Chapter 133: The Man Known as the Purple Moon Demon
The battle between Fuguki Suikazan and the unnamed Kaguya girl was incredibly fierce. It was hard to believe it was just a daily spar. The Kaguya girl, in particular, had a crazed look in her eyes, her beautiful face twisted in a feral grin. Even the ferocious-looking Fuguki was on the defensive.
Fortunately, someone from the Mist soon came and put a stop to the "training." It seemed he was their team leader.
The two of them, especially the Kaguya girl, had clearly intimidated the young ninja of the Cloud. Besides the world-wise Hiroto and Kayo, all the others were silent. Even the boisterous Killer Bee was grim-faced, and the twin sisters, Ganseki and Akane, were clinging to each other in fear.
Dana gave a silent thumbs-up. A little pressure was a good thing. The Cloud had had it too easy these past few years. Even in the war, the Genin had not been used as cannon fodder; the elites had carried the day. As a result, the new generation had been living in an ivory tower.
Hmm, why do I sound more and more like an old man? he mused.
Just as the young ninja were still reeling from the battle, the Kaguya girl, now changed into a new set of clothes, looked over at them and, to their surprise, walked over.
Out of combat, she was back to her quiet, beautiful self, a completely different person from the berserker she had been a moment ago.
The Cloud's new generation was baffled. She walked up to them and said, "From your forehead protectors, you're from the Hidden Cloud, right? Where is the so-called 'brightest new star of the ninja world,' Yotsuki Dana? Is he here?"
Everyone froze, then turned to look at him.
The Kaguya girl followed their gaze and found him. She studied him for a moment and then said, "I thought the 'brightest new star' would be something special. You look rather ordinary."
Dana's face was a mask of exasperation. Did you get the wrong script, lady? You're not going to challenge me, are you?
"They say you're the strongest of the younger generation," she continued. "I assume you're not participating in the Chunin Exams, but I still want to challenge you."
Well, there it is, he thought. What is this? A pre-tournament face-slapping scene? But for a Kaguya, I guess it's not that surprising.
"Tsuki!" a Mist ninja shouted, rushing over. "What are you doing?! Get back here!"
But the girl, Tsuki, ignored him, her eyes still fixed on Dana.
"They said I could have a good fight, that's why I came," she said, her voice growing more and more urgent. "But the one I want to fight most is you. Will you accept? Yotsuki Dana? The 'brightest new star' wouldn't refuse a challenge, right? Right?!"
"Hey, friend," Dana said, looking past her at the other Mist ninja, "could you please manage your contestant?"
Even the Rain ninja guide was frowning.
The other Mist ninja, who were clearly not as crazy as her, quickly apologized and tried to drag her away.
Just as everyone thought the ridiculous challenge was over, Tsuki suddenly moved. A half-meter-long bone spike shot from her palm, and she was in front of him in an instant, the spike aimed at his chest.
The next moment, he had caught it in one hand. She was shocked to find that she couldn't move it an inch.
"What," he said, his expression unchanged as he looked down at her, "are you doing?"
The sudden turn of events had surprised everyone. The Mist ninja was sweating. Is this Kaguya insane? This is the man who killed the Third Hokage! What if he gets angry and kills her? Can I stop him? No, there's no way I can stop him!
Dana, though he appeared calm, was also a bit creeped out. My god, this bone is still warm. Is it because she just pulled it out? What is this? Am I feeling a girl's body temperature? Or am I stroking her bone?
But he couldn't just let such a blatant provocation slide. Otherwise, wouldn't everyone think they could just come and mock him?
He squeezed, and the specially reinforced bone spike shattered. Then, before anyone could see what had happened, she was sent flying.
BOOM!
A black shadow shot out, and she flew several dozen meters, crashing into the training ground wall.
This was the Hidden Rain Village. He didn't want to embarrass Hanzo before the exams even started, so he had used a clever trick. But she would still be hurting. He hoped her bones were hard enough.
Sigh. In the end, I still had to do such a boring thing.
The Mist ninja pulled the dazed Tsuki from the rubble and quickly had his comrades take her away. As she was leaving, she was still staring at Dana with a burning gaze.
The Mist ninja knew that the terrifying Yotsuki Dana had held back. He didn't think there was anything wrong with her being taught a lesson. To provoke a powerhouse like that... in another place, she would have already been dead.
"I'm very sorry," he said to Dana, nervously. "The Kaguya clan is a bit..." He made a gesture at his head.
Dana just waved his hand dismissively and then secretly wiped his hand. Dammit! It shattered, and there was still marrow inside! So weird!
The two groups went their separate ways. The Cloud's participants were assigned rooms by gender. Dana had his own room, though he could have asked Hanzo for better accommodations at any time.
There were still five days before the official start of the exams. The Cloud's new generation needed some time to acclimate and train.
That night, Hanzo hosted a banquet for the Raikage and the Mizukage. Dana also attended. A ninja's banquet was not as fancy as a noble's, and it was rather boring. The only saving grace was that the food was good.
The next morning, he was leading the new generation in their regular training when he saw that the Mist had intentionally chosen a training ground far away from them. But he could still feel Tsuki's burning gaze on him from time to time.
A short while later, they heard a commotion. It seemed that another village had arrived.
There were a lot of them. It looked like two villages had arrived at the same time.
Sure enough, from their forehead protectors, it was the Konoha and Sand teams.
Just like yesterday, a Rain ninja guide was showing them around.
As they passed the training ground, a few figures in the Konoha team caught his eye.
A pineapple-head, a fat guy, a blonde, a guy in sunglasses and a trench coat, and a girl with face paint and a dog on her head.
The new generation of Ino-Shika-Cho? An Inuzuka? An Aburame? The timing is right. It must be them.
At the same time, the Konoha team also noticed them.
Tsume Inuzuka, the girl with the dog on her head, looked at the training ground and, seeing Yotsuki Dana, her eyes widened in shock.
"It's... it's him... the Purple Moon Demon!"
She was first filled with fear, and then with rage. This was the man who had destroyed a third of Konoha, who had killed countless ninja, who had made the Third...
A hand stopped her. It was Minato Namikaze.
"Tsume," he said, "don't be reckless."
"But he..." Many of her clansmen had died in the "Night of the Purple Moon." In fact, most of the clans had.
"Anger at the enemy is meaningless," he said in a low voice. "Don't let it control you. If you hate him, then get stronger. Right now, the gap between us is too great."
Even as the strongest of Konoha's new generation, he had no thought of comparing himself to Yotsuki Dana. His fame had been built on the ashes of Konoha. He had thought that someone like that wouldn't be at the Chunin Exams. He shouldn't be a participant, right? He must be the Cloud's team leader.
Many of the Konoha ninja had seen him. Both the participants and the adult escorts looked uncomfortable. Some of them had even witnessed the Purple Moon Demon's rampage.
But no one made a move. Even the adult ninja were silent.
This strange reaction also attracted the attention of the others. The Sand's team looked over, curious. It seemed that their new generation had heard of Yotsuki Dana but did not know what he looked like.
One of their participants was a very young, red-haired boy with a delicate face, who caught the attention of the Uzumaki siblings. Another red-head. They couldn't help but wonder if he was also an Uzumaki. He looked to be only about ten years old.