Talking at Cross-Purposes

The news that the One-Tail had been captured by the Akatsuki was immediately relayed to the other four major ninja villages.

But this time it didn't cause much of a stir.

This has a somewhat "what's the use" attitude to it.

The Tailed Beast of Iwagakure and Mist Village have all been stolen, and they may well be watching the show with a sense of schadenfreude.

If I'm not having a good time, you all better not have one either. If we all lose face together, then nobody loses face.

What's most infuriating is the Cloud Village. They had always wanted to compete with the Konoha Village for the title of the number one ninja village in the Ninja World, but since Taichi Matsushita rose to prominence, this dream has been completely shattered.

Even so, he still looked down upon the other Three Great Shinobi Villages as an equal.

This also made Cloud Village always Lone Walk in dealing with Akatsuki matters. When Minato proposed the Five Kage Summit, Cloud Village was the first to clearly refuse.

Now things are different. Of the two remaining Tailed Beast in the Ninja World, the Eight-Tails is in Cloud Village and the Nine-Tails is in Konoha. The other seven Tailed Beasts have been captured by the Akatsuki.

The Cloud Village was now getting a little anxious. After all, people tend to pick on the weakest link, and compared to Konoha, the Cloud Village was obviously the weakest one.

But at this point, the other Three Great Shinobi Villages weren't having it. They were happy to watch the show from the sidelines and see what the Hidden Cloud Village would do.

What will happen?

Kumogakure, Raikage's Office.

With a loud bang, yet another desk was prematurely retired.

"Damn it, they're all bastards! A bunch of self-serving idiots who completely disregard the safety of the Ninja World. How could my Kumogakure be ranked among the Five Great Ninja Villages with these insects?"

The roar of the Fourth Raikage A echoed in the office, while Mabui, standing quietly to the side, could only offer a helpless, bitter smile.

What else could she say? She had tried to persuade them in the first place.

But times have changed, and back then no one expected the Akatsuki to be so powerful.

In such a short time, only about two months, the Akatsuki managed to capture all Seven-Tails in one fell swoop.

This requires an exceptional level of intelligence and a vast number of top-tier ninjas to accomplish.

The Fourth Raikage A, initially believed that the Cloud Village alone could easily defeat the Akatsuki, but now he no longer thinks so.

To defeat the Akatsuki, the Cloud Village alone is definitely not enough.

Even if Cloud Village could achieve that, the losses would inevitably drop Cloud Village from its current second-place position to the bottom.

"Mabui, what did Konoha say?"

With red eyes, the Fourth Raikage A truly regretted his decision at this moment.

Mabui looked somewhat embarrassed, and her stammering made the Fourth Raikage A even angrier.

"Speak! Is there any worse news than the opposition from the other Three Great Shinobi Villages?"

"Konoha said that if we are worried about the Eight-Tails being kidnapped, we can send Killer B to Konoha for temporary accommodation. Konoha can protect the Eight-Tails- Eight-Tails' safety and ensure that it is not captured by the Akatsuki."

After Mabui finished speaking, he looked at the Fourth Raikage A cautiously, afraid that he might do something irrational again.

"Click"

Mabui watched helplessly as the Fourth Raikage crushed the armrest of the chair. Her lips twitched slightly; she knew the Raikage would be angry if she spoke up.

"Does Konoha look down on Cloud Village? Do they think Cloud Village can't even protect the Eight-Tails?"

Mabui carefully chose her words and explained cautiously, "I think Konoha just doesn't want the Eight-Tails to fall into the hands of Akatsuki again. Rather than the two villages splitting their forces to protect their respective Tailed Beast, it's more convenient for them to unite and protect them together."

The Raikage took a deep breath to calm himself down.

Where is Killer B now?

A strange look flashed across Mabui's face.

"After returning from Yunlei Gorge, he has stayed in the village and hasn't gone out. He should be holding his concert in the northwest corner of the village at this time."

The Fourth Raikage A also had a bit of a headache at this moment. Thinking of Killer B's strange rap, he shook his head violently.

Fine, northwest corner it is then. As long as it's in the village, it's fine. We can't keep him under our noses all the time.

In that case, it's unclear whether Killer B would go insane, but he himself would definitely go insane.

"Mabui, make the arrangements, I'm going to Konoha."

To Mabui, these words were like a thunderclap.

From the era of the ninja villages to the present, there has never been a single instance of a Kage personally visiting another ninja village.

The Fourth Raikage A's actions can be said to have set a precedent in the Ninja World.

"Lord Raikage, please reconsider. Our relationship with Konoha is ultimately not good. Your personal trip to Konoha might be dangerous."

