The final match against the evil demon Rando was the fiercest of battles. Yusuke, in order to avenge Kuwabara, who had been so mercilessly beaten, and in spite of being worn ragged, wrung out the last of his power, and defeated him. And so, it was decided that the successor to Master Genkai's secrets would be Yusuke Urameshi!

The Four Saint Beasts in the Labyrinthine Castle!
A Challenge to the Spirit Realm

Keiko visits Atsuko, and finds out that Yusuke still hasn't come back yet. Atsuko says it's been about a month since her son told her that he was going for some training at some mountain temple. He has called her though, so it seems he's still alive, but she wonders how long he plans on not coming home. Keiko worries that he's never coming back, but Atsuko tells her not to worry, as Yusuke already died once and came back!

Keiko walks off and thinks that Yusuke could have at least contacted her somehow, he's always going off and doing his own thing. She then notices someone walking towards her: Yusuke! He tells her its been a while. They meet up with Kuwabara, and as Keiko orders some chocolate shakes, Yusuke asks Kuwabara if his arm is all back together. Kuwabara says thanks to Genkai's spiritualistic operation, his arms have over three times the power they had before. He suggests he tries them out on Yusuke, but Yusuke tells him to cut it out -he's been through enough healing already, hasn't he? And he's no match for him now, not after all the training he's been through.

Kuwabara asks what he did, and Yusuke explains that just thinking about it is like going through hell again. One exercise had him use the spirit wave to balance on top of a spike with a single finger. Genkai told him that he must concentrate the spirit wave into a single point, and then stay like that for twelve hours!

Another aspect of the training was to catch the opponent's spirit wave. Genkai warned him if he messes this up, he could die, and then blasted him. Yusuke was sent flying back, but survived. But Genkai told him that they'll continue until he can catch it without so much as flinching.

Yusuke tells Kuwabara that there was also cross-legged meditation over flame, and he had to sleep on a bed of needles... Kuwabara tells him he's heard enough, but Yusuke says that thanks to the training, he's got some new finishing moves. Kuwabara says he'd like to see them, just as Keiko comes back and asks them what they're talking about. Yusuke lies and says they were talking about how they wanted to see a movie. Keiko says she'd like to see one too, so they head off.

As they walk, Kuwabara tells Yusuke that Keiko was really worried about him, he's such a lucky guy! He says he's going to head on home now, but then Yusuke senses something, and looks at the people nearby. Keiko then tells him to hurry up, but he says he has to get some important shopping done, and tells Kuwabara to come with him. He tells Keiko to go ahead and save them some seats.

Keiko offers to go with them, but Yusuke tells her it's something where unless it just them guys, it makes it harder to shop for. He drags Kuwabara off, and Kuwabara is interested in whatever this guy only thing is, but Yusuke asks him if he hasn't noticed yet -they're being followed.

They look behind them and see a gang of boys following them, and Yusuke wonders what they should do. Kuwabara says they've got time, so they should play around with them. They lead them to a place, and Kuwabara then asks the gang if they don't know who he is -he's Sarayashiki Middle's number one, Lord Kuwabara! Yusuke tells him there he goes again...

The gang don't say anything, but instead arm themselves with knives. One of them then starts repeatedly saying the word "kill" and lunges at them. Yusuke kicks him, and then the rest of the gang attacks.

They all get beaten down, but get back up and start chanting "kill" again. Yusuke decides to use one of his new moves, but says he'll keep the power out of it. His fist glows blue, and then he released multiple spirit gun blasts from his hand: this is the shotgun technique.

The gang all get hit by the blasts, and Kuwabara notes how Yusuke is hitting multiple people from a distance all at once. Yusuke says that's the first step in the spirit wave technique.

They wonder who these guys are, but Kuwabara then says he can feel the presence of someone strange. He then sees a guy watching nearby, so he and Yusuke chase after him. But as they head down an alley, they suddenly see the guy go flying across the street.

Botan had hit the guy with a bat, and she says hi. She says it looks like the guys from Demon City have already started to come to this town. They see that the guy they were chasing definitely isn't human, and Yusuke asks Botan if she knows who he is. Botan explains that he's part of the enemy gang which is waiting for him on his next assignment.

Yusuke tells her she has to be kidding -he's only just got back from his hellish training, and he's been given more orders already? He says he's not Koenma's slave and starts to walk off, but Botan asks him if he's saying he doesn't care about what happens to this city. She explains that yesterday, a challenge from Demon City was sent to Koenma. Koenma was passed a letter, which contained a list of demands from the Four Saint Beasts.

Koenma read the letter, and the demand was that the Beasts wanted the right to move into the Human Realm. Yusuke asks if Koenma could just ignore it, and then asks who the Four Saint Beasts are. Botan tells him that they are four of the highest class of ferociously brutal demon criminals. They have built themselves a castle hideout where they live, and they allow criminals from the Spirit Realm to live around there. Now an outlaw city has developed across from it, but there isn't enough room for those being chased to enter.

She then tells Yusuke to look at the guys who attacked. They watch as a bug crawls out of one of the guy's mouths, and flies off. She explains that these are Makaichu (Demon Realm bugs), parasites which are fond of gloomy minds. She's heard that the Four Saint Beasts have released several thousand of them upon this city.

Once a person hosts a bug, it draws out destructive, violent and murderous behaviors from them. Yusuke thinks they should rush off and warn everyone, but Botan says that's impossible, as the bugs are invisible to normal people. A person who hosts one of the bugs will appear to others as a homicidal maniac. Yusuke asks what they should do, and she says there's only one way to destroy the bugs: destroy the bug flute. If the bug flute is destroyed, the bugs won't be able to survive in the Human Realm. Yusuke asks if the Saint Beasts could attack the Human Realm right away, but she says they can't. The Spirit Realm put a perimeter border around the Demon City, sealing it there.

