I planted a sacred tree in Tokyo.

Chapter 168 Great increase in strength
"After several days of continuous crackdowns,"

"The first phase of the Koyasan Campaign has been achieved, and we are now entering the final stage."

"Under the leadership of General Kafka, the Extraordinary Countermeasures Division and the Self-Defense Forces cooperated closely and successfully recaptured areas such as Takano Town, Yuasa Town, and Nanbu Town, eliminating more than three million yokai and confining the yokai tide to the area around the Ura-Takano Mountains and the Kanashi Mountains."

A few days later, the island nation's government began broadcasting news about the 'Battle of Mount Koya'.

In the reports, the island nation was undoubtedly "winning big." The meticulously edited video showed the well-disciplined Self-Defense Forces, the steel torrents on the ground and in the sky, the fully armed special police, and various "ancient-style" superhumans, all exuding an aura of "invincibility."

As for the 'background characters' who became mere 'background characters', they naturally fell in large numbers amidst the gunfire and bullets, and even the chimeras seemed powerless to resist.
In short, it was a great victory!

There were even many scenes of 'recapture' lost territory.

This greatly encouraged most people in the island nation, who believed that the complete eradication of the demon tide was just around the corner.

"In this battle, the entire island nation was united as one, fighting valiantly against the enemy, and a great many heroic figures emerged."

"The head of the Yagyu family, Mr. Yagyu Harashige, was besieged by a large number of synthetic beasts and fought to the death. His body remained standing, demonstrating the spirit of a martial family."

However, in reality, if the island nation's government hadn't known that Hyuga Toneri was going to the Sea Kingdom to ask for the 'Yasakani no Magatama', how could they have dared to release such news?

Wakayama Prefecture has indeed been recaptured in half, but the other half, deep in the mountains and forests, is still occupied by a large number of yakuza. With the addition of the 'Blood Hakama' who suffered a loss and the 'Sea Ninja' who almost always held back, the situation has once again fallen into a stalemate.

The battle between the foreign legion and the demons continued, and the lower-level superhumans were still 'killing monsters to level up'.

For those on the front lines, it seemed as if nothing had changed.

"Are we going to the Imperial Palace again?"

"Um,"

In his own living room, Yu nodded. After all, it was one of the mainstays of the island nation's public image that he had prepared, so he still needed to pay close attention to it.

"That Miss Pegasus is quite a beauty."

?

Hearing what Qiong said, You rolled her eyes.

"Stop it,"

“They are of the Amaterasu bloodline, we can’t possibly be worthy of them.”

"Hmph, it's probably because she's not good enough for my brother."

In response to Qiong Mei's willful rebuttal, You raised her hand and tapped the tip of the girl's nose.

"It's good to know."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Stop, stop,"

In the plaza in front of the Imperial Palace, which had been hastily converted into a training ground, the man with short, black hair retreated with a frustrated expression, stopping his sparring.

"Your eyes are just too..."

That's cheating!

The Ten-Headed Demon King was speechless after being invited to be his 'sparring partner'.

Since gaining extraordinary power and creating the four major styles of the "Two Tigers Style", he considered himself to be "invincible among his peers".

Indeed, none of the martial artists under the umbrella of the entire Kengan Kai conglomerate were his match.

Even in places like Mount Koya, he could venture deep into the mountains alone, coming and going as he pleased.

He didn't even consider ordinary monsters or chimeras a threat.

It should be noted that in terms of 'spiritual power' strength, he is only 'weak wolf level'.

However, with the support of the "Two Tigers Style" technique, he can hold his own against even the "Strong Wolf Level" opponents!
But the one in front of me—

In terms of spiritual power, they are about the same.

In terms of skill, he was miles ahead of her. But relying on her eyesight, she was the one who suffered.

"With a 360-degree observation range, my 'Fire Sky Form,' which relies mainly on footwork and body movements, became completely useless."

Toja Kiohuma, combining his martial arts experience, developed the 'Fire Heaven Style', which possesses a large number of extraordinary movement techniques that utilize terrain, feints, blind spots, and even the moment when the opponent blinks. These techniques may seem insignificant, but to ordinary martial artists, Toja Kiohuma's figure appears and disappears like a ghost, as if he were teleporting.

However, all these techniques were seen through by Tianma's 'eye roll'.

"As expected of the Eye of God."

At the same time, Totsuka Kiohuma moved his drooping arm.

His 'Diamond Type' technique involves infusing extraordinary power into his muscles, giving them the sturdiness of steel: with this technique, he can even withstand anti-materiel sniper rifle fire. His physical strength is among the top tier of Wolf-class fighters.

