Hearing Inugami Gyōbu-danuki's question, Ren Kuroda froze for a brief moment. Then a faint smile curved his lips—but he gave no answer. Instead, he burst forward, charging straight at Inugami Gyōbu-danuki.
The reason Inugami Gyōbu-danuki had asked was simple enough.
In his eyes, for someone as young as Ren to have grown this powerful, the most likely explanation was his lineage.
Just like Gyokushō and Nura Rikuo—because of their extraordinary bloodlines, their yokai power had already surpassed that of most ordinary demons from the moment they were born.
Naturally, Inugami Gyōbu-danuki assumed Ren was the same.
And as the lord of the Eighty-Eight Demons of the Night Parade, Inugami Gyōbu-danuki believed that after living for so many centuries, he was at least acquainted with most of the great yokai in this world. That was why he had asked.
What he didn't know was that Ren wasn't even from this world to begin with. There was no way Inugami Gyōbu-danuki could possibly recognize his parents.
And even if he did ask Ren, it wouldn't help in the slightest—because Ren himself had no idea who his bargain-bin deadbeat father actually was.
With a single kick, Ren shattered the ground beneath his feet and shot forward at blinding speed. As he charged, a straight downward slash erupted from his Nichirin Blade, an outward-cutting arc of power released the instant he moved.
At this point, the yokai power and combat strength Ren displayed no longer allowed Inugami Gyōbu-danuki to treat him lightly.
The moment Ren rushed in, Inugami Gyōbu-danuki discarded his earlier relaxed demeanor. Despite his rotund body, he moved with startling lightness—like a balloon catching the wind—leaping aside and effortlessly dodging Ren's slash.
The crescent-shaped blade wave, now without a target, sliced straight through the fountain at the center of the plaza, severing it cleanly and sending a massive cloud of mist billowing into the air.
The fountain was carved from thick marble—yet under Ren's casual slash, it was cut apart as easily as butter under a hot knife.
At the same instant Inugami Gyōbu-danuki dodged, his figure vanished completely.
When he reappeared, he was already high above Ren's head.
Taking a deep swig of strong liquor, he unleashed a long-prepared breath of yokai flame, blasting downward from the sky.
This breath of fire was nothing like the earlier one he'd used merely to force Ren back.
The blazing inferno poured down like heavenly fire descending upon the earth, instantly evaporating the lingering mist. The temperature of the air skyrocketed in an instant, becoming unbearably scorching.
Faced with the sudden aerial assault, Ren tightened his grip on the Nichirin Blade. Sensing the flow of wind around him, he slashed forward, forming a barrier of compressed air in front of himself.
Among 『Wind, Forest, Fire, Mountain』, the phrase "swift as the wind" was the one Ren had mastered most thoroughly.
Once he learned how to manipulate airflow, whether attacking or moving, he could amplify his power by guiding the wind itself.
In his previous life, as a hardcore gamer, he'd long admired a certain character who wielded a "Wind-Sovereign Sword Art."
If that guy could do it, then there was no reason Ren couldn't.
After countless experiments, Ren had developed several new techniques based on 『Wind, Forest, Fire, Mountain』.
Still, due to their incomplete refinement, the Wind Barrier he slashed out couldn't hold for long against the overwhelming flames.
The fire's coverage was simply too vast—dodging it entirely was unrealistic.
"Chaotic Might of Gods and Demons!"
Massive yokai power flooded into Ren's jet-black arm. As everyone wondered what he was about to do, the ground suddenly began to shake violently.
In his Half-Demon Transformation, just how terrifying was Ren's full-power Chaotic Might of Gods and Demons?
With a single charged punch, a plaza spanning several thousand square meters split open with a massive裂缝—
a colossal fissure tearing straight through the ground.
As Ren continued slamming his fists downward, accompanied by thunderous BOOM—BOOM—BOOM sounds, the cracks expanded wider and wider.
Like a full-blown earthquake, the devastation finally snapped the spectators back to their senses. When smaller yokai who couldn't retreat in time nearly fell into the fissures, they realized just how dangerous their position was.
After several violent tremors, everyone looked back at Ren—and nearly dropped their jaws.
Because at that moment, Ren was holding up a massive boulder weighing at least a hundred tons.
The sheer divine strength left everyone speechless. Even Aobōzu and Hand-Wash Oni—both famed for their physical power—stood in stunned silence.
Compared to the man in the center of the battlefield, their so-called "brute strength" titles felt like a joke.
The instant Ren lifted the boulder, the Wind Barrier finally gave way, unable to withstand the relentless flames. The scorching heat roared toward him at point-blank range.
At the same time, veins bulged violently along Ren's arm. With a roar, he hurled the massive boulder straight into the sky!
