First real battle hype!

As you can guess from the chapter title, this is Chiyome vs. Hanzō. I'd like to know whether I've done their new abilities justice or not. Of course, considering this is a Naruto tribute (as well as the next chapter), I want to say this is inspired by Naruto Shippuden OP 6, 'Sign', a great song by FLOW. Do have a listen to that if you haven't while reading this chapter.

Check out this mailbox for potential spoilers! Read at your own risk!
DareusX: Oh, the action has yet to start! Look forward to the next few chapters! (Which starts with this one, of course)
uboNiniM: I welcome back the frighteningly accurate predictions from you! Haven't seen them in a while. The next chapter will be titled exactly that: Orochimaru vs. Jiraiya. And yes, Kohaku will make a future appearance, but whether she'll be a Guardian Spirit or even just a youkai is still undecided. The SHIROU in HV-S01 is a random nameless dude.
Royal Freshness12345: [...] No, Kagetora and her army is separated because of her Leeroy Jenkins tendencies and the fact the Uesugi army SHOULDN'T be there, because misunderstandings can happen. She's faced by SHIROU alone (and let's face it, even if her army's there, what can they do to him?). Not sure about adding another waifu because I'm already full to the brim with 'materials' just with the current girls.
EVA-Saiyajin: Yup. That's why, if you read on to the most current chapter, I'm portraying her as a combination of all her selves in FGO: Archer, Berserker, and Avenger. Hopefully this fic will be finished without interruption from IRL for you.
Kulkulkan-chan: I did a take on Fate/Apocrypha with HV-S01: RKR & HV-S02: QGF's epilogues. The Black Servants will have their limelight in successive installments. Have you read them? Oh, don't rush the Bleach crossover. It'll come in the future...
Stratos263: Well, like all catchy songs about war...

N.B.: Check the Glossary Update below for some pseudo-Power Ranking!

It's rare for shinobis to have an opportunity to face each other in a proper duel situation like this, Hanzō amusedly thought with a small part of his mind. The rest of it was sharply trained on the smaller ninja in front of him, melding with his other senses to perceive any sort of tangible or intangible clues from the latter.

He could sense the other party was around his level, and at this stage, over-concentrating was just as much a detriment as underdoing it. Get too tunnel-visioned, and one would fail to notice the larger picture which often included traps and shady strategies – both a staple in a shinobi's arsenal. This was applicable even to those 'honourable' samurais, because there were a lot of recorded instances they died like dogs a the side of the street due to overconfidence and misperception against an undertrained, but desperate, opponent.

'A snake user? So someone from Mino?'

The thought of the other party might've been female never crossed his mind. Yes, the silhouette was somewhat effeminate, but the form-fitting dark clothes would've blurred any curvature he could use to determine other factors – thus, he assumed this long-haired person was just a young boy. Impressive for someone his age to be able to contend with Hanzō and stop him from chasing after his targets, sure, but the older man was certain he still had an advantage.

In this era, a kunoichi with this person's level of skill was unheard of. The Iga Clan had been operating for so long, allowing them the luxury of a well-established information network, and even some kunoichis Hanzō personally trained was still far from attaining the jōnin rank, much less qualified to trade blows with him. Said network also had no information about any up-and-coming female ninja anywhere, not just within the Oda Clan – thus concluded his analysis.

The Fūma Clan's Shodaime used to have a capable kunoichi, but she had passed away many years ago after spending her retirement years guiding this most recent generation of Fūma shinobis. If she was in her prime, then Hanzō would be forced to consider his optimism, but that day had long passed.

What did this other person think of him, he wondered? Given his allegiance to Motoyasu was well-known, perhaps there's no sense in hiding his appearance so meticulously. Even if the other party didn't recognize his face, one move with his spear or one signature ninjutsu would've exposed his identity anyway.

Hopefully this one didn't simply underestimate him out of arrogance, just like those fools whose blood now stained his demonic spear.

These thoughts didn't last for more than a few seconds – just enough for Nobunaga's group to go through unscathed. That fact was enough for him to at least show some respect.

- Zuun…

He could 'hear' the sound of his spear's tip gently moving through the air as he took a neutral stance. Of course, this was all simply his inhumanly-sharp senses at work.

- Rattle. Rattle. Rattle.

In contrast, his opponent's chain chimed noisily, part of the standard kusarigamajutsu to capture the enemy's attention. The other person might be doing it subconsciously, because the eight different snake-like chains moved as if they're alive, their menacing weighted ends wiggling as the heads. Such control was technically possible through physical manual manipulation, but it's more likely a passive Magecraft was involved.

Just like his spear's tip aimed at his opponent's, they all faced him eerily as well.

There's no need for any starting cue, as it took only one exchanged glance for the spark to cause a figurative explosion.

Both bodies flickered, already hitting near their top speed in an instant, steel flashing across and around this large-cavern-turned-duel-ring.

There's no time to use ninjutsu, apart from those already activated or prepared beforehand. The higher one rose among shinobi ranks, the more important [Time] was – it's much easier to hone one's arm into the absolute fastest assault weapon at this level than attempting to compact a powerful ninjutsu into a Single-Action spell.

His spear transformed into bolts of light under such strain, as the multiheaded kusarigama weighted chains blurred into a black storm of bone-crushing whips. Hanzō initiated with a thrust – the most basic spear technique, yet also the most powerful – simply aimed at the other person's head. At the very least, if it's dodged, the sharp wind it carried would've torn away the facial covering and allowed him to gleam further into his opponent's identity and habits. Following the fastest path – a straight line – he aimed to brute-force his way through without any intention of falsehood.

