You are very strong, but my painting style is better than yours!

"Yeah...wouldn't it have been simpler if we'd done this earlier?"

Iori drew a jade-like longsword from the void:

Kusanagi? It's like nobody has one!

Chapter 362 Yours is female, mine is male.

The burly old man, still seated, thrust his sword forward; the cold light seemed to traverse space itself, aiming for Iori's brow.

Zheng!

The sound of metal reverberated through the void. Susanoo's black divine sword was struck on the side, narrowly missing Iori's cheek. Although the sword's edge was sharp, it did not harm him in the slightest.

Unperturbed, Iori deflected the attack and swung his Zanpakuto upwards, the blade sparking as it traced a trail of sparks along the black sword, aiming directly at Susanoo's brow!

The old man leaned back with a "whoosh" to dodge, the sword blade grazing his skin and slicing off several strands of hair. Without pausing, he rolled away from where he was, and then there was a whooshing sound as the entire house was split in two by an invisible slash!

"Ouch~"

Susanoo turned and fled to the wall, but the collapsing roof hit him, causing him to cry out in pain, looking quite disheveled.

However, when he stood up and pushed aside the thatched roof tiles, he raised his hand to cover his face. The next moment, his wide sleeves were suddenly lifted, and scorching red lotus fire erupted out and engulfed the entire room!

Iori's figure was naturally engulfed by the raging flames, and the atmospheric temperature rose sharply, as if turning the place into a lava lake.

Princess Liuli Tong and the black-robed monk had already escaped from the house. Although they were not ordinary people, it was too difficult for them to interfere in the battle between gods. At most, they could only provide assistance to Susanoo at certain times.

The flames instantly destroyed the house where Susanoo had lived for countless years, turning everything to ashes. The temperature continued to rise, and the immense heat expanded infinitely after accumulating to a critical point.

boom!

A pillar of fire, hundreds of meters high, shot into the sky above the Netherworld, instantly turning the surrounding wilderness a deep reddish-brown.

The burly old man was sent flying backward by the force of the explosion, holding the jet-black divine sword Ame no Murakumo, with a huge black and red gourd hanging from his waist.

There is no record of Susanoo controlling fire in the myth, but there is a legend of him subduing enemies with poisoned wine. The gourd contains a kind of wine that even the Yamata no Orochi cannot resist, and the fire is a spell he casts based on this.

—Although Susanoo is often portrayed as a brute and a rogue in mythology, the deity before us is actually quite resourceful and is an unconventional war god who emphasizes "trickery" and "theft".

This is not surprising. Contrary to popular belief, heroes and gods often defeat their enemies through wit and cunning. Even a tough guy like Thor has a story of dressing as a woman to deceive his enemies.

In the story of Susanoo, he was originally a guy who was good at finding loopholes, and although he was a war god, there were not many examples of him directly confronting enemies.

Take this "Fire Wine" for example. It uses the essence of fire to enhance the intoxicating aroma of the divine wine, making it even more potent than drinking it directly. The scorching of the flames is just a disguise; the real killer feature is the power of the wine that penetrates deep into your bones without you even realizing it!

"what……"

Wiping the wine stains from his lips, Susanoo squinted at the center of the raging fire, and frowned after sensing it for a moment.

He didn't have to wait long. A composed figure emerged from the sea of ​​fire. Although the wood, stone, metal and all other materials in the house were burned, he was unharmed. He simply patted his clothes a few times to remove a lot of dust.

Judging from this... it seems they haven't been affected by the divine wine.

"I didn't expect that he would set his own house on fire as soon as he made a move—but the firepower was a bit lacking, far inferior to that of my teacher."

"Haha, I've really made a fool of myself... But I'm not really the God of Fire, I'm just a notorious drunkard who likes to use little tricks to liven up the atmosphere at parties~"

Susanoo laughed heartily, and as his loud voice echoed across the land, the sky grew even darker, with thick, ink-like clouds gathering and stealing the light from the underworld, as if night had fallen instead of day.

The howling cold wind, the sudden drop in temperature, and the humid air...

Susanoo hid in the underworld to escape the power of the disobedient gods, which freed him from the madness, but also prevented him from unleashing his full power.

However, the Netherworld is a place where the mind can influence things; even gods can distort the world with their will alone. Susanoo, by utilizing the unique characteristics of the Netherworld, can unleash its full power!

"That was just a greeting—how about this?"

Susanoo took a step forward, and a thunderclap resounded in the sky. Dazzling lightning pierced through the clouds and instantly crossed the distance between heaven and earth!

Iori looked up at the descending lightning, neither dodging nor avoiding it, her lips barely moving: "Dan Kong!"

hum!

