Chaos

A celestial omen had appeared. Great upheaval was sure to follow.

At that moment, the Imperial God Blade, which had been enshrined in the center of Uchiha Kei's shrine, burst through the shrine as if answering a higher calling and flew straight toward him.

Kei caught the Imperial God Blade. It had been nothing more than a mass-produced weapon forged from refined steel and a little chakra-conducting material, but now it was anything but ordinary. Just holding it, he could feel its immense power.

Everyone within sight of the spectacle fell to their knees, praying to their own gods. No matter which god they prayed to, their faith became power and gathered in the Imperial God Blade.

As that power accumulated, the strange phenomena at Naka Shrine grew more intense, and the area of its pressure kept spreading outward.

Holding the Imperial God Blade, Kei called out almost against his will, "Bloom, Amenotokotachi!"

Around him, the power of faith gathered in his right eye.

Wherever Kei looked, he saw someone who had activated Fear Armor, and called out the name of a yokai. Each time he named one, a star appeared in his right eye.

The yokai whose names he called broke free of their Fear Armor and became terrifying, colossal figures. Though a few of the great yokai were not as huge as Susanoo, they seemed powerful enough to fight it.

Nurarihyon, Aobozu, Tamamo-no-Mae, Hannya, and Zashiki-warashi seemed almost tangible as they flaunted their terrifying presence.

Uchiha Hotaru stood out most of all, the woman favored by the snake.

Though she had never learned Sage Mode, vast amounts of Natural Energy gathered within Hotaru's body, and the form of Yamata no Orochi appeared around her.

Yamata no Orochi grew visibly larger, as if it meant to devour an entire Susanoo.

Hotaru didn't need any help from the White Snake Sage's clan to draw upon the Natural Energy of the Shinobi World.

It defied all reason. If anyone could use Sage Mode at will without the Three Holy Lands' approval, what purpose would the Three Holy Lands serve?

It was rare for anyone in the Shinobi World to enter Sage Mode without outside help. If it ever happened, it could only be to Asura's reincarnation. After all, he was the son of the Sage of Six Paths, who had set the rules of the Shinobi World.

The agreement between the three sages and the Sage of Six Paths required the Three Holy Lands' approval to enter Sage Mode. No one else had that privilege.

And yet, today, an exception had appeared: a woman recklessly wielding the natural power of the Shinobi World without even notifying the Three Holy Lands.

What's more, Little Green Snake, a descendant of the White Snake Sage and the Three Holy Lands' representative, had coiled around Hotaru's shoulder and was desperately channeling the power of Earth Dragon Cave into her—even though Hotaru had no need of it.

This fawning behavior not only went unchecked by the Great White Snake Sage, it was actively encouraged.

A true Yamata no Orochi seemed poised to appear in the Shinobi World.

It was so powerful and shocking that the thought came unbidden: the world-ending serpent had appeared.

And Hotaru's astonishing performance, combined with Kei's empowerment of the yokai, had brought disaster upon the world.

The four Susanoo had originally been puppets controlled by others, but the moment Yamata no Orochi descended, they became uncontrollable.

Kei had never expected this.

The four Susanoo seemed to sense something and began merging, forming a true divine statue. It was so powerful that everyone in the Shinobi World could feel a real god descending.

At that moment, sunlight vanished from the Shinobi World, and the sky turned to dusk.

The Totsuka Blade gathered in its hand. A true myth seemed about to unfold in the Shinobi World.

When a human took a step, they felt no guilt over crushing an ant. Likewise, when a god raised its blade, it would not consider whether humanity could endure the disaster.

Kei was sure that if the colossal figure, formed from four Susanoo and imbued with the power of a true god, brought down its blade, the entire land would be torn apart.

The Uchiha Clan and Konoha weren't the only ones who would suffer. The entire Land of Fire might not survive the consequences.

Who could have imagined that he had only wanted to show Fugaku just how powerful the Uchiha could be with the power of gods and yokai—and that it would lead to this?

In the end, it was humanity's own ignorance and curiosity that brought about its destruction.

"Daitengu, Shuten-doji, Jorogumo, Teke Teke, Gashadokuro, Red Cape, Tsuchigumo." One yokai name after another left Kei's lips.

The only way to resolve the crisis was to rely on even greater power. Kei was giving everything he had to stop Susanoo-no-Mikoto.

The yokai's power continued to grow more and more intense. Stars turned in Kei's right eye, and blood began to run from it.

This power had already far exceeded what Uchiha Kei could bear. But there was no other choice. Even if he went blind, he had to keep going.

As Kei called out more and more yokai names, even the single-Magatama Genin, who had never wielded the power of yokai, began to sense the power of "Fear."

They had already exchanged for the yokai-slaying weapons that interested them, waiting for the day they would grow strong enough to wield the yokai power Kei had brought them.

Now, despite lacking the ability to control such power, parts of their bodies began to take on armor.

The power known as "Fear," which the yokai absorbed, began to gather.

Quantity became quality, and the yokai realm created by Amenotokotachi seemed ready to descend upon the world.

"Hyakki Yagyo!"

Kei didn't know why he shouted that phrase, but the instant it left his lips, the yokai's power reached its peak.

If gods were tigers, then the hundred demons were a pack of wolves. By nature, gods held a racial advantage over yokai.

But when one tiger led a pack of starving wolves against another tiger, that racial advantage disappeared.

With divine authority, he commanded the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons, granting the yokai a status equal to the gods.

Yamata no Orochi, having gathered all the energy of Earth Dragon Cave, lowered its proud head. As a yokai, its rightful place was among the hundred demons.

Susanoo-no-Mikoto, formed from the four Susanoo, also lowered the Totsuka Blade in its hand. Even his father revered Amenotokotachi, one of the Five Heavenly Gods.

Wielding the Imperial God Blade, Kei led the yokai and managed to suppress the power of the gods.

At last, Susanoo-no-Mikoto split apart into four Susanoo, and the three people who had summoned them could finally control their jutsu again.

Thanks to Kei's overwhelming strength, a cataclysmic natural disaster had been averted. But the Shinobi World's shock could not be eased by his achievement, for an even greater spectacle was unfolding in the sky.

The entire sky became a stage, showing the myth of Susanoo-no-Mikoto slaying Yamata no Orochi.

It lasted only a few minutes, but everyone in the Shinobi World saw it. From that day on, the seeds of mythology had finally been sown in this world.

Uchiha Kei and Fugaku, who had caused it all, needed a long time to process what had happened.

"What terrifying power have we gotten our hands on?!"

Fugaku was still shaken.

"Can the Shinobi World tolerate us being this powerful?"

Uchiha Itachi was deeply worried.

Kei was at a loss, too.

"I really was born to break up fights!"