"Danger?" A chuckled lightly. "There's no danger anywhere. Didn't Konoha send Killer B for protection? If even I, the Fourth Raikage, can be in danger in Konoha, what face do they have to ask for protection for the Eight-Tails?"

"But----"

"No buts!" Ai waved his hand, his tone resolute. "My mind is made up. Besides, some things need to be clarified face-to-face."

Konoha, Taiichi.

"What? You don't want to go to school anymore?"

Taiichi's voice startled everyone in the courtyard, and all eyes turned to him.

Nowadays, Taiichi's home is also full of "talents". There are not only Medical Ninja from Kirigakure, but also his own teacher, three disciples who occasionally come to stay, an adorable fox, and Fu, whom he just took in.

Today is a rare day when everyone is free and at home.

Tsunade walked over from the side, looking at the four people in front of her with a look of anticipation.

She was all too familiar with this scene. Not long ago, she, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru had asked their teacher the same question in the same tone, the only difference being what they were asking for.

The three children greeted Tsunade very politely as she approached. She was their teacher's teacher, and more importantly, she had a rather bad temper; they absolutely couldn't afford to offend her.

"Teacher, we're not learning anything new at school. Instead of wasting our time there, we might as well graduate and become ninjas."

Jiangtai was the boldest, waving his hands as he expressed his opinion to Taiichi. On either side of him, Yami and Itachi nodded frequently, indicating that this was not Jiang Taiichi.

"This is not a time of war; Konoha doesn't need you to become ninjas so early."

Taiichi resolutely objected. What was the point of all his hard work if not to prevent the children of Konoha from having to face bloodshed at such a young age?

"But teacher, didn't you graduate early during peacetime? Why can't we?"

Yami stood with her hands on her hips, arguing her case without flinching.

"Yes, yes, I heard that the teacher was only in third grade when she graduated, while we're already in fifth grade."

Itachi didn't dare to lag behind and immediately exposed Taiichi's true abilities.

"Hahaha~"

Tsunade was listening nearby, burst out laughing. She bent over, patting her thigh with one hand and pressing her chest with the other to catch her breath.

"Kid, you've finally met your match. You're in for a rough time with a disciple like that."

Taiichi rolled his eyes at her, but when he turned to look at his three disciples, he was filled with helplessness.

Well, if you're not upright yourself, you can't educate others.

He then fixed his gaze on Itachi, his eyes filled with sternness.

"What did your father say? Would he allow you to graduate early?"

Itachi puffed out his chest, a hint of smugness appearing on his face.

"My father has wanted me to graduate early for a long time, but I kept saying that the teacher hadn't agreed yet, which is why it's been delayed until now."

Okay, Taiichi realized he'd asked a pointless question. In the original story, Itachi was a genius who graduated in his second year.

He then turned his gaze to Jiangtai and Yami, his fists clenching so tightly they cracked.

"And you guys, don't tell me Dean Nonō allowed you to graduate early!"

"No, that's not it."

Jiangtai shook his head, but Yami immediately chimed in.

"The dean told us to ask you, teacher. If you agree, then there's no problem."

Taiichi slapped him across the face, thus shifting all the blame onto his shoulders.

At this moment, Jiangtai gave Yami a wink.

Yami understood immediately and stepped forward, fully utilizing her feminine characteristics. She grabbed Taiichi's hand and swayed it from side to side while pleading in a sweet, coquettish voice.

"Teacher, please, we really can't learn anything at school anymore. Even the teachers have told us that they have nothing left to teach us."

Taiichi felt a chill run down his spine from Yami's address; it was the first time he had ever seen Yami act so girlish.

"Okay, okay, stop shaking."

Taiichi quickly shook off Yami's hand, afraid that if he listened any longer, he would get goosebumps all over.

"Hey teacher, you agree!"

Yami jumped up and down excitedly, while Jiangtai and Itachi beside her also had shining eyes.

"It's possible, but you'll need to pass a test first. Only if you pass will it be considered a true agreement."

"Okay, no problem?" Jiangtai readily agreed.

"Teacher, you're not going to get involved yourself, are you?" Itachi quickly tried to cover for him.

"Teacher, you can't make things difficult for us!" Yami chimed in, offering her support.

Taiichi's face darkened, and he said irritably, "Don't worry, I still have a sense of shame."

As he spoke, he turned to look around. The group of people around him were all watching the commotion, which made Taiichi's face darken even more.

He fixed his gaze on Tsunade, then thought, "No, she won't do; she's too strong."

His gaze then fell on Mizuki and her group. Hmm, still no good, they're too weak.

His gaze continued to shift, and he saw Shizune watching the scene with her arms crossed. This—still wouldn't do. Taiichi was worried that the three little ones would traumatize Shizune.

Finally, his gaze fell on the "fluffy ball" that was squatting on the stone table.

