Yasaka Magatama!

Having said that.

Jashin was also afraid the boy in the distance might react.

He didn't have much time.

He swiftly cut Miko's wrist, and a thin stream of blood dripped from the wound.

"Does your body need just a little of my blood?" Miko stared at Jashin, confused.

Jashin was racing against time and couldn't be bothered with the Shrine Maiden's question, which was only meant to stall him.

Red light unfurled in his hand, sweeping up Moryo from the ground.

The Shrine Maiden's dripping blood formed threads that made contact with Moryo.

No one knew what he did,

but the blood slowly seeped inside.

"Hahahaha, it worked!"

Just then,

Uchiha Genmei arrived, a streak of golden light flashing past!

His icy words rang out:

"Monster... did you think I'd give you time?"

The bisected Jashin grinned savagely:

"Hehehe... hahahaha—too late!"

Then,

his body rapidly rotted, and in moments, it crumbled like rotten wood, scattering into the world.

Something unbelievable happened.

In the blink of an eye, a boundless river of blood appeared out of thin air, hanging above their heads!

Unclean?

Filthy?

Corrupt?

None of those words were enough to describe it.

Seeing the strange sight, Uchiha Genmei's expression turned grave. He turned the hilt of his sword and prepared to strike.

A tearing sound rang out.

"Ahhhhhh!" Miko cried in pain.

He turned and saw a torrent of blood gushing from the cut on the Shrine Maiden's wrist.

Moryo was no better. Its body exploded with a bang,

turning into a dark red stream of blood with a trace of gold in it, which joined Miko's blood.

With a whoosh, it flew toward the river of blood in the sky.

Clang!

With a light ring of his sword, he severed the stream of blood gushing from the Shrine Maiden's wrist.

Seeing Uchiha Genmei save Miko,

the filthy river of blood in the sky let out a mocking laugh. "It doesn't matter. I've achieved my goal!"

Ignoring Jashin's taunt,

Uchiha Genmei gave the river of blood a cold glance.

He came to Miko and looked at the Shrine Maiden, whose life was hanging by a thread.

He sighed helplessly.

"It seems that the Sannin, still in their youth, aren't strong enough to deal with an enemy of that level."

"Matatabi, keep watch beside me. Don't let Jashin attack."

The giant beast, who had arrived at some point, replied in a deep voice, "Understood."

Seeing Matatabi stand guard, Uchiha Genmei turned to Miko.

The patterns in his eyes rotated, and Amaterasu-Omikami's Light of Resurrection washed over the Shrine Maiden.

Before long,

Miko caught her breath, braced a hand against the ground, and slowly stood up.

"Sorry to make you save me again."

Hearing the apology in Miko's words,

the boy smiled faintly.

"It's nothing. It was the least I could do, and you're my employer."

Suddenly, an ominous buzzing filled the sky.

The sound made the air tremble, and Uchiha Genmei looked up.

The river of blood was changing.

The filth was slowly sinking downstream, and the blood on the other side was gradually clearing.

"I have a bad feeling about this." The sensation made him uneasy, and his expression turned stern.

Chakra flames ignited around him, and Susanoo appeared in an instant.

"I'll test it out. After all... why stand around and let the enemy finish transforming?"

Susanoo spread his hands, and golden divine energy turned into a string of magatama.

[Yasaka Magatama!]

The golden giant swung his hand, sending the magatama streaking like meteors toward the river of blood in the sky.

Something unexpected happened.

Before the magatama could even get close...

the air twisted, swallowing them up.

"What is this?" The boy frowned in displeasure. Susanoo raised the Divine Sword high, about to launch another attack.

Miko hurriedly stopped him.

"Don't waste your chakra, my lord. It's no use. When I was forcibly connected to Moryo..."

"Through the lingering echoes in its mind, I discovered Jashin's true form."

The boy was surprised by the Shrine Maiden's advice.

"What do you mean?"

Miko walked over to the boy and stood beside him.

She gazed up at the river of blood, which was beginning to change.

Then she parted her lips.

"In the past, this land belonged to the age of the gods."

"The ruler of Takamagahara sent down to Ashihara no Nakatsukuni, this very land, the son he had fathered with his younger sister... to establish a nation and found a dynasty."

As she spoke, she touched her wrist, where the wound had disappeared.

Then she continued:

"And back then, the Lord of Ashihara no Nakatsukuni was Moryo... no... I should say, His Majesty Okuninushi."

Uchiha Genmei understood.

He said calmly,

"So Jashin is the god who was supposed to descend upon the land, and then seized Ashihara no Nakatsukuni from Okuninushi."

Miko nodded solemnly.

She answered in a deep voice,

"That's right. He descended to the land and took Okuninushi's realm."

The boy still didn't understand. What did this have to do with not attacking?

He asked directly,

"Then what does that have to do with stopping our attacks?"

She raised a hand and pointed to the sky...

Miko explained:

"He's merging with Okuninushi's sublime power, turning this reenactment of mythic history into the Ritual of Great Offering."

The Shrine Maiden bit her lip...

Then sighed bitterly.

"He is no longer Jashin. He is now the ruler who has descended upon this land."

"Until he completes his transformation, the earth beneath his feet will protect him and won't let anyone harm him."

Uchiha Genmei understood. He looked at the changes in the sky and said,

"I see. The planet's protection? It looks like there's nothing I can do against him for now."

But inside, he was puzzled. The Jashin of the Land of Hot Water in the original story had such an impressive origin?

And another thing...

If every one of these gods had powers like this, how had Isshiki and Kaguya managed to slaughter them all?

Could it be that these Eight Million Gods...

were ninety-nine percent useless, with only a handful of exceptions?

The river of blood in the sky slowly cleared, the filth receding as specks of blue starlight appeared.

The blue, starry water suddenly surged... splash... splash...

Amid the roaring rush of water...

a handsome young man with black hair and blue eyes slowly appeared, dressed in a simple white robe.

He wasn't very tall, only about 1.6 meters.

He stood in midair...

His body trembled, and the vast blue, starry waters behind him were drawn into his body.

He clenched his fist, his cold gaze turning toward the enormous mass of filth he had shed.

He looked at it as if it were something disgusting.

With a cold snort, he said,

"The unpleasant things I did in the past to lie low can still be put to use."

He clenched his empty hand toward the mass of filthy blood he had shed...

With a tearing sound...

the enormous mass of filth instantly transformed into a giant serpent with eight heads and eight tails.

"Hahahaha! Delightful, delightful."

He laughed with delight, then looked down at the boy and the Shrine Maiden below.

He grinned savagely.

"Heh... a descendant of the Rabbit Goddess."

"Now, prepare to die!"