"Kid, aren't you leaving yet? Aren't you afraid I'll kill you?"
Yamahiko gripped the bamboo sword tightly. His hands and legs trembled, but he stood firmly.
He held the bamboo sword horizontally in front of him, the blade pointing towards Ame no Uzume no Mikoto.
"I'm not leaving! I can't beat you, but I'm her disciple. If you want to hurt her, you'll have to get past me first."
Ame no Uzume no Mikoto glanced at him.
There was no contempt or pity in that glance. She simply felt sorry for the child.
"Alright, as you wish."
Yamahiko felt a blur before his eyes, Ame no Uzume no Mikoto's figure was no longer where she was.
The next moment, a hand gently rested on the back of his neck.
The force wasn't great, but it made him feel as if his bones had been removed.
The bamboo knife slipped from his hand, his knees buckled, and he collapsed to the ground.
Ame no Uzume no Mikoto grabbed him by the back of his collar, lifted him up, and tossed him aside.
Yamahiko's body arced through the air before crashing into the grass a dozen steps away.
He struggled to get up, but the blow to the back of his neck made his whole body go numb, and his limbs wouldn't obey his commands.
He could only lie there, staring helplessly at the courtyard.
"Alright." Ame no Uzume no Mikoto turned around to face Takuhata Chijihime no Mikoto. "The nuisance has been cleared away."
Takuhata Chijihime no Mikoto did not look at Yamahiko.
Her gaze remained fixed on the Ame no Uzume no Mikoto.
His young, aloof face betrayed no emotion.
"Are you really going to take action?" Takuhata Chijihime no Mikoto asked.
"Tell me where Omoikane, and I Fudo."
"I already said I don't know."
Ame no Uzume no Mikoto sighed.
"Then there's nothing we can do."
She moved, and this time she was more than twice as fast as when she was fighting Yamahiko.
She shot towards Takuhata Chijihime no Mikoto like a white line, skimming the ground.
Her right hand shot out, fingers together, the tip pointing directly at Takuhata Chijihime no Mikoto's throat.
Takuhata Chijihime no Mikoto to the side, her fingertips brushing against her neck, lifting a strand of black hair.
Ame no Uzume no Mikoto did not stop her attack; her body twisted in mid-air, and her left leg swept horizontally.
Takuhata Chijihime no Mikoto to block, her leg colliding with her arm with a muffled thud.
Takuhata Chijihime no Mikoto took three steps back, and a red mark appeared on her arm.
She glanced down, then looked up again.
"Your physical strength is much greater than you usually demonstrate when you dance."
"Dancing is just my way of hiding my true abilities," said Ame no Uzume no Mikoto. "Do you really think I'm just a dance goddess?"
She charged forward again.
This time, instead of using a direct attack, she quickly ran around Takuhata Chijihime no Mikoto.
Her steps quickened, and the sound of her silver bells grew more frequent, like an increasingly torrential rain.
Takuhata Chijihime no Mikoto stood still, slowly gesturing with her hands in front of her.
Her fingertips drew out countless extremely fine threads, weaving them into a transparent net in the air.
Ame no Uzume no Mikoto rushed to the net, turned her feet, and slipped through the gap in the net like a slippery fish.
Her body became extremely soft at that moment, her shoulder joints seemed to dislocate, and her entire arm bent at an impossible angle, bypassing the silk net, and struck Takuhata Chijihime no Mikoto's back with a palm.
Takuhata Chijihime no Mikoto took a step forward, and the silk net tightened abruptly.
The silk threads, which were originally only as thick as a finger, suddenly straightened and turned into extremely fine and hard blades.
As soon as Ame no Uzume no Mikoto's arm slipped through the gap in the net, the silk thread sliced down her skin.
A thin line of blood appeared on her forearm, not deep, but enough to prove the sharpness of the thread.
Ame no Uzume no Mikoto stepped back a few paces and glanced down at the wound on her arm.
The wound was healing rapidly. She moved her wrist, and her knuckles made a crisp cracking sound.
"Your silk threads are indeed powerful," said Ame no Uzume no Mikoto, "But my body is more than just strength."
She moved again.
This time, she didn't go in circles, but charged straight at Takuhata Chijihime no Mikoto.
Takuhata Chijihime no Mikoto her finger, and dozens of silk threads fell from the air, forming a curtain in front of her.
Ame no Uzume no Mikoto's body suddenly shrunk. Her knees bent backward, her calves folded back to her thighs, and her whole body slid along the ground like a snake, slipping under the silk curtain.
Takuhata Chijihime no Mikoto retracted her fingers, and the silk curtain sliced downwards.
The body of the Ame no Uzume no Mikoto has changed again.
Her spine felt like it had been ripped out, and she lay flat on the ground with her back almost touching the ground.
The silk thread brushed past her body without cutting her. She pushed off the ground with both hands, sprang up, and punched Takuhata Chijihime no Mikoto in the chest.
