HDS-Ch-22 Moon Breathing.

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The mist soon settled, revealing six red and yellow eyes. Afterward, Michikatsu came into view, holding Shikaku's neck, with his leg placed above Minato, who lay on the ground.

Once the mist spread throughout the arena, Michikatsu, utilizing his acute hearing ability, easily located both Minato and Shikaku. Despite their exhaustion from using chakra-consuming moves, Michikatsu, who was not tired in the slightest, effortlessly knocked them out.

"Referee, please announce the result," Michikatsu requested, looking towards Jiraiya.

"The winner of the match is Michikatsu," declared Jiraiya.

If Minato's use of compound ninjutsu shocked everyone, then Michikatsu's use of the same technique was nothing short of horrifying. After all, Michikatsu was just 5 years old, far from being an academy graduate, making his feats far from ordinary.

Following Jiraiya's announcement, Michikatsu gently placed Shikaku on the ground. He then turned his attention to the spot where he had embedded his katana. Upon touching the weapon to retrieve it, his hand and the katana were suddenly covered in a golden sand.

Maintaining his composure, Michikatsu gazed toward the Sunagakure ninjas and spoke, "Leave my sword. You are not even worthy of touching it."

"I quite like your katana, and you don't seem to use it anyway. I thought, why not add it to my collection," replied the man with red hair.

"You're not an academy graduate, are you? You're definitely a Chunin, right?" Michikatsu inquired.

"You are correct. My name is Rasa, and I am the student of the Third Kazekage, the strongest Kazekage in history," Rasa confirmed.

"So? There is nothing to be proud of. Maybe currently, he is the second weakest Kage, if not the weakest among all the current Kages," Michikatsu remarked in a nonchalant manner.

"It seems you don't plan on giving up the sword. Then, I will take it myself," said Rasa with a cold tone. With the gold sand under his control, he began squeezing Michikatsu's hand, attempting to crush it.

"Hmph, weakling. Do you truly believe that the strength at which I was fighting was my full potential?" Michikatsu retorted in a cold voice. He suddenly raised his hand above Rasa's head, and lightning struck. Since it was directly above Rasa, he couldn't dodge it, and it struck him. Consequently, he lost complete control over the gold sand, which had trapped his hand and katana. Michikatsu easily freed his hand and retrieved his katana, which he then placed back on his waist. He added, "A weakling like you has no right to touch my sword, and you'll never have that privilege in your entire life."

With these words, Michikatsu turned around and began walking out of the arena. However, at that moment, gold sand blocked his path, preventing him from leaving.

"You can't leave like this, not after insulting our Kazekage. You must pay the price for every word you said against the Kazekage," came Rasa's voice from behind as he regained his composure after the lightning strike.

Rasa used the Body Flicker technique and appeared in the arena.

"Are you challenging me?" Michikatsu inquired.

"Not at all, but I want to teach you a lesson on how to speak and how to show respect to someone who is far superior to you," replied Rasa.

"You don't have to teach me any lessons; my parents have already taken care of that. From the very beginning, your goal was to fight me, so stop talking nonsense and let's get this fight over with," Michikatsu retorted.

Rasa didn't hesitate after hearing this; he immediately controlled the gold sand to attack Michikatsu. In response, Michikatsu gripped his katana and took a deep breath, preparing to use his technique. 'Moon Breathing First Form: Dark Moon, Evening Palace,' he whispered and swung his katana horizontally, creating a purple slash surrounded by crescent moon blades.

Michikatsu's purple slash effortlessly cut through the incoming gold sand, while the crescent moon blades further destroyed the gold sand formation.

Although Rasa was initially shocked by this display, he quickly regained his composure. Once again, he manipulated the gold sand around Michikatsu and launched another attack from all sides. However, Michikatsu was prepared for this. He countered with 'Moon Breathing Second Form: Pearl Flower Moongazing,' swinging his katana three times to create a flurry of crescent blades, which destroyed the surrounding gold sand and defended against the attack.

Not wanting to be continuously attacked, Michikatsu unleashed 'Moon Breathing Fifth Form: Moon Spirit Calamitous Eddy.' He performed a multitude of curved slashes, releasing a wild barrage of crescent moon blades that destroyed his immediate surroundings. Michikatsu took control of all the crescent moon blades, directing them to attack Rasa from all directions. Anticipating the impending assault, Rasa immediately shielded himself with a defensive wall of gold dust. The crescent moon blades continuously struck the gold sand wall, creating a small cloud of dust where Rasa stood.

Rasa removed the gold sand defense he had created around himself. However, as soon as he did so, multiple black thunderbolts struck him from various directions before he could react. In an instant, this Rasa transformed into gold dust. This Rasa was not the original, but a clone he had created using gold dust.

"Hmph, do you really think you can trick me by using the same move twice?" Rasa scoffed. He used the sand formed by Michikatsu's attack as cover and substituted himself with the clone before swiftly leaving the area.

"You are correct, but how do you plan to escape now?" Michikatsu's voice suddenly came from behind him.

"What!? When did he get behind me?" Rasa exclaimed in shock.

Michikatsu tightly gripped his sword and whispered, 'Hatake Swordsmanship Blossom Strike.' Like falling cherry blossoms, he attacked Rasa from all directions with incredible speed, leaving only a purple blur in his wake.

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