasing size of his gigantic sword that also served as his shield, Sanosuke began using his fists instead to stave off the galaxy of youki bombs, punching them back at either Karasu or unto each other with the Futae no Kiwami (Dual Extreme).

"FUTAE NO KIWAMI! FUTAE NO KIWAMI! FUTAE NO KIWAMI! AAAH!"

Sano resisted the impact of the resulting explosions on his body by nullifying them with the Kiwami Hazushi (Extremity Release), punching his body on the opposite end of the impact to release enough energy to resist the blasts.

The fires of Karasu's Inferno raged even harder. Yet Sano entered the flames, undaunted. As though he were a fire demon like Hiei who could survive such high temperatures.

Ignoring the explosions from the dense conflagration of S-Level demonic energy that tore his ghostly flesh apart piece by piece, Sagara attempted to punch Karasu's head off with the Dual Extreme, only for Karasu's energy mines to explode on his fist at the same time.

Karasu was beside himself with glee. Savoring the moment. He could practically taste Sano's desperation. The temperature of his explosions reaching an atomic bomb's climax.

Sanosuke screamed in agony, shielding himself with what remained of his melting zanbatou, burning in what seemed like the core of the sun. The Heart of Hell.

"My youki has reached nuclear levels of potential energy. I'll bring your ghost beyond the limits of human suffering. Once I'm through with you, there'll be nothing left to save! All that's going to be left of Okushiri is dust and darkness. You're going straight to hell, Saru-san."

"No. If you're going to take me to hell, I'm dragging you with me! TOU ATE!"

Sagara took the remnants of his zanbatou (about the size of a sword) and stabbed it into the ground, parting the energy mines away like Moses would the Red Sea. This time it around, it was a Red Sea of Fire that parted in two like theater curtains.

The bone-crushing force from the Tou Ate's impact lifted Karasu up into the air. Sano then charged with his crumbling sword, its red-hot metal reduced to the size of a kodachi.

"YOU CAN'T WIN, SARU-SAN!" screamed the haggard Karasu, hurling his energy bombs at Sanosuke, who punched them out into flame and smoke with his ectoplasmic bloody fists and repeated Futae no Kiwami strikes.

In the end, all the fading Sano had left to stab Karasu's chest with was barely two inches of hot metal, which was all that was left of the twelve-foot zanbatou. Enough to injure an ordinary human, but barely a pinprick to a Class-S demon.

"Checkmate, Saru-san!" said Karasu with a smile and sultry eyes.

However, it was still a pinprick to his heart.

"SANJU NO KIWAMI (TRIPLE EXTREME)!"

The Dual Extreme punch using two fists drove the shrapnel right into Karasu's heart before the organ exploded altogether with the third final strike of the Triple Extreme.

"I told you I'm dragging you with me to hell," said Sanosuke with a grin.

A choking and raspy Karasu clutched the bloody hole where his heart used to be, grinning in kind. "So be it. I'll see you in hell."

The Guardian of the Demon Sword finally found his voice after witnessing the slobber knocker of a fight before him. "SANO! NO! GET AWAY FROM HIM! HE'S GONNA EXPLODE...!"

A mushroom cloud formed in Okushiri, giving Kenshin horrid flashbacks of the Second World War. Of the time he almost single-handedly destroyed the Spirit World Barrier with the intention of unleashing youkai into the United States of America in his anger.

However, just as quickly, the cloud disappeared.

Himura looked up, then shielded his eyes from the brightness and hotness above him. Hundreds and thousands of miles away in the atmosphere was an explosion. A second sun of sorts as the other sun set in the horizon. Or what looked like a miniature supernova from up close.

From there, a bandaged Kazuma Kuwabara stood where Karasu used to be, a shining portal closing from behind him.

It took another second for Kenshin to realize that Kazuma tore through the fabric of space-time with his Jigen Tou (Dimensional Sword) in order to teleport the exploding Karasu and his mushroom cloud away from ground zero, letting him explode in the sky like before, in one of their missions.

"Whew. That was a close one. Oh, hi Kenshin!"

"Kuwabara-dono!" called out Kenshin.

"You bastard. You stole my thunder," said a tired but smirking Sano.

Kuwabara harrumphed. "Yeah. Don't mention it, dude. Saving your life from a crazed suicide bomber was no big deal... Whoa! Whoopsie-Daisy!"

As Sanosuke collapsed from exhaustion, Kuwabara caught the fainted street fighter's flickering spirit in his strong arms.

"...By the way, nice fight," the carrot-topped teenager said. "Shine on, you crazy diamond. You won't be a disposable hero today."

He then turned towards Kenshin, who pulled his sword out of the stone.

"We need to act fast, Kenshin. If Kurama's predictions prove true, then Officer Fujita and our whole team may be in trouble!"

***

Youtou Shinnoken: Demon Sword

A Rurouni Kenshin/Yuyu Hakusho Crossover Fan Fiction Story by Chester Castañeda

Original concept by Chad Yang

The Shin Ju's attempt to finish Saito off continues. Also, Kurama has his hands full with... Rando?!

Disclaimer: Yuyu Hakusho is the rightful property of Yoshihiro Togashi, Shueisha, Fuji TV, and Studio Pierrot. Rurouni Kenshin is the rightful property of Nobuhiro Watsuki, Shueisha, Shonen Jump, Viz, Sony Studios, Fuji TV, Studio Gallop, Studio Deen, and ADV. This disclaimer also covers all the other copyrighted materials that are far too many to mention here. Don't sue me please, I'm very poor.

***

Chapter 54: Living Sin (Part 6)

***

Back at Mount Kamui...

"Why are you serving under the Chojin? Or at least one of his minions? What do you get out of it?" asked Hajime Saito, also known as Lieutenant Fujita Goro, to Gatekeeper Itsuki from the Sensui Seven.

"...Because I want to," came Itsuki's non-answer.

"According to my research, by the end of the Sensui Shinobu incident, you took away Sensui's body and soul into your portal. You were never heard from again until now. What changed since then?" Saito asked before falling into his Gatotsu stance and charging.

Itsuki's one open eye glared at the officer. He then hid behind a series of portals to deflect Saito Hajime's Gatotsu back to himself.

From there, Goro Fujita did something only two other people in the youkai's lifetime did to defeat him (one of whom was Daiji Matsudaira).

What did Hajime do? Use Itsuki's portals against him.

Who was the first person to do it? Shinobu Sensui.

In Sensui's case, he kicked a Reshou Kou Kyu Ha (Fissure Kick Crimson Ball Wave) right into Itsuki's back when the demon attempted to deflect the spirit energy ball back to its owner.

In Hajime's case, the ex-Shinsengumi captain feinted a Zeroshiki to the back of Itsuki, tricking the demon into making a portal behind him that led directly to another portal above the policeman's head.

