"You little spineless COWARD!" Hachiman yells out echoing through the arena.

Izanami frowns, putting a hand on her cheek. "Oh no. I can't see my little sweet Hachiman's battle like this." She looks to Osiris who quickly bows gently. "Osiris, was it? Fix this. Thank you," She says and Osiris nods, climbing off the pyramid.

"Right away." He says quickly locating Heimdall who is down on the battlefield, warping down next to him. "Hey, Heimdall. The audience would like to see the battle as well? Especially our esteemed guests," He says gesturing to Izanami and Izanagi. Heimdall instantly holds up his Gjallarhorn. "Oh OF COURSE! My apologies ladies and gentlemen. I was so caught up in this gorgeous battle. Here! BEHOLD!" He snaps his fingers as large TV screens appear around the arena showing the insides of the house.

Izanami claps her hands seeing Hachiman leap at Sun Tzu. "Oh, there he is again, dear! Look at him go!"

Izanagi nods, crossing his bulky arms. "Indeed! Taking care of that little human with all his might! I'm sure that human believed this stage would force Hachiman to use his less broad movements, but he is a fool if he thinks this will limit OUR Hachiman!"

Hachiman swings his sword wildly, Sun Tzu dodging swiftly, keeping his eyes on the tip of the blade at all times to predict its trajectory. Hachiman notices, amidst his speedy swings something strange. Sun Tzu is clutching his teacup quite firmly, ignoring all the weapons lying around to use. Why? His grip is over the top. Is he planning to splash him with water? No matter if that is the case! He keeps swinging before Sun Tzu finally reveals his tactic, rolling towards the flame where the teapot was sitting, picking up a sword, conveniently laying on a piece of cloth. Hachiman begins a swing, with a swift and long step toward the Chinese general when suddenly Sun Tzu tosses the cup into the open flame and Hachiman realizes what it is. 'SAKE!' He thinks as the fire flares up dramatically, making Hachiman stop his approach, when Sun Tzu does a full spinning swing with his blade through the flame as it catches on fire in an instant, Sun Tzu swings at Hachiman over and over, the war god being forced to dodge once more. 'He coated the sword in it! How could I not have noticed!?' Hachiman says before realizing something once again. Sun Tzu takes a large overhead swing, Hachiman seeing an opportunity, and goes in for a swift slash across the stomach from the side. However, his blade is caught on a shelf, making the war god's eyes widen as Sun Tzu follows through with his swing in the short confusion, landing the very first clean hit on Hachiman, across his chest, the wound being lightly cauterized from the flaming hot sword, Sun Tzu taking a step back, putting out the sword. 'I know why… because I lost myself to anger. This man… annoys me!?' Hachiman taps his wound, taking a deep breath at the sight of his blood. "I understand your strategy, Sun Tzu. Your strange tactics, seemingly useless movements. It is not to distract me. Not to harm me really. It is to annoy me. So I will move recklessly. So I will make mistakes out of anger. You are deceptive. I hate people like you, but I will be damned if I do not tell you… that this is the first battle in over a million years in which I have bled!" He says pointing his sword at Sun Tzu. "Even so I despise you from within my soul, Sun Tzu. I will destroy all which you stand for. Humans, by design desire more and more. As do gods. That is why we have war. That is why fighting is so enjoyable. You do not understand how much it hurts to see what you love being SHAMED by beings less than you!"

-The VERY distant past-

Deep in the Shinto farmstead, a young boy stands out in a large field, plow in hand, sweating profusely as he works, falling over suddenly. Suddenly from within the house, Izanami comes rushing out. "Hachiman dearest me! Oh, my sweet baby are you okay?!" She asks as she looks at his plow. "Come on now, Hachiman. You know farming is not for you. We have talked about it." She says and Hachiman pouts.

"But I want to help! I want you and father to be proud!"

"Oh sweetie, we ARE proud. You don't need to prove anything to your mother," She says patting his head as Izanagi exits the large home as well, carrying his massive spear.

"Hachiman. Do not cause trouble to Inagi and your mother," He says as Hachiman looks over at Inagi, who is dutifully and swiftly plowing away.

For Hachiman, it was like this for many things. He could not farm well, he could not run fast, he could not lift immense weights, he could not fly, he was not particularly beautiful, he could not rise and set the sun. He was simply Hachiman, the lone one. Until one day, he decided to go out and find his calling! And find it he did. It was a simple moment. Sitting in the woods, all alone, when suddenly a large pack of oni ambushed him, grotesque beings of pure red skin and dangerous lust for combat.

