Rowan did not care about Tsuchigumo going berserk. In the end, he was only Tsuchigumo.
Although Tsuchigumo was extremely powerful in Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan and many people boasted that even gods and Buddhas fell silent whenever he passed,
one had to understand something. Japan supposedly had eight million gods, so it was obvious how diluted the title of "god" was.
In Japan, even someone who sold sushi could be called a Sushi God, much less an actual deity.
Gods were practically everywhere in Japan. Any random nobody could call themselves one.
So Tsuchigumo was only so impressive.
A great yokai, but nothing more.
Facing the rampaging Tsuchigumo, Kato flashed in front of Madara. Black flames erupted from every part of its body like countless mouths opening at once, creating a blazing barrier between Tsuchigumo and Madara.
The Okuchi-no-Makami had already transformed into a streak of white light and charged directly at Tsuchigumo from the front.
It was even faster than Madara. Snow and ice scattered wherever its four paws landed, leaving a trail of pale freezing mist behind it.
Tsuchigumo's remaining arms exerted force simultaneously, and enormous palms descended like collapsing mountains. However, the Okuchi-no-Makami did not dodge or retreat. It boldly raised its head to meet the falling palms, its power surging as the surrounding wind and snow suddenly gathered into a crystalline wall of ice.
The enormous palms smashed into the barrier. Shattered ice sprayed like a rain of stars, yet the hands could not advance another inch.
The force of the rebound knocked Tsuchigumo's arms away. Taking advantage of the opening, the Okuchi-no-Makami suddenly sprang upward and bit viciously into Tsuchigumo's left shoulder.
It violently jerked its head and tore away an entire chunk of flesh, tendons and bone still attached.
Tsuchigumo finally let out a genuine roar of pain. His remaining arms swung wildly, trying to catch the elusive white wolf and repeat his earlier tactic.
Once he caught the Okuchi-no-Makami, he intended to smash it repeatedly.
But the Okuchi-no-Makami never paused for even a moment after landing. Relying on the speed granted by the snow and ice, it moved around Tsuchigumo like the wind, leaving trails of freezing air wherever it passed.
That cold air did not disperse. Instead, it clung to Tsuchigumo's legs and arms, accumulating until it gradually formed thick, solid layers of ice.
"You want to freeze me?"
Tsuchigumo looked down at his gradually stiffening lower body and snorted. He violently expelled his yokai aura outward, instantly shattering the ice.
He stopped paying attention to the frost around his legs. Two of his arms rose simultaneously and aimed at the Okuchi-no-Makami's path of movement.
Then they smashed down viciously toward a certain position.
Boom!
What was this move called?
I predicted your attack.
The Okuchi-no-Makami failed to dodge completely and was struck in the side by the wind from the palm. Its huge body rolled several times down the street before finally stabilizing, a line of crimson blood flowing from the corner of its mouth.
But at that moment, a pillar of black flame, blazing to the extreme, struck Tsuchigumo squarely in the chest from the side.
The Okuchi-no-Makami had never been fighting alone.
It still had its companion, Kato.
While Tsuchigumo was pursuing the Okuchi-no-Makami, Kato had silently circled around to his flank.
The instant the Okuchi-no-Makami was hit, Kato attacked Tsuchigumo without hesitation.
"Beautiful."
Even Rowan could not help praising the move.
Unlike the earlier probing attacks, this black flame condensed into a fire spear several meters thick and slammed firmly into Tsuchigumo's chest.
The heat distorted the surrounding air. The muscles on Tsuchigumo's chest visibly changed from black to red, then began melting.
The intense pain swept through every nerve in Tsuchigumo's body. Even the toughest man could not endure it.
Tsuchigumo was no exception. He let out a hysterical roar and frantically clawed at the source of the black flames on his chest with two arms.
He attempted to extinguish the flames using yokai energy.
However, Kato clung to him like a maggot attached to bone. Lowering its body, it moved around Tsuchigumo's feet while continuously spewing black fire, burning his legs until the flesh split open.
The Okuchi-no-Makami seized the opportunity and gave Tsuchigumo no chance to counterattack.
It leapt high into the air. The wind and snow surrounding it howled violently and condensed into more than ten enormous ice-blue spears, all aimed at the thickest arm joint connecting Tsuchigumo's shoulder and neck.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
In an instant, countless spears fired at once. Wrapped in bitter cold, they crashed down like divine punishment.
"Don't even think about it!"
Tsuchigumo roared. His yokai aura erupted again, forming a powerful shockwave that blasted away all the incoming ice spears.
But Kato had already anticipated this. It spat out a mouthful of flame toward Tsuchigumo.
Its coordination with the Okuchi-no-Makami was extremely smooth. They gave Tsuchigumo no chance to breathe.
What did it mean that two fists could not defeat four hands?
This was it.
Although Tsuchigumo had four arms, the Okuchi-no-Makami and Kato had eight legs together.
Unsurprisingly, Tsuchigumo was struck by the flames again.
After releasing one burst of power, he had no way to release a second immediately. The interval between the two attacks was far too short, making it impossible to dodge.
Even worse, the flames this time did not carry a burning effect.
Instead, they carried explosive power.
Boom!
A tremendous explosion rang out and blasted Tsuchigumo away.
His chest became a bloody mess, and blood sprayed everywhere.