Afterwards, the copper entered the portal atop him in order to end up from behind the one-eyed youkai. He then hit him with a Zeroshiki from his blindside before he could make another portal to shield himself.

The green-haired demon crumpled to the ground, his wound gushing with his demonic blood as his portals disappeared.

The policeman then hit the nail right on the head.

"Sensui was stolen from you, wasn't he?" asked Saito.

"Go to hell, Shinsengumi scum," a voice different from Itsuki's usual dulcet tones spat at Hajime. However, it came from the Gatekeeper's mouth still. Before Saito could continue his line of questioning, a shikigami (familiar) of the Onmyouji appeared before them bearing a sickle.

Not only did Saito have to finish off the familiar in order to keep it from undoing his fatal wound on Itsuki. He also had to avoid both a multi-hit strike from a reemerging Usui Uonuma and a Matoi Izuna (Ground Vacuum Slash) from a recovered Feng Xinhai (Raijuta Isurugi's Chinese reincarnation).

"HYAKKA RYORAN!" shouted Usui after he whirled his Rochin spear with a counterweight into a whirling dervish of strikes and blows, attempting to hit and stab his killer at the same time. His stomach where the Gatotsu Zeroshiki originally hit him a hundred years or so ago rumbled with fire.

Usui made his Tinbe shield even thicker and denser than before to withstand the force of any counterstrike thrust from the Gatotsu. Or rather, his Tinbe memorized the amount of force it received and grew stronger and denser as a result every time.

The dark priest and conduit of the Chojin's boundless jaki also worked overtime to keep the Shin Juppon Gatana (New Ten Swords) alive in their war of attrition with the Reikai Senshi (Spirit World Warriors).

Even Yusuke Urameshi would've had problems with the multi-pronged tactic. However, like with Urameshi, none of it mattered against the strength of a high-class foe.

"!?"

Again, Saito broke through Usui's thicker shield because his initial Ishiki strike to him wasn't even at his full power, his stab leaving a nasty gash on the chest of the blind man who turned his body away at the last minute.

"How the hell did you get so strong, you bastard!?" spat Uonuma.

"Unfinished business from a century ago," answered Saito, who pulled his sword out and did another Zeroshiki, but the Tinbe thickened just in time to block it. "Now tell me what happened to Shishio Makoto after he died and presumably went to hell, Uonuma Usui."

Usui sneered. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

***

Kurama, also known as Shuichi Minamino, was intentionally left behind to serve as the ace up in the Reikai Senshi's sleeve.

The plan was that he'd be briefed of the situation on the ground as their "infantry" attacked the initial wave of Shin Ju. Then he'd relay via the shinigami what the others were supposed to do afterwards.

Like their personal chess master. Or a general in an army.

However, this particular general was also used to fighting in the trenches with the rest of his men.

He was, after all, the one who figured out that Yahiko Myojin's recently discovered ability to nullify ki was the key to defeating the Shin Juppon Gatana's own personal power distributor, the Chojin's Onmyouji.

As Natsuki Shinkai had described, the Shin Ju were akin to a party in a role-playing game, with the Chojin's dark priest serving as their "healer" of sorts during battle. He even directly borrows his dark energy from the Overfiend himself.

Otherwise, the Reikai Senshi and the Shin Juppon Gatana were left at a bit of a stalemate.

Kurama was also the one who used the talents of the Mushiyori Residents (Asato Kido, Yu Kaito, and Mitsunari Yanagisawa) to thwart the plans of the Shin Ju to turn one of their own into a permanent S-Level demon (which was Karasu, by the way).

If he had to hazard a guess, his equivalent in the New Ten Swords was Feng Xinhai, Natsuki's Chinese father and apparently the reincarnation of one of Kenshin's previous enemies, Raijuta Isurugi.

A coward and pretender in his past life, Xinhai managed to become one of the Spirit World's most dangerous foes with his own chess-master mentality.

This was why Shuichi was kind of surprised to see Rando of all the Shin Ju seek him out after the teleporting Kuwabara dropped him off of the shores of Okushiri.

"So Xinhai is sending out his lackey instead of himself to face me?" Kurama asked his fellow redheaded demon, his rose seed at the ready to become a Rose Whip.

Rando replied with his squeaky voice that sounded almost grandmotherly, "I'm no lackey of Xinhai. There's merely a change of plans. The Chojin figured out that Xinhai is no match against you tactics-wise."

"...And somehow you are?" asked Kurama, his voice slipping octaves lower as the prideful youko from inside him sneered at the spider youkai whom Yusuke pummeled into submission earlier on.

Rando chuckled. "And like the Chojin predicted, you can't help but underestimate me. That will be your downfall."

As usual (much to the chagrin of his past partners-in-crime like Hiei and Yomi), Kurama summoned his Rose Whip and did evasive maneuvers while waving around his weapon at Rando to see how he'd react.

He was always the "wait and see" kind of fighter.

Rando reacted in kind, using only his weakest attacks when he was still below Class-B to respond to Kurama's interrogative whiplashes.

Kurama avoided the array of Youki Duantoutai (Spirit Guillotine), Kasho-Happa-Ken (Fireballs), and Zankuu Reppu Jin (Spirit Halo Cutter) that Rando lobbed at him.

Minamino also had the presence of mind to lead the Spirit Guillotines into the webs sticky web of Youki no Ito (Silk Strands) that had bound Yusuke earlier when Rando and him first fought.

It was a simple tactic. Rando planned to catch Kurama by his spider web then blast him with his variety of projectiles.

None of the little imps that Rando summoned could get near Minamino either thanks to his Fuuka Enbu Jin (Wind Petal Waltz Configuration).

However, Rando himself was throwing enough fireballs and vacuum cutters from far away and weaving enough silk webs to keep him from getting bothered by the razor-sharp technique.

For the most part, anyway. He still got scratched up.

Any other Rose Whip strike he couldn't avoid, he blocked with his own Youki Whip or a whip made of demon energy.

"...."

After a minute passed, Kurama switched tactics. He realized that, like with Tsukihito "Game Master" Amanuma, Rando was probably there to keep him occupied rather than serve as a legitimate threat.

'Or maybe Rando is smarter than you give him credit for. This way, he won't have to reveal all his tricks at once,' Kurama told himself off. Or Minamino did to the prideful youko. 'Like how Kenshin once defeated an enemy by evading him until he self-destructed.'

'Nonsense. That's what we're doing to him,' came his youko self's retort.

As Kurama quickened his pace all of a sudden, he did three things at once.