An overwhelmingly simple attack was the pinnacle of martial arts, and the most difficult to guard against. Not just the blow itself – purely due to its power and speed – but also the infinite combination which could follow. If the opponent dodged, parried, blocked, or any other kind of defensive manoeuvre, Hanzō would be ready to react with a litany of moves afterwards.

There was a reason why the spear was denoted as the 'king of the battlefield'. The simplest weapon to learn, yet the hardest to master – a low 'floor' and a high 'ceiling'. A peasant could kill a well-trained soldier with a well-placed thrust, and a master could kill thousands with one swing. Its pure simplicity was actually the backbone of its flexibility – two originally opposing words – making it so popular and a must-learn for any self-respecting warrior.

Yes, the katana was culturally more significant and seen as the more refined weapon, yet the first thing a samurai's child learnt to wield was a spear. Why? Simple: katanas were made popular through well-arranged duels and executions, which would only happen to a child if their parents agreed to it a few years into their training. However, what if a robber entered their home? Would they wait a few years to allow the child to train properly?

Obviously not.

Predictably, the spear's tip hadn't even entered its optimal range before one dark-coloured weight overtook it, shooting towards his throat like a cannonball. The previously-noisy chain links was completely silent, as did the un-aerodynamic bell-shaped weight, indicating it's actually travelling faster than sound and the deafening sonic boom would follow later.

Just a touch faster than Hanzō's spear, then, with a longer reach. Not only that, but at the edge of his vision, two more shot out, circling diagonally from above and below respectively. In a sense, it's an instant and simultaneous three-pronged attack.

Hanzō didn't let this situation elicit panic in him, especially as there's still six more threats – five remaining weighted chain plus the sickle – the other person still hadn't brought out yet. By assuming these were attacks from three different people instead of just one, a situation he's familiar with during his missions against multiple enemies, he deftly pushed up with his toes and lightly jumped to the air, rotating his body to near-horizontal to avoid the lowest chain strike, while using the length of his spear to parry just the middle and upper weights with a single rotation.

It's dangerous to make contact with this kind of weapon in any location apart from the weights, and even that necessitates one to have sufficient kinetic vision to see their placement and speed clearly. Obviously, blocking them outright with a thinner and delicate weapon like a katana would've been suicide, since a skilled thrower could outright break the steel with a simple application of Reinforcement. Logical – equal level of Magecraft wouldn't matter if one weapon's physics worked so differently with the other.

His opponent's weights weren't normal, either, judging from the sound and impact the lower one made as it lashed the ground instead, having lost its original target of strangling and crushing his foot. They're considerably heavier and larger, about the size of an average adult's palm and clearly larger than their diminutive wielder's own. The fact they could shoot out with such ferocity spoke more of the user's skill than the craftsmanship of the weapon.

The place where he initiated his mini-jump was no more, reduced to a dusty crater which would undoubtedly slow his movement if he landed on it.

- Bang! Bang!

Therefore, after successfully parrying the two weight – itself a far taxing endeavour than it should be due to the aforementioned unique design – he slammed his spear's butt to the ground and vaulted high above, both his hands converging on the spear's shaft to form several hand seals. However, he was forced to bail on that as three more weighted chains shot up to his airborne location.

He dropped onto the ground and pushed away to a distance he considered safe, sweat lightly perspiring his facial covering. That exchange wasn't completely useless, as he showcased his spear's threat, and now he knew this person respected his ninjutsu enough to prevent him forming the very first seals.

Hand seals weren't necessary, but they'd become the accepted norm in the shinobis' quest to simplify and increase their Magecraft's efficacy. Chanting for the sake of self-hypnosis was safer and nearer a guaranteed success, yet in their line of work, the smallest sound could mean a fatal failure. At times, not even the indication of initiating a spell was allowed due to the presence of enemy sensos.

Hand seals had just developed into a way a shinobi prevented Od from leaking out during an incantation, swapping the vocal element with physical symbolism. It's more difficult to master and required extreme dexterity, but the payoff during highly-sensitive missions was worth it. They took roughly around the same time, yet was near-enough silent and undetectable before the set was finished. A sign of a high-level shinobi was the ability to compress this already-impressive chanting replacement to the bare minimum of movements, enabling the user to multitask more.

For instance, he was attempting to perform a [Wind] Element ninjutsu just now with the abbreviated two-seal form. Wielding a spear meant more often than not both of his hands were occupied, and thus this quirk was a must if he wanted to survive long into his older years. Realizing that, his opponent made it a priority to interrupt whatever he's doing, preferably before the first hand seal was even made. It's a trick quick-draw specialists also used against shinobis, because usually they had the speed, range, and reaction time to perform fatal attacks in the space for said shinobi to initiate his ninjutsu.

- Step. Step. Step.

Even with his retreat, all it took was one more extra step for the other person to close the gap with another launching of the weights, this time utilizing the two remaining ones as the others reset.

'That chain is longer than I thought…! Or is it [Propagation]?' Hanzō cursed inwardly, flickering to the side farther than necessary to truly neutralize the situation. He narrowed his eyes at the sonic boom re-landscaping the cavern's floor and walls wherever the weights flew near. 'Owah!'

He almost let an embarrassing scream out as he bent his body backwards, dodging a long-range slash from the small scythe at his opponent's other hand. He transitioned straight into a half-cartwheel, before setting up his spear once more and parrying the dozen-or-so strikes which followed straight after. He had to remind himself to not only Reinforce his spear, but also coat it with his personal [Lightning] Element to safeguard against unwanted tricks.

