I Punch the Tailed Beast Ball

”You guys better retreat. Those Konoha guys just attacked you! Are you seriously going to believe their word?” The Sunagakure Genin with a white headband added.

If Kumogakure Team was truly teaming up with Konoha, the fight over the Summon Steel Tag would be unpredictable.

With the addition of the two Kumogakure Genin and the three Konoha Genin, it would be a five vs six situation.

Initially, he underestimated Konoha team, especially Kabuto and Itachi, thinking that they wouldn’t pose a threat. That was why he devised the plan to have Konoha team join forces with him to take down Kumogakure Team.

Compared to Konoha Team, which had two children as their members, there was no doubt in his mind that the two Kumogakure teams seemed more threatening.

However, now he dared not underestimate Kabuto and his team. He just witnessed how swift they incapacitated two Kumogakure Genin.

Seeing that the Sunagakure Genin was advising Kumogakure team to run, Kabuto remained calm and casually says, ”Do you really want to side with those traitors?”

As Kabuto expected, when the brawny Kumogakure Genin heard this, his eyes instantly turned red, clearly enraged.

”I am a disciple of the Third Hokage. If you trust me and help us defeat the Sunagakure, I don’t mind treating your teammate’s wounds. I have Medical Tags, and I can also use Medical Ninjutsu,” Kabuto continued when he saw Kumogakure Genin seemed to work against them.

Being a disciple of the Hokage raised the credibility of his words. Even in other villages, being a Kage is the pinnacle of this world.

Although the two attacks just now caused serious injuries to the Kumogakure Genin, with Medical Tags and Medical Ninjutsu, it was not impossible to save their lives at the very least.

”Damn it, so you’re a disciple of the Third Hokage. No wonder.” The Sunagakure Genin with the white headband frowned, feeling that the situation had gotten worse.

Upon hearing that Kabuto could heal his teammate, the brawny Kumogakure Genin no longer hesitated. He immediately brandished his sword at the Sunagakure Team.

”If you’re deceiving me, I swear I’ll drag you down with me even at the cost of my life.” The brawny Kumogakure Genin rushed towards the Sunagakure team with blue light covering his sword.

Although Konoha team was detestable for using his team as a negotiation chip, Sunagakure teams were even more detestable.

The other Kumogakure Genin hesitated for a moment, but when he saw his teammate charging in, he followed suit!

”Kabuto, you’re really something!” Watching the situation reverse, Isamu couldn’t help but exclaim.

If it were him, he probably would have first dealt with Kumogakure and then fought Sunagakure teams over. He wouldn’t have thought of using the remaining two Kumogakure Genin to distract Sunagakure teams.

Itachi also nodded in agreement. Though Kabuto’s method of teaming up with Kumogakure Genin seems simple, Itachi himself might have made the same choice as Isamu, because defeating Sunagakure teams was not difficult.

At this moment, Itachi suddenly recalled Nagasawa’s words.

”Don’t always rely on your strength to solve all problems. Sometimes, you should learn to use your brain to solve the problems easier.”

’Maybe I should learn from Kabuto...’ Itachi thought.

”Isamu, keep an eye on the Summon Steel Tag. Itachi, let’s deal with those Sunagakure teams as fast as possible,” Kabuto said as he gripped the Chakra Blade again and channelled his Chakra into it, making the Chakra Blade grow longer.

Kabuto knew that strength of those six Sunagakure Genin was average at most. Even without the help of Kumogakure Genin, the three of them could handle them just fine.

But getting two helpers with just a few words would make the battle easier, so why not?

It was only the second day, and there might be many more battles to come. Kabuto wanted to reserve his strength as much as possible.

The brawny Kumogakure Genin was a typical Kumogakure Shinobi, with outstanding Lightning Release techniques and a powerful physique. When he rushed towards the Sunagakure teams, two Sunagakure Genin had to join forces to barely block his attack.

Meanwhile, the other Kumogakure Genin engaged another Sunagakure Genin.

Although Kabuto was smaller in stature compared to Sunagakure Genin, he instantly took down a puppeteer from Sunagakure. If another Sunagakure Genin hadn’t come to help him, that puppeteer would have been killed by Kabuto.

To make things worse, the Sunagakure Genin with the white headband found himself at a disadvantage against Itachi.

’Damn it, what’s with these guys? They seem to be only seven or eight years old, yet they are already this powerful!’ The Sunagakure Genin with the white headband cursed in his heart. He regretted not going with the first plan to eliminate Konoha team with Kumogakure teams first.

Unfortunately, it was too late now. Who could have guessed that the seemingly weaker Konoha team was this strong? He had underestimated the Konoha team for sure.