He threw a seed into a wound he had made on Rando's arm earlier that the demon hadn't noticed. He threw another seed into the sands of the beach they were on. He finally grew a Juryo Yozan Ken (Binding Fist of the Demonic Vine) on his right hand while still holding his Rose Whip with his left hand.

Rando avoided the Kagon Retsuzanshi (Rose Whiplash) and used his muscle control to resist getting stabbed by the Juryo Yozan Ken as though he were Toguro Ototo.

The seed that Kurama planted into him earlier popped out of his wound like pus from a zit thanks to all his muscle clenching and flexing.

However, before the spider demon could attempt to do one of his wrestling holds on Kurama, the demon-turned-human jumped over him then and tangled him with his whip.

Rando still managed to tear through Kurama's chest with a missed strike, though, even as the demon fox landed from behind the pasty demon.

Kurama lacked the strength to pull the Rose Whip tight enough to cut Rando apart or pull him around, but he had enough cunning to pull at the demon's feet in order to make him trip right into where he wanted him to fall.

Right into a newly grown cactus patch filled with spines the size of knives and swords.

His three-pronged plan worked. Rando had enough wherewithal to avoid sharing Roto's fate, but he had no defense against his cactus surprise.

Rando died instantly, his blood pooling into demon cacti that were spinier than normal. The sentient cactus patch grew and grew with its spines, impaling the hapless youkai in every way possible.

Kurama sighed and walked away from the bloodbath, only to then pause and avoid having a cactus head impale his head as well.

"As expected of the Legendary Youko Kurama! I had to bust out Jine's Jagan at the last minute there! You're quite the tricky one!"

Minamino backpedaled into the nearest coconut tree, his back against its trunk that served as his shield against any attacks from the rear.

The corpse of Rando had disappeared, replaced by a Rando with a Jigen Tou that he probably used to teleport Kurama's own demon cactus back at him from out of nowhere.

Rando chuckled. "But you're not a perfect fighter. Even though you took down the likes of Karasu and Toguro Ani, you were once injured by Genbu. Cursed by Gama. And almost killed by Ura Urashima. You tend to drop your guard too much."

Kurama was about to turn his whip into a super whip when vines burst forth from his body, spraying his blood all over the sandy ground.

"!?"

These were vines planted into his body by Rando, he realized. Using his own weaponized seed, the Shimaneki Sou (Seed of the Death Plant), at that.

'Pretty clever,' was the begrudging thought of Youko Kurama.

Rando could only smile as the Death Plant grew and bound Kurama to the coconut tree behind me while he himself transformed the youki of his Jigen Tou into a Hadou Ken. "Heh. I told you so. Don't underestimate me."

***

A creature made of flaming negative energy formed from behind Xinhai, holding its own fiery version of the nodachi that its "master" held. The flames danced and roared, thus making the humanoid form of Feng's shikigami (familiar) look more like a raging wildfire.

Uonuma, on other hand, kept Hajime busy with his stabbing Rochin and a Tinbe that had gotten used to the exact PSI (pounds per inch) of strength that the policeman was willing to unleash so far from his Gatotsu.

As for Itsuki, his demeanor and character changed. Like in his fight with Daiji Matsudaira, he showcased new powers. His eye that Kuwabara had slashed close was now open, but instead of an eyeball it served as a portal to his personal realm.

'Minoru,' recited Saito from memory as he chucked a piece of rubble at Itsuki, only for the debris to disappear right into his missing eye like a miniature black hole.

'This is the power of Minoru. One of the split personalities of Sensui Shinobu. They all somehow transferred themselves to Gatekeeper Itsuki.'

From there, the tactics of the Shin Ju shifted. Saito had to dodge from the wave upon wave of kamaitachi (vacuum slices most commonly associated with weasel youkai and their sickle-like limbs) from both the Raijuta reincarnation and his fire shikigami.

The slashes moved both on the ground (care of Xinhai) and in the sky (care of the shikigami), thus keeping Hajime herded in one area in case he decided to jump and strike from above.

Meanwhile, in the middle of all this moved in Usui. He shielded himself from friendly fire with his Tinbe and pecked at Fujita with his Rochin, the unblocked Matoi (Earth) and Tobi (Sky) Izuna bolstering his attack.

Finally, Itsuki exacerbated the situation by teleporting from behind the backpedaling officer, his eye portal at the ready. He also protected himself from the barrage of Izuna by making portals that caught them, only to create exit portals aimed at Goro as well.

Any Izuna that had missed the policeman could then be "recycled" and aimed back at him care of the tricky portals of the Gatekeeper. It was a three-pronged assault that scratched and clawed at the Wolf of Mibu slowly but surely.

"DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!" screamed the blind spearman. "Ever since you've gotten here, my stomach and guts have rumbled like I've been starving for weeks! My heart is beating like it's about to explode! The only way to quench this heat is to consume you with it!"

"...."

The wave upon wave of attacks from all angles indeed drew blood. Saito's blood.

The policeman grunted as yet another Izuna sliced his body up with a clean cut, followed by a stream of blood. Dodging these slashes almost felt like dodging rain at that point.

Uonuma himself evaded and blocked every last Izuna that came his way thanks to his Shingan (Mind's Eye) that allowed his heightened senses to detect both Hajime and the vacuum cutters a proverbial mile away.

Meanwhile, Itsuki continued to catch and release the Izuna that missed their mark back at Lieutenant Fujita from impossible angles and blind spots, even from underneath him. This kept Saito on the defensive.

And all this time, the policeman was herded by Xinhai and Usui like cattle to his eventual doom from within the black hole where Itsuki's right eye used to be.

All according to plan. Right?

Saito smirked, his wounds regenerating and his aura in the form of his wolf spirit forming around him like a shikigami of his own.

It was about time he bared his own fangs at Shishio's New Ten Swords.

***

'I can't believe you got tricked by that technique thief of all people,' the youko side of Kurama told his human counterpart. 'Beaten by small fry. Shameful. Pathetic.'

Without intending to do so, Kurama transformed back into his Youko Kurama form, partly to protect his human body from harm from the weed growing inside it.

Shuichi told his youko self to calm down. 'Stop underestimating him. Rando didn't become part of Shishio's New Juppon Gatana for nothing. Don't let your guard down.'

The infamous Rando possessed more than a hundred techniques he'd stolen from many a martial artist in the Demon and Human World. He even outsmarted Yusuke enough to give him the World of Suffering curse even though the half-demon was many leagues more powerful than him.

"Fighting you feels so much better than fighting Urameshi Yusuke," Rando told Kurama. "It's more a battle of wits than brawn. You don't need a stupidly strong power level to survive. We're cut from the same cloth, you and I. We can take on kings and gods even though we aren't necessarily the most powerful beings in the three worlds!"

Youko Kurama then regressed back to his Minamino form, standing in the middle of the beach. The Shimaneki taking root in his body.