Ordinary rock would never withstand Inugami Gyōbu-danuki's yokai flames—but something this massive couldn't be turned into molten lava instantly.
The hundred-ton boulder tore through the air with brutal force. Its surface glowed red-hot almost immediately, molten rock dripping down in streams—but the overwhelming momentum crushed straight through the raging inferno.
The moment he released the boulder, Ren yanked the Nichirin Blade from the ground, then stomped hard enough to leave a small meteor-like crater beneath his foot. Using the boulder as cover, he shot forward alongside it toward Inugami Gyōbu-danuki.
The violent yokai flames eventually melted the boulder completely, sending molten lava raining down.
But just as the rock fully liquefied, Ren had already achieved his goal.
The blade flashed silver through the air, leaving a razor-sharp trail as it slashed toward Inugami Gyōbu-danuki's waist—catching him utterly off guard.
Since this wasn't a fight to the death, Ren didn't aim for a vital spot—just the waist.
After all, with eighty-eight wives, Inugami Gyōbu-danuki probably took pretty good care of that area. A cut or two there shouldn't be a big deal.
Realizing Ren's "sinister intentions" at the last possible moment, Inugami Gyōbu-danuki managed to block the decisive strike with his gourd.
The waist was spared—but the gourd's defensive coverage was limited. Ren's blade still left a shallow cut across Inugami Gyōbu-danuki's right abdomen.
Just as Ren prepared to follow up and seal the victory, his blade sliced through empty air again.
Inugami Gyōbu-danuki had vanished—again.
"Damn it, this is the same kind of ability as that damn Slippery Old Fox!" Ren cursed as he landed helplessly.
"No wonder you guys get along so well!"
Having lost track of Inugami Gyōbu-danuki once more, Ren could only glare and swear at the empty air.
"Do you truly think there's a reason this old one is called Inugami Gyōbu-danuki?"
The voice echoed from all directions.
"Can you really not comprehend the meaning of Hidden God?"
The voice came from everywhere—but Ren couldn't see him anywhere.
Inugami Gyōbu-danuki's Fear was fundamentally different from Nurarihyon's.
Nurarihyon's Fear was closer to an ability that interfered with the five senses—wrapping himself in it to confuse opponents.
Sometimes what you saw wasn't the real him, but merely what he wanted you to see.
Truth and illusion blurred together, like flowers reflected in a mirror or the moon shimmering on water—an illusion-based power.
But Inugami Gyōbu-danuki's Fear was true invisibility—concealing both form and presence entirely.
That earlier exchange had been Ren's best opportunity.
Unfortunately, he'd underestimated his opponent.
A monster who'd lived for centuries—even if weakened by age—was something Ren couldn't hope to match in combat experience.
And that gourd earlier had blocked an A-rank Nichirin Blade strike without suffering the slightest damage. Clearly, it wasn't an ordinary item.
"I admit it," Inugami Gyōbu-danuki's voice echoed.
"I underestimated you. I've even forgotten the last time I was injured.
From here on, I'll use my true strength.
In truth, compared to yokai flames… my strongest skill is fist combat."
Touching the bleeding cut on his right abdomen, Inugami Gyōbu-danuki finally cast aside all contempt.
Before, he had seen Ren as a young man of exceptional talent and strength—but not yet someone worthy of being called an opponent.
But now, that young man had proven—through skill and sheer power—just how grave the consequences of underestimating him could be.
The spectators surrounding the battlefield were completely dumbfounded as they listened to Inugami Gyōbu-danuki's voice echoing from the air.
That level of battle… still wasn't serious?
For Ren and Inugami Gyōbu-danuki, what had just occurred was merely a normal spar.
But for the yokai watching from the sidelines, it was nothing short of eye-opening.
Sweeping blade waves, earthquake-like brute force, molten lava raining from the sky—any one of these was already a natural disaster to most yokai.
Yet to the two at the center of it all, these attacks were just warm-up?
Kurotabō and the others handled it relatively well—they'd followed the Second Head and seen true battles before.
But for Nura Rikuo—who had never left Ukiyo-e Town and whose opponents had all been small fry—this fight shook him to his core.
This was what a battle between true great yokai looked like.
Compared to Ren and Inugami Gyōbu-danuki, all of Rikuo's past fights had been nothing more than child's play.
"HAAAAAAAA—!"
Unable to sense Inugami Gyōbu-danuki's presence, Ren could only stand still and calm his breathing.
He had no better options. Inugami Gyōbu-danuki's yokai power was no weaker than his own, rendering Yokai Presence Detection completely useless.
And at the exact moment Ren's muscles relaxed—
Accompanied by a thunderous shout, a massive tanuki paw slammed squarely into his chest!