Goshinki

was a large, horned ogre yōkai with the ability to read minds. He was the third incarnation of the spider-hanyō Naraku.

History
Goshinki's task was to slaughter an entire village to lure the badly wounded Inuyasha there. Kagura arrived at the village and immediately believed that Goshinki was just a brainless glutton. Goshinki turned his attention to Kagura and told her exactly what she was thinking.

As Goshinki was searching for any survivors, Kagura told him that that he should leave them alone since there were only children left. Goshinki told her that he was commanded by Naraku to kill everything in the village. Kagura responded by telling him to do as he pleased and took off since she could not stand to be near him. He suddenly turned his attention to a barn and found two of the village children Yuki and her brother hiding in some straw after reading their thoughts. He told them that they were thinking that their parents would come save them, but they could not since he had already eaten them. He was preparing to eat the children as well when Inuyasha arrived and saved them. Goshinki quickly dodged Inuyasha's first attack with his incredible speed. He began to toy with Inuyasha by revealing all of his thoughts.

Using his ability to read minds and his incredible speed, Goshinki countered Inuyasha's every attack. Miroku was prepared to use his Kazaana on Goshinki, but a swarm of Saimyōshō suddenly appeared to prevent him from using it. Goshinki turned his attention to Inuyasha's friends and revealed all of their thoughts (except Shippō) with the intention of letting them know that they were no match for him.

Inuyasha was prepared to use the Kaze no Kizu after seeing Yuki and her brother hold the remains of their parents. Goshinki found it pitiful that Inuyasha took pity on human children due to his yōkai heritage. As Inuyasha was about to use the Kaze no Kizu, Goshinki was able to break through it before it could be used against him. He then seized the Tessaiga in his fangs and shattered it into pieces. Inuyasha was caught off guard by seeing his sword broken and was knocked out when Goshinki hit him. Goshinki mocked Inuyasha for the condition that he was in and believed him to be dead. Kagome tried to rush over to Inuyasha before being stopped by Miroku. Goshinki suddenly came at them and injured Miroku after pushing him back. He was prepared to kill all of them and would start with Kagome. She was nervously thinking that Inuyasha would save her, but Goshinki told her that it was no use. He suddenly sensed a change in Inuyasha's mind. As Goshinki turned towards Inuyasha, his right arm was lopped off. The absence of the Tessaiga had allowed for Inuyasha's yōkai blood to take over. Since the only thoughts Inuyasha had in his mind while in full-yōkai form were of the joys of killing, Goshinki was unable to read Inuyasha's mind. He came charging towards Inuyasha, but he brutally tore Goshinki to shreds with his claws, leaving only his head behind.

Later on, the head has discovered by Inuyasha's half-brother Sesshōmaru together with Jaken and Rin. Knowing it was Inuyasha who destroyed him, Sesshōmaru picked up Goshinki's head and smells the scent of the Tessaiga on the demon's fangs, which confirms his guess that they destroyed Tessaiga, thus he brought the head to Kaijinbō to have him craft an evil yōkai sword named Tōkijin from his fangs. However, to make Goshinki's fangs purposeful in forging, Sesshōmaru used his Tenseiga to revive Goshinki's disembodied head, but he presumably died shortly after, if not immediately as his fang's quality has been restored but his head showed no response to being revived.

Personality
Goshinki is a rather cruel and destructive yōkai; he ferociously searches for the only surviving children of the village he massacred, insisting that he would slaughter everyone and everything (even the cows, chickens and horses) in the village, as he is ordered to do by Naraku. When attacking his prey, Goshinki has a habit of toying with them; using his mind reading ability, Goshinki would often bring up exactly what the victim was thinking in order to frighten or unsettle them, such as when he coldly told the children he attacked that he had already devoured their parents, and that they should look inside his mouth to see for themselves.

Powers & Abilities

 * Super Strength: Goshinki typically possesses enhanced strength for someone of size, able to easily defeat Inuyasha and fling him about whilst causing serious injuries.
 * Super Speed: Despite his size, Goshinki wields surprising agility, effectively dodging and countering Inuyasha's attacks. He leaves afterimages in his wake, much like Sesshōmaru.
 * Telepathic Prediction: Goshinki's most terrifying technique is the ability to invade other people's minds, reading their most inner thoughts to discover their weaknesses and counter any attack on him. However, Goshinki's power is ineffective against a full-demon Inuyasha due his thoughts being primitive with an absolute bloodlust.

Trivia

 * Goshinki's powers are based on the yōkai, who attacks his prey through similar mind-reading skills.
 * The last kanji in Goshinki's name, 鬼, can be translated as "Oni" or "Demon" which did resemble his oni-like physical appearance.
 * Goshinki is the first of Naraku's incarnations that gets killed.
 * He and Kagerōmaru are the only incarnations of Naraku to not have human forms.

Media appearances
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Manga

 * Chapter 154
 * Chapter 155
 * Chapter 156
 * Chapter 157
 * Chapter 158
 * Chapter 159

Anime
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 * Episode 43
 * Episode 44
 * Episode 45
 * Episode 51
 * Episode 53
 * Episode 20 (FA)