Inuyasha was sensible this time and didn't complain when Ray dragged him into the sky.
"Capture the ringleader to capture the gang"—since these undead soldiers couldn't be killed, they would directly target Sounga.
With no other teammates around, the two brothers didn't need to split their attention protecting others.
Seconds later, Ray flew to the highest point where Sounga hovered.
With a flick of his Light Whip, he flung Inuyasha to the opposite side, surrounding Sounga between them.
Ray shot Inuyasha a meaningful glance, which he immediately understood.
Inuyasha unleashed Wind Scar directly at Sounga, and Ray responded with his Soryuha.
The two ultimate techniques completely enveloped Sounga.
At this moment, the strongest Demon Blade wanted to curse.
Didn't they even bother with pre-battle banter when picking a fight?
Sounga remembered how Toga always exchanged a few words with his opponents back in the day.
Why hadn't his two sons inherited their father's style?
Had Ray known its thoughts, he would've scoffed in disdain.
Any delay would've allowed the 50,000 undead soldiers to surround them.
Only fools would fall for that.
Left with no choice, Sounga unleashed an uncharged Gokuryuha to counter Ray's Soryuha.
It then turned to block Wind Scar with its blade. With a forceful swing, it barely managed to deflect Wind Scar skyward.
But at that moment, Inuyasha closed in and began slashing wildly with Tessaiga.
Sounga had no choice but to fight back.
After three clanging strikes, Inuyasha was sent flying by Sounga's undead vessel.
Suddenly, Sounga sensed terrifying bloodlust behind it.
'Damn! This guy got no honor!'
Ray arrived, striking Sounga's vessel with Tokijin and leaving a gaping wound.
After all, this vessel was merely shaped from netherworld energy—a shell for wielding the blade, not a true body.
As Sounga swung to block Ray, its vessel had already fully regenerated.
This was within Ray's expectations.
If undead soldiers could repeatedly revive through Sounga's power, so could its vessel.
To truly destroy it, only Tenseiga—capable of killing the undead—would suffice.
But Ray hadn't yet drawn Tenseiga.
It wasn't because its current quality was poor; Ray could easily reinforce it with Haki before striking.
The main reason was that to control Sounga, besides possessing a protective heart, he needed to thoroughly dominate this damn blade.
'Its sword spirit was too arrogant—it needed to be taught a lesson.'
With this thought, Ray coated Tokijin with powerful Ryuo and Conqueror's Haki.
Crimson lightning crackled as Sounga was struck, its blade shuddering violently.
As a sentient Demon Blade, it could feel Ray's attack penetrating deep into its core.
'What strange power had Sesshomaru mastered?' It couldn't comprehend it, but the pain was excruciating.
For the first time, Sounga's spirit felt a sliver of fear.
This internal damage differed completely from surface-level strikes.
Even if it couldn't shatter the blade, it inflicted agony equivalent to ten levels of pain.
Just then, Ray unleashed full Conqueror's Haki, delivering a Haki-imbued slash.
A cut reminiscent of Divine Departure struck Sounga's puppet body.
The terrifying impact sent it flying directly toward Inuyasha.
What greeted it was the Wind Scar unleashed by Inuyasha.
Sounga swung its blade mid-air to block, only to be blown back by the Wind Scar toward Ray.
Then came the Haki-infused sword energy, making Sounga want to curse—it was sent flying again!
Thus, after one misstep, Sounga became the "badminton shuttlecock" between the two brothers.
'You hit, I hit, it flew.'
The netherworld death energy accumulated from slaughtering tens of thousands rapidly depleted.
Finally, Sounga could no longer endure such humiliation.
It erupted with death energy from within, repelling Inuyasha who had drawn near.
"Manifestation of the Netherworld!"
Controlling its puppet body, it plunged the blade into the ground.
In a desperate surge of power, Sounga caused the entire city ruins to sink into the earth under this force.
From beneath the ground, endless death energy gushed forth.
Seeing this, Ray roughly understood Sounga's intention.
This guy wanted to drag him and Inuyasha down into the realm of death together.
'Hmph, a fine plan, but you won't succeed.'
Without another word, Ray lashed out with his Light Whip, binding it tightly around Sounga's blade.
Inuyasha seized the moment while Sounga was still summoning the netherworld entrance to strike with another Wind Scar.
Working together, the brothers shattered the puppet body, and Ray pulled Sounga into his grasp.
But when Ray gripped the blade, he realized he couldn't control the energy within the sword.
In other words, Ray was unable to close the netherworld entrance.
Could it be that he still lacked the Heart to Protect? That shouldn't be the case.
'Let me try another method.'
Ray tucked Sounga at his waist and flashed to Inuyasha's side in an instant.
He snatched Tessaiga away.
Inuyasha was stunned!
'What the hell are you doing? Don't you know Tessaiga will burn you?'