"I SPY WITH MY LITTLE EYE! FOOOOOD!" One yells as Hachiman jumps to the side to avoid the swipe, the young child picking up a stick, gripping it firmly.

"S-stay back! I am a child of… I-Izanagi…" He trails off as the oni seem neither concerned nor impressed. But besides even that. Was this ALL he had to his name? His heritage? How pathetic! However the moment the oni approach suddenly they all fall over dead. Hachiman looks shocked as in the middle of the group stands a god. Tall, yet thin, clearly powerful, yet looks brittle. A sword at either side, two more strapped to his back, all with accompanying tantos. His hair was short and silver white, with a bushy pointy mustache, his body adorned in the finest crimson red armor Hachiman had ever seen! The blade in his hand looked magnificent with the red sheen of blood on it.

"Are you alright, child?" The man says, kneeling to him. He smirks seeing Hachiman's stance. "My what a firm stance. You must have been trained well. I am Takemikazuchi. And what is your name, child?"

Hachiman blushes suddenly. Finally, he had heard praise, not for being 'himself' but for a skill. "M-my name is Hachiman, sir! And I have not been trained, sir! H-how did you… do that?"

Takemikazuchi draws his blade with such elegance Hachiman can still picture it in his mind in the present day. "It was simple. The way of the sword. Such ruthless efficiency. You ought to try it. Would you like to? Or would you rather fight oni off with a stick, child?"

Hachiman drops the stick and nods. "I-I wish to learn this way of the sword, Takemikazuchi sir!" He says a clear glint in his eye.

And so, the great sword god Takemikazuchi, took in Hachiman to train him. With him, Hachiman finally felt special. That his true self had been found in the sword. He would laugh with his new master, cry with his new master, train with him, eat with him, when he came of age, drink with him and eventually join him in glorious war, side by side. Not once was Takemikazuchi forced to defend his pupil from an attack! Hachiman found his calling in the sword, in combat, in WAR! And had found a master, infinitely wise, to train him. And yet it did not take many centuries before Hachiman had far surpassed Takemikazuchi. His potential was seemingly boundless and his skill grew accordingly.

Hachiman awakes and steps out into the open air, with training weights on his body, having grown into a fine young man. He grabs his heavy iron blade and begins to swing, looking over the cliff upon which their camp is set up. Hours pass when Takemikazuchi awakes himself and steps out of their cabin. "At it again, Hachiman. It is so early."

Hachiman smirks. "I have been up for hours, master. I must practice my swings. And keep the guard from the oni!" He says as Takemikazuchi looks around, seeing a practically full circle around their camp of slain oni.

"It would seem you already warded them all off. Say you remembered to remove your weights before engaging no?"

Hachiman shakes his head. "I did not, master. It would have taken too long."

"You are something else. I don't think I have anything left worth teaching you. Except for one thing, Hachiman." Takemikazuchi sits down at the edge of the cliff. "Come sit with me, Hachiman," He instructs and Hachiman takes off his weights and sits down. "Listen to me, Hachiman. The blade is satisfying to train. Even more fun to wield, do you not think so?"

"It is, master. I have found my calling I would say."

"We have fought in many battles have we not? It was quite fun." Takemikazuchi says looking to the sky.

"Master? What do you mean by 'was'?" Hachiman asks.

Takemikazuchi chuckles. "It means I believe I have done my duty as a swordsman. As a warrior. Survived all the battles I needed and trained a pupil who has now surpassed me. So I want you to carry on my legacy, Hachiman. can you do this for me?" He asks and Hachiman stands proudly, looking over the cliff.

"I will! But I do not understand master? Why now of all times?"

His master smirks lightly. "Well, I suppose I am simply not as talented as you are Hachiman. I am certain that you will reinvent what it means to wield a sword skillfully. Of this I am certain." He stands and undoes the knot keeping his sheathe at his side, holding it out towards Hachiman. "So take my sword, Hachiman. And fight. Fight until you drop. Promise me this,"

Hachiman takes his blade. "I will!" He calls out proudly.

And so, Hachiman fought. And he fought. In all wars ever held in all realms of heaven. It did not matter. When war was declared it became common knowledge that Hachiman would show himself. All that was ever reported after the fact was a crimson-colored man, leaving the battlefield. Thus he earned the nickname of the crimson oni.

