Although he had been mentally prepared for it.
After actually fighting him, Natsume finally experienced just how powerful this King Jiaye was.
Far stronger than the virtual King Jiaye from the simulated universe!
Even in his normal state, he possessed strength comparable to what Natsume had wielded after opening the Eight Gates.
That alone was terrifying enough.
A casual slap could shatter a planet; a full-force punch could crush a star and blast apart space.
This was no joke.
He could utterly crush the evil god Garm.
And on top of that, he had two divine artifacts: the divine spear Enso Sukuna, representing destructive power, and Orochi's Ara Masa, representing bizarre authority.
One for offense, one for support—they were incredibly troublesome together!
No wonder.
King Jiaye had just been able to stand against two Kings of the Maha Clan by himself.
Fortunately.
Natsume's physique was absurdly strong as well. Combined with the monstrous strength boost provided by the divine artifact Heart of Daofu, he could barely match King Jiaye's physical prowess even without opening the Eight Gates.
The divine spear Enso Sukuna was indeed immensely powerful, but the Kunwu Blade, empowered by the Thousand-Lead Stone, was no pushover either. After tens of thousands of consecutive clashes, it showed no signs of breaking and could barely hold its own.
As for the bizarre attacks of Orochi's Ara Masa, Natsume mostly evaded them using Dual Kamui, Izanagi, Candle Yin, Lifespan Compression, and other space- and time-based ocular and divine techniques.
But overall.
Natsume was still at a disadvantage.
An old Otsutsuki king who had accumulated power for over ten thousand years was indeed no simple opponent.
If it had been any other newly advanced peak demigod, they would probably have long since been skewered and roasted by Enso Sukuna.
But more importantly.