In the Land of Iron, a dark, bulky block of metal slowly moved through the forest.
*"Seventy miles an hour, my soul's running wild!" came the voice of someone—clearly a walking jukebox—from inside the vehicle.
"Chasing dreams with the wind, freedom's my way, seeking lightning and thunder in every single day."
The now-hyped-up jukebox floored the gas pedal.
The prototype vehicle barreled through the forest, plowing a path wide enough for an army to follow.
*Bang!*
Truly moved—or rather misled—by these supposedly uplifting lyrics, Nawaki stumbled and fell right off his seat onto the floor.
If he knew that one of the original singers of this song was full of negativity, who knows what he'd say.
"Why did you suddenly accelerate like that?!" Nawaki quickly got back up and scolded the driver's seat in front.
However, the walking jukebox, Shen, didn't respond. He swiftly switched songs: *"Grab a pen, write courage in my diary. I can rebel with my fists against the wall."*
(Anyone recognize where those opening lyrics are from?)*
These rhythm-heavy lines made Nawaki—who'd been grumpy just a second ago—start bobbing his head without even realizing it.
*"Full throttle, racing to the max, look closely—who dares challenge me from zero to sixty?"*
Getting into the groove, the driver seemed to have entered the state of a true car god. He slammed on the brakes, sharply turned the wheel, and felt quite satisfied as the rear of the prototype vehicle barely brushed past a large tree.
Then he gave up trying to stay on course, instead driving erratically in a style reminiscent of "Qin Wang Rao Zhu" (*the King of Qin evading an assassin around a pillar*).
*"I'm drifting youthfully in first person, precisely calculating victory and defeat."*
*Bang!* Inspired by the rhythm, Nawaki unknowingly tumbled back under the seat again.
Shen, the self-proclaimed car god, seized the chance for another sharp drift, sending that familiar little brown figure in the rearview mirror into misery once more.
Meanwhile, both Orochimaru and Nayou calmly watched everything unfold before them. Unlike others, they'd safely fastened their seatbelts.
*"I'm drifting forward with the wind beneath my wheels, acting out our own life stories within this tale."*
Whether or not these rhythm-packed lyrics were catchy, Shen naturally wouldn't know.
But judging from the sight of a certain small brown blur repeatedly bumping against the floor behind him via the rearview mirror, he could tell someone was definitely *really* feeling the beat.
*"Weee-yip-weee-yip-weee, weee-yip-weee! I twist round the mountain while the rain beats like a drum."*
Those lyrics alone perfectly captured how pleased with himself Shen currently felt. Down below, Nawaki heard such arrogant words, tried to pop his head up and yell something—but was immediately sent *bang* back to where he started.
*"Weee-yip-weee-yip-weee!"*
For a moment, the entire cabin filled with lively energy.
Feeling it wasn't exciting enough yet, Shen decided to switch songs and really enjoy himself—but then noticed an icy stare coming from beside him.
He instantly knew who it was, and straightened up immediately: *"Ahem... No more singing. I need to focus on driving seriously now."*
Under the seat, the poor bump-covered victim was practically sobbing upon hearing those words.
He leaned forward with both hands on the seatback, sticking his head into the driver's space and starting in again: "Shen Uchiha, are you feeling really happy now?"
"Yep. How'd you know?" Veteran driver Shen didn't even turn his head, keeping his eyes ahead as he gripped the steering wheel.
"You bastard Shen Uchiha, I'm gonna get you!" With that, Nawaki lunged forward, grabbing his neck and shaking him furiously.
"Snake Uncle Nayou, help me!" Being shaken violently, Shen was seeing stars. He immediately sent out broken, desperate signals to the two bystanders watching from their seats.
In response, both passengers looked up at the car ceiling, clearly indicating they weren't getting involved.
They hadn't helped the victim earlier — so why would they help this mastermind now?