Rando continued. "We fight smart and we can take down even Class-S demons and humans with our cunning even if we're many levels below them. And right now, I'm proud to be one of the few to outwit the likes of Youko Kurama!"

"Hoo. Is that so? Then show me what you got, Rando," the youko inside Kurama couldn't help but dare as Minamino wiped the blood from his mouth. "Impress me. Try and outwit me if you can."

Rando frowned then took on a pose as though he were holding a ball. An energy ball filled with his youki, to be specific. "Fine. Eat this. SHINKUU...!"

'He has more than a hundred techniques in his arsenal and he chooses a fireball to finish me off?' quipped the youko to himself. 'This after his rant about high-level beings relying too much on punches and ki blasts? My goodness.'

"...HADOU KEN!"

Kurama got blown away by the Vacuum Surge Fist, but ended up none the worse for wear because he manipulated the Death Plant inside him and made a full-body cast to absorb the shock of the technique.

More importantly, the blast created a trench for him to hide under before another seed he had planted in the cactus patch grew to... fruition.

An explosion from the cactus patch followed, ripping through the beach like a shrapnel bomb from World War II. The spines flew with the speed of bullets from a million snipers. Or like suppressive rounds from a machine gun.

Kurama had planted seeds from the Dynamite Tree into the demonic cactus patch, resulting in multiple explosions of cactus spines from fruit that exploded when they ripened. The seeds and spines ripped apart anything in their path.

Even the Shield and Armor of Sand weren't fast or strong enough to protect Rando, his body riddled with spines and seeds.

"AUGH! BAKUSAI TENKETSU (BREAKING POINT TECHNIQUE)!"

Sweating and bleeding heavily, Rando attempted to blast the ground to smithereens by stabbing his finger unto its weakest point to serve as his shield against the flying plant bullets, but the sand proved too fine and loose to destroy with the technique.

"As predicted, you stole so many techniques from so many people that you didn't have time to learn how to use them to their fullest potential," said Kurama from the trench he was hiding in.

"N-No! BLOOD WIND!" screamed Rando by reflex. It was supposed to be his emergency technique whenever he was injured. But it didn't work this time.

"You've used up your youki. There's too little youki inside you to activate even the Blood Wind. If you hadn't called my bluff and shot me with that Shinkuu Hadou Ken, it might've worked."

That was the natural consequence of having 100 (or more) techniques. Sometimes you ran out of power before you could get to Technique No. 50, much less No. 100.

"NOOOOO...!"

Minamino then changed back to Youko Kurama and absorbed the energy from the Shimaneki in order to regress it back to seed form so that it'd stop leeching off of him like a tumor.

This energy boost also healed him somewhat. Not completely, but enough to allow him to join the battle against the remaining Shin Ju without serving as a liability.

With a harrumph, Youko Kurama then told the bleeding pincushion that was Rando. "Mind games? Tactics? You're not in my league in that regard either."

A dark sphere that blotted out the sun then appeared above them.

It was the Perfect Shishi Hoko Dan (Lion Roaring Bullet) made from Rando's desperation, sadness, and insecurities.

More and more, Rando reminded Kurama of Yusuke. Particularly their shared tenaciousness and boundless spiritual power affected by the intensity of their emotion.

***

"W-Wha...!?" stuttered the blind bearded swordsman turned Juppon Gatana member as he blocked and deflected another powerful Gatotsu stab with his turtle shield at the last second.

The reflexes of Hajime were... unreal. He should've been chopped into a hundred pieces by now. At most, it looked like he got scratched by a herd of alley cats.

Saito struck Uonuma's Tinbe with a crushing blow filled with megatons of force, breaking it apart like chalk or ceramic china. The former Shinsengumi member again upped the ante of his Gatotsu.

The Shingan saved Usui from having his arm ripped apart along with his Tinbe, releasing the shield in time to do a Rochin spear counter, but the copper merely punched the spear away with his right fist then drilled forward with another Gatotsu Ishiki with his left arm.

All while dodging Izuna slashes flying and teleporting from all directions.

A new Tinbe formed immediately after as Usui slipped the Gatotsu Ishiki to his head and ducked the follow-through slash to his neck. The new shield blocked and deflected the Gatotsu Nishiki to his midsection.

"Keep pressing him," yelled Xinhai before his shikigami beside him disappeared then reappeared from behind Hajime. "Don't give that jiba (cock) sucker an inch! Don't leave him any breathing room!"

Sure enough, both Feng's shikigami and Usui took turns drilling the policeman down... right into the waiting Itsuki's hands (or black hole eye).

However, as though he himself had a Shingan of his own, Fujita took advantage of all his opponents crowding him and bowed just in time to avoid a flaming shikigami sword slash that instead landed on Usui's Tinbe defense.

"HEY! Watch it, you piece of shit! I'll kill you if you do that again, Xinhai!" cursed Usui at both the Chinese mafia boss and his familiar.

"Jibai (Cunt)," murmured Xinhai.

"...The hell did you just say!?"

Whoops. Maybe cussing out a teammate with superhuman hearing from under your breath wasn't the smartest thing to do.

Regardless, this gave the scuffed-up Saito enough wriggle room to take on the four Shin Ju.

"You moron! Behind you!" shouted Feng this time around.

By instinct and by his heightened senses, Uonuma dodged the "bullet" aimed at his spine, his reconstructed body remembering how he originally died. With the upper half of his body ripped apart from his lower half.

The nape of his neck moist with ectoplasmic sweat.

The missed Gatotsu Ishiki instead hit the jaki flame monster square at its heart, its flaming body imploding from the crushing blow. Like a miniature supernova from a dying black sun.

However, Itsuki was already upon Hajime, his own black hole sucking the policeman into parts unknown.

Or he would've had the copper not immediately recovered and again did a Gatotsu Zeroshiki at Usui that ripped into his shield and arm.

Usui grit his teeth and attempted to push Officer Fujita into Itsuki's eye portal, only for the gangly policeman to lift the blind man and throw him at the green-haired youkai.

Itsuki willed his eye closed to keep Uonuma from ending up into his eye portal, only for Saito to force him into the small slit of space left of the portal... at a speed that was literally faster than an eye blink.

This led to a spaghettification effect wherein the blind Shin Ju's body stretched vertically and compressed horizontally in order to fit into the event horizon of the black hole.

Even as this happened, the spirit energy of Lieutenant Saito flared, which seemingly gave him enough inner gravity to keep himself from being swallowed by Itsuki's eye black hole himself.

His sword then plunged into Itsuki's empty eye socket with a Gatotsu Nishiki, which ripped its eyelids apart and made the demon lose control of his own powers, his face collapsing unto the black hole of his own making.

