I Punch the Tailed Beast Ball

As time slowly passed, the barrier continued to shrink, and no one dared to confirm if Orochimaru was just testing them or not. They continued to delve deeper, avoiding the barrier.

With the barrier shrinking, the area that participants could freely move become smaller, and the search for Tags increased the chances of encountering other teams. Kabuto, however, barely had any fights. On the first day, he had a brief encounter with another team at the entrance, but they just eyed each other warily and went their separate ways.

The frequency increased on the second day due to the Summon Steel Tag attracting multiple teams. On the third day, Kabuto encountered other teams more frequently, sometimes encountering two or even three within an hour.

However, seeing the large number of people in Kabuto’s team, other teams chose to avoid them.

Kabuto thought, ’All we have to do next is just head towards the central tower, and this stage is as good as done.’

With two Earth Scrolls in his possession, Kabuto asked Sunagakure and Kumogakure teams if they had a Heaven Scroll that he could exchange with his Earth Scroll. Fortunately, the Kumogakure team had two Heaven Scrolls, so they exchanged, so both teams now had secured both scrolls they needed, and once they entered the central tower, they would pass the exam.

Kabuto was in high spirits as Sunagakure teams would stop pestering him once they realized that the Summon Steel Tag would be beyond their reach today, and then he could safely head to the central tower and complete the exam.

He believed that the Summon Steel Tag would not land nearby this time as it would be unfair to other candidates if it kept landing near them.

If the airdrop landed near him for two consecutive times, wouldn’t that be unfair to the participants in other areas?

Moreover, it was not very healthy to the participants in the southwest region where Kabuto was. It will intensify the competition, increase the danger, and made it harder for them to find Tags.

Considering all those factors, Kabuto believed that the Summon Steel Tag wouldn’t land in the southwest region.

”This stage is about to conclude soon, and there’s a week of rest before the start of the third stage. I can further refine my combination Ninjutsu in the meantime.” Kabuto had already started thinking about what to do after the exam and was preparing to study the opponents in the third stage.

Unfortunately, the excited voice of Atsushi Arayama snapped out Kabuto.

Atsushi Arayama was the Sunagakure Genin with the white headband. Since they were allies now, they exchanged names.

”Summon Steel Tag! It is flying towards us.” Atsushi Arayama exclaimed.

”Huh? How is that possible?” Kabuto was somewhat surprised upon hearing Atsushi Arayama’s voice. The second Summon Steel Tag couldn’t possibly land in the southwest region again.

Kabuto quickly looked up at the sky. The weather today was very good. It was clear with no cloud in sight. However, the eye-catching red smoke disrupted the beauty of the sky. The slowly falling wooden crate and conscpicuous red smoke felt out of place.

At this moment, Kabuto wished that the wooden crate would disappear, which was impossible. This was clearly beyond his expectation. The second Summon Steel Tag landed in the southwest region again, and it was frustratingly close to them.

”Is the Summon Steel Tag dropped randomly instead of following some sort of pattern?” Kabuto considered this possibility in addition to his bad luck. ”Be cautious. The area is smaller today, and there will be more teams fighting over the Summon Steel Tag,” Kabuto reminded everyone.

Since the Summon Steel Tag did land near them, Kabuto didn’t plan to go back against his promise with Sunagakure team and decided to help Sunagakure secure the Summon Steel tag as long as things didn’t get out of hand. Despite the situation, he had eleven people on his side if he excluded the injured Kumogakure Genin, so they had a good chance of success.

Furthermore, he also had a Summon Steel Tag in his possession, so his chance of securing the second incoming Summon Steel Tag was quite high.

Because the trees in this area were very lush and dense, the Summon Steel Tag got caught in the trees instead of falling to the ground.

In addition to Kabuto’s team, two other teams also quickly arrived.

Among them, one of them was the team of an Iwagakure Genin that dispersed his Water Dragon Bullet Technique yesterday, which left some impression to Kabuto.

Kabuto considered that Iwagakure Genin as a formidable opponent. Yesterday, that Iwagakure Genin’s move couldn’t leave Kabuto’s mind, and judging from how his Water Dragon Bullet Technique was dispersed, Kabuto concluded that it was not due to that Genin’s strength but rather a Kekkei Genkai called Explosion Release.

Because if the reason was simply the Genin’s exceptional strength, the Water Dragon Bullet Tecnique would have started dispersing from the dragon head, while what actually happened was the whole Water Dragon exploded as if it were a bomb.

In addition to the fact that it was an Iwagakure Genin’s doing, Kabuto concluded that the Iwagakure Genin that dispersed his Water Dragon Bullet Technique possessed the Bloodline Limit called Explosion Release.

Kekkei Genkai was hereditary traits, but each village usually had their own type of Kekkei Genkai.

For example, Konoha had Sharingan and Byakugan, Kirigakure had Dead Bone Pulse and Ice Release, and Kumogakure had the Storm Release.

Moreover, apart from Kekkei Genkai that altered one’s physique like Sharingan, Byakugan, and Dead Bone Pulse, some Kekkei Genkai could be taught.

For instance, the Fourth Kazekage’s Magnet Release that he learned from the Third Kazekage.

Explosion Release was a Kekkei Genkai that Iwagakure was famous for. Iwagakure had Explosion Corps, a team full of Explosion Release users, which was quite powerful.

Therefore, Kabuto believed that the Iwagakure Genin he encountered was an Explosion Release user.

In addition to the team of the Iwagakure Genin who could use Explosion Release, the other team was a Konoha team, even though Kabuto didn’t recognize them.

Judging by their age, they were probably around fifteen years old. It was highly likely that Kabuto hadn’t even attended the Academy when they graduated, so it was normal if he didn’t know them.

Perhaps due to what happened yesterday, many teams today confronted each other head-on instead of hiding to prevent the Summon Steel Tag from being taken away by other teams.

Not long after, five more teams arrived, and Kabuto even spotted a Kusagakure team among them.

The forest was getting unsettling with constant sounds of footstep.

Soon, four more teams arrived at the scene, increasing the number of teams on the area, but the forest still did not quiet down.

A more intense battle over the Summon Steel Tag than the previous day was about to begin.