"Kōga-ryū kusarigamajutsu! I knew I've seen that technique before!" The old female toad on his left shoulder croaked, having stayed silent during the few seconds they exchanged blows. "Brat, do you remember-"

- Fwoosh!

"Mgyah!" Shima yelped, nearly biting her tongue off her tongue when her summoner performed a tight dodge. "Brat, watch it! I'm still talking!"

Her husband cut back in defence of the shinobi, "Maybe you shouldn't distract him in the middle of a battle, then!"

"What 'distract'?! I was giving him useful information, old fart!"

"We're of the same age, and still you haven't learned throughout those years!" Fukasaku yelled back across Hanzō's ears. "He won't learn anything if he's dead because of your mouth!"

- Fwoosh! Fwoosh!

""Mgyah!""

This time, both of them yelped and covered their long and sensitive tongue after the shinobi seemingly moved and flickered for no apparent reason.

[They sure are noisy,] Chiyome noted via telepathy to her new Guardian Spirit… who seemed like knew those two old toads personally? [Shirohami-sama… Old acquaintances?]

[You could say that,] the white snake hissed back bitterly. [Though those little children will think of me as something more than that.]

'Little children? How old is Shirohami-sama…?' The girl thought, though obviously not voicing it out loud. She knew very well how sensitive a woman could be to those questions – even though her reasoning was often the opposite from the norm, owing to her underdeveloped body. [Do you think choosing to stall Hanzō-dono instead of outright defeating him is a good choice?]

[Ho? You are that confident in your skills? Very well, then – just do whatever you thought is best,] the white snake partially teased. [Do not ask me for everything like your predecessor – little Dōsan – because your husband will take care of the rest if you mess up.]

[Muu… I want to avoid troubling him, if possible… He's already done so much for me and the rest; it'll be unfair if I depend on him like this,] Chiyome sulked, puffing her cheeks underneath her mask. [Regarding my confidence… If it's simply stalling, then doing so without endangering my life is perfectly within my capability].

[That's what I like to hear.]

- Step.

Watching an experienced shinobi like Hanzō tried to evade her blows instead of taking them head-on and humiliatingly defeat them like what her husband generally did was somehow satisfying, though she kept reminding herself not to get arrogant. Yes, she held the advantage for now, but it's mostly attributed to the knowledge she had about the Iga Clan's techniques. Meanwhile, the other person didn't have one iota of her background and was learning as he went.

While she's somewhat more confident of her appearance in public, she still chose this body-covering outfit to avoid giving her opponents the slightest clue of her identity… especially about the thing sleeping inside her.

Therefore, she had to control the tempo as to not lose control over all the situation. This state of stalling Hanzō to give Nobunaga and the rest as much time as possible to resolve their situation with Yoshimoto. Her attempt to conceal as much of herself as possible, both from personal and physical reason.

- Step. Step. Step.

The only sound echoing across this deserted cavern since the beginning was the slight footsteps and rustling clothes through the wind, as both were trained far more than enough to eliminate any unnecessary and loud movement. They still were making more noise than they habitually did, mostly because there's no need to maintain stealth any longer, and partly because both pushed each other so hard neither noticed any particular disadvantage in allowing some kind of sound.

Besides, between two equally-skilled opponents, it's always their hearts' voice which spoke louder as they clashed blades and fists.

It was too fast for them to process every single sensory input, anyway.

Hanzō clearly was a Kage-level shinobi. Despite Chiyome's best attempts to hinder his movements and ninjutsu, he still frequently found the inadvertent small gaps to sneakily initiate his hand signs. It's fortunate he didn't seem to have mastered truly abbreviating those, like Chiyome and Danzō had done, or she would've been in a lot more trouble than she's now.

Perhaps enough to resorting to risk her life, of which her husband would definitely scold her for.

As she flickered forwards, side-to-side, and occasionally backwards, the multiple weighted chains never stop striking, minutely manipulated by the gaps between her fingers. Unlike traditional kusarigama, where a singular chain would be attached to the sickle, hers had the blade on a separate chain on its own. So, technically, she's wielding nine chain links instead of just eight – it only appeared to be the latter because the extra one was hidden underneath the cloth covering her arm.

Their attachment points were actually underneath her skin. Utilizing the cursed birthmarks she hated and her husband thought of as 'charm points', they became ritualistic inscriptions to store various things in Yamata-no-Orochi's dimensional spatial prison. The scales and torrid red scars had no need of further tattooing, as was common among shinobi, as they alone held enough Conceptual Weight to use as magic circle material to channel her own power, as well as the serpent god's and her newfound connection with the serpent yōkai tribe.

Yamata-no-Orochi's two Origins, [Separation] and [Mirror], were the ones used as this technique's foundations, with both effects self-explanatory in their ability to manipulate the higher-levelled Authority [Space], which was the Domain of Amenominakanushi and to an extent Izanagi. All of Chiyome's chain links were fastened to a certain point in her dimensional storage, and much like her husband's Reality Marble, she was able to bring them out however she wished with minimal magic energy usage.

Furthermore, actually overusing this ability consumed all the disgusting pus and blood occasionally coming out of her body. She might be glad Shirō – and to an extent Danzō – didn't mind being with her and cleaning her body whenever it happened, but it was still a sore and embarrassing spot for her. Was it not enough her appearance was forever marred, and now she had to smell as well?

Sometimes, Equivalent Exchange can be not a bitch.

She could see his eyes widening at the sight of her arms and legs extending.

