Chapter 61

The Sting of Victory is the 61st chapter of the InuYasha manga.

Summary

 * Sesshōmaru uses the hive of the Hell Wasp to plug up Miroku's Wind Tunnel, as well as poison him with the wasps' venom.
 * Inuyasha uses the Tessaiga's sheath to hold off Sesshōmaru.
 * Kagome uses a sacred arrow to revert the transformation of the Tessaiga.

Synopsis

 * Sesshōmaru holds the Tessaiga proudly after using it to destroy one hundred demons in a single stroke. He then tells Inuyasha that in a few moments, the half-demon will be nothing more than rust on the legendary blade. Fearing for Inuyasha's life, Kagome runs out and places herself in front of Inuyasha. Sesshōmaru is amused by this action, saying "Oh, it's the girl from before. You came to die with him, hmm? How sweet." Inuyasha steps in front of Kagome, telling her to run away; his older brother wouldn't hesitate to kill a defenseless woman. Then, Miroku steps in, which piques Sesshōmaru's interest. Inuyasha, stubborn as ever, tells Miroku to back off, but the monk tells Inuyasha he has no hope of victory by himself.
 * InuyashaChapter61SesshomaruisStunnedbytheKazaana.jpg, (who has been watching up until now), remembers something that Naraku said when he gave the human arm to Sesshōmaru. "Traveling with Inuyasha... will be a young Buddhist monk. He may prove the most troublesome of all." Jaken scoffs, saying that the monk looks no more troublesome than any other human. Eager to ingratiate himself to his lord, Jaken says he'll kill the monk for Sesshōmaru. He orders the giant ogre to crush the two humans along with Inuyasha. Before the giant claw can crush them, Miroku opens his Kazaana and sucks in the Ogre's hand (it's so massive he can't suck it all in). Seeing the wind tunnel leaves Sesshōmaru stunned, using the Tessaiga to hold his ground from the strong pulling gust. Sesshōmaru remembers his discussion with Naraku. He said "I offer you this. The hive of the Hell Wasp. It will be most effective in disabling the monk's right hand." Sesshōmaru says he will see if Naraku was correct, then throws the hive toward Miroku.InuyashaChapter61FirstAppearanceoftheSaimyosho.jpg
 * The monk notices the bugs, but as Kagome points out, they aren't merely being sucked into the void, they're flying towards it purposefully. Suddenly Miroku gasps out in pain and closes his Kazaana, telling Inuyasha it's up to him now. Miroku says he was susceptible to the wasps' venom. Kagome runs to get some antidote from her backpack back at the inn and tells Miroku to stay safe. Sesshōmaru walks toward Inuyasha, satisfied, saying they can all die now. Inuyasha then uses his blades of blood technique, but Sesshōmaru uses the Tessaiga to shield himself. Inuyasha runs off to hide behind the corpse of the giant ogre, carrying Miroku over his shoulder. When the half demon asks him what's wrong, Miroku mumbles something about venom and Inuyasha becomes alarmed. Is he dying? Sesshōmaru tells them there's nowhere to hide, and then uses the true power of the Tessaiga to destroy the remains of the Ogre. In a surprise attack, Inuyasha comes leaping out of the flesh and attacks his brother, though his enemy is aware of it. When Sesshōmaru swings the Tessaiga, Inuyasha takes out the Tessaiga's scabbard, parrying the actual sword with its own sheath.
 * Meanwhile, Jaken laments that Sesshōmaru wasn't even watching where he was swinging his sword, and he almost killed his own servant in the process. Then Miroku appears and grabs the imp, asking him a question: Miroku has never met nor battled Sesshōmaru before, yet he brought those wasps that seemed to be specifically crafted to plug up the wind tunnel. How could that be? Jaken says he doesn't know, (which is a lie,) but Miroku punches the imp and demands an answer. Shippō tells Jaken to cooperate before Miroku gets serious.
 * Sesshōmaru is amused, and asks Inuyasha if he honestly believes a scabbard can defeat a sword. With a snort, Inuyasha replies that it isn't just any ordinary scabbard. Ignoring any threat, Sesshōmaru skips forward with the Tessaiga in hand, about to swing it and kill Inuyasha when suddenly something strikes the blade, reverting it back to its rusty katana form. Both the brothers turn to see an arrow on the ground: Kagome fired a sacred arrow at the sword, reverting the transformation. Sesshōmaru looks over at her curiously, and Inuyasha worries about her safety now that she's involved herself in the fight.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * Sesshōmaru
 * Inuyasha
 * Kagome
 * Miroku
 * Shippō
 * Jaken

Trivia

 * This chapter marks the first appearance of the Saimyōshō.
 * In the moment when Miroku opens his wind tunnel, Sesshōmaru's face is one of fright and surprise. It proves to be one of the few moments in the series when his character shows either of these emotions, as he is usually very calm and composed.
 * Oddly, in both the anime and in the manga, Sesshōmaru & Jaken remember Naraku talking about Miroku's Kazaana in a flashback, instead of simply showing Naraku talk about the Kazaana at the same time when Sesshōmaru accepts the human arm.