Lightning split the sky.
The Asgardian god roared, voice shaking the clouds themselves.
"Blasphemer! You dare lay your filthy hand on the God of Thunder?!"
Half of Thor's face was already swollen from Ryuuto's earlier strike. His golden hair was matted with blood and dust, one eye twitching with disbelief. For a moment, even the gods looked ridiculous.
Ryuuto smirked through the ozone crackle. "Funny. You talk a lot for someone who just got slapped by a 'mortal.'"
The veins in Thor's temples throbbed. He raised Mjolnir high, and lightning spiraled out like divine wrath, condensing into a storm of blue fire.
"Enough talk! I'll grind your soul into the Nine Hells themselves!"
Thunder howled as he hurled bolts thicker than trees. Each strike carved craters through the battlefield, glassing the earth.
But the red-haired shinobi didn't move. His fingers formed precise seals, movements sharp as blades.
"Earth Style: Wall of the Mountain King!"
The ground erupted, massive stone ramparts slamming up from below and locking together in an instant.
Lightning struck.
Nothing moved.
Behind the barrier, Ryuuto's voice echoed, low and calm. "You call yourself a god? Cute. Let me show you what power really looks like."
Thor's laughter echoed through the storm, wild and furious. "Coward! Hiding behind dirt and tricks! Come out and face me, boy!"
Mjolnir hammered down again and again, each hit shattering rock and air alike, leaving nothing but fire and dust. But the walls kept rising, faster than he could break them.
Then his eyes darted toward the sidelines—toward the battered Avengers. Iron Man's armor smoked, Bobby Drake (Iceman) barely conscious.
Thor grinned. "If you won't come out… maybe I'll just kill them first."
That did it.
A pulse of red light flared behind the rocks, and the ground shook with raw fury.
[System Notice: Eight Inner Gates — Activation Sequence Commencing]
First Gate — Open!
Second Gate — Open!
Third Gate — Open!
Fourth Gate — Open!
Fifth Gate — Open!
Sixth Gate — Open!
Seventh Gate — Open!
Wind exploded outward in a spiral of red and white, splitting the storm apart. Ryuuto stepped forward, eyes burning like molten metal, every muscle outlined in light.
Shion's voice chimed lazily in his head.
[Warning: Opening that many Gates in this world might melt the atmosphere, Host. You sure about this?]
"Relax," Ryuuto muttered. "The god started it."
He vanished.
A flash of red. A sonic boom.
Thor barely saw the movement before a hand knife struck his armor—
CRACK!
The enchanted plating split like paper. Thor reeled, blood spraying in arcs of crimson and blue lightning. His divine resilience couldn't keep up with that kind of raw, forbidden power.
"You— you said you'd punch me!" Thor gasped.
Ryuuto grinned, eyes fierce. "Yeah. I lied."
He slammed another strike into Thor's gut, then another, each blow tearing through divine flesh. The air screamed around them as shockwaves spread like ripples across the ruins.
Thor staggered backward, teeth bared in pain. "You mock a god?! You dare—"
Ryuuto stepped in, grabbed his collar, and headbutted him. Hard. "Stop repeating yourself, thunder boy."
Thor finally broke free, stumbling back, half-kneeling in the dirt. His breath came in ragged bursts. "You'll pay for this!"
He raised Mjolnir weakly and hurled it, lightning trailing like a comet.
Ryuuto lifted a hand, palm glowing with swirling red chakra and desert dust. "You rely too much on that hammer."
The sand twisted midair, coiling into a vortex. Mjolnir slammed into it—and stopped dead, trapped and trembling.
Ryuuto caught it easily.
He turned it over in his hand, eyebrow raised. "Not bad weight. Balance sucks, though."
"Blasphemy!" Thor bellowed. "Touching Mjolnir is forbidden for mortals!"
"Guess I'm not mortal then." Ryuuto twirled the hammer like a toy.
Thor's laughter turned manic. "Then die with it!"
The storm convulsed. Lightning gathered from horizon to horizon, all focusing on the hammer in Ryuuto's hand.
But Ryuuto didn't move.
The sky split.
A pillar of light crashed down—
And then, nothing.
Thor blinked. Mjolnir had vanished.
Behind him, a voice:
"Looking for this?"
Ryuuto's eyes burned red, three tomoe spinning. "Kamui."
Thor spun just as Mjolnir slammed into his face. The god of thunder's world went white.
He hit the dirt hard, divine blood splattering across the ground.
Ryuuto cracked his knuckles. "Before you throw another tantrum, I'll end this properly."
The air shimmered as his chakra rose like a blazing inferno.
"Dust Release: Original World Stripping Technique!"
A transparent cube expanded outward, space itself trembling. Thor felt his entire body freeze, every divine instinct screaming run.
Thunder rolled again—this time from beyond the clouds. Something ancient stirred, watching.
Shion's voice turned serious for once.
[Uh, Host… whatever you just did? It woke something up.]
Ryuuto frowned. "Define 'something.'"
[Let's just say… Odin's kid isn't the only god watching now.]
A single bolt of golden lightning tore open the sky.
And from within the blinding storm, a voice deeper and older than thunder itself whispered—
"Who dares harm my son?"
Ryuuto's grin didn't fade. "Ah. Round two."