Dizzy from all the shaking, Shen saw the indifferent expressions of the two spectators and dramatically declared: "If you two don't help, we're definitely going to crash!"
The two had just begun stirring, somewhat eager to separate the combatants and unbuckling their seat belts, when they both felt a sudden loss of balance.
Then came that disorienting sensation of the world spinning upside down, letting all four passengers inside the car understand exactly what was happening.
It was nothing more than the wheel hitting a big stone, sending the entire prototype vehicle spinning straight into the sky.
Fortunately, judging from outside appearances, it wasn't ascending straight up but rather following a descending parabolic trajectory. Otherwise, Team One would've been holding hands and shoulder-to-shoulder for a spiral ascension off the planet.
"What a jinx! Why did you have to mention crashing? And how dare you still call yourself an experienced driver? Can an experienced driver actually crash?" While being tossed around inside the car, Nawaki angrily scolded him.
After recovering his breath, veteran driver Shen immediately fired back: "And you actually have the nerve to talk like that? If you hadn't grabbed my neck and shaken me like that, could I have crashed?"
"If you hadn't been driving erratically in the first place, would I have grabbed you and shaken you?"
"If you'd just fastened your seat belt properly, would I have shaken you?"
Listening to these mutual accusations from the two culprits, Little Iceberg, who had silently watched until now, exploded: "Both of you shut up! Try to figure out a solution to our current situation already!"
"!!!"x3
All three inside were mentally stunned by this shout. They couldn't believe that Nayou, who was usually cold as ice, could suddenly blow up like that.
Seeing no reaction from them, Nayou shouted again: "Come up with solutions already!"
Shen recovered first, casually responding: "This car has protective barriers installed. What serious danger could happen?"
Orochimaru didn't give the three occupants time to calm themselves before cruelly reminding them: "But your father mentioned that before he drove off a cliff, the chakra within the barrier core might have already been nearly depleted."
"???"x3
"Dad, aren't you trying to ruin your own son!"
"It's all over! Everything is ruined! What about my allowance money!"
"Anybody else got better suggestions?"
Stunned momentarily, the three panicked completely.
This sight was heartbreaking — those three were just tender young sprouts from Konoha, after all.
Orochimaru, completely unfazed, remained calm. "Shen, don't you have a spare part or something on you?"
"I do, but I need to change it outside the car!"
"I do know real Summoning Technique."
With no time to comment, Shen immediately pulled out a replacement Barrier Core Scroll and tossed it over.
It was only then that he remembered how resistant snakes are to vertigo.
Following Orochimaru's words, a small snake instantly appeared, grabbed the core scroll in its mouth, then slithered outside, leaving only a small crack in the window for air.
"How much longer do we have to spin like this?" Shen asked impatiently.
Nawaki clung tightly to his seat with both hands, growing anxious. He decided that next time he got into a vehicle, he'd make sure to fasten his seatbelt properly.
Shen, seeing the danger had passed, calmly replied, "What are you afraid of? We can't die anyway. Just treat it like a wild roller coaster ride."
Orochimaru caught the unfamiliar word and immediately perked up with curiosity. "What's a roller coaster? From the name, it sounds like some sort of climbing vehicle?"
"No, it's an amusement facility fixed onto tracks where it does all sorts of spinning and free-fall movements. The feeling of riding it is quite similar to what we're experiencing right now."
Nayou's ears perked up at that. "So if the track is long enough, would it be as thrilling as jumping off a cliff?"
Shen himself also grew enthusiastic while discussing various attractions with the other two. "Exactly! There's also the sky drop that just plummets straight down, and pirate ships—no, wait, the Pendulum, swinging back and forth like a ship in a storm—"
As Nawaki watched the other three ignore him and continue excitedly discussing these terrifying rides, his eyes began to well up slightly.
Gripping the seat even harder with both hands—a natural reaction for someone like Nawaki, who saw himself as something of an outsider in Team One—his fingers dug into the fabric as if holding onto his last bit of sanity.
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