During the battle, the part of the body that was hit by Pegasus Nozomi immediately became dull and heavy with spiritual energy. Not to mention hardening to resist, it was impossible to even exert any force.

This rendered his two major skills, 'body technique' and 'hard skill', useless.

"Feel sorry,"

Pegasus, with bulging veins around his eyes, wanted to speak.
“I know this isn’t fair, but I need to practice ‘God’s Eye.’ So—”

"No, there's nothing unfair about it."

"The Eye of God was originally a part of you."

"Relying solely on flow-type and water-and-sky type"

Raising his hand to stop Pegasus from apologizing, Toja Kiohama fell into deep thought.

"It's an extremely challenging training program, but I will find a way to unlock the secrets of your eyes!"

As a martial artist, Toja Kiohama suffered a great loss in the face of Pegasus's 'Eye of God,' which also ignited his fighting spirit, prompting him to try to find a way to defeat his opponent.

That's how martial arts work; only through competition, battles, and surpassing each other can they continuously develop.

You can never innovate by working in isolation.

"very good!"

Iori Kazuka, who was watching from the sidelines, clapped her hands excitedly.

"Even the champion of the Kengan Association is ashamed of himself. As expected, my Pegasus is the strongest!"

The staff of the Imperial Household Agency next to them lowered their heads, as if they hadn't heard anything.

This 'Hopeful Fate' who had fallen into the common people's hands didn't have any strange or unusual hobbies besides her love of fighting, which relieved them.

Of course, they would never treat members of the royal family the way they used to: forbidding this and that; and even if a member of the royal family was a beat slow to react to the camera, they would be 'severely reprimanded'.

Even though this 'Hopeful Love' has a good temper, Section Chief Iori Kazuka beside her has a typical 'vicious dog' personality:

Anyone who dares to say a word will be kicked out; if they still don't know what's good for them, she might even take action on the spot.

The head of the security bureau had his hand broken by the other party after he said just a few words!

Faced with such extraordinary beings, how could ordinary people like them dare to cause trouble?

To put it bluntly, everyone is just trying to make a living: there are people in the Imperial Household Department who are truly loyal to the Imperial Family, but before the "Hopeful Princess's" divine eyes, they kneel down faster than anyone else, tears streaming down their faces, completely obedient to her, and seeing her as the hope for the restoration of the Imperial Family.

They have even begun to actively arrange the selection of a 'prince'. If it weren't for Tenma's explicit opposition, the best male members of various families could have filled the Imperial Palace instantly.

"It's just the power of the 'Eye of God',"

Tenma hoped that he would not become complacent in the face of Iori Ichika's praise.

She took the towel while answering calmly.

"Haha, as expected of you."

"So--"

Iori Kazuka turned to look at the man with tousled hair.
"Thank you for your guidance, Mr. Tenjaku. I will need your help again in the future."

"I should be the one thanking you. It is a martial artist's good fortune to be able to set his sights on the 'Eye of God'." Despite his defeat, Toja Kiohama was not discouraged at all. On the contrary, he was full of fighting spirit: Martial arts is like climbing a mountain. If there is no peak in front of you, how can you prove that you have become stronger?

"What spirit!"

Exclamations of admiration rang out, and everyone in the training ground turned around to see Yu walking towards them from behind Fujisei.

"It's truly gratifying to see Mr. Toja on such a diligent work."

Yu's words were sincere. After obtaining chakra, the Ten Snake Demon King used it to strengthen his physical body, develop four types of fighting techniques, and even had a 'self-created skill' hidden away. How could Yu not be gratified by such diligent offline efforts?
"It's a pity that you've always refused to spar with me."

Although Tohga Oniohama harbored no hostility towards this 'Onmyoji' who had once easily immobilized him, he still held a grudge.

In order to break free from the opponent's 'immobilization spell', he even secretly developed his own 'self-created skill'.
"For sparring, please find my disciple: Kakaiin Yura."

Yu immediately shifted the target, as the opponent was the champion of the Kengan Association, making him the perfect candidate to hone Yura's close combat skills.

"Must I defeat your disciple before I can challenge you?"

"I accept!"

For a martial arts fanatic like Totsuya Oni-ohma, fighting is his life.

Whether it's the 'eye of God' or the 'yin-yang technique,' the fun of martial arts lies in finding ways to break through them.

"Young Master You,"

After the Ten-Headed Demon King left, Iori Ichika came to greet him.

"You finally agreed?"

"The way you're saying that makes it sound like I deliberately made excuses before."

Yu was not polite at all to this old acquaintance.

"The reason I refused before,"

"It's because it's too difficult. Now that we have Miss Tianma's help, the chances of success are much greater."