Since earlier, her eight weighted chains had pegged Hanzō famed spearmanship back to about one arm's length beyond its sweet spot. Continuously lashing from above, below, left, right, front, back, and all diagonal angles, she forced him to not just be on the defensive, but also constantly leaping to the air where it's impossible to place a solid foothold to initiate any proper spear skills. She wasn't even using her full strength, so she was surprised her attempts turned most of the surfaces around them into powder without even touching.

[That's one of Yatsu-kun's ability. No need to be surprised,] Shirohami commented, as if she could clearly hear Chiyome's thoughts and disbelief. [And yes, I am that much older than him; thus, my form of address.]

[Ahaha…] The girl awkwardly laughed in her mind, certain said gigantic beaked snake would be unhappy hearing that. [Still, this cavern sure is sturdy…]

[This is a mountain, if you've forgotten, little one,] the white snake chided. [It'll take much more than this token effort from you to destroy it. Be careful when using Kuchiyose, though.]

[Understood.]

The distance between the two of them had increased by a solid one step by virtue of the serpent tribe's signature Golden Serpent Armour taijutsu kata, which enabled her to elongate her joints, muscles, and bones via specific application of Alteration to her body. While she only recently mastered it, and that's only due to the boons provided from studying Yamata-no-Orochi for a long time, it's enough to tip the scales in her favour considering she's able to match Hanzō even without it.

"Soft Physique Modification?! Are there no lengths you will not go in order to achieve power, you monster?!" Hanzō cursed out at the now whip-like limbs, extending the weighted chains' range to near double. Still, it's a testament to his skill he's only pushed back one step from his earlier range, since the limbs' movements were somewhat simple… for now. "Treasure your own body! Don't listen to those who forced you into those horrible experiments!"

Of course, Chiyome had no idea what he's talking about.

[Does he… think all of this is… artificial?] She queried, holding herself back from exploding after hearing those familiar insults. No matter how much Shirō repeatedly praised her until she blushed like a steaming prawn, hearing them still hurt. [I haven't even gotten to reveal the core taijutsu part…]

[Does everyone have knowledge of Yamata-no-Orochi-sama? No? Then there's your reason,] Shirohami theorized. [Most who have this ability wrongfully attained them unnaturally… hence his reactions. Don't bother correcting him, though, little one.]

She silently agreed, composing herself to disallow any trait she was in any way affected by his words. Instead, unlike the previously grouped attack with two or three weighted chains at once, she began to step it up.

All eight chains would attack simultaneously.

Normally, that would give the attacking party a lot of advantage. After all, who could realistically block more than three simultaneous attacks at the same time, all from different angles?

Those people clearly didn't know Magecraft, as there's plenty of hand-seal-less ninjutsu which provided omnidirectional protection. Naturally, since Hanzō was able to use it, Chiyome had prepared countermeasures against when all of her attacks would inevitably be blocked. This was the most critical part – if for some reason this multi-limbed attack failed, the user would've been so wide open even a child would be able to slit their throat with ease.

Using the Origins [Poison] and [Separation], Chiyome imbued her weapons with corrosive Anti-Magic properties. The latter would break apart the magic formula used and the former would corrupt and render it useless. It's not particularly strong, especially when she tried it against her husband, but just enough when combined with her innate strength to break through simple barriers like the one Hanzō was attempting to use now.

She could see his mask and head covering were soaked with cold sweat, seeing her limbs extending monstrously well into his blind spots… which meant the weights were even further out of sight. Minute movements from her fingers were exponentially magnified due to chains' natural resonance, moving the weights close to the speed of sound with just a casual tug… and well beyond it if she went into top gear. As a result, even she couldn't follow their movements with just her hearing alone, leading Hanzō to only have one method of defense.

Exactly the way she wanted.

- Crack! Crack! BANG!

The first two weights were enough to put huge fissures into the hastily-erected barrier, and another two landed first deep into his body.

However, Chiyome pulled back the other four, redirecting them to a spot right behind her as she somersaulted in the air, right to where a wide-eyed Hanzō was ready to backstab her with a short tanto. The second pair of weights from earlier were embedded into a replacement log – the signature Kawarimi elementary to any shinobi worth their salt – shattering it into pieces.

The sudden change of trajectory did blunt their lethality, however, as the man was able to tap against two of them with his shoes' tips and dodge the other pair. He was forced to cross his arms – abandoning his tanto – as Chiyome slashed with her scythe, sending an energy beam across his chest.

- Clang!

A bone-screeching sound erupted from his metallic arm guards being sliced in half, his forearm behind them lightly bleeding.

Naturally, this distance was still more than enough for Chiyome's elongated limbs to reach, and she continued her assault with just six weights at a time, readying the last pair and her scythe for any other movement techniques he wanted to pull. Still, from the blocking stance, Hanzō managed to complete three hand seals before he had to dodge, launching three lightning-covered shurikens as he retreated.

Mid-flight, the lightning coating expanded into the size of the famed Fūma shurikens, and Chiyome had to retract some of her chains to avoid having the element conducted through the metal. The Iga Kage had a gleam flash across his eyes, noting a potential weakness he could take advantage of, and subsequently formed several other hand seals while dodging and coating his spear with the same lightning.

- Srrt.

"Mgh!" He yelled out when he tripped. Looking down, he saw one weighted chain wrapping around his ankles… and pulled it down to the earth. "Owah!"

He tried to stab the links with his lightning-coated spear, yet to his horror, the elemental imbibement fizzled out. He's already knee-deep into the earth, and let go of his spear to perform the ninjutsu to escape this particular binding technique. It's nothing new, and he's faced it before, but certainly not at this speed and ferocity.