She says that it really will be the end if the perimeter is lifted -it'd be no trouble for the Four Saint Beasts to kill every single person in the city in a single day. She says the only way to save the city is for him to storm Demon City and destroy that flute -those are Koenma's orders. Yusuke asks if he's supposed to rush into this dangerous den of criminals all by himself -Koenma is such a heartless guy! But Kuwabara tells them they've got another guy right here: himself!

Botan is surprised he heard all of that, does he have donkey's ears? He said he heard, and now that he knows about these bugs, he can't just stand by. He grabs one and crushes it, and says that unless they destroy that flute, several hundred of these dangerous bugs are going to be roaming the city. So no matter that kind of place it is, he's going -lead the way!

Botan sees that Kuwabara really has become a defender of justice. She leads them both into a certain building, and Yusuke wonders what they're doing in this broken-down storeroom. Botan keeps tapping different parts of the floor, and say she knows it's around here somewhere.

Eventually part of the floor pops up, revealing a hole with what appears to be green fog in it. She tells them that if they dive in through here, it'll take them to Demon City. She looks at Kuwabara and says that if he's scared, it's ok for him to go home -from here on this is a job for a Spirit Detective. Yusuke takes that as his signal to leave, but Botan trips him and says that she was talking to Kuwabara, not him.

Kuwabara says he's a Spirit Detective at heart, so he's not pulling out now. He jumps down the hole before anyone can stop him. Yusuke just stares, prompting Botan to glare at him. But she then remembers something and pulls out...

REI KAI TSUUSHIN KONPAKUTO

(Spirit World Communication Compact)

Yusuke tells her to stop getting so cheery without any warning, since everyone else has gotten so serious. She tells him she's going to be exterminating the bugs, so if anything happens, he can use this to contact her. Yusuke says he's got it and is about to go, when he remembers something: Keiko! He left her at the movie theater. He asks Botan to explain everything to Keiko for him...

...then jumps down the hole before she can stop him. He and Kuwabara land, and in the distance they can see the enemy hideout: Labyrinthine Castle. But before they can move on, several small demons burst out of the ground.

FUGAKI

(Decayed Starving Demons)

The demons say this is a treat, as they can feed on these humans. Yusuke says whatever these things are, they clearly aren't on their side, and the demons launch themselves at the pair, yelling that they're going to eat them. Yusuke and Kuwabara try to fight them off...

...but they start getting overwhelmed. Yusuke thinks they'll never reach Labyrinthine Castle at this rate, but then a portal opens up in the sky, and two balls of light descend from it.

This causes the demons to all run away in fear, as the lights land in a tree and change forms. One asks if they want them to lend a hand, whilst another tells them that if they were having problems with those guys, it's clear how shallow their powers run. They jump down, revealing themselves to be Hiei and Kurama.

Yusuke asks what they're doing here, and Hiei says Koenma sent them, since he couldn't rely on just the the two of them. Kurama also reveals that if they cooperated with them, Koenma said it would be possible for them to be acquitted. Yusuke introduces Kuwabara to the two, and Kuwabara tells them if they're here to help, then welcome aboard.

Hiei tells them not to misunderstand -personally, he's only interested in the treasures and items the Four Saint Beasts have stolen. He doesn't have the slightest inclination toward cooperating with them. Kuwabara thinks he has a pretty big attitude for his height, so Hiei asks him if he wants to die.

Kuwabara goes to punch him, but Hiei dashes forward with incredible speed, causing him to miss. Hiei tells Yusuke that he will exact revenge on him, so he'd better watch himself. Kurama tells him to stop it, he can sort this quarrel out after this job is over. Yusuke is ok with that, as the more allies they have now, the better. They head off to Labyrinthine Castle.

As they walk, the Four Saint Beasts are aware of them. They discuss what to do, but don't believe the visitors are anything they'll have to involve themselves with. The leader of the group, Suzaku, believes the visitors will not even enter the castle... they will be stopped by the gate of betrayal, and die.

Yusuke's group reach the entrance, and see a long tunnel inside. Kuwabara thinks all they can do is move ahead, but Hiei thinks that's a pretty candid lack of strategy. Kuwabara is about to challenge him again when Yusuke tells them to go.

They head down the tunnel, but they are met by an Eye Bat. The Eye Bat welcomes them, and says those who enter must undergo the judgment of the gate of betrayal. It flies back, and part of a wall slides down, revealing switch behind it. The Eye Bat pulls down this switch...

...and everything starts to shake. Then suddenly, the ceiling comes crashing down, forcing the group to try and hold it up. The Eye Bat asks how it is, and says the gateway is very sensitive, and intelligent. It can tell how much power those supporting it have, and presses down with just enough force for them to endure it. They can support it will all their might, but if just once of them withdraws their power, it'll squash them flat.

And if one of them betrays the others to try and escape, the others will be crushed. But if they all stay there trying to keep it up, eventually their power will fail them, and they'll all be crushed. Only the one who is capable of betraying the others may enter the castle. The Eye Bat tells them do whatever they prefer, and then flies away. The group wonders what they should do now -can they survive the gate, or are they all going to be crushed?

NEXT EPISODE PREVIEW

(Yusuke is speaking)

Ugh, who is this guy who's like a cluster of rocks? Is this Genbu, one of the Four Holy Beasts? Hey Kurama, what are you, out of your mind?! Is this any time to be pulling out roses and acting so stylish? No, that's no ordinary rose! Next time, Beautiful Dance of the Rose! The Elegant Kurama. The Other World's not watching for nothing!