Ordinary people would have to address Pegasus Hope with the title "Love's Destiny," but extraordinary beings don't have that requirement. In the world of extraordinary beings, might makes right: clearly, Pegasus Hope doesn't yet have the strength to make extraordinary beings submit.

However, with the development of her 'eye roll', it's a certainty that she will surpass everyone else in strength.

After all, the Byakugan has a wisp of 'Otsutsuki' bloodline limit.

How could an ordinary ninja compare?
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Metropolitan Police Department
Yu, Nozomi Tenma, Director Takeya, Iori Kazuka, and Fuji Seiko passed through layers of security and arrived at the laboratory deep underground.

Several enormous alloy cages have been placed here, containing minotaur-like monsters, truck-sized spiders, and beings with the upper body of women and the lower body of caterpillars.

"Ox-demon, earth spider, chrysanthemum worm,"

"These are three extraordinary beings in our government's possession, unfortunately—"

These three extraordinary beings harbor immense hostility towards humanity! Under normal circumstances, it would be very difficult for them to establish a cooperative relationship.

However, their hostility was merely instinctive, unlike that of superhuman criminals, which were overflowing with human malice: rape, torture, ruthlessness, and madness. So when the Metropolitan Police Department once flexed its muscles to show off to the superhumans, the superhuman criminals were killed on the spot, but these superhuman beings were only wounded.

Because the government wants to bring them under its control.

To put it bluntly, animals are far more 'moral' than humans.

Going back on one's word, repaying kindness with enmity, and acting insincerely while pretending to comply—ordinary extraordinary beings don't behave in such complicated ways.

Despite their apparent helplessness in the face of the 'Falcon' armed drone and the 'Sentinel' robot during the experiment, they were not fooled by their apparent incompetence.

But that doesn't mean they are 'weak,' but rather that they don't know how to dodge or deal with high-tech weapons.

In a different context, their extraordinary abilities can play a powerful role!

"Release the 'earth spider'."

At Director Zhu Ya's command, the staff member in the white coat next to her pressed the button.

"Zhizhizhi?"

As the massive alloy cage opened...

The Earth Spider, having recovered from its injuries, tilted its head, a look of confusion appearing in its eight compound eyes.

With its six newly grown long legs, the earth spider carefully crawled out of its cage, looking around cautiously, afraid that another 'iron fly' might suddenly attack.

brush--

There were no 'iron flying insects' capable of launching fatal attacks, but instead a 'two-legged beast' leaped down and landed in front of it.

"Come,"

The Earth Spider was enraged when it saw the two-legged creature beckoning to it!

How dare such a tiny insect stand on my side?
"The Eye of God - Open!"

After his provocation, Pegasus let out a low growl, veins bulging around his eyes.

With her long black hair that already reached her waist, it was practically the standard look of the 'Hyuga' clan.

"squeak?"

Suddenly sensing a surge in the opponent's 'threat level,' the Earth Spider let out a startled scream. In human terms, it would probably be something like:
Is it possible to make peace?
Ten seconds later,
The giant earth spider, as big as a truck, lay limp on the ground, too weak to even lift its long legs.

"Squeak squeak squeak?!"

why?
The earth spider cannot understand.
Why did its 'power' vanish into thin air? Like...
It was still that weak spider, powerless to escape all kinds of powerful natural enemies!

Give me back my power~~
Unfortunately, no one present could understand what it was saying, but that's okay.

"Want to regain your strength?"

Leaping down, Yu landed in the laboratory, her finger touching the earth spider's forehead;

The question resounded directly in the mind of the spirit beast, causing it to immediately nod.

"Then let's sign this contract."

He casually took out a scroll and placed it on the earth spider's forehead.

The next second, thick black ink on the scroll began to wriggle and transform into the shape of a spider.

"Done,"

He turned around and tossed the scroll to Iori Ichika.

"Next, whoever wants to sign a contract with it should bite their finger and write their name on it with their own blood."

"In this way, it will establish a spiritual connection with the 'contractor'."

Then you can command them in battle!

It's not good to keep these animals that have eaten the 'True Spirit of a Hundred Ghosts' locked up in the laboratory all the time;
Letting them out to move around can both fill the void in the Metropolitan Police Department's superhuman strength and allow them to gain experience.

This is also why Yu reluctantly agreed to help.

"Brother You, can we summon it with a 'bang'?"

"Are you dreaming?"

Rolling her eyes at Iori Ichika, Yu retorted without any politeness:

"I've already helped you sign shikigami contracts, and you still want to covet my family's secret technique for controlling shikigami?"

"How could that be? It's just that we'll be taking this big guy to the battlefield from now on."

He glanced at the enormous 'earth spider',
We must develop a large transport aircraft as soon as possible.

(End of this chapter)