Chiyome's knee slammed right into his face before he could finish, muffling a pained scream.

The weighted chain formed a physical and Thaumaturgical connection with the existence called 'Hanzō', nullifying the Kawarimi so reflexively ingrained for any threatened shinobi. However, realizing there's a slim chance for counterattack, he… electrocuted himself.

To be more precise, he let his [Lightning] Od out, hoping to rely on Nekomata's innate resistance to resist the aftereffects and shock his opponent.

…once again, the sparks fizzled out before they could travel through the chain links, but having half-expected this outcome, he dispelled the ninjutsu immediately and mentally signalled for the two aging toads on his shoulders to start their backup plan.

"Finally! Our time to shine!" Fukasaku excitedly croaked, already finishing his series of shortened hand seals.

"Don't bite your tongue, Pa!" Shima chimed back, herself completing another set.

Since earlier, their efforts to help Hanzō had been thwarted by their opponent's beyond-masterful control over the chains. As he dodged or parried the weights, mindful not to let himself or his spear open to any chance of binding, simple tugs of the fingers were enough to curve and change their paths straight towards the two old yōkai toads, forcing them o cancel whatever support they're planning on using and resorted to self-defence techniques.

Additionally, constant harassments towards the Iga Clan's Kage meant the two lacked any sort of stable platform to properly concentrate, since they're so used to the orthodox footwork of the Iga in their roles as support summons. The need of a chaotic, random, reflexive dodges and manoeuvres completely destroyed their rhythm, to the point this was the first opportunity they're able to grab.

- Slip!

First, a slick layer of oil and slime was conjured around Hanzō's body, fully blanketing him and enabling his leg to easily escape the binding. Jumping to the air, he rotated his body fully, with one of the toads controlling the liquid into a ready-made blob in front of him. Lastly, Hanzō made one hand seal after kicking his spear towards the diminutive shinobi as a distraction with the same movement, and ignited a spark by grinding his teeth, blowing the resulting large flame to engulf his opponent.

- FWOOOOOOSSHHH!

The inferno was focused in a twisting jet, and was impossible to avoid as his opponent had just begun to move in to finish him off, confident in their binding to prevent Hanzō from escaping.

- Crack!

"Gaha-!"

Still, it was him who cried out first, as one single black weight shot through the middle of the raging fire and plunged deep into his chest, breaking most of his ribcage. A nauseating sizzle accompanied it, as the weight was deceptively smoking hot, burning through most of his protective clothing and his outermost skin.

The impact sent him reeling back, summoning his spear frantically into his hand and using the other one to guard his chest. Still, at the very least, that [Fire] ninjutsu bought him some space and time, as the expected flurry of counterattack didn't come.

Additionally, he was rewarded by his opponent's true appearance after all this time, as his and the toads' combined attack did burn off the other person's mask and some of their shinobi outfit.

'…a girl?'

The first emotion he felt was disappointment. An attack they'd prepared for quite some time only managed some superficial charring… and none on her skin or even her long, now-unbound hair. Most of it ended with scantily revealing some of her gentle curves, along with the justification of his earlier name-calling.

"So you really are a monster…" he gritted out, withholding the pain from his injury. "No wonder you cover it all up!"

- Fizz…

The fire did hit her… No, to be more precise, it only engulfed a thick gloss black scales, which lightly smoked after the hit. Slowly, it shed away, showcasing a petite young girl – maybe a woman, Hanzō's not sure – with horrifying scale marks and scars all across her body. Not a single exposed skin was pristine, as those appeared far more nightmarish than a birthmark – more akin to a curse.

Somehow, he failed to notice snake scales weren't supposed to be bulletproof, as most mythical and Thaumaturgical phenomena could usually be explained or attributed to a real-life fact. Like the Mt. Myōboku toads, being able to use [Fire] didn't necessarily mean one was immune to it. Most people with Guardian Spirits usually shared various traits with the latter, and those who had cold-blooded creatures usually were weak to extremes in temperatures in exchange of a greater affinity with neutral ones.

- Pak. Pak. Pak.

As the sound of falling and carbonized hardened scales replaced the sharp intake of oxygen to feed the flame, Hanzō saw a single golden slitted snake eye peering at him sharply from some way away. He knew what he's seeing was figurative, but he felt that singular bloodthirsty eye was a gigantic one, hovering behind the little girl and bearing down on his existence.

- Ptui!

Out of reflex, Hanzō tilted his head to one side once he felt a projectile was approaching his face at great speed. 'Did she just… spit on me?'

- Sizzle!

The rockface behind him emitted a shrill noise as it dissolved rapidly, but before he could turn his head to confirm what's actually happening, a knee had already neared his nose, forcing him to cross his arms to guard.

- BANG!

This time, his Reinforcement was on time, dissipating the impact beautifully by shifting his leg along with the hit, but Chiyome had already transitioned to the next attack unnaturally quickly, as Hanzō was hit from behind before he could reset his guard.

"Boy! She's bending her limbs like a snake from your blind spot!"

"I know!"

He shouted partially to clear away his dizziness, as the strike landed right at the base of his neck. Fortunately, he hadn't released his Reinforcement or the what-he-presumed-was-a-neck-chop would've separated his neck bones already from his skull. He spread his senses, not as effectively because he hadn't entered Sage Mode yet, but it was enough to make the decision to drop his body low to the floor and rolled away ungracefully, sweeping horizontally behind him to clear off any pursuing threats…

…just as one of her other arms and legs scissored into one spot, the wind noise indicating it would've folded his body into three the wrong way around if it hit.

- Clang! Clang! Clang!

