INUYASHA: SENGOKU O-TOGI ZOUSHI

EAR-TWEAK HOME || MANGA HOME || MANGA ARCHIVES
TRANSLATION & READING NOTES || PREVIOUS CHAPTER || NEXT CHAPTER

Inuyasha - Chapter 329
"The Decaying Sacred Tree"

Shonen Sunday Vol 41
September 22, 2003

PAGE 2

1
[Sango and Miroku, still on Kirara's back, land on the ground in front of Kohaku. He's looking up at them,
the zushi (a small, portable shrine) in front of him.]

SANGO
Kohaku!

2
[A closer view of Sango, looking very strained and frustrated as she's speaking to Kohaku...]

SANGO
Coming all the way here...
We'd seen each and every village that had been consumed by the rats.

3
[A flashback scene of the rats, as Sango remembers them, beign released from the zushi.]

[fx: rats - *rustle* *rush*]

4
[Sango looks down, her expression pained and darkened.]

SANGO
I didn't want you to have been involved in this...

5
[Kohaku looks back at her, his expression also dark.]

KOHAKU
.......

PAGE 3

1
[Kohaku is looking back at her, a bit coldly. Three saimyoushou are hovering behind him.]

KOHAKU
I won't disobey the orders I'm given.

2
[Sango makes a rush at him, cleary upset.]

SANGO
KOHAKU!

3
[She leaps up into the air, the hiraikotsu at the ready, to strike. Behind her, Miroku looks on, alarmed.]

MIROKU
SANGO!

[Kohaku stares up at her, looking a bit shocked himself.]

[fx: Sango - *WHOOSH*]

PAGE 4

1
[Sango slices downward with the hiraikotsu.]

[fx: hiraikotsu - *SLASH!*]

2
[Before she can strike at it, Kohaku grabs the zushi and backs off with it.]

[fx: Kohaku - *swish*]

3
[Sango's hiraikotsu strikes the ground in front of him, rather forcefully.]

[fx: Hiraikotsu - *WHAM!*]

4
[Where the hiraikotsu strikes the ground, the rats begin to rush forward and gather around it.]

[fx: rats - *rustle rustle*]

5
[Miroku looks on, alarmed. He shouts over at Sango.]

MIROKU
Don't, Sango! If you cut them, the rats will multiply...

PAGE 5

1
[Sango grabs onto the hiraikotsu and yanks it up from the ground, scattering the rats and essentially
knocking them back towards Miroku and Kirara. She takes off running after Kohaku.]

SANGO
You suck them in, Houshi-sama.

2
[A view of Kohaku, who has begun running from Sango and Miroku, and has taken the zushi with him.
He's running up the rocks on the mountain.]

3
[Sango runs after him.]

SANGO
Gah.
(thinking) But in any case, if I could just destroy the zushi...

4
[Miroku is left behind, still riding on Kirara. He looks down to see that the rats have once again become active
on the ground below...]

MIROKU
........

5
[Miroku is watching the rats, noticing something strange in their behavior.]

MIROKU
Even if I use the kazaana, the rats won't look around at us. They're intent on moving forward.

PAGE 6

1
[Alarmed, Miroku realizes what's going on...]

MIROKU
(thinking) So it means that only a powerful mayose can be what provides that?
(see notes)

2
[Cloudy frame - Scene change.]

3
[Back at the tree, where Inuyasha, Shippou, and Kagome had gone, the rats are indeed being drawn to up the
trunk and are swirling around into the branches of the tree.]

[fx: rats - *SWISH*]

4 (OVERLAY)
[Inuyasha, Kagome, and Shippou watch as the rats stream by them...]

KAGOME
Incredible...

[fx: rats - *rustle rustle*]

PAGE 7

1
[The three of them stare up at the rats, streaming into the tree...]

SHIPPOU
What happening to the rats that are climbing into the sky?

KAGOME
They're being purified, most likely...

INUYASHA
.......

2
[And more and more rats (ugh, rats!) swarm towards the tree and swirl up around its trunk.]

[fx: rats - *rumble rumble rumble rumble*]

3
[Close up of Inuyasha, as he regards the situation.]

INUYASHA
(thinking) It doesn't look like Kikyou's doing...

4
[And a voice (Hakudoushi) talks to them...]

VOICE (HAKUDOUSHI)
She just escaped from the trap... did she?
That despicable woman.

