The Demon Protector of the Sacred Jewel Shard is the one hundred fifty-fifth episode of the InuYasha anime.
Synopsis
- Naraku beheads Tekkei and a river of blood comes flooding out; he takes this river to the Netherworld, and Inuyasha and his friends follow.
- Kagura tells Sesshōmaru of another path of the Netherworld.
- As Inuyasha and his group enter the borderland, they are attacked by shards of adamant; it turns out that Hōsenki is their attacker, not only that, but he has the last shard of the Shikon no Tama.
- Hōsenki's shard becomes defiled, however, and he brutally attacks Inuyasha.
Summary
Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku, Shippō and Sango watch as a river of blood that connects this world to the border of the next pours from the neck of the beheaded Tekkei. After some goading from Naraku reminding them that the path will not stay open for long, the companions begin following the river to the borderland before the pathway closes. Myōga makes a plea to Inuyasha not to go. He points out that they have no plan to get back from the borderland.
Sesshōmaru, Rin and Jaken come across the remains of the beheaded Tekkei. Sesshōmaru notes that while there should have been vast amounts of blood from the beheading, he does not smell any. Kagura appears, taunting Sesshōmaru for his tardiness. Sesshōmaru demands details from Kagura about the closed entrance, and another path to the borderland.
Inuyasha and Kirara bear their friends through a light and into the borderlands. Inuyasha and Kagome recognize this place as the graveyard where Inuyasha's father's remains lay; where they found Tessaiga.
As Kagome senses the final jewel shard, Inuyasha's eye pulses, and he is thrust into memories of his childhood before Kagome's voice pulls him back to the present. (As he wonders about his vision, he blinks only the eye that pulsed, the same eye that once held the Black Pearl.)
Just as Inuyasha recovers, a bright flare of white light is flashes out from the body of the Inu no Taishō. In its wake hurtles a fusilade of adamant spears. Dodging and weaving, Inuyasha bats aside several spears with his sword, causing splinters to shower over his body. Myōga pops up and notes that the splinters are made of adamant. (What Kagome asks if it's diamond, Myōga has no idea what "diamond" is. Adamant, according to Myōga, is the hardest jewel in the world.)
Kagome sees the glow of the jewel shard within Inuyasha's father. As they approach, the body of Hōsenki comes forth to challenge them. When they ask for the shard, Hōsenki tells them that the jewel shard wished to be hidden in the borderland, so that the Sacred Jewel could not be reconstituted and fall into the hands of evil.
There is a pulse of evil and Hōsenki lashes out at Inuyasha. When Inuyasha attacks Hōsenki, he discovers Tessaiga cannot so much as scratch the adamant that covers Hōsenki. Kagome sees that the jewel shard Hōsenki protects has become corrupted with evil.
Inuyasha launches repeated Wind Scars at Hosenki's stationary body, but the energy waves are unable to even faze Hosenki. As Inuyasha battles Hōsenki, he is again struck with a vision of his childhood. As Inuyasha tries to get closer to the jewel shard, Kagome tries to purify the jewel shard by using a sacred arrow but is unable to purify the shard. She tries to draw the arrow Kikyō gave her, but is shocked by it. Inuyasha notes that Hōsenki covered the spot that Kagome's arrow hit, and tells Kagome to hit him in the same spot with another arrow. When Inuyasha uses his Wind Scar on the same spot Kagome just hit, pieces of the adamant fall off. Before Inuyasha can take advantage, he is struck violently by Hosenki, and plunges into the mist.