I Punch the Tailed Beast Ball

”Hey, Sasuke, what’s with the sulky face today? You look like you’ve just been scolded by your mom for no reason,” Naruto teased, trying to comfort Sasuke, but his words had a different effect.

Already in a bad mood, Sasuke instantly felt his anger flare up upon hearing Naruto’s words. ”Idiot Naruto, you don’t understand anything!”

Naruto, who was called an idiot, scratched his yellow hair in confusion.

In the world of three-year-olds, calling someone an idiot was already quite a powerful insult.

Of course, since the two of them often argued, Naruto had grown somewhat accustomed to it. The insult ”idiot” no longer stung as much.

Still, Naruto wasn’t about to admit he was an idiot, so he quickly retorted, ”Takes one to know one, Sasuke!”

Already irritated, Sasuke didn’t back down and threw it back at Naruto, leading to their usual back-and-forth bickering.

”Well, my brother has been teaching me ninja training recently!” Sasuke finally boasted, unable to hold back any longer.

”Ninja training? Really? Sasuke, you’re only starting now? Uncle Nagasawa has already taught me a powerful secret technique!” Naruto retorted, not backing down, feeling confident in his physical prowess.

”You...” Sasuke was still determining whether Naruto was lying or telling the truth.

”If you two want to fight, take it somewhere else. If you ruin my sandcastle, I’ll use a kunai to make you regret it,” warned a girl, busy building her sandcastle.

The three of them were playing in the park’s sandbox, though Naruto and Sasuke had started arguing again, as usual.

Yuri was used to it. Naruto and Sasuke could never get along, arguing no matter the time, place, or cause. At first, Yuri thought they had a bad relationship, but they would argue daily and still play together, so she let them be.

Naruto and Sasuke trembled slightly. Although Yuri was younger, she was a tough girl. Once, when they were wandering in the woods, a bird kept chirping annoyingly. Out of nowhere, Yuri pulled out a pink kunai and instantly silenced the bird.

Naruto and Sasuke had witnessed it. The bird’s chirping ceased in a flash of pink, and a dead bird fell; Yuri calmly retrieved her kunai, wiped it clean, and put it away.

”Alright, I’ll let it slide today, Sasuke,” Naruto declared, feeling lucky.

”That’s my line,” Sasuke replied, also deciding to cool off. He wasn’t confident he could kill a bird instantly with a kunai.

With an external force intervening, Naruto and Sasuke’s conversation they turned more normal.

”So you’re upset because your brother might leave on a long trip? Hahaha...” Naruto laughed, holding his belly as if in pain, tears forming at the corners of his eyes.

”Naruto!!!” Sasuke’s fair face turned red with embarrassment. He clenched his fists, ready to punch Naruto’s laughing face.

Then, Sasuke sighed and unclenched his fists. ”Thinking that you, idiot Naruto, could understand my feelings... Maybe being an idiot is contagious.”

Naruto, not liking being called an idiot again, retorted, ”People who call others idiots are the real idiots.”

”Your brother isn’t leaving forever, so why be so upset?” Naruto asked, not understanding why Sasuke was so sad.

”You wouldn’t understand. You don’t have a brother,” Sasuke replied flatly, thinking Naruto couldn’t comprehend his feelings and was just bragging.

”Just because I don’t have a brother doesn’t mean I can’t understand,” Naruto said seriously. ”Uncle Nagasawa is great. He teaches me and tells me stories. I like him a lot. But he always stops at the best part, making me wait for the next time. It’s frustrating, but I know he’s doing important things, so I wait.”

Naruto finished his lengthy explanation, breathing heavily. Thankfully, his breathing technique helped; a typical three-year-old wouldn’t manage such a speech.

”Uncle Nagasawa...” Sasuke felt uncomfortable hearing the name. His parents only agreed to Itachi’s trip because of Nagasawa’s influence.

”Hmph, not being able to hear a story is nothing compared to being separated from my brother,” Sasuke said, raising his head slightly.

”You don’t know how good his stories are,” Naruto argued.

”Admit it, my pain is greater,” Sasuke insisted.

”You’re just making things up. My pain is greater,” Naruto shot back.

”Idiot Naruto, do you even know what pain is?”

”Here we go again...” Yuri sighed, seeing the two about to argue once more.

She continued building her sandcastle, wanting to avoid getting involved in their endless squabbles.

