A foreigner's journey

Owari.

Compared to Kyoto, which seems to be holding lively celebrations all the time, Owari now has more of an atmosphere like the capital of the shogunate.

In the corner of the castle town, there is a samurai mansion surrounded by woods. People around it call this mansion "Negative Yashiki".

"Wait a minute, you mean...[Gods are coming]?"

The beautiful woman with long blond hair stood in a dark room with no candles lit. She couldn't help but show surprise even though she covered her face with a fan.

A cold voice came from the direction of the roof, but there was no trace——

"Yes, Izumo has more than a hundred witnesses and relevant testimonies."

"Idiot! How do you want me to explain this ridiculous reason to the general! When did it happen?"

"I'm very sorry. It happened half a month ago."

"Where is the specific location?"

"Izumo Mountain."

"Oh haha, Santu Shrine...the location of Thousand Blades."

The blond woman covered her mouth with a fan and let out bursts of fake laughter:

"Could it really be such a coincidence, right? Just when that unpleasant woman started to fight for swords, an accident happened at Qian Dao Clan?"

That unpleasant woman—the blonde woman's tone became visibly irritated when she was mentioned. But it was just her tone that made her irritated. The woman's expression, sight, and attitude did not change at all. There was still a strong sense of 'denial'.

"Please calm down." The voice from the ceiling was still cold.

"Whether or not my anger will subside depends on what you achieve! How's it going with that woman?"

"The Strange Strategist has obtained the [Jue Sword, 铓] and the [Zhan Sword, Blunt], and is currently heading towards Izumo. If there are no delays along the way, we should be almost there."

"Izumo...what exactly is the so-called arrival of gods?"

"Some witnesses claimed that they saw 'Susano'o' in the sky at the top of Mount Izumo. If only one person said this, it might be regarded as the ravings of a madman, but there were a hundred and forty-two witnesses. There is absolutely no possibility of collusion among the witnesses. Princess, the arrival of [Susano'o] may have really happened."

"Are you so sure it's not an abnormality caused by some kind of weather change? You don't need me to educate you on the principles of mirages, right?"

"The refraction caused by water vapor, sunlight, and clouds may indeed produce such a visual effect, but the [Ten Fist Sword] that can split seven mountains cannot be explained by the 'weather anomaly'."

"Seven... mountains?"

"Stretching from Izumo Mountain to the west to Leqiu, the slash marks span thousands of feet. I have personally confirmed this."

"Heh...hehehe..."

The blond woman called 'Princess' couldn't help but smile wildly even if she covered her mouth with a fan:

"Kami? Why did Lord Kami choose this time to come to the world? Well, Zaemon-emon, since you brought up this topic, you must have something to say, so go ahead and say it."

"Princess Mingjian, eyewitnesses said that [Sekiro] climbed up Mount Izumo on the day when the gods came."

"Sekiro...sounds familiar."

"Ronin Heather, known as 'Sekiro', was the protagonist of the Eight Patrol Castle Incident, the culprit of the destruction of the Level 2 Disaster Designated Area [Qinjiu Spring], and the hero of the Taima Liuyun Hill Incident. In the past three years, he has been hailed as the most likely to escape from the incident. The genius swordsman who won the throne of 'Japan's Strongest' in the hands of Qiang Baibing. He once had a brief contact with the Wizard."

"Hmph, any man who gets in touch with that woman will not end well. What should I say? This man was also poisoned by a knife?"

"Sekiro stayed on the Izumo Mountains for three days. On the fourth day, he descended the mountain and headed east, without carrying any Sentou."

Obviously, both Zaemon Zaemon on the ceiling and the blonde woman called the princess seem to know the twelve Shikisaki Kiki variant swords very well.

"But Thousand Blades still disappeared, right?"

"Princess Mingjian."

"Hmph, it seems that Mr. Sekiro is not simple. In this way, there will be multiple forces that are conquesting swords at the same time. It's really exciting."

"Princess, you mean that the arrival of Susano'o is somehow related to Sekiro?"

"Perhaps, isn't the legendary Susano'o also a wanderer who likes to travel to mountains and rivers? Maybe this Sekiro-san has something related to Susano'o."

Neither Nehime nor Zaemon Zaemon had any idea that Heather was the true form of 'Susano'o'. In other words, they didn't dare to think in that direction at all, and they only dared to guess that Heather was the one favored by the great God Susanoo.

The mere arrival of a god is enough to overturn the order of the world.

"Princess, that Santu Shrine..."

"I will report to the general to cancel the preset plans and wanted orders for those black witches and Tsuruga camouflage first. If there is really God's protection, then the status of Santu Shrine will be far beyond your imagination."

"Princess, there is one more thing..."

"explain."

"The Qiang Baibing who got the [Thin Sword and Needle] has issued a challenge to the Wizard and Sekiro."

"Oh? It seems that he is planning to use Bo Dao Zhen and Japan's strongest title as a bet to seize Jue Dao, Zhan Dao and Qian Dao. Although he is just a guy who is praised by me, he is also praised by Bo Dao. The sword is poisoned, but he is still the strongest swordsman I selected, and his strength is indeed one of the best in Japan. Is that woman's sword capable of defeating him?"

"Ren Shichika, the seventh generation of the Kyūdōryū style, is a swordsman without a sword. He is indeed very skilled. However, he has lived in seclusion on an uninhabited island for a long time, and his actual combat experience is still insufficient——"

"This matter has been reported before, so there is no need to mention it again. Just make your own judgment."

"Whether it was a slashing sword or a supreme sword, Xin Qihua was not harmed even once during the process of seizing it."

"Not even a scratch...?"

"Not even a scratch..."

Zaemon on the ceiling gave a positive answer to Hime's question:

"Neither Shinwa Bat nor Uren Ginkaku were able to injure him at all with Shikisaki Kiki's sword. The body of Toshichika itself is a well-forged sword. It can be seen that this school of virtual sword style is the most worthy. What you pay attention to is not the attack power, but the defense power.”

The negating princess seemed to be interested and flapped her fan faster: "For that woman, it is the most suitable tool for recruiting swords. The Shini Ninja Army and the Qianbai Soldier were betrayed twice in a row but they were still able to do it. She got a good draw, she is like a woman who has always had bad luck but managed to win despite the odds. It’s interesting, I wonder who would win if ‘Void Sword’ and ‘Sekiro’ met?”

"If the coming of the great god Susano-o is true, then the danger level of Sekiro as a favored one of the gods is probably no less than that of Qiang Baibing and Xu Dao."

"Oh my, I'm looking forward to the meeting between these three 'powerful swordsmen' more and more. Whoever wins will be able to take away the Shikisaki Kiki Sword from the loser's hand. It's really interesting."

The woman shook her fan and fanned forward casually:

"Go, Zaemon-emon. You must be my eyes and ears to find out what happens next."

"As commanded."

The voice of receiving orders came from the ceiling, and then there was no sound again. Not even the sound of moving in the ceiling was heard at all, as if no one was there from the beginning.

The blond Negative Ji stood in front of the house, facing the pond reflecting the moonlight, smiling with an unknown meaning.

Shikisaki Kiki, you claim to have predicted the future of Japan, but did you foresee the appearance of the gods?

The future is no longer moving in the direction you have shaped.