How could the Okuchi-no-Makami miss such a perfect opportunity? It once again controlled the power of ice and snow, forming ice spears and firing them together at the flying Tsuchigumo.
Tsuchigumo, still hurtling backward, could no longer destroy the incoming spears. He could only hurriedly raise two arms to block.
However, the force of the ice spears far exceeded his expectations.
One arm was pierced through by two ice spears. The other was invaded by freezing energy through its wounds and froze from the inside outward, causing even the circulation of his yokai aura to suddenly stagnate.
Crack, crack, crack.
Solid ice rapidly spread, completely sealing that arm in midair. In an instant, it lost all ability to move.
Tsuchigumo crashed heavily to the ground, rough breathing coming from beneath his mask.
At this moment, he looked even more miserable than Nyanko-sensei.
Three of his four arms were disabled. Both legs had been burned black by Kato, and black blood poured from several penetrating wounds left by the ice spears.
Seeing Tsuchigumo in such a miserable state, Natsume felt extremely satisfied and wanted to laugh. But he also felt that he should not, so he quickly lowered his head and thought about every sad thing he could remember.
Rowan glanced at Natsume.
This child was still too kind.
If it were anyone else, they would already be laughing from ear to ear and even mocking Tsuchigumo.
But Natsume did not.
That was precisely why he was so well liked.
Rowan then shifted his gaze back to Tsuchigumo.
Although this guy had been beaten terribly, he still had not given up. He used his sole remaining arm to support his body and still wanted to launch one final counterattack.
However, Rowan's two shikigami had no intention of giving him that chance.
Kato had already leapt behind him. Chains formed from black flames shot from its mouth and tightly wrapped around Tsuchigumo's remaining arm.
The Okuchi-no-Makami charged forward over the snow and bit into the place where Tsuchigumo's shoulder met his neck. Freezing yokai energy poured frantically through its teeth.
Frost spread rapidly from the wound, climbing along Tsuchigumo's neck and covering his mask, then spreading down his chest toward his heart.
Tsuchigumo's struggles became slower and stiffer.
One minute later, frost had covered his entire demonic mask.
Tsuchigumo had been frozen into an ice sculpture.
The red glow in his eyes faded beneath the ice and no longer flickered.
The battle was completely over.
Rowan slowly walked over, picked up the Book of Friends from the ground, and returned it to Natsume.
"Here."
"Thank you."
Natsume accepted the Book of Friends and bowed deeply and solemnly to Rowan.
"Thank you very much. Thank you for saving Nyanko-sensei."
If Rowan had not acted just now, he would not only have lost the Book of Friends, but Nyanko-sensei as well.
He was endlessly grateful to Rowan for appearing at the crucial moment.
"I accept your gratitude. Go check on your friend."
Hearing Rowan's reminder, Natsume quickly ran over to Madara.
"Nyanko-sensei, are you alright? How are you, Nyanko-sensei?"
Madara used the last of his strength to roll his eyes. Then, like a deflating balloon, his enormous true form suddenly transformed back into the round beckoning-cat appearance and collapsed limply among the blood and rubble.
"I'm fine, Natsume."
"But looking at you now, no matter how I look at it, you don't seem fine at all."
Seeing Nyanko-sensei covered in blood, Natsume carefully lifted him into his arms. He felt both heartbroken and deeply regretful.
"If it weren't for me, if you hadn't tried to save me…"
Rowan walked over and said to Natsume, who was holding Nyanko-sensei, "Let me take a look."
Natsume's eyes lit up, and he quickly handed Nyanko-sensei to Rowan.
Rowan placed one hand on Nyanko-sensei's body.
Reverse Cursed Technique, activate.
This was one of the techniques even jujutsu sorcerers found difficult to master. It reversed cursed energy, which was originally negative energy, and output it as positive energy. It could be used to heal oneself or others.
In the original story, only a small number of people could do this.
Most of them could only heal themselves. Those capable of healing others were even rarer.
Only Shoko Ieiri, Yuta Okkotsu, and Ryomen Sukuna could do so.
Rowan could do it as well.
This technique could not only repair severed limbs and damaged internal organs, but even fatal injuries.
With Rowan's help, Nyanko-sensei went from barely alive to lively and energetic in only one minute.
Aside from his depleted yokai energy not having fully recovered, he was healthy enough to beat a cow to death.
"You bastard, Natsume!"
The moment Nyanko-sensei recovered, he headbutted Natsume without hesitation, slamming directly into his chest.
Natsume staggered backward several steps and fell heavily onto his rear, nearly losing his breath.
"Ny-Nyanko-sensei?"
Natsume looked at him in confusion, not understanding what Nyanko-sensei was doing.
"You bastard! You actually dared hand my Book of Friends over to Tsuchigumo. You've got some nerve."
Ignoring the question of when the Book of Friends had become Nyanko-sensei's property, Natsume quickly tried to argue.
"Nyanko-sensei, at that time, I only wanted to—"
"Shut up, you idiot!"
Nyanko-sensei leapt into the air and delivered a flying kick, knocking Natsume onto his back.
Immediately afterward, he flipped several times in midair and landed on Natsume's chest.
"Listen carefully, Natsume. If something like this happens again, take the Book of Friends and run immediately. Never stay behind. Do you understand, you idiot, you fool?"
Natsume froze.
Looking at the concern filling Nyanko-sensei's eyes, a smile appeared on his face.
"Yes, Nyanko-sensei."
~~~
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