Clashing above, throughout, and all across Mt Ibuki, the oni and kami made an explosive show with their flurry of skill. It was as if a thunderstorm was occurring whenever blade met blade.

Susanoo’s grip on his sword in a grip that was neither too tight nor too loose. His concentration lay solely on the oni opposing him. In his mind, he couldn’t quite complement his opponent.

Shuten Doji was not entirely unskilled with a sword. But to say he was a true master was fundamentally incorrect. While he didn’t make many mistakes, his techniques were too basic.

His sword held none of the elegance nor the comprehension displayed by more skilled masters when they displayed their sword arts. In fact, he’d go so far to say that the oni king that led him here, Ibaraki Doji was more skilled with the blade.

Yet his opponent was still matching him blow for blow. His speed and strength were on par with his. But it was the way he reacted to his strikes. It wasn’t even that the oni was naturally gifted with instinctual skill.

He appeared a bit stilted. Like he was only mimicking someone else fighting. Almost like he was a puppet in a children’s puppet show.

Then there was his bladeless blade. Magical weapon were common in the world, but he’d never seen anything quite like it.

Another clash, and Susanoo backed away again. In this round, he locked blades with Shuten Doji nine times. In those nine instances, he felt his opponent’s sword rivet again and again.

The noise from those instances reminded him of the sound of a blade being sharpened by whetstone. All this made him suspicious as to the oni’s identity.

“Tell me, do you truly not know of your origin?” he questioned.

“What do you mean? I was born like anyone else?”

The two charged in to exchange more strikes, terrifying the villagers watching from the ground far below. Hardly anyone prayed, knowing that the gods who would be prayed to to save them were up high fighting.

“How could you ever train anyone with those mediocre skills?” Susanoo wondered aloud. “I’ve fought beginners with more fundamentals and natural instinct than you.”

This was not an attempt to infuriate his opponent to draw out their true self. Rather this was merely the storm god stating a fact he observed. Shuten Doji made no real attempt to dissuade this conclusion.

“If I trained anyone, it’s only be continuous battle. Yokais of all kind love that as I’m sure one of the Amatsukami like you would know.” The oni chuckled jumping across the clouds.

As he made for his next move, magical energy poured all around them. Translucent shadows that reassembled a python followed along the slash. This sudden change was so startling that Susanoo quickly retreated.

HISSSSS HISSSSS HISSSSS

The sword in Shuten’s hand dissipated that shadow while the oni watched. “It does that sometimes. It’s exited I guess. I don’t know, you wanna keep going or you gonna stop? I’m fine either way.”

Most of his opponents stopped at this point, petrified by the reptilian eye that momentarily glanced at them.

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“Hm.” Susanoo danced with his sword. Thunderous lighting and water swirled around him until they formed the celestial ribbon of a divine being.

“Getting serious now?” Shuten Doji raised an eyebrow. In front of Susanoo, he witnessed a scene of the most ferocious seastorm he’d ever seen condensed into the form of a single humanoid.

“Hhraaagh!” Susanoo slashed down, crating a blast of condensed sword qi. It reassembled white lightning and cut cleaning through all things. The clouds, the atmosphere, it even ripped into the fabric of the universe.

CLANG!

It met the formless blade of Shuten’s sword causing its shape to ripple into existence. It’s user grunted in shock, feeling immense strain on his arm. “What on earth is this?”

Bits of chaotic qi from beyond leaked through the path of this attack. Susanoo knew Amaterasu would chastize him later, but for the moment he didn’t care. He stomped his foot in the air to force these gaps to close before anymore leaked through.

HISSSSS HISSSSS HISSSSS

The same hissing emerged from a faint serpent coiling around the sword. Shuten didn’t seem to have noticed as his footing was forced further and further back. Away from land, his body overlooked the ocean.

CRUNCH!

The shadow of the serpent reached up and bit down on the lightning strike resulting in an explosion that engulfed the oni and the surrounding sky.

In a trail of smoke, Shuten flew up to the sky huffing. However, he barely have time to register his thoughts as he slashed up to parry Susanoo. Then down, then up again, then left. “What the?” Shuten exclaimed.

The kami attacked from all side disorientating the oni. Yet each time he blocked him magnificently. Each time, scales appeared on the rippling surface of the formless sword.

The oni of Mt Ibuki felt his heart thumping at the ferocity he was being attacked. He had never encountered a living being as powerful as the god in front of him now. He wasn’t exactly thrilled.

‘Damn it all I wanted was a good drink and some snacks.’ Were it not for the sword in his grip, he’d probably be cut to ribbons.

It had always been with him since birth and throughout all his life. It was a comforting presence always on his person. But he’d also never seen it react like it does so now.

Following this guidance, he swing around to slash the sword in the air. It was then that an azure skinned serpent flashed into existence in an arc. Its scales carried with it a mysterious gas that spewed forth.

“Hm?” Susanoo manipulated the water around him to drown that thing. Even he was shocked when a huge volume of water disintegrated on the spot. They were cut until their fundamental particles were separated at least once. “What is that?”

He felt profound knowledge enter his mind as he pondered this scene. This caused his eyes to narrow at the oni and his mysterious sword. Things weren’t just a simple match anymore.

Shuten Doji watched his blade with no small amounts of fear. Even he felt how unwieldy and overwhelming that sudden burst was. His arm still couldn’t stop shaking.

Across its surface, the formless sword could be described as covered in scales. Yet the oni was not sure if they truly were such.

The bubble of water Susanoo summoned had been massive. Enough to engulf multiple mountains. Yet in ten seconds, it had been reduced to the volume of a small pebble that could be held on one’s palm.

“Wait wait wait,” Shuten felt his sword jerk and himself along with it. From Susanoo’s point of view it was as if he were swinging it wildly. So he charged to cut down on the oni.

“WOAH!” Shuten parried the storm god in one stroke. In the next instant, with the hilt was a head, a tail emerged from the pummel of his broken sword, slapping Susanoo away.

“GAH!” Shuten widened his eyes with awe and trepidation. It didn’t change the fact that a fully serious Susanoo that had recognized a massive threat coming for him with full intent to kill.

…

“What in Izanagi’s name.”

Amaterasu no Okami was descending from the heavens when she felt an ominous feeling in the air. The sun crown above her head dimmed in response to a change going on in the world.

It was as if every patch of land, every breath of air, and every body of water was being jerked left and right.

“Susanoo, just what are you fighting.”

Even from her location, she caught sight of massive bolts of lightning and globs of water. Her skin could feel layers of realty being unwoven like fabric, exposing the living world to the chaotic energy wrapping around all existence.

“Amaterasu-sama,” a voice greeted her. She looked to her side to see a blue scaled dragon swimming up towards her. In his face that bore crocodilian features, catfish whiskers, and antlers, a visibly uneasy face hung.

“Ryujin-tono,” she nodded. “I apologize on behalf of my brother to your people for the ruckus he’s causing.”

The dragon nodded, but his attention was elsewhere. “Please tell me that direction is not Mt Ibuki.”

“I’m afraid it is. I’m going there to stop him right now. I understand your kind would…”

“No you don’t understand the gravity of the situation. This is bad, really really bad. The last time he went out of control and things nearly…” the dragon looked ready to be having a panic attack. He moved further along towards the Mt Ibuki. “I can’t waste time here.”

“Wait, do you intend to fight my brother?” she asked unsure. “Shouldn’t you go inform the Empress beneath the waves?

“Inform? With these shockwaves they already know!”.