Before he could stand up properly, three weights were already hammering on him much faster than before, to the point Shima and Fukasaku to spat out several water bullets to deflect two of them. His spear only blocked the last one by chance, whose weight and momentum rattled his confidence as it was far more lethal than before.

'So calling her a 'monster' is a sore spot?' His experience enabled him to make this observation under duress, but still not enough to find a way out. "Shit!"

No, actually, there was a fourth weight hidden behind the trajectory of the last one. It managed to glance his cheek and gashed it quite deep, as well as tear apart his face mask to reveal his face.

'Now we're equal,' Chiyome darkly thought as the older man reeled back a couple of steps.

He's certainly very experienced, ignoring this wound and the throbbing pain from it because it's not lethal despite its gruesome result. A large portion of his cheek's flesh was torn away, revealing parts of his gum and teeth, but one of the toads beside him had already cast a healing ninjutsu to at least stop the bleeding. Unlike her, he was through-and-through a normal human without the unassisted self-healing capability people like her and Yoshitatsu had. From what she heard from Mitsuhide's report, she was only able to defeat the half-yōkai decisively due to two things: injuring Yoshitatsu from the inside, as well as decapitating her in one stroke.

Unfortunately for him, Hanzō thought of her like how a normal human would, too.

Her husband truly was the exception instead of the rule. Nobunaga aimed to change that; her 'Tenka Fubu' should be able to give her a place to belong in the wider society, instead of merely relying on the company and respect of Chiyome's closest associates.

- Rattle…

Instead of pushing in her advantage further, she feigned arrogance and chose to display all eight weights menacingly at the end of their respective chains, taking guard with the scythe close to her flat chest.

She had seen enough of him and the toads to know where this was going.

A cornered rat in front of a snake would always produce its greatest bite.

No matter if that's the last thing it'd do in its life, it'd make sure to do so.

Survival instinct was always the one thing which allowed any creature to surpass their own limits, imposed or not.

Her right eye shone menacingly as Hanzō stabbed his spear to the ground, realizing he was being looked down upon, and flashed three quick hand seals.

They're quite the familiar abbreviated set, and Shima complimented, "Finally! Going to let your old man loose, do you?!"

He didn't answer directly at her, but at the creature he's about to summon. "Let's go, old man. Kuchiyose!"

There was an odd tradition among the Iga Clan.

Any Kage who retired and passed away would have their spirit return to Mt. Myōboku where their ancestors hailed from, where depending on their strength they'd ascend and transform into a corresponding toad yōkai form. This wasn't at all similar to half-yōkai or shiftling transformation, where they could toggle back and forth depending on their stamina and emotions – this change was permanent.

'Original' dwellers like Shima and Fukasaku naturally never had the ability to transform into a humanoid figure apart from using a temporary shapeshifting ninjutsu – and vice versa, especially with Hanzō who had rejected to learn the toads' deepest arts and chose to hone his relationship with his Guardian Spirit, the Nekomata, instead. While it went down relatively well with the elders, since they're only judging their successors from their competency as a leader and shinobi, his late father… didn't.

They never got along in the first place, what with Hanzō's style differing significantly from his father's traditional techniques. Only the spearmanship was inherited; the rest was different enough to split the clan in two schools of thought. Of course, Hanzō was wise enough not to discriminate against his father's teachings – if they're useful, then for sure he'd respect and apply it on the field either with his subordinates' efforts or his own.

For example, the traditional taijutsu kata taught to the clan leaders were, obviously, derived from observing a frog or toad's unnatural and inhuman movements, trying to get an advantage against human enemies. However, Hanzō's own style related closer to Wazoku's feline-based techniques, such as the tiger and panther styles popular among street performers and orthodox military men, following Nekomata's natural influence.

The Iga Clan descended from the sages of Mt. Myōboku who intermingled with human society, and it was this history they were trying to respect by emulating their methods and traditions accordingly. However, from their long-lived perspective, Hanzō's refusal was nothing more than a child's rebellious phase, which should be 'fixed by the next generation.

Not his father, though. To him, it was more like a slap to his face, since his pride wouldn't allow any sort of backhanded discussion about this from his predecessors and the elders. He had to follow the tradition, however willing – so what gave Hanzō the right to do what he did?

- Kuchiyose!

Still, despite his misgivings about this son of his, duty called.

It was an interesting experience being summoned. The sensation of reality breaking down around him, the barrier between the two worlds and dimensions he'd always felt there since time immemorial, and the strong pull on his soul stemming from their blood connection… all took him from his ready state right into the middle of a duel.

Unlike what most popular opinion said, summoned creatures worked best without any flashy theatrics to the process. So no bright shining light, no large puff of smoke, no 'foreboding doom' felt by the opponent. Because they're by default larger and denser than humans, their first duty often became a sudden meteorite strike on top of whatever they're summoned on. Of course, those familiar with Kuchiyose could prepare accordingly once the hand seals were completed, but this was a devastating move to be used in civilian areas, since the act alone could've instantly killed a house full of family members.

He wasn't really paying attention to what his son was doing, and waited the thought-expanding titbit of data package to arrive during the transfer process. While limited to general information, it's still very useful to know what's going on around him before he arrived, given [Time] and [Space] were contorting in the process. It's an ability granted by the complicated Summoning Contract, and wasn't afforded to those who're forcibly teleported somewhere without their knowledge due to a curse mark or something similar.

- STATIC!

"BOY! WATCH OUT ABOVE YOU!"

That was the first thing he yelled out once he was able to, as his well-honed sense of danger – even more sensitive now that he's a yōkai – shouted at him.

