Compared to Su Ye's carefree attitude of enjoying the spectacle, Kyo Kusanagi looked hesitant.
The Kusanagi name had a long history in Japan, tracing back to the age of mythology.
That's right—Japan had its own mythology too, featuring deities like Amaterasu, Susanoo, Tengu, Raijin, and many others.
Many of these mythical figures bore strong similarities to those found in Chinese mythology.
Just like how their writing system was borrowed from Chinese, the similarities in mythology weren't surprising either.
Myths usually evolved from historical events.
Having myths meant having history—a foundation.
Even a tiny place like South Korea had its own mythological stories.
But some countries had no history, no mythology, and could only make up strange, modern-day superheroes on the spot.
Yet, ironically, those superheroes became globally popular.
Even in China, which had countless mythological heroes, local legends were overshadowed.
Some failing online writers didn't even include local mythological heroes in their books, instead stuffing them with Western superheroes and Japanese anime/game characters.
That clearly showed a lack of cultural depth and historical knowledge.
No wonder they were failures—pathetic!
Back to Kyo Kusanagi.
In the Japanese mythic age, there once appeared a terrifying giant monster with nine heads called Orochi (Yamata no Orochi).
It wasn't a contradiction—"Yamata" means eight forks, and each fork splits into two heads, so eight forks naturally mean eight heads.
But strangely, Orochi's bloodline spawned eight descendants, known as the Hakkesshu (Eight Heads).
So, they weren't transformed from the serpent's heads, but from its eight forks…
The Hakkesshu were descendants from eight forks?
If you put it that way… it kind of made sense, right?
In mythology, the Yamata no Orochi wreaked havoc across Japan, plunging the land into chaos and darkness.
Not only did it cause destruction, but it also demanded human sacrifices—otherwise, it threatened to destroy the world.
Like many other stories, the tribute was always pure, innocent maidens.
That year, one of the chosen sacrificial maidens had a childhood friend who didn't want her to be sacrificed.
So, on the night before the sacrifice, he secretly snuck into her room and… well… ahem…
Uh… maybe let's skip the details?
Anyway, before the girl could be sacrificed, her childhood friend teamed up with three others to rebel against Yamata no Orochi.
These three were the chosen heroes, bearing the surnames Kusanagi, Yasakani, and Yata.
Not only were they powerful, but they also wielded divine artifacts: the Kusanagi Sword, the Yasakani Magatama, and the Yata Mirror. After an intense battle, they sealed away the Yamata no Orochi.
As for which deity had chosen them and granted them these artifacts, The King of Fighters (KOF) lore didn't seem to specify.
But if someone was crafting divine weapons, it was probably someone from the lineage of Taishang Laojun (a legendary Daoist deity).
If Laojun himself had made them, the three artifacts would have been way more powerful.
After sealing Orochi, the three warriors passed down their family names based on the divine artifacts they wielded.
The Kusanagi Clan wielded the power of the Kusanagi Sword, attacking with crimson flames. Their signature move, Orochinagi, mimicked the action of slashing the serpent with fire.
The Yasakani Clan also used crimson flames, with techniques similar to those of the Kusanagi Clan.
However, after continuously losing to the Kusanagi Clan, one generation of the Yasakani family got fed up and secretly sided with Orochi. They not only unleashed Orochi's power but also created groups like the Four Heavenly Kings and the Hakkesshu.
He himself acquired the blood of Orochi, gaining greater strength, but his flames turned from crimson to blue.
Even their signature move, Yaotome, was based on a magical serpent's rapid biting attack.
Perhaps to sever ties with their past, the Yasakani family eventually changed their surname to Yagami.
Future generations continued to decline, even producing figures like Saori and Haruka Yagami, known for, uh… let's just say "educational materials" aimed at young men.
But hey, every job has value. They made money with their skills, and hard work deserves respect.
The third family, the Yata Clan, was responsible for maintaining the seal. To avoid conflict, they hid their true identity and changed their surname to Kagura.
Although their original ancestor was male, every generation of the Kagura family had twin daughters.