HOWEVER! after millions of years of glorious combat, humanity was born on the Earth made by his parents, the eldest gods in heaven. In their wars, so too did Hachiman fight. Of course, he was forbidden from leaving the area which would eventually become known as Japan. He did not mind. He loved it. And yet slowly but surely he noticed something off. Not only had the gods ceased to battle in heaven, now fighting through their subjects on Earth, but the humans… the humans were cowards! There was no fire in their eyes. He grew furious as enemies would run and hide at the mere sight of him in armor. "COME BACK AND FIGHT! YOU COWARDLY CHILDREEEEEEN!"

It all ended when Hachiman came to a battlefield in the late 1500s, nearly 2000 years ago. he had fought through legions of samurai and noticed a final sole man upon a hill wielding a strange weapon he had not seen before. "What a strange weapon." He mutters as he begins his approach the samurai pointing it at him and shooting, Hachiman dodging the small projectile out of pure instinct and rushing closer as the samurai desperately tries to reload. Hachiman stops in front of him, towering over the frail small man, barely large enough to fit in his armor. "What is this?" He says poking the gun with his sword as the soldier falls backward.

"I-it is a gun?"

"What's its purpose?"

"It uses gunpowder to fire iron shells. W-who ARE you to dodge a bullet so easily!?"

Hachiman picks the gun up from him. "So it is a bow? but slow and ineffective?"

"I-it kills enemies faster…" the samurai mutters as Hachiman scoffs.

"Clearly not. You are vulnerable. Completely exposed!"

"Well… with weapons like these we can take out enemies from much further away!"

"And why would you wish to do that exactly? Where is the glory in using this… gun to kill an enemy. A bow I can understand. It requires skill to use, but this? It is… boring!"

"Why do I want to keep my distance from the enemy!? SO I DON'T GET KILLED! Isn't that obvious!"

Hachiman grits his teeth. "Cowards the bunch of you." He says stabbing the man through the chest and tossing the gun aside. "The whole lot of them."

-Present day-

"I hung up my blade after that battle. I was so incredibly bored. Even watching your battles unfold angered me to no end. All your politics, talk of peace, ever-improving 'guns' and what have you. Missiles? Nuclear warfare? It is SO IMPERSONAL! Where is the glory!? The thrill of combat! It is impossible for you humans to enjoy a good battle anymore! You humans have forced me to abandon the promise I made to my master! For such transgressions, I will not forgive you. And as such. I will not grow to anger anymore. I will simply… kill you. You have taken enough already. You shall not take my dignity as a warrior." He says closing his eyes, and gripping his sword firmly, holding it in front of him two-handed, kendo-style. Sixth Banner: Sky. His eyes shoot open as he very lightly lifts the blade, barely raising it above his head, yet Sun Tzu's block is broken in an instant by the swing, Hachiman spinning the sword using almost nothing but his wrists, changing his second swing to a sideways cut, Sun Tzu being forced to the side, crashing into a shelf. Thinking quickly he grabs the side of it as he dodges a swift stab from Hachiman, crashing the shelf on top of him, to allow Sun Tzu to create some distance between them. However, Hachiman simply uses his impressive strength to tip the shelf off of himself, re-engaging his stance, and stepping closer once more.

Sun Tzu grits his teeth as he looks around for a solution. 'His combat space just got TINY. But here that doesn't matter. Man, this guy really has everything figured out doesn't he?!' He thinks before attempting a slash himself, only for Hachiman to swiftly and calmly move his blade to intercept, pushing Sun Tzu back against the wall.

Pandora gulps. "This is really bad, isn't it!? Even if his combat space has shrunk this much, there's nowhere to run!"

Wukong waggles a finger with a smirk. "Normally I'd agree. But there's never been a time when that guy didn't have some kinda plan."

"Yeah! He's Sun Tzu! He's awesome! I'm sure he's got something planned!"

Icarus nods. "He's got one escape route." He says raising a finger. "Up."

And sure enough, as Hachiman prepares to strike, Sun Tzu goes in for a straight kick, with his iron soles, getting it blocked, but Sun Tzu uses Hachiman as a springboard, launching himself up to the low ceiling and lands on one of the support beams, swiftly hopping away from Hachiman, staying up there. Hachiman simply scoffs and in a single bound he hops into the rafters, landing, and swiftly surveys the area for solid places to stand. "Let's see how well you do up here," Sun Tzu says, picking up another sword, stuck into one of the beams. This one is a hook blade.

