Chapter 111 - Conqueror's Haki Shocks the Battlefield, What an Overwhelming Presence!
"What kind of presence is this? When did the Inu yōkai clan produce such a monster?!"
Panther yōkai general Oyakata was momentarily shaken. That aura—the feeling of being forced to submit—shocked even him.
That was the aura of a king.
Even he felt its pull, let alone the others.
He glanced around the battlefield. Many yōkai near Renji had already fainted, collapsing under the sheer pressure of his aura.
Others showed signs of fear, no longer daring to engage Renji in battle.
"Then let me be your opponent!"
As he spoke, Renji drew the Kagenami blade from his left waist and pointed it at the panther clan. In that instant, his Conqueror's Haki surged to its peak, and the clouds above seemed to be pressed downward by its might.
Crackling arcs of black and purple lightning danced wildly in the sky.
Terrifying.
Overwhelming.
At that moment, all eyes were fixed on Renji.
No one could have predicted that the center of attention in this war would be him. At first, everyone assumed it would be between Inu no Taisho and Oyakata.
But now, no yōkai on the field could ignore the man standing before them.
Even his enemy, Oyakata, had to admit—like father, like son.
A touch of envy crept into Oyakata's heart. Why did Inu no Taisho get a son this powerful, and he didn't?
"If only this person were my…"
Sesshōmaru muttered, a hint of yearning flickering in his heart.
He had always said he disliked Renji, and that he looked down on his human connections—both Renji's and Inu no Taisho's.
To him, they had fallen.
Why else would they side with humans?
That belief had always been at the core of Sesshōmaru's pride.
But though he never said it aloud, in his heart, he had always regarded Renji as a role model.
From childhood until now, it was always Renji guiding him. Even in cultivation, Renji always stayed a step ahead.
If his father was the one he aspired to surpass, then Renji, as an older brother, was the one whose recognition he most desired.
He always hoped to one day surpass Renji and earn that recognition.
That's why he wanted the Tessaiga. Even if he wouldn't admit it, he had always wondered—without the Tessaiga, could he ever surpass Renji?
Maybe not.
That's when his obsession with the Tessaiga began—especially when Renji told him not to seek it. He started thinking: maybe Renji wanted it for himself, or maybe he didn't want Sesshōmaru to surpass him.
Either way, Sesshōmaru had conflicting feelings. He didn't want to burden Renji, but he still wanted the sword.
But now, after seeing Renji like this on the battlefield, fully realizing that Renji had no desire for the Tessaiga, Sesshōmaru's suppressed obsession reignited. And it burned even stronger now.
"What a man... what overwhelming presence."
Across from him, Fuyōran stared at Renji, eyes filled with shock—and something else. A strange feeling stirred within her. Even Oyakata had never made her feel this kind of pressure.
And he was her age—or close to it.
But this yōkai, so close in age, looked vastly more powerful.
Fuyōran, once considered a prodigy from birth, had never met a peer who could match her. Among the Four Heavenly Kings, she could defeat the other three combined.
But now, in front of Renji, she felt powerless.
"I'm going to defeat this man!"
She clenched that thought in her heart, finally finding a purpose in life.
Until now, she had been praised as a genius, trained to fight the Inu yōkai by Oyakata's command. That goal had never truly been hers—it was assigned.
But now, after seeing Renji—someone just like her, a true genius—she finally understood what she really wanted.
To defeat this man, and prove she was the stronger genius!
Battle intent burned in her eyes as she raised her right hand, forming a blade of ice, and charged at Renji.
"Fuyōran?"
"Your opponent is me!"
"My opponent, huh?"
Renji murmured, raising Kagenami to parry Fuyōran's strike.
Testing me in close combat?
With a slight motion, he sent her flying.
Yōkai strength was considerable, but compared to his own, Fuyōran's martial skill was clearly inferior.
"Sister!"
"Don't interfere. You three go handle Sesshōmaru—I'll take her!"
Fuyōran stopped Natsuran, Akiuran, and Haruran from coming to her aid.
She didn't need help.
She had only approached Renji earlier to test his strength in hand-to-hand combat, but she admitted to herself—she wasn't skilled in that area. Losing like that was only natural.
Turning back to face him, she declared seriously, "This time I won't fight you in an area I'm weak in!"
"Why do you think that's my strength?"
Martial arts weren't even his specialty.
Still, this was a good chance to see what Fuyōran was capable of.
Her powers... something akin to an Ice-Ice Fruit ability.
"I won't fall behind you!"
Sesshōmaru also steeled his resolve. He would obtain the Tessaiga.
But first, he had to make a name for himself on this battlefield.
He couldn't let the world know only Renji and forget him.
With that thought, Sesshōmaru moved to intercept Haruran, Natsuran, and Akiuran, determined not to let them support Fuyōran.
Everyone had chosen their opponent.
Though the war wasn't fair from the start, Sesshōmaru knew these three weren't his match—even if he couldn't defeat them quickly.
Meanwhile, Inu no Taisho and Oyakata were locked in a fierce battle, both already wounded.
Strangely, Renji looked completely relaxed in his fight with Fuyōran, as if he wasn't under any pressure.
This frustrated Fuyōran.
They were both supposed to be geniuses—so why did it feel like there was such a huge gap?
