Chapter 400

Meiōjū is the 400th chapter of the InuYasha manga.

Synopsis

 * Meiōjū is revived by a piece of Mōryōmaru's flesh.
 * Meiōjū tries to assault a castle and recover a piece of its broken armored shell, but fails because of Inuyasha.

Summary

 * Sesshōmaru and group wander near a river bank, and discover the bones of a Meiōjū. Rin admires the hard looking shell, and Jaken says that the bones of Meiōjū are said to be the toughest of all demons. Jaken says the only blade in the world that could slice through it is Lord Sesshōmaru's, and then smugly congratulates himself on excellent sucking up. Jaken wonders who did slay the demon, and Rin notices one of the scales of the shell is missing. Sesshōmaru notes there are scorch marks from sutras, so he must have been defeated by a monk. Rin says Lord Sesshōmaru is very wise, and Jaken scolds her for being a kiss-up.
 * Later, a piece of Mōryōmaru's flesh falls from the sky onto Meiōjū's corpse, and the demon is revived, and curses the humans who dared to steal its shell.
 * Inuyasha and group come to a village, where they hear there has been a demon rampaging that devours armor. The castle is in an uproar, as their greatest treasure is an ancient set of armor. The group decides to investigate, especially since Inuyasha is healed now.
 * The group approaches the castle, but is stopped by the guards. Miroku tells them a demonic presence is emanating from inside which will attract demons, to which Kagome and Sango are skeptical, thinking he's lying as usual. However Miroku tells them this time he's telling the truth, and Inuyasha confirms, saying he smells the demon. A black demonic cloud appears over the castle and Meiōjū descends, demanding to know where his shell is. He attempts to eat the guards, but Sango's Hiraikotsu stops the demon. Inuyasha says Meiōjū reeks of Mōryōmaru, and unleashes his Kaze no Kizu on the turtle yōkai, which has absolutely no effect, leaving not a scratch on Meiōjū's hard armor like shell. Inuyasha asks the demon if he's one of Mōryōmaru's cohorts, but Meiōjū says he doesn't know anything about him, he merely wishes to get his shell back. He curses Inuyasha for getting in his way and unleashes an energy attack against him. Inuyasha decides to try Kongōsōha instead, and the spears actually manage to hurt Meiōjū. Meiōjū runs away back into the black demonic cloud, saying if his shell were whole he would never be defeated so easily. Shippō wonders why Inuyasha didn't simply use the Dragon-Scaled Tessaiga to suck out Meiōjū's power, and Kagome shushes him, not wanting Inuyasha to hear. Byakuya watches from nearby, interested to learn Inuyasha still hasn't mastered the dragon-scale technique. He also says he'll keep an eye on Meiōjū.
 * The castle lord thanks the group for warding away the demon. Miroku asks about the ancient armor held in the castle, and the lord explains several generations ago, a monk slayed a fearsome demon and made the armor out of its shell. Miroku says it must have been Meiōjū's shell, then, and he'll probably be back. Inuyasha says they should let him come, since he has Mōryōmaru's scent, and he's probably planning on absorbing Meiōjū's shell, so they should kill him before Mōryōmaru has a chance to absorb him.
 * Back in a swamp, Meiōjū laments his defeat, but the piece of Mōryōmaru's flesh he absorbed speaks to him, telling him he won't lose as long as they're together. He tells Meiōjū to go back and be pierced by Inuyasha's diamond spears.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * Sesshōmaru
 * Jaken
 * Rin
 * A-Un
 * Meiōjū
 * Inuyasha
 * Kagome Higurashi
 * Miroku
 * Sango
 * Shippō
 * Kirara
 * Byakuya
 * Mōryōmaru