Xinhai saw enough. He summoned the dissipating negative energy that was left of his shinigami unto him, setting his body on fire. Black fire. "Saito Hajime. How did you get so strong? How did you end up alive in the Heisei Era?"

Thanks to the dark fire of his shikigami coalescing into a full-body aura, Feng got enough heat from his jaki and coldness from his Izuna technique to produce his "TORNADO RIPPER!"

Like with his fight with Seiryu, Saito went into Gatotsu Nishiki stance and sunk his stance low while plunging his sword to the ground to gain enough leverage. This along with his dense ghostly aura prevented him from getting lifted up by the twister.

Just like Xinhai wanted.

In Chinese, he said, "I've gone through hell and back to reach the peak of my power. To become at least as powerful as Sensui Shinobu in a short period of time on my own, without borrowing the strength of the Chojin. How did you cheat your way to success? How did you get this strong?"

Right in the eye of the storm, the Taiwanese man shot a huge supersonic Tobi Izuna at the heart of the Tornado Ripper, which made the twister explode from within, turning into a Sonic Shockwave.

Or this would've happened had Lieutenant Hajime not charged from below the twister and stabbed upwards with a Gatotsu Sanshiki straight into the head of Feng, splitting his head open like a cut watermelon.

And in an instant, like in the case of Yusuke Urameshi, Hajime Saito killed three Shin Juppon Gatana members.

***

The Perfect Shishi Hoko Dan blasted a new hole from where the beach used to be, with parts of the sand crystallizing from the heat of the big bang and the sea filling the hot crater with water, releasing loads and loads of searing steam.

Youko Kurama survived the resulting explosion by summoning a long Rose Whip and swinging to the nearest high ground.

But he didn't come out completely unscathed. He tumbled around in the cluster of coconut trees and sprained his ankle from a bad landing before he took cover, the blast burning some of the trees to ash and uprooting others.

It rained. Or it seemed to rain before Kurama realized it was actually saltwater from the sea blasted sky high that soon turned into a full-blown tsunami created by the impact of the blast.

The tides literally turned.

He fought to survive against the floods, seeking high ground. It took all his energy to keep himself from being swept away by the waters and drowning.

Regardless, he wasn't worst for wear like Rando probably was. His last burst of energy destroying practically everything but its target. His youki completely spent.

What a waste of raw potential. He could mimic any technique he saw but didn't know how to use most of them.

Speak of the devil, Rando's head poked out from the churning waters. His battered body then emerged along with it as he trudged towards the new shoreline. His youki almost nonexistent. Like he was on the verge of death.

He then stopped right in front of Kurama before taking on the martial arts horse-riding stance.

"FINE! If I can't make you submit by outsmarting you, then I'll do it the old-fashioned way by overwhelming you with BRUTE FORCE! IBUKI!"

A dark energy enveloped the red youki aura of the multi-skilled demon as he accessed the reserve of jaki that the Onmyouji gave to him earlier after resurrecting him.

His power level jumping from Class-A to Class-S.

His body ejecting the seeds of the Dynamite Tree that Kurama was banking on to blast the pasty demon down the line.

He finally discarded his pride and finally let the Onmyouji power him up artificially into S-Level.

Kurama thusly took a blade of grass and turned it into a sword. It got carbonized soon after by a Burn Knuckle followed by a concussive Power Dunk. And a Genocide Cutter that lacerated the redhead all over through slashing leg kicks.

The demon fox attempted to catch him with the Rose Whip, but somehow Rando moved as fast as Kenshin. Thus, Minamino ended up hitting nothing but afterimages.

"What are you going to do now? Plant more seeds into me? Make me hallucinate? Erase my memories? Suck my blood with a Vampire Plant? Use an entire living tree against me? None of that will work against this S-Level demon!"

And Rando was indeed correct. Like with his encounter with the Reikai Boueitai (Spirit World Special Defense Squad), all of Kurama's attempts at trickery and growing dangerous plants were thwarted by the spider demon blasting all of his creations into smithereens before they had the chance to mature.

Although Kurama avoided triggering the Hiryu Shoten Ha by not being aggressive (it was activated by the hot ki of the opponent) and cancelled out the Blood Wind by making Rando use up his demon energy, the demon still hit him with another tornado variant named, "YONOKAZE (NIGHT WIND)!"

Followed by a "RAGING STORM!" that resulted in claws of energy and air rising towards the heavens.

The demon fox attempted to attack close with double Joryu Yozan Ken on both fists, only to get scorched by a similarly close-quarter, "KIKOU SHOU!" energy dome of annihilation that destroyed everything within its vicinity except the one doing the technique.

Even Youko Kurama had no answers for Rando's shifts from one technique to the next. It almost felt as if the silver-haired kitsune were fighting a dozen different fighters all at once.

Such was the power of a powered-up Shin Juppon Gatana member.

This reminded Kurama of his fight against Shigure in the Makai Unification Tournament. He got so injured in the match he had to retire from competition.

The youko's youki reserves then bottomed out thusly, his body shifting back and forth both his two forms before settling into his human form.

***

Hajime Saito had just killed Feng Xinhai, Usui Uonuma (again), and Gatekeeper Itsuki with all the variations of his Gatotsu technique, making short work of them all.

The officer particularly took advantage of Xinhai's (and, in essence, Raijuta's) blind spot when he was about to swing an Izuna, hitting him right between the eyes the same way Kenshin did with his Hiryu Sen (Flying Dragon Flash) technique when he first defeated Isurugi for the first time.

However, Saito's mouth then quivered into a slight frown when he saw Feng grab both halves of his head and put them back together. As though he were a zombie from a horror movie.

Was this the Onmyouji's doing? Fujita looked around for any sign of the Chojin's dark priest. Or maybe Xinhai was a type of Class-S being that could survive even a head blow.

The Raijuta incarnate harrumphed at Hajime. "Looks like my gamble paid off."

Officer Goro palmed his face, his vision blurring. Why was he having a migraine? And what did Xinhai mean by "gamble"? What "gamble" was he talking about?

Afterwards, he saw the "corpses" of Itsuki and Usui emerge from a portal. They themselves were worn-down and exhausted like he was, but not dead. Or even half-dead.

Even though he witnessed their death by his sword firsthand.

What was going on here? He could've sworn he hit them with his best shots. Did Usui use the Jagan of Jine Udo to create a hypnotic illusion?

Fujita growled, "Fine. I'll just have to kill them again and again. No matter how many times it takes. Until he shows up."

Xinhai shifted into his fencing stance and probed into Saito's defenses with the long reach of his longsword nodachi, pivoting counterclockwise in order to avoid the southpaw copper's deadly Gatotsu strikes from his left arm.

