Inuyasha uses the Red Tessaiga on Naraku, but everyone has doubts about whether or not it will work, since the Red Tessaiga wasn't even enough to break Hakudōshi's barrier. They assume correctly, because it doesn't work, and Naraku tells Inuyasha that his sword is useless against him. Inuyasha uses the Kaze no Kizu again in a fit of rage, but this time Naraku reflects the attack in the same way he did at Mount Hakurei. With only one technique left he hasn't tried, Inuyasha uses the Bakuryūha, and Naraku is actually surprised Inuyasha has an attack that's so powerful.
As smoke lifts after the attack, Inuyasha wonders if it worked, when suddenly Hōsenki I's head comes flying at him, stabbing him in several places with diamond shards. Naraku was still holding onto Hōsenki's body and controlling him through the jewel shard, then he tossed him at Inuyasha. The Backlash Wave failed to break the barrier. Naraku laughs and says Inuyasha is done, he has nothing else to try.
Meanwhile, Sesshōmaru starts to fight Gozu and Mezu. They tell him that only the dead may pass through the gate. Anyone who wishes to pass must first die by their hands. Sesshōmaru finds this mildly amusing. He cuts the two statues down with his Tōkijin, but they just get back up again. Kagura is disappointed, because not even Sesshōmaru can defeat the two guardians. Gozu and Mezu say that it's no use, "We cannot be cut by a blade of this world." Sesshōmaru thinks in that case, he'll use Tenseiga, the sword of heaven. When he draws the sword, the gateway suddenly opens and Kagura gasps, because once the light hits him he'll be turned to stone. She shouts to try and warn him, but the light has already come out.
The light of the gateway hits Sesshōmaru but he does not turn to stone, instead Gozu and Mezu kneel before him. They are guardians of the netherworld, and while they are invulnerable to mortal swords, they can be cut by blades of the dead; they will not engage in a needless fight. Sheathing his sword, Sesshōmaru walks into the light of the borderland. Kagura watches with amazement and thinks to herself "I knew it... Sesshōmaru is the only one who can kill Naraku."