An invisible barrier unfolded, and lightning crashed against it like a torrent, instantly causing countless flashes to explode and thousands of leaping arcs of electricity to illuminate the dark sky.

But how could the God of War, one of the three great gods of Japan and the one who controls the storms, just give up like that?

That bolt of lightning was just the prelude. Soon, bolts of lightning of equal power fell one after another, and the continuous booming sound was like someone beating a war drum deep in the clouds!

The thunderstorm almost destroyed everything in sight, and Princess Liuli Tong and her companion had to retreat more than a thousand meters away to barely avoid being swept away.

"how?"

Susanoo's aura surged, "Do you know the wrath of the storm?!"

Almost simultaneously, a calm voice entered the God of War's ears:

"Is that the only extent?"

"Varied--"

Zheng! ! !

The high-pitched and passionate voices overlapped, as if thousands of birds were singing at the same time. The lightning flashed across the void, leaving only a few arcs of electricity that dissipated like a dream bubble. Even Susanoo could not dodge this attack that seemed to travel through time and space and hit him directly!

A sharp pain came from his left shoulder. The Martial God's tough, steel-like flesh was easily torn apart, and the rampant power of lightning quickly spread throughout his body.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

A series of flashes of light and blood splattered in the air, and the world froze for a moment as dozens of attack trajectories completely cleaved the surrounding space!

boom! ! !

The lightning power, condensed into threads, also erupted at that moment, and the dazzling light pierced through everything!

"Ugh... Ahh!"

His body was subjected to such a dense barrage of "slashes" in the blink of an eye, and Susanoo's entire body sprayed out scorching hot blood that quickly evaporated in the air.

"hateful!"

Guided by intuition and martial skill, the burly old man swung his black sword toward an empty spot—

Clang!

The two divine swords with the same name clashed together, immediately emitting a clear and melodious tremor, and he actually managed to intercept Iori's attack!

The God of War's beard bristled with rage. He stepped to the side, pressing down on the sword guard with his left hand. His muscles were taut like rocks, and he poured in all his divine power, enough to split mountains and seas, to cleave Iori and his sword in two!

But just as Susanoo exerted his strength to press down, the black sword suddenly pierced the ground, only to be stopped by Iori's foot. The jade-like divine sword suddenly spun, causing the black sword to miss its target, and even the swordsman Susanoo, skilled in swordsmanship, couldn't discern the technique used.

When he tried to draw his sword and retreat, he stepped back with his left foot as if to avoid it, but in reality, he turned to the side and used his wrist to lift the tip of his sword and try to slash upwards.

However, Iori was faster than him!

【Mirror of Still Water】possibly grants exceptional insight, represents a martial arts realm where mind, body, and skill are unified, and comprehensively enhances panel attributes.

Just as Susanoo raised his hand, Iori's figure flashed into his chest as if shrinking the ground, and a powerful elbow strike pounded into his chest. With a dull thud, he flung the burly body away like a rag doll!

"..."

For some reason, Iori did not give chase, but stayed in place and quietly watched Susanoo.

The burly old man endured the intense discomfort in his chest and slowly stood up. With a wave of his hand, the black sword that had been knocked away flew back into his hand with a whooshing sound.

"Good! As expected of a god of disobedience who shares the same origin as me..."

Panting heavily, Susanoo glanced at Princess Ruri-tō and the monk in the distance, but did not ask for help—as it stood, even if those two joined the battle, they probably wouldn't be of much assistance.

For a martial god, it is rare to be forced to this point in just a few moves. You should know that although he is not known for his skills, as a steel hero who is good at fighting, his martial arts are above the average level of gods and far exceed the realm of mortals.

However, when he fought Iori, he was like a novice encountering a grandmaster, constantly suffering setbacks and being countered no matter what he did, unable to control his own rhythm at all.

This means that Iori is more pure in the realm of "war god" than Susanoo, who is good at planning!

Of course, Susanoo wouldn't say that directly, lest he boost the enemy's morale.

"It seems that it won't be easy to determine a winner... To be able to suppress me to this extent, your strength is even greater than I expected!"

"There's no other way. Although I don't want to do this, I have to abandon my current identity and return to the peak of being the 'Disobedient God'!"

Having said that, Susanoo laughed heartily, and his body transformed into a lightning-infused tornado that shot into the sky. With a whooshing sound, it was like a dragon soaring into the air, and in the blink of an eye, it disappeared without a trace.

run away?

"What a hassle!"

……

On the snow-capped summit of Mount Fuji, a sudden gale arose, rain clouds gathered, and a bolt of lightning descended from the sky to the mountaintop. After the aftershocks dissipated, its true form was revealed: Susanoo, a burly man with a thick beard and hair!