"I will do better than you, child," Hachiman responds, staying in his Sixth stance. And the two engage once more, both fighters leaping to the beam of the other at once, trading a single blow in the middle, Hachiman landing perfectly, while Sun Tzu has to quickly regain his balance as one of his feet slips on a small amount of blood from Hachiman's fresh wound. At that same moment, Hachiman leaps back to finish Sun Tzu off, however, his opponent uses his off-balance to simply fall, catching himself using the hook-sword and swinging right under Hachiman and doing a perfect flip to land on the beam behind him, going for the cheap backstab, but Hachiman was prepared, his blade over his shoulder to block. Hachiman spins, keeping his block, before disarming one of Sun Tzu's hands, his regular sword flying off and stabbing into the wall.

Sun Tzu smirks rather sheepishly. "I don't suppose you'll let me pick that back up?" He asks, jumping back as Hachiman swings at him again.

"No. I will not," He merely mutters, Sun Tzu, jumping back further and leaping into the air, quickly climbing out of the vent which leads to the roof. Hachiman, quickly follows him, jumping out of the vent, blowing it off the hinges in the process. "Where has he run off to now I wonder?" He asks as he lands on the roof before suddenly being forced to bend himself back to dodge Sun Tzu's double-sworded cross slash, the blades lightly clipping his chest. Sun Tzu jumps back, now holding two hook swords.

"I was wondering where the other one landed." He says as Hachiman takes another deep breath. FIRST BANNER: MOUNTAIN! The two fighters clash once again, Hachiman finding that Sun Tzu is starting to be able to figure out his attack patterns. THIRD BANNER: OCEAN! He swaps his stance, Sun Tzu instantly switching his own stance, to compensate, their swings all clashing in the middle, Hachiman suddenly feeling a tight grip on his blade. He caught his sword with those hooks!? He pulls back. FIFTH BANNER: TORNADO! He charges at Sun Tzu who smirks and suddenly leaps off the roof, Hachiman calling his bluff, jumping after him. FIRST BANNER: MOUNTAIN: STRENGTH OF FUJI! Hachiman comes down on Sun Tzu with his most powerful strike, Sun Tzu hooking the two blades together and swinging them at Hachiman as their moves follow through mid-air.

Everyone's eyes widen as the two of them land in the muddy waters of the farmland next to the house. Hachiman lands perfectly, while Sun Tzu tumbles from having jumped backward. However, what made the audience's eyes widen was not the landing. But the large blood splatter! Hachiman smirks hearing the blood hit the water. But his eyes widen as well when he suddenly sees something land in front of him spreading blood in the water.

Sun Tzu stands and rubs his neck. "Finally," He says as Hachiman picks up his own arm from the water, after stabbing his blade into the water. He doesn't quite process it until he looks to his left, and notices that his left arm... IS GONE!? Only a few inches of it remain attached. The rest Hachiman is now holding. "So you DO bleed after all. I was starting to worry."

"You… cut off my arm?" He merely says looking at the rest of his arm, dripping blood into the water. "You cut off MY arm!?" He yells, Sun Tzu suddenly feeling a completely different air around Hachiman, stepping into his fighting stance. "I cannot dance around it anymore, Sun Tzu," He says, finally calling him by his name. "Your unorthodox tactics, your skill with all of these weapons, you… YOU are a worthy opponent! NO opponent, god nor man has EVER dismembered me in combat!" he turns to face Sun Tzu, tossing his arm into the air, and grabbing his blade. "With this, I will show you my very best!" He says slicing his dismembered arm into pieces as it falls. "EIGHT CRIMSON BANNERS: NINTH BANNER!" Hachiman declares as Sun Tzu notes Hachiman's blood beginning to flow from the water around him, collecting itself around his blade. The old man's eyes begin to glow a sinister red, his skin darkening into a strange shade of grey, his sword growing slightly longer, turning a fine crimson from the blood collecting around it. "ONI!" Hachiman declares, taking a rather wild-looking stance. Sun Tzu prepares his own fighting stance, awaiting the worst, as blood flows through the water. He can feel that this will be the final stretch. For better or worse!