Yes, that's perfect; the skill level is definitely sufficient.

"Little Nine, it's you! All you do is play all day. Come here quickly, you'll have to play a game with these three little guys."

Nine-Tails- Tails looked completely bewildered (unfortunately, it was all fur, so no one could tell), he was just watching the show from the sidelines, how did it get involved with him?

However, Taiichi clearly did not give Nine-Tails a chance to refuse. He walked over, picked Nine-Tails up, and walked back to the three little ones.

"Hey, you just need to beat him. But don't underestimate Little Nine. If you don't pay attention, you'll suffer a terrible defeat."

O

The three little ones were eager to try. They naturally didn't know that the fox in front of them had Nine-Tails, but they knew that this guy was not simple. Today they would finally be able to see for themselves.

Taiichi looked at the three excited people, a smile appeared on his lips, he winked at Nine-Tails, and led them to a Training Ground outside.

The three little ones and the Nine-Tails fox stood on either side of the Training Ground, while the others stood in a circle around it.

Taiichi stood in the middle, observing both sides. Seeing that both sides were ready, he waved his hand and shouted.

"Start!"

Jiangtai instantly charged forward, raising his Shuriken, which flew towards the Nine-Tails in a triangular formation.

Itachi activated his Sharingan and dashed to the side, attempting to circle around behind Nine-Tails.

Yami then began Hand Seals on the spot, and in just two breaths, she threw out a Lightning Net.

The three players coordinated perfectly, indicating that this tactic had clearly been practiced more than once.

Seeing that the three little guys were serious right away, Nine-Tails Fox didn't dare to be careless. It roared to the sky, its voice changing from cute and innocent to deep and powerful, and its body swelled to the size of an adult tiger.

He raised his claw and swatted away the Lightning Net that flew in first, then swung his tail to sweep away the Shuriken that followed closely behind. He took a step to the side to dodge Jiangtai's fist, and then kicked him away with a back kick.

This set of movements was equally fluid, breaking through the three little ones' encirclement in the blink of an eye.

But this is far from over.

Itachi, wielding Kunai, attacked from behind. With the aid of his Sharingan, Itachi's close-quarters combat skills were clearly superior to Jiangtai's.

The Kunai in his hands seemed to come alive, each attack imbued with a spirit, every move aimed at the Nine-Tails' vital joints.

Nine-Tails, however, was rather annoyed. This Uchiha Clan kid had never seemed so sinister before. Were all Uchiha really that bad?

Reality didn't give Nine-Tails time to overthink things. Seeing that the Ninjutsu wasn't very effective, Yami Chakra in her fists and, with the Chakra Enhanced Strength, charged directly at Nine-Tails.

The two smaller creatures attacked from both sides, and for a time they managed to entangle the Nine-Tails. Especially with Yami's Chakra Enhanced Strength, her attacks really hurt.

Seeing that his companion had bought him time, Jiangtai, who had been kicked away, immediately formed hand Hand Seals to gather Natural Energy. Ten seconds later, he opened his eyes, and a golden light appeared in his eyes.

"Get out of the way."

Sage Art: Wind Style - Great Breakthrough.

A fierce wind, mixed with Wind Blade, swept towards the Nine-Tails with devastating force.

Itachi and Yami moved aside in perfect unison, leaving Nine-Tails alone to face the Senjutsu.

Nine-Tails isn't stupid; he dared to take the Lightning Style head-on just now, but he doesn't want to try the Senjutsu now.

He tried to dodge, but Jiangtai clearly didn't want to give him the chance. Following closely behind with his Wind Style, Jiangtai charged forward, swinging his fist.

With this Senjutsu's enhancement, Jiangtai was able to withstand at least a few more attacks from the Nine-Tails.

During this period of delay, Itachi and Yami also completed Sage Mode.

The three surrounded the Nine-Tails from three directions. This time, he was truly no match for six fists with four claws, and he was defeated in no time.

After the battle, the three children immediately went to Taiichi to make him keep his promise. They even dragged Tsunade into it, as if Taiichi would go back on his word if they didn't.

What could Taiichi do? A promise is a promise, so he immediately agreed to the three little ones' request.

As for the formalities, he naturally handled them himself, since school hasn't started yet.

While the three little ones pulled everyone aside to celebrate their early graduation, Taiichi picked up the Nine-Tails, which had shrunk back to its original size.

"You've added way too much water, haven't you? How could you let them pass?"

The Nine-Tails fox looked puzzled. "Didn't you wink at me, telling me to go easy on her?"

Taiichi was exasperated. "I told you to be ruthless and cut off their hopes."

It turns out that the silent eye contact between the human and the fox was a complete misunderstanding; they were not communicating at all.