The water-blue sphere crashed onto the molten lava, instantly bursting into a dense surge of Water Release chakra visible to the naked eye.
This pure Water Release chakra was unlike ordinary water produced through ninjutsu, which could be easily evaporated. Instead, it continually clashed with the magma produced by Rōshi, forcing a small patch of ground to cool and solidify into a foothold.
That foothold would last less than three seconds—but for Hoshiyomi, that was more than enough.
Wreathed in pale green chakra flames from the Eight Gates, Hoshiyomi appeared on that tiny foothold in an instant. With a heavy stomp, he launched forward once more, just as before, charging straight toward the Four-Tails.
In this Six Gates state, his speed was astonishing. After repeating the maneuver twice, he had already reached the center of the lava lake. At this point, he was no more than forty meters from the beast.
Seeing Hoshiyomi prepare to unleash another water-blue sphere, the Four-Tails' lips curled into a disturbingly human-like smile.
"Brat, this is the moment I've been waiting for. You're at the very center of my lava — once your landing point is gone, what will you do then?"
As he spoke, the Four-Tails suddenly swung his arm. In an instant, a sphere of fully liquid, searing-hot lava materialized in his palm. Gripping it like a basketball, he hurled it forward.
The magma sphere collided midair with the water-blue sphere Hoshiyomi had thrown. The instant they touched, a cloud of steam erupted, followed by a massive explosion.
Scalding hot water splashed in every direction; some drops even landed on Hoshiyomi. If not for the protective layer of chakra flames around him, the burns would have been severe.
But burns were the least of his concerns—the real danger was that he no longer had a foothold. If he kept falling, he would plunge directly into the deadly lava lake.
From afar, having just forced Jiraiya and Shinku back with an Earth Release technique, Ōnoki caught sight of this scene and revealed a cruel grin.
Konoha's Silver Moon? Go on — savor the taste of lava.
Not far away, a number of Konoha shinobi looked on with growing anxiety. If they weren't so far away, they would have thrown themselves under Hoshiyomi without hesitation, using their own bodies to provide him with a foothold
Kuugetsu, who was next to Minato, also watched the scene nervously. The thought that her sensei—who had been so kind to her, who constantly encouraged her to be strong, who had taught her the way of the sword, and had even sought out the Kusanagi Sword for her—might now be on the verge of death, made her unconsciously activate her two-tomoe Sharingan.
The two tomoe in her eyes were spinning rapidly, as if a third tomoe was about to awaken. But at this moment, everyone's attention was on Hoshiyomi, and no one noticed Kuugetsu's change.
Hoshiyomi was equally startled by the sudden turn of events. From his current height, it was too late to throw a second water sphere to make another foothold, and with nothing to push off from in midair, he couldn't use Crescent Moon Slash.
His heart sank. There was no room to hold back now — he would have to use Dance of the Startled Swan to get through this crisis first.
With that decision made, he wasted no time. He targeted a point above and in front of himself and activated Dance of the Startled Swan.
His body vanished from the air at an upward angle, reappearing the next instant twenty meters higher.
(The straight-line distance was thirty meters. To gain height, he had to convert the straight line into a diagonal, so the horizontal displacement became about twenty meters.)
No one could explain how this magical and rapid instantaneous movement happened. Everyone just felt a flash of light in front of their eyes, and the next second, Hoshiyomi's figure had quietly appeared in the sky twenty meters away.
But Hoshiyomi was not out of danger yet. The gap between him and the Four-Tails was about forty meters. Even after using the Dance of the Startled Swan to shorten the distance by twenty meters, there was still a distance of seventeen to eighteen meters.
Even if he were to slide down from the sky to shorten the distance, there would still be a final seven or eight meters that remained utterly beyond his reach.
The Four-Tails had clearly realized this as well. Instead of attacking, it calmly formed another magma sphere in its palm, adopting the air of someone simply waiting for Hoshiyomi to plunge into the lava lake.
Seeing that attitude, Hoshiyomi knew his chance had come. It was time to use that technique.
He gripped his blade in both hands, drew a deep breath, and focused every ounce of mind, body, and spirit into a single perfect state, all while letting himself drop.
Drawing out nearly a sixth of his remaining Water Release chakra, he poured it into the blade of Mikazuki Munechika until the sword gleamed a brilliant blue.
The three crescent-moon insignias of the Gekkō Clan shimmered like inlaid sapphires.
Water Breathing, Eighth Form: Waterfall Basin!
Yes—the technique originated from the breathing styles of Demon Slayer. While not a particularly esoteric sword skill, in his Six Gates state with chakra reserves brimming, reproducing such a move was no challenge.
Now he was no longer simply falling—his posture shifted into a descending slash, harnessing the momentum of gravity to build overwhelming power.
From his blade surged roaring torrents, like a waterfall ready to smash the very lava lake apart.
Even the slow-to-react Four-Tails realized something was wrong and hastily hurled the magma sphere in its hand toward Hoshiyomi in the air.
But against the fully-formed Waterfall Basin, this small magma sphere was nothing
Before it could even touch the blade of Mikazuki Munechika, it was cut in half by the torrents surging from the sword.
BOOM!
A massive surge of water erupted from the ground, crashing outward in all directions. Like a waterfall smashing down, the torrent slammed into the lava lake.
Steam exploded upward in vast clouds, but the impact had carved a section of the lava lake apart, revealing the scorched ground beneath.
Though the ground radiated blistering heat, Hoshiyomi's shinobi sandals and the green chakra flames protecting his body kept him unharmed.
The moment Hoshiyomi's feet touched the ground, he drew the wakizashi from his waist with his left hand, holding it in a reverse grip— Crescent Moon Slash.
A familiar arc of water-blue light streaked over the crimson lava, brushing the Four-Tails and leaving a wound so shallow it was almost invisible to the naked eye.
A killing blow had never been his intent — his goal from the very start was to get close enough to the Four-Tails to use the technique he'd been preparing.
Discarding the wakizashi, Hoshiyomi stepped onto the Four-Tails' massive thigh, returned to a two-handed grip, and inhaled deeply. It was time for the technique he had been planning all along—
Water Breathing, Tenth Form: Constant Flux!
Author's Notes:
A friend had mentioned wanting to see the breathing styles from Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba before, so I'm bringing one out here. I think this battle is more reasonable than Kisame defeating the Four-Tails with just one Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave, right?
Also, you can rest assured that I definitely won't write the protagonist as being able to defeat both the Four-Tails and Onoki. That would be too illogical. At this stage, my setting for the protagonist's strength is that he is weaker than Onoki. I definitely won't write it in such an exaggerated way, but I also won't let the protagonist get the short end of the stick.