Ne no Kubi

was a yōkai that was sealed by Kikyō before she met Inuyasha. It was freed from its seal over fifty years later.

History
Ne no Kubi was a minor root yōkai that was once sealed by Kikyō at a time before she met Inuyasha over fifty years ago. It was freed due to its tomb being destroyed by a landslide. It began killing people in order to gain their nourishment. It took their heads while it left their bones behind.

Inuyasha and Miroku went to investigate these death in a field. Miroku sensed something nearby and threw his sutras around the field. The yōkai rose up from underground. The villagers were shocked to see that it was carrying the heads of its victims Inuyasha attacked it with Tessaiga but it escaped. Miroku asked the villagers to take him to where the yōkai was originally sealed.

It soon killed some roaming bandits and fled. Kohaku arrived later with Kirara and was unsure of what happened. Sesshōmaru showed up and stated that this yōkai was worthless but persistent.

Inuyasha and Miroku learned from Kaede that Ne no Kubi had been sealed by Kikyō after they found one of her arrows where it was first sealed. It broke into Miroku and Sango's house and attacked Kagome. It thought that she was Kikyō and demanded the Shikon no Tama from her (Ne no Kubi was unaware that Kikyō was no longer alive and that the jewel disappeared from the world after the death of Naraku due to it being sealed for so long) Sango pushed it back with Hiraikotsu. Inuyasha arrived and tried hit hit it with Tessaiga, but it escaped underground again. Kagome, Inuyasha, and Miroku were prepared to stop it before it killed everyone in the village for nourishment. Some of its roots suddenly appeared in front of Inuyasha while he was carrying Kagome. Kagome shot at them with her arrow and Inuyasha hit to with Tessaiga, but there were too many roots. It also attacked some more villagers, but they were saved by Kohaku. Sango decided to fight as well and left Kohaku to look after her son.

Ne no Kubi was proving to be trouble due to more of its roots spreading. Kagome told Inuyasha to let her down so she could follow the roots to its main body since they were after her. The two of them suddenly saw a flash of moving forward. It came from Kaede shooting the arrow that Kikyō used to seal Ne no Kubi. Kagome arrived where the arrow landed since it would lead her to the yōkai true form. When she arrived to the arrow's location, Ne no Kubi tried to devour her as it emerged from underground. Inuyasha arrived just in time to save her. It true from was revealed to be a gain mass of roots with various eyes. It still thought that Kagome was Kikyō and told her that he would devour the Shikon no Tama. Kagome told it that she was not Kikyō and the Shikon no Tama no longer existed. In the end, with the head wounded by Kagome's Sacred Arrow, it was eliminated by Inuyasha's Wind Scar.

However, one of its roots had managed to survive carried by Yotsume and had parasitically attached itself to the Goshinboku, allowing the yōkai to gain the ability to open up a portal through from Sengoku jidai to Modern era. Years passed, after Towa came to the modern era for ten years, even her twin sister Setsuna and her cousin Moroha came for a few days, Moroha have discuss it to return to Warring Age, to get three Rainbow Pearls: Gold, Silver and Red Pearls, as Root Head said "Fine! We have a deal!" and the rainbow beam on the to open the portal. It was finally defeated by Towa's Sōryūha.

Powers & Abilities

 * Barrier: When Miroku threw his sutra, it put up a barrier.
 * Nourishment Absorption: Ne no Kubi is able to absorb the nutrients of all living things with its roots from their heads.
 * Energy Absorption: Ne no Kubi used its power from its eye to absorb Towa's yōki of the replica of Kikujūmonji.
 * Regeneration: Ne no Kubi is able to regenerate any of its severed roots.
 * Portal Opening: After parasitically attaching to the Goshinboku, the yōkai can open up a portal from the Sengoku jidai to the Modern era. After hearing discussion with Moroha, the yōkai can open up a portal from the Modern era to the Sengoku jidai.

Manga vs. Anime

 * Ne no Kubi's defeat was slightly different in each version. In the manga, Ne no Kubi was destroyed by a combination of Inuyasha's Tessaiga and Kagome's sacred arrow. In the anime, after their combined attack, Inuyasha uses his Meidō Zangetsuha which sends its victim to the netherworld.

Trivia

 * It is the main antagonist of InuYasha Since Then, a special manga chapter.
 * Ne no Kubi is the last character introduced in the InuYasha manga.

Media appearances
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Manga

 * InuYasha Since Then

Anime
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 * Episode 1 (Hanyō no Yashahime)
 * Episode 3 (Hanyō no Yashahime)
 * Episode 4 (Hanyō no Yashahime)
 * Episode 6 (Hanyō no Yashahime)