A grumbling Usui hid behind his shield and also poked at Hajime with his Rochin from a significant distance. Whenever Saito attempted to cut the distance between them, the blind swordsman deflected with his Tinbe or did his Hyakka Ryoran multi-hit technique to make him back off.

Itsuki himself was there in the background to teleport either Shin Ju to safety or mix things up by exchanging their places.

This dual jabbing from fighters who didn't want to engage, baiting Saito to charge and get countered left the policeman at an impasse of sorts.

If he charged at either of them, the other would surely counter him. And if he didn't attack soon, they themselves would attack while he had his guard down.

Chipping at him bit by bit. Like ice picks. While his headache grew worse and worse.

Saito charged at the Chinese Raijuta at a half-beat, expecting a parry and a counter. But he had a counter of his own.

As soon as Xinhai parried the Gatotsu and circled to his left, intending to thrust with his platinum longsword with his prosthetic right hand, Fujita himself batted away the sword with his follow-up side slash.

Saito then repositioned himself to do another Gatotsu Zeroshiki, only for his face to get punched by a metallic lead right straight.

"You thought that I'm just a simple reincarnation of Isurugi Raijuta, didn't you? You believed that I'm just the same coward as my past self. You've underestimated me!"

"...."

Saito's world then turned upside down as he fell into a portal and teleported from the ground to the sky.

His sense of gravity ended up warped. He almost got skewered by Usui's Rochin had he not done a reverse Gatotsu Sanshiki that drilled downwards like the Gatotsu Nishiki thanks to his positioning.

This attack pushed the blind man away and allowed him to flip back down to earth.

And yet even though he didn't land headfirst into the ground, his lightheadedness worsened. As though he had suffered a concussion.

He looked at his wounds. As expected, they healed almost immediately.

Wait a minute. Even with his superpowers, he shouldn't be healing this quickly.

He then almost had his entire throbbing head disappear had he not avoided the black hole bullet shot at him by Itsuki of all people.

Instead, a huge chunk of his shoulder went missing where the trajectory of the vortex missed.

"...Itsuki, don't kill him. We need him. He'll make a fine member of the Shin Ju, after all," came Xinhai's light admonishment.

"...Fuck that. I hate all this pussyfooting around," spat Itsuki, who had again shifted personalities, this time adopting Sensui's Kazuya personality.

Therefore, his hand had turned into a gun as well, except this time it fired high-velocity black holes that ate everything in its path instead of mere ki bullets.

"Besides, I couldn't kill this fucker even if I tried," Itsuki-Kazuya concluded, spitting at the ground.

The Chinese mobster chuckled. "You have a point."

And indeed, Saito immediately healed his shoulder soon after. Even though it was missing whole bits of muscle tissue and bone.

A smirking Xinhai then boasted, "For your information, Toguro Ani wasn't given a new body when the Overfiend fetched him to become part of his Dai Kaijin army. Because we didn't need to. We used his original immortal body instead."

...Those sons of bitches.

Office Fujita thought he had killed Toguro Ani in one shot because his healing powers were compromised by Yahiko's neutralization ability, leaving him at B-Level regeneration.

The Gatotsu should've disintegrated him thoroughly enough to keep him from regenerating fully for months.

But Goro didn't take into account how much better Toguro Ani probably was at regenerating himself once he was away from Yahiko's vicinity.

"Toguro also absorbed the Janen Ju (Sinning Tree) unto himself, giving him both the power of Gourmet and the power of hallucinations," said Feng, confirming Hajime's suspicions as he doubled over and took a knee.

He looked at his hand and from it formed the face of Toguro Ani.

An Elder Toguro who had the body absorption powers of the late Sadao "Gourmet" Makihara and the hallucinogenic capabilities of Kurama's Sinning Tree.

One of the cells of Toguro ended up inside Saito after he disintegrated him earlier, and it was slowly but surely taking over his entire body using the assimilation powers of Gourmet.

***

Fighting the powered-up Rando right then and there was like dealing with a "broken" character in a fighting game lobbing "super combos" or "finishing moves" over and over again without spending one bit of energy on their super bar. Like it was permanently full.

It bordered on cheating, almost. Or fighting against an SNK Boss.

Or fighting against Yusuke Urameshi himself.

"...It's unfair, isn't it? I'm too powerful! In this world, this reality we live in, life isn't unfair. It favors the strong. And the weak will always be food for the strong! These are the rules of nature!"

Rando verbalized what Kurama was thinking before blasting the millennia-old "teenager" sky high with a Power Geyser.

However, a decently skilled player could theoretically counter this cheat if the cheating player was only mindlessly spamming his special attacks over and over without rhyme or reason.

Overcompensating for his lack of skill by having an unfair advantage and using power given to him rather than using something he had earned.

Kurama still had his Binding Fist of the Demonic Vine on the ready, but every time he attempted to use it, Rando countered with his huge arsenal of big moves.

At any rate, in Kurama's eyes, this was the closest thing he could get to fighting someone like Yusuke. The demonic spawn of Raizen, who in turn was the oldest King of Makai for the longest time. The monster that neither he nor Yomi could overthrow.

Minamino had wanted to try out a special technique on Urameshi all this time on the off-chance that they did have to battle.

Rando moved so fast with his flash-step techniques that Kurama couldn't even see him anymore. No wonder he could take on two fighters at the same time.

Gingerly getting up on his feet, Kurama took out another seed hidden behind his bushy hair.

Rando hesitated in unleashing a Buster Wolf or a Kugai-powered Psycho Crusher on Shuichi after he saw the look of determination in the demon fox's eyes.

He checked himself to see if he had any open wounds that would lead to a comeback victory from out of nowhere care of a Kyuuketsu Shokubutsu (Bloodsucking Plant) or something.

'What is he planning this time?' Rando scowled. 'No. I have to finish him off now before any of his schemes end up working! I don't want to turn out like Toguro Ani stuck inside the Sinning Tree or something!'

And as soon as Kurama threw the plant at Rando, it was blasted with energy beams and vaporized like all the rest.

However, it wasn't vaporized. The seed, now a seedling, kept growing.

Rando stomped on it with his heel. "This is it? This is your great plan to defeat me? Oh, how the mighty has fallen!"

He then stopped and almost tripped face-first, realizing that the plant had ended up tangled on his foot. "What nonsense is this? You-Gan."

Carbonization usually was enough to deter regeneration, but the plant had taken root elsewhere, seeking out Rando in particular with its leafy vines.

Annoyed, the spider demon shot out different projectiles at the peculiar weed, only for the creeper to grow even more and more, taking root in the ground and spouting more of its green leaves and purple flowers.

Regenerating endlessly like demonic weeds. Or like cancer. Or like his fellow Shin Ju Toguro Ani would.