5
[And in the sky, what looks like a huge ball of tendrils -- or slug-like arms of some sort -- appears.]

INUYASHA
!?

PAGE 8

1
[And several slug-like creatures (or perhaps just one creature that's made of many slug-like appendages)
slams itself against the tree, sticking to the trunk.]

[fx: slug-monster - *SLAP SLAP*]

2
[It then looks as if the tree starts to fizzle and decay under the creature's touch. Rats begin to fall from the
trunk as well...]

[fx: trunk - *hiss*]

3
[And Shippou, Kagome, and Inuyasha watch on, horrified. The tree looks like it's staring to die...]

KAGOME
Wha...

SHIPPOU
It's a SLUG-monster!

PAGE 9

1
[And there's a view of Hakudoushi, who is now standing on one of the slug-arms, looking down at
Inuyasha and the others with what looks like a combination of his typical arrogant amusement and
a bit of annoyance as well.]

HAKUDOUSHI
That damned Kikyou... and I'd gone to such trouble to draw her out here, too.

[fx: tree - *hiss*]

2
[At the mention of Kikyou, Inuyasha gets pretty upset...]

INUYASHA
HAKUDOUSHI...

3
[He shouts up into the tree at the boy.]

INUYASHA
So you're the bastard who released those rates, eh?

HAKUDOUSHI
Heh-heh-heh... you have to ask?

4
[The slug continues to eat away at the tree. The rats are still running upwards, although it seems that there
are less of them now...]

[fx: tree - *hiss* slug-monster - *slurp slurp*]

PAGE 10

1
[A closer view of Shippou and Kagome.]

KAGOME
The mayose tree is beginning to rot.

SHIPPOU
If we leave it like that, it's going to die!

2
[Inuyasha rushes forward, drawing Tessaiga in the process.]

INUYASHA
NGAH!

[fx: Inuyasha - *running* Tessaiga - *swish*]

3
[Hakudoushi looks rather amused at this...]

HAKUDOUSHI
Heh-heh-heh... You'll kill me...
And my monster, as well...

4
[Kagome and Shippou seem to realize what Hakudoushi's calm demeanor means...]

KAGOME
Inuyasha!

SHIPPOU
You can't use the kaze no kizu!

5
[Inuyasha glares back at them, although he does seem to be listening to what they're saying.]

SHIPPOU (OFF)
You'll destroy the tree with those two, and you'll be doing exactly what Hakudoushi wants!

INUYASHA
!

PAGE 11

1
[And Inuyasha shouts back at Shippou]

INUYASHA
I KNOW that, you damned idiot!

2
[...and despite knowing that he's playing into Hakudoushi's wishes, Inuyasha rushes up the tree (sort of
using the slug-monster arms as the rungs of a ladder) and continues charging towards Hakudoushi.]

[fx: Inuyasha - *running*]

3
[At seeing this, Shippou looks hilariously annoyed, and makes a sarcastic comment.]

SHIPPOU
...yeah, his face realizes that's what he said. (see notes)

[Kagome starts to draw an arrow from her quiver.]

KAGOME
Anyhow, we need to protect the tree.

4
[She takes aim.]

KAGOME
If that's some kind of youkai, surely I can purify it with my arrow.

[fx: bow - *strain*]

PAGE 13

1
[She releases the arrow, and it slices through the air.]

[fx: Arrow - *SWISH!*]

2
[It strikes the tree, although it's hard to see what kind of effect it's had on the slug]

[fx: arrow - *SWISH WHAM*]

3
[Shippou jumps up and down.]

SHIPPOU
You did it! You're amazing, Kagome!

KAGOME
It's because the target's so big.

[Kagome has already drawn another arrow and is taking aim.]

4
[Inuyasha is still charging up the tree.]

[fx: Inuyasha - *running*]

5
[He reaches Hakudoushi, who is looking down at him, a little unimpressed.]

INUYASHA
Don't move from there, you asshole!

HAKUDOUSHI
.......

PAGE 14

1
[A closeup of Inuyasha, shouting angrily at Hakudoushi.]

INUYASHA
For the sake of luring Kikyou out here alone...
How many villages did you think you'd let the rats eat up and destroy!

2
[Hakudoushi looks over at Inuyasha, nonplussed.]

HAKUDOUSHI
What... you're angry about that, are you?