Why every generation produced identical twin girls was a mystery…
Anyway, these Three Sacred Treasure Clans were Japan's heroes. When giant monsters appeared, and the light from the M78 Nebula (Ultraman) couldn't reach this island nation…
The Three Sacred Treasure Clans were Japan's final line of defense.
As for Japan's military forces, the moment the Gedo Statue appeared, chakra energy covered the entire country.
The entire region suffered a full-spectrum electronic disruption, rendering all technology useless in an instant.
Missiles failed, planes became useless displays, and only the old artillery pieces in museums—leftovers from Japan's past invasions—could still fire properly.
But firing those at the Gedo Statue was like scratching an itch—it did nothing.
In short, all of Japan's technological weaponry was rendered useless—just like that.
So, the only ones left to protect Japan were people like Kyo Kusanagi, the descendants of the Three Sacred Treasure Clans, and a handful of fighters.
Kyo Kusanagi's teammates, Benimaru Nikaido—cough, that's Benimaru—and Goro Daimon, were on their way.
Meanwhile, the other two members of the Three Sacred Treasure Clans had also arrived at the scene but had yet to reveal themselves.
Chizuru Kagura, the priestess who maintained the seal, preferred to stay mysterious. Unless absolutely necessary, she wouldn't make a move.
As for Iori Yagami, he simply didn't want to stand alongside Kyo Kusanagi.
Ever since the Yagami family changed their surname, they had been bitter enemies with the Kusanagi Clan. Each generation fought fiercely, sometimes to the death, to determine who was superior.
They were too busy fighting each other—there was no way they would fight on the same side.
Standing beside Iori Yagami were two women—Mature and Vice.
But at this moment, their eyes weren't on Kyo Kusanagi or the Gedo Statue. Instead, they were fixed on Su Ye, who was floating in mid-air.
"That's the guy who killed Geese Howard and ruined our boss's entire plan!"
"Ever since the Southtown incident, we've been looking for him. But with New York and Los Angeles both destroyed, we lost track of him. Never thought we'd run into him here."
"Now that we've found him, we can't let him off easy. He ruined our boss's plans—he has to pay for that."
"Be careful—he's strong. He defeated Geese Howard and even organized a superhero alliance in America. His power isn't to be underestimated!"
"Are you scared?"
"Scared? There's no such word in Vice's dictionary. I'm just worried about the boss's plans."
"If the boss's plan gets delayed and Lord Goenitz blames us, we won't be able to handle the consequences."
On the surface, the two of them were secretaries for the arms dealer Rugal Bernstein—very proper secretaries.
In reality, they were just spies planted by Goenitz, the strongest of the Hakkesshu, to monitor Rugal Bernstein.
They helped Rugal carry out what he thought was his own plan while actually overseeing him to ensure it progressed as intended.
Goenitz's ultimate goal was to gather enough power to break the seal on Orochi and bring him back to the world.
And that was the very reason the Hakkesshu existed.
Rugal Bernstein was merely a pawn in Goenitz's grand scheme.
And before that, Geese Howard—who had been taken down by Su Ye—was just another pawn under Rugal.
Layers within layers—like Russian nesting dolls.
The two women whispered to each other, and Iori Yagami, standing in front of them, didn't hear a word.
At that moment, Iori Yagami's eyes were fixed intently on the towering Gedo Statue.
To him, this might be an opportunity.
An opportunity to prove he was stronger than Kyo Kusanagi.
Once the Gedo Statue beat Kyo Kusanagi to a pulp, Iori would step in and effortlessly crush it—proving that he was the superior fighter.
As for how he would defeat a 500-meter-tall monster? Iori had never doubted himself.
With his claws and a burst of blue flames, knocking down that giant wooden pole of a monster would be a piece of cake.
That was the kind of confidence Iori Yagami had.
Just like his personality and his signature laugh—edgy yet brimming with confidence.
Uchiha Dai was well aware of Iori Yagami and Chizuru Kagura's arrival.
With so many White Zetsu acting as his informants, he had a complete grasp of everything happening in the area.
He even knew that Su Ye's hands, while holding Mai Shiranui, were starting to get a little… restless.
