After spinning, Hoshiyomi shook his slightly dizzy head and said to Ryūnosuke:
"To tell you the truth, Lightning Release can break Magnet Release. The only reason you thought it couldn't is because the Lightning Release you've seen before wasn't strong enough. You always believed your ability countered me, but in reality—it's you who are being countered by my Lightning Release."
In his heart, Ryūnosuke was already beginning to believe Hoshiyomi's words, but he refused to accept them. This was also tied to the mindset of the shinobi world.
In the eyes of most, kekkei genkai powers were inherently superior to the five basic chakra natures. Aside from rare exceptions like Ice Release being weak to Fire Release, the common belief was that elemental ninjutsu could not overcome a kekkei genkai.
And now, to suddenly be told that the Magnet Release he had painstakingly refined for nearly forty years could be restrained by Lightning Release—it was no wonder Ryūnosuke resisted accepting such a fact.
Gritting his teeth, he raised his hand, condensing a massive iron sand pyramid. Under his control, the pyramid shot toward Hoshiyomi. He refused to believe that Hoshiyomi's Lightning Release could neutralize all of his technique.
Just one hit is enough. As long as he can get the iron sand into Hoshiyomi's body, he will kill him instantly.
After all, no matter how tough the body's surface defenses were, the internal organs are fragile. The moment the iron sand entered Hoshiyomi's body, he would use it to destroy his hands. Once his hands were crippled, Ryūnosuke would still have a chance to win.
With this thought, Ryūnosuke increased the magnetic control over the pyramid, causing it to spin rapidly to increase its destructive power.
Hoshiyomi, watching the Third Kazekage's grim face, only shook his head lightly.
"Muda, muda, muda, muda…"
As he spoke, he sheathed his sword, Mikazuki Munechika. He bent his body forward, his right hand gripping the hilt, and his left thumb lightly resting on the guard.
Thunder Breathing: First Form: Thunderclap and Flash.
Just as the massive spinning pyramid was about to come crashing down, Hoshiyomi suddenly moved.
With a Shunpo, he exploded forward, unleashing all of his strength in that single moment.
The next second, his figure shot skyward, bursting into a dazzling arc of lightning. In that instant, his entire body became lightning itself, streaking cleanly through the spinning iron sand pyramid.
Zing!
After a burst of dazzling lightning, Hoshiyomi's figure reappeared in midair, his blade—Mikazuki Munechika—already sheathed once more.
The sound was so thunderous that many Konoha and Sunagakure shinobi stopped fighting and looked over.
From their perspective, they had seen only a flash of lightning, and then, in the next second, the high-speed spinning pyramid stopped dead in midair… before shattering apart with a thunderous explosion.
The fragments collapsed into streams of molten-like iron sand, slowly raining to the ground.
Even among the iron sand scattered across the ground, traces of crackling lightning flickered, proof of the immense Lightning Release power infused in that single strike.
Ryūnosuke stared at the pyramid that had been cleaved apart, his face filled with disbelief.
"Impossible… this is impossible!"
How could a monster like this exist? He destroyed my proudest technique with a single blow. In this moment, even Ryūnosuke, a Kage-level shinobi, was filled with a profound sense of doubt.
But Hoshiyomi had no intention of giving him time to question his life.
High above in the air, his hawk-like eyes locked mercilessly onto the stunned Ryūnosuke. His hand moved once more—this time reversing his grip on the blade.
Twisting his waist, he rotated midair to adjust his posture, gripping Mikazuki Munechika in a reverse hold.
Crescent Moon Slash · Thunder
The Mikazuki Munechika in Hoshiyomi's hand erupted once more with a burst of lightning—but this time, the thunder-light was interwoven with a unique strand of moonlight's white radiance, shining even brighter than his earlier Thunderclap and Flash.
From high above, Hoshiyomi descended like a falling star, blade aimed straight at Ryūnosuke.
Ryūnosuke was, after all, a Kage-level shinobi—one of the stronger ones at that. Yet as he watched Hoshiyomi plummet toward him, his face went deathly pale.At that moment, he no longer had the luxury of doubting life itself, because he knew clearly: if he couldn't evade this strike, he would never have another chance to doubt anything again.
The sharp reflexes of a Kage-level powerhouse saved him. Almost by pure instinct, he acted—first raising an Iron Sand Wall n front of him, then immediately used the Body Flicker Technique to flee.
But against Crescent Moon Slash · Thunder, his wall fared even worse than before—shattered in an instant. Still, that brief second it bought was enough. Ryūnosuke, by relying on Body Flicker, narrowly escaped the fatal blow.
Ryūnosuke's reaction was swift. He turned his head and immediately spat out a jutsu—Wind Release: Wind Cutter—sending four howling blades of wind crashing toward Hoshiyomi. But Ryūnosuke didn't dare turn back again to see the result.
The two consecutive strikes he had just faced had utterly destroyed his confidence. At this point, only one thought filled his mind: Escape.
If I don't run now, even as the Kazekage, I'll die here.
With that, Ryūnosuke no longer cared about pride. He gathered iron sand behind him, shaping it into a pair of great wings. With a single powerful flap, he launched himself skyward, desperate to flee from this demon called Gekko Hoshiyomi.
The expressions on the Sunagakure shinobi were priceless. Never in their wildest dreams had they imagined that their Kazekage—whom they revered as a legend—would abandon them and flee in disgrace.
But Hoshiyomi had no intention of letting him get away. The instant Ryūnosuke had unleashed his Wind Cutter, Hoshiyomi had already activated his Dance of the Startled Swan. His body slipped through space itself, reappearing instantly at the exact point where Ryuunosuke had taken off.
Ryūnosuke broke out in a cold sweat. Thank goodness I'm already in the air. No matter how strong Gekkō Hoshiyomi is, he can't fly, can he? If I just fly straight back to the Sunagakure, there's nothing he can do.
Ryūnosuke flapped his iron sand wings again, ready to create more distance, when a calm voice rang out. "You think you can just fly away? Get your ass down here!"
As the words reached him, his iron sand wings suddenly grew heavy. His face, which had just started to relax, froze. He stiffly looked down and saw Hoshiyomi smiling at him. Hoshiyomi's left hand was outstretched, and a distinct red vortex was continuously expanding from it.
Ryūnosuke, who was caught in the red vortex, felt an immense force pulling him down. This was Hoshiyomi's newly acquired technique—Soul-Devouring Demon-Sealing Slash.
Ryūnosuke frantically flapped his iron sand wings, but it was no use. His Magnet Release was not strong enough to break free from the terrifying gravitational pull of the vortex.
Seeing that escape was impossible, Ryūnosuke panicked and unleashed all of his chakra. In an instant, even the iron sand buried deep underground was pulled up by him.
In order to survive, Ryūnosuke no longer cared about his chakra consumption. He gathered countless grains of iron sand and wrapped himself inside them. At this moment, he only wished to save his life.