Or to be more precise:

My perfect husband!

He no longer uses the name Susanoo. Under another identity, he manipulates the Japanese magic world in the underworld, thereby avoiding madness and maintaining his rationality and clarity. He has transformed from a dissolute and unruly god into a behind-the-scenes manipulator.

Now, he has encountered trouble beyond his imagination, with powerful challengers completely overwhelming him in their clashes... He has no choice but to return to his peak!

However, it's no easy task for a sword that has been abandoned for over a thousand years to regain its sharpness—

"Here, I, Susanoo-no-Mikoto, led a thousand evil gods in rebellion and seized this country!"

A thousand swords stand on the earth, using them as shields against the enemy—Ama-no-Murakumo, draw your sword!

As soon as he finished speaking, a fierce surge of magical power erupted from Susanoo's body, transforming into a wave of flames that slowly rose up, distorting light and shadow covering Susanoo's entire body.

This was like a lit fuse. The "white" on the top of Mount Fuji faded away at a visible speed. At the same time, a massive amount of magical power was gathered from all directions, refined by the "furnace" inside the mountain, and continuously transported to the top of the mountain and poured into Susanoo's body!

They say steel is forged through repeated tempering!

If you want to restore a hero's power, or even surpass his former peak, then the best way is to nurture his sharpness with the essence of the earth.

Susanoo is both the hero of steel and the land god and guardian of Izumo. He slays the Yamata no Orochi, which symbolizes the earth, and obtains the divine sword from it. This is a manifestation of him extracting the essence of the earth to temper himself.

During his thousand-year-long reclusive life, he had long since transformed Japan into his own country, and every blade of grass and every tree could become part of his "foundation"!

Using rituals buried long ago, Mount Fuji was used as a furnace to smelt steel, and a vast amount of vital energy was used as fuel.

Susanoo will surely return in his strongest form!

The black sword "Ama-no-Murakumo" in his hand also began to tremble incessantly. Over the past thousand years, it had been intentionally separated by Susanoo and cultivated into a subordinate god with an independent divine status. But now, under the scorching of the flames, it shed its excess impurities and returned to being a pure steel divine sword!

Over time, the summit of Mount Fuji became completely bare, the snow melted away, revealing exposed rocks. The magma inside began to churn and flow, restless like a imprisoned dragon, ready to break free and unleash its fiery blaze upon the world at any moment.

hum!

A strange fluctuation of magical power flashed by, and a gate connecting to the Netherworld opened in the void. Iori calmly walked out, stood in mid-air, and glanced at the top of Mount Fuji.

The mountains, which were once quite beautiful, are now almost as desolate as craters struck by meteorites...

Iori's eyes narrowed, and she took a light step, arriving at the mountaintop in the next instant. Her superb Shunpo technique allowed her to control the distance perfectly, keeping her within a hundred meters of Susanoo, who was heavily entangled in flames.

"Is it not ready yet? At this rate, let alone whether you can win, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are inevitable."

"Hahaha! You are also a mad god who goes against the natural order, would you even consider such things?"

Susanoo's voice was quite different from before; the deep cunning had diminished, replaced by an uncontrollable arrogance.

"I am now a guardian deity, but long ago I was a conqueror deity!"

Killing, stealing, forming alliances—any means are acceptable as long as they can enhance one's own power!

I have rediscovered my essence; with this continuous refinement of vital energy, my 'steel' will be indestructible!

The flames were blown away by the strong wind, and a burly man, who was not old at all and looked like he was cast in steel, walked out barefoot. His hair and beard were red and each hair was like iron, and his golden eyes were bright and piercing.

"This is the so-called Kusanagi Sword, which is steel that can cut through a thousand blades!"

Now is the time to annihilate the Southern Barbarians, Northern Di, Eastern Yi, and Western Rong! To destroy the heretics!

The black sword was raised high, its dazzling light condensing into a thin line before slashing down at Iori—

Zheng! ! !

A section of the mountain, stretching for thousands of meters, was cut off, and a "front line" rose from the boundless forest, parting the waves like ocean waves...

"Good! As expected of my Ame-no-Murakumo! Ha!"

Susanoo laughed heartily, but suddenly a warning came to his mind, and his laughter stopped abruptly.

"It's alright, but this is what the real Kusanagi looks like!"

The colossal phantom, hundreds of meters tall, stomped its foot on the mountainside, drew an exaggeratedly long sword from its waist, and slashed with lightning speed at the volcano's crater, where waves of heat were billowing out.

hum! ! !