Chapter 21

Inheritance of Souls is the 21st chapter of the InuYasha manga.

Summary

 * The Tsukumo no Gama tries to eat Tsuyu, but Inuyasha arrives and stops him.
 * The true lord (Tsuyu's husband) regains conscience, and Inuyasha is about to kill him but stops out of mercy.
 * The Tsukumo no Gama possesses the lord again. Myōga thinks he knows a way to drive the Toad from the lord's body.

Synopsis

 * The Tsukumo no Gama has taken Princess Tsuyu to an underground room, and inside there are hundreds of egg-sacs, each one containing a young human girl. The Toad demon reveals to her why he's been summoning the maidens to the castle: so he could feed on their souls! He also tells Tsuyu he's been saving her, as he believes her soul will be the most delectable he's ever eaten. He wraps her in his tongue, about to place her in one of the sacs when Inuyasha busts inside, Kagome and Nobunaga behind him. Kagome asks Nobunaga if he's alright, since he's wounded, but he says he's fine. Myōga explains the egg-sacs; The Tsukumo no Gama places the souls of humans in the sacs until they're ripe, then it eats them, soul and all. With the power of the Shikon jewel shard, the Tsukumo no Gama was able to possess the lord of the castle, take over his domain, and demand as many pretty young maidens as he wanted. Unbeknownst to his servants, he planned to devour the girls' souls.
 * InuyashaChapter21TsuyuAndGamajiroEggggggs.jpged, Nobunaga raises his sword to try and attack the toad, but Inuyasha draws his Tessaiga and tells Nobunaga to stand down. He's able to slash the Tsukumo no Gama, and Kagome is impressed, because the blade transformed into its fang-form, due to Inuyasha using the sword in order to protect a mortal. Injured, the Tsukumo no Gama says he needs souls. He calls out to the egg-sacs, and the souls of maidens fly out and delve into his mouth, healing his wounds. The toad cockily says Inuyasha can cut him down all he wants, he'll just devour more souls and recover. Meanwhile, Nobunaga cuts open Tsuyu's egg-sac and releases her, and when she sees Nobunaga she embraces him. Nobunaga says he can die happy now.
 * Seeing the young samurai holding onto princess Tsuyu, the Tsukumo no Gama angrily spits his tongue out at Nobunaga, spouting "Get away from my wife!". Inuyasha uses the Tessaiga's flat side and whacks the Toad over the head, explaining she doesn't want to be his wife. After being hit on the noggin, the Tsukumo no Gama's face changes and he looks around, asking who he is, then seeing the egg-sacs full of young maidens. He asks  "Did I do this?": It's the real lord of the castle, and Princess Tsuyu's husband. His soul has been freed from the Tsukumo no Gama's possession. He cries in distress, and Kagome feels sorry for him, since he's a human and he's trapped in the ugly form of a demon-toad.
 * The lord begs Inuyasha to kill him, before the Tsukumo no Gama regains conscience. He says he would be devastated if Tsuyu was eaten by the Toad, so if Inuyasha cuts him down, it will kill the Tsukumo no Gama, too. Inuyasha agrees, but Kagome, Nobunaga and Tsuyu all object to the idea, but Inuyasha insists on it, "Shut up, all of you! Weren't you listening? He told me to kill him!" Inuyasha raises his sword over the lord, as if about to behead him and then swings. The next panel reveals that Inuyasha swung the blade just beside the lord, missing him on purpose. He shrugs it off, saying he wouldn't be able to sleep at night. This makes Kagome smile, because Inuyasha didn't have the heart to kill the lord.
 * Inuyasha asks Kagome what she plans to do with the lord, since she's the one who told him not to kill him. He tells her she has to think of a way to save him. Suddenly, the Tsukumo no Gama regains conscientious, impaling Inuyasha through the shoulder with his amphibian tongue just like he did to Nobunaga. "Heh, planning on finishing me off, eh?" The Toad sets his eyes on Kagome, saying her soul seems like it might be tasty. Myōga appears on her shoulder and says he has an idea on how to drive out the Tsukumo no Gama from the lord's body, saving him from the Tsukumo no Gama's possession, but it might not work. Kagome says at this point, she'll try anything, what other options do they have to try and save the lord?