Takuhata Chijihime no Mikoto crossed her arms to block the punch. The force of the punch landed on her arms, and she slid back several steps.
A ring of bruises appeared on both arms.
She shook her hand and looked at Ame no Uzume no Mikoto.
"Your body has completely exceeded the limits of a normal person. Muscles, bones, and joints can all be altered at will."
This is your ability.
"You saw through me!" Ame no Uzume no Mikoto laughed. "I can make my body exert its maximum power in any state."
It can be softer than water when it's soft, and harder than iron when it's hard. Its joints can be twisted at will, its bones can temporarily soften, and its muscles can expand instantly.
I'm not the fastest, but my body can do anything.
Therefore, in close combat, no one can beat me.
Therefore, I named my ability " Physical Body Control."
Takuhata Chijihime no Mikoto sighed, her eyes filled with regret.
"You've really hidden yourself well. All the gods think you're just better at Taijutsu than others."
I never expected your abilities to be so surprisingly strong.
Ame no Uzume no Mikoto's voice lowered.
"Isn't a dancing god more reassuring than a Taijutsu deity?"
She paused for a moment, looking at Takuhata Chijihime no Mikoto.
"Now that I've revealed my abilities, you should know that I will absolutely complete my mission."
Takuhata Chijihime no Mikoto looked at her, and her expression changed.
The Ame no Uzume no Mikoto surges again.
This time, she was even faster than before. Her body constantly deformed in the air, her limbs bending arbitrarily as if they had no joints, and each attack came from an impossible angle.
Takuhata Chijihime no Mikoto's silk threads wove net after net in the air, but Ame no Uzume no Mikoto's body always managed to pass through the mesh.
Her flexibility has exceeded the limits of the human body; she is like a boneless snake, or a lump of clay that can be molded into any shape.
Takuhata Chijihime no Mikoto was forced to retreat repeatedly, her silk threads being cut one by one.
The Ame no Uzume no Mikoto's fist slammed into her shoulder, sending her flying and crashing into an old tree.
The tree trunk snapped, and she slid to the ground, a trickle of blood escaping from the corner of her mouth.
Ame no Uzume no Mikoto frozen in place, panting. She was covered in sweat, her clothes torn to shreds by the silk threads, revealing her reddened skin underneath.
But she stood there. Her gaze fell on Takuhata Chijihime no Mikoto.
"You lost." Ame no Uzume no Mikoto looked at Takuhata Chijihime no Mikoto, "You've been too well protected by your brother. You clearly have powerful abilities, but you don't know how to use them."
Takuhata Chijihime no Mikoto looked up. She looked at Ame no Uzume no Mikoto and suddenly smiled.
" Ame no Uzume," she said, "Do you know why I taught that apprentice of yours?"
The Ame no Uzume no Mikoto was stunned.
"Because he lacks aptitude." Takuhata Chijihime no Mikoto slowly stood up. "He can't become a god, but he can become an immortal. I taught him the method of cultivating Natural Energy. I asked him to pass on this method."
It is passed on to ordinary people, to everyone who has the qualifications.
Let mortals cultivate themselves. Let mortals become stronger on their own, so that mortals no longer need gods.
Her fingers twitched silently behind her back.
Several extremely fine threads shot out from her fingertips, sliding silently along the ground into the distance.
There, Yamahiko was still lying on the ground, his hands and feet numb and unable to move.
The transparent thread instantly burrowed into Yamahiko's joints.
Yamahiko felt a numbness in his joints and instantly jumped up from the ground.
Before he could even be surprised, he saw himself rushing straight toward the woman.
Ame no Uzume no Mikoto felt a gust of wind coming from behind. She quickly turned around and, at the same time, pushed off with her feet. The immense force propelled her body into the air.
Countless transparent threads appeared and instantly connected to the surrounding trees.
The Ame no Uzume no Mikoto was blocked by the dense silk threads, and she felt them wrapping around her.
Yamahiko tossed the bamboo sword in his hand, and at the same time, he felt cool, silky threads appear on his hand, instantly forming a glove.
A large number of silk threads briefly controlled the body of the Ame no Uzume no Mikoto. Before she could break free, she saw a pair of hands from the Yamaiwa, heading straight for her chest.
The boy's slightly rough hands, however, were like sharp knives, piercing open the chest of the Ame no Uzume no Mikoto.
A beating heart is visible.
Surprisingly, this beating heart was wreathed in layers of black flames.
To Takuhata Chichi no Mikoto's astonishment, Ame no Uzume no Mikoto broke free from the constraints of the transparent silk threads.
The wounds around the exposed heart healed rapidly, at a speed visible to the naked eye.
She gave Takuhata Chichi no Mikoto a bitter smile.
"You've probably guessed it already, this is the black flame of our Great Goddess Amaterasu."
I advise you to tell me about your Omoikane-no-Kami's, whereabouts.
"We can't find your brother! Our Great Goddess Amaterasu has gone mad!"