Yuri, the daughter of Kakashi and a member of the Uzumaki clan, had inherited many of their strengths. Her muscular physique and chakra were from her Uzumaki heritage, and she had inherited Kakashi’s ninja talent.

Kakashi had yet to teach her formal ninja training, just some chakra basics. She learned about kunai throwing by watching Kakashi and picking it up quickly.

Others might struggle, but Yuri had a natural talent for learning just by watching.

She used chakra to make her sandcastle more stable and grand, turning the activity into training.

”Wow, you’re amazing! Your sandcastle is so big and fancy,” a voice exclaimed behind Yuri.

”It’s nothing. Shikamaru can do it too, right, Shikamaru?”

”Troublesome...”

Yuri turned to see three kids about her age. The voice belonged to a blonde girl in a pink dress.

”Hi, I’m Ino Yamanaka. Can I sit next to you?” I asked, smiling.

”Sure,” Yuri nodded. I complimented her; she seemed like a nice girl who could become a friend.

”He’s Choji Akimichi, my friend,” I said, pointing to a brown-haired boy and a round face.

”And that’s Shikamaru Nara. He’s brilliant. You can ask him for help if you need it,” she added, pointing to a boy with spiky hair.

”Troublesome...” Shikamaru muttered, finding women troublesome.

”Hi, I’m Yuri Hatake,” Yuri introduced herself.

”Can I call you Yuri? You can call me Ino,” Ino asked.

”Sure, Ino,” Yuri agreed calmly.

”What’s with those two arguing? Do you know them?” I asked, curious.

”Don’t mind them. They’re just two idiots. Ignore them,” Yuri replied, expressionless.

This left Ino surprised and unsure about Yuri’s relationship with Naruto and Sasuke.

”That’s not true!” Naruto and Sasuke both turned simultaneously, shouting.

”I’m Naruto Uzumaki, and I’m not an idiot. That black-haired guy is the idiot,” Naruto declared.

”I’m Sasuke Uchiha, and I’m not an idiot. That blonde guy is the idiot,” Sasuke countered.

”Wow, you two must be really close,” Ino commented, laughing awkwardly.

”That’s not true!” Naruto and Sasuke chorused again.

”Stop copying me!” ×2 ”You stop!” ×2 Ino’s eyes widened at their synchronisation.

Despite Naruto and Sasuke, the atmosphere lightened, and Choji and Shikamaru joined in, chatting casually.

”Yuri, can you teach me to build a sandcastle like yours?” Ino asked eagerly.

”Sure,” Yuri nodded, sharing her techniques step by step.

”We’ve played together for so long, and you never taught us. But you teach someone you just met,” Naruto said, surprised.

”Did you ask?” Yuri replied calmly.

”I...” Naruto couldn’t argue. He’d never thought to ask a younger girl for help with sandcastles.

”Exactly,” Yuri said, adding details to her sandcastle while teaching Ino.

Feeling a bit left out, Naruto watched Choji eating something from a bag.

Curious, Naruto asked, ”What are you eating, Choji?”

Choji paused, looking at Naruto before replying, ”Potato chips.”

”Potato chips?” Naruto echoed, intrigued, eyeing the bag.

Seeing Naruto’s interest, Choji hugged his chips tightly, eyeing Naruto cautiously.

”If you want to try, I can give you one,” Choji offered hesitantly.

”Thanks!” Naruto eagerly accepted, taking the chip and tasting it. Mmm, it tastes like potatoes.”

”It’s made from potato slices,” Choji explained.

”Not bad. I’ll bring you something next time,” Naruto said.

”What kind of food?” Choji asked, perking up.

”Red bean dumplings,” Naruto decided, remembering how much he liked them.

”Red bean dumplings, huh? Not bad,” Choji mused.

”I’ll give you two more chips,” Choji said, feeling Naruto could be a friend, offering more chips.

”Thanks,” Naruto accepted, taking one chip and handing the other to Sasuke.

”Here, you haven’t tried these, right?”

”Hmph, food is just for filling your stomach,” Sasuke said but took the chip and ate it.

Watching this, Shikamaru sighed again. Naruto and Sasuke seemed as troublesome as Ino, if not more so.

But they were all still kids, finding common ground and chatting. Naruto was especially curious about Shikamaru, hearing from Ino that he was brilliant.