Chapter 327

The Shrine Rat is the 327th chapter of the InuYasha manga.

Summary

 * Hakudōshi steals the rat-shrine of the demon Zushinezumi and opens it, making demon rats swarm the countryside.
 * Inuyasha goes to see Kikyō, but she's not there. Kagome gets mad at Inuyasha as per usual.
 * The group encounters the demon rats and when the rats get cut, they multiply.

Synopsis

 * Oinuyasha_v033_c327p003.jpgōshi was ordered by Naraku to lure Kikyō out by any means necessary. Hakudōshi goes out and finds Zushinezumi, a demon rat who has his underlings devour prey so he can suck on the bones. Zushinexumi mistakes Hakudōshi for a human survivor of the cabin he just attacked and is about to attempt to devour him, but Kohaku cuts off the demon's head with his scythe. Hakudōshi tells Kohaku to take the shrine off the rat's back, but to be careful, because if he accidentally opens it, he'll die.
 * Inuyasha goes back to the last place he saw Kikyō, hoping she'd still be there, but she's gone. Meanwhile, everyone is on edge because of the love triangle, thinking Kagome will snap at any minute. Shippō says that dogs are always more loyal to their first owner, and Inuyasha overhears this as he arrives and kicks the fox in his face. Kagome asks what they talked about, and Inuyasha tells the truth; Kikyō wasn't there. However Kagome says "Don't lie to me." and Inuyasha calls her an idiot because he isn't lying. She tells Inuyasha to sit, and then Sango says she feels sorry for Kagome, which gets her an evil glare from Inuyasha.
 * Later, the group comes upon a village that's over-run with demon rats, and they also save an old man and his grandson. Inuyasha unsheathes his Tessaiga, and Sango tells him not to swing his sword but it's too late. When Inuyasha strikes the swarm of rats, each time he hits one it makes them multiply. Sango says it's just as she feared; shrine rats. If you chop one up into three pieces, you get three new rats. Miroku asks how they're supposed to get rid of them, and Sango says you need a special poison smoke, but unfortunately she doesn't have the ingredients with her. In the meantime, Miroku uses his Kazaana to suck up the rats. Sango says that shrine rats always have a master, a big rat who carries a portable shrine that the demon-rats come out of. He has them hunt animals and sometimes people for him so he can suck on the bones. She says that she's never heard of the Zushinezumi releasing more rats than it needed to in order to eat though, nor has she ever heard of the rats attacking villages before. Inuyasha says he smells them, more are coming, and it's like they're growing in numbers, too.
 * Hakudōshi proudly watches the rat-shrine as countless demon rats run out of it. They'll spread and devour more human villages, all the while multiplying. Soon the entire land will be overrun with rats. Kohaku asks if that will lure Kikyō out of hiding, and Hakudōshi had forgotten. He says it will, pretty soon no one will be able to ignore the rats. Kohaku is sickened at what they're willing to do just to lure out Kikyō. As Inuyasha and friends follow the trail of demon rats upstream, Inuyasha wonders just what is going on.