3
[And this is a totally bizarre, but awesome image of Inuyasha leaping up at Hakudoushi. He charges up
with Tessaiga, holding it at the "ready to strike forward" position, just as Hakudoushi leaps into the air,
from his vantage point on the slug.]

[fx: Hakudoushi - *swish*]

4
[And Inuyasha unleashes a huge wave of destructive force at him]

INUYASHA
KAZE NO KIZU!

[fx: Kaze no kizu - *WHOOOOSH!*]

PAGE 15

1
[A shot of Inuyasha, as the kaze no kizu slams through the air and explodes in front of him.]

[fx: kaze no kizu - *WHAM WHAM WHAM WHAM WHAM!*]

2
[And a view of Hakudoushi, who seems to have been torn apart by the blast, although he is still very much alive.
His body has been blasted to pieces, but his head is floating in the air in front of them.]

HAKUDOUSHI
Heh-heh-heh...

3
[Close view of Inuyasha, furious.]

INUYASHA
!

PAGE 16

1
[Hakudoushi begins to vanish into a swirl of dark energy.]

HAKUDOUSHI
Should you meet Kikyou, tell her this...
"As long as you continue to run from Naraku..."

2
[Hakudoushi finally vanishes, and Inuyasha glares up at where he once was]

HAKUDOUSHI (OFF - CONT.)
"...this same thing will happen each time."

3
[Close up of Inuyasha, who is furious.]

INUYASHA
Dammit...

4
[He glares around at the monster slug. The tree is still being eroded...]

[fx: tree - *hiss hiss* slug - *slurp slurp*]

5
[On the ground, Shippou is looking at the rats. Something is happening to them...]

SHIPPOU
.......

6
[He motions for Kagome's attention.]

SHIPPOU
Ka-, Kagome, all of the rats are looking strange.

KAGOME
Huh?

7
[A view of the rats, who now seem to be looking a bit disorganized...]

SHIPPOU
Until now, they were all heading for the tree at full speed...

PAGE 16

1
[A view of Kagome, as she tries to figure out what's going on with the rats.]

KAGOME
The power of the Mayose Tree might have started to weaken...
That means we need to drive the youkai away soon...

2
[Kagome shouts up at Inuyasha.]

KAGOME
Inuyasha! Please, get the youkai closest to the top!

3
[Inuyasha strikes down yet another piece of the slug.]

INUYASHA
I will!

[fx: Inuyasha - *SLASH*]

4
[Kagome fires another arrow at the slug and strikes a piece of it from the tree.]

[fx: Kagome - arrow *SWISH*]

5
[Cloudy fram - Scene change.]

6
[A wide view of Kohaku, who is still carrying the zushi, as he runs from Sango.]

[fx: Kohaku - *swish*]

PAGE 17

1
[The hiraikotsu whirls through the air, charging towards Kohaku.]

[fx: hiraikotsu - *SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH*]

2
[It slams into the ground in front of Kohaku, causing him to come to a quick stop and avoid it.]

[fx: hiraikotsu - *WHAM!*]

KOHAKU
!

3
[Kohaku looks behind him and sees Sango chansing after him. The hiraikotsu returns to her hand.]

[fx: hiraikotsu - *whap*]

4
[He throws the chained sickle at her, trying to get her to stay back. It looks as if he really doesn't want
to fight her, but is forced to in order to get away.]

KOHAKU
(thinking) GAH!

[fx: kusarigama - *shoop*]

5
[Sango blocks the sickle with the hiraikotsu as she continues to run after him.]

SANGO
Kohaku!

[fx: sickle/hiraikotsu - *WHACK*]

PAGE 18

1
[Sango seems desparate to get through to Kohaku and tries to call out to him.]

SANGO
Please, Kohaku! Don't keep repeating these crimes!

2
[As the sickle returns back to his hand, Kohaku looks back at her, knowing she's right... but he's still helpless
to do anything.]

KOHAKU
(thinking) Ane-ue...

3
[Meanwhile, Miroku is heading towards Sango and Kohaku, on Kirara's back. He looks down at the rats,
who seem to be heading back in his direction.]

MIROKU
!

[fx: rats - *rustle rustle*]

4
[Miroku looks down at them, worried.]

MIROKU
(thinking) All of the rats are... heading back from where they came from?!

END CHAPTER