Chapter 346

The Acolytes is the 345th chapter of the InuYasha manga.

Synopsis

 * Gakusanjin is killed by a group of mysterious human assailants.
 * After investigating, Inuyasha and the group discover the assailants are just children who are being cared for by a man named Goryōmaru.

Summary

 * Villagers become frightened when they see a mountain move, but then a flash of light streaks across the sky, piercing through the head of the demon-mountain, Gakusanjin.
 * The group hears from villagers that a living mountain was killed about three days ago: there was a flash of light, and then the giant demon's body collapsed, practically creating an earthquake. The villagers say the corpse is still there, too, because everyone is too afraid to go anywhere near it. Inuyasha and the others decide to check it out. The group then arrives at the mountain, finding Gakusanjin's head. Miroku suspects that Gakusanjin must have continued his pursuit of Naraku and the nulling stone even after they agreed to get back it from Naraku for him. Sango says that if that's the case, it must have been Naraku who killed the Mountain-man. Inuyasha disagrees, saying that he smells the trace scent of several humans that were here around the same time that Gakusanjin died. Kagome objects to this theory, because the villagers said that nobody would have come here because they were all afraid of Gakusanjin. Inuyasha says that somebody must not have been afraid, then.
 * Inuyasha-372378.jpg that night, a one-eyed spider-demon attacks a village. It is destroyed by a strange beam of light, and the ones responsible for killing the demon are revealed to be three young boys wearing masks and holding weapons that look like urns. The village headman comes out of his house and asks the boys (who he calls the Acolytes) how he can ever repay them for saving the village. The children say they want a cart, but just one. The headman grants them their strange request, and the Acolytes walk off into the forest with the body of the demon they killed on the cart. Later they appear at a Buddhist temple, talking to someone inside. They tell this person, who they call Master Goryōmaru, that they killed the demon. Goryōmaru tells them they did a good job and to leave him alone while he performs "The Final Rites" with the demon's body.
 * Inuyasha and friends do a little more investigating on who killed Gakusanjin; Inuyasha insists that the culprit was a human, because Naraku's scent was nowhere near Gakusanjin's corpse. A farmer tells the group about a temple of young Acolytes who live on the mountain east of the village. They carry weapons that look like urns which shoot out strange beams of light that kill demons. Miroku asks the farmer "How many of these Acolytes are there?" The farmer responds that they always come in teams of three, but that there's probably more at the temple on the mountain. Curiously, Kagome remembers that the other villagers told them that when Gakusanjin died, they saw a flash of light. Maybe they're connected somehow? The group rushes off to find this temple of acolytes. As they travel, a flash lights across the sky and Inuyasha is almost skewered with a beam of light, barely dodging the blast. "Phooey, we missed him." "Small targets are hard." Miroku and Sango stare flabbergasted at the so-called acolytes. Sango says "It can't be. Children?" Inuyasha says that it has to be them, because the scent of these kids matches the scent that was near Gakusanjin's body. The Acolytes yell at the humans, saying "Get away from the demon or we'll kill you too!" Kagome finds this annoying, calling the children rude, but Inuyasha holds her back, calmly asking the children where they got their weapons. The young Acolytes say it's none of his business. Inuyasha growls, saying he'll get the answers he wants one way or another, unsheathing his Tessaiga. The Acolytes fire more strange 'killing light' from their urn weapons; their target is Inuyasha, who is dashing toward the kids, swinging his sword. Kagome yells at the half-demon not to kill the children.