"Losing focus mid-battle is a bad habit. Didn't Oyakata ever teach you that?"
Renji's cold voice snapped her back to reality, but the blade was already inches away.
She raised an ice wall in desperation, but it shattered like paper under Renji's strike. In the next moment, she felt the blade nearing her.
"Ice Explosion!"
Fuyōran raised both hands and detonated a burst of ice energy, blasting herself away.
That move wasn't to strike Renji—it was to save herself.
She had a feeling… if she hadn't done that, she might've died from that last blow.
And because of that move, Fuyōran herself suffered significant injuries.
"What a pity."
Renji spoke calmly. If Fuyōran hadn't used that move to blow herself away just now, she would already be dead.
He glanced over at Inu no Taisho's side. Both had taken on their full yōkai forms, towering and vast. Unlike Inu no Taisho, who was still holding back to avoid large-scale attacks, Oyakata had gone completely berserk.
His attacks spread in all directions, even endangering his own side.
"Sister, get back!"
Natsuran broke away from Sesshōmaru and rushed to Fuyōran, forcing some distance between her and Renji.
They had all seen that last slash. It really could have killed her.
"You're too weak. Come back when you've grown stronger."
Renji sounded disappointed. Since he didn't get a chance to draw a lottery reward from killing her, he might as well let her grow for now.
Fatten her up before finishing her off.
Fuyōran stared at him in disbelief. He… actually spared her?
But Renji had his reasons. The panther clan and the Inu yōkai clan had always been bitter enemies. Unless one side was completely annihilated, if he wanted to unify the entire yōkai realm in the future, the panther clan would be a necessary piece of that puzzle.
Having a proxy leader could make things smoother.
So he'd let her live for now. If she didn't work out later, he could always kill her then.
With that thought, Renji turned his gaze to Oyakata. The hatred between Oyakata and the Inu yōkai was irreconcilable. Oyakata had to die. If not, the panther clan would never submit.
Thinking further, it seemed like many major yōkai needed to be eliminated.
But if he could subdue them instead of killing them, would that also count as changing the course of the story? That could give him more chances to draw rewards—more valuable than simply killing them.
Still, if a yōkai truly couldn't be tamed, Renji wouldn't force it. But if rewards were on the table, why not try?
"Hey, this is my fight with Oyakata!"
Inu no Taisho looked helplessly at Renji as he walked over. On Renji's path, not a single yōkai dared stop him. They all moved aside to make way.
Seeing his approach, Inu no Taisho felt speechless. Had Renji finished his own enemy just to come here and steal his?
He had his pride. If word got out that a father and son teamed up to bully one old panther, wouldn't that be humiliating?
"I know, but you two are too slow. I'll just take one shot. After that, do whatever you like!"
Both sides were already bloodied. Inu no Taisho was in slightly better shape, but Oyakata clearly felt the pressure from Renji. If Renji and Inu no Taisho teamed up, he was certain he'd die!
So when he heard Renji's words, Oyakata actually felt relieved. This brat really thought he could finish him off in one move?
He was injured, sure, and far from his peak—but he was still a king-class yōkai. Not just any genius could defeat him. Geniuses needed time to grow!
"Fine then, come at me."
Inu no Taisho calculated quickly and figured he could use this chance to rest. It felt a bit underhanded, but maintaining his strength was more important now.
After this fight, if he was too weakened, problems wouldn't just come from Oyakata. Many powerful yōkai he'd offended before would seize the opportunity to take his head.
"You brat, who do you think you are? You think you can take me down in one move? Let me show you what a king-class yōkai really is!!"
A cruel grin twisted Oyakata's face. He was ready to use this chance to eliminate Renji.
This son of Inu no Taisho…
If he died on the battlefield, it would shake Inu no Taisho's spirit, shatter the morale of the Inu yōkai, and give the panther clan a chance at victory.
As their leader, Oyakata knew well—the panther clan was already showing signs of collapse.
Unless something could turn the tide, their defeat was inevitable.
But now, a perfect chance to boost morale had presented itself: kill Renji, the son of Inu no Taisho!
With that in mind, Oyakata gathered wind energy into his claws. Yōki swirled into a vortex around him as he prepared his strongest attack to kill Renji in one strike.
Behind him, Inu no Taisho tightened his grip on his weapon, watching anxiously. He was ready to intervene at any moment.
"Will it work?"
Fuyōran looked at where Renji and Oyakata stood, unsure why—but she no longer believed in Oyakata's victory.
Why?
Was it… because of him?
"Has the gap between us really grown this wide?"
Sesshōmaru murmured, desperate to know just how far apart he and Renji had become.
Both sides were ready.
Oyakata's claws lashed toward Renji, his vortex of yōki seemingly on the verge of swallowing him whole. But Renji's blade, Kagenami, now wrapped in both Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki, swung down with the force of time and space itself:
"Kamui: Point-Seven Form—Divine Severance!"
The sky looked like it had been torn apart. Space itself was sliced in half. The force of that strike, even Inu no Taisho couldn't describe.
What was this power?
All the yōkai fell silent, stunned by what they saw.
None had ever witnessed a battle like this.
What was that power?
Since when did the Inu yōkai clan possess something this overwhelming?
And Oyakata… shock still lingered in his eyes. He simply couldn't understand—
Why did it end up like this?
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