"W-What's going on? Why aren't my techniques working!? WHY WON'T THESE WEEDS DIE!?" Rando demanded, becoming even more determined to disintegrate or burn the plant to ash.

"That's the Invasive Kudzu," Kurama said. "Japanese arrowroot. Genus Pueraria, in the pea family Fabaceae, and subfamily Faboideae. It's a perennial vine here in Japan."

"K-Kuzu (Trash)?" asked Rando. "No, you're kuzu!"

Kurama continued. "When naturalized in the West, kudzu became an invasive species considered as noxious weeds. It can climb over shrubs or trees, suffocating and killing them as they take over due to heavy shading."

Rando didn't listen, blasting the creepers that kept on haranguing him as he attempted to create a second Perfect Shishi Hoku Dan to incinerate them all in one fell swoop.

However, little did the pasty kabuki youkai know that his outright overzealousness to kill the demonically mutated weed made it grow even stronger. It absorbed youki, jaki, and reiki like how normal plants absorbed sunlight, making it grow exponentially due to photosynthesis.

Like Yusuke would, Rando fell into the trap of focusing all his power in destroying the plant with his boundless energy even as the plant grew bigger the more he attempted to kill it with spirit energy. Like throwing gasoline to a fire.

Rando's tenaciousness proved to be his downfall. If only he had left the seed alone, then it wouldn't grow this bad. Like the single-headed hydra getting its head sliced off.

Actually, Kurama had been experimenting with seed hybrids for quite a while. He had extracted the DNA of the incapacitated Toguro Ani when he had him trapped in his Janen Ju.

He then mixed that DNA with cordyceps fungus to create a Pseudo Creature with Toguro's immortal cells. It resulted in a parasite that could merge with its host on a cellular level, allowing it to instantly repair any damage done to its half-alive victim.

Just like with the Regent-Class Toguro Ani when he was still trapped in the Sinning Tree.

It was through this same Toguro DNA that Kurama made the Invasive Kudzu.

Drowning in a sea of vines, Rando poked his head out from the noxious weeds and laughed. "Bravo. As expected of Kurama. You proved me wrong about power levels. The cunning can take down the strong after all."

Kurama spared a glance at Rando before turning his back and activating his Spirit Detector that doubled as a communicator in order to report to Kuwabara that he'd taken down a Shin Ju member.

"But what if your opponent is both cunning and strong? You could've been such a person yourself, but the Chojin is both smarter and stronger than even you," said Rando. "Your Reikai Senshi took down two of the Shin Ju: Jine and Suzaku. We replaced them with Toguro Ani and... one more member."

Shuichi turned to face Rando again, but he was already overrun with the Invasive Kudzu. To himself, the kitsune asked, 'Who's the tenth member of the New Ten Swords?'

A scythe then stabbed Kurama right in the sternum.

Minamino saw the scythe coming and was about to dodge in kind but a voice stopped him cold in his tracks.

"You're still up to your old tricks, old friend."

A demon with long ears like Yomi who also sported a hat, leathery bat wings, a vest, and black straps wrapped around his arms had just arrived.

No. Not this again.

"K-Kuronue...!" said Shuichi before taking a knee, his blood pooling from underneath him. This was Kuronue, right? Or was this another imposter?

Kuronue pulled the scythe out of his old accomplice's body and hissed out while cringing.

"Whoops. My bad. I forgot how fragile humans are. So tell me, Youko... What have you been up to? Why haven't you come back to the Demon World yet after all this time?"

***

Because their team won the Ankoku Bujutsukai Grand Finals during the Second World War, the Toguro Brothers were rewarded with the chance to become demons themselves as funded by the sponsors of the tournament.

It was what the Younger Toguro wanted. After defeating the demon Kairen, he also wanted to become as strong as that demon himself.

What they weren't told was that they served as guinea pigs for the experiments of Dr. Ichigaki and Dr. Shoji Sugino (the reincarnation of Gein), as sponsored by Mukuro and her right-hand man, Kirin.

It was a project to turn humans into demons, based on the (in)human experimentation done by the Empire of Japan's Unit 731 on Chinese civilians (which were called "logs" because the unit's cover story was that their concentration camp was a lumber mill).

Many of their initial test subjects were abject failures. Some went mad with power. Others became catatonic. Still others suffered from genetic deformities, mutations, poor health, and diseases like cancer.

However, the cancer that Toguro Ani got after being injected by demon DNA was like the immortal HeLa cancer cells of Henrietta Lacks' cervical tumor (now used for humane experimentation of various drugs throughout the years).

It was through these cells that Dr. Sugino grew a clone of Elder Toguro while the original was left to die with his cancer.

***

"Gatotsu ISHIKI!"

"TOBI IZU...GUAAHH!"

Hajime Saito and Feng Xinhai exchanged blows, with Saito getting the better of the exchange by wrecking his prosthetic arm apart with a lightning-quick Gatotsu thrust.

However, Hajime then collapsed to the ground, exhausted. He tried to stand up, but he felt his body rebel against him.

Toguro Ani was taking over his body. Infecting him like cancer. Spreading and replacing his healthy cells with his own cells like a sentient tumor.

How humiliating. The Shin Ju got him good. Or Feng Xinhai did.

"Did you target me from the start?" he asked Xinhai, marveling at how the former Raijuta became such a diabolical mastermind.

What happened in his past to turn him from a pretend killer to a real one?

"It could've been anyone, really. Myojin Yahiko is gifted but inexperienced with his powers. So of course any one of you Reikai Senshi would've rescued him. However, this is the best-case scenario for us."

"And the worst-case scenario for you," said Itsuki, his forearm gun returning back to normal as a hand while his eye portal opened once more, signifying the return of his Minoru personality.

Usui snapped, "The fuck is this? What's the point of beating Saito Hajime if we're gonna keep him alive anyway? This is bullshit! This is something that damn Houji would honestly come up with! I hate these harebrained schemes of yours!"

"Don't be such a caveman, you dumb xiao riben (puny Japanese). We already won," said Feng. "Rather than kill him, we should have him join the Shin Ju. The Chojin's plans are worth more than your feelings about the matter."

Uonuma snarled back, "Like you care about the Chojin's plans yourself. You're just a child playing cops and robbers. A big pretender."

Xinhai healed enough of his body to summon his familiar again, which now rested on his arm stump where his prosthetic arm used to be, turning into a hand made of jaki fire. "You're ours now, Saito Hajime...!"

The Wolf of Mibu then bared his regardless fangs, striking down the metal arm of Xinhai, knowing how much harder it was to fix the prosthetic versus healing the man via the Onmyouji.

However, his hallucinations got worse and worse. It felt like he was fighting a thousand Usuis, Itsukis, and Xinhais. They kept getting up. None the worse for wear.