Watching his side was getting cornered, while Kabuto’s team still had one person who hadn’t even joined the fight yet, the Sunagakure Genin with the white headband hurriedly shouted:

”Let’s stop the fight and cooperate. The airdrop is so obvious that other teams should’ve seen it and are probably on their way. Some may already be here, waiting for us to kill each other before seizing the opportunity to snatch the Summon Steel Tag for themselves.”

However, no one heeded his words. Let alone stopping Kabuto’s team, the Sunagakure Genin with the white headband even got injured by Itachi’s Shuriken because he was distracted.

”I’ll let you have the Summon Steel Tag for today, and we’ll also give you one of each Tag that we found. We’ll help you deal with the team that goes after the Summon Steel Tag, but you have to help us get the Summon Steel Tag tomorrow,” the white headband Sunagakure Genin tried to add the bargaining chip when he noticed that Kabuto and his team still showed no intention of stopping.

Kabuto stopped but he didn’t tell the rest to stop, ”Three more of Lightning, Earth Rise, and Water Prison Tags!”

Kabuto knew that Medical Tags were the most valuable Tag for them, and since Medical Tag was relatively rare, he decided to ask for more of the other Tags.

Kabuto himself could perform Medical Ninjutsu, so their team actually didn’t really need Medical Tags. On the other hand, other Tags could prove quite useful if they were skilfully used.

There were many Ninjutsu that was developed revolving Explosive Tags, and they were not lacking in power and effectiveness.

If Konoha started producing and selling Tags like Lightning Tags in large quantities, it might catalyze the development of Ninjutsu that revolved around those Tags in the future.

Hearing that he had to add three of each Tag, the Sunagakure Genin with the white headband was baffled. He didn’t expect that a guy as young as Kabuto was so greedy.

He didn’t know how many Tags that the other Sunagakure team had collected, but he had only collected two Medical Tags, two Lightning Tags, one Earth Rise Tag, and one Water Prison Tag, and Kabuto asked for nine Tags in total. How could he even afford that?

But Itachi’s attack was too fierce that the Sunagakure Genin with the white headband was getting cornered.

”Alright, Alright. Make your friend over here stop, or I’ll be killed by your teammates.” The Sunagakure Genin with the white headband was so overwhelmed didn’t care if he had enough.

”Itachi, stop. You guys should stop, too. Without their Medical Tags, I can’t treat four of your teammates all at once,” Kabuto said.

Upon hearing Kabuto’s words, Itachi immediately stopped, and the Sunagakure Genin with the white headband instantly let out a sigh of relief.

Although the brawny Kumogakure Genin wanted to seek revenge, he thought about his teammates lying on the ground and decided to stop. He signaled the other Kumogakure Genin to stop as well.

”First Form: Unknowing Fire!” Isamu, who had been following Kabuto’s instructions to keep an eye on the Summon Steel Tag, suddenly noticed that the crate moved slightly. In an instant, he activated his Breathing Style and rushed to the airdrop. He threw the airdrop towards Kabuto with one hand, and dished out Flame Breathing attack towards the ground under the crate where the Iwagakure Genin was lurking.

The Iwagakure Genin looked at the flaming slash wave in astonishment. He didn’t expect to be discovered even though he made sure to be cautious.

His team was nearby, planning to wait until all the ninja teams fought each other and then come out to pick up the pieces.

But to his surprise, as the fight progressed, those people actually showed signs of forming an alliance. That was why he took the risk to use Earth Release to steal the Summon Steel Tag, which blew his cover.

The Iwagakure Genin suddenly remembered something and quickly took out an Earth Rise Tag and activated it. The ground under him quickly rose, forming a concrete and tall wall.

Because the Iwagakure Genin was lifted up by the Earth Style Wall, Isamu’s slash only hit the wall, leaving the Iwagakure Genin unscathed.

The Iwagakure Genin quickly jumped back, distancing himself from Isamu.

Kabuto caught the airdrop crate steadily and immediately broke it open with a punch and retrieved the Summon Steel Tag inside.

Kabuto ignored the Iwagakure Genin and said to the Sunagakure Genin, ”Give me the Tags!”

The Sunagakure Genin with the white headband nodded helplessly and discussed things out with the other Sunagakure team.

In the end, the Sunagakure Genin with the white headband held two Medical Tags, two Lightning Tags, two Earth Rise Tags, and two Water Prison Tags and said:

”It’s not that we don’t want to, but this is all we have. We don’t have that many. We can give an extra Medical Tag, though.”

He actually had enough Tag if he included the other Sunagakure team’s Tag. However, considering it was his own mistake, the Sunagakure Genin with the white headband didn’t want to drag the other Sunagakure team down and would rather use one of his own Medical Tags to compensate it.

Kabuto gave the Sunagakure Genin with the white headband a doubtful look, but he didn’t reject his proposal and agreed to it.

