The Kumo squad, having arrived first, had already begun various operations to capture and retrieve the Two-Tails.
Although Kumo's goal was to recover the Two-Tails, they still tried their best to avoid direct combat with this powerful chakra beast. Only someone with nothing but muscle between the ears would actually want to fight a tailed beast head-on.
They aimed to restrain the beast, minimize casualties, and allow the Barrier Unit to do their job—eventually sealing the Two-Tails inside a designated container. This was considered the most logical and reasonable approach.
Sealing a tailed beast into a container was trickier than just putting it inside a person—at least in theory. Although Konoha refused to use their own people as Jinchuriki to capture tailed beasts, Kumo had no such hesitation and could easily do so.
Since Kumo needed a new Jinchuriki anyway, combining the capture of the tailed beast with the "creation" of a new Jinchuriki would streamline the entire process. Why not kill two birds with one stone? Sounds good in theory—but the problem was that suitable candidates for becoming Jinchuriki were extremely rare. Those capable of hosting a tailed beast required exceptional qualities and abilities.
Konoha seemed to have plenty of ninja who could handle that, but Kumo? Not so much.
So the Kumo team was preparing to seal the Two-Tails into something resembling a giant pickled vegetable jar. But their progress didn't seem particularly fast… While the highest combat power in the village was the Third Raikage, he hadn't personally come to the battlefield this time, which affected their efficiency.
A village's Kage wouldn't lightly leave his post, especially now when Kumo's Eight-Tails was becoming restless again. Though the Third Raikage himself wanted to take part—he wanted to beat the Two-Tails senseless and drag it back to the village—circumstances forced him to stay behind and protect the village.
The absence of the Raikage was indeed good news for other factions.
Because the Kumo team was already surrounding the Two-Tails, the Mist squad, arriving slightly later, hesitated about what to do next. They wanted a shot at the beast too, but moving now would mean risking a full-on fight with Kumo…
The Two-Tails belonged to Kumo, so they acted boldly during its retrieval. As for other squads lurking around like thieves, they all felt somewhat illegitimate.
Even if Mist wasn't afraid of a direct clash with Kumo, they knew well another squad was shadowing them from behind. Fully aware that another team was lying in wait, the Mist squad naturally had many reservations.
But if this deadlock continued, sooner or later Kumo would accomplish its goal.
Someone had to take the initiative and break the deadlock.
"The Two-Tails seems less aggressive now," said Haseo. "Looks like Kumo will seal it soon… Are all our traps ready?"
Haseo checked with his teammates—it looked like the time was right to stir the tired Two-Tails back up.
"It's already set up, Lord Haseo," Shikou replied. The trap itself was very easy to deploy—just twist and lick a few tags.
"Then everyone fall back; I'll find a way to lure Two-Tails over here."
Haseo ordered his teammates to fall back to avoid any accidents.
"Lord Haseo, how are you planning to do it... Could it be that because you previously assassinated the Two-Tails Jinchuriki, and during that time the Two-Tails entered a dormant state, this Tailed Beast now remembers your chakra signature?" Shikou asked again.
If that were the case, then indeed, to Two-Tails, Haseo would truly be a "red name"—theoretically, his hatred value should be high enough to attract Two-Tails… Was killing one's own enemy not enough reason for hatred?
"That's more or less the truth," Haseo said ambiguously.
Actually, even without such hatred, due to another unspoken reason of Haseo's, once Two-Tails sensed that special chakra from him, it would definitely react accordingly.
Following Haseo's orders, the team started pulling back even farther. After using Shadow Clone Jutsu and sending one of his clones to move with the group, he himself remained behind.
When Haseo judged that his teammates had retreated far enough, he pulled out a medicine bottle from his ninja tool pouch and took out several "energy pills," placing them into his mouth.
What's the point of labeling something as a forbidden technique if you end up using it when the situation demands it? It's just like how the Mangekyo Sharingan gradually blinds its user with prolonged use. Even if Tsunade had given Haseo the flying thunder god, its usefulness wasn't absolute either—the space-time Ninjutsu and Haseo's forbidden techniques weren't complete replacements for each other.
Previously, Haseo had tried using Shadow Clones to activate his Chakra Mode, but after just one attempt he realized it was an impossible task. Because a form temporarily shaped from chakra alone could not withstand the intense and volatile energy generated under Chakra Mode—once attempting to enter that state, his clone would immediately disintegrate.
Using the forbidden technique without risk thus became nonsense. So everything still relied on himself alone.
Fortunately at this moment, Haseo didn't need to employ his most dangerous Lightning Release Mode. Instead, he only needed to use Water Release Chakra Mode—[Mizukagami Zetsuchou]—which posed the least physical harm.
As a watery barrier-like Chakra Cloak appeared around Haseo's body, the struggling Two-Tails suddenly grew eerily silent.
Then, it turned its gaze straight toward Haseo's location — distant across mountains and rivers, yet locked in an eerie eye contact.
Thus, the previously calming chakra from Two-Tails surged violently again, and a beastly roar echoed throughout the Land of Hot Springs.
The sudden stillness from Two-Tails delighted the Kumo ninjas—was their mission about to succeed? Yet before smiles could appear on their faces, the beast erupted into an even fiercer frenzy than ever before.
The next moment, this massive cat covered in deep indigo-blue chakra markings began to open its mouth, retract its tongue—and then… prepare to blow bubbles.
"Tailed Beast Ball! Stop it now!"
A sharp Kumo shinobi immediately shouted out.
Far away, Haseo's eyelid twitched as well. Oh come on, seriously—this is all you freakin' Tailed Beasts are good for? Spittin' energy balls?
Of course there was meaning behind it. Otherwise, why would Haseo be panicking?
Two-Tails was already gearing up to fire its Tailed Beast Ball. Just look at how disgusted the cute little thing looked, like Kumo had never once given it hairball paste before.
Apparently, Kumo didn't have any animal protection groups.
Every time Haseo encountered a Tailed Beast, all he ever saw was them launching their Tailed Beast Balls. Now whenever he thought of Tailed Beasts, all that came to mind were endless scenes of them firing their signature attack.
But for a Tailed Beast, knowing the Tailed Beast Ball was more than enough. There wasn't really any need for extra techniques... A Tailed Beast that couldn't use the Tailed Beast Ball—was that even worthy of being called a Tailed Beast? It deserved immediate expulsion from the beast community.
The dark sphere around Two-Tails' mouth grew larger and larger. Just as it was about to release the blast and Haseo braced himself to dodge, suddenly, the ground beneath one of Two-Tail's front paws collapsed. Its entire body tilted sideways, causing the precisely aimed Tailed Beast Ball to veer completely off target.
The black sphere zipped right past Haseo's head.
He blinked a few times, then finally realized what had just happened. He couldn't help but be amazed—the Kumo ninja really knew how to show mercy at the most unexpected moments.
Clearly, it was an Earth Release technique from a Kumo shinobi that caused Two-Tails to lose balance, shifting the trajectory of the attack.
What kind of mindset was this? True-blue noble deeds straight from the textbook.
Sure, they were sworn enemies, but when it mattered, those Kumo ninjas still had the guts to step in and save one of their own from getting vaporized by a giant furball with anger issues.
Without that Earth Release move, Haseo might've been blasted to bits. Wouldn't that be joyous news for Kumo?
Wait—no, actually, shouldn't that be a devastating tragedy for Kumo?
Fortunately, their efforts prevented this human catastrophe from happening.
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