Like nothing he did mattered.

And indeed, the three were just biding their time until Toguro Ani took over Saito's body.

But Hajime didn't care. He kept on fighting, whether he saw a hallucination made by Toguro as he invaded his brain or the real deal in front of him.

He charged at anyone within striking range while at the same time fighting the literal demon within him. Mixing things up with his boxing knowledge.

From time to time, he feinted Gatotsu stabs, only to do boxing punches instead in order to keep his assault from being predictable.

Right straights and jabs to replace his Ishiki, right downward hooks to replace his Nishiki, and right uppercuts to replace his Sanshiki.

He could even do a Zeroshiki punch while fighting toe-to-toe.

He nevertheless stumbled and received stabs several times himself whenever he swiped, thrust, or punched at nothing at all.

Ironically, Toguro's invasion of his body kept him from injury or death, but every time he healed, more and more of his cells were replaced with Toguro's cells.

"AH! I don't care anymore!" shouted Usui, his stomach churning and his spine tingling at the pathetic sight that was Officer Fujita currently. "If Saito is just going to be another puppet of Toguro Ani... of the Chojin... then I'll put him out of his misery myself!"

Uonuma decided to finish off Saito by striking his Rochin right into the officer's brain to allow Toguro Ani to replace it with his own disgusting, perverted brain. He couldn't stand another minute of seeing Saito reduced to a husk of his former self.

However, as Usui did another shield parry to the Gatotsu to deflect the attack (instead of a head-on block that would've crushed the Tinbe to bits), something curious happened.

The man with enhanced hearing somehow ended up with Saito's sword plunging into him. "WHA...!?"

Xinhai moved forward to do an Izuna counter, only to have his own stomach pierced by Saito's blade. However, he was far away from either Fujita or Usui. "W-What's going on!?" he exclaimed in Mandarin.

Only Itsuki was able to figure out what was happening, but he did so too late.

Yet another tear in the fabric of reality caught the Gatekeeper by surprise, and out of it came Lieutenant Hajime's katana.

And it was a portal that Itsuki didn't create. With blood dripping from his mouth, the green-haired demon called out, "H-He's back...!"

Officer Saito harrumphed and gave his sword a twist, much to the chagrin of the three Shin Ju. "Kuwabara Kazuma. You've returned."

From a huge portal emerged the Keeper of the Dimension Sword. "Damn right I did, Officer Fujita."

Kuwabara had actually cut multiple portals that allowed Saito to skewer Usui, Xinhai, and Itsuki all at the same time even though they were far away from each other.

The powerful A-Class human with an S-Class technique then pointed his diamond-shaped energy sword at Xinhai. "And _that's_ for jumping me from behind, you Chinese muscle-head. Serves ya right."

Fujita's eyes widened then narrowed at the other person who emerged from behind Kuwabara.

It was Kenshin Himura himself. The Guardian of the Demon Sword. The cavalry had arrived.

"Officer Fujita! We just got word from Botan! Did Toguro Ani...?" began Kuwabara.

"Yes, he did," grumbled Goro while Xinhai cackled and heckled them both.

"Yes, we told him all about it, Kuwabara Kazuma," said Feng. "Toguro Ani is slowly but surely taking over his body the same way he took over Makihara Sadao of the Sensui Seven."

Itsuki then extracted himself from the blade and began making a portal that would've teleported Saito's katana to his head, which made the policeman finally pull his weapon out of the other two Shin Ju.

"Who is this Toguro Ani?" Kenshin asked Kazuma. "Is what they're saying true, Kuwabara-dono?"

"Yeah, I'm afraid so," said Kuwabara, who grit his teeth and growled. "Toguro's an old enemy of ours who can regenerate his body from even just one cell. Later on, he also received the power to take over bodies too."

"Alas, even though you've arrived to back him up, it's already too late. He'll soon become one of us. A potential Shin Ju candidate," said the Gatekeeper.

The color of Itsuki's aura changed again, revealing another Sensui personality that even Yusuke Urameshi wasn't able to face. "Hello. My name is George. And I hate all of you. Die."

From "George's" portals emerged all sorts of guns and ammo hidden in Itsuki's hyperdimensional pockets. His own personal junkyard dimension. He then opened fire with an Uzi and a Tommy gun.

Kuwabara made a portal to catch the bullets from the submachine guns intending to teleport them from behind Itsuki, but the Gatekeeper opened his own portal from behind him, with the exit hole above Kazuma and Kenshin's heads.

The Jigen Tou user then made portals that teleported him and Kenshin out of there.

Soon, Kuwabara was upon the backstabbing mobster Xinhai while Himura ended up spinning from above Itsuki with a Ryu Kan Sen Tsumuji to the neck.

The Demon Sword clanged hard against Usui's Tinbe.

"Battousai," drawled the unseeing Uonuma before licking his chops. "A century ago, we never had the chance to cross swords or spears. I'm happy we could finally fight each other. Let's pick up where we left off earlier!"

"...." Himura glared back at Usui.

As for Kazuma, he was about to cleave Feng in half with his Dimension Sword when the Chinese Triad Boss grabbed hold of the ki blade with his flaming pseudo-hand and crushed it apart into bits.

Xinhai harrumphed. "I will not be bested by the weak link of Team Urameshi."

"You're making the same mistake that Toguro Ani did. Don't ever underestimate me! REI-SHURIKEN!" shouted Kuwabara, and sure enough, the shattered shards of what was once the Jigen Tou turned into spiritual shrapnel that tore the Chinese man apart.

Xinhai would've lost more than just an arm and a leg had his familiar not shielded him and absorbed the hail of shuriken unto its jaki body.

An upside-down Itsuki teleported from behind Saito, stating, "Nothing personal, Saito Hajime. I'm just doing what I'm ordered to do. Then again, I never really liked you anyway," before whipping out his submachine guns and firing.

However, the bullets bounced off of the dense aura of reiki covering Hajime's body, making them ricochet back at the Gatekeeper, forcing him to retreat.

And then right before their eyes, Saito began to change. His torn police uniform disappeared, replaced by a different uniform he'd also worn once upon a time.

His Shinsengumi uniform.

His reiki howled in the wind with a haunting sound, his spiritual power transforming into the form of a wolf.

The Miburo or Mibu's Wolf had returned.

***

To Be Continued...

How can the Shin Ju survive the Shinsengumi's Miburo?

Ciao, Abdiel

#yuyu hakusho #rurouni kenshin #demon sword #youtou shinnoken #幽☆遊☆白書 #るろうに剣心 #妖刀真の剣 #hajime saito #kurama #rando #sanosuke sagara #karasu #itsuki #feng xinhai #usui uonuma