With two Medical Tags from Sunagakure teams, plus one that Kumogakure team found themselves and one from Kabuto’s team, they had a total of four Medical Tags. Kabuto instructed all of them to be on guard while he used the Medical Tags to treat the four injured Kumogakure Genin.

With the assistance of Medical Tags and Kabuto’s proficient Medical Ninjutsu, the condition of the four Kumogakure Genin improved significantly. Their injuries healed, and the brawny Kumogakure Genin was relieved upon seeing his teammates’ conditions improved. He even felt a bit grateful to Kabuto, despite the fact that two of his teammates were injured by Kabuto’s team in the first place.

”I’ve secured the Summon Steel Tag. If you want to taste the power of the Summon Steel Tags again, feel free to try to snatch it,” Kabuto declared loudly while holding up the Summon Steel Tag and looking towards the locations where he had sensed other teams.

Kabuto could sense that there were eight other teams lurking in the vicinity, and the nearest one was the Iwagakure team.

After Kabuto finished speaking, Iwagakure team, which was the nearby one left, followed by three other teams.

The remaining four teams hid themselves very well. Kabuto observed the forest and didn’t spot anyone. It seemed as if only they were present in the area.

However, Kabuto could definitely sense that there were four other teams nearby, and one of them had a Shinobi with a significantly strong aura, slightly stronger than Kabuto himself.

Kabuto quickly made hand seals and blasted a Water Dragon Bullet Technique towards the location where he sensed the powerful Shinobi was hiding.

He didn’t use too much Chakra, so the water dragon was not that big.

Before the water dragon hit the tree, a young man with Iwagakure forehead protector jumped down from the tree and dispersed the water dragon with one punch. He then glanced at Kabuto and walked away.

The other teams were confused about why Kabuto used a Ninjutsu in that direction, but they were startled when a person above them suddenly punched the water dragon. They had no idea that another team was hiding there.

After the Iwagakure Genin who dispersed the water dragon took his team members and left, the other teams that were lurking nearby also left one after another.

Based on what Kabuto did, it was evident that Kabuto had a Sensory Technique or a Kekkei Genkai that could detect their whereabouts.

Kabuto was really strong. On top of that, he also possessed the Summon Steel Tag, so if they couldn’t catch Kabuto off guard, they would rather give up on their attempt to snatch the Summon Steel Tag.

Besides, there were another three days and three chances left. Facing Kabuto here would be a waste of time anyway, so it was better would search for more Tags to increase their arsenal.

As the teams retreated one after another, the Sunagakure and Kumogakure teams next to Kabuto were amazed.

Although they did anticipate that there might be other teams nearby, they didn’t expect it to be that many.

In such a situation, they probably wouldn’t have had a high probability of obtaining the Summon Steel Tag even if Kabuto wasn’t involved. Whether they could survive or not was another story on top of that.

”Don’t forget our agreement, help us snatch the Summon Steel Tag tomorrow,” the Sunagakure Genin with the white headband said somewhat nervously.

He wasn’t sure if Kabuto would go back on his word. If it were him, there was a high probability that he wouldn’t keep his end of the bargain.

Snatching the Summon Steel Tag was not easy. On the second day alone, there were thirteen teams fighting over it. The competition would undoubtedly become more intense in the following days.

Although the Sunagakure Genin had his doubt, he still held a bit of hope. Konoha Shinobi was different, after all. The First Hokage was so powerful, yet he never sought to conquer other countries; he only focused on achieving peace.

”If the airdrop lands nearby tomorrow, we will help you secure the Summon Steel Tag,” Kabuto said with a smile.

Based on his estimation, airdrops wouldn’t drop in the same direction. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to help, but it would be practically impossible for him to reach the location if the airdrop landed too far away.

Upon hearing that Kabuto was willing to help, the Sunagakure Genin’s eyes lit up. His favorability towards Konoha as an ally increased. He felt that Konoha Shinobi were indeed good allies.

Following Kabuto’s agreement to assist them, Sunagakure teams and Kabuto’s team decided to act together. The Kumogakure team also joined them temporarily, as they needed Kabuto’s help in healing their teammates.

With that, Kabuto’s team suddenly grew to fifteen members. When other groups saw such a large alliance forming, they would rather avoid them.

All of Kabuto’s moves were broadcasted live to the audience at the venue.

The arena was filled in a massive discussion.

The big screen did not only show Kabuto’s combat scenes but also displayed the actions of other teams lurking in the area.

Most people speculated that the one who would secure the Summon Steel Tag would be some team that hid and ambushed them once things were favourable for them.

Unexpectedly, Kabuto quickly formed an alliance with Kumogakure and Sunagakure teams that he just fought, turning the tide of the battle, gaining the momentum, and demonstrating impressive Sensory Techniques that scared off the other teams that lurked nearby and led to his victory.