Their differences in size meant Ōgama frequently lost sight of his son when they fought together, and he could sense the boy was still mid-air, falling to their coordinated position to land on top of his large toad head. Fukasaku's and Shima's energy signatures were also another beacon he could use to pinpoint his son, given his inability to utilize the toad tribe's Sage Arts meant it could get difficult to wordlessly communicate their intentions in combat.

However, none of that particularly matters… because there's a big-ass snake hurtling down from the heavens straight towards the two of them – and with a maw opened large enough to cleanly swallow them all, too.

Much like his son's spearmanship, Ōgama's reflex was to swing his house-sized long spear in a wide sweeping arc, hoping to catch the snake's neck on its flats, but it simply contorted its flight pattern by suddenly shifting its collar's shape. Suddenly and partially flaring out, the instant aerodynamic drag was enough for it to change direction almost 90° to the side, before it wrapped its upper body on the giant toad's spear and slammed down with its tail.

Ōgama had to let go of his spear, jumping powerfully backwards. From the corners of his eyes, he could observe both elderly toads had pulled his son away with their long tongues, attaching them to the cavern's sidewalls… because their best option, the ceiling, was gone.

Indeed, moonlight was freely streaming down the makeshift hole after the earlier bad and wet weather.

Across the distance, where his spear had been wrenched away, the young girl he presumed to be the monstrous snake's summoner had just finished the last of her hand seals, also clearly performing Kuchiyose. There was a massive trench where the snake's tail landed, obviously would've broken a lot of bones if it did so on his body.

- Rumble… Rumble… Rumble…

Before the sound of the impact even receded, a small earthquake shook the chamber they're in. Or, more precisely, it's due to the sudden appearance of two massive beasts inside, their weights causing the structure to weaken. While this particular cavern was nearer to the surface, and thus less structurally critical to Okehazama as a whole, it's still a concerning situation given the two humans currently fighting in it still had a significant chance of being buried alive.

Of course, everyone present was an experienced combatant, and didn't let this threat to distract them one bit.

Before the next breath passed, Yatsu-no-Kami used its thick, meaty tail to propel itself to where Hanzō evacuated earlier, not even waiting for its earlier tail-slam to run its course. Ōgama leapt after it, using all four limbs in this rare occasion, his cold-blooded heart thumping. However, his spear was still clutched in the large snake's lower body, and it was wily enough to launch the gigantic arms like an arrow the same time it jumped, buying both Chiyome and it some more time.

- BANG!

Not particularly caring about the aforementioned threat of a cave-in, Yatsu-no-Kami's hyper-sharp beak pierced a sizeable hole into the wall as Hanzō flickered upwards, sprinting up the rockface and summoned several lightning balls, but only Fukasaku's apt warning enabled him to cancel the ninjutsu in the nick of time… because at the same time, Chiyome had already skated up the gigantic snake's back, ready to counter him right away.

Just as the lightning fizzled away – with Hanzō wary of her repeating the same trick to ground his lightning attacks earlier – she had already leapt well into her own weighted chains' range from earlier. Not having the knowledge of how she redirected and neutralized his ninjutsu without the use of [Wind] Element had him and the toads struggling to find a viable strategy – both offence and defence.

Hanzō re-summoned his spear back to his hand, his hands blurring to create afterimages of various thrusts and sweeps. That instant contact was enough time for him to cast Alteration to increase the weapon's flexibility, making it more akin to show spears from Wazoku, but still retained its deadly weight and sharpness. The tip visually split into almost a dozen, comfortably covering every weight she could shoot at him from any angle.

It didn't really work, since she had already pinpointed the weakness of this technique: range and central pivot. It's useless for a defensive technique to cover any and all avenues of attack if the opponent simply sniped from a much longer distance with an unstoppable projectile. Additionally, despite the confusing movements, one thing didn't change: the focal point of his movement in his wrists. As a result, she simply concentrated all eight weights into one relatively sharply grouped point, and thrusted them like a drill, the chains rattling loudly from the explosive movement.

- Fwoosh!

There was no expected dull thud of crunched bones and torn flesh, because the blow simply evaporated Hanzō side with just a glance. He managed to shift his balance at the last second, or his body would've been pulverized in two. Still, he couldn't hold back the bloody cough and yelp of pain from the grave injury.

Shima puffed out a cloud of [Poison] Element, whose nature Hanzō's not sure about given he didn't see which hand seals she performed, but at least its pitch-black colour should serve as a temporary obstacle for the young girl to either go through or around.

She chose the former… by inhaling the poison into her own lungs.

Before everybody's eyes' finished widening, Shirohami shone brightly on her shoulders, and Chiyome promptly spat out the condensed and enhanced poison back to its creator.

The earlier fog-like consistency was absolutely compressed into a solid pill, shooting forward faster than a regular harquebus's bullet.

"Hyah!"

A reverberating croak from Ōgama preceded the incoming rush of wind, knocking both Chiyome and her projectile away from Hanzō. However, his renewed sprint towards them – with spear now in hand, after he caught the thrown weapon with great difficulty – was checked when Yatsu-no-Kami body-slammed his large gut with its sharp head. The snake's hardened beak was parried by the spear's shaft, with Ōgama immediately throwing out a kick to prevent the flexible body from wrapping around his weapon and limbs like earlier.

Combining human-like vision with frog eyes was quite the good idea, merging the best of both worlds, leading the giant toad to shift his attention to the glowing crown of magic stones on the snake's head.

Then, it shone terribly bright, and a cold dread dropped into his bloated stomach.

- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

Yatsu-no-Kami opened its mouth, and a shrill scream came out. Shirohami glowed momentarily and transformed her flexible body into temporary earmuffs for Chiyome, as the others in the cavern collapsed to the floor, bleeding from their hearing canals.

To be honest, Yamata-no-Orochi himself had an array of ninjutsu so vast it made the fight more than unfair. As renowned and experienced as the Iga Clan in rearing their leaders, their skills were rendered useless by the versatility and pure power of a god's magical ability. Couple that with his most suitable host yet, and Hanzō didn't have a chance from the start, given Chiyome was already well-briefed about his ability and the potential to meet him in this Battle of Okehazama.

His decision in summoning his yōkai father only made it worse, since Chiyome's specialty was actually… well, summoning. In a duel of which one could reliably choose, summon, and maintain the presence of otherworldly beings, there was no one in Nihon even near her calibre. Yamata-no-Orochi's Conceptual Weight could perhaps only be offset if the opponent used one of the Three Regalia as a summoning conduit, and two of them were in the hands of people she knew.

Her husband, and her twice-removed sister-in-law.

Nobunaga had already prepared a proposal to various shipbuilders for seafaring vessels capable of searching for the third one, as it was rumoured to be sleeping on the bottom of the ocean somewhere.

"U-Ugh… A-Argh…" Hanzō squirmed on the ground, his partial usage of Sage Arts unwittingly Reinforcing his senses, leading to his current predicament. His toad summons fared worse – being so in tune with nature meant Yatsu-no-Kami's [Sound] Element attack affected them worse. "W-Why…?"

Still, the only words coming out of his mouth was a question.

Why hadn't she finished them off yet?

- …

It had been several minutes, and Chiyome de-summoned both Shirohami and Yatsu-no-Kami. She simply stood there, observing them, confident she had things under control.

…and it wasn't that faux-arrogance he fell for earlier, too.

She smiled at his query, along with the silent stares the three toads were giving her. Instead of answering verbally, she pointed up, to the hole their battle had created in the ceiling, still streaming down light to illuminate the entire space.

"T-That's…! Minamoto…!" Shima whispered sharply, realizing the thing shining down on them wasn't the moon.

Three lilies on top of a single large chrysanthemum.

A gigantic magic circle hovered in the air, so large they could see it despite their limited field of vision.

"Because it's over, of course," Chiyome stated matter-of-factly. "Farewell, 'Demon' Hanzō'."

- Grr…

A deep bass grumble emanated from Ōgama's throat. "Girl… what's your name…?" Wheezing, the giant toad lifted his body up from his prone position on the floor. "That white snake… Shirohami, so this is the one you choose?"

The little girl smiled mysteriously. "I don't think a monster like me have any name worth mentioning to the Great Toad. Right, Hanzō-dono?"

Not even staying to enjoy the blush on the middle-aged man's face, she flickered away, eager to see what ridiculous thing her husband was about to pull out this time.

Glossary Update!

K

Kuchiyose

Summoning Technique. A signature skill of bringing either living beings or inanimate object from a separate dimension. Its most famous uses – and, ironically, also its rarest – was to bring forth a contracted Phantasmal Species from the Reverse Side of the World. The magic energy cost of performing this technique was shared between the user and the summoned, and even weapons had to be modified and enhanced to withstand the rigours of interdimensional travel, no matter how minor.

S

Species Transformation

The skill of utilizing another species' traits to enhance any attribute of the original one. Its extent depended on how far the user was willing to risk losing themselves in their transformation, as well as how their own Conceptual Weight interacted with the universe's restrictions and penalties of attempting to deviate from the natural order. The degree of this skill's influence could be generally categorized as followed:

· Humanoid Compression: Used by various powerful yōkais to limit the pressure they'd receive in the Outer Side and away from the Reverse Side of the World, cladding them in a roughly humanoid form and restricting their peak powers and forms. An example was Shuten-dōji's miniature disguise and Otakemaru's persona as Kashin Koji.

· Living Weapon: Channelling one's Guardian Spirits' powers through the body, it enhanced some physical and magical attributes without any major changes to the user's appearance. The difficulty in maintaining this form depended solely on one's relationship with and mastery over their Guardian Spirits. An orthodox combination between two different species, mastered by many great warriors.

· Yōkai Shift: A form unique to half-yōkais/shiftlings, where the user used their Guardian Spirits' powers to trigger a transformation to their other 'form', either to yōkai or human and vice versa. While the latter dictated what passive attributes were increased, the user's other forms were the dominant factor in changes both physical and magical in nature. An example was Saitō Yoshitatsu's and Hachisuka Goemon's control over creating and entering Yōkai Realms.

· Sage Arts: Occurred when one formed a blood and soul contract with an entire tribe of yōkai instead of one individual as a personal Guardian Spirit. While this enabled the user access to far more techniques, they also had to forge a strong personal, respectable relationship with an entire group, with all the risk and responsibilities involved. Another advantage was the durability of this transformation, as depending on the strength of the contract, it might as well be indefinite. An example was the Mochizuki Clan's affinity with snakes and the Iga Clan's long-standing partnership with the toad yōkais.

· Apotheosis: The most dangerous, often fatal, and irreversible method, also often called Realm Descent. A slim chance to revert 'back to normal' was dependent on one's fixation of their Origin and 'objective', channelling the madness in one direction only. A human would have their bodies transformed beyond recognition by [Expansion], while a yōkai would have their original bodies cast away by [Expulsion]. An example was Miyoshino's self-crippling method in order to stay with her husband and child in the Outer Side.