"How's being a Great Youkai?" Reisen Riou asked.
"Marvelous," Kitsune Anko sighed. "The world's never been clearer. I see the essence of things through nature."
"Not essence," Ei interrupted. "Just illusions with a hint of truth—mostly false. It's an upgraded elemental sight. Shut it off."
"Pfft—haha!" Reisen Riou burst out laughing. He thought Anko's breakthrough was unique, but it was just her struggling to toggle her new vision. Anko's face turned monkey-red, fury rising. She summoned a naginata, slashing.
"Whoa, for real?" Reisen Riou dodged a blade aura, its chilling intent startling him. His tail flicked nervously.
"Reisen Riou, spar with her," Ei said. "I believe in you."
"…" Reisen Riou wanted to protest but Anko charged. Sighing, he tapped Resurrection's supercomputer, dodging her strikes by millimeters. "Anko, you're off," he taunted, goading her. "Can't land a hit."
Anko, silent, flared with Electro, speeding up. Useless—Reisen Riou hadn't even drawn his bow. Her pride stung, she roared, "This is Annihilation!" Her first Great Youkai technique erupted, dust swirling.
"Close one," Reisen Riou's snarky voice cut through. Two shields stood before him: an Electro resistance barrier, intact, and a Geo Jade Shield, reforming. Anko's attack, though fierce, couldn't break both.
They clashed again. Reisen Riou, now bow in hand—lest Ei's glare kill him—danced effortlessly while Anko floundered. "Your habits, techniques, range, even your feints are predictable," he said. "I've got your pre-Great Youkai data. Your patterns haven't changed. I can read you like a book—slash, sweep, you name it."
Anko's moves matched his calls, as if he were coaching her. "Shut up!" she snapped.
"Just facts," he grinned. "Without my data-crunching, you'd need to ditch smarts, lean on instinct, make your moves seamless, unreadable." Noticing her adjust, he nodded. "Body's honest, even if your mouth's not."
"Godspeed Slash, Return!" Anko switched to a katana, unleashing two vacuum blades.
"Unexpected, but not fast enough," Reisen Riou said, only for Ei to appear, catching a blade. "You're careless, Anko. That could've pierced your hidden armor."
"My second technique, Silent Annihilation—stealth and penetration," Anko smirked.
Reisen Riou, sweating, laughed nervously. "Anko, no face shots!" He yelped as she pressed the attack.
With his help, Anko not only ascended but crafted two potent Great Youkai techniques that day. Her martial breakthrough fused skills into instinct, reaching thoughtless action—sword and naginata mastery at LV9. Reisen Riou hated such relentless "flat-attack" fighters. Exhausted from dodging, he was hammered by Anko, who, using Longevity Thunder Elixir Art to recover stamina, had over 60% left. His own elixir restored stamina too, but Anko's grueling training—enduring countless injuries—honed her passive recovery. He couldn't cheat that mastery. A heavy hit would've crippled him.
"That's her reward," Ei said, teaching her Musou no Hitotachi while eyeing Reisen Riou's bruises. "Your elixir doesn't guarantee her skill."
"Fine," he grumbled. "What's Anko's next step?"
"She'll join my Thunder Triad, a general in the Tenryou Commission, working with Torachiyo," Ei said. The Triad—once Ei, Torachiyo, and Sasayuri—hadn't been full since Sasayuri's death. The Shadow Duty Trio, led by Saiguu, was also short. Ei aimed to rebuild her elite.
"No objections," Reisen Riou said. "Who guards Ritou now? Ripen the mountain spirit?"
"Not a bad idea," he mused.
"What're you muttering?" Ei asked.
"Ritou's guardian," he said. "No good candidates, so I'm considering ripening the mountain spirit. My tech can do it, but there might be side effects."
"You can do that?" Ei blinked.
"Ley line research byproduct. I'll warn locals to watch for monster sneak attacks—ripening won't shake ley lines, but better safe." He vanished in a flash of lightning to Narukami Island's cave heaven, grabbing rare resources. Ritou Shrine had Mora and basics, but Anko's level rarely needed such materials.
Diving into Ritou's shallow ley lines, he found the mountain spirit—a cracked, rough stone, malnourished from weak ley line energy. Decades of improving Ritou's ley lines weren't enough for its passive absorption, unlike his and Anko's active cultivation. He placed crystallized ley line energy around it, turning the stone jade-like. Then, he infused basic human concepts. Mountain spirits, often male-leaning as Geo beings, had fluid gender. Rumors said Morax could shift forms, hosting Makoto as a stunning female at the first Archon Banquet. Reisen Riou, amused by Ei's gossip, focused as the spirit began ripening. Estimating three months, he set arrays and barriers, then left.
Anko and Ei, done sparring, chatted. "Three months to ripen," Reisen Riou said.
"I'll return then to guide it," Anko volunteered, handing shrine duties to a senior maiden. They flashed to Narukami with Ei's speed, stopping at Hanami Ward.
"Been ages since I visited Narukami," Anko said, eyeing vendors. "Any festivals?"
"No festivals," Reisen Riou replied. "Just richer folk starting side hustles. Inazuma City's thriving."
They bought clothes and essentials, settling at Reisen Riou's estate. "Stay here," he said. "It's maintained." Anko, soon to get a Tenryou general's mansion, had no Inazuma City base since cutting ties with the Kitsune Clan after her sister's death post-Grand Narukami Festival.
They visited Makoto, freeing the frazzled Third Scribe. Reisen Riou resumed work, noting Makoto's recent absences. He and Anko bowed. "Greetings, Lady Makoto."
Makoto, holding a yipping Miko, began Anko's evaluation. Though Anko knew Ei as her master and Makoto by name, they weren't close. Anko's past as Makoto's festival guard wasn't unique—countless served similarly. Only LV70+ elites caught Makoto's eye. Ei confirmed Anko's prowess could trounce Yougou Mountain's hide-and-seek tanuki and outmatch the elegant black fox. Anko's Thunder Triad entry was approved, with her Tenryou generalship, instructor role, and Inazuma City land smoothly granted.
As Anko handled Okuzume paperwork, Makoto, cradling Miko, dragged Ei, Torachiyo, and Reisen Riou to find Saiguu. A youkai festival awaited at Yougou Mountain, sparked by the Oni Clan's retired elder counting 100 newborn oni. The clan, ecstatic, recalled Tenryou oni, bypassing Torachiyo. The elder hadn't expected Makoto to notice. At the festival, Torachiyo glared—"Spending clan funds and snubbing me? You're done!"—but Makoto, cloaked in secret arts, blended in faster than drunken Sumeru scholars, reveling in the lively chaos.