Jakotsutō

The was the sword that Jakotsu of the Shichinintai used. It was composed of chain-linked blades that resembling the movements of a snake moving in for the strike when it was swung.

History
For Jakotsutō's history, please go to Jakotsu's page.

Physical description
The Jakotsutō is a broad sword made up of at least 50 chain-linked blades held together at each end by pins. When deployed or swung, these blades zig-zag back and forth as they moved forward, resembling the movements of a snake moving in for the strike. The dual wrist-guards on Jakotsutō's hilt help to secure and tighten/stabilize the wielder's grip on the sword, allowing for better control and manipulation of the blades when deployed.

Attacks
When deployed, the Jakotsutō unravels and ravels to great lengths, allowing Jakotsu to attack faraway enemies and keep them at a distance simultaneously. The speed and erratic nature of the sword's movements makes his strikes nigh-impossible to predict. Jakotsu is also able to change the sword's path mid-strike to catch even the most alert fighters off-guard. This ability also allows Jakotsu to ensnare his opponents with his sword and then dismember them cleanly with a flick of his wrist.

The most frightening aspect of this sword does not lie in its versatility, but in its precision. In Jakotsu's hand, the Jakotsutō is not just a deadly weapon, it acts as an extension of his own arm. In what is probably his most impressive display of control, Jakotsu is able to extend the Jakotsutō from a considerable distance and retrieve the Shikon Jewel shard from Suikotsu's neck, and he is able to do it without cutting Kikyō's nearby hand or severing Suikotsu's head completely in the process (in fact, the damage he deals to Suikotsu's throat is so menial that he can still speak without difficulty). Other feats of skill include wiping out an entire unit of soldiers, and all with a single strike, trapping enemies in elaborate cages of blades from yards away and angling the sword so that it can cleanly slice off the tips of long-barrel rifles (meaning he is able to maneuver the blades into an angle perpendicular to the sword hilt and maintain enough speed and force to cut metal). The way the sword moves quickly and in all directions when deployed causes distortions in the air currents between the combatants. This makes it nearly impossible for Inuyasha to use the Kaze no Kizu effectively while fighting Jakotsu.

Despite Jakotsu's skills with his sword, surviving combat against him is not impossible for skilled fighters. Although swift and unpredictable, the sword can still be dodged by fast opponents like Kōga or Sesshōmaru, and when countered with strong enough blows, the sword's path can be diverted from its target. Furthermore, the sword's features are useless in close-quarters combat, so whenever opponents would come too close, Jakotsu is unable to counter without first putting distance between them (usually through acrobatics of some sort).

Though sharp, there are things that the sword cannot cut, such as yōkai swords or the Hiraikotsu, so it could be blocked using those objects or sometimes become entangled with them. These entanglements bought only seconds of time, however, as Jakotsu can easily untangle his sword, and sometimes even use it to launch the entangled objects back at his foes. There was also one instance in which Sesshōmaru intentionally entangled the Jakotsutō with Tōkijin and used it to fling Jakotsu over his head and further away from the mountain barrier. Sesshōmaru was also the only one skilled enough to reflect Jakotsu's attack right back at him, though he missed killing him by mere millimeters. Also, despite being strong enough to kill yōkai (conventional weaponry is usually ineffective against them), Jakotsutō is still composed of normal metal, so it is powerless against powerful yōki-based attacks like the Kaze no Kizu. This limitation is what eventually leads to its destruction.

Trivia

 * In accordance with its name, the design on Jakotsutō's sheath resembles a snake's scaly skin.
 * Though never really addressed, maintenance on the Jakotsutō would be a tedious, time-consuming and burdensome process, requiring the disassembly of the sword so that each blade could be cleaned and polished separately. Then it would have to be reassembled and each pin connecting the blades would have to be oiled and tightened just-so to allow the smooth movements required to maintain control over the entire sword.