But what happened next left Inuyasha astounded—Tessaiga remained steadily in Ray's hand, showing no reaction and maintaining its Demon Blade form.
This proved that Tessaiga acknowledged Ray's 'Heart to Protect.'
'Then why did Sounga still resist me?'
At this moment, Ray fell into confusion.
His core purpose in reincarnating and cultivating anew was to resurrect his family.
Moreover, after meeting Luffy and the others, his mindset had undergone many changes.
His tolerance and acceptance toward companions and friends were very high.
There was no reason he shouldn't meet the requirements for the Heart to Protect.
Or did mastering Sounga demand an even higher standard of mentality from Ray?
Sounga was a weapon Ray greatly desired.
Because its abilities were perfectly suited for returning to the world of One Piece and participating in the Summit War.
By summoning these spirits, their numerical disadvantage against the Marines would be compensated, greatly increasing their chances of breaking through.
So, Ray returned Tessaiga to Inuyasha.
Gripping Sounga with one hand, he stared intently at the blade, his brow slightly furrowed.
Just then, several screams reached the ears of Ray and Inuyasha.
They came from Rin and Kagome among others.
They had just engaged the spectral soldiers when the ground collapsed.
The netherworld entrance was expanding, and these newcomers to the scene were gradually falling in.
Seeing Kagome about to plunge into the netherworld, Inuyasha panicked.
Sheathing Tessaiga, he sprinted toward the city's edge three kilometers away.
Ray also noticed Rin's peril.
Without a second thought, he flew toward the location where Rin and Jaken were.
He couldn't help feeling some resentment toward Jaken.
He cursed inwardly: 'If Rin doesn't know better and runs over, shouldn't you stop her?'
At this moment, the "Jaken Soul" serving as the system felt utterly helpless.
"Sesshomaru-sama, that was merely this old slave's past foolishness. If it were me, I would never let the girl to take such risks."
'I wasn't talking about you. Don't speak unnecessarily in the future.'
"Understood."
Ray flew at extreme speed, leaving Inuyasha far behind. Just three more seconds and he would reach Rin.
But at that moment, the Sounga in his hand suddenly erupted, its terrifying death energy invading Ray's right arm.
If Ray wanted to control it, he would have to divert sufficient Demonic Power to resist.
This significantly affected Ray's rescue speed.
Any further delay would make him too late.
At this moment, Ray didn't hesitate, immediately throwing Sounga down into the black abyss.
The sword was valuable, but Rin was more important.
Activating maximum speed, Ray flew to Rin's side.
His tail curled out, wrapping protectively around her.
The Light Whip shot forth, lifting Jaken into the air while incidentally giving his backside a sharp flick.
"Yow!! That hurts!"
But Ray only had time to save these two.
Kagome was already beyond reach.
Inuyasha, still 1.5 kilometers away, could never make it in time even if he exhausted himself.
Ray had no choice but to place Rin and Jaken in a safe area before preparing to fly toward Kagome's location.
But then something unexpected happened - just as Kagome was about to fall into the abyss, an arrow infused with spiritual energy shot forth, embedding itself firmly beneath her.
Kagome immediately understood, grasping the arrow shaft with both hands.
Ray instantly recognized it - this was clearly Kikyo's arrow.
In that case, he could let Kagome hang there temporarily until Inuyasha could rescue her himself.
Then Ray flew up, grabbing Miroku and Shippo, placing them safely on shore.
The others, thanks to Kirara and Totosai's presence, all made it to safety.
...
Ten minutes later, everyone stood beside the now-closed path to the underworld, each lost in thought.
Ray felt somewhat frustrated - he hadn't obtained Sounga.
Even in his previous life, he had never possessed this sword.
In the original timeline, he and Inuyasha had sent it into the underworld for permanent sealing.
Therefore, logically speaking, the system controlled by 'Jaken' naturally couldn't provide him with 'Sounga' either.
It could only offer so-called rewards of weapons he had previously possessed - Tenseiga, Tessaiga, and Tokijin.
To obtain Sounga, he would have to acquire the actual sword in this world.
And now, it had fallen into the underworld again.
'Well, no matter, what lost is lost - I alone am enough to handle the upcoming Summit War.'
After thinking this, Ray spoke. "Rin, Jaken, let's go!"
Just then, the already closed underworld path suddenly reopened.
Without a word, the 'system' collected Sounga into its space.
Immediately after, a handsome figure with silver hair in a single ponytail appeared.
Sensing this familiar aura, Ray's lips curled imperceptibly as he turned to face his father's lingering spirit: the Great Dog Demon, Inu Taisho.
He patted Inuyasha - who was still staring blankly in the direction Kikyo had departed - and called softly.
"Come meet your father."
---------
Bakusaiga will be gain after Ray regain his hand and for the pairings it will be nami, robin yamato and adult Rin later at the end of the story.