"Losing the race is fine. But the Nine-Tails must lose!"
Shukaku, curled up in Gaara's arms, spoke in a sinister tone, baring his teeth.
"Look at that Uchiha brat. I knew it—he's trying to help that Nine-Tails kid win. He's been holding back from the very beginning. I noticed it from the first half of the race. But I didn't expect the Nine-Tails kid to actually derail."
As he said this, Shukaku looked up at Gaara, who had been running for a long time. Even with chakra shielding his body, the child was visibly panting. Shukaku's tone suddenly became serious.
"Kid… take him down."
"But… if I do that, someone else might win instead…"
"It doesn't matter. Your brother's right behind you. His talent may be average, but he used puppetry to reduce the strain on his body. He should be fine to take the win."
Shukaku sneered, glancing back at Kankuro, who had been loafing around the whole race.
"As for that Cloud ninja in second place… damn muscleheads. He's still not tired after running all this time. But never mind—his car's ruined. No way he's making repairs in time to finish the last stretch…"
But before he could finish—
"Watch out!"
Clang! Clang!
Two miniature shuriken launched from Kizuna (Itachi's car), slamming into Gaara's car and carving deep scratches into the shell.
"Despicable Uchiha brat!"
Shukaku seethed, glaring at the now-approaching Itachi.
"Hidden weapons? Seriously?"
"Ninja should never be judged by common logic," Itachi replied with a calm smile, unfazed by a talking tailed beast no bigger than a kettle. "Even in a mini 4WD race, that holds true."
Besides, wasn't that brat the one who deployed eight mini-cars earlier to form a barricade? That was just as dirty.
"Sorry about this, little guy from the Sand."
He raised his hand—
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two more tiny shuriken launched straight at Gaara's car.
Clang! Clang!
The outer shell cracked further, lines spider-webbing across the surface as if it might shatter at any second.
Gaara frowned, eyeing his damaged car.
In the Children's Division, racers couldn't control their cars directly like the adult ninja division could. So instead of dodging Kizuna's attack, Gaara did something no one expected—he drove straight at Itachi.
"Kid, what are you doing?!"
Shukaku's face changed instantly.
You're supposed to take out the Nine-Tails, not this Uchiha punk!
"The race doesn't matter—the Nine-Tails has to lose!"
"Stop! Stop! Pull back, now!"
But it was too late.
Gaara's car barreled into kizuna, which had just deployed another pair of kunai.
BOOM!
A small explosion shook the track. The force blasted Kizuna into the air, sending it crashing into the track wall. Meanwhile, Gaara's car shed its shattered outer shell—revealing a second layer underneath: reinforced glass. The inner car, Shukaku, surged forward, unimpeded.
"Amazing! Absolutely amazing!!"
Tobi's excitable voice rang out from the announcer's cross.
"I never thought the little cutie would double-shell his car! And the second shell—glass! Sand Village glass!"
He even slipped in a commercial:
"High-quality, low-cost, safer than ever—get your Sunagakure Tempered Glass today!"
"The explosive impact shredded the outer casing, lightening the load and boosting the 'Shukaku' car speed significantly! And as for Kizuna—that underhanded car with hidden weapons—it's still jammed in the wall. Who knows how much damage it took. Can it still run?"
Another rain of trash flew at the announcer's platform, forcing the White Zetsu clones to clean up again just to keep Tobi from getting buried.
"Shell's cracked, tail fin's gone, shuriken launcher's busted…" Itachi inspected Kizuna with a mild smile. "Good thing the chassis is reinforced with metal and the motor's got protective casing. Not totally wrecked."
Still… most of the tricks he'd prepped were unusable now.
He looked ahead at Gaara.
"A car that explodes… this race just keeps getting more interesting."
And then—
Whoosh—!
A streak of gold flashed past him. Itachi's eyes widened briefly in surprise before softening again. He quickly returned Bond to the track and looked at the blond-haired boy up ahead who was cheering at the top of his lungs:
"Go, Naruto Racer!!"
Itachi smiled and nodded.
Just like the Fourth… even in despair, he never gives up.
Then he glanced behind him—at the oncoming "Black Ant."
His eyes sharpened.
"I'll handle the ones behind you."
Kankuro blinked.
"…Why does he suddenly look so serious?"
He had no idea why this older guy was taking things so personally.
Gaara's car had been designed by Kabuto, so Kankuro wasn't surprised by the weird tricks. But his own car? Inspired by one of Kabuto's gifted puppets—it was entirely his own design.
He clenched his fist, raised it high, and shouted:
"Go, Black Ant! Devour our enemies and crush them all!"
But of course… Kizuna wasn't going down without a fight.
Itachi had already analyzed this car during earlier laps.
Black Ant could open a massive mechanical jaw and swallow other mini racers whole, grinding them up before spitting them out—an incredibly dangerous ability.
But—
Boom!
Just as Black Ant charged forward, a burst of fire exploded from under Kizuna's chassis, launching it upward.
Click!
Kizuna landed cleanly on top of Black Ant, latching onto it, and—in front of the stunned audience—forced Black Ant to spin around and open its gaping maw… toward the cars behind them!
After prying it from the wall, Itachi had timed this final move perfectly. This was his trump card.
He smiled with quiet confidence.
"Perfect timing."
"You bastard!!"
Kankuro was stunned as he watched his own car being hijacked and turned on the other racers.
"Get off it already!"
But no matter how he shouted, Black Ant—now under Kizuna's control—continued its rampage, jaws wide open, devouring everything in its path… friend or foe.
The entire arena erupted…
With the cries of countless heartbroken children.
"This is just too evil! Who could've seen this coming?!"
Tobi's obnoxious voice echoed out again.
"The Konoha racer used such despicable tactics—taking control of someone else's car to attack the competition!"
He added, in a tone that was somehow both pitying and gleeful:
"Oh nooo! The poor kids… looks like their partners are done for!"
But then—his tone flipped again.
"Wait! Hold on!! Look ahead! The finish line! They're less than fifty meters away!"
"Naruto Racer is right on Shukaku's car tail. Can he overtake?! No! Oh no! He can't! Just ten meters from the finish—there's no way he can catch up!"
But even as the words left his mouth—
Whoosh!
From Naruto Racer's tail fin, two streaks of red light flared to life.
"No way! What the heck is that?! That sneaky little brat—he had a hidden weapon all along?! Everyone, follow my gaze—what is that?! What is that?! The winner of the Ninja World Children's Division is—"
Before he could finish—
"THIS IS YOUTH!!"
A fiery voice boomed from the stands.
Instantly—
The entire crowd erupted into cheers.