"You dare mess around in front of me at a time like this? Are you just rubbing it in that I don't have a girlfriend? Fine! Even if the gods themselves came down today, they wouldn't be able to save you! You're all dead! I said it!"
"Attack!"
With Uchiha Dai's command, the Gedo Statue immediately took a step forward.
With a creature of its immense size, it didn't need to make any exaggerated moves—just a single step was enough to cause an earthquake.
Benimaru Nikaido and Goro Daimon, who were climbing up the mountain to get there, instantly lost their balance due to the tremors. They tumbled down from the mountaintop.
"You idiot! What the hell is this thing, Goro Daimon?!"
"I don't know, but it's definitely weirder than your hairstyle!"
"You're still making fun of my hair at a time like this?!"
"And weren't you just playing with my name's pronunciation?!"
"..."
The two exchanged glances, then chose to shut up and continued running forward, scrambling in panic.
Faced with such a massive threat, they couldn't let Kyo Kusanagi fight alone. As his loyal teammates and sworn brothers, if Kyo was going to die, they would die alongside him.
Meanwhile, Kyo Kusanagi had already launched a counterattack against the Gedo Statue.
He started with a three-hit Aragami combo, followed by an Oniyaki!
"Aaaryaaah!"
The crimson flames flared up on the battlefield, brilliant and dazzling. Even from miles away, the glow was clearly visible.
But given Kyo's size, all he could reach was the Gedo Statue's toes.
No one had ever heard of an ant biting an elephant's toe and killing it.
Sure, a swarm of ants could take down an elephant, but you needed a lot of ants.
Kyo, as a lone ant, wasn't even strong enough to tickle the Gedo Statue.
The Gedo Statue completely ignored Kyo's existence and extended a massive, translucent chakra dragon—shaped like a serpent—straight toward Su Ye.
If it caught him, the Nine-Tails inside Su Ye would be forcefully extracted.
At that moment, the Gedo Statue would achieve its final form—the Ten-Tails.
And Su Ye, having lost Kurama, would be on the brink of death.
Well, according to the Jinchūriki rules, that's how it was supposed to work.
But with Su Ye's understanding of his own power, he figured that even if he lost Kurama, it wouldn't be a big deal—he'd just be missing a few chakra-related abilities.
Now that he had the Reality Stone, as long as he had enough "girlfriend cards," he could always conjure up new abilities.
For example, a red cape and a golden staff.
These two artifacts corresponded to two different girlfriend cards—one for Lois Lane, the journalist, and the other for Chi-Chi, the daughter of the Ox-King.
Lois Lane was just a normal human, so a basic white card was enough.
As for Chi-Chi, being the daughter of the Ox-King, she barely counted as a martial artist. A green card would suffice at most.
This wasn't exploiting the system—just using it efficiently.
It wasn't Su Ye's fault that these top-tier warriors liked dating ordinary women.
But for now, he chose not to go down that route.
One reason was that he didn't want to become too strong—otherwise, the world would lose its challenge and fun. Another reason was that he already had too many unfinished messes to clean up and didn't want to add more.
The world was already chaotic, stressful, and eventful enough—Su Ye couldn't even live a simple, peaceful life.
Thinking about it… he decided to pass.
However, just because Su Ye wasn't worried about the consequences didn't mean he was okay with some long, snake-like thing slithering into his body, taking something, and leaving something behind.
That would make him feel… unclean.
So, as the chakra dragon lunged toward him, Su Ye immediately maneuvered his body backward while speaking to the people clinging onto him.
"You guys should find somewhere to hide. This kind of battle isn't something you can participate in."
The power levels of King of Fighters fighters only started going haywire, with ridiculous abilities like Absolute Territory, Ultimate Power, and Cosmic Strength, after KOF '96.
But the storyline in this world was still transitioning from KOF '94 to KOF '95, meaning the fighters hadn't yet unlocked Absolute Territory. So, they truly couldn't help in this situation.
It was rumored that before KOF '97, Chin Gentsai had already broken through Absolute Territory and mastered Ultimate Power—he was the only one to do so.
Maybe that's why he could effortlessly pick up Mjolnir?