The battle between Konoha and Sunagakure quietly ignited the very next day after the four's discussion.
Early that morning, the sensory ninja reported: the Third Kazekage, Ryūnosuke, was personally leading four thousand Suna shinobi toward them.
The Konoha side did not hesitate, nor did they retreat. Under Hoshiyomi's command, they immediately formed up in battle formation, standing their ground and waiting for the Sunagakure forces to arrive.
After following Hoshiyomi through several victories, the Konoha shinobi had already developed a mindset of constant triumph. With such confidence, their morale blazed high—no one showed even a hint of fear toward the Suna forces approaching in the distance.
On the other side, Sunagakure's shinobi also showed no fear. After all, they were being led by none other than the man hailed as the strongest Kazekage in history—the Third Kazekage, Ryūnosuke. With him at the front, they were convinced they could drive Konoha back in one decisive strike.
Neither side attempted ambushes or other underhanded tactics. They simply clashed head-on, standing tall and facing each other directly like two blades meeting tip-to-tip.
Hoshiyomi and Ryūnosuke locked eyes from afar. Both advanced step by step, without sudden bursts of speed, closing the distance steadily.
With every step, the pressure from both sides mounted, spreading outward without restraint, as if two ferocious man-eating beasts were about to collide.
Ryūnosuke's oppressive presence as a Kage-level shinobi swept across the battlefield, causing cold sweat to break out on the faces of many Konoha shinobi.
But in the very next instant, Hoshiyomi's presence erupted, surging forth and not only neutralizing Ryūnosuke's pressure but even pressing it back in return.
Hoshiyomi's presence was like an unsheathed divine blade, sharp beyond compare—the moment it emerged, ripples of dread spread across the battlefield.
The temperature across the battlefield seemed to drop by several degrees. Many weaker shinobi couldn't help but shiver, their minds already filled with visions of the countless souls Hoshiyomi had cut down screaming in anguish.
The name "Konoha's Silvermoon" had not been built through reputation alone—it was carved out with blade after blade, standing tall atop the corpses of fallen elites. If one were to tally the number of high-level combatants slain, in the entire Second Shinobi World War battlefield, Hoshiyomi would claim second place only because no one dared claim the first.
From Hanzō of Amegakure,
to Iwagakure's earth-release infiltration units,
to the ANBU captain of Yogan,
to Rōshi, the Four-Tails' jinchūriki,
and finally to Chiyo and Ebizō—
One after another, renowned powerhouses of the shinobi world had fallen before him—some never left the Land of Rain alive. The oppressive presence forged from defeating so many legendary figures was terrifying beyond words.
Already, countless mid-level Sand ninja were trembling on weak knees, their combat strength sapped to a mere fraction—such a stark contrast to their confidence only moments ago.
Ryūnosuke hadn't expected to actually lose in terms of presence to this much younger opponent. Seeing his own men beginning to waver behind him, he knew he could not allow Hoshiyomi to keep pushing.
He let out a cold snort and spoke to the distant Hoshiyomi. "Konoha's Silver Moon… tell me, when you launched your night raid on Sunagakure's main camp, did you consider that a battle like today would happen?"
Hoshiyomi's expression remained calm as he replied:
"Consider what? That the great Third Kazekage would be so humiliated and enraged that he'd abandon all pretense of dignity to personally come deal with us?"
Ryūnosuke's face darkened at the words. Damn this sharp-tongued brat—he went straight for the sore spot.
As Kazekage, for him to leave the village and march out himself already spoke volumes about Sunagakure's weakness. Even if he won today, others would laugh at him behind his back for years.
His expression turned pitch black, and his gaze toward Hoshiyomi radiated pure killing intent:
"Arrogant fool… go to hell!"
As he spoke, the chakra around him suddenly erupted. The ground beneath their feet began to tremble ever so slightly, and countless tiny black particles, drawn by some mysterious force, floated upward as if guided by an unseen hand.
In the blink of an eye, Ryūnosuke had already extracted innumerable fine grains of iron sand from the earth below. Those particles floated upward and gathered into a vast cloud of sand iron, looking somewhat like the Aburame clan's insect techniques.
Yet compared to the Aburame's living insects, this lifeless iron sand—completely subject to its master's will—was far more dangerous.
Seeing the great cloud of iron sand take form, the Konoha shinobi all paled. If that iron sand rain were to fall, it would be nearly impossible to withstand.
At that moment, Hoshiyomi suddenly spoke:
"Wait a moment."
Ryūnosuke smiled. "What? Are you scared?"
Hoshiyomi looked directly at Ryūnosuke, his expression calm
"Why should I be scared of you? We are both Kage-level shinobi. If we fight here, in the middle of our troops, both sides will suffer massive casualties among our subordinates. I don't think that's a scene even you wish to see.
So, why don't we—Kage against Kage—fight somewhere else, and leave this battlefield to our men?"
Ryūnosuke gave a cold snort, but did not reject the idea.
"Fine. Then let's move to a nearby place and fight there."
It wasn't that he truly had such noble sentiments. He had already heard Ebizō's reports—about Hoshiyomi's devastating large-scale technique that wiped out hundreds of Sand shinobi in one strike. Ryūnosuke feared provoking him into lashing out at his troops—Sunagakure's manpower was already scarce. If these remaining forces were slaughtered as well, the three ambitious elders back home would hardly stay idle
Besides, Ryūnosuke had his own calculations. His magnetic control had a limited range, and the iron sand in any given area was finite. If they moved elsewhere, he could extract more, replenishing his weapon stock. Iron sand was the source of his power—the more of it he had, the greater his performance.
And in any case, once he killed Gekko Hoshiyomi, the Konoha shinobi would have nowhere to run.
With that thought, a smile tugged at Ryūnosuke's lips as he followed Hoshiyomi, the two of them pulling away from both forces.
As soon as distance opened, their battle erupted. Neither was truly a "good man"—each harbored his own schemes.
But in sheer speed, Hoshiyomi had the edge. He immediately activated his Dance of the Startled Swan, attempting to kill Ryūnosuke in a single instant.
However, having heard Chiyo and Ebizō's reports, Ryūnosuke was well aware of Hoshiyomi's mysterious space-time technique. He had already prepared his counter.
Magnet Release: Iron Sand Wall.
A wall of iron sand instantly appeared in front of Ryūnosuke, blocking Hoshiyomi's suddenly unsheathed Mikazuki Munechika.
The sword struck struck the wall, shattering large chunks of iron sand—but not piercing through it entirely.
From behind the barrier, Ryūnosuke's smug voice echoed:
"I knew you would try that trick. Now… your sword belongs to me!"
At that moment, Hoshiyomi felt a tremendous force tugging